I can't believe there isn't more talk around here about TOOLS!




So, I'll kick it off....



Ratcheting crescent wrenches. Are they just the greatest thing ever, or a gimic? I was thinking how nice they would be to have, today, as I was slowly turning a normal wrench, taking it out, refitting it, and turning it again, over and over and over. But then I think, maybe they are fragile, break a lot, and don't really work well. Would be a bad use of 50 bucks for set, wouldn't it? Anyone have them, and how do they work?


Also, that craftsman vise grip that self adjusts, that I used to see advertised on TV a while back. Any good? Worth the money?


I'm a junior mechanic wannabe, and I would love some pointers on where to waste my money on tools.

 

I bought a set of those stubby ratcheting box end wrenches about a year ago. They are ratcheting box end on one end and open end on the other. I don't know how I survived all these years w/o them.

 

Awesome, I'm getting a small set today, then.



Non ratcheting bow ends sure do make a job take a long time....

 

Only problem with them is you can get them in tight spaces, that is where there is little room around the bolt/nut head, usually in places where it would be most beneficial to have a ratcheting head

 

I have 3 sets of those racheting box end wrenches in SAE, Metric and Offset, great tools.
I use a lot of Allen Heads for hardware and a set of Ball End T-Handle wrenches. They allow something like a 30* off axis fit. Great for Door Hinge Bolts, intake manifold and a lot of other places.

 

Ratchet wrench's are awesome, the newer thinner kind are a lot better then the old clunky ones. The new ones even have angled heads, I don't know a professional mechanic that doesn't own a set.

 

They worked so great that Craftsman discontinued them and wont do anything about it. I took two in for warranty last week and they just looked at me like I brought in some moon dust! I finally asked if I could just have two pairs of craftsman pliers in exchange, but no one could do anything since the manager was at lunch!

The Real Vice Grips are the only way to go when you cant use the proper wrench, and you better buy some fast. The Dewitt, Nebraska plant where they have been made since Noah used them to build the ark has been sold to Rubbermaid and they are closing the plant of 500 employees in a town of 600 people and building a new vice grip plant in China.

DONT buy the blue plastic handled ones that many stores already have on the shelves. They are assembled in Dewitt with Chinese parts and they are pure junk and you will not be happy with them. ONLY buy the ALL STEEL ones. You can still find them on the shelves of some stores, you just have to look.

I was lucky enough to buy two crates full of them from a lifelong employee that was doing his own "personal testing" at home, so I have about 100 of nearly every size and shape Vice Grip ever made!

I have some small enough to work on a watch, and welding c-clamps that will extend to 20 inches wide!

Remember that old Johnny Cash song - One piece at a time (and it didnt cost me a dime)!!??? :o :o

 

I love the ratcheting box end wrenches. Use the open end to break the bolt loose and then use the ratchet end to remove the bolt. They are hard to beat. I have several sets.

Another thing I really like are ratchets that have zero degree ratchet mechanisms.

One more of my favorites is the t-handle allen wrenches.

Line wrenches, be sure to buy good line wrenches. Cheap ones will let their jaws open and round the nuts. Not too good.

 

Absolutely! Whatever tool - especially wrenches and drivers - you buy, spend the money to get quality. It will save your knuckles many times over, make the job as easy as possible, and should last your lifetime.
Terry

 

100% - NEVER BUY CHEAP TOOLS!!! You will just be cursing and replacing them.

 

looks like I need to do some more shopping.

 

Not only that but high quality tools such as snap-on, mac, matco... are made with the idea that they will be in the users hands for hours on end and will leave your hands alot less cramped at the end of a job than any over the counter tool.

 

A bolt extraction kit is worth it's weight in gold. It also better to have it on hand before you need it.

The extreme grip wrenches made by Craftsmen do not work as advertised. I promptly returned those to the store.

 

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in the very near future some snap-on tools and toolboxes will have the words made in china on them as well, and thats complete but it's true.

 

[quote=74Blackfoot;1566936927]A bolt extraction kit is worth it's weight in gold. It also better to have it on hand before you need it.



Absolutly agree.... I cant tell you how many times during my rebuild I used them when all else failed.

 

Also buy good quality air tools the cheap ones will vibrate your hands and wear very quickly. I can not tell you how many times having inpact guns have saved me time. Oh and try and get the proper size gun for the socket a 1/2 impact and a 3/8 socket even with a impact rated reducer dont last very long.

 

As long as they're using the same grade of metals it doesn't make a difference who is putting them together. You can still get high quality products from China and dramatically lower your costs, just not as much as if you lowered your quality a little too.

Lets hope that if this is true, they're only going to China for cheap labor and not for cheap parts.

 

It we're talking tools in general then here is my all time favorite.

A butterfly impact beats an air ratchet any day for dis-assembly work. If you treat the bolts nice and don't run it at max power you can use it for re-assembly as well. When I'm taking things apart it's the first tool I grab.

I love ratchet wrenches and even the Sears open end 'ratchet' wrenches are handy to have.