Hi
I would like to get myself some tools set at home depot or lowes for common jobs at home or for the car. What shall I look for as far as brands and prices? I don't need the top or bottom, average stuff is good. I would like to buy complete hand tool sets like they have often, wrenches, screw drivers and the likes. Not sure what is a good deal or not either.
Thanks for the help
Patrick
Avg stuff can cost more in the long run especialy working on a car which stresses and ruins cheap tools. If you will use it every week or month get a lifetime warranty.
For the home mechanic it's hard to beat the Craftsman sets when on sale--just watch for sale fliers.
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Master Mechanic comes with the same life time warranty from True Value HW stores.
I thought Craftsman had lost their lustre. Somewhere I read/heard that they are not what they were. Off-shored, or what?
Your opinion?
Aspasia
Ive returned broken craftsman hand tools with no reciept or questions asked, like when using screwdrivers as crobars on stone.
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There are a number who offer lifetime warranties -- I have no direct experience on how easy/difficult it is to collect on them from anybody other than Sears. Sears, however, is still a trivial process I know.
Others may have experience on the working end of the warranties for some of the others...
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In my opinion I believe they are no longer top quality. They are not el-cheapo but not the quality they once had. That said, they are not bad and are not badly priced.
Many years ago, Craftsman was limited to specific tools. Later, Sears branched out to more mass produced items and well as one-off items that are manufactured off-shore. When that happened, their quality suffered, however their warranty still stands.
I guess they figure that sheer numbers of units sold outweigh those that ask for replacements.
Master Mechanic is like Craftsman, in that you can go to any True Value hardware store and swap them out on the spot. I believe you can also send them to to Ace/True Value and they'll send you a replacement.
Craftsman/K-Mart are now one and the same FWIW.
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What do you define as "many"?
Hand tools ime are essentially the same quality they've always been and the warranty is still applicable to Craftsman-labeled only, not "Companion" or other lines.
It would be hard to find any of the others of comparable pricing and warranty that aren't made offshore also, including I strongly suspect, the M M branded items from T V. There's even a reasonable prospect they're made by the same outfits in the same factories, simply to different spec's and branded per customer.
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How picky are they in accepting them? Require receipts, throw out cases of what would obviously have been abuse, etc., etc., etc., ...?
Sears has a track record, not so sure how the others' stands up in comparison is all...
Not a thing in this context...
The point is, for a hand tool that would meet the objective of OP, there's no doubt Craftsman will do the job at a reasonable price point.
There may be others w/ the combination of variety, warranty and value that meet or come close; if so, recommend them. There's no reason to try to denigrate Sears/Craftsman in the process--in this case its unwarranted.
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Yes but don't get sold on the Craftsman name just because their hand tools are lifetime guaranteed. Their other tools are not. My brother had the seals in the Craftsman floor jack that we bought him go bad within the first 18 months.
(Ehrin Lloyd)
Aaron Eel wrote: ...
Never said they were...
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Yes but don't get sold on the Craftsman name just because their hand tools are lifetime guaranteed. Their other tools are not. My brother had the seals in the Craftsman floor jack that we bought him go bad within the first 18 months.
(Ehrin Lloyd)
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Craftsman hand tools are pretty good and warranted for life even without a receipt as noted by others. The price is about 5X more than the no name Chinese hand tools that is also warranted for life so Sears could afford to replace a socket or a wrench once in a while. I noticed the steel on the hand saws and cold chisels are not as good as from the 960s but still warranted for life. Their floor jacks, dill bits and other non powered tools are not warranted for life. With the exception of the Professional series, my experience with Craftsman power tools are not good and its no wonder its know as "Crapsman" by many.
Right now my local HD has a set of about 110 screwdrivers for $20.00.
I got a set. Sold the square tipped ones (six) on Ebay for $4 + $4 shipping. So a usable set of screwdrivers (104) cost me, net, about $13.00.
Perfectly adequate screwdrivers for normal or computer type work. The nice thing about the set was it didn't have those goddamn "stubby" models.
It also depends on the use. For example, a set of 12 foam brushes from Harbor Freight ($3) will work just as well as the kind that cost $1 each. A $4 crowbar from the same place is just as functional as the $30 model at the tool store.
For pliers I prefer Klein or Channellock, for wrenches, sockets and such stick with Craftsman, Kobalt, or Husky (more expensive pro stuff really is better but more expensive; anything cheaper you'll be disappointed in.) Screwdrivers - well I really don't have any good ones. I have Craftsman and I'm really disappointed in them. Lifetime warranty is nice, but I seem to trade in 2-3 of them every 6 mos. or so. One Torx driver spun the handle the very first time I tried to use it and no I was not using a socket on the handle, just turning it with my hand. I'm not weak but I shouldn't be able to spin the handle on a T-15 torx. Especially when I'm just popping the top off a carburetor.
nate
..in another life, I worked part time at a local True Value. Their policy is, if it's broke, replace it. No receipt is required.
...what track record is that? That they will replace a defective and/or broken item? They're not unique in that market, just the best marketing.
..I wouldn't necessarily jump to that conclusion. Just because Craftsman has a "no questions asked warranty", that doesn't mean they're better, or even good. Personally, I'd rather buy *really* good tools over one with a great warranty.
Working on something that *must* be fixed *right now*, doesn't give me the warm fuzzies when a critical tool snaps on me and I have to drive across town for a (free) replacement. I've had three Craftsman box wrenches and two socket wrenches crap out on me. Murhphys Law, it was a Sunday evening and the local Sears store was closed. Fat lot of good a replacement warranty did for me then.
I already did mention one. You tried to discredit it by inferring that their warranty isn't a good or as flexible. Hey, if you're partial to Craftsman, knock yourself out. I personally don' t have anything against Craftsman, but they're not the only tool in town. It's apparent you have a soft spot for them to defend them so blindly.
Me, I like to keep an open mind.
Incidentally, if Craftsman were *that* good, you'd see more of them in professional mechanics toolsets but you don't. They have to use those tools *every day* and time down running across town to replace a tool is money lost. Snap On tools are some of the *best*. MUCH more expensive yes, but some day, I'd like replace everything (except my Proto socket set), with Snap Ons.
20 years or more...I have Craftsman tools handed down to me that are *at least* that old and they are FAR better quality than the ones sold today.
..hogwash. You make this up as you go along. Do you know *anything* about hand tools?
..nope..made in USA with forged steel.
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