Socket selection

[Chasej]

Hello, as a young mechanic going through school right now and acquiring tools as I go most of you are ware of the discount snap on gives for this. I’m getting ready to invest into sockets and i made a plan and am looking for some opinions. I like those 3 post socket trays and found some good deals on them, so now for sockets to fill those. I found a craftsman 300 piece 6 point chrome set for 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 and it covers most sockets that’ll match the trays. For 12 points doing the same thing except with just 2 row trays so shallow and deep. Finally onto impacts, 3 row socket trays with gear wrench impacts shallow and deep for 3/8 and 1/2. Now you’re most likely wondering why I need the 3 rows if I’m only getting shallow and deep. Well I love the snap on semi deep so I’ll fill those middle rows up over time but get most with my discount. My question is, does this sound like a good plan and then overtime when ever the Cman starts to wear out I’ll start replacing my most used sockets with the snap on ones. My opinion is I’ll cover every bolt I should run into seeing as of now I’ll be working on everything from gas outboard like Yamaha to diesel inboards like Cummins and CAT. Just to recap and stop rambling I’ll have every size Cman or gear wrench in shallow and deep in both chrome and impact but I’ll have semi deep snap ons since those will fit most bolts and say as time goes on and I wear out for example Cman 13mm deep I’ll replace that with a snap on.

 

[kd3pc]

Good luck on your training. Even with the student discount, you can save some money with other brands. Especially if you have not finished school/training yet. Our program has about a 50% washout over 9 months and a bit higher for the 17 month class.

Until you graduate, pass ASEs and co-op/student work and so on, I would defer the snap on stuff in favor of US made craftsman and the other brands.

While I like the SnapOn and have a fair amount of their tools, I have old craftsman, Krauter (my high school graduation gift), MAC, Williams, Proto, Blackhawk and so on. I have never gone into debt for tools and would urge you to do the same. Discount or not, the interest on tools will soon eat up the discount amount and then more, should you not finish, get injured or married.

Not knowing whether you will be working on gas, outboards, or big stuff/stationary power, might want to wait on any but the basics you need today and next month.

The other tool trucks, as well as many suppliers of the brands I mentioned above will offer student discounts, you only have to ask.

SnapOn is not the only game in town for good quality tools and boxes/chests.

 

[unslow1]

Be a little cautious on spending a lot of money and acquiring a large tool collection. The large majority of guys that I know did not stay in auto repair very long. I would include myself in that number.

 

[GrayEngineer]

Seems like you have a reasonable plan for putting together your socket set. I'd suggest you skip the Cman sockets unless you are getting a steal of a deal on them. Instead, I'd go with Tekton sockets since they are very good quality and they will be easy to warranty would the occasion arise. Tekton is also working on an updated impact socket design that should be more like their current chrome sockets. Tekton also offers a student discount too. You should also look into SK tools, they have a student discount and their tools are very good quality. You should also consider Koken sockets, I've found them to be equal or better than Snap-on and their prices are very reasonable compared to Snap-on.

All in all, do your homework on the sockets you are buying so that you can maximize your buying power. Make a spreadsheet with the various brands and see what the price vs. quality ends up being.

 

[Chasej]

Thank you, I got most of my setup good and I completely agree with not going into debt. Do you know of any huge socket sets like I’ve found with craftsman?

 

[Zewnten]

IMO I wouldn't bother with chrome sockets unless you have a known clearance issue, impacts are where it is at, just paint them a horrible color so their easy to find and no one will borrow them. I also wouldn't worry too much about buying huge sets. I have 8mm to 19mm and 3/8 to 1 1/2 because I work on equipment, out of those I use 6 sizes all day long and the rest just rot in a drawer until something odd ball comes up. Buy what you need and then you won't have to worry about storing it all. All the tools I need to do 90% or more of my work fits in a 36" single bay roller cab with 6 drawers.

