It has occurred to me that I may be doing something wrong. I have broken more bolts than anyone should admit to, BUT I have never broken a wrench. Could be that I use better wrenches OR that I understand what is required for each application - no half-inch on a quarter-inch job, etc. (P.S. In fairness to the bolt manufacturing industry, the bolts I have broken were all very, very old).

 

I agree with all of the above. Please forgive me for stating the obvious, but get a good/great set of 6 point deep and shallow sockets. Twelve point sockets tend to round off the bolt. I sometimes use a metric socket on a rounded bolt. Sometimes it takes the slop out and gets the job done. Don't forget to look in pawn shops for used tools. Ebay is great, but I like to see and feel what I am getting. It worked when I married my wife. Jerry

 

As a guy who has bombed out of "Craftsman rehab" a few dozen times, I buy all my tools at Sears. They pretty much have everything you will need.

I would recommend that you buy the biggest 'tool kit' you are willing to spend on, because the bigger tools you sometimes find that you need later are expensive to purchase separately......

One time my son put a screwdriver in the oven....and we baked the handle down a little ... the guy at Sears laughed his butt off, and replaced the tool.

 

Matco sockets are the best because they have a smaller wall.

If you have never broken a tool you are not trying very hard.

 

best thing for us "baby boomers" since sliced bread!!!

Merry Christmas
Steve

 

If it were me I'd try to get the biggest complete Craftsman tool set I can afford. If you have to cobble something together, then go with 6 pt sockets only. Sometimes it is nice to have 12 pt, but there aren't many jobs that require them so having both is kind of redundant. But if the set you want has both then it is usually cheaper to just buy the whole set.

I'd also say get the biggest roll-away tool box you can find/afford (after getting the tools). You will soon outgrow whatever box you buy anyway.

 

Mark,

Did you make or purchase the foam wrench holder pictured below?

It looks great!

[/QUOTE]

 

Craftman's guarantee only applies to their hand tools, no power tools.

 

Craftsman has the sets that focus on sockets and wrenches, a better buy than the sets that only combine sockets or the sets that include the screwdrivers and everything else.

I purchase a small tool set for every car or truck I own, in the $100-$200 range, and supplement the set with tools specific to the vehicle (VW's and Jeeps get a 36mm socket, bent end wrench for the SBC distributor bolt, things like that). I have a stocked rollaway in the garage, but I work out of the vehicle set as much as possible to be assured I have the essential tools needed in the kit if I suffer a breakdown on the road. On long trips a paid up AAA card and stocked tool kit in the vehicle seem to insure against breakdowns.

I believe the Craftsman wrenches are currently (before 1990 & since @ 1996) made by Facom, the same tool company that provides the (expensive) tool line for Griots Garage.

Sears had a period in the early 90's where the purchasing group went cheap on tools (and auto batteries, and ... many things) to improve profits, and the quality declined sharply. Sears had to rethink thier purchasing goals when the warranty returns were costing them too much money (and damaging their reputation). The fallout from the drive to the bottom price "purchase for profit" thinking is believed to be the tipping point that eventually resulted in the KMart merger (after the Sears brand lost it's loyal customer base).

The Craftsman mechanics hand tools have returned to a quality product (not the same as decades ago, but better than the early 90's). I have noticed the recent sockets are larger diameter than the 70's versions, so they do not fit everywhere the old ones fit, but they also do not break like the mid-90's sockets. I have had all my Craftsman ratchets purchased in the 90's replaced for free, and a number of strong arm handles, to address the lapse in quality (warranty replacements). If you have the 90's era micro-(sP?)-turn ratchets in your tool box, warranty replacements will save your knuckles.

I hope Santa is good to you.

 

I have SK, call SK about a year ago for a broken rachet, and they replaced at no cost, as far as sockets same thing. Mail them the broken socket and they will replace at no charge. Their tools are great quality and mine are close to 50 years old and are as good as the day my father bought them. By the way if you buy them on flee bay they are 1/4 of the new price and will serve you just as well.

 

Usually around this time of year you can get one of the Craftsman sets that has quarter, three eighths and half inch sockets and ratchets. They will do most of what you need and you can add as you need them. Probably less than $100 or so, I have one just to carry in the nice little combo case with a vehicle.

I agree the Snap on ratchets are very nice.

Try and find the Snap on salesman and his truck on Sunday afternoon when you break your tool though.

You can get better ones as you find what you like and use the most.

Be good to Santa so you're not on the naughty list.

Then the Craftsman sledgehammers will work as well as the rest on that lump of Coal you find on Christmas morning.

 

My first complete set of ratchets and sockets was from SK Wayne about 45 years ago - still have 80% of them (lost some sockets over the years). They have been good tools - had to have the 3/8 ratchet repaired (free repair kit from SK) about 10 years ago. Since that initial set, I have bought SK Box/Open, Proto wrenches, some Snap-On ratchets and sockets, a complete set of Craftsman mechanic tools, and many many specialty tools (ring compressors, brake bleeder, ridge reamer, etc, etc). Got more tools now than I know what to do with. I use Pneumatic tools a lot now, so I have been adding to those over the past 5 years.

As for my favorite: SK Wayne. However, it is hard to beat Craftsman for a good starter kit (standard and metric - wrenches, sockets / ratchets 1/4, 3/8, 1/2).

Dave

 

I like Craftsman as they are a good product for the weekend mechanic and the free replacement warranty is convenient, as they are open on weekends. Also, I have found in the past, that the day after Christmas is a great sale day on their tools.