Question for experienced Techs

[mudflap]

If you had to start over today with nothing...had to replace all your tools, and could only buy one brand, what would it be..? Would you lay out the big $$$ to the tool trucks again..? Or have the 2nd tier brands like Gearwrench, Carlyle, etc gotten good enough that you would consider them instead, and use the savings to fund your retirement.. How about your Box...? Would you lay out the money for a truck box..? Lets face it..most of us made payments for years on our SO boxes..then upgraded..and made payments again... The Husky boxes that the kids are coming in with out of tech school are pretty decent..so what if they have to buy a new one every 5yrs...they are still way ahead.. and they love the Carlyle tools our Napa guy is selling them...They never step foot on the tool truck...(unless they need a specialty tool that Napa dosn't carry)...and thats not very often.. Are they smarter than we were at that age..? Or do you think it's just that the 2nd tier tools have gotten that much better..?

 

[Yarpo]

I'm not exactly coming out of tech school but I've not been in the wrenching business forever either (~4 years) so I'm probably a happy medium in between your two examples and I use mostly gearwrench tools. I think you spelt it out pretty clearly. A 500 dollar box replaced every 5 years is 2500 bucks over 25 years of wrenching. I dunno how much people are paying for truck boxes every year, but simple math would show that 2500 is < than most snap on boxes, right? Same for tools, I don't have the luxury of a snap on dealer and if I did, I'd still just buy an extra Carlyle or gearwrench ratchet / sockets incase something broke instead of paying 100 dollars for a plain jane ratchet. I like to shop econmical and I don't like debt, so most of my tools are Taiwanese, with a few snap on and a few harbor freight sprinkled in.

 

[apollo11]

If you had to start over today with nothing...had to replace all your tools, and could only buy one brand, what would it be..? Would you lay out the big $$$ to the tool trucks again..? Or have the 2nd tier brands like Gearwrench, Carlyle, etc gotten good enough that you would consider them instead, and use the savings to fund your retirement.. How about your Box...? Would you lay out the money for a truck box..? Lets face it..most of us made payments for years on our SO boxes..then upgraded..and made payments again... The Husky boxes that the kids are coming in with out of tech school are pretty decent..so what if they have to buy a new one every 5yrs...they are still way ahead.. and they love the Carlyle tools our Napa guy is selling them...They never step foot on the tool truck...(unless they need a specialty tool that Napa dosn't carry)...and thats not very often.. Are they smarter than we were at that age..? Or do you think it's just that the 2nd tier tools have gotten that much better..?

I'd contemplate suicide.
I can't imagine starting over.

 

[crewchief888]

I'd contemplate suicide.
I can't imagine starting over.

yea i'd sacrifice my last bullet.... no way i'd want to start over.


IMHO there are a lot more choices for quality tools today than there ever has been. i got my start (over 30 years ago) using a mix of vintage SK and usa CM.
i found the "limitations" of what i had, std length ratchets and wrenches just didnt "work" found i preferred channelock pliers, and SO hard handle screwdrivers.

seemed like less expensive tool brands didnt have much of anything even remotely specialized,
ie: angle head wrenches, service wrenches, line wrenches, line sockets, or a crowsfoot that didnt spread open when you took it out of the package.

99% of my working tools came off a tool truck brand new. the remaining 1% are (very) carefully selected off shore brands.

i have a lot of CM usa in the garage, along with truck/industrial brands, SK, GW and duralast.

working in the garage i'm not "on the clock" and if i really need something out of the ordinary, it's (probably) 50 ft away in my service truck.


i just ordered my 1st tools from tekton this morning.. we'll see how well they fare with my abuse....
now i just gotta find someplace to put the blow molded box in my service truck

 

[mbshop]

In the 70s I was only aware of craftsman and they did me well until I found out about so. Later I found mac.
not sure what was actually around then. But that is basically all anyonecat the dealership had. When I went to another shop I found out about hazet and stahlwille. That was it for me till I retired in 2006. Now you yunguns have so many choices yer out there confusing yerselves. Just grab whatever and get to work !

 

[chris142]

Snap On. I spent too long chasing other tool trucks down to get something replaced. Mostly Matco. I took all that garbage home.

 

[Fedwrench]

Without a student discount, I'd probably look at ebay first, followed by SK, Carlyle, Gearwrench. I've always thought that no one brand makes the best of everything so, i might get one brand of wrenches, a different brand of pliers, and power tools from some one else, etc.
One thing i would change is the box though. Instead of a 60 inch wide bottom box, i would get one of the 6-7 drawer service carts along with one or two metal wall lockers. the cart is very maneuverable and can hold 95% of what i regularly use while the wall lockers would hold thing not used multiple times a day, think about all of those plastic blow molded boxes.
I wouldn't necessarily kick the tool truck to the curb though. A good tool dealer can be an asset to a technician. I do believe the the quality gap between truck brand tools and non truck brand tools is the narrowest it has ever been. The internet is the biggest tool truck around

 

[Dave455]

Starting again, I'd do the same as I did the first time!