 

[Chasej]

What do y’all think about gear wrench impact sockets?

 

[Wamsutta]

Don't buy Craftsman chrome sockets. Their detent design at the drive end is very irritating. You'll hate it.

For the student discount, use it where it counts. 1/4'' drive Snap-on universal sockets have no equal. They're expensive as heck, but by the way they work, they're almost worth their weight in gold. Use the discount on them.

 

[Chasej]

Should I get a 1/4”-1” and 5-20mm 3/8 drive 12 point socket set? Will this suffice for everything I may run across.

 

[crewchief888]

For the student discount, use it where it counts. 1/4'' drive Snap-on universal sockets have no equal. They're expensive as heck, but by the way they work, they're almost worth their weight in gold. Use the discount on them.

as well as allen & torx bits & sockets.

SO is my preferred brand of line wrenches, line sockets, and crowsfeet

i'd also spend my money on ratchets

 

[Chasej]

Yeah I’m addicted to their ratchets mainly the locking flex heads. Their wrenches and crows feet as well I’m pro SO everything basically. But when it comes to sockets in looking for a quality USA made base set I can swap with snap on when I’m making money.

 

[smuro04]

What do y’all think about gear wrench impact sockets?

Had them, and sold them. While I really liked the electro plated finish on them vs the standard black oxide on almost every other manufacturer out there, I couldn’t get past the COO (China). Don’t get me wrong, the fit and finish on them were great, but I found the Sunex to be slightly cheaper and with a better fit, finish, reputation, and warranty. think you will also find that for the price, many will recommend them and it’s easy to see why.

My recommendation (so take this with a grain of salt) is to purchase the following:

1/2” drive - Sunex impacts. Cost effective and great quality. They are stamped and laser etched.

3/8” drive - Grey Pneumatic duo sockets. Can be used on a ratchet or impact. Buy from an authorized retailer to maintain warranty.

1/4” drive - Tekton chrome sockets. These won’t see high torque so no need to spend Snap-On money. These are great sockets and the company stands behind their product. Warranty with them is super easy.


That’s the setup I use and they have been working great for me. Now, I’m just a home-brew weekend warrior and not a professional, but I’ve been HARD on my tools and I’ve yet to have any issues with any of the aforementioned sockets above.

 

[1foxracing]

Here is a Husky 200 pc socket set for $79
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-1...Nojd_pQ6PJxlbOX-h4RoCGT0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
I've never owned any Husky tools so I can't give a opinion on their quality but the sockets are identical to Matco's Silver Eagle.

For chrome mid-depth both GearWrench and Carlyle both make decent sets for a reasonable price.
For impact mid-depth look at Grey Pneumatic, great sockets for a reasonable price.

 

[yrly]

Craftsman is iffy stuff because is comes from many places. The Sears stuff sourced from Great Star (Z-AH stamped) such as the Ultimate Collection/Assortment seems better made than the Apex and other sourced stuff of recent years. If it’s easy read it’s probably old Apex sourced stuff.

The Chinese sourced Stanley stuff at Lowe’s I wouldn’t bother with it’s too expensive, I’d argue some of it is also worse than where Sears sources from. Maybe if they start USA production again. The gun metal ones are probably the best of what Lowe’s has for Craftsman.

Husky makes a few large socket sets but be leery I got one of those big sets that was listed as a “deal” for $75 or whatever it was and the quality left something to be desired.

I have a small Proto 1/4” set which I like and an old earlier Williams 3/8 set that I got as new old stock.

I’m not a trained mechanic, most of the work I do is on small engines and tractors actually. I have literally tons of Craftsman stuff from years of playing the shop your way games and sears clearance deals back to when it was still USA stuff. Most of it I keep at my dad’s garage so I recently have been building a set for my house so I don’t have to drive over there all the time. Unless I need a socket with less slop I use my Metrinch stuff for a lot of things paired with older Allied pro ratchets from sets I got maybe a decade ago when they were made in Taiwan as they have nice low drag.

