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Recommend Me Some Pry Bars?

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shoggoth80

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Feb 28, 2013
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Hey all. This is something that I have greatly underestimated when I started getting paid to wrench on stuff. Lol. I am currently job hunting, as the shop I worked for couldn't afford to keep me. Lost a good mentor, but also lost the ability to borrow his pry bars. Lol. Anyway, rambling aside, I have found them very useful doing larger R&R work (transmissions and engines), but have used them all over the place. Usually it's the longer of the bunch, like 36". I am thinking a few would be good, starting with a 36", maybe a 17" and a 12" though I think I have also seen a shorter one.

Anyway, I have been eyeballing Wilde, OTC, I missed the MATCO ones on back to school special. My mentor's set were Snappies, but I don't quite have that amount of money. Thinking of piecemealing a set of Wildes from Epstein, bar by bar. Lol. I'm pretty darned poor, but don't want to get junk. I COULD buy the Harbor Freight ones, but I heard they up and bend too easily.

Thoughts from the GJ hive-mind?
 
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scaron

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ypsilanti, michigan
wilde is never a bad choice and i see you could put together a 5-piece set from epstein's for like $50 including one that is three feet long, LOL. i dunno what the OTC ones run but were i in your situation i'd just go wilde from epstein's... or maybe check ebay for used truck brand or something.
 
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Heavy tech

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Thinking about a set of mayhew dominators myself. They are napa branded here


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sparky5982

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Feb 17, 2013
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I have two of the Wilde die bars from Epstein's and they've been great. They bite and hold well, are nice and rigid, and give a lot of leverage for how long they are.
 
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Brownsfan

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Wilde(or craftsman equivalent) mayhew(or craftsman pro) are great choices for the money. Also I have a nephew that is a pro technician and has Cornwell pry bars. He say they are bullet proof. DO NOT get the Harbor Freight ones. They bend and break. I don't care what the HF fanboys say.
 
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shoggoth80

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Seattle
First one I'd buy would be 36". I have borrowed that size for more things than I can recall. Price is good, Wilde is USA, and might OEM for some other brands for all I know.
OTCs set is something like $40 or 50 but I think that was a 3 piece. Wilde seems to be winning at the moment. Browsing amazon for alternatives, but haven't found anything that sounds better. Lol.
 
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shoggoth80

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Seattle
Oh I forgot to add that these would be for work, not necessarily DIY use. I know that generally means buy the "best..." but we know how that argument works. Not that I wouldn't take some tools home to do my own maintenance work. However, I have used pry bars for engine and ****** R&R, and have even used them for leverage to torque down to truck caliper bracket bolts, when nothing but a wrench would fit in the space given, as well as turning flywheels to pull out converter bolts etc. So, they'd see a range of use and abuse. Lol. Can you abuse a bar that is meant for brute force?
 
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oldldh

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Fairhope, AL
Amazon has the OTC 8206 6 pc Set (8"/12"/18"/24"/32"/36") for $93.59...:thumbup::thumbup:

That should cover everything...

That's the set I'm giving myself for Christmas...:drool::drool:
 
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DTB

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In the Napa real deals flyer the larger Mayhew Dominator pry bars were decently priced.
 
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gtermini

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Amity, OR
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DTB

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gtermini said:
Link to OTC:http://www.amazon.com/OTC-8206-Super-Duty-Handled/dp/B000F5EDLW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383258255&sr=8-1&keywords=otc+8206
Loooks like $94 shipped, pretty damn good for the selection you get!

1+ for buying a 36. I bought the 4pc SO set new, then found a 36 used. I'm gonna order the Mayhew 58" Dominator soon as you can never have too big of a prybar.

Make sure whatever brand you buy has striking caps, you will use them.

Greyson
Click to expand...

I've been thinking of ordering the 58 as well.Where are you going to order from and how much? Napa lists for $90.
 
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gtermini

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DTB said:
I've been thinking of ordering the 58 as well.Where are you going to order from and how much? Napa lists for $90.
Click to expand...