I equipped myself with the basic tools from 'mid tier' brands, by which I don't mean Taiwanese or Chinese tools, but genuine mid tier tools from, in my case, any number of British or European makers which are way better than Taiwanese, but still in a different league to the likes of Snap On!

What I definitely wouldn't do, is restrict myself to one maker, in fact I don't think I could! The reason buying 'mid range' is so successful is that you can obtain decent tools from specialists that often only offer one type of tool, at very reasonable prices!

A top end box? Forget it. As and when I could afford it, I'd get a few 'hard line' tools such as wrenches and socket wrenches from whatever top end maker I fancied, but only when I had a good collection of really decent tools would I worry about a box, and even then probably just a smallish top chest.

In fact, that's exactly what I've got now!

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

I can't see a scenario where a one brand solution makes sense unless the company has an open bar with one distributor.

 

[BDT/NWMN]

If you had to start over today with nothing...had to replace all your tools, and could only buy one brand, what would it be..?

One brand=ProTo.

I took advantage of the student discounts in 1970 and loaded up on Proto hand tools, gear puller sets, micrometers, torque wrenches and have had very few regrets.

A few years ago, I bought duplicate and additional sets of ProTo sockets and wrenches so I wouldn't have to be raiding My shop box when doing service calls.

I have My share of SnapOn, SK, and other tools.. But if only allowed ONE tool brand; history would repeat itself with a purchase of ProTo tools.

 

[Mr_B]

impossible buy only one brand and have good tool choices .
as said already way better brand choices these days .

 

[BDT/NWMN]

impossible buy only one brand and have good tool choices .
as said already way better brand choices these days .

But mudflap is only allowing one tool brand in this thread.. He will probably appreciate some suggestions on how to remove tar and feathers pretty soon.

Yep; internet tool shopping with it's endless selection and doorstep delivery has made purchasing tools very enjoyable. I could try to limit Myself to 50 tool brands; but there are far more than 50 good tool manufacturers selling tools.
I enjoy ordering odds and ends to try out. The duds tend to weed themselves out, the so-so stuff is given away, and the gems stay in the tool box.

 

[sberry]

I weed out too. I agree with that theory. I wouldn't go hi dollar to start over. If you are old how hard you wanna work, just to collect tools? Worried about a million cycles and decades of service life?

 

[yjWrangler]

If I could start over again I wouldn't be working on cars

 

[Aqua-Andy]

No way would I stick with one brand. SO makes awesome chrome but their impact sockets ****, they are way too soft and wear out way too fast. But why buy SO chrome when you can get the same product in Williams for a quarter of the price? Pliers, pretty hard to beat Channellock for value but I would have to say Knipex are the best. Their are a lot of specialty tools that the trucks re-brand that you can get from the OE supplier for a fraction of the cost.

 

[WrenchinRider]

Don't know if I could pick one brand. But it would be a top tier brand . Broken, or inadequate tools waste too much time. Tool boxes, though from the tool trucks are a "HUGE" waste of money in my opinion. There are a lot of quality, lower priced tool storage options these days.

 

[Chris Stapley]

Biggest mistake I see here in the trades in Ontario is the ******* match between all the young guys with the biggest and baddest box, one needs to remember it doesn't make any money whatsoever, I can see spending the good money for the good hand tools,but the place to lock them up needs to be nothing more than a sturdy lockable place to secure your purchases.. Any tool thief that really want s the contents is gonna get in because he doesn't care if you have a $500 box or a $10,000 box when he;s going through it with an ax or cutoff wheel!

 

[bobcatdan]

If I did it over again, I'd buy pretty much the same brands. Big difference is I'd know where to trim the fat and not buy a bunch a stuff I thought I needed, but hardly use.

 

[GTA Matt]

A: I wouldn't start over again. If I couldn't pick a different career, I'd go swimming with a concrete block tied to my feet. B: I wouldn't/couldn't do just one brand. Buuuuuuttttt, if I was forced to start over and no concrete blocks available, I'd buy the biggest baddest mr big box with a couple of lockers and all of the best tools. No more wasting time or money on cheap **** and trading in boxes every few years. One and done.

 

[dalehsc]

It never ceases to amaze me the number of techs who say they wouldn't get in the trade if they were starting over. I love the fact that many of the people whom I had as clients needed me.(or somebody like me) If I were to start over, a basic box,in my case,Beach,hand tools with a decent warranty,Gray tools,and a few specialty tools,Snap On. Back in the day I only bought Snap on if nobody else made it. Now there are so many good quality tools and so many ways of obtaining them in this global community. We have an apprentice at work who doesn't have much for tools,and I tell him to start with the basics and accumulate as he can afford.

