Starting All over...

[Mgraves235]

ugh, short version; Thieves have relieved me of 100% of all the tools i've amassed over the last 25 years. Every hand and power tool i've ever had. Jacks, jackstands and motorcycle lift included. I only have my 110 Lincoln welder and a smattering of hand tools that were in my car. Anywho...

Need some reccomendations on starting new tool collection. years ago, I would have started with a Craftsman mechanic set and built from there, but the latest word on craftsman tools has not been good. Where should i Look for modestly priced, decent quality tools? I would prefer US or German made, but i've looked at the Kobalt and Husky stuff from the big boxes, they seem decent for the money, but i'm sure they're overseas made.

Also, recs on cordless systems too. Dewalt? Ryobi? Craftsman?
Thanks for any help, this has been a very stressful time for me.

 

[Strouty]

How did they get everything? I think that would be the thing I would concentrate on first, stopping the ability for them to take the second round of stuff.

 

[jonesg]

How did they get everything? I think that would be the thing I would concentrate on first, stopping the ability for them to take the second round of stuff.

Obviously all the eggs were in one trailer. Buy used.

 

[MushCreek]

I think you're going to find US stuff to be expensive, if you can even find any. I bought a couple sets of GearWrench socket stuff (Taiwan), and they are very nicely made. Much nicer than my old Craftsman US made stuff. My go-to on cordless tools is Milwaukee M18, but they aren't cheap (or US made).

 

[Mgraves235]

How did they get everything? I think that would be the thing I would concentrate on first, stopping the ability for them to take the second round of stuff.

I had temporarily moved into my mothers house to take care of her, while my house in the country was essentially empty for two months. Going by my game cameras, they made numerous trips over the course of two weeks. First trip was the house itself, broke the door down, took several vintage guitars and amplifiers, destroyed the house. Came back the next week and cleaned out my shop and took my washer and dryer. Air compressor, tractor implements, jeep Cherokee project on the last trip.
my mother has recently passed away and i've moved into her house. My house is empty and the land is up for sale.
I'm disabled and on a very tight fixed income, i'm hoping i can use some of my inheritance to replenish my tool collection. All my large and specialty tools for working on Semi's won't be replaced, i mostly just do routine repairs on my vehicles nowadays and restore motorcycles, so i'm going to focus on those areas for my new tools.

 

[ilovevocs]

This is my contribution for good value USA.

6 pc Screw driver set - made in USA. $8.00

https://www.menards.com/main/tools-...driver-set-6-piece/m82001/p-1444451308992.htm



You may want to check hot deals thread.

 

[BuffettFan]

MGraves, Very sorry for your losses. Hope they can catch the scumbags who were kicking you while you were down. There'll be a special place in Hell for those bastards.
I'd go looking through the pawn shops in your area both for replacements and you'll probably find some of your own stuff.
Was anything marked somehow?
Good luck to you.

 

[finn]

If you have limited financial resources, you are foolish to stipulate coo as a criteria for replenishing your tool inventory.

Concentrate on value and duty cycle for the intended use.

If you’re not a line mechanic, for example, you wouldn’t waste your money on Snapon tools just because they are American made, when any number of imported tools would meet your needs.

 

[WWheeler]

MGraves, Very sorry for your losses. Hope they can catch the scumbags who were kicking you while you were down. There'll be a special place in Hell for those bastards.
I'd go looking through the pawn shops in your area both for replacements and you'll probably find some of your own stuff.
Was anything marked somehow?
Good luck to you.

All of this.

 

[M6erfan]

Wow. Terrible circumstances OP. Sorry for your losses. What I hate more than anything is ******' thieves. If I were king, theft would be a capital crime.

Anyway, best of luck to you

 

[tym]

Man, that's awful. Hope the authorities catch the scum.

I'd suggest going used, but it might take a while to build up full sets. So if there are basic things you absolutely need sooner, maybe consider SK or Proto for good quality US stuff? Might be able to build an order with Harry Epstein.

Then you can take your time to fill in the rest at flea markets, swap meets, etc.

 

[mr.lemons]

Ah ****. Some people have no respect for others. Sorry for your recent troubles.

 

[Ray-CA]

I usually have duplicates of most of my tools. If you PM your address to me, I'll sort through everything and see if there is anything that I can send you. Are you needing metric or SAE stuff?

As far as cordless I'm a fan of the Makita line of 18v tools. I'm not making a living with them, just lots of homeowner stuff( decks, fences etc) and they've been great.

Sorry about your Mom and then to get ripped off....

Ray

 

[Tallpilot]

Wow. Terrible circumstances OP. Sorry for your losses. What I hate more than anything is ******' thieves. If I were king, theft would be a capital crime.

Anyway, best of luck yo you

Me too. Taking another man's hard earned property is deserving of death.

You have my sympathies MGraves.

To answer your question check out Cripe Distributing and Harry Epstein for new old stock that will save you some money. If you want to order current production stuff check out Tools delivered.com for USA Williams. Chadstoolbox for Knipex.

