Show your new tool arrivals

[zmotorsports]

I've been coveting one of these for a long time. I found a nearly new hmd904 on Craigslist recently for a good price but I convinced myself to hold off since I wanted the "s" variant with the swivel foot. Fast forward to last week and I got some unexpected Amazon credit. Anyway, I put a 1" hole in a couple pieces of beam tonight and it was a cakewalk. The same cut with the same cutter made my poor mill drill groan in protest and I actually stopped the spindle a time or two. I think I'll get a lot of use out of it.

I have the exact same Hougen HMD904 that I purchased last year and love it. Great purchsae.

 

[dwasifar]

The adapter broke trying to get a front valve cover off of a V6 Ford Escape. You have to angle in there weird and it’s so tight you can’t use 1/4 drive ratchet so I used a 3/8 with a 1/4 socket. It wouldn’t budge with a ratchet so I had to get out a breaker bar then snap…. Then I got another one and got it off it’s a shame the Craftsman USA one broke and the Stanley one that I used after that didn’t. The 17mm socket cracked on Toyota brake caliper bracket bolts with I think a 21 inch breaker bar. The 11/16 was from the pawn shop already cracked . The end of the screwdriver broke off and the handle faded which was bothering me so I asked if it could be replaced they said sure.

So how did you get to keep the broken ones? Every time I ever had to warranty a Craftsman tool, they kept the old one.

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

So how did you get to keep the broken ones? Every time I ever had to warranty a Craftsman tool, they kept the old one.

If you email them or call they don’t take the old ones back they are just like other companies now. No since in them paying shipping for the old one when they will just scrap it. My friend did have one of the Stanley made ones that they asked if he would send back so they could have the quality control lab analyze it. They probably aren’t worried about that with the Sears ones since they didn’t make them. My Lowe’s and Ace stores won’t warranty any of it. If they did then they would take them back. So when you email or call they just ship the new ones out and ask for a picture sometimes they don’t ask for the picture.

 

[dwasifar]

If you email them or call they don’t take the old ones back they are just like other companies now. No since in them paying shipping for the old one when they will just scrap it. My friend did have one of the Stanley made ones that they asked if he would send back so they could have the quality control lab analyze it. They probably aren’t worried about that with the Sears ones since they didn’t make them. My Lowe’s and Ace stores won’t warranty any of it. If they did then they would take them back. So when you email or call they just ship the new ones out and ask for a picture sometimes they don’t ask for the picture.

You said one came from a pawn shop. I assume it was part of a set, right? You didn't just go into the pawn shop and buy a single broken socket?

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

You said one came from a pawn shop. I assume it was part of a set, right? You didn't just go into the pawn shop and buy a single broken socket?

The 11/16 did yes lol. I buy tools in bulk there it was one of the ones I picked up and put in my box. I like buying the broken ones lol. Actually I think my dad picked that one up and put it in there because he knows I like to get new shiny tools for the old ones.

 

[Rabid Badger]

I went to Home Depot because they had the saw and 4 batteries on sale for $250 and the new Makita hammer drill followed me home.

Both got used extensively during my kitchen remodel last week. Fantastic tools.

 

[Kenskip1]

I do not know what others think about the Craftsman line of power tools, but that is irrelevant. I picked up this pair for a lot less than the listed price. The 1/2 drive was missing the hog ring. The 3/8 drive had cosmetic irregularities. Otherwise they were in excellent condition. However I had to purchase the batteries. I had the charger from an earlier purchase. BTW, the 3/8 has no problem removing the lug nuts from my F150. Comments are welcome. Ken

 

[d.mcfarland]

^^ I have the v20 line and it does fine. I'm sure a lot of the mechanisms are shared with other tools in the Stanley Black and Decker line.

They seem to be expanding that line the most even compared to Dewalt!

Wish I could find a cheap 3/8" impact. Good buy.

 

[darkzero]

Found a couple of my favorite Manchester parting tools on ebay. Got 2 new ones for less than the price of one normal price. I already have a spare but these were too cheap to pass up. Plus ya gotta have backups for your backups!



A few indexable tools for my Holdridge radii cutter. Holdridge offers their own but they're almost $100ea. Was surprised & happy to find very similar tools by Mesa Tools (cutter on centerline) for about 1/3 the price. 2 of them will get shortened. A pack of Kennametal inserts for them too.




15/16" x 6" annular cutter. Paid $35 shipped new. They normally cost $160-$180.



UVEX face shield from Grainger's recent sale. And a generic bag for it from Amazon.



