A tool challenge for you folks.

I know myself and many others have asked about tools, good deals, etc. in the past, but I have a slightly tweaked version now.

Backstory: I've got one of those 250pc Craftsman socket/wrench/combo plastic box things, the box is broken down, latches missing, etc. I've inherited some of my dads tools including a worn out metal box, rolling table that's about to break etc. Random tools all over the place and I'm berkeleying tired of it.

What I would like to do is get together a collection of tools, I really just need enough to take care of basic maintenance on a track car. The Craftsman box has done well here, but the case is hammered.

I've got a torque wrench, some pry bars, jacks, jack stands

So here is the challenge I have for you:

Here is $500. Put together a good selection of tools and an easy way to take them from the garage, to the truck so I can take them with me to the track. Sockets, nut drivers, screwdrivers, etc. Mobility is the key here. I want one set of tools to cut down on all the clutter.

I'll probably take all the existing stuff except for a few specialty sockets and donate it all.

It's hard to get a better start than a Craftsman set.

Sounds like you've got the wrong box.

I have this one, and love it:

No latches to break, super strong, and portable.

That should take about 1/2 your budget. I'd get a zippered tool bag and put all the specialty tools in it. I'd spend most of the rest of the budget on a cordless impact wrench, but I'll leave the details to others.

You realize that Craftsman tools have a lifetime warranty, right? If any of their hand tools are worn or broken, they will replace for free. So, check before you toss all those old Craftsman tools.

Tools you have plus one of these:

and fill in as required.

just look around at Sears and whatever other stores you go to that has tools and boxes and figure out what works best for you. no one on here can tell you what's going to work best for you or what you want to do.

my theory is to buy tools as you need them, and tool boxes as you need them- eventually you have a setup that works for what you do with it..

^As mentioned, the typical Craftsman box will work, but the plastic one hasn't shown to be durable. Granted at this point it's 7 years old.....but I was asking because if anyone can point me in the right direction it's the people here.

oldopelguy, do you have a link for that box?

A smaller Craftsman metal box that organized the tools would be great, plus a few bags of screwdrivers, ratcheting wrenches, etc would be perfect I think.

One of my local retailers sells those boxes, google up Montezuma tool box to see if you have a local retailer or find somewhere you trust to order one from online. I stop and play with them every time I go in the store but a bit more than I'm comfortable spending yet.

I find these magnetic socket carriers to be very helpful.

Woody wrote: I find these magnetic socket carriers to be very helpful.

That's good to know. I'm still using the old style metal socket carriers that I bought a dozen years ago. I saw that magnetic carrier a couple weeks ago and it looked useful. I'll have to grab one next time I see one.

For portability, I choose a plastic toolbox, or a canvas bag.

Tools are heavy, and a reasonably full complement makes it pretty un-yieldy in a metal box.

Sure, the plastic won't last forever. Still easier to tote. (Metal won't last forever either, and the better built they are, the longer they will last, but the heavier they are, and therefore the less portable).

I don't like canvas bags for most mechanics tools. They don't keep them sorted well enough.

Keep the tools you have! I use one similar to this one:

I think I picked it up at Sears since all my tools are from there.

I just use a simple metal box for runs to the wreckers. But I love keeping the wrenches clipped like this - it keeps them organized and together:

Keep the tools you have ditch the crappy craftsman boxes and cross them off you list. New craftsman stuff is all china made low grade stuff at the same price as the good stuff was. Watch CL for machinists top boxes and see how you like those check out a couple. Carts with wheels are handy too if you have a ton of tools to carry around.

Personally I have a inexpensive (but tough) plastic stanley box that has the bare minimum of car repair stuff if I have to work out of the garage. And in the garage an older US made roll around box with the whole nine yards in it.

This has come up on Woot a couple of times in the past few months. Even if the toolbox doesn't work for you, you MUST watch the video!

http://tools.woot.com/offers/rollbox-collapsible-tool-box

Basil Exposition wrote: Even if the toolbox doesn't work for you, you MUST watch the video! http://tools.woot.com/offers/rollbox-collapsible-tool-box

Lol

SkinnyG wrote: I just use a simple metal box for runs to the wreckers. But I love keeping the wrenches clipped like this - it keeps them organized and together:

Where did you pick those up? I've never seen those before

In reply to Cuda:

Called a lock pin or industrial safety pin. Right with all the other pins and clips in the hardware isle.

You need a backpack, exactly the tools you need for your car, and some tool rolls.

Or in lieu of rolls, box modules. I like Gearwrench for this sort of thing, like i texted you last night.

Grab a North Face Hot Shot or something, start putting tools in it.

Alright, this is just what i would do. Pretty much everything here i own or have used.

Wrenches: http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/7068/s/napa-7pc-full-polish-extra-long-pattern-combination-wrench-set-1/ (You'll need to find a 17mm for the Miata) Stuff in a wrench roll.

Double X extended pliers, they're awesome. You should have them. http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/5691/s/napa-p900-2pc-double-x-45-degree-pliers/

56 piece 1/4" socket set: http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/6826/s/napa-56-pc-1-4-socket-set-deep-shallow-90927-ro/ (easily small enough to fit in the backpack.)

