New guy here Some questions

[cregulator]

Hey guys ive been looking at this forum for a while now and more recently ive been thinking of buying a real tool box and real tools.

heres what im currently working with

ive owned it for about 3 or 4 years and use it to pretty much wrench on old motorcycles most nights after work. i tried to hide in the picture how messy it is. i really want a bigger tool box i can have for a long time and i can just keep adding tools. preferably a 40 inch or so roller with a top on it. Ive been really leaning towards the HF box because alot of people on here give it some nice reviews. also i got a friend really pushing montezuma on me. does anyone have any experience with them?

Now enough of my life story. Im really interested in buying better tools as of right now i use craftsman but would like to upgrade. Is there mid grade tools that are made in the USA that arent craftsman? sorry if this question has been asked before but i searched and couldnt find it. Is it worth buying snapon if it just do it in my shed?

 

[MrMark]

I would say no, but some will tell you SK.

 

[Harrison2]

some of the hf boxes are good aswell as the tool carts, I'm not too hot on the USA made tool question but gearwrench which are Asia made have lifetime warrantee and great for weekend warriors, also may be worth stating a budget. Williams are also a good brand

 

[gagreen]

Montezuma's are nice but I don't know how much of an upgrade it would be over the hf 44.

As far as tools you got a lot of midgrade options. wright, sk, armstrong, blackhawk(mix of usa and taiwan) proto etc.. Proto and blackhawk are my favorites of the group although armstrong has the best midgrade ratchets. All in my opinion.

 

[Rickster]

US mid-grade tools: SK, Proto, Armstrong, Cornwell, Williams, Wright. Search ebay for good deals on these.

 

[Pumpman1968]

Ebay has some great deals on used stuff. I recently started upgrading from Craftsman to a mix of S-K, Williams and Proto.

Try this first. Keep the Craftsman sockets and upgrade your ratchets. Lightly used S-K round head ratchets can be had for pretty cheap......same design for decades. if you want new, check out toolsdelivered.com for Williams. Snap-On quality....albeit older designs..... with pretty decent prices.

 

[Stokes_]

US mid-grade tools: SK, Proto, Armstrong, Cornwell, Williams, Wright. Search ebay for good deals on these.

Mid grade? I'd put each and every one of those companies against SO in terms of quality (with the exception of Williams Taiwan, but even those are more than capable for tools around the house). IMO, the only area that SO excels in is their ratcheting mechanisms, and even Koken does those better than SO. SO's quality is greatly exaggerated, the only thing they do head and shoulders better than the competition in is their warranty.

Just my two pennies though.

 

[Stokes_]

Also, go with a HF, Kobalt, or Craftsman box. An $8,000 box is never truly necessary.

 

[Flivver250]

When wrenching was my jop I bought Snap-On. No regrets at all, worth every penny. I still do occasionally, but I started buying Wright a couple years ago and I am entirely satisfied. Their quality puts them up there with the very best and they can be purchased at reasonable prices. Hard to stick to one brand. Watch Craigslist for a good used box. Get a larger box than you think you need, you will be surprised how quickly they fill up. Used tools with lifetime warranties are just as good as new tools.

 

[Farmall450]

I would say no, but some will tell you SK.

How about Allen USA and Masterforce??
I got a HF box and love it.

 

[toomanytoyzz]

Might want to start buying used. You can go to flee markets/yard and garage sales/auctions and even pawn shops and find all the brands mentioned at a fraction of new prices. They still offer the warranty especially if you have friends that wrench for a living.

 

[Davefr]

Mid grade? I'd put each and every one of those companies against SO in terms of quality.

^^^ Agree 100%. Those are all top shelf tools vs. mid grade. I'd also put them up against SO any day.

SO's quality is greatly exaggerated, the only thing they do head and shoulders better than the competition in is their warranty.

Not really. SO Corp. requires proof of purchase these days. SO dealer warranty support is only as good as the dealer. (excellent to non existent).

 

[Natsfan]

+10 for used craigslist, flea markets, even the goodwill. It's like a scavenger hunt. Old better quality used is the way to go in my opinion.

Sometimes the tools even come with a great story!

