I've been contemplating this topic with myself for a while now, especially after getting some newer GearWrench ratcheting wrenches with twisted handles. I love these things, I don't know how I went so long without them. With the twisted handles, when I put pressure on them, I'm putting pressure on a wider flatter area so they don't dig into my hand like my old Craftsman wrenches, they really make wrenching a more pleasurable experience. Then you add in the ratcheting feature, and never having to pull the wrench off and back on, it's a time saver times 10.
Now my basic tool set is pretty much what I started out with 20 years ago. It was a Craftsman mechanics tool set from Sears I got on clearance after Christmas. It's been through a lot, and been very reliable, I've only broken one 1/2" and one 3/8" ratchet, both replaced free of charge. But like the wrenches in the set, the ratchets are just plain uncomfortable when putting a lot of power to them and are the bare bones 36T. I've bruised my palms many times on stubborn fasteners. I've added to my overall tool collection as the years have passed, but I'm still using those ratchets.
So my question to you lot is this. Knowing what you know now, what would be your ideal starter hand tool set if you had to start from scratch? Doesn't have to be the most expensive, or the cheapest, more what you consider a "can't live without tool" nowadays. What makes your wrenching sessions that much more pleasurable, or easier?
I have to say, I'm becoming a bit disillusioned with those Gear Wrenches. I've had a few sets, started buying them about 10 years ago, and eventually they wear out and quit working- like, the ratcheting thing doesn't grab anymore and it just free-spins. Then it becomes a very clumsy open-end wrench.
Unless there's a better brand out there. I have to imagine Snap-On makes a similar tool.
I got my first craftsman set 26 years ago- on my 15th birthday. It was awesome. Since Sears sold off Craftsman, though, I won't buy them anymore. In my book they're probably on par with the cheap stuff you get at Harbor Freight, the big box hardware stores, or auto parts stores.
I really just need to spend coin and replace the stuff when it breaks with good, brand-name stuff. It's just that there doesn't seem to be anything in between the $10 offshore junk ratchet and the $100 "Made in Murica and We're Going to Charge You For It" one. Craftsman used to fill that niche.
Good ratchets. I still have my coarse, rough Craftsman pieces from three decades ago, but they've been supplanted by Facom and recently Wera. Nicer mechanisms, nicer handles, just better all-around. Even the fine-tooth stuff from HD seems pretty decent, though I have no idea how durable it is.
volvoclearinghouse said:
I really just need to spend coin and replace the stuff when it breaks with good, brand-name stuff. It's just that there doesn't seem to be anything in between the $10 offshore junk ratchet and the $100 "Made in Murica and We're Going to Charge You For It" one. Craftsman used to fill that niche.
I agree here. I'm starting to think that Kobalt might be it? That or Husky. I've been happy with any tools of theirs that I bought over the years. They definitely don't feel like the $10 junk. They're still offshore but as we all know that can range from "temporarily not a hammer" to "lifetime tool as good or better than snap-on." I think they're somewhere inbetween.
A flex-head ratchet was something I only picked up a few years ago, but there have been multiple times it’s proven indisposable.
Not a hand tool, but I’m so glad I splurged the ~$270 for the HF battery impact. That thing has saved me so much time & effort. I’ve had an air impact for years, but rarely ever used it. Between the noise, waiting on my compressor, dealing with the hose in the way & trying to coil it back up, and the fact I could get more torques from my breaker bar, the impact stayed in my toolbox almost all the time. Now I’ll use the HF one in place of a ratchet sometimes.
I would have skipped craftsman and gone straight to harbor freight for my socket sets. Better feel, much better case, lower price, and they just work.
I also would have been smart and bought my 3lb hammers in a 6 pack, because somehow I lose the things within a month of purchase.
I've built off a Channellock branded toolset for the last 18 years.
The advice I always give new A&P's is to get specialized stuff or things that make your life easier off the tool truck. Everything else go to Harbor Freight, Sears, Lowes or Home Depot. The reason is you'll inevitably break a tool the hour after the truck leaves, wait a week for them to show back up to tell you they don't have one on the truck, wait a week, then get your replacement. Meanwhile you've gone out and bought a duplicate of the tool from one of them anyway.
