PRY Bar Question

[onecheck]

Is there a difference in pry bars

I was thinking about?

OTC-3 Pc 3 Pc Blue Force Super Duty Handled Pry Bar Set ($45)

http://www.usatoolwarehouse.com/usatoolwarehouse/OTC-8203.html

Snap On Set, Prybar, Orange Handle, 4 pcs. for $80 (Student Discount)

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...&group_ID=1005&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

Mac 3Pc Pry Bar set ($70) (Student Discount)

Craftsman Pro Pry bars 3PC 49.99

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00943288000P

Sk 6093 - 3 Piece Pry Bar Set ($60)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007LXUQS/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Mayhew Tools 61355 3-Piece Dominator Screwdriver Pry Bar Set ($50)

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000T4URU/?tag=atomicindus08-20

What is your recommendation?

 

[LoneGunman]

I think I'd spend the few extra bucks and get the Snap On's for only one reason, Resale value. You decide mechanic work is not for you there is no doubt you are getting your money back and most likely making a profit. If you were not getting the discount I'd say get the Craftsman, they are rebaged Mayhew.

I'm sure there are rules against it but I'd buy the Snap On, sell them on Ebay, buy the Mayhews from Craftsman and use the profit to buy more tools.

 

[<>Severed<>]

I prefer SO for most of my stuff myself but thats just me. But I have the CM set below and it has held up well and for the most part it is allways on sale for 20 bucks cant beat that.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00943278000P

 

[TNToy]

Mayhew/Craftsman will do just fine.

I have larger prybars from Matco and Cornwell - one's 36" long and has a straight screwdriver tip, the other is a 48" angle tip. I get these out when something actually needs pried with force. Popping an axle out of a FWD transmission, for instance.

90% of the time, however, you're bending an A/C line out of the way, moving a plastic bracket, popping a hose off of a fitting... This kind of stuff, I use my short, crappy, Harbor Freight prybar set for. 3 or 4 prybars were like $15. And they work fine, as long as you're not hanging from them.

 

[speed bump]

I have the 3 pc regular Craftsman set and have wailed on them for hours at a time with 3lb drillers hammer and they have held up just fine.

 

[Stanger]

I think the best deal is the Cman pro set for $30 on sale.

 

[Fedwrench]

I would use your student discount for stuff that you really want a truck brand like ratchets, sockets, and wrenches. That being said, I would recommend either of the Craftsman prybar sets (pro black or standard red handles) when they're on sale for half off.

 

[garfunkle24]

My opinion contradicts a lot of guys on here I guess. I have had Craftsman, Craftsman Pro, Mastercraft, S-K and several other (cheaper) pry -bars and I thought they all sucked. I have also triedMac, OTC and Mayhew bars (are they the same?). They all seem to flex way too much for my liking.

I'm not one of those "everything had to be Snap-on" guys, but for me their pry bars are worth the money. I've had them for a few years and they just seem to be stiffer than most anything else. I have the biggest snappy pry bar (36" I believe) and another tech in the shop has OTC's biggest bar (48" I believe) and I can apply way more force with my bar than his! We checked the specs and mine is made of 3/4" stock, his is 5/8".

Here's a couple of pics of mine:

Edit: I should've mentioned that I'm a heavy duty tech, as this may make a difference to your usage.

Also if you are currently getting a 50% student discount, now is a really great time to find out from older techs which tools "absolutely" should be bought from Snap-on, Mac etc. I know for me the 50% was a one shot deal so I made the most of it. Here's a couple of personal pointers from me while you have student discounts:

1. Buy all the Knipex pliers in the Mac catalogue, you will rarely (if ever) get Knipex for these prices any other time.
2. Buy Snappy pry bars and heel bars.
3. If you know that some day ytou're going to want a set of 'premium' combo wrenches (Flankdrives, KS2's etc) get them now.
4. Buy some Snappy 80 tooth ratchets. You'll buy them eventually anyway lol

I'm sure that if you wanted the input I could suggest many more and so could many others here.

 

[onecheck]

My opinion contradicts a lot of guys on here I guess. I have had Craftsman, Craftsman Pro, Mastercraft, S-K and several other (cheaper) pry -bars and I thought they all sucked. I have also triedMac, OTC and Mayhew bars (are they the same?). They all seem to flex way too much for my liking.