I've been wanting a smaller oil filter pliers cause my Tekton barely works for my truck. Was at HD & saw a small 9" one by Husky. Then I remembered Channellock made similar ones. Sure enough they make the same exact size which I never new. Just my luck, found one on Amazon Warehouse. Was brand new condition, just the package was opened.




Finally bought me some VCI paper for the first time ever. Pretty cheap on ebay. I used to just save scraps when I came across them. I'm in SoCal so rust is really not a problem but better safe than sorry for my measuring tools that I really care about.

 

[XxToolAholicxX]

New warranty replacement Craftsman tools. The 11/16 socket they said they didn’t keep a 6 point shallow 11/16 in stock because it’s such an uncommon size… so they offered to send me a deep which I accepted otherwise I would of had to wait weeks or months. I don’t agree with them on it not being a common size. It may not be a common size anymore but it certainly was on old Ford, Chevy and Dodge. They offered the bi-material screwdriver since they said they were having a hard time getting acetate for the other one so I happily accepted it as it is more expensive and I have been wanting to try these handles for awhile.

How easy was it to warranty them they give you a hard time?

 

[BlakeTheCarGuy]

How easy was it to warranty them they give you a hard time?

No issues at all. I’ve used the warranty multiple times. Honestly about once a month for the last 6 months. No issues or questions ever asked. If you have some that need to be replaced just go on their website and hit contact us and fill out the form and attach pictures of the tools and they will get you replacements. Don’t even have to send the old ones in. My Lowe’s and Ace both refused so I just don’t even bother with them anymore and contact Craftsman directly. You can also call them if you prefer just you are usually on hold for sometimes hours.

 

[gatewaysysop]

Dude, absolutely write them back! They fucked up, make sure they know exactly why & how. Then return them for refund and if they won't accept it have your CC company do a chargeback.

Sigh.

I talked to the customer service folks at MAC yesterday. Spent over 38 minutes on hold while multi-tasking on other things, then had to discuss with a front line rep before he put me in queue to get a supervisor that could take a look into the issue. It's worth pointing out that when I tried to explain the warranty debacle with this guy, it was clear he had no idea what I was talking about. "You know how ratchets and extensions work, with the spring loaded (detent) ball to retain the socket, right? That's what was broken." "No, sorry, I'm not a technician and I don't know anything about tools." Good to know this is who MAC Tools has answering the phones in customer service. I could tell where this was going to go, but I pressed on regardless.

Fast forward to the 62 minute mark, after lots of hold time, a supervisor comes on the line and one of the first things she tells me is that she doesn't really understand their warranty terms or how it works but to "go ahead and explain" my issue. I did so, and she points out that my shipment was inspected by "Brenda" and then signed off on by "Missy" her supervisor, which is consistent with what was scribbled on the rejection paperwork they sent back with the tools.

I asked her how it was that Brenda and Missy could **** up warranty inspection on a 6", 1/4" drive extension that has literally one moving part, the same moving part that I indicated in my included note (per their warranty requirements) was defective. She had no answer except maybe the note got lost when they opened the box and they didn't know what the issue was because "not everyone here is familiar with hand tools and how they're supposed to work." I pointed out that if you're not at least familiar with the basics like a socket or an extension, that was pretty embarrassing, and that if you don't know how the **** works, maybe you shouldn't have a job inspecting WHETHER OR NOT IT WORKS when people send it in for warranty. I also asked how it was that two people between them didn't have the wherewithal to figure out it was broken. "Well, Missy does not actually audit 100% of the warranty claims that she signs off on, so she may not have ever seen this and just signed off because she trusted Brenda." I pointed out that your signature makes you responsible regardless. Apparently this concept was as foreign to them as the operation of detent ball.

I also told her that it was incredibly asinine to get a box of brand new, untouched tools and send them right back to the customer without trying to assess the problem first. The paperwork they sent back had my phone # on it, so I know they had to have gotten my note in the box. They could have called if they didn't understand. Instead, they thought the most customer-centric, empathetic thing to do after someone spent good money to mail the tools in was to send it all back with a terse note about "no damage, warranty rejected." I was told to give them a day to look into it and for customer service to connect with MIssy about this piss poor warranty experience. Shocker of shockers, I never heard back from anyone.

Sorry to say, but never again will I spend a nickel with these clowns. What a ******* circus.

 

[demarpaint]

These are on the way. Astro 7115 Crowfoot Wrench Metric Set 15 PC

 

[Legion Prime]

Sigh.