The one thing I would change would have been to start out with longer allen keys. God those short ones in the kits suck.
Also get some six point wrenches. I know 12 point is cheaper to manufacture and easier to position, but when something is really crusty, stuck, or holding the heat shield on your turbo nothing else will do without stripping the head.
Also buy an 8 dollar container of Boelube. Your drill bits will thank you.
Pete Gossett said:
Not a hand tool, but I’m so glad I splurged the ~$270 for the HF battery impact. That thing has saved me so much time & effort. I’ve had an air impact for years, but rarely ever used it. Between the noise, waiting on my compressor, dealing with the hose in the way & trying to coil it back up, and the fact I could get more torques from my breaker bar, the impact stayed in my toolbox almost all the time. Now I’ll use the HF one in place of a ratchet sometimes.
Seriously. I just used mine swapping out the suspension arms on my 128i. It made the job at least an order of magnitude faster and easier. It's great.
Two things immediately come to mind: make sure you have a 6-pt socket set. Crucial for corroded fasteners where a 12-pt might slip or round off.
I got a battery powered impact driver a few years ago and wish I would have had one long ago. I got a Milwaukee 18V as I have other mating tools, but I've also used a HF driver and it was good, too. I held off, thinking air was the way to go, but even though the tool is bigger/heavier the battery-op driver is just awesome for some jobs.
Like most here, I started off with one of those big 200-plus piece Craftsman sets back in the mid-90s, supplemented by some stuff I inherited from my dad, a few Husky and Kobalt items, and a whole lot of HF, especially in the last 5 years or so since I bailed on Craftsman and a HF store opened near me. For weird or specialty stuff, I tend to go with Amazon, which is mostly overseas in origin, but I've had pretty good luck following their customer ratings.
If I was starting over, I'd probably get a big mechanics set from HF on sale on Black Friday or something and build from there.
socket drivers for electric drill
life-changing E36 M3 for $5 at HF
02Pilot said:
Pete Gossett said:
Not a hand tool, but I’m so glad I splurged the ~$270 for the HF battery impact. That thing has saved me so much time & effort. I’ve had an air impact for years, but rarely ever used it. Between the noise, waiting on my compressor, dealing with the hose in the way & trying to coil it back up, and the fact I could get more torques from my breaker bar, the impact stayed in my toolbox almost all the time. Now I’ll use the HF one in place of a ratchet sometimes.
Seriously. I just used mine swapping out the suspension arms on my 128i. It made the job at least an order of magnitude faster and easier. It's great.
linky to specific models? my current one is about 15 years old and the battery pack is outdated. might as well step to a new one.
SVreX
MegaDork
6/21/18 9:36 a.m.
I can’t live without my swivel head GearWrenches. If they broke, I’d buy more.
But I’ve never broken one, and I hit mine with hammers to loosen stuck nuts.
YMMV
RevRico said:
AngryCorvair said:
02Pilot said:
Pete Gossett said:
Not a hand tool, but I’m so glad I splurged the ~$270 for the HF battery impact. That thing has saved me so much time & effort. I’ve had an air impact for years, but rarely ever used it. Between the noise, waiting on my compressor, dealing with the hose in the way & trying to coil it back up, and the fact I could get more torques from my breaker bar, the impact stayed in my toolbox almost all the time. Now I’ll use the HF one in place of a ratchet sometimes.
Seriously. I just used mine swapping out the suspension arms on my 128i. It made the job at least an order of magnitude faster and easier. It's great.
linky to specific models? my current one is about 15 years old and the battery pack is outdated. might as well step to a new one.
This is the big one
Yup, that’s it. The battery life has been awesome too. I’ve had it on the charger 3-times total(including the initial charge), but I’ve not actually noticed it getting weak either of the other 2 times. I’d just been using it quite a bit & knew I’d be needing it again soon, so I wanted to make sure it was charged up in advance.