I wouldn’t invest a ton of cash because there are lots of deals out there. If you stay with it you can use what you prefer even if it’s not what people want/recommend/want to pay etc. Even if you don’t take it up as a profession and still end up working on stuff you can still decide what you like, want and works for you when you have the cash to spend on it.

 

[Lassen Forge]

My thoughts on the SEP are it's a great program, but it only lasts (exactly) 2 years, and isn't renewable. Of course, nothing stops you from then going to the other truck brands for their program as well... just figure out what you want from SO, get it, then move on. What you really need to do is google the tool lists from the different school programs, build your own master list from that, and fill it as money comes in. I think my master list was the accumulation of about 9 shop programs, I'm still working them off, but it worked.

Plus, as you go through the various school programs you'll realize what you need - not just sockets or line wrenches. And you build from there.

Another thing - people say to spend your money on tools to make money, not a box, but you will need a place to organize and store your tools. My school box is a 26" Craftsman stack I've had since (don't laugh) the 1970's that I refurbished, and it works for what I need for school. Sure, I can always use more storage space, and yeah, I would love to have an 84" epiq, but reality-wise, for school, I don't need something like that, nor could I store it securely in a school environment.

 

[yrly]

Here is a Husky 200 pc socket set for $79
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-1...Nojd_pQ6PJxlbOX-h4RoCGT0QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
I've never owned any Husky tools so I can't give a opinion on their quality but the sockets are identical to Matco's Silver Eagle.

The $79 set is mostly 12 point. The finish quality is pretty bad. However it is cheap. I think with the lifetime warranty it doesn’t matter, you can just swap out badly made ones if they fail, the biggest issue is more the amount of 12 point stuff if you don’t need it. I actually used it to fill out 12 point stuff I didn’t have since I rarely use them. Oh also the deep sockets are shallow broach if you don’t like those.

Edit, oh and the size stamping are not consistent either some are almost unreadable. If you have them in an organizer it’s fine but if not and put them on plain rails it could get annoying.

 

[jpaw]

Use your student discount to buy the more expensive things that you know that you will need and can use if you choose another career path.
Try not to put yourself in debt, I know passing on 50% off tool truck prices is difficult.
Buying a random $50 set of sockets vs a $100 set of snapon or you name it tool truck sockets that would normally be $200 is a tough decision that only you can make.
Someone else mentioned Grey Pneumatic for sockets and I would endorse them as well.
You truly will not know what you need until you find your spot in this world so your best bet is to make wise investments.

 

[rockidr4]

My thoughts on husky tools are complicated. I have a bunch of them. I hate all of them. I'm probably going to buy more in the future. As physical items in your hands, they seem really cheap and not good. Add to that how much they cost and they don't seem like a good value at all. But! If one of them fails, I can take a 5 minute walk to the Home Depot and replace it because their warranty is quite good.

When I first got a Husky tool because I needed a precision screw driver immediately, I thought to myself "What a hunk of junk, I'll never buy from this brand ever again." Later on, I once again found myself in an emergency buying a ratchet. I started looking for an upgrade ratchet and started realizing that a nicer ratchet would take longer to warranty, and that a tool I could get replaced in 10 minutes total if it failed still had a place in my life. So that's kind of my position at the moment. Everyone should have some cheap house brand tools that can be warrantied in minutes. Does it particularly matter which house brand they are? No. If you've got the choice, from what I've read the NAPA auto parts tools are probably the nicest, and the Harbor Freight ones are the least expensive, but again. Just get what's the fastest to get and replace, and don't expect to depend your life on these tools. Let them fill in if a nicer tool fails while you wait to get it serviced, or just be aware that you're using a cheap tool that will probably need replaced at some point.

I mean heck, I still think if you still have no idea whether you'll use a tool much, get the cheap version, and if it fails you know you used it enough for the nice version to be worth it.