I talked to the customer service folks at MAC yesterday. Spent over 38 minutes on hold while multi-tasking on other things, then had to discuss with a front line rep before he put me in queue to get a supervisor that could take a look into the issue. It's worth pointing out that when I tried to explain the warranty debacle with this guy, it was clear he had no idea what I was talking about. "You know how ratchets and extensions work, with the spring loaded (detent) ball to retain the socket, right? That's what was broken." "No, sorry, I'm not a technician and I don't know anything about tools." Good to know this is who MAC Tools has answering the phones in customer service. I could tell where this was going to go, but I pressed on regardless.

Fast forward to the 62 minute mark, after lots of hold time, a supervisor comes on the line and one of the first things she tells me is that she doesn't really understand their warranty terms or how it works but to "go ahead and explain" my issue. I did so, and she points out that my shipment was inspected by "Brenda" and then signed off on by "Missy" her supervisor, which is consistent with what was scribbled on the rejection paperwork they sent back with the tools.

I asked her how it was that Brenda and Missy could **** up warranty inspection on a 6", 1/4" drive extension that has literally one moving part, the same moving part that I indicated in my included note (per their warranty requirements) was defective. She had no answer except maybe the note got lost when they opened the box and they didn't know what the issue was because "not everyone here is familiar with hand tools and how they're supposed to work." I pointed out that if you're not at least familiar with the basics like a socket or an extension, that was pretty embarrassing, and that if you don't know how the **** works, maybe you shouldn't have a job inspecting WHETHER OR NOT IT WORKS when people send it in for warranty. I also asked how it was that two people between them didn't have the wherewithal to figure out it was broken. "Well, Missy does not actually audit 100% of the warranty claims that she signs off on, so she may not have ever seen this and just signed off because she trusted Brenda." I pointed out that your signature makes you responsible regardless. Apparently this concept was as foreign to them as the operation of detent ball.

I also told her that it was incredibly asinine to get a box of brand new, untouched tools and send them right back to the customer without trying to assess the problem first. The paperwork they sent back had my phone # on it, so I know they had to have gotten my note in the box. They could have called if they didn't understand. Instead, they thought the most customer-centric, empathetic thing to do after someone spent good money to mail the tools in was to send it all back with a terse note about "no damage, warranty rejected." I was told to give them a day to look into it and for customer service to connect with MIssy about this piss poor warranty experience. Shocker of shockers, I never heard back from anyone.

Sorry to say, but never again will I spend a nickel with these clowns. What a ******* circus.

Jesus, MAC was never a preferred brand for me but WTF? Yeah they're on my NFE list now. How can you hold a socket in your hands and not figure out how it works? I'd absolutely be returning them for warranty and notifying my CC company. That ***** dude.

 

[AJHD]

@ gatewaysysop

That is indeed absolute horse ****. I would absolutely have something to say about it and take the proper course of action, like taking my business somewhere else...

But sadly I'm not surprised. I've had a lot of jobs over years including my current one, where the objective seems only to be to hire someone who shows up and is willing to accept the pay. Rather than you know, experience or knowledge of the subject matter pertaining to the company/job/industry they are employed in. After all, these people are cheaper to hire and easier to replace.

 

[Shelbylex]

Unfortunately I think we are getting more and more to the stage where corporations hire the less qualified and cheaper workers in order to maximize profits for CEO, CFO, etc... Customer service is nowhere near what it used to be (remember 90s?).
It gets even scarier when you have this plan in healthcare where Nurse Practitioners are replacing Doctors, people with minimal knowledge trying to dictate doctors what insurance will cover for their patients, etc...

Good luck to all of us...

On the bright side: more reasons to learn all the skills you can master in this world and be like our fathers and grandfathers many of whom were masters of multiple trades, took really good care of themselves, exercised more etc!

 

[Ilikeike]

I finally had to see for myself what all this Nepros ratchet hoopla was about.

didn't really need it but I bought a 1/4” drive just to see one.

But am I suppose to keep it in this fancy box ?

lol

 

[Fedwrench]

I finally had to see for myself what all this Nepros ratchet hoopla was about.

didn't really need it but I bought a 1/4” drive just to see one.

But am I suppose to keep it in this fancy box ?

lol

Yes, I recommend installing a glass lid on the box. The ratchet should only be removed for public acts of affection, polishing, and to show others your Nepros ratchet Let me know when you get one of those ornate bamboo handled ratchets.

 

[ChefRex]

I finally had to see for myself what all this Nepros ratchet hoopla was about.

didn't really need it but I bought a 1/4” drive just to see one.

But am I suppose to keep it in this fancy box ?

lol

I bought a Zeal, it has come in handy with the tiny head but the lever being backwards drives me crazy.

 

[darkzero]

I finally had to see for myself what all this Nepros ratchet hoopla was about.

didn't really need it but I bought a 1/4” drive just to see one.

