3/8" socket set

[Tuscani2718]

Looking for input on a good 3/8" socket set. They will be used for home as well as work ( railroad carman). They will be seeing a lot of use over the next few years so while being price conscience they need to last. Sk maybe the way to go but always open to suggestions. Thanks.

 

[countryroad82]

No gripes with SK, that is what I use at my day job.

 

[joedodge]

Have several sk sets I use daily at work no real issues at all

 

[rice rocket]

Once I got a cordless impact wrench, I had to rebuy everything in impact sockets. I suggest you just start there and skip the regular chrome vanadium stuff (unless you need some super thin wall stuff in your line of work). My sockets are either Williams or Sunex, both are pretty budget friendly and have a good rep.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

I have the sk and it is great. I also have the snap on metric and sae sets which are great as well. I say go for the sk because you get sae and mm in one box. I like to keep them in the boxes for storage and also for grab and go.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

They fit nice in the draw in the boxes and you can do some stacking.

 

[daparrothead]

I was always ******** on buying Snap On & Matco tools but in the last 6 months I have bought 4 Gear Wrench socket sets. Their quality & finish seems to be right up their with the tool truck brands these days and their prices are hard to beat if you shop around.

 

[zkling]

Good choice but don't over look the other industrial brands like williams, wright, proto, armstrong.

 

[Hpozzuoli]

I was always ******** on buying Snap On & Matco tools but in the last 6 months I have bought 4 Gear Wrench socket sets. Their quality & finish seems to be right up their with the tool truck brands these days and their prices are hard to beat if you shop around.

I agree with the cost issue. To get those snap on sets new is about $1200 vs the $145 I paid for the sk. I got one snap on set for $275 brand new and the other for $150 used. Both were off Craigslist. The sk set I got new from my dads snap on guy 10yrs ago.

 

[oldldh]

If cost is an issue...

GearWrench is a very viable option to the SK and truck brands...

That's the way I went...

 

[jim1987]

Idk what the price difference is but Carlyle may be a way to go. Especially if you have a Napa close by.

 

[RCStocker]

I have every brand and socket made. They all do the job. I used Craftsman for 40 years before I upgraded by buying used. Yes the Snap-on are the best but the Craftsman do the job just as well. You will want good ratchets but Craftsman works great. I would recommend picking up SK used. They come up cheap on Flee Bay.

If I were starting out I would buy impact sockets first. I have all the brands and just bought a set of 1/4" drive Gray impacts. They are form Canada but the Impacts are import. I got the set with all the swivels. The set was $202 form Amazon. The swivels will work just as well as the chrome and will not cost you your third leg. I would go with impact sockets and a cheap set of Craftsman. You can get a 174 piece set for $99 at Costco I have the set but only have $40 in the entire set. I got the case free to boot.
I can rebuild a car or tractor with the set. Toss in a couple of good adjustable wrenches and that is all you need.

I don't like Kobalt tools. Husky is off of my list and so are the cheap Stanley. They will get the job done but I have not had good luck with them and have had a lot of bad Kobalt sockets.

SK is the best bang for the dollar and if you get them used you will never regret it.
What sizes do you want and do you need SAE and Metric? Easco sets are cheap on Flee bay and they are very good. So are Fleet. They both are good USA brands. Both bought out by other companies but both work just as good a Snap-on's. I have bot brands in
1/2" drive. I have them in C man and Snap-on as well.
If you are going to work on the railroad my guess is that you should have a full set of
1/2" drive. Trains have much larger bolts. To start buy the C man 154 piece set,. You can take it back and forth to work and home. It is in a case. That and a small tool box with all the wrenches, drivers and things will let you repair almost anything.

 

[Tuscani2718]

Thanks guys. I want to try to stay US made if possible. snap on is unfortunately not an option due not only to price, but if they were to be stolen or lost I doubt I would have the $ to replace. I will look into Armstrong though as I love their ratchets.

 

[Farmall450]

Good ole' cman usa?
or Cman industrial, same difference.

 

[sk farmer]

i think someone is confusing gray with grey.......completely different.

not to mention giving questionable and or confusing info.