 

[DieselSaves]

What kind of old motorcycles are you working on? I've worked on more Japanese bikes than I can count and two tools come to mind as nearly indispensable: my impact driver, I have a MAC one that is awesome, a SO that I always wanted, and a Lisle that works great too. I don't think you can pull those old Phillips case bolts without them.
The other set I used for years was a set of MotionPro Long T-handle wrenches. Made almost every job a little faster.
Another handy tool was cutting torch tip cleaners for opening up carb jets.

I started out with sockets so cheap the size was all that was legible. They were so poor the 8 and 10mm ones rounded out after just a few uses. After those every other set I tried seemed golden. I upgraded to CMan then SO and that was fine, all my boxes have been used top line US which is my recommendation.

If I had it to do over I'd still buy only SO ratchets and screw drivers, maybe the wrenches if I could find a deal, but sockets I'd go SK, and everything else I'd look at Mayhew for bars and punches, Lisle for more stuff, there are so many good brands that still make a few bits her at competitive prices with the imports that a little shopping will save lots of money over just SO.

 

[Stokes_]

^^^ Agree 100%. Those are all top shelf tools vs. mid grade. I'd also put them up against SO any day.



Not really. SO Corp. requires proof of purchase these days. SO dealer warranty support is only as good as the dealer. (excellent to non existent).

Ah, I only have experience with the SO dealer that comes to our hangar. The guy's a bit of a douche bag, but when you return a broken/malfunctioning tool he returns it with no questions asked. But yeah, if SO is starting to be a hassle with their warranties then there really is no reason to pay that inflated premium price IMO. I'll stick with my SK wrenches/sockets, Koken ratchets, and Wera screwdrivers. Still, I have yet to use a ratcheting screwdriver that compares to SO's though, my Williams is the closest thing I've seen. Gonna pick up Wera's at some point, from what I hear it is every bit as good.

 

[GoodEnough]

OP sounds bored. Obviously, your tools have worked for you. Keep them. If you want more tools, buy another box cheap, and buy some stuff you don't already own. Better coverage that way. Otherwise, save your money and invest in SNA stock.

 

[Moose97]

If you ask 100 different people what the best tool option is, you're likely to get 100 different answers. 107 on this board. You have to determine what is important to you. COO, price, ease of getting and returning, quality level, bragging rights? It's entirely up to the individual and their particular point of view. I don't think anyone on this board would tell you as a DIY'er that you could go wrong with the HF tool boxes. Best bang for the buck out there.
I think a better question to ask is, "What kind of tools do you use and why?" Then you can get pro's and con's from folks. I will tell you mine. I use Craftsman. I started with them and have never had any problems. I don't wrench for a living, I can still get mostly made in America, they are easy to get and return, my experience has been good from a quality standpoint and the price fits my budget.
As far as tool boxes go, I have my first "starter" Craftsman 8 drawer that I've added a US General 2-drawer that was on clearance and a 3-drawer Lowe's off-brand to. Works for me but I really want that HF 44".
Good Luck!

 

[cregulator]

Thank so much for the insight guys! After reading this i think its probably the most wise for me to just go with a big HF box. Simply for price reasons. until i make the commitment ill scour craiglist for a better deal price wise.

What kind of old motorcycles are you working on?

Ive been working on old harleys mostly. Ironheads and Shovelheads and evo sportsters quite often as well. And i work on my fair share of old japanese stuff as well. Ill work on anything really.

OP sounds bored. Obviously, your tools have worked for you. Keep them. If you want more tools, buy another box cheap, and buy some stuff you don't already own. Better coverage that way. Otherwise, save your money and invest in SNA stock.

I think you misunderstood me. I never claimed i was replacing my tools I just want to know if and when i do expand what kind of options there were. But i failed to mention that i already have an amount of tools and i dont have a box to fit them all in and this collection is only getting bigger

 

[cregulator]

If you ask 100 different people what the best tool option is, you're likely to get 100 different answers. 107 on this board. You have to determine what is important to you. COO, price, ease of getting and returning, quality level, bragging rights?

I guess what is really important to me is Quality i want something that will last. I dont mind paying a little extra for something thats gonna last. and lastly i would prefer it be made in the usa but if somewhere makes a better tool i dont mind buying that.

