Home Depot Mechanics Tool Change?

[catron44]

I was in the Norwalk, CT store last week and there was a display and reps from Milwaukee. They were promoting Milwaukee mechanics hand tools. The rep told me that they are competing with GW to get shelf space nationwide. Apparently each company has 25 stores to set up their display and sell their tools. The winner will get shelf space and husky space will be reduced.

This is all verbal discussion with the Milwaukee rep so not sure how true it is, but seems plausible.

He said the Norwalk store is the only store in the NE. Any GJers out there see a display for either company in their Home Depot?


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[Yarpo]

I've seen a few people post pictures of Gearwrench Displays at their local home depot. I personally hope GW wins the space, but I'll take either over husky I suppose. Aren't Milwaukee's hand tools rather expensive or have they came down to compete with others now?

 

[rattler459]

I work for depot it's a test run there is actually 50 stores that have milwaukee and 50 that have Gearwrench.
The most sold of the two will be added to the tool departments.
They will not replace husky at all it will be added in like the old husky pro.

 

[Brownsfan]

Wonder if any in Ohio are doing this test

 

[kngelv]

I hope Milwaukee wins. IMHO Gearwrench is the most overrated brand on this site. I have had bad luck with their tools. Too bad Tekton is not competing.

James

 

[Revere Cycles]

I work for depot it's a test run there is actually 50 stores that have milwaukee and 50 that have Gearwrench.
The most sold of the two will be added to the tool departments.
They will not replace husky at all it will be added in like the old husky pro.

Very interesting! Honestly, Gearwrench is just about everywhere, Advance Auto right across the street from my local HD has a very nice selection of GW stuff and the prices often meet or beat Husky at Home Depot with various promotions. I perceive Milwaukee's new lineup of mechanic tools made in Taiwan to be a cut above the current Chinese made Gearwrench. But Gearwrench and Home Depot makes sense because Husky already uses Apex as a supplier. If you look at the open end of a Milwaukee wrench, it looks just like one made by Infar.

 

[rattler459]

there is a big push for milwaukee to win. milwaukee is our big push as we have them and lowes does not.
My milwaukee rep think it will be gearwrench that wins because of how apex supplys all of our husky mechanics tools.
I work as the receiving manager in my store and when doing return to vendors all the mechanic tool pop up apex as the supplier.
either way we will add another in store to match our good better best way of supplying
items

 

[rattler459]

I hope Milwaukee wins. IMHO Gearwrench is the most overrated brand on this site. I have had bad luck with their tools. Too bad Tekton is not competing.

James

tekton is in one of the box store already can't remember which one.
home depot want to be the major supplier of the line in a box store

 

[rattler459]

Wonder if any in Ohio are doing this test

look up the milwaukee wrenches on home depot .com and check local store it will say if any near you have them in store did a quick search using Cleveland and got zero hits but didn't check gearwrench

 

[notlob]

Good riddance Husky. Go Milwaukee!

 

[Fedwrench]

I'm confused. First off we're talking mechanics hand tools right?

Off the top of my head Milwaukee has a couple of combination wrench sets, a couple of ratcheting wrench sets, a striking handle pry bar set, a hook and pick set, a few square based socket sets, and what else besides pliers & screwdrivers?

Compare Milwaukee offerings to what Gearwrench offers, I like milwaukee but, they don't have much to offer in the way of mechanics hand tools

Additionally, it really depends on how much of each home depot would be willing to stock in store and how much would be online only

Take a look back at Advance auto parts several years ago when carried most Gearwrench items available at that time, and whittled the selection down over the years. Time will tell how this plays out.

 

[Yarpo]

I perceive Milwaukee's new lineup of mechanic tools made in Taiwan to be a cut above the current Chinese made Gearwrench. But Gearwrench and Home Depot makes sense because Husky already uses Apex as a supplier. If you look at the open end of a Milwaukee wrench, it looks just like one made by Infar.

What do you perceive that based on, COO? Because most of gearwrench's tools are still made in Taiwan, this was just some ****** half truth someone started here that I've seen spread like wildfire.