 

[sk farmer]

Thanks guys. I want to try to stay US made if possible. snap on is unfortunately not an option due not only to price, but if they were to be stolen or lost I doubt I would have the $ to replace. I will look into Armstrong though as I love their ratchets.

sk, armstrong, cornwell and the rest of the truck brands all have those similar sized sae and metric sets in a blow molded case. i think the sk and armstrong would be a toss up if u.s. made is a requirement. the sk would have better sockets and the armstrong maybe a nicer (not necessarily better) ratchet in my opinion. if coo is not an issue gearwrench has a similar sized set that includes a stubby ratchet, a nice addition.

 

[daparrothead]

I use to own a lot of CMan tools and they WERE good quality, now is questionable. I took two 1/4 dr ratchets in to be replaced and the new ones are pure junk in my opinion. First time I used one of the new ones it slipped, worse than the old one it replaced.

 

[bcradio]

I use to own a lot of CMan tools and they WERE good quality, now is questionable. I took two 1/4 dr ratchets in to be replaced and the new ones are pure junk in my opinion. First time I used one of the new ones it slipped, worse than the old one it replaced.

Yes, don't get the Craftsman standard ratchets as they aren't too great. Their sockets are nice though and many people have used them for decades... I vote Cman and if you wear any of those sockets out, upgrade the singles as needed.

 

[oxycodone]

Gotta throw in another vote for SK. The sockets are great, and can be found for way less $$ than the other truck brands.

SK ratchets aren't the fanciest, and usually not my go-to, but they work well - their ratchet bodies are nearly indestructible, and if you call and ask nicely, they'll send you rebuild kits for free.

 

[Farmall450]

Cripe did have a Napa set IIRC...

 

[d.mcfarland]

SK for the price, but the Wright seems more appealing to me the more I look at them.

 

[ravenzfusion]

I have been impressed with gearwrench. Nice ratchets. I'm also looking at Masterforce since they are made in the USA. Anyone like their stuff?

 

[joel63]

Thanks guys. I want to try to stay US made if possible. snap on is unfortunately not an option due not only to price, but if they were to be stolen or lost I doubt I would have the $ to replace. I will look into Armstrong though as I love their ratchets.

Hey, why not take a look at SO ratchets on Ebay?
I 'm sure you can find something to your liking and price range on there.
Sockets are another story; any brand socket will work. The ratchet is the key to the setup.
IMHO I think you owe it to yourself to own at least one SO ratchet.

 

[BK13]

I looked at some USA Williams when I was working out of town a couple of months ago, that might be the direction I might go.

I love SK tools, except for their ratchets... I know that makes me a little wierd around here...

 

[Tuscani2718]

Thanks for the great sets of opinions and insight guys. sK and Wright are front runners though I do feel a SO wrench is in order

 

[ecotec]

I would suggest SK 94549 for a 3/8" set. I would upgrade the ratchet to an Armstrong 11-992. you can get both for $203 on Amazon.

 

[DSM21]

Good ole' cman usa?
or Cman industrial, same difference.

thats what I was thinking, I would just grab the C-man industrial impacts, I grabbed the 3/8 deep well impacts I think they are on sale for 35ish
I had a chance to use these already and love them
Probably about 1/10 the price of snap-on and probably about 3/4 the quality I don't know pulling that last one out my ***

 

[TheLS1Lover]

SK is a good brand, I have a few of their things. I LOVE my new Cornwell stuff though.

 

[daparrothead]

Yes, don't get the Craftsman standard ratchets as they aren't too great. Their sockets are nice though and many people have used them for decades... I vote Cman and if you wear any of those sockets out, upgrade the singles as needed.

I had a complete 3/8 drive metric 12pt socket set replaced that was 25+ yrs old due to the chrome peeling & just being worn out inside. The new ones look like cheap china junk! The quality control is terrible, All the way down to the chrome finish. The chrome varies in color from a bright chrome to almost a black chrome. I'm about 98% done with buying any new Cman tools. The Gear Wrench sockets, ratchets & wrenches blow the Crapsman stuff away in all aspect's.

