RbrtAWhyt
Well-known member
Amen to that!
As far as high quality/low price, it's hard to beat the offerings from GearWrench, especially their ratchets...
The Frugal Tool Shopper Thread
- Thread starter mrholeshot
- Start date
Amen to that!
As far as high quality/low price, it's hard to beat the offerings from GearWrench, especially their ratchets...
SnowBlaZeR2
Well-known member
Which comfort grip do you have? How comfortable are they? I've been eying the Snap On and Gearwrench, but those are pricey. It looks like the 3/8" comfort grip with 72 teeth runs $28.34? Not too bad.
Nosir, the ones I have look like a large Swiss Army Knife type deal, with all the different sized bits folding in and out for use.
My local auto parts store, which is actually (or was, at least) an SK dealer carries some Titan items. That's where I picked up the Torx bits.
My local auto parts store, which is actually (or was, at least) an SK dealer carries some Titan items. That's where I picked up the Torx bits.
metal1313
Well-known member
not really a cheap tool but a great buy for great tools is the milwaukee m18 drill/impact set at homedepot. its 200 even and in the few months ive had them i have used them hard and they have been great.
now for hand tools i buoght a set of the husky made in usa drivers a few weeks back and the few times ive used them so far they seem great. i do perfer usa tools and many are better, but i do have some hf extra long wrenchs that have been great in the year ive owned them. i want a truck brand equivlant but gotta wait for the right deal. i mean hey im a 23y/o college student and i got bills to pay that are more important than tools
now for hand tools i buoght a set of the husky made in usa drivers a few weeks back and the few times ive used them so far they seem great. i do perfer usa tools and many are better, but i do have some hf extra long wrenchs that have been great in the year ive owned them. i want a truck brand equivlant but gotta wait for the right deal. i mean hey im a 23y/o college student and i got bills to pay that are more important than tools
lauver
Well-known member
Well said Moose. Amen.
I'll snap a pic of it tomorrow and post it in the evening for ya.
You twisted the head off a grade 5 bolt? Now, that's the kind of objective information i like!
A couple of weeks ago I was on the way to the Pull-a-Part to (hopefully) find a rear bumper for a Suburban. Feeling a bit insecure about the tool kit i was carrying, I stopped into a tool dealer and picked up a 1/2" x 24" breaker bar by "MIT" (Michigan Industrial Tools). That $17.50 item is now one of my most appreciated. Is that cheap enough to qualify? I was actually a little worried about the thing coming apart - until the first time I had to stand on the end of it. I had to bounce a little, but the bolt gave way as the bar gave me a velvet-smooth ride to the ground...
A couple of weeks ago I was on the way to the Pull-a-Part to (hopefully) find a rear bumper for a Suburban. Feeling a bit insecure about the tool kit i was carrying, I stopped into a tool dealer and picked up a 1/2" x 24" breaker bar by "MIT" (Michigan Industrial Tools). That $17.50 item is now one of my most appreciated. Is that cheap enough to qualify? I was actually a little worried about the thing coming apart - until the first time I had to stand on the end of it. I had to bounce a little, but the bolt gave way as the bar gave me a velvet-smooth ride to the ground...
2chipped
Well-known member
I frugally buy snappy on ebay and pawn shops.
Coach James
Well-known member
http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay...gId=10051&cmRelshp=sim&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1
Monday I was taking apart a pommel horse and one of the spindle locks was extremly tight. I put the Irwin's on it then stood on the handle(230+ lbs) and bounced to get it loose. They're like a cheaper version of Knipex Cobras.
Coach
Monday I was taking apart a pommel horse and one of the spindle locks was extremly tight. I put the Irwin's on it then stood on the handle(230+ lbs) and bounced to get it loose. They're like a cheaper version of Knipex Cobras.
Coach
TireTracks
Well-known member
I have some of their stuff. The local orielys had some of them for sale in bins.
I've got the Inch flare nut wrenches.
I have a basic problem with Husky tools, Home Depot does NOT like to warranty them, and what a given store has in stock varies widely over time. Craftsman and GearWrench are about the same price used as a used Husky, so I just skip the Husky stuff. What I don't find in Craftsman or GearWrench I buy at HF, which is often cheaper new on sale than used anyway.
That said over half of the tools I use most are Snapon purchased used. If you can find them cheap enough, what could be more frugal?
Titan, Genius, Mountain, and some other brands all seem to be the same tools, and the ones I have purchased so far have been great.
That said over half of the tools I use most are Snapon purchased used. If you can find them cheap enough, what could be more frugal?
Titan, Genius, Mountain, and some other brands all seem to be the same tools, and the ones I have purchased so far have been great.
onewaydave
Well-known member
Bull, thanks for the support.
I was walking through Sears last week and talked to the tool dept mgr. He said a couple of months ago they had the 300 pc Professional Tool Set (mechanics) on sale for 1/2 price, about $300. That comes to $1.00 per tool. HF that. Course he could of been yanking my chain too.
Tomorrow is Craftsman Club day and I'm going shopping. You do know about CC don't you? You get to apply your discount to whatever the current price is, sale or otherwise. It adds up if you can be patient. Google it.
Dave.
I was walking through Sears last week and talked to the tool dept mgr. He said a couple of months ago they had the 300 pc Professional Tool Set (mechanics) on sale for 1/2 price, about $300. That comes to $1.00 per tool. HF that. Course he could of been yanking my chain too.
Tomorrow is Craftsman Club day and I'm going shopping. You do know about CC don't you? You get to apply your discount to whatever the current price is, sale or otherwise. It adds up if you can be patient. Google it.
Dave.