But am I suppose to keep it in this fancy box ?

lol

Yep, mine still are. But that's only cause I don't have a dedicated drawer for only them available.

 

[measuredtwice]

I finally had to see for myself what all this Nepros ratchet hoopla was about.

didn't really need it but I bought a 1/4” drive just to see one.

But am I suppose to keep it in this fancy box ?

lol

I'm pretty sure this is the only scratched Nepros ratchet ever shown on GJ. I found the photo of the ratchet on the web. GJ would never scratch a Nepros ratchet.

Tools from the old world

Yes, I have a couple the same, both from a similar era, so I’m sure it was a “feature”. I have some older pliers that have normal parallel cutters, and also some from other ranges (such as Elect) that also do, so maybe it was something they only did for a while. I also have snipe nose...

www.garagejournal.com

Something not previously seen on Garage Journal. A Nepros ratchet that has been used and has scratches.

 

[gatewaysysop]

To get things back on track and take my mind off those @#$%ing cretins at MAC Tools, here are some other new arrivals, all US-made too:


Six piece, 1/4" drive extension set from SK. Tray wastes a bit more space than I care for, but for the price it's a pretty good set, assuming you get one that is chromed properly. Knurling on these is pretty decent and aggressive enough to actually be useful on something this small in diameter.


Some NRR 30 hearing protection from Pro Ears. Build quality on these exceeded my expectations and they're very comfortable.


Saw this chip cleaning brush mentioned in another thread, decided I had to have one. I was not disappointed when it showed up either. Very well made and should last a long time with the polypropylene bristles.



While I was at it, I picked up some of the Gordon acid brushes as well. Nice quality bristles on these, and quite a bit more of them than what the cheapies typically have.

 

[afazz]

I went on an E-Torx rampage! A friend came over for a simple job on his BMW and exposed an embarrassing weakness in my tool collection. The sockets are Icon and the wrenches are from Snap-on, Vim, and Gearwrench.

 

[will335i]

I am about to do a turbo swap on my 335i. Managed to track down a brand new snap on set on ebay for a good price.

 

[afazz]

I am about to do a turbo swap on my 335i. Managed to track down a brand new snap on set on ebay for a good price.

It's Etorx day on the Garage Journal!

 

[testwerke]

I went on an E-Torx rampage! A friend came over for a simple job on his BMW and exposed an embarrassing weakness in my tool collection. The sockets are Icon and the wrenches are from Snap-on, Vim, and Gearwrench.

Let me guess, Oil filter housing gasket?

 

[AJHD]

Glad I don't work on Euro cars (intentionally by the way), because I've got a set of shallow e-torx sockets, but that's about it.

 

[afazz]

Let me guess, Oil filter housing gasket?

yep!

 

[wkndwarrior29]

I went on an E-Torx rampage! A friend came over for a simple job on his BMW and exposed an embarrassing weakness in my tool collection. The sockets are Icon and the wrenches are from Snap-on, Vim, and Gearwrench.

This is just the beginning. Get yourself some nice universal drive flex heads too.

 

[WhoWhatNow]

This is just the beginning. Get yourself some nice universal drive flex heads too.

And a 1/4 drive E10 swivel socket.

 

[getbentMUSTARD]

The snap on truck got me a little bit today but all things I’ve been wanting. I also decided to try the gearwrench electronic torque wrench as the techangle is just too rich for my blood.

 

[Raineman]

I’ve been looking for a Bonney metric combo wrench set because I love my old SAE Locrite set. Filling my metric MAC set (Bonney design) is increasingly difficult.
The other night I fell victim to an Amazon suggestion and a touch of bourbon and against my china will ordered a set of Efficere wrenches that appear to be almost exact copies of Bonney Locrite.
They were delivered in less than 8 hours to my door for under $48.
I regretted it immediately, but they’re actually pretty nice. I’m gonna get what I’ve been looking for eventually, but for now I’m going to see how these work. Wish Tekton had their open end like these, it’d been no hesitation if they had that.

 

[sponfit]

Let me guess, Oil filter housing gasket?

yep!

Just did mine and it was fairly simple.

 

[Meursault74]

CL317

 

[Milwaukeeteer]

Sigh.

I talked to the customer service folks at MAC yesterday. Spent over 38 minutes on hold while multi-tasking on other things, then had to discuss with a front line rep before he put me in queue to get a supervisor that could take a look into the issue. It's worth pointing out that when I tried to explain the warranty debacle with this guy, it was clear he had no idea what I was talking about. "You know how ratchets and extensions work, with the spring loaded (detent) ball to retain the socket, right? That's what was broken." "No, sorry, I'm not a technician and I don't know anything about tools." Good to know this is who MAC Tools has answering the phones in customer service. I could tell where this was going to go, but I pressed on regardless.