 

[Wamsutta]

For straight chrome sockets, get the J.H. Williams.
They're made by Snap-on and function the same.

 

[Chasej]

For straight chrome sockets, get the J.H. Williams.
They're made by Snap-on and function the same.

I’m looking at the USA Williams.

 

[Yarpo]

What do y’all think about gear wrench impact sockets?

Had them, and sold them. While I really liked the electro plated finish on them vs the standard black oxide on almost every other manufacturer out there, I couldn’t get past the COO (China). Don’t get me wrong, the fit and finish on them were great, but I found the Sunex to be slightly cheaper and with a better fit, finish, reputation, and warranty. think you will also find that for the price, many will recommend them and it’s easy to see why.

As Smuro stated, the finish is excellent and the overall quality is good. I have three of them filling in missing sizes in my work set and two of them see a fair bit of use (12 and 16 I think) and I'm pleased. Stamped, etched, CroMo and the "glossy" finish is nice. That said I would look to Sunex or GP first and then look to GW or HF pittsburgh pro. All of them are fine impacts, but the GP and Sunex are fantastic and depending on the deal, priced equal or better.

As for Chrome sockets, I was talking with one of the other guys at work, he had SAE sockets in his hansen trays and I asked about when he started, and if his SAE stuff saw a fair bit of use back then before everything moved to metric. He said they've seen a good bit as they've been around a long time...it was the same set he got while in auto school. 29 year old sockets. I thought that was pretty cool. Most all my chrome stuff is GW and I don't have any issues with them, none, I use them everyday and I grin ear to ear thinking of how much money I've made with a set of sockets that costed so little, but will they last 29 years? I truly don't know. Just something to consider.

 

[yrly]

As for Chrome sockets, I was talking with one of the other guys at work, he had SAE sockets in his hansen trays and I asked about when he started, and if his SAE stuff saw a fair bit of use back then before everything moved to metric. He said they've seen a good bit as they've been around a long time...it was the same set he got while in auto school. 29 year old sockets. I thought that was pretty cool. Most all my chrome stuff is GW and I don't have any issues with them, none, I use them everyday and I grin ear to ear thinking of how much money I've made with a set of sockets that costed so little, but will they last 29 years? I truly don't know. Just something to consider.

Speaking of SAE it’s something to consider cost wise if you can separate the parts of the set depending on what brands you consider since it will probably get used less.

The bulk majority of SAE use will be old cars, small engines and household stuff. Everything else will mostly be metric. I’ve purchased grills and patio sets with SAE fasteners in just the past year. They’re still all over the place on lawnmowers, tractor and such. Cars are a different story. Supposedly Ford will use SAE in events of shortages, rumour was they were going to do it for certain fasteners during the tariffs if needed but I haven’t confirmed it. I have run across SAE fasteners in a few places on Ford cars as late as 2005 production. Other than that you might run across them on hose clamps and replacement battery terminals.

If you don’t mind mixing brands spend the money on the metric side and get something like this SAE set.

https://www.sears.com/dewalt-3-1-2-...lerId=Sears&prdNo=13&blockNo=13&blockType=G13

It’s fairly inexpensive, pretty comprehensive as long as 3/8 is OK, comes with a nice ratchet, 6 and 12 point standard and deep sockets and has a bunch of other stuff like breaker bar, breaker bar ratchet attachment and universal sockets which might be somewhat useful.

 

[81turbota]

There’s good arguments for the “buy quality when you wear out cheap” and “buy once cry once”.

I went to the swap meets and put together excellent kits of mixed brands. I was paying $1 a wrench for Proto, SK, Wright, Williams, older Cman, etc. If it doesn’t say Snap on you can get it for pennies. My motley bunch of mixed brand tools served me well for years until I was in a point in life I could afford and truly enjoy the nice new high end stuff.