 

[mudflap]

A: I wouldn't start over again. If I couldn't pick a different career, I'd go swimming with a concrete block tied to my feet. B: I wouldn't/couldn't do just one brand. Buuuuuuttttt, if I was forced to start over and no concrete blocks available, I'd buy the biggest baddest mr big box with a couple of lockers and all of the best tools. No more wasting time or money on cheap **** and trading in boxes every few years. One and done.

Dont know what type of work you do...but i hear that alot from the flat rate dealership guys... Glad i went the Diesel/Heavy equipment route..Probably just because thats what i was doing in the Army..so thats what i knew. Always been paid Hourly at the County garage..so i dont know first hand how the other side would be..

 

[Sugarfryz]

I absolutely would never buy my Snap on box. My snap on cart, worth every penny. It rolls around all day and is opened and closed hundreds of times. The box sits there for the tools I don’t use often, and I’d be fine with a cheap one.

 

[KEH]

I'm not a tech, just maintained farm equipment and for a while tried rebuilding wrecks.
I would buy used tools, devoting a Saturday morning as time allowed to flea markets and pawn shops. I would buy a HF tool box. After I got established and satisfied to continue in the profession I would gradually buy quality tools when I could pay cash. I would look for a quality box also and promote the HF box to home use.

KEH

 

[DieselNut88]

I would buy a mix of snap on hand tools mostly ratchets, wrenches, sockets. Then other brand tools. I love snap on boxes, but just found out Lista makes nice mobile boxes and would probably buy one. A lot cheaper and probably just as nice. I currently have some husky tools because the price vs snap on was more than 10 times cheaper. If I break them all I will just buy new ones and still be ahead.

 

[Honda guy]

If I had to start from nothing, I'd do what I did to build the tool collection that I have now. I've spent lots of $$ on the tool trucks (mostly SO), but most of my tools were purchased used, at bargain prices.

I'd look for deals at flea markets, craigslist, pawn shops and ebay. I enjoy using what I consider to be the best of the best, so Snap On would be my preference for most things. I do have other favorites, such as GP for impact sockets and Matco for screwdrivers.

Tools are what pays the bills, so the big fancy tool box would have to wait. A Harbor Freight box would be ok for awhile, until I found a killer deal on a big Snappy box. No way I'd pay what I see some of the young guys paying for a new box.

 

[jimindm]

If I had to start over, at the age I started the first time, I would still buy Snap-on. Of course I am not sure anyone that fixes cars for a living could buy only one brand.

While other tool brands my mean something to many one here, SO means so much more to so many others. I have sets that I have bought years ago, that I have used and made money with. That at auction or just to sell, the return would be most of what I paid for them new.

I do echo the tool box ides. While I have boxes of all different kinds, they are what they are. The tools used daily are in the SO box, on down to once in a while tools in an older box that does not even have roller bearings.

For the record I have never carried a balance on SO credit, that I could not pay off at any time.

For everyday use tools SO it would be. For others one would take into account how much it is used.

I have to say that I have had many tools that were no SO that were of occasional use. Those are what I would not buy new off the truck, and buy otherwise. But I have to admit, when I have used an off brand tool, just because it was so very seldom used. It is nice to find the SO equivalent at auction or another source.

 

[Empty Pockets]

If I was a kid just coming out of school, I'd look hard at Tekton. If I had some more money, I'd look at SK, Wright and ProTo

 

[2ndGearRubber]

Define "1 brand". Like for everthing from sockets to impact tools to compression gauges to scanners? Then snap on is literally the only brand you have to pick from.


Sunex impacts
Williams USA sockets
GW/ snap on/ SK ratchets
Milwaukee cordless
IR impact stuff

It's all about value and getting the job done.


There is no "one brand". I do basically what I did, just in a different order with some intermediate steps skipped. Realistically though, I was not sure this would be a career, so droping 50k in your first week as a lubie is not a good plan.

 

[Lotek]

If I could start over again I wouldn't be working on cars

DING DING DING!!!

 

[apollo11]

I like working on cars. Always have

 

[WittHay]

Years ago it was so easy just buy Snap-on, either off the truck or deals on used stuff. The trouble with that is you bought a lot of stuff that you didn't use much or not at all and it turned into a collection.

I would never buy a whole set of Snap-on again, but it would take at least 10 different brands including some tool truck stuff to make a complete heavy duty set. Example: imported impact sockets good, imported punches and chisels ****

 

[Wamsutta]

If I had to pick one brand it would be Snap-on.

But I'd rather have several different brands.