In the last 1 year, I've bought their 84T 4 piece flex ratchet set, spark plug socket set, serp belt tool, semi deeps in 1/4" and 3/8" SAE and metric, their XL double box end wrenches, their 5 piece XL double box end wrench add on set, their E torx sockets, their torx sockets, their protected lug nut socket set (3 piece) extensions in all three drive sizes, 8 piece screwdriver set, 7 piece pick set, regular metric sockets in 1/4" shallow/deep 3/8" shallow and deep, two piece(1/4 and 3/8") 84T long reach ratchet set, 27(?) piece 1/2" socket and ratchet set, and every one of them has been made in Taiwan.

Which tools are they making in china besides the few I'll point out below, care to point me in there direction?

I imagine what happened was someone received one of the few tools they made in China and had a melt down, but I've been buying and taking pictures of everything I've bought, and have yet to receive a chinese gearwrench tool in the last year! Crazy really (Tho I did receive Chinese GW ratchet wrenches as a gift years ago, and Chinese GW long pattern wrenches purchased myself about 2 years ago) I also believe their impact sockets are made in China as well as their low end ratchets (60T quick release stuff?)

I'm confused. First off we're talking mechanics hand tools right?

Off the top of my head Milwaukee has a couple of combination wrench sets, a couple of ratcheting wrench sets, a striking handle pry bar set, a hook and pick set, a few square based socket sets, and what else besides pliers & screwdrivers?

Compare Milwaukee offerings to what Gearwrench offers, I like milwaukee but, they don't have much to offer in the way of mechanics hand tools

That's what I was thinking. They don't have near the lineup to offer a full array of mechanics tools, but then again what mechanics are often buying their hand tools at home depot? I check for odds and ends or grab some Inkzalls when I'm in, but dont recall buying any real mechanics hand tools there, nor did/do I expect to.

 

[fordgasm]

I haven’t really been impressed with any of Milwaukee’s hand tools, and they seem overpriced to boot.

 

[Revere Cycles]

tekton is in one of the box store already can't remember which one.
home depot want to be the major supplier of the line in a box store

My local Runnings store carries Tekton.

 

[Fedwrench]

I forgot to add that Milwaukee doesn't seem to offer open stock which bugs me. I want to be able to buy set components, not just a set.

 

[sberry]

Doesn't matter to me. Already got enough.

 

[Revere Cycles]

What do you perceive that based on, COO? Because most of gearwrench's tools are still made in Taiwan, this was just some ****** half truth someone started here that I've seen spread like wildfire.

I am a craftsperson first, mechanic second. My mechanic tools don't make me a dime, but I do scrutinize every tool purchase and evaluate them based on quality, value, and performance.

I've been a longtime Gearwrench enthusiast; I certainly have some GW tools that were made in either China or Taiwan. I bought the ratchet wrenches maybe 10 years ago for my bike shop, made in Taiwan. I bought a second set about a year ago from the same vendor online, this time they were made in China. Side by side, the Taiwanese wrenches had better fit, finish, and shape. (The Chinese ones were slightly larger, stampings inconsistent, and one wrench was slightly bent right out of the box). I threw the Chinese ones in my junkyard box and found another set from Taiwan to put in my garage box. While the Chinese wrenches haven't failed, they were not made in Taiwan as advertised by the vendor. The stinger was that I could have bought the same tools for less money at Harbor Freight.

But to go further, Armstrong was always one of my favorite domestic tool manufacturers. I have probably 150-200 Armstrong sockets, wrenches, ratchets, etc. I maybe own 50-60 Gearwrench tools that I bought because I perceived them to be of the same design and quality as Armstrong, just made in Taiwan. Generally speaking, I am happy with Gearwrench as a whole, but I am less keen if they continue to shift production to China.

Since Apex killed Armstrong, I specifically looked to Gearwrench to fill the void. However, if Apex is going to populate more of the Gearwrench line with Chinese tools, no thanks. I can buy Chinese tools anywhere, Husky, Harbor Freight, Craftsman, Kobalt, etc. Sure, I have some great Chinese tools; my tool box is a 56" top & bottom box are from Harbor Freight, I'm not shy about that, but it's the exception more than the rule. Truth be told, I often go to great lengths to buy NOS Armstrong tools when I can, same goes for USA made Craftsman Professional, but supplies are becoming more scarce.

As domestic tool manufacturers continue to offshore and remaining stocks at HJE and Cripe Distributing dry up, I started to focus more on buying new tools from SK, Mac, Williams, and Snap On. I actually bought my first Snap On Dual 80 last week and I am pretty pleased with it. I also have a nice collection of high end European tools for my European cars, but most of what I own is made in USA.

