big wrench brands

[BigDiesel]

Hello all. I don't post a lot...at all I just like to lurk but I'm a diesel mechanic and have been in the field for 7 months and love it. That being said I love snapon tools and have a lot from them but my wrenches go up to 1 1/4 and 20mm. I want to get bigger wrenches up to 1 1/2 and maybe 30 mm but don't want to pay snapon prices and was wondering what you guys use and like that aren't necessarily from the tool trucks.

 

[JonDick13926]

Hello all. I don't post a lot...at all I just like to lurk but I'm a diesel mechanic and have been in the field for 7 months and love it. That being said I love snapon tools and have a lot from them but my wrenches go up to 1 1/4 and 20mm. I want to get bigger wrenches up to 1 1/2 and maybe 30 mm but don't want to pay snapon prices and was wondering what you guys use and like that aren't necessarily from the tool trucks.

I am in the process of buying some Taiwan Williams up to 35mm. I have 21-27 so far, and I've used them a few times and they seem to be pretty durable. The way I see it, once your wrenches and fasteners get that big, you're less likely to slip and round a fastener and/or spread the wrench. Maybe I'm wrong, and if so I'm sure someone will mention a time when they rounded a 32mm fastener using a plain jane Taiwan combo wrench and their brute strength, but it's never happened to me or anyone I know.

I think they are a good value as far as quality to price ratio goes. Most of them are less than $20 each, some less the $12 depending on where you get them.

Just a suggestion. And the ones I'm talking about have model numbers that start "115..". For example, a 23mm is "11523" and a 35mm is "11535", etc.

Although for USA made wrenches, I guess any Proto, Armstrong, SK, Williams USA, or Wright set will be cheaper than Snap On.

 

[Ratchet.]

Most of my larger wrenches have been bought second hand, Hazet, Gedore, USA made Proto plus some old Uk makes>


I do have a set of bluepoint wrenches from 21-32 that are pretty good, were £50 off the van which seems very good for those size of wrench (mainly bought them as a set to go in my workvan that i wouldn't be that bothered about) nicely made and finished etc.
Cant seem to find the set on Snap-On's website though

 

[crewchief888]

my large set is RamTool brand i bought 25 years ago.

i've taken sledgehammers to them, put pipes on them, none have broken, altho the 1 1/2" is slightly bent.

one of my co-workers has wrenches he picked up at tractor supply about a year ago, none have failed so far.

 

[malykaii]

Car mechanic here who has also only been in the diesel field for a short bit. Glad you like it, cause I'm still having a tough time getting over how filthy it is.

So I about the craftsman master wrench set years ago. It goes all the way up to something like 36mm and 1 1/2??? yet cost less than $180. Replaced the metric wrenches bellow 20mm years ago with better. But for the large bolts, like mentioned above, you dont have to worry about precission. One craftsman wrench in the large sizes can be $30 which is a rip off, but as part of that set (even if you throw out the smaller ones) is a good deal. Assuming they still offer it.

 

[btbsandman]

Hello all. I don't post a lot...at all I just like to lurk but I'm a diesel mechanic and have been in the field for 7 months and love it. That being said I love snapon tools and have a lot from them but my wrenches go up to 1 1/4 and 20mm. I want to get bigger wrenches up to 1 1/2 and maybe 30 mm but don't want to pay snapon prices and was wondering what you guys use and like that aren't necessarily from the tool trucks.

Take a look at Tekton's Taiwan wrench set. They have great customer service.

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

20YR equipment guy here: I tried some HF stuff for everything over 1" when I was new. Broke most of them in pretty short order.
I have built my wrench assortment up to 1 1/2 and 36MM in all truck brand stuff. Anything over that, I usually have room for a good quality adjustable, and its usually hydraulic lines / fittings kinda work for which I have a BP adjustable that goes up to about 3" range. Used it w/5 foot cheater pipes and have yet to damage or bend it.
I know the price *****, but if you are making a career out of it, you may wanna to just bite the bullet and get the best you can -- it's not that bad if you only buy it once.

 

[LordPsychon]

Even though I have no need of large wrenches, the Taiwanese Kobalts at Lowe's seem pretty decent - won't hold up as long as a Williams or Proto but they're not likely to fail like Chinese HF wrenches.

 

[bobcatdan]

I say go with Wright. Starting at 1 5/16" on up, wright has a round beam design that fits your hand very nice compared to to the flat beam of any other brand. Simply because of their mast, import large wrenches are hard to break so most people are happy with them. But if you compair an import to a USA made wrench, the import will pail in comparison to any USA made wrench.

 

[fivespdcat]

A great place to get big wrenches on the cheap is cripe distributing. Just make sure to put a decent sized order in to offset the shipping...

 

[jwsia]

Dan, I like your quote on the bottom. Where I grew up we had Mills Fleet Farms, I still say "Fleet Farm" The people around here look at me funny as we have another brand of farm store Blain's farm and Fleet. Just struck me funny.

 

[BigDiesel]

Thanks guys...I've heard good things about Williams and I've debated on craftsman.. Guess I'll just look at whoever has the best quality/price ratio. I rarely need anything larger than 1 1/4. But I like self reliance and hate borrowing tools.

 

[BigDiesel]

Car mechanic here who has also only been in the diesel field for a short bit. Glad you like it, cause I'm still having a tough time getting over how filthy it is.

So I about the craftsman master wrench set years ago. It goes all the way up to something like 36mm and 1 1/2??? yet cost less than $180. Replaced the metric wrenches bellow 20mm years ago with better. But for the large bolts, like mentioned above, you dont have to worry about precission. One craftsman wrench in the large sizes can be $30 which is a rip off, but as part of that set (even if you throw out the smaller ones) is a good deal. Assuming they still offer it.