 

[RRmech]

The WRIGHT ratchet sets are quite good, especially IF you can find them on sale?
MUCH cheaper than Tool Truck pricing also.

 

[ecotec]

for 1/2" drive, i would go with SK 4147-6 and upgrade the ratchet to Armstrong 12-992.

 

[Tellingthem]

I have been impressed with gearwrench. Nice ratchets. I'm also looking at Masterforce since they are made in the USA. Anyone like their stuff?

They are basically the same as USA Craftsman so I like them fine.

I will also say SK is what I'm going towards now. I used some over teh winter and liked them. Prices also seem reasonable to me.

 

[skruft]

I agree, SK seem to last forever, a bargain for the price. I have used various USA brands and have had no problems except that I think the traditional 3/8 Craftsman ratchet is very weak.

 

[exmaxima]

Once I got a cordless impact wrench, I had to rebuy everything in impact sockets. I suggest you just start there and skip the regular chrome vanadium stuff (unless you need some super thin wall stuff in your line of work). My sockets are either Williams or Sunex, both are pretty budget friendly and have a good rep.

I had the same decision to make when I bought my cordless impact. I found that Armstrong and CM USA are the exact same sockets, so I bought CM USA impact sets on eBay for cheaper than Taiwanese stuff (Grey, Sunex, Gearwrench, etc).

Nice stuff, and no regrets. In fact, like it so much I upgraded my older regular sockets to the newer style ("Flank-drive") sockets for my hand ratchets. I know that Sears will not be able to warranty my sockets with USA replacements, but I suspect these Armstrong-made sockets will not fail me for my needs.

 

[exmaxima]

They are basically the same as USA Craftsman so I like them fine.

I will also say SK is what I'm going towards now. I used some over teh winter and liked them. Prices also seem reasonable to me.

I think the Masterforce sockets are made by Allen, and Craftsman USA are made by Armstrong. I know that both Allen and Armstrong are part of the Apex Group, but I think they have separate factories and tooling.

 

[dankicksass]

Get this man some Williams USA tools already!

Here's the thing about Armstrong, Craftsman whatever-line-you-hope-is-USA, Allen and the rest of the Apex-made brands - you don't know what the investment company that owns those brands, contracts and plants is going to do tomorrow. But you have a pretty darn good idea what Snap-On Industrial will do.

I don't know what happens on a railway, but I'll bet things rust there so Gearwrench isn't really adequate for this guy.

 

[cgv69]

IMO the best quality, low cost American made sockets IMO are made under the Williams brand and the best price for them can be had from Tools Delivered (http://www.toolsdelivered.com/).

If you would prefer to buy locally (in case of warranty or replacement issues) and you are not worried about COO, Lowes house brand Kobolt sockets are perfectly fine for the money. They are made in Taiwan (not China - there is a difference) and I think their quality is just fine but their selection is somewhat limited.

Do not buy new (or newer) craftsman sockets. the finish on them is a joke and they will rust in no time.

SK sockets are nice but in my experience, most places (especially local brick and motor stores) charge way too much for them

 

[Tuscani2718]

Well I'm narrowed down to SK or Williams, still deciding which ones to go with.

 

[exmaxima]

IMO the best quality, low cost American made sockets IMO are made under the Williams brand and the best price for them can be had from Tools Delivered (http://www.toolsdelivered.com/).

Wow, those really are good prices! The 20 pc metric standard 3/8 set is only $62, but out of stock.

FWIW, you can still buy the Craftsman USA 17 pc set for $30 delivered:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/291075436378?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

That is a great deal even if you can't be sure of the warranty issue down the road. And seeing how some of the Williams stuff is already being off-shored, there's no guarantees that USA replacements will be available forever as well.

 

[dankicksass]

some of the Williams stuff is already being off-shored

Williams offers both domestic and import products, has for a long time, isn't deceptive about it and doesn't switch a sky from domestic to import under the same number. Quality is excellent regardless of COO. Beware of fakes on eBay though.