Deezle98

My dad is a bus mechanic and one of the guys there bought JUST a top box (snap-on) with no tools and it was $2800!! My dad used his 7/16th socket and lost it and it was $9.50 just to replace one socket! Snap-on does make good stuff but that still doesnt justify the huge prices.
The craftsman tools you have now will work just fine for you.

JKM

I'll aruge that , i started off with all craftsman , they will get the job done yes , but quality and workmanship is no where close to even being in the same league as snap on or mac , that's why i am slowly switching all my stuff out for snap on and mac

And yes , i use my tools for a living.

jkeyes

Try this link

www.usedcartools.com

1sttruck

I bought a few Craftsman wrenches for starts, and when I bought my first set of tools I ended up with SnapOn sockets and Proto wrenches as the SnapOn wrenches were too expensive. I've pretty much filled in with Craftsman over the years. Working around machine tools I noticed that SnapOn seemed to hold up better than Craftsman, but don't notice any difference working on the vehicles or around the home.

A friend gave me a small can of impact bits that his dad picked up while working in the aircraft industry, and there was a BIG difference in toughness. The #2 Phillips bit lasted years, and I've never seen any as good.

ArkansasRam

ok i have read alot of good replies to this question, know for some first hand facts. my largest account is a co. called Danaher tool, quess what they make.
they manufacture in the same plant all of the following.
Craftsman
Matco
Easco
Allen
KD
NAPA
Armstrong
GSA (Gov.)
SK

all of these tools are made to the highest of quality, there board room is lined with every manufacture of tools in the world, and all rockwell test and qaulity
test are vertualy the same. that being said your choice of tools is just a personal preferance. and yes you should see my 4 tool boxes. i spend about 5 months out of a year in there plants and am constantly amazed at the money they spend to make thing just a little better.

ratsun

One thing I will say is if you do allot of wrenching you need a bunch of variety.
I have done jobs that the angle of a 7/8 Craftsman open end fits but the 7/8 Snap-on wont. However in my experience there are more times then not (mostly for sockets)that the only tool that will fit is a Snap-on. For instance the head bolts between the rockers on a Cummins 24V my 1/2 drive Craftsman were to thick and hit the rocker boss yet the Snap-on fit. I would say for sockets and ratchets they are worth every penny but for the rest, if its warrenteed for life good enough. JMHO

Isttruck
My first set of wrenches were Proto. I bought them in 1980 when I started my apprentiship and they are still my favorite (lost the 5/8 ) they are clones to my Snap-ons but they have a Parkerized or shot-peened finish so their not as slippery.

MrHappy

I do not own ONE single Craftsman tool.
I'm very thankfull for that.
My tools pay my bills, and I will NOT depend on Craftsman for that.

Oh, and to answer the ORIGINAL question: Ebay or Pawn Shops. Also, I sometimes see quality tools advertised in my local Buy and Sell.

EClancy

i have one of those grinders as well. Cost me 14.99 on sale, and i've had it for probably 5 years now. Its been left out in the rain, run over, dropped, hit with hammers, etc. We use it nearly everyday for heavy grinding, and especially for cutting metal with the cutting wheels. I swear its the toughest grinder i have ever used

I also have one of those cheapy benchtop drillpresses that i got for like $50. I used that to drill every hole i have needed in the last 4 years. I used it to run a 1.5" holesaw to cut holes for pins in a loader we built, each hole took about 30 minutes to drill, and it cut 12 of them in a day.

Only thing i ever had a problem with was their chop saw, which just gave up after about a year. Its no Milwakee

1sttruck

"My first set of wrenches were Proto. I bought them in 1980 when I started my apprentiship and they are still my favorite (lost the 5/8 ) they are clones to my Snap-ons but they have a Parkerized or shot-peened finish so their not as slippery."

I got mine in the mid 70s, and they're polished in the middle of the handle. I've been looking for one of the wrenches, an 11mm as I recall, as I let a friend use it with a cheater bar to get the heads off of his Harley. We got the heads off but the wrench was a little bent. At a tool show once I asked someone about being able to get a replacement, and one salesman commented that he remembered the line, that they came out of one factory, but they didn't make them anymore.

hovisimo

my tools pay my bills and get me home if i break down on the road. it was a $19.99 craftsman tool set that kept my truck from having to be towed when i killed it on the beach. and sometimes the deals are too good to pass up! i use my $9.99 multimeter almost daily. a lot of my craftsman stuff has paid for itself. not saying the more expensive brands aren't good, but impractial for me and most mechanics i work with. i pay cash for my tools, most of my coworkers have "shop credit" accounts that are maxed out and the tool men own them. i don't buy stuff i know i don't need and can't afford. i can't afford $500 for a set of wrenches. if you think about it, there is really no logical reason a set of wrenches needs to be anywhere near $500 and i can't help but think that one is stupid to pay that much. sears makes a nice profit on a $60 set of wrenches.

someone mentioned harbor freight, you have to be careful what you buy there. most of it is junk. their cheap prybars, impact sockets, chisels, razor blades, sandpaper etc. are OK... coworker bought a 3/4" impact from them, week later 2 11R22.5 trailer tires on steel wheels went sailing off the side of I95.

anyone recommend a good 3/4" impact? we destroy one about every 2 weeks. we've had a dozen CPs and 3 or 4 IRs. oiled daily, using a regulator and water separator, they still lock up, blow up, fall apart. can't seem to find one that's industrial duty

russ300h

I have used a IR composite housing 3/8 impact, IR 2112 I think for about five years and I do everything with it. It has cut down on the use of my 1/2" by a lot! IR makes a 3/4" same style. If it's anywhere near as good as the 3/8", you'll love it!

robert chilton

I use my hand tools almost as much as a mechanic. I used to be a mechanic by the way and I can say this. Buy craftsman for most things, Husky wrenches (home depot) are a copy of snap on wrenches, mac impact universal sockets, and definatly invest in a good 3/8" and 1/2" snap on ratchets. The snap on ratchets are smaller, last longer, and will save your knuckles. The price difference is worth it!

4x4dually

My father is a second generation body shop and wrecker man and all he uses is Snap On and Matco. Myself, I have a garage full of Craftsman and really like all their tools. However, I can't wait to inherit the 'good stuff'!

volly818

I have a combo of all, Matco,Snap-on,Mac,Craftsman, they all do the job but the difference for me is knowing that if I need it I dont have to go out of my way to get it. A tool truck will be there 3 times a week between all the dealers. That way when something breaks I don't have to run to the store again to get it replaced. Alot of the extra cost with Snap-on, etc. is the convenice of not have to go to a store and them comming to you.