I am just going to get it off Amazon, it $77 and free shipping.
http://www.amazon.com/Mayhew-Dominator-40162-58-C-Pry/dp/B000NADILU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383258997&sr=8-1&keywords=mayhew+58+prybar

After seeing the COO on the OTC bars, I did some digging on brands I trusted more. Williams (Snap-On Industrial brand) has USA pry bars that look a lot like Mayhew. Here is the catalog page:
KEsYDAF.jpg


You can get them pretty cheap at Tools Delivered:http://www.toolsdelivered.com/Pry-Bars_c_2769.html

Greyson
 
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wafrederick

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Jul 3, 2010
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6,049
Location
Holton,Mi
Mayhew,I have the Matco rebranded set including the 36 inch version.I use the 36 inch for popping out axles,one tough pry bar and have not bent it yet.
 
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HighPlainsWrencher

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Jun 10, 2013
Messages
218
Cornwell sells a pretty good prybar, I have their 30, 36 and 60 inch prybars. Cant remember who makes them for Cornwell but they do a good job and you can probably find them cheaper under a different brand name.
 
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reptilezs

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Mar 23, 2010
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for cheap and strong get some goose neck wrecking bars and chop the goose neck part off
 
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DTB

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Got the Mayhew 58" pry bar...doesn't fit in my 60" toolbox.lol
 
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BajaBound

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Mar 20, 2011
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977
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Nor Cal
Snap On 4 piece for cool factor and a 36" Mayhew to round it out. That is what I have and it's great.

Craftsman pro 3 piece and a mayhew

full mayhew set
 
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Super Sport

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Jun 30, 2011
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West Michigan
fivespdcat said:
As far as I know the Craftsman Professionals are just rebranded Mayhew. They're cheap and locally available:
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-professional-3-piece-curved-blade-pry-bar/p-00943288000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

Currently $42 plus you can probably find some coupons to knock another $5 off.
Click to expand...

This is my suggestion as well...probably the best bang for your buck, and one of the best warranties (at least until they are discontinued/outsourced). The other sizes are available now and then.

The regular Wilde-made Craftsman are alright too, but the striking caps are worth the extra!
 
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nicksnothereman

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Oct 19, 2013
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3,608
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In the Mojave
shoggoth80 said:
Hey all. This is something that I have greatly underestimated when I started getting paid to wrench on stuff. Lol. I am currently job hunting, as the shop I worked for couldn't afford to keep me. Lost a good mentor, but also lost the ability to borrow his pry bars. Lol. Anyway, rambling aside, I have found them very useful doing larger R&R work (transmissions and engines), but have used them all over the place. Usually it's the longer of the bunch, like 36". I am thinking a few would be good, starting with a 36", maybe a 17" and a 12" though I think I have also seen a shorter one.

Anyway, I have been eyeballing Wilde, OTC, I missed the MATCO ones on back to school special. My mentor's set were Snappies, but I don't quite have that amount of money. Thinking of piecemealing a set of Wildes from Epstein, bar by bar. Lol. I'm pretty darned poor, but don't want to get junk. I COULD buy the Harbor Freight ones, but I heard they up and bend too easily.

Thoughts from the GJ hive-mind?
Click to expand...


There are lots of types of pry bars. Since you're saying automotive I assume you want a small head pry bar.

They have the craftsman professional set for around 42 bucks. Not a bad option compared to some other stuff. Depends on how dependent you are on using them. I assume these have a lifetime warranty on them.
 
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Kaervak

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May 12, 2010
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826
Location
Cleveland, OH
I have a set of the regular Craftsman (Wilde) pry bars and the Craftsman Pro (Mayhew) pry bars. I haven't beaten the snot out of either of them, but they've held up perfectly to everything I've used them for. The nice thing about the pro bars is they have a metal striking cap on the ends so you can really beat on them if you need to. Either set is a great purchase, really can't go wrong. You can usually get the three piece Wilde made set from Sears for $20.
 
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outdoorsman310

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Aug 23, 2013
Messages
915
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DE
the regular craftsman prybars have a different angle than snap-on which is useful sometimes. one of my craftsmans either grew legs or is hiding:dunno:
 
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Zeroek

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Jan 19, 2008
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1,091
Location
Indiana
I'd buy Mayhew any day. I used to have a few Matco pry bars and the mayhews seemed to be the same but cheaper.
 
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