Automotive Tools; Which Do You Prefer?

CJ from Granite Bay, CA · 01-09-02, 12:30

Everyone has their favorite wax, polish, cloths etc. in their garage for their cars/trucks. What about tools? Some people have a plethora of tools, albeit Sears Craftsman, Proto, Mac or S & K to name a few. What are your favorite tools?

Redcar GUY · 01-09-02, 05:55

I like Sears Craftsman hand tools! But I really like DeWalt power tools!!!!!!!!!

kirk · 01-09-02, 11:26

This has been one of my recent past times, figuring which kind to tools to stock my garge with. I'm mostly picking and choosing. I love the style and quality of facom and snap-ons but can't justify buying everything from them. ($$$)

So some of S&K, (socket sets mostly, thumbwheel ratchet) some craftsman(their roll around tool box and wrench sets i've had for 20 years).

I like to pick the coolest things from each line -like ratchet drivers from facom, adjustable wrenches from snapon ... and mix some less expensive things, such as sockets from homedepot.

Oh hey, I got some new "Gear wrenches" from KD tools ... ever see those? i think they are slick.

Brad B. · 01-09-02, 12:44

I have mostly Craftsman hand tools with a growing number of Snap On. (I daydream about hijacking a SnapOn truck.)

My buffer is a Baldor, one of the best electric motors on the planet.

My drills are all Porter Cable. 1/2 " corded. 3/8" 14V cordless. They make excellent rotary motors and transmissions. Torque city!

My jig saws are Bosch. I love the feel and look of them. My reciprocating saw is a Milwaukee pro counterbalanced--smoother than my old Porter Cable.

I can't forget my Dremel and a fishing tackle box full of attachements.

And of course by PC rotary and PC orbital buffers.

I have a ton of cheapo Buffalo air tools. I really need to start replacing them with good ones.

I also have just about every specialty wrench and attachment including a stand from Park. Most of this is specialty bicycle equipment.

BradE · 01-09-02, 02:00

Most of my hand tools are Snap-On, the rest are Craftsman.

As for power tools, some of my favorite brands are Porter Cable, DeWalt and Milwaukee.

Guess My Name · 01-09-02, 03:32

BRad you gonna offer your old air tools up for sale on aBay???

geekysteve · 01-10-02, 10:49

As an ex-mechanic, I have a pretty large selection of tools and have tried just about every brand there is. Here are my thoughts:

For the professional mechanic who's constantly using his tools and running back and forth to his tool box, you simply have to have quality pieces. Snap-On makes great sockets, ratchets, screwdrivers, air tools (3/8" ratchet, 3/8" impact, air drills, die grinders) and wrenches (for the most part). Snap-On torque wrenches are second to none, as are their pry bars & gauge kits (compression, leakdown, etc).

Mac makes great boxes (Maximizer rules!), air tools (their 1/2" Impact is awesome as is their 1/4" ratchet) and cutting tools (side cutters, etc). I also prefer Mac electronic tools as they use Techtronix. I have their handheld scope/DVM, and an assortment of other electronic tools (timing lights, etc).

Matco has some cool specialty tools, and I really like their pliers and needle-noses. They had some great diagnostic tools at good prices, too.

Most importantly is the quality of the tool salesman. We had a really bad Matco dealer (went out of business after a while), so I rarely bought tools from them. Our Snap-On & MAC guys were great, so that made a huge difference.

Sears makes some great tools for the weekender, but there's some stuff that you just have to break down and spend the cash with the "big guys" for. I started out with a Craftsman box, but it wore out after about 4 months of everyday use. I bought a Snap-On box and then traded it for a Maximizer top/bottom combo. After I got the Maximizer, I fell in love...there's no beating a quality tool box.

Long and short of it is: buy what you can afford, and upgrade when possible.