I'm not one of those "everything had to be Snap-on" guys, but for me their pry bars are worth the money. I've had them for a few years and they just seem to be stiffer than most anything else. I have the biggest snappy pry bar (36" I believe) and another tech in the shop has OTC's biggest bar (48" I believe) and I can apply way more force with my bar than his! We checked the specs and mine is made of 3/4" stock, his is 5/8".

Here's a couple of pics of mine:

Edit: I should've mentioned that I'm a heavy duty tech, as this may make a difference to your usage.

Also if you are currently getting a 50% student discount, now is a really great time to find out from older techs which tools "absolutely" should be bought from Snap-on, Mac etc. I know for me the 50% was a one shot deal so I made the most of it. Here's a couple of personal pointers from me while you have student discounts:

1. Buy all the Knipex pliers in the Mac catalogue, you will rarely (if ever) get Knipex for these prices any other time.
2. Buy Snappy pry bars and heel bars.
3. If you know that some day ytou're going to want a set of 'premium' combo wrenches (Flankdrives, KS2's etc) get them now.
4. Buy some Snappy 80 tooth ratchets. You'll buy them eventually anyway lol

I'm sure that if you wanted the input I could suggest many more and so could many others here.

I bought the Snap on 80 tooth ratchets, Snap on flank drive wrenches 10mm-19mm, Snap on 3/8 sockets deep, shallow. Mac edge 1/4 sockets deep, shallow. Mac 1/4, 3/8 1/2 magnetic ratchet extensions. Mac 4 piece pliers set

I plan on taking your advice and buy the Sanp-On pry bar set. Any more recommendations to use with my student discount?

 

[garfunkle24]

I bought the Snap on 80 tooth ratchets, Snap on flank drive wrenches 10mm-19mm, Snap on 3/8 sockets deep, shallow. Mac edge 1/4 sockets deep, shallow. Mac 1/4, 3/8 1/2 magnetic ratchet extensions. Mac 4 piece pliers set

I plan on taking your advice and buy the Sanp-On pry bar set. Any more recommendations to use with my student discount?

Honestly, for me the Knipex piers is the biggest one! eg. The 22" are $70 with your discount. Price them out elsewhere.... Anyway, i'll do some thinking and post back. Good start though!

 

[garfunkle24]

I've actually looked into the Mac stuff just recently because a tech working for me was putting in a student order (I used mine years ago). I was able to add to his order

Here are some more suggestions:

1. Mac EM710 multimeter (same as RCC 507, has pulse width, freq etc).
2. Mac 1/2" impact (the rebadged IR 2135ti)
3. Mac or Snappy dead-blow ball peen hammers.
4. Mac or Snappy extractor sets. These are made by a different OEM and also sold through sears etc, but are actually cheaper with your truck brand discount.
5. Snap-on 4-way angle head wrenches (invaluable!)
6. Snappy line wrenches.
7. Blue-point ratchet wrenches (again, even though these are Taiwanese and essentially the same as Craftsman, GW etc, they're cheaper with truck brand 50% off).
8. Snappy or Mac mini o-ring picks
9. Snappy ratcheting screwdriver
10. Mac/Snappy torque wrench.
11. Snappy locking pliers (rebadged Grip-Ons)
12. Mac hex keys (rebadged Bondhus)
13. Mac rethreading set (rebadged Kastar)
14. Mac hand impact driver
15. Snap-on roll pin puches
16. Mac 12pc snap-ring piers set (rebadged Stride, also sold by Snappy, SK, OTC)

These are in no particular order.

There are many things I could suggest you 'should' get from a truck brand, but that's really up to you.

As you learn more about tools and mechanical work, there will be certain tools that you will end up wanting a high quality example of (in my experience anyway). To me, it makes sense to get these as cheap as possible and to only buy them once. Those are the things on my list.

