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OEM brand??

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Talisheek

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I inherited a large assortment of tools. It is taking me a while to sort through everything. I found a fair amount of sockets and bits with brand name OEM. They appear to be good quality, but I have never heard of that brand.

I was wondering if anyone knows if these are actually good quality tools.
 
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6MocoA

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Talisheek said:
I inherited a large assortment of tools. It is taking me a while to sort through everything. I found a fair amount of sockets and bits with brand name OEM. They appear to be good quality, but I have never heard of that brand.

I was wondering if anyone knows if these are actually good quality tools.
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I believe it used to be a common Autozone / Northern Tool brand. I have a few OEM tools in my toolbox and I cant say that they are bad. Never had a negative issue with them.
 
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Adam.C

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Oh please. I'd never buy anything from an auto parts manufacturer named OEM. Look, these OEM brake rotors are really cheap!

I liken it to the town they made in Japan in the 60s called Usa. As in "made in Usa. "
 
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Talisheek

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Thanks for the info. I also got lots of Snapon and Craftsman. And a fair amount of Armstrong, Crescent and Pittsburgh and ones just marked "Taiwan". A wide range of quality for sure.
 
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TK-421

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Adam.C said:
I liken it to the town they made in Japan in the 60s called Usa. As in "made in Usa. "
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Since when are tools marked with the name of the town they're made in? :headscrat

Last I checked, tools are marked with the name of country they're made in. They could make a town in Japan and call it "We swear to God these tools were made in the United States of America and not Japan", and the tools would still be marked "Made in Japan".


To the OP: I'm pretty sure I remember seeing OEM branded tools at an auto parts store when I was a kid, but I haven't seen them in years, though I haven't really been looking all that hard either.
 
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Fedwrench

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OEM can be really good or not that good. It depends on the tool. Mobile Distributor Supply has a lot of OEM stuff on sale usually. They have some nicer newer socket, wrench, & screwdriver sets that come in nice dense foam trays for easy storage. Taiwan made for the most part. Nice satin finish.
 
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Cope

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2ndGearRubber said:
I have a magnetic spark plug socket from OEM. It's quickly become my favorite. Can't comment on any of the other stuff.
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I have a few 3/4" plug socket and a long 5/8" magnetic OEM. They look like they could be Stahlwille or Hazet from the finish.
 
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BFBOB

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TK-421 said:
Since when are tools marked with the name of the town they're made in? :headscrat
.
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Athol, for instance.

and, hmm, South Bend, Wayne, Milwaukee, Hollands ... I'm sure there are more.

edit - can't believe I forgot the GJ fave Proto Los Angeles!
(good one, foxracing)
 
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DonglordActual

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Great Neck is one of the tool brands that doesn't even bother listing an address on their site. This is never a good sign for a company.

OEM doesn't stand for anything at all. They started using that brand in 1996. The trademark has always been OEM and is not a KFC situation where they deny what it originally stood for.

I guess it's supposed to make you think it's original equipment manufacturer stuff but generally wouldn't only people who knew that it wasn't know what OEM meant in reference to cars? I don't really get it.

Some other tool companies named after the city they are/were in.
Gedore - GEbrüder DOwidat REmscheid
KTC - Kyoto Tool Co.
OTC - Owatonna Tool Company
Bridgeport
Millers Falls
WGB - Westfälische Gesenkschmiede Breckerfeld
 
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Wamsutta

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DonglordActual said:
OEM doesn't stand for anything at all.
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That's ridiculous as heck then. They should've came up with something, or use different letters. If they're trying to make me me think their tools are better quality like OEM auto parts are better quality than aftermarket parts; that psychology attempt don't work on me.
 
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Bill Ramsey

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I have an OEM oil sensor socket. Bought it at Autozone about 5 years ago. Can't really speak to durability - I've used it only twice. But it worked flawlessly both times. :lol:
 
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xikevinn

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I have a couple of OEM tools. Pretty good quality. My favorite is my set of flex head crows feet sockets. Saved me a bunch if times where a regular crows foot would not work.
 
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Finky198

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I have their oil sender unit socket as well from autozone needed it in a pinch as my other version wasn't deep enough. I think I have couple of axle nut sockets as well no complaints.
 
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kb1982

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I have rented several of their speciality tools from AutoZone. Some are ok and some are garbage. The good ones I keep and add to my collection, the bad ones go back and I get my deposit back. If you happen to use their harmonic balancer puller, be sure to leave the crankshaft bolt in but mostly unscrewed or else it will damage the first few threads in the crankshaft.

Sent from my Z962BL using Tapatalk
 
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abautoVictoria

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Adam.C said:
Oh please. I'd never buy anything from an auto parts manufacturer named OEM. Look, these OEM brake rotors are really cheap!

I liken it to the town they made in Japan in the 60s called Usa. As in "made in Usa. "
Click to expand...
I know this is an old post, but we have a set of extended torx OEM brand, made in Taiwan and have been beating them up pretty hard over the past 2 years, and they are decent quality, to the point we wouldn't mind having more
 
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Bubba Fett

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OEM Tools range from poor to great. They source a lot of the same manufacturers as most other brands in their range. Newer stuff seems to be better quality.
 
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lardy1

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OEM is a division of Great Neck. I have some of their short 3/8" drive sockets. I bought them for clearance situations so they don't get used much plus they're 12 point which isn't my preference but in close situations that's a positive of sorts. Nice looking satin finish on them.
 
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RTM

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Interesting, looking at this trademark listing, the first things listed are car hardware, not tools, can't find the original 1996 filing. Socket organizers are WAY down the page

As we know, OEM stands for Original Equipment Manufacturer, so they are trying to imply they are the OEM for hose clamps etc., or as good as OEM. Sure.

trademark.trademarkia.com

See Live/Registered Trademark OEM TOOLS with classes [021, 020, 017, 012, 011, 009, 008, 007, 006]

furniture, namely, counter stools; organizers, namely, storage and organization systems comprising shelves, drawers, cupboards, baskets and hanging rods, sold as a unit; service carts, namely, mechanics' carts; socket organizers, namely, tool boxes not of metal; tool storage racks and tables...
trademark.trademarkia.com trademark.trademarkia.com
 
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qqzj

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OEM is mid tier. Their tools work. But the craftsmanship vary. I have a great 1/2 drive 36mm impact socket. But I also returned a set of 3/8 impact socket set that was poorly made. So it can be tool specific
 
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liliysdad

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Vwpower said:
My service cart is oem tools. I thought it was a great cart and a good value but after reading what guys who say stuff on the internet say I guess its just **** 0F383067-16E0-47D6-8701-DDF50055E523.jpeg
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Obviously you were bamboozled into believing that toolbox was made by an original equipment manufacturer, right? I mean...just look how misleading the name is ...
 
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BigBoreFan

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I have 1/4 metric sets, shallow and deep. And some larger 1/2 drive metric sockets. I like em. Very nice finish.
 
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