Fast forward to the 62 minute mark, after lots of hold time, a supervisor comes on the line and one of the first things she tells me is that she doesn't really understand their warranty terms or how it works but to "go ahead and explain" my issue. I did so, and she points out that my shipment was inspected by "Brenda" and then signed off on by "Missy" her supervisor, which is consistent with what was scribbled on the rejection paperwork they sent back with the tools.

I asked her how it was that Brenda and Missy could **** up warranty inspection on a 6", 1/4" drive extension that has literally one moving part, the same moving part that I indicated in my included note (per their warranty requirements) was defective. She had no answer except maybe the note got lost when they opened the box and they didn't know what the issue was because "not everyone here is familiar with hand tools and how they're supposed to work." I pointed out that if you're not at least familiar with the basics like a socket or an extension, that was pretty embarrassing, and that if you don't know how the **** works, maybe you shouldn't have a job inspecting WHETHER OR NOT IT WORKS when people send it in for warranty. I also asked how it was that two people between them didn't have the wherewithal to figure out it was broken. "Well, Missy does not actually audit 100% of the warranty claims that she signs off on, so she may not have ever seen this and just signed off because she trusted Brenda." I pointed out that your signature makes you responsible regardless. Apparently this concept was as foreign to them as the operation of detent ball.

I also told her that it was incredibly asinine to get a box of brand new, untouched tools and send them right back to the customer without trying to assess the problem first. The paperwork they sent back had my phone # on it, so I know they had to have gotten my note in the box. They could have called if they didn't understand. Instead, they thought the most customer-centric, empathetic thing to do after someone spent good money to mail the tools in was to send it all back with a terse note about "no damage, warranty rejected." I was told to give them a day to look into it and for customer service to connect with MIssy about this piss poor warranty experience. Shocker of shockers, I never heard back from anyone.

Sorry to say, but never again will I spend a nickel with these clowns. What a ******* circus.

I've sent in about twelve warranty requests to MAC in Ohio over the last 5 years because I haven't seen a MAC truck in 10. I sometimes send them questionable warranties which they shouldn't honor, and never had a single issue. I don't mind abusing the warranty because I paid the privilege for it, and simply don't care. One time I sent them old USA Torx with a part number that was converted to Taiwan sockets. What used to be normal length, became stubby. Had a short discussion with a supervisor who proceeded to drop ship me the correct *entire set* of sockets I had warrantied out, and told me to keep the $180 stubby *entire set* they sent me. Didn't want it back. They sometimes fit slightly different than Snap-on, which is why I have both.

Your entire debacle makes no sense whatsoever, unless you were trying to slip them non-MAC tools, or something else nefarious. If it was new enough to dispute on your credit card, you could have just flat out returned them.

I've had other dealings with Stanley as well, and never, ever have any issues. Their warranty is better than Snap-on.

Your experience is not consistent with everything I know about MAC/Stanley.

 

[Southern83]

New ratchets! Picked these up off CL and OfferUp. Two transactions. One location. Same red grips. Best part is they're new and I'm in them for way less than half MSRP. s

 

[stonesfan68]

And a 1/4 drive E10 swivel socket.

Yes, you'll need one of those for sure!

 

[will335i]

Glad I don't work on Euro cars (intentionally by the way), because I've got a set of shallow e-torx sockets, but that's about it.

Outside of the oddball fasteners, my BMW has been one of the easiest cars I have worked on. Unlike that damned dodge intrepid, make sure the steering wheel is at the right angle, remove inner fender liner, check the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter, just to get to the battery.

Mine is getting new valve cover, oil pan, and oil filter housing gaskets, Coils, spark plugs, turbos, water pump, downpipes, inlets, control arms, and fuel pump. Should be fun.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Went Lowe’s as usual looking through the clearance table.. On my to that corner I saw this and a nice older gentleman working there was trying to open drawer but couldn’t he asked if I would buy it so at that price what would you do?

I would have jumped in and bought it at that price too. You **** worthy in my opinion.

Heck, I would have asked for military discount too for the heck of it.

 

[Da Bull]

I needed a T3 torx. I purchased the iFixit Mako 64 piece set. I was inspired by Tim Allen’s new show Assembly Required. They use these tools on the show. Very well made, time will tell how good they really are. Outstanding fit and finish. Love the magnetic closing case. The lid holds your disassembled parts.