 

[atwageman]

It's already been said. For hard line stuff you can't go wrong with SK wrenches and sockets. ToolTopia.com has very competitive prices on SK product. I also use SO, Wright, Cornwell, Proto, MAC, Wiha, Bondhus, Wilde, Mayhew, just to name a few.

I'm not loyal to just one brand. Many quality brands are well represented in my tool boxes.

 

[otis66]

SK or Wright tools.

 

[Panel Dan]

Beyond everything else, if you use pliers frequently, get Klein pliers. Such good tools.


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[oldldh]

You said "Big HF box"...

If you mean the 56" Roller Cabinet, GO FOR IT!!!

The mostest, for the leastest....440 pounds of goodness...

 

[nicksnothereman]

Hey guys ive been looking at this forum for a while now and more recently ive been thinking of buying a real tool box and real tools.

ive owned it for about 3 or 4 years and use it to pretty much wrench on old motorcycles most nights after work. i tried to hide in the picture how messy it is. i really want a bigger tool box i can have for a long time and i can just keep adding tools. preferably a 40 inch or so roller with a top on it. Ive been really leaning towards the HF box because alot of people on here give it some nice reviews. also i got a friend really pushing montezuma on me. does anyone have any experience with them?

Now enough of my life story. Im really interested in buying better tools as of right now i use craftsman but would like to upgrade. Is there mid grade tools that are made in the USA that arent craftsman? sorry if this question has been asked before but i searched and couldnt find it. Is it worth buying snapon if it just do it in my shed?

There's a guy with an electric green montezuma box on here, he seems to like it. I don't think those are us-made though.

They say wright and sk (above mid-grade though). Warranty is an issue because it's not retail.

Is it worth it to buy snapon for home? Nah. There's a whole deal with truck tools that is tied into the warranty; that if you don't maintain a buying relationship with them you're going to have trouble getting them to replace busted tools. Granted they are better than consumer grade stuff (even most of their imported stuff that's not rebranded) but there is still a possibility of failure with them. No point unless you plan to keep on buying stuff from them. You could buy used if you get a deal on stuff but don't expect them to honor the warranty on them like you can with some retail tools.

Man, I keep most of my tools in craftsman bags and smaller tool boxes and often use a bucket to pool tools for a job. Don't always need fancy to get the job done, sometimes it's more of a p.i.t.a. than doing it like a hillbilly. Bag gets a hole in the bottom and I sew it right back up. Yeah a box would be great for organization but I don't have the room for everything so it would still end up floating around. Best thing for me is to lump stuff into sets by use you already have that in that craftsman box (I think).

 

[fivespdcat]

If this was me, and it was a few years ago, I would keep the craftsman sockets. Outside of that upgrade the ratchets ASAP, you'll really notice a big difference there. I have a mix of armstrong Maxx, SK and craftsman thin profiles. All of them are nice but the locking flex of the armstrong are my favorites. Then make sure all your bases are covered, you need some dead blows, think HF here, cheap and good enough. Good pliers, I like Knipex for most things but have a mix of channellock, proto and klein along with some CM pros. Don't forget a nice set of heavy duty screwdrivers, I have the wiha with hex bolsters and striking cap and some CM pros. Either can be had at good prices. I like the idea of a 1/4" impact for disassembly, but I actually prefer to wrench by hand, since it's just a hobby.

For the box, I went with a used Matco for $600, but with the economy getting better those deals are harder to find. Good luck in your endeavor and always check ebay for NOS high quality tools.

 

[iroc409]

OP sounds bored. Obviously, your tools have worked for you. Keep them. If you want more tools, buy another box cheap, and buy some stuff you don't already own. Better coverage that way. Otherwise, save your money and invest in SNA stock.

It's way too easy to get carried away with buying tools, especially being a GJ member. I started with that set, and it does pretty darn well. I'd look into a bigger box, or maybe just a top box, and add as you go. No need in replacing perfectly serviceable tools.

 

[iroc409]

You said "Big HF box"...

If you mean the 56" Roller Cabinet, GO FOR IT!!!

The mostest, for the leastest....440 pounds of goodness...

He could fit that whole tool set in a single drawer.