 

[bobcatdan]

I'm not a huge fan of Milwaukee, but their hand tools do look nice. I do find their prices a bit high. Given a choice of Milwaukee or GW, Milwaukee. GW has gone down the crapper so bad I don't even want warranty replacements for what I have, let a lone ever buy another one of their tools.

 

[kctyphoon]

I hope Milwaukee wins - but i dont see that happening.. Gearwrench has a huge following already and their prices are hard to beat - at least online.. i would love nothing more than to see a big Milwaukee mechanics tool section..

 

[Citation]

Husky vs GW... They are basically the same tools. Both are Apex. In terms of ratchets the GW has a few more teeth and no QR. The biggest difference seems to be how they pair up the sets. GW seems to offer combinations that are better if your intent is a more complete set. Husky offers a Cman like warranty.

 

[Ign]

If Milwaukee handles warranty claims like they've handled all of my cordless tool claims (fabulously)...

AND

warrantying thru Apex is really as much of a hassle as I've *read* on this board (no first hand experience)

Trust me, you want Milwaukee.

 

[markeric]

I am 10 minutes from Home Depot corporate, and the flagship store that's close by is stocking GW. I ran into the GW rep couple weeks back in the store, and he said it was a pilot to see how well they sold. They have the 50+ piece 1/4" and 3/8" 120xp sets, along with 19 piece 1/2" sets in either sae or metric. Also 2 pairs of combo wrenches, one 120xp Taiwanese set, one Chinese, standard combo set similar to what Sears used to sell.

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[Jtels85]

I have been largely disappointed in the tool offerings at Home Depot in recent years. The Milwaukee stuff seems overpriced for what it is and the Husky tools look and feel cheap. I am not a GearWrench fan by any means, but their tools would be the real winner here.

I’m surprised DeWalt didn’t get in on this. I checked out some of their mechanics/hand tools at Rural King at they looked to be really good quality.

I am glad Craftsman isn’t competing. I’m a Sears/Craftsman fan... Stanley Craftsman... eh. Nothing from them excites me enough to open my wallet.

 

[Ign]

I have been largely disappointed in the tool offerings at Home Depot in recent years. The Milwaukee stuff seems overpriced for what it is and the Husky tools look and feel cheap. I am not a GearWrench fan by any means, but their tools would be the real winner here.

I’m surprised DeWalt didn’t get in on this. I checked out some of their mechanics/hand tools at Rural King at they looked to be really good quality.

I am glad Craftsman isn’t competing. I’m a Sears/Craftsman fan... Stanley Craftsman... eh. Nothing from them excites me enough to open my wallet.

You are right there. Milwaukee is shooting themselves in the foot w pricing.

I live near a so-so ski area that thinks they can put themselves in the same class as Aspen or Vail by charging Vail prices. Milwaukee seems to have the same mentality: we can "make" our tools better by simply charging more for them.

Now sure marketers write huge books on consumer perception but there's a balance and most aren't falling for it. The hand tool market is too competitive.

There are exceptions - Milwaukee's angled scissors for $18 at HD are worth every penny, and a few others too

 

[Moparman390]

I noticed a new shelf display of Milwaukee hand tools at Farm & Fleet last night. Mostly wrenches. The tools look nice, the finish was good, the length long, the holders rugged, but the ratcheting mechanism seemed typical, I don't know what to think of the open ends without using them, and the price was high. I don't know, one way or that other, how well they are going to sell in bricks and mortar retail.

 

[hangfirew8]

What do you perceive that based on, COO? Because most of gearwrench's tools are still made in Taiwan, this was just some ****** half truth someone started here that I've seen spread like wildfire.

GW straight and flex head ratcheting wrenches COO moved to China several years ago. That is the tool set they are best known for, indeed named for. I haven't seen a Taiwan set in several years at Sears or Advance Auto.

I'm sure they still have some Taiwan tools. I just bought a GW 1/2" ratchet set at Sears Outlet that was Taiwan, and they are nice.

But my GW Chinese ratcheting wrenches have been disappointing. There was copper showing from under the chrome on corners and edges within a year of buying them. Recently they've started to lock up. I don't use them to bust off rusty bolts. I'm just a weekend warrior so not that much use.

 

[hangfirew8]

I don't go to HD for mechanics/auto tools. Or Lowe's. I know some do.