If I were you, I’d buy a good well respected socket set not Chinese Craftsman. There’s lots of brands people here can recommend. As you identify your high use tools, either warranty them or replace them with top notch stuff from top notch brands.

As for impacts, I’ve beat the **** out of Sunex and they hold up great. Very complete kits too.

Best of luck to you!

 

[yrly]

There’s good arguments for the “buy quality when you wear out cheap” and “buy once cry once”.

I went to the swap meets and put together excellent kits of mixed brands. I was paying $1 a wrench for Proto, SK, Wright, Williams, older Cman, etc. If it doesn’t say Snap on you can get it for pennies. My motley bunch of mixed brand tools served me well for years until I was in a point in life I could afford and truly enjoy the nice new high end stuff.

If I were you, I’d buy a good well respected socket set not Chinese Craftsman. There’s lots of brands people here can recommend. As you identify your high use tools, either warranty them or replace them with top notch stuff from top notch brands.

As for impacts, I’ve beat the **** out of Sunex and they hold up great. Very complete kits too.

Best of luck to you!

I think the largest part of doing a piece at a time is the time invested in piecing individual pieces together from say a flea market if you need them for school (unless they offer loaners, I know the one local school does). You may get lucky at a garage sale depending on the area. Estate sales are probably worse than eBay. Very occasionally you get lucky at thrift store, I got a big bag of mostly Williams 1/2 drive stuff for $30 once in like new condition.

I suppose if you have time to invest looking for that stuff then you’re almost better off buying cheap Craftsman/Husky/Pittsburgh and using it while filling out and replacing things?

If you have time to watch eBay you’ll find sets of lesser remembered stuff Indestro and Herbrand at reasonable prices. You just can’t expect to run out and buy it all at once at a cheap price there since the more complete sets fetch premiums on eBay.

 

[belvedere]

As far as impact sockets, I've had this set for a few years. It's a quality, complete set at a decent price: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074P7NR16/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[ChrisLS8]

Until you are sure this is what you want just get the bare minimum tools to cover what you'll be doing. I see this alot in trades the new guy going into debt to get all the tools he thinks he will need and end up going to another field. Look at quality import brands such as Tekton

 

[ChrisLS8]

And unless you plan on working on Vintage cars or the classes specify I would completely skip SAE for the time being

 

[CafeTools]

Husky chrome sockets are good. Good local warranty. Pittsburgh at HF is great too for sockets. Ratchets I'd invest in snap on.

Buy once cry once. On the things that matter.

 

[MrDeerHunter]

OP needs to invest in Tekton. They will serve him well until he can make money with them then upgrade as he needs them.

Tektons warranty is good and for $500 he could have a nearly full toolbox for what he needs then have some spare cash for Milwaukee impacts.

Sent from my moto z4 using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[Fedwrench]

OP needs to invest in Tekton. They will serve him well until he can make money with them then upgrade as he needs them.

Tektons warranty is good and for $500 he could have a nearly full toolbox for what he needs then have some spare cash for Milwaukee impacts.

Sent from my moto z4 using The Garage Journal mobile app

I agree with this 100%. Tekton has the widest selection of chrome sockets in 6 or 12 point this side of a tool truck brand at a fraction of their price. Additionally, their warranty process is one of the easiest around, and if you order through Tekton.com, free shipping and reward points, plus they also have a student discount program.

However, your first post indicates that you're going to be a Marine tech working on boat engines?

I don't have any experience in that field, however, in the flat rate auto tech world time is money and you want to minimize anything done by hand. Cordless and air powered tools are the norm so, impact sockets are probably more common than chrome.
I recommend going to You Tube and watch some of the Flat Rate Master videos. Although geared to automotive, he has numerous films on setting up a tool cart for maximum productivity, & what tools are needed starting out.

Lastly, I'm not a big fan of 12 point sockets unless you need them to handle 12 point fasteners. there are some applications in driveline, head bolt, axle nut, transmissions, etc. when you need a 12 point socket but, I wouldn't get massive sets just to have 12 point sockets.