Notice that most of my suggestions are stuff that is re-labelled and sold through Mac. The combination of the 50% discount and their increasingly re-badged product line can lead to some really good deals.
I wonder if Mac is actually losing money on some of this stuff? Lots of times the Mac student price for a rebadged product is 20 - 30% lower than that tool is when it is marked as a 'no-name' brand and sold at it's lowest price on Ebay or Amazon or whatever.

Edit: This is from my other post, just in case I refer another student back to this post:

Also if you are currently getting a 50% student discount, now is a really great time to find out from older techs which tools "absolutely" should be bought from Snap-on, Mac etc. I know for me the 50% was a one shot deal so I made the most of it. Here's a couple of personal pointers from me while you have student discounts:

1. Buy all the Knipex pliers in the Mac catalogue, you will rarely (if ever) get Knipex for these prices any other time.
2. Buy Snappy pry bars and heel bars.
3. If you know that some day ytou're going to want a set of 'premium' combo wrenches (Flankdrives, KS2's etc) get them now.
4. Buy some Snappy 80 tooth ratchets. You'll buy them eventually anyway lol

Man is this a long post!

 

[Hawk321]

Hell guys...student price??? Only 80$???

No discussion, buy the snap-on prybars, they are great and honestly...are the best I ever had!

Paid 290 $ (Euro in Dollar) for the 4pc Set!!!!!!!!!!

 

[rsanter]

I have the snap on set and the Cman pro set
I like them both

bob

 

[Danglerb]

$7 for my set of HF pry bars, works fine for me. I do want to add one of the indexing prybars.

 

[Fedwrench]

The newer Mayhew Dominator 44 inch pry bar is made out of 7/8 stock. It's quite the bar.
http://www.tooltopia.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=43002

 

[garfunkle24]

The newer Mayhew Dominator 44 inch pry bar is made out of 7/8 stock. It's quite the bar.
http://www.tooltopia.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=43002

I was just checking some sizes and it seems my SO pry-bar is actually 5/8". Maybe dementia is setting in.

 

[bushhawg73]

I also suggest the Snap on prybars. I like the new ones with the striking cap. I also have the 36 inch snappy along with with a Mayhew that I think is 42 inches. Mayhew makes good stuff also. I am currently buying their punches. The real big set of drift pin punches from snappy, part #LP30A, is 170.00. I can buy the same size punches for around 50.00 from MSC industrial supply. They are the exact same size. Makes you wonder if snappys are made by Mayhew.

I also recomend the heal or ladys foot prybars. They are great for lining up holes.

 

[TNToy]

I have also tried Mac, OTC and Mayhew bars (are they the same?). They all seem to flex way too much for my liking.

Edit: I should've mentioned that I'm a heavy duty tech, as this may make a difference to your usage.

Being a truck guy makes a huge difference.

Wrenching on Toyotas, my short bars are used for things like popping wiring harness clips loose, and lining up brackets to start bolts. Flex is a non-issue, since I could comfortably apply the force required with 2 fingers if necessary.

The long bars are what I reach for when I need strength. And that's probably 6 times a week or less.

 

[gofastman]

I have the Snappy's in red, I love them! Very little flex and the handles clean up well.

 

[MAD]

Personally, even with the discount, I would still buy the Craftsman pro set for a Pry bar set 25" and smaller.

BTW: The OTC Blue Force Pry bars are made in mainland China.

They are not bad tools but considering that the Craftsman Pro set that is made in USA by Mayhew, goes on sale for less all the time...

 

[Deafautotech]

i own snap on pry bar set from being student for automotive tech college, got pry bar set with scraper, and other tools for only 130 dollars. but when i need use it with hammer, i got craftsman professional pry bar set for like 30 or 40 dollars as i got few years ago. i am happy with it but craftsman pro pry bars wear a lot... so i just bought mayhew 58in long pry bar as i hate to use snap on 36in as not enough length to pry the lower control arm to pop out of knuckle. even try to pry the differential house to match the hole to get bolt in on jeep wrangler... the 58in length mayhew that my snap on guy sold me for 99 dollars... i had to ordered the snap on 24in strike straight pry bar as it is helpful for my job so i dont busted some of my good screwdrivers...

 

[WVU Tuba Dale]

I have a 4 piece MAC set. 8, 18, 24, 36" and I like them a lot. I just got an order in for the 58" bar. I haven't tried many other brands, just letting you know that I like the MAC ones and they do me well.