Mini Pliers. You need these: http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/8037/s/gearwrench-82100-5-piece-mini-plier-set/

Long nosed pliers 6': http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/5730/s/gearwrench-6-long-nose-pliers-82085/

Slip joint pliers 6": http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/6293/s/gearwrench-82079-6-slip-joint-pliers/

Slip joint pliers 8": http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/5841/s/gearwrench-8-slip-joint-pliers-82080/

Long nosed pliers 8": http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/5607/s/gearwrench-8-long-nose-pliers-82086/

6" diagonal pliers: http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/6067/s/gearwrench-6-diagonal-pliers-82008/

8" linesman pliers: http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/6294/s/gearwrench-82089-8-linesman-pliers/

9" linesman pliers: http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/8764/s/gearwrench-82090-9-linesman-pliers-ro/

12" groove joint pliers: http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/5685/s/gearwrench-12-groove-joint-pliers-82094/

Vice Grips: http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/5648/s/gearwrench-82040-5-curved-jaw-locking-pliers/

Long nose vice grips: http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/8720/s/gearwrench-82043-6-long-nose-locking-pliers-ro/

Screwdrivers: http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/5550/s/gearwrench-10pc-slotted-phillips-screwdriver-set-82731/

3/8" socket/ratchet kit: http://www.tooltopia.com/gearwrench-80559.aspx

1/2" socket/ratchet kit: http://www.tooltopia.com/gearwrench-80709.aspx

Adjustable wrench: http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/6613/s/irwin-vise-grip-2078611-12-quick-adjustable-wrench/

Test light: http://www.cripedistributing.com/catalog/product/view/id/6260/s/kd-tools-24v-circuit-tester-3984/

I'm not done yet, just need to take a break lol.

Really just need a hammer, maybe a punch set, torque wrench or two, and a breaker bar.

You could slim down what you put in your backpack by getting socket rails and then just rolls from there, but if you're really just lugging the backpack out of the trunk to the track or garage, i'd just pack the E36 M3 out of it. All the blow mold ratchet/socket sets will fit in any decent sized backpack, and the rest can go in rolls. Maybe 30lbs total for the whole shebang.

Swank Force One wrote: You need a backpack, exactly the tools you need for your car, and some tool rolls.

Great post Swanky!

You don't need all the pliers... just do the ones you think you'll use. I think everything there is under $300.

Cuda wrote:

SkinnyG wrote: I just use a simple metal box for runs to the wreckers. But I love keeping the wrenches clipped like this - it keeps them organized and together:

Where did you pick those up? I've never seen those before

HF has something like that wrench rings 1.79

jere wrote:

Cuda wrote:

SkinnyG wrote: I just use a simple metal box for runs to the wreckers. But I love keeping the wrenches clipped like this - it keeps them organized and together:

Where did you pick those up? I've never seen those before

HF has something like that wrench rings 1.79

I hate the safety pin ones. Invariably you have to take all the wrenches off to get the one you need. Maybe the rings work better for that.

In reply to Basil Exposition:

They are a little better you have to rotate them around, small wrenches don' t always like to cooperate however. Still good for non primary wrenches.

I use them for the "s" handled ones or the extra longs or of course least used of all the imperial set I find they come in handy for other stuff too like hanging calipers from coil spring to keep the caliper out of the way. For 2 bucks there isn't much to loose.

BAMF wrote:

Woody wrote: I find these magnetic socket carriers to be very helpful.

That's good to know. I'm still using the old style metal socket carriers that I bought a dozen years ago. I saw that magnetic carrier a couple weeks ago and it looked useful. I'll have to grab one next time I see one.

My big problem with those is they take up a lot of room in the box. I've tried a few different socket holders (anyone want to buy some 1/4" dr Hansen trays?) and I keep going back to cheap clip rails from H-F since they take up minimal drawer space and they're cheap enough you don't care about cutting them down for small sets.

I don't know if there's any perfect formula for developing your tool set. I've just bought what I needed when I needed it and/or see some interesting tool that could make a task I've done in the past easier. I have tools I bought on a whim and then put in the box for years... until that one day when that tool turned a 30 min task into a 3 min one.

It's also easier to develop a compact set if you work mainly on a limited number of cars. But when you start working on a wide variety of different kinds of cars, you begin to understand my pro wrenches have some $50K worth of tools in huge boxes.

Ian F wrote:

BAMF wrote:

Woody wrote: I find these magnetic socket carriers to be very helpful.

That's good to know. I'm still using the old style metal socket carriers that I bought a dozen years ago. I saw that magnetic carrier a couple weeks ago and it looked useful. I'll have to grab one next time I see one.

My big problem with those is they take up a lot of room in the box. I've tried a few different socket holders (anyone want to buy some 1/4" dr Hansen trays?) and I keep going back to cheap clip rails from H-F since they take up minimal drawer space and they're cheap enough you don't care about cutting them down for small sets. I don't know if there's any perfect formula for developing your tool set. I've just bought what I needed when I needed it and/or see some interesting tool that could make a task I've done in the past easier. I have tools I bought on a whim and then put in the box for years... until that one day when that tool turned a 30 min task into a 3 min one. It's also easier to develop a compact set if you work mainly on a limited number of cars. But when you start working on a wide variety of different kinds of cars, you begin to understand my pro wrenches have some $50K worth of tools in huge boxes.

I use one of these in my "small" box that goes to the track with me. Granted, they do take up a lot of drawer room, but they also lay the sockets down so it fits in a shallow drawer. The "big" box has deeper drawers that allows me to use organizers that stand them up.