And yeah they're dirty...I work at a Mack dealer and see a shitload of trash trucks and dump trucks so I was baptized in the filth so I don't know any better lol.

 

[RedRabbit]

I'm pretty sure Wright and Proto go up to those sizes. They are both great brands.

 

[PureLeaf]

Wright makes big wrenches

 

[bob15]

I have older Williams, Snap On and Bonney. Have yet to break any of them.

Go to flea markets, swap meets, e-bay, pawn store, etc and buy used and save yourself a ton of money.....

 

[rapid robert]

I would keep an eye on eBay for used proto, bonney, SK, USA craftsman. You can buy them second hand for a fraction of new prices. Sometimes you can find a good group cheap...singles tend to run a little higher just like at the regular stores.

 

[Wrenchinfool]

I have older Williams, Snap On and Bonney. Have yet to break any of them.

Go to flea markets, swap meets, e-bay, pawn store, etc and buy used and save yourself a ton of money.....

Took the words right out of my mouth.. One other thing is snappy industrial, I have up to 2inch in a variety of types good luck..

 

[Ridwaan Gallow]

None of my tools came with a price tag or a shelf hanger.. everything is second hand.. but i only buy the top makes available in my country.. which is Stahlwille and Gedore.. i will rather have a high quality second hand piece, rather than a brand new item which i know is not top grade.. my box now goes from 9mm spanners up to 19mm & from 10mm sockets up till 21mm.. (no torx or alans/hex keys as yet)..

I will however buy a brand new set of Stahlwilles and keep this second hand set as a loan unit for my brothers.. whom may i say, never fix anything without MY hands getting dirty in the process anyways..

 

[MJD1]

Northern tool has decent large wrenches. They have held up well on truck and heavy equipment use.

 

[jptbay]

A great place to get big wrenches on the cheap is cripe distributing. Just make sure to put a decent sized order in to offset the shipping...

^^ This x2

Best deals around, but you will have to spend some time searching their site.

Don't be afraid of a large shipping cost. Cripe will review your order to correct shipping costs and send you a refund.

Use Garage Journal discount code "Welcome Back" for 10% off your order.

Here is an example: USA MADE $20 - Allen 20225B 12 pt. Combination Wrench 1-7/16" http://www.cripedistributing.com/allen-20225b-12-pt-combination-wrench-1-7-16-usa.html

 

[espyking83]

I'd say get a Martin or Wright service wrench set and cut a cheater bar for it. Love service wrenches.

 

[OutsideMachinist]

These are ok. Grab them till you can afford some good ones. They include the rarer sizes that the hf and klutch northern tool ones dont.

http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-1962-Combination-Wrench-10-Piece/dp/B000NPPA8E/ref=sr_1_11?s=power-hand-tools&ie=UTF8&qid=1428880297&sr=1-11

Klutch ones arent bad either.

metric set- 34-50mm http://www.amazon.com/TEKTON-1963-Combination-Wrench-10-Piece/dp/B000NPR212/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_text_y

 

[ihateminimumwage]

A great place to get big wrenches on the cheap is cripe distributing. Just make sure to put a decent sized order in to offset the shipping...

Shoot them an email before paying to request the actual shipping cost. They'll pack the hell out of a flat rate box and save you a LOT of money. (like $40+ shipping down to $11)

I used a mix of USA wrenches from Cripe and the Northern Tool set (and HF jumbo angle wrenches) while working on trucks and equipment.

Cripe and eBay are the way to go for piecing together a larger USA set. Just checked the Cripe eBay store and found a mix of Kobalt USA, Allen USA, KD USA and Gearwrench:

1 3/8"
1 7/16"
1 9/16"
1 5/8"
and 21mm-32mm (minus 26, 28 & 31mm)

 

[dovco]

The HF jumbos are not too bad.
I have the long Craftsman full polished sets up to 1" and 24 mm, Allen (ebay) 1-1/16 to 1-3/8, Sunex 25-32mm angle, and HF SAE jumbos that were $40 with coupon. The HF are well worth their price.

 

[metaldad]

menards realigned their hand tools.
now offer crescent combo wrenches up to 2''.
beat the **** out of a 1 7/16 and 1 1/2. jah, they're apex chinese.
https://www.menards.com/main/p-2347511-c-9157.htm

 

[michiganman18]

I would go with SK or Wright for that application. SK is my go to, never let me down in strength.

 

[supertooljunkie]

I have Proto in sizes 1-3/8", 1-1/2". Bought used for $5 each. Proto great brand. Snap on Industrial finish in 1-5/8, 1-3/4, 1-7/8, & 2-1/16. Paid $20 for those, all from pawn shops.
Bought a new in the bag Bacho, owned by Snap on, made in Germany, 55mm, combo, on Ebay for $20-25 delivered. Found a Stahlwille, 60mm combo on ebay for about $35 delivered. Wright 1-7/16" combo, new, on Ebay for $30 delivered.

All great wrenches for cheap.

As others have said, used is good, and pawn shops, flea markets are a real good place to look.

 

[XxToolAholicxX]

Wright and Proto are excellent brands and make those sizes you are looking for at a very competitive prices. Go to your local flea markets and you might find some there as there is not as much demand for those large sizes in the auto industry. I see lots of large wrenches at my local flea market ranging from $3.00 to $5.00 dollars. And these are good brands like Craftsman USA Wright,Proto,S-K,JH Williams and sometimes Bonney or other older USA brands.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I am a ToolAholic,Sometimes I regret it,Especially when the ToolMan wont give me no credit