 

[Djosbun]

Regarding your semi-deep sockets: I love mine. Mine are actually SK deep sockets (7-15mm)but they are much shorter than your typical deep sockets (my deeps are Craftsman USA from the late 1980s). My SK 'semi-deep' are my go-to sockets. I have a 3-row Westling Machine socket organizer for my metrics, with standard, semi-deep and deep loaded up.

-- Dave

 

[starheineken]

If you are looking for a complete socket set, I found that the Jobsmart 312pc from TSC is a good option to start with. I picked it up during the holiday for a very good price. It's got more than 200 pieces of sockets (deep, shallow, 6-point, 12-point, metric, sae) along with carrying case for storage. You could have a look. It pretty much covers all the sizes you ever needed.

 

[Jonathankamm]

I love these slimline cases for Milwaukee sockets. I got a good deal on these three sets and thought I’d make a cabinet for them. My goal was to be able to get into each case without removing them from the cabinet but also have the option of removing the entire case if needed. Turned out great. Will be a good addition to the shop. The sets are 1/4” drive and 3/8” drive SAE and Metric.

 

[seber]

Sockets for professional use. You won't get much use out of Craftsman before they die. Get something that will last. I suggest Williams, SK, Wright, Proto Professional. I bought an SK set in 1966. I'm still using it. I also have a backup set of SK pieced together from garage sales and auctions over the years. One for the Shop and one for the house. For some reason I've lost the 7/16 several times and had to use the backup until I could find a replacement. Currently looking for one again. I dropped it on the shop floor and it went to never never land.

 

[Blue98GT]

I feel that you should spend most of the money on ratchets and less on sockets. Sockets are easily lost and you can't warranty something you can't find.

If I were to build a new set for shop work, I would get nice snap on ratchets, extensions, u-joints, and combo wrenches. Probably get HF chrome and impact sockets (at least 2x of each set) in whatever they have inclusive sets (meaning no gaps). You're more likely to lose a socket than break it.

I feel that the quality of HF stuff has really come up in the last 10 years while big box store stuff has gone down. No more CMAN and Husky USA made stuff.

Another thing to look out for is country of origin. Anything made in Taiwan is almost always better quality than its Chinese counterpart.

I'm pretty sure old USA made Kobalt impact sockets are rebanded Snap On.

 

[richfinn]

If I did it all again, I would go all Ko-Ken for sockets

Take a look at Palmac if your USA based, they are a great value for money/quality brand and make a lot of speciality stuff for Japanese engines etc.

 

[Citation]

Sockets for professional use. You won't get much use out of Craftsman before they die. Get something that will last. I suggest Williams, SK, Wright, Proto Professional. I bought an SK set in 1966. I'm still using it. I also have a backup set of SK pieced together from garage sales and auctions over the years. One for the Shop and one for the house. For some reason I've lost the 7/16 several times and had to use the backup until I could find a replacement. Currently looking for one again. I dropped it on the shop floor and it went to never never land.

I'm not a mechanic but would it be more cost effective to get a good set of consumer grade stuff then replace the ones that wear out with good ones later? I've generally taken the attitude that it's often OK to buy the cheap thing once. If it lasts because you don't use it much or it turns out to be sufficient for your needs, great. If you realize it's not good enough, upgrade.

This isn't a perfect philosophy. Safety concerns or risk that a cheap tool will damage something should be of concern. Still, if you are a mechanic who rarely uses say, SAE deep sockets, why get the best?

 

[pennsylvaniaboy]

Sunex master impact sets, and a 300pc craftsman/gearwrench set covers almost all of my socket needs. I have bought nice ratchets, and such but the sockets are good.

If you want a step of from craftsman/gearwrench sockets, go tekton.

But I use impacts alot for heavy use, and the chrome for assembly and small tasks.