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Northern Tool stubby wrench set review

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twincam00

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Aug 31, 2011
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Picked up this stubby wrench set last week and decided to share my thoughts on them.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200304141_200304141

The 10-piece metric set was $17.99. That is the same price as the 7-piece metric set, 8-piece SAE set, and 7-piece SAE set (doesnt make much sense). The wrenches are made in china. 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19mm are all included in the set. I think these are a great value when compared to the SK's or new lobster-claw craftsman-professionals, I dont use stubby wrenches very often so these should fit the bill perfectly.


They are sold in a small box
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The wrenches are packed in a nice nylon roll. Some of the wrenches are a very tight fit in the roll tho
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Heres the 15mm next to a SK 15mm. The chrome on the NT is surprisingly nice for the pricepoint. You can see the box ends are about the same thickness
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clean, defined stamping
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The chome is good except its a little rough around the inside rim of the boxed end
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chrome vanadium
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You can see that the NT is thinner than the SK
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Heres the NT (bottom) compared to a regular Snap-on 15mm (top). The Northern is a bit thicker than the snap-on
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Heres the NT in action. It has a little bit more play (looser) than the SK or Snap-on, not much but its noticeable. I figure since the stubbys arent used as often I can get away with these
View media item 15696
 
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Pro-Painter

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Oct 4, 2010
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Winston-Salem, NC
Ive had the northern stubbies (both SAE & Metric)for a couple of years now. They are fantastic wrenches at a fantastic price. Ive also had the long northern wrenches and IMHO, they are better then anything craftsman has to offer now.


DSC_0525.jpg
 
B

bmwohio

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Jul 8, 2010
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Columbus, OH
Great write up, review, and pictures. I have been looking for a decent pair of stubby's for a shadetree guy like myself. Thanks for taking the time to write it up :thumbup:
 
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porphyre

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Those look soooo much better than the Chinese Cman wrenches.

(somebody had to say it)
 
O

oldtools

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Sep 15, 2008
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Is it me or is SK stamping doesn't look too good. Does the SK use weaker metal? Why it is so beefy looking? The are alot of material in the transition between the shank and box end and the claw end. The shank is also a lot thicker. It would be useless in certain situation.

Those NT stubby look pretty good especially for $20.
 
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cotjocky

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Nov 21, 2011
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392
I think the Northerntool wrenches are a great product for the price. Great for the home user and or for a professional's "Home Box".
 
OP
T

twincam00

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Personally Im not a huge fan of the SK combo wrenches because they are designed so that theres a 'transition' between the middle of the wrench and the fatter end, theres more material than there needs to be. The stamping on the SK wrenches is very very deep and distorts the metal around it just a hair. They are great quality wrenches, just not my cup of tea
 
D

diesel research

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gulf coast, TEXAS
oldtools said:
Is it me or is SK stamping doesn't look too good. Does the SK use weaker metal? Why it is so beefy looking? The are alot of material in the transition between the shank and box end and the claw end. The shank is also a lot thicker. It would be useless in certain situation.

Those NT stubby look pretty good especially for $20.
Click to expand...

It's been a trademark of theirs.

In reality it is merely aesthetics/ergo.

As far as interference, it's just an optical ilussion for the most part. It is true they are probably a bit stronger/flex less than most, but that isn't something you would notice unless you hit them with a hammer. The thicker beam is more comfortable, but again, it's a stubby, you can't put much pressure on them anyways.


I have the northerns. One thing to note is if you need them, they do have open stock going into higher sizes. Having a 20something mm or 1"+ stubby probably isn't needed for most, but may come in handy for certain adjuster nuts that are large but low torque.
 
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melliott28

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Jul 26, 2010
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Plano, TX
I have both the Metric and SAE sets and I like them. As previously stated, they are good value for a non-pro like me.

One issue I have is that the SAE set skips 13/16 and 7/8 and NT doesn't sell those sizes separately. Any suggestions as to what brand to buy to fill in for those sizes? (Maybe Gearwrench? not sure if it is true, but I vaguely remember reading somewhere that the NT stubbies are made by the same company as GW stubbies)
 
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diesel research

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melliott28 said:
I have both the Metric and SAE sets and I like them. As previously stated, they are good value for a non-pro like me.

One issue I have is that the SAE set skips 13/16 and 7/8 and NT doesn't sell those sizes separately. Any suggestions as to what brand to buy to fill in for those sizes? (Maybe Gearwrench? not sure if it is true, but I vaguely remember reading somewhere that the NT stubbies are made by the same company as GW stubbies)
Click to expand...

Yes they do. They sell all sizes up to 1-1/16 or even 1-1/8 can't remember.

I have the northerns. One thing to note is if you need them, they do have open stock going into higher sizes.
Click to expand...

I can't remember which one of those sizes they were sold out on, I think it was 7/8, but they are probably back in stock by now. I know the othersize was in stock.

Here is how you get those sizes. Before you remind me the link isn't for the wrench, I already know that ;)

http://www.northerntool.com/stores/plano-texas.htm

If you have already been that route, well I am not sure what to say, I know they are around here.
 
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melliott28

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diesel research said:
Yes they do. They sell all sizes up to 1-1/16 or even 1-1/8 can't remember.



I can't remember which one of those sizes they were sold out on, I think it was 7/8, but they are probably back in stock by now. I know the othersize was in stock.

Here is how you get those sizes. Before you remind me the link isn't for the wrench, I already know that ;)

http://www.northerntool.com/stores/plano-texas.htm

If you have already been that route, well I am not sure what to say, I know they are around here.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the suggestion. Those sizes are listed on the website and I have been to the Plano store where they said they don't have those sizes. So, after reading your suggestion, I called the next closest store and they do indeed have them. Needless to say, I now have the missing sizes.
 
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jaysonb

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Jan 18, 2010
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Good Thunder Mn
I bought the kobalt sets when they were on sale, then stoped at northern the other day and filled out the sets with there wrenches. They seem very nice for the price.
 
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priceman1414

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Jul 8, 2013
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Midwest, USA
Hate to revive an old thread, but since this one was mostly a review of the metric set (the 10 piece which NT no longer sells), I was wondering if anyone had gotten a lot of use out of the SAE set and what they thought of them, I'm thinking about getting that set as most of my SAE wrenches are long pattern.
 
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