 

[zuspiel]

I got the Mayhew dominators from my secret santa and like them a lot better than the plain Cmans I had.

Other suggestions would be SO locking flex Dual80s. Love mine. And I second the SO ratcheting driver.

 

[bgott]

After you settle on the little fancy expensive bars, head to the junkyard and get a torsion bar out of an old Chrysler product. Forge one end to the shape you prefer, or torch it off at an angle, paint it your favorite color and you'll have the finest heavy duty prybar you'll ever use.

 

[Vulturej]

I have Pry Bar sets from Matco, SO, Mayhew, & CM PRO. But the pry bars I use most almost daily are die setter bars. Several companies make them, I own a couple Blue Points & a couple Mayhew's. I recommend them highly, I have not broken one or bent one in 23 years of wrenchen. Below are the links to the Blue Point one's I own.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...&group_ID=1007&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...&group_ID=1007&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

 

[Paladin]

I have the 3 pc regular Craftsman set and have wailed on them for hours at a time with 3lb drillers hammer and they have held up just fine.

X2! I have the same set. I got the set on sale for $20. Pretty tough to beat for the money.

 

[Uncle Buck]

I have had the 4 pc Snap-on set for years, I never regretted that purchase. I added a set of the cheap red handled plastic Cratfsmans on a whim once when they were on sale cheap (If I could have bought them years ago I would not have the Snap-on's now) the cheap red handles are USA made and seem to do everything I need, but then I do not wrench for a living either.

Also, if you can get the set of Snappys at student rates I agree, you should get the set now(I am sure if you make your living with them you will not regret it.)

Sears also sells a long red handle prybar that is something like 3-4 feet long for something like $30 or so. I got one and I think it is great.

 

[voidifused]

I have the snap on striking pry bars, never had and issue and find them nice one the hand.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item...group_ID=21405&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

 

[Uncle Buck]

I don't find that most prybars lend themselves well to being hammered simply due to the bent blade design at the bottom of the blade, it is difficult to put much force into hammering due to this design in most instances. I never have hammered my snap-on's though.

This thread has me thinking though that I might buy me a set of HF pry bars so I can (try to) wail away without worry!

 

[Bo Heck]

I don't find that most prybars lend themselves well to being hammered simply due to the bent blade design at the bottom of the blade, it is difficult to put much force into hammering due to this design in most instances. I never have hammered my snap-on's though.

This thread has me thinking though that I might buy me a set of HF pry bars so I can (try to) wail away without worry!

Not a bad idea, I got the Cman Pro with striking caps on sale for 25 bucks but havent used them yet. Just figured it'd be nice to have, in case I ever did need to whack on one.

 

[Vinko]

MSC's metalworking catalog (paper) listed a 4 piece Armstrong pry bar set for 52% off -- don't recall the price but it was pretty reasonable -- and if you combine that with a 25% or 35% off code, it could be a very good deal.

 

[speed bump]

I don't find that most prybars lend themselves well to being hammered simply due to the bent blade design at the bottom of the blade, it is difficult to put much force into hammering due to this design in most instances. I never have hammered my snap-on's though.

This thread has me thinking though that I might buy me a set of HF pry bars so I can (try to) wail away without worry!

They actually work pretty well for it. One of the first times I really beat on mine was to remove some laminate that had been improperly glued to concrete. I beat the hell out of my mid sized Cman normal pry bar from the cheap set with 4 lb drillers hammer for several hours. The effect on the pry bar? well it looks slightly weird if you look at the end of the handle but it did the job and worked really well. I had to beat on the 24" one with a 12lb sledge the other day and it survived just fine.

 

[bb1970]

I've got the craftsman Pro's. No complaints.

 

[Zeroek]

I own matcos prybars with teh striking end. I swear they are the same as Craftsman pro and mayhew. And even look very similar to those OTCs. I like my Matco bars a lot. Matter of fact I'm going to be using those babys Monday to slide the lower control arm on a trailblazer when I do an alignment. If camber or caster is out. Which in a way I hope it isn't but then again if it is I get to use my pry bars. And I like prying lol.