Sears has some good deals on tool sets

[LateFan]

Where are you finding deals on snap-on tools?

Not deals, but I think in a smaller place, if you're actually buying, he might drop by in his truck. Our guy would. I've mostly intercepted him when he was in the neighborhood at a shop, dropping off orders.

But no, you can't stroll through that truck and come out without a cashectomy.


What I find I need to add lately is a 1/4", thin-walled metric set to get into impossible places. Like others, I wish they'd sell these on-sale sets in just metric. I have English stuff from high school from Montgomery Wards - peeling chrome you can taste!

[stinkytaco]

i get you. i have been slowly replacing my craftsman metric tools with snap on as i find good deals on them. however, they are still good tools depending on one's budget-especially at half price-ish.

This is what I was looking at when I asked. Other than cruising pawn shops -- which after a while would just make me feel dirty -- I don't think I've ever seen a snap-on in the wild, much less on sale. I don't get out much, however, so if there's a source, I sure as hell would like to know about it.

Not deals, but I think in a smaller place, if you're actually buying, he might drop by in his truck. Our guy would. I've mostly intercepted him when he was in the neighborhood at a shop, dropping off orders.

But no, you can't stroll through that truck and come out without a cashectomy.

I don't think he's stopping by my house. Though I see the truck parked up across the street from my grocery store, so he doesn't live too far from me. I should take my kid bicycling past there and chat him up sometime when he's mowing his lawn.

In the meantime, Craftsman it will be for me.

[flyboyx]

Where are you finding deals on snap-on tools?

yes pawn shops can be on the sleazy side, but i have been perusing them since i was a youngin. craigslist is also a decent place to look. i have personally had better luck with the shops though. often they have items priced way too high but i have the ability to just walk away if i'm not willing to pay the amount they ask.

i bought this set for a hundred bucks in basically new condition. retail is 550.00. the 3/8" ratchet was 35 bucks. the ratchet looks kind of ugly but works great. i took it all apart, cleaned the dirt out of the mechanism, and regressed it.



i picked up an 8 or 9 piece set of snap on screw drivers for 60 dollars this past week. it included a second ratcheting driver like the one in the picture above.

i am kind of a cheap bastard so i refuse to pay more than about a third of the original price. honestly, i don't turn wrenches for a living, so it doesn't make sense to pay any more than that. the good news is that these tools will be with me for the rest of my life. my son will inherit them after I'm gone.

once i get my hands on the 3/8" set and the metric combination wrenches, i feel i will be pretty well good to go.

[Exodus_2pt0]

I gave up on Cman for the chi-com manufacturing of most of the current line up. Not with the pricing anymore, might as well just get H/F stuff (though the pro line still looks to be ok)

I have been buying mostly Wright for tools the last 18 months.

This.

I can say with 100% certainty that they are NOT the same quality.

Broke an old USA 1/2" ratchet at work that was a few years old. (Consistently using a 2foot cheater pipe on it to torque brake units onto coach car trucks.)

Traded it in for a new Chinese ratchet, and broke it the same day.

Trade it in again, and had the same thing happen within a week.

It's now in my junk drawer, and will end up in a scrap yard.


I've said this before, but here's my Linup for future tools.

Wrenches and ratchets - Snap-On
Air tools - Ingersoll Rand
Cordless - Milwaukee
Everything else - Whatever is cheap.

As for specialty tools like ball joint presses, ect. I go with OTC. At least I did, I can't say that I would spend $700 again on a ball joint setup now that I no longer put food on the table with it, but at least now I know I'll never have to buy another one.

[M-technik-3]

Bought a set last year, gave em to wife so she would stay out of my roll chest. She has a box down in basement and a small roll chest in garage. They are disposable now, shame but don't see Sears/Craftsman line surviving more than 5 more years. They are bleeding money.

Failure to keep up with way people shop. Too much overhead and too many employees and stores.

[dsphil]

So I bought the all metric 172 pieces and the quality is not the same as the ones in stores. The 1/4 ratchet DOA and the edges is sharp enough to cut you. cost $120 shipped with some coupon shit. HF have better qualities.

[stonea]

So I bought the all metric 172 pieces and the quality is not the same as the ones in stores. The 1/4 ratchet DOA and the edges is sharp enough to cut you. cost $120 shipped with some coupon shit. HF have better qualities.

Good thing I did buy it then, but thats a shame I'm in need for some new tools bad.

[Das Delfin]

Craftsman has an old fashioned way of doing business. The way their company is set up is very similar to Radioshack. And we all know what happened to RS...

Anyway I go to HF now over Craftsman. Same quality if not better for half the price

[flyboyx]

Craftsman has an old fashioned way of doing business. The way their company is set up is very similar to Radioshack. And we all know what happened to RS...

Anyway I go to HF now over Craftsman. Same quality if not better for half the price

really? i've never bought chrome from hf, but i always they made cheap chinese crap?

i don't really understand why everyone is dogging on craftsman. no, they are not snap on, matco, mac, williams, or any other fill in the blank professional manufacturer.

i have been using my set or a derivative of it since my father first bought it for me when i was 12. i break a socket every now and then(perhaps 2 or 3 a year), but i just return it and there are never any questions asked. even though they aren't made in the usa anymore, they are still great tools for the price with a great warranty. i have compared pittsburgh tools to craftsman. i can't speak as to the metallurgy, but there is no comparison of the finish quality which is very good for the tools that come from sears. the department store will probably go out of business in the distant future. however, someone (ace hardware maybe) will always carry the tool line because i am pretty sure it is profitable.

i am switching out my metrics because i am at a point in my life that i can afford to not because i need to.

in other news, i picked up a set of 13 snap on combination wrenches (10-22mm) for 90 bucks today. (yes, another pawn shop find)

[mrsleeve]

^
the older stuff form 5 years ago and back is actually quite good as far a sockets and drive tools (standard teardrop ratchets were hit and miss starting about a decade ago), screw drivers and wrenches in the "standard" type were not that bad, but you dont want to put them on rusty or "iffy" fasteners. The pro line was very decent for the price and better on rusty old fasteners.

Now H/F is as good or better on a lot of things especially because your not expecting to get that same quality you USED to get from the craftsman brand. My old cman stuff is great, I just am not trading it in for new if I break it or it come up missing because the quality is not there anymore for the price. Like you I swapping a lot my box over as I can with wright or truck brands even have some proto in the collection in tool bags for my vehicles.

[THMotorsports]

Old Craftsman tools (when they were made in the US of A) are actually quite good and have quality Craftsmanship. I have used my current set on every repair for about the last 10 years, have always gotten good results and they are still going strong. I think people rag on Craftsman now because of their quality during the last few years, and rightfully so. But the old stuff was pretty gnarly. Sure, it's now snap-on or mac, but for the price, you can't beat it.