[Richy T.]

My wife is going to get me some new tools for Christmas and I was wondering which brand do you think is the best for the money? We went to Sears and I am looking at all the Craftsman brand and I think that they are a pretty good deal all in all. My wife doesn't want to buy more though 4 years down the road and she is saying to go with Snap-on. What do you think?

Just a side note, my wife doesn't work so I am buying my own tools for myself in essence and don't really want to spend the massive amounts of cash for the Snap-on's?

Any ideas? Is Craftsman worth it? How does that forever warranty work?

Also, I want to get a torque wrench but they have 3 different ones to choose from and I have no idea what I am looking for re: one of these.

5-100 ft-lbs
10-150 ft-lbs
25-250 ft-lbs

What would I need and what is the difference?

 

[[email protected]]

Craftsman ratchets are shit. When you go to get warranty work done to them, they give you the new parts to fix the ratchet and you have to assemble it. I use Craftsman ratchets as door stops.

I get my ratchets and stuff from Grainger www.grainger.com

Their Westward stuff is really nice and also comes with a good warranty. I haven't had to use the warranty yet and I've had their stuff for a year now. When you use the stuff daily, it's good to not have to get warranty work done to your tools unless you have plenty of spares . That's the brand I highly recommend for the budget type that need/want a decent tool.

Damn, gotta be editting while I reply.

I would get the 10-150 ft-lb torque wrench.

 

[xtremewlr]

Snap-On is great, if you want to spend the money on them. Craftsman is just as good IMO and that is what is in my garage. The lifetime warranty is only on their hand tools. You break a ratchet or a wrench, take it back and they will replace it for free. Craftsman is limited tho on the specialty tools. I would get the Craftsman for the basic hand tools and if there are specialty tools you want/need, go to Snap-On for those. As for the Torque Wrench, Get the 25-250. There wont be many instances were you will be torquing something at or under 25 ft-lbs or less but you might need to be able to go higher than 150 every now and then.

 

[Dan's VR-4]

Snap-On is great, if you want to spend the money on them. Craftsman is just as good IMO and that is what is in my garage. The lifetime warranty is only on their hand tools. You break a ratchet or a wrench, take it back and they will replace it for free. Craftsman is limited tho on the specialty tools. I would get the Craftsman for the basic hand tools and if there are specialty tools you want/need, go to Snap-On for those. As for the Torque Wrench, Get the 25-250. There wont be many instances were you will be torquing something at or under 25 ft-lbs or less but you might need to be able to go higher than 150 every now and then.

:stupid: except on the torque wrench, go with the 10-150. Most of the time when you're working on our cars that's the range you'll be in. You'd be amazed at the number of bolts that are supposed to be less than 25 ft lbs.

 

[Andrew Caple]

I have one TW that measures 0 through 240 inch-pounds (20 foot-pounds), and another that measures 15 through 250 footy-pounds. And there *have* been times when I've needed as low as 8 ft-lbs and as high as 190 foot-pounds.

 

[xtremewlr]

Well, if it is less than 25 ft-lbs, im not breaking out the torque wrench for it

 

[Brian GT PRO]

My opinion (and what I have/use) Matco. Matco has a good warranty, the tool quality is great and the tools "feel right" when using them. I threw out all my Craftsman stuff years ago, when I started replacing all my Craftsman stuff with real pro's tools. Snap-On is great, but overpriced, they have some neat stuff you can't get elsewhere, but for the average guy, price/performance Matco is the only way to go in my opinion.

 

[VR-4_Owner]

My opinion (and what I have/use) Matco. Matco has a good warranty, the tool quality is great and the tools "feel right" when using them. I threw out all my Craftsman stuff years ago, when I started replacing all my Craftsman stuff with real pro's tools. Snap-On is great, but overpriced, they have some neat stuff you can't get elsewhere, but for the average guy, price/performance Matco is the only way to go in my opinion.

We agree...
I have lots of craftsman, lots of snap-on, and lots of matco, and I like the matco the best... Especially if you've ever had the chance to try out thier screw drivers with the triangular grip, god I love those things. They do seem to like thier tools an awfull lot tho, I paid out the nose for most of them.

Don't go with a Craftsman Torque Wrench, or air tools if you ever get there.... I went through 2 PAIRS of craftsman air ratchets in a day... Broke 2, took them in got new ones, came home and broke them again. I now have the top of the line Snap-on 1/4" and 3/8" air ratchets and they've never even hinted at a problem... Ingersol Rand also makes great air tools. Mac and Matco both have exellent torque wrenches, they have my total support. I can't stand snap-on's design.

Another MUST HAVE, GREAT INVESTMENT, would be a set of gear wrenches. I managed to find a set with matco that goes from 8mm to 24mm... They've made life SOOOO much easier. I wouldn't own a car without a set. Stear clear of the matco or snap on brand gear wrenches. I'm pretty sure they're all made in the same plant, but the brand name versions sell for 3X as much... My set of gear wrenches wound up costing me 120 if I remember right...
Good luck with your purchase.