I bet Milwaukee/TTi will win this. There seems to be nothing good that Apex can't screw up.

 

[Yarpo]

I am a craftsperson first, mechanic second. My mechanic tools don't make me a dime, but I do scrutinize every tool purchase and evaluate them based on quality, value, and performance.

I've been a longtime Gearwrench enthusiast; I certainly have some GW tools that were made in either China or Taiwan. I bought the ratchet wrenches maybe 10 years ago for my bike shop, made in Taiwan. I bought a second set about a year ago from the same vendor online, this time they were made in China. Side by side, the Taiwanese wrenches had better fit, finish, and shape. (The Chinese ones were slightly larger, stampings inconsistent, and one wrench was slightly bent right out of the box). I threw the Chinese ones in my junkyard box and found another set from Taiwan to put in my garage box. While the Chinese wrenches haven't failed, they were not made in Taiwan as advertised by the vendor. The stinger was that I could have bought the same tools for less money at Harbor Freight.

Yah their plain old ratchet wrenches have been made in China for awhile now, not sure what prompted that change, especially cause they're sourcing other specialty ratcheting wrenches from Taiwan. I too have both, no complaints with either but i absolutely understand receiving made in China tools when you expected Taiwan certainly being a let down, but thats not gearwrenches fault, its the vendors for advertising incorrectly.

But to go further, Armstrong was always one of my favorite domestic tool manufacturers. I have probably 150-200 Armstrong sockets, wrenches, ratchets, etc. I maybe own 50-60 Gearwrench tools that I bought because I perceived them to be of the same design and quality as Armstrong, just made in Taiwan. Generally speaking, I am happy with Gearwrench as a whole, but I am less keen if they continue to shift production to China.

Since Apex killed Armstrong, I specifically looked to Gearwrench to fill the void. However, if Apex is going to populate more of the Gearwrench line with Chinese tools, no thanks. I can buy Chinese tools anywhere, Husky, Harbor Freight, Craftsman, Kobalt, etc. Sure, I have some great Chinese tools; my tool box is a 56" top & bottom box are from Harbor Freight, I'm not shy about that, but it's the exception more than the rule. Truth be told, I often go to great lengths to buy NOS Armstrong tools when I can, same goes for USA made Craftsman Professional, but supplies are becoming more scarce.

I dont think they are shifting more production to china, I continue to buy gearwrench tools and outside of the few I mentioned above, I've yet to see any of their good tools be made in China (84/120T ratchets, Spark plug sockets, chrome sockets, etc) Again its weird that they moved their ratchet wrenches there considering that's what got them into the scene. Someone somewhere knows more than me, or they're just going to destroy gearwrench like they did with all other Apex owned companies. Time will tell

As domestic tool manufacturers continue to offshore and remaining stocks at HJE and Cripe Distributing dry up, I started to focus more on buying new tools from SK, Mac, Williams, and Snap On. I actually bought my first Snap On Dual 80 last week and I am pretty pleased with it. I also have a nice collection of high end European tools for my European cars, but most of what I own is made in USA.

As you can probably tell I also am overall a general GW "enthusiast" if you will, as their tools are cheap and generally speaking well made with great features. That said I too have been buying more Snap on stuff, glad to hear you're pleased. The more I wrench the more I keep reaching for my Snap on ratchets Tho today I did valve colvers/waterpump/theromstat/belts and all the breathers on an M54 and used almost exclusively my 84T 1/4" GW flex head. One of my favorite ratchets.

GW straight and flex head ratcheting wrenches COO moved to China several years ago. That is the tool set they are best known for, indeed named for. I haven't seen a Taiwan set in several years at Sears or Advance Auto.

I'm sure they still have some Taiwan tools. I just bought a GW 1/2" ratchet set at Sears Outlet that was Taiwan, and they are nice.

I know...I addressed that in that same post, where I layed out all the Taiwanese and Chinese tools? Its odd they did so, but again "Most" of their tools are still made in Taiwan, not "some" in my opinion, as that list is rather long.

 

[Ign]

I don't go to HD for mechanics/auto tools. Or Lowe's. I know some do.

I bet Milwaukee/TTi will win this. There seems to be nothing good that Apex can't screw up.

That is SO well put!