But honestly take a hard look at Tekton and Gearwrench. You can get 2-3 times as many wrenches and sockets for the same price. Be careful with pawn shops, a few have deals but most seem to price tools much closer to new than makes any sense.

When you narrow it down to some specific items ask us about them and we will tell you the pros and cons.

 

[george4]

I can relate, lost all my stuff in a catastrophic house fire last year, had been collecting since the mid 1960s. Purchased a condo to live in during the rebuild. Some tools had sentimental value but you have to let that go, most were just things. Enjoy the process of acquiring replacements as the need arises.

 

[PugetDude]

With all the duplicate tools most of us here on the GJ own, it wouldn't be inconceivable that we could collectively put together a decent set of basic high-quality hand tools for the OP.

Anyone know how we could do it; i.e some sort of master list of what people have and are willing to send? I'd be able to send some older Craftsman stuff, for example.

Hell, we're all willing to send stuff to total strangers every year for the Secret Santa, this should be even easier.

 

[Toothaker]

I've never been cleaned out like that, but more than once over the years I've had my home broken into, so I can relate to some of what you're going through. I am so sorry for your losses, including the loss of your mother. You are sure going through a lot right now.

Have you talked to the insurance agent? If you have homeowner's insurance it likely will cover most or all of your stolen contents.

 

[WarrenJ]

Can you file a Home Owners insurance claim?

 

[Augus7us]

I don't know where they stand in the hierarchy of tool awesomeness, but I've been buying all rigid for one reason: lifetime battery replacement.

I was buying dewalt because that's what my dad always used when doing construction (I'm not in the trade). However between my dad and I, we have about six dewalt drills that are worthless because the batteries eventually die and it was always cheaper to buy a new drill with batteries.

If I was making a living with them maybe I would look at Milwaukee. So far though, no complaints with the rigid. Just make sure you register them within 90 days to get the warranty. I didn't with my first purchase and they will not budge on that in my experience.

On a side note, very sorry for your loss. I can't stand a thief and I'll leave it at that to save you all an earful.

-Clint

 

[Richard Cranium]

I hate a thief.

 

[JimNC]

I’m really curious about insurance. It generally covers theft, but they may be able to get out of it if the property was unoccupied. Have you filed a police report?

Generally speaking, what’s your location?

If you post up a list of needs I’ll help where I can.

 

[metaldad]

really sad to read about your loss.
and condolences on the passing of your mother.
ebay has lots of stuff to fill your new boxes.
your insurance should cover alot, and, did i read they stole a jeep?
that should push this case to the forefront

 

[WWShop]

Did those cameras get an image of what they looked like? I'm sure the tools have all been pawned, but maybe the cameras can help them to be ID'd and arrested.

 

[M_George]

I can relate, lost all my stuff in a catastrophic house fire last year, had been collecting since the mid 1960s. Purchased a condo to live in during the rebuild. Some tools had sentimental value but you have to let that go, most were just things. Enjoy the process of acquiring replacements as the need arises.

Very true, start visiting the flea markets and before long you will need a bigger tool box than you had before. I'm up to three boxes now and will need another one soon...
I had all of my hand tools stolen a few years back by a neighbors junkie kid and that was the last I saw of of them. Insurance wouldn't cover them cause I didn't have a record of them. I've sense made many friends with the flea market regulars and enjoy my weekend visits.

 

[sberry]

He's anyone had a whole collection of HF stolen?

 

[Mr_B]

^
probably not lol and part of reason mobile kit we use in the truck includes some HF items and other hand picked lower/midrange stuff as it affordable to loose and less appealing to go missing .
OP sounds like he got wiped out proper, sad scenario, wish cops would work harder on these cases, pretty easy track it down as local scum bound be involved .

 

[barrybeefburger]

I’m really curious about insurance. It generally covers theft, but they may be able to get out of it if the property was unoccupied. Have you filed a police report?

Im going to guess that because the property was empty for 2 months and if he didnt tell the insurance company then his home insurance (if he had it) will be void.

 

[finn]

I don't know where they stand in the hierarchy of tool awesomeness, but I've been buying all rigid for one reason: lifetime battery replacement.

I was buying dewalt because that's what my dad always used when doing construction (I'm not in the trade). However between my dad and I, we have about six dewalt drills that are worthless because the batteries eventually die and it was always cheaper to buy a new drill with batteries.

If I was making a living with them maybe I would look at Milwaukee. So far though, no complaints with the rigid. Just make sure you register them within 90 days to get the warranty. I didn't with my first purchase and they will not budge on that in my experience.

On a side note, very sorry for your loss. I can't stand a thief and I'll leave it at that to save you all an earful.

-Clint

The local Remy battery store rebuilds the old style NiCad batteries pretty in expensively, and they provide a descent second life span for those old style drills.

Alternatively, Dewalt offers a Li retrofit adapter package that works well.

In the end, though, you have an old drill that isn’t up to the ergonomics standards of the new brushless drills.

Plenty of people have reported bad experiences with trying to get HD to honor the Ridgid free battery warranty, without registering in the proper time period.

