Not everyone can justify big name tools price for moderate use. That pretty much ends it right there. No one will argue that snap on is better than craftsman but not everyone needs snap on quality.

 

No not everyone needs Snap-On tools...I have them because I was a tech all my life

 

I have had good luck with craftsman tools. I agree that if you are a professional snap on is the better choice.

 

If it's something I pound on I get it at Harbor Freight.

 

I am actually the opposite I will beat on my good tools because they can take it and I treat the cheap stuff delicately because they can not take the abuse that the better built stuff can. But like i stated earlier as far as torque wrenches go the harbor freight ones are good enough they hold calibration for a long long time and work just fine. There is no reason a hobbyist needs to spend $450 on a torque wrench that he will use 5 times a year.

 

Thank God HF is about 35 mins away from us, otherwise my husband would be there every day! He loves that store! Like a kid in a candy shop, I swear! Almost as bad as Lowes! Smh....

 

I used to like Craftsman, but have been disappointed with them for a few years.

I have mostly Craftsman tools from 40 years ago and they have been good. I have a fine tooth 3/8 ratchet that I liked. Recently the ratchet mechanism failed and I went back to get a replacement. They do not make it any more and they gave me a current one. It is junk. The ratchet mechanism has coarser steps and the reverse takes more effort than my old one. The chrome on the handle started flaking and stabs my fingers when I use it.

I bought two floor jacks. They came in the same box, but they were two slightly different jacks. There are little differences like the handle and grip, but the big difference is that one of them will work my kwik-lift and the other will not go quite as high and won't work. It seems they are sourcing their products from different and probably the cheapest supplier.

I do not know where there are good tools at reasonable prices. I tried some of the Farm and Fleet Duracraft tools and so far I like them. They are better than the Craftsman, less expensive, and also have a lifetime guarantee.

I am open to trying different brands, but I would like to settle on one source.

 

I've recently taken to going to the Zone (AutoZone) for some tools. I had (still do in a junk drawer) Craftsman 3/8 drive flex head ratchet. The direction selector is made of plastic/polymer and would always break. Saw one in the Zone, price was right. It's a copy (exact it would seem) of the older/previous Snap-On ratchets which I like. It has a 'lifetime warranty'. It is made in Taiwan and the quality is good. Works just like my fixed head Snap-On. YMMV but works for me.

 

if you want to check the accuracy of your torque wrenches, set the 1/2 inch TQ wrench at 100lb, suspend a 50lb weight 12 inches from the mid point of the socket. Slowly roll back the setting until it clicks. That will be your 50lb mark. With a 3/8" use 25 lb and with a 1/4" use 10 lbs. These are generally where you will use that TQ wrench the most and you should be fairly accurate at that point. The first of the year I like to recalibrate all my torque wrench's and every one changes slightly. I am amazed how close the beam type wrench's are consistent from year to year.

 

I used to run a calibration lab and I agree they are very stable.

They are a simple beam deflection type. The material properties make it stable. The pointer can be bent in a corkscrew and if the pointer still points to 0 at rest it is good to go.

The other types of torque wrenches will vary more than the beam types.

 

My Craftsman fell apart, the HF 1/2" has been excellent!

 

I read this somewhere and just wanna double check if it's correct. It said if you don't have a tq wrench you can do it by hand.....after tighten it snug with hand "gasket type 2/3 turn, taper type1/8 turn".

Is that right? is it the same for oil filter (gasket type)

taper ones means the bolts/plugs without a gasket, it looks kinda of like screw right?

Is it ok to add another 1/8 turn for both to be extra sure that it's tightened?

 

No that's not right..... you get as tight as you can get it with a wrench and then turn another 1/2 turn

 

I use the German Scale of Tightening...
Gudentite

 

I have some HF stuff here at home and have had pretty decent luck with them so far. I have 2 of their torque wrenches and use them mostly for my wheels. I've used them for other things and have been satisfied also. However, I work on aircraft for a living and at work I have mostly snap-on, some craftsman and also some HF stuff. The HF tools are only a few I needed to make custom wrenches out of and rarely use them. I've tried some things from HF just to try and they just wind up breaking the 1st time I use them. So it's the more expensive stuff for me at work. Not sure you all would be happy knowing that I use HF stuff when you're 40K feet in the air....😀😁😃

 

 

I bought the kids HF socket sets and wrenches when they were young because I wasnt sure if they would like working on cars or if they would be the type of people who lose tools or not.....(My tool chest is about 90% full of high quality American made tools)

We used the kids HF tools when we worked on the cars because they wanted to use their own tools.....I have complete respect for HF sockets and wrenches. the ratchets are not as tight as some American ones but still acceptable. and their impact sockets are unbreakable.

when you handle the tools you will know which ones are worth buying.....I also buy my 4.5" grinders from them and consider them disposable and I beat the crap out of them and then toss them...even at that they hold up well .

 

Harbor Freight coupon has them for $9.99 each, I had to buy a few, one 3/4 the other 1/4 for inch lbs. Cant go wrong, I do have my Proto 1/2 inch as my main when I can swing it in areas.

 

I also have all three HF torque wrenches and have had no problems. Great prices also.

 

Just because something is expensive doesn't necessarily mean that it is high quality. Genuine GM parts for example. Some less expensive aftermarket parts equal or surpass GM quality. Plus some have a lifetime warranty as opposed to factory guarantee.