 

[Brownsfan]

I looked up the Milwaukee tools at Home depot.com. Two things that I noticed. The prices. Approaching SK lr proto pricing. Actually really damn close to SK. Sk 49 piece 3/8 socket set in the green case can be had right now for $11 more. Milwaukee 56pc set 180. Sk 49pc is 191. Milwaukee has 7 more piece. I know which one i would buy. Second is no 1/2" drive socket sets. Wonder why?

 

[dsimatt]

I have been largely disappointed in the tool offerings at Home Depot in recent years. The Milwaukee stuff seems overpriced for what it is and the Husky tools look and feel cheap. I am not a GearWrench fan by any means, but their tools would be the real winner here.

I’m surprised DeWalt didn’t get in on this. I checked out some of their mechanics/hand tools at Rural King at they looked to be really good quality.

I am glad Craftsman isn’t competing. I’m a Sears/Craftsman fan... Stanley Craftsman... eh. Nothing from them excites me enough to open my wallet.

If I'm looking for non woodworking hand tools then HD isn't a good option and Menards is even worse, sadly craftsman was a good option but no longer a option as far as being quality.

 

[Semi-hole mechanic]

Meijers and Big R both carry Tekton in their stores.

 

[MarvinBerry]

Honestly had never heard of Gearwrench before joining this site... Nor have I seen any of their stuff in person.

Fwiw I'm not a mechanic by trade, maybe that's got something to do with it? If you ask me the name alone seems gimmicky like hyper tough @ wallys.

Local depots stock some Milwaukee and have for years. Screwdrivers, various pliers...tapes... I own a few things. Don't think they stock any GW I'd have seen it?

When I am turning bolts it's mostly in carpentry & electronics. Light duty.

Really have no problem myself with Husky. Nothing I've bought has broken & all still goes righty tighty lefty loosey.

 

[Ign]

Honestly had never heard of Gearwrench before joining this site... Nor have I seen any of their stuff in person.

Fwiw I'm not a mechanic by trade, maybe that's got something to do with it? If you ask me the name alone seems gimmicky like hyper tough @ wallys.

Local depots stock some Milwaukee and have for years. Screwdrivers, various pliers...tapes... I own a few things. Don't think they stock any GW I'd have seen it?

When I am turning bolts it's mostly in carpentry & electronics. Light duty.

Really have no problem myself with Husky. Nothing I've bought has broken & all still goes righty tighty lefty loosey.

If you've seen Husky you've seen Gearwrench

 

[Crazyjake8493]

I wasn't even aware Home Depot carried GearWrench. I've never seen a single GW tool in any of the 5 Depots I go to regularly. I'd prefer GW over Milwaukee or Husky. I wish Milwaukee would stick to innovating with their cordless tools and not worry about grabbing a market share in every single area.

 

[PugetDude]

Not really impressed with my GW stuff. 1/2 ratcheting tap handle was a POS out of the case, the ratcheting combo wrenches are a bit clumsy. Doubt I'll ever have to replace my old Craftsman stuff, but if I did I'd seriously consider Tekton- really like their ratchets.

 

[TEKWRX]

The only GearWrench tool I own is a magnetic swivel spark plug socket. I's very high quality and made changing the plugs on my Subaru a snap. That said, as a Milwaukee fanboy I'd love for their mechanics tools to be stocked in my local HD, but only if HD can get them to lower the prices a bit (or be allowed to have great sales from time to time)

 

[MarvinBerry]

If you've seen Husky you've seen Gearwrench

Interesting. As said I own some husky stuff & nothing has broken in half.

Anyway a few days after this I was in the local Depot which is Roxbury NJ for lumber & went through the hardware section... not a single gearwrench anything.

There was some Milwaukee & deWalt... pliers, screwdrivers & tapes but they've stocked that stuff for at least a few years.

 

[sk farmer]

milwaukee? boy i hope not.

 

[bwringer]

Doesn't matter to me. Already got enough.

Ain't THAT the truth for damn near all of us. People who already have 14 or 15 ways to turn a 3/8" socket are NOT the target audience here.




Also some seem to have missed the part where this is all part of a test market experiment in a small number of HD stores. GW and Milwaukee are competing to see which sell better.

On a similar note, I've seen some Dewalt branded stuff here and there and in some farm stores that looks to be quite serviceable.


Overall, these are grand times for people who aren't tool nerds like us and just need to yank a nut. The sort of Chinesium that flakes chrome and falls apart is rapidly disappearing, and to be brutally honest, much of the new stuff from China is quite good for the money.