 

[AreYaSerious]

Check the classified section here. What are you looking for?

 

[bonneyman]

With all the duplicate tools most of us here on the GJ own, it wouldn't be inconceivable that we could collectively put together a decent set of basic high-quality hand tools for the OP.

Anyone know how we could do it; i.e some sort of master list of what people have and are willing to send? I'd be able to send some older Craftsman stuff, for example.

Hell, we're all willing to send stuff to total strangers every year for the Secret Santa, this should be even easier.

Something like this has been done before.

I, too, am so sorry for your loss.

 

[george4]

Very true, start visiting the flea markets and before long you will need a bigger tool box than you had before. I'm up to three boxes now and will need another one soon...
I had all of my hand tools stolen a few years back by a neighbors junkie kid and that was the last I saw of of them. Insurance wouldn't cover them cause I didn't have a record of them. I've sense made many friends with the flea market regulars and enjoy my weekend visits.

I have heard that insurance problem raised before. While helpful, it is not mandatory to have a preexisting list or photographic proof to collect on an insurance claim for a fire or theft loss.

 

[Garett]

My road tool box was taken from my SUV, it must have been just random luck for the thieves. They got about $3000 worth of snap on ratchets, sockets and wrenches from me, I didn't do an insurance claim. Since I'm out of the trade and just a hobbyist now I bought a couple of snap on pieces but I mostly bought gearwrench.

 

[2oolhound]

Take your time and pick the cream. I just came from a swap meet and lots of craftsman sets dirt cheap. I have most what I need now but still enjoy scoring a great deal on the specialty stuff. Sounds like you'll need time to put a shop together so don't hurry on buying tools, be selective because the stream of used tools is endless and deals come up.

I got cleaned out like you in around 1985, lost some gems but I'm way better equipped now and it's just a bad memory.

 

[PugetDude]

I hate a thief.

Can't call them thieves anymore, Richard; under the new PC speech guidelines they are to be referred to as "undocumented owners".

 

[03.]

Can't call them thieves anymore, Richard; under the new PC speech guidelines they are to be referred to as "undocumented owners".

 

[cupcakemike]

Im going to guess that because the property was empty for 2 months and if he didnt tell the insurance company then his home insurance (if he had it) will be void.

Huh? It doesn't matter if you are actively living there or not, you pay a premium for H.O. ins and you are covered. What about people who go on trips for a few weeks at time and get robbed, are they not covered because the property was "empty"?

 

[Higgins]

Look at all the "Snow Birds" that head south for the winter, as they are gone for months at a time! We did Route 66 last yr and were gone over 6 weeks.

In our case, we have a monitored alarm system, we also informed the County Sheriff as they will check up on the place once a week.

However, that does not protect us from someone that is going to break-in, grab some stuff quickly, and drive off!

 

[DonglordActual]

If you're going to get USA/German tools new, then think carefully about the things you need to work on what you have and do not just replace things you seldom used. It sounds obvious but why does everyone on here have so many ratchets? Buy stuff as you need it and then you'd be able to buy based on country of origin more easily.

It might be helpful to know what you usually do for projects.

Cordless systems
A guy I work with uses Ryobi 18V system for general contracting and they hold up good enough for a year or two of moderate commercial use before they burn up because they aren't meant for that. I say this but I would still say they're good enough for most users and are quite a bit better than a Black & Decker. Everyone else has DeWalt, Makita, and Milwaukee and says good things about those. DeWalt "makes" (some components made on site here like motors, quality control, and packaging) cordless tools here.

 

[bwringer]

As someone said earlier, your best bang for the buck is going to be Tekton, maybe Gearwrench. That's what I'd get if I had to rebuild.

If you live somewhere where there are Meijer stores, you can go look at Tekton stuff on the shelf. They also have a website with lots more goodies and some good benefits if you join the club.

If you have a Menard's store around, the MasterForce sockets and wrenches are quite good and US-made, but they're being phased out in favor of Gearwrench.

If I had to start over with cordless tools, I'd either go with Ryobi or maybe Milwaukee, depending on budget and usage. The range of tools that take the same battery is insane. Both can be found at any Home Despot. The Ridgid stuff is nice, too, but many have learned the hard way that the "warranty" on the batteries doesn't really mean much.


Sorry for all your losses. Sounds like it's been a royally ****** year or two.

 

[jd_1138]

OP, where do you live? That will influence some of the recommendations. If there's a Family, Farm and Home near you, they often run buy 1 get one half off sales on their Tekton lineup. They carry most of the Tekton line.

Also, some of the stuff at HF is nice -- their Pro line of screw drivers, impact sockets, composite ratchets, swivel ratchets, adjustable wrenches.

For power tools, I'd stick to Makita, DeWalt, Milwaukee, Ryobi, new CM line at Lowe's. Lowe's has a Porter Cable combo for $99 on sale now. You get a 1/4 impact driver, a regular drill, 2 batteries, charger, and a bag. That's a lot of bang for the buck.

I wouldn't get the power tools from HF. They aren't any less pricey than the bigger names.