In reply to Wiscocrashtest :
I, too, am in the Milwaukee 18V ecosystem and my brother got my one of the Fuel Impact things for Christmas this year. I have yet to meet a bolt it cannot undo. I haven't touched my air impact since I got it.
I will say, though, the Milwaukee deep impact socket set that came with it is overpriced E36 M3. It didn't even include a 13/16" socket. WTF? And the box is huge for only having like 7 actual sockets. Waste of space.
Also- the impact came with an 18V LED work light. That is the best dang worklight ever. It will sit flat on the ground, or hang off of either of 2 hooks. The head pivots too. And its bright as anything. I use it nearly daily.
volvoclearinghouse said:
Since Sears sold off Craftsman, though, I won't buy them anymore. In my book they're probably on par with the cheap stuff you get at Harbor Freight, the big box hardware stores, or auto parts stores.
I'm actually hopeful that this will turn out to be a good thing...the quality of a lot of Craftsman tools had already gone downhill in recent years, but what I've heard is now that they were sold off that is supposed to change for the better.
+1,000,000 on a cordless impact wrench. I can swap the wheels on the Fiesta in 5 minutes with this thing, and it has come in very handy under the Jeep, changing brakes on the Rondo, installing sway bars...a million uses. Now I need one of these:
12 point sockets are for 12 point bolts/nuts. 6 point sockets are for 6 point bolts/nuts. 8 point sockets are for 4 point nuts.
I'm done with Sears.
A good quality 3/8" drive ratchet is a must, small arc or micro drive, or whatever the brand you are looking at is calling it. I looked at some at Lowe's the other day and they looked pretty nice. My #1 and #2 are different era Craftsman. Actually, the newer one replaced and older one, but the older style wasn't available anymore and the Sears clerk tried to give me a total POS in it's place. I insisted on the top of the line one, because that's what the old one was back 40 years ago.
HF has different tier products, and their top tier stuff is pretty good.
A set of quality combination wrenches is also a must, and a set of gear wrenches is top of the "I really would like to have" list. They are tremendous time savers, but don't fit everywhere. Wobble extensions are also a must, and the HF ones work well for me. In 30 years of abusing them, I have broken 2. Well, I broke one and a helper broke one. I didn't even bother warrantying the second one. I just bought a whole new HF set for little or nothing.
I'd buy all the extensions. I spent decades working with the two that came in my high school craftsman kit. It's only recently that I've bought some really long ones and more intermediate sizes and a decent set of wobble extensions and a set of universals. Changed my damn life.
My first tool set was a basic $40 Duralast tool set back in '08 (I'm young) when I got my first car and needed something to keep in the trunk of it.
I still have it and it's been in the trunk of every car I've owned since then.
I recently bought that $200 Kobalt 227 box of tools for $99 on Father's Day that'll take over the main work I do in the garage now and honestly, that's all most need when it comes to first tools.
That, and an impact wrench. I still don't have.
In reply to FuzzWuzzy :
After Craftsman became chinese junk, I started buying Duralast and yet to have an issue with the tools other than losing some sockets. Autozone also has a lifetime warranty, too.
In reply to chada75 :
I've had a couple of the Duralast ratchets break on me recently- the little mechanism on them to switch directions seems fragile. Granted, these were both 1/4" drive ratchets, so already no the sturdiest of tools.
My dad had dozens of ratchets and sockets ranging from dollar store garbage to Snap On and constantly over the 30 years we wrenched together the ratchet he reached for first, every time, was an old Duro brand Indestro one he inherited from my mom's father. After he passed and that ratchet came to me I bought three more just like it on Ebay.
The basic craftsman set is a good start, as long as you got the one full of 6 point sockets. It's still the starter set I gift out to budding mechanics. I supplement with a set of SK or KT extensions, whichever one it is that has the knurled bit so you can turn them easier, a used Duro/Indestro 3/8 ratchet in honor of my dad, a set of Allen bit sockets and a screwdriver set. Beyond that additions are based on what the person is into.