Bolster
Well-known member
But Bull, go to any aficionado forum, and that's what 50% of the discussion is...this brand vs. that, whether it's airbrushes, ovens, or oilers. Comparison shopping is a national pastime, and brand loyalty is along side team sports as an inexplicable passion. Even this thread is basically an extension of those same brand arguments, albeit non-glamor brands.
I spend a lot of my time here trying to find "what are the good brands," it is one of the main reasons I'm here. I don't want people to hold back and be giving me new-age "all brands are good, just different" types of pablum. I value someone's strong opinion: "Buy Norseman bits, they're the best." Doesn't bother me 't'all.
I assume the majority of readers don't take brand arguments too seriously. It's pretty easy for us readers to distinguish the smoke from the substance. And as one wise forumite opined in a different thread (can't remember who,) there is a good amount of self-justification that motivates these discussions. It's just human nature to get uncomfortable if you spent $100 for a shiny new Gizmo-X Wrench, and someone else pays $10 for a Gizmoticx Wrench that has 90% of the functionality. You basically would not be human if you didn't go looking around for justifications and props for your Gizmo-X. There's even a name for it, "cognitive dissonance."
Jingoism is a different issue and I'll not touch that with my Gizmoticx 10-foot pole. Least not in this thread.
Carry on, gentlemen. You've about got me talked into a Cman fine tooth, here.
PS: Still giggling about all the "stay the hell out of this thread" talk! Hoo hoo hoo, that is funny! I'm going to start putting that line in ALL my threads: "If you don't like PB Swiss bit drivers, stay the hell out of this thread!" "If you don't agree that Proto is the best American tool, stay the HELL out of this thread!" "If you don't like my HF unibits, stay the HELL out of this thread!" Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.....
Last edited:
OP
mrholeshot
MEMBER EMERITUS
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2010
- Messages
- 8,043
It's good to hear your experiance with Husky but many times it can be an isolated thing. No problem at our local store. Some have bad experiance at Sears but I've never had a problem with Sears. There are deals to be had in just about any of these places.
As far as buying used Snap-On that is Frugal. It's just that only one person gets that paticular deal and it's not accessable to most everyone. The one thing I like about Sears is they have such a good inventory of open stock which make warranty a quick and easy process.
OP
mrholeshot
MEMBER EMERITUS
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2010
- Messages
- 8,043
The first thing I did when I came home with the tool was go into the garage and chuck up a 5/16X1 bolt into a nut with a flat washer in between into my vise. The flat washer insures the wrench will grab where it would in the real world and I wanted to see if A. The wrench would break B. The wrench would round the corners of a grade 5 bolt (that normal hardware for about anything) C. would hold on the edge of the wrench with the bolt at normal depth. I snapped the bolt off with reletive ease and the corners of the bolt were untouched. It was a pass for any wrench. It passed the frugal test when it did it for about 3 dollars per wrench while looking about as good as good as a 42.25 cent snap-on.
craftsman makes an offset Box end in the Craftsman Pro line that runs about 10 dollars per wrench thats hard to tell from the Snap-On in quality and looks. For a professional tech who uses the wrench daily under extreme circumstances a 10 dollar wrench is pretty frugal. I can't vouch how long a 3 dollar Husky wrench would hold up in a professional enviroment because I havent tested it that way. I have tested the Craftsman pro's as I have them in SAE and the Snap-Ons in Metric. 8 years and no failure of either.
Everything doesnt have to be made to the quality that a line tech needs. For the average Joe building a car in his garage with 2-3 kids, morgage, car payments and in that 30-40K income range he can buy a lot of parts for the car instaed of dishing out mega dollars on tools when a 3 dollar wrench will acomplish the same task as a 40 dollar wrench.
If I was still a working technician I'd still be buying from Snap-On on a weekly basis. I love the tools and for a working tech not only are they incredibly durable but says a lot about your passion for your craft. It is an absolute status symbol for a technician to have a set of Snap-On boxes filled with the best tools made. It's like a CEO of a major business wearing a Rolex. A Casio will keep just as good time as the Rolex at fraction of the cost.
I think your breaker bar is a Frugal buy. Frugal doesnt alway have to be the cheapest. It just needs to be able to do the same job as a more expensive tool at a fraction of the price, sometimes that fraction can be 1/2 to 3/4 but just needs to be a quality peice. You paid less for that breaker bar than a 15 inch version at Sears. The one at Sears (craftsman) I can snap the drive end off those like a twig. It's a very poor excuse for a breaker bar. The Craftsman breaker bar isn't frugal at 20 dollars because it's a POS. I like Craftsman tools, I hate that breaker bar. I've broken at least 30 of them. Mostly out of sport. New tech shows up with one of these and I bet him 20 that I can break it on the first pull with no pipe. One good yank and snap. Either the drive will break or the pin.
OP
mrholeshot
MEMBER EMERITUS
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2010
- Messages
- 8,043
I own several pairs of Kimpex Cobras (love them!) I bought out a tech that was going into the military and in his box was a pair of them. I threw them in my own box along with some other stuff I wanted to keep. Used them for 5 years before one day I decided to clean them up really well (that handles turn black over time)and as I was cleaning them I saw "Stanley" on the handles. I was like "Imagine that" The entire time I thought they were Kimpex because they looked and worked exactly the same. Thinking they were Kimpex I always had confidence in them.
Home Depot has a Husky 4 pc double box end offset wrench set that runs from 5/16-3/4 (they also have it in metric) They have a flank type drive, really nice finish and appear to be a quality wrench. I took the 1/2 inch and broke the head off a 5/16 grade 5 bolt so they are pretty solid and didn't damage the head itself. The wrenches are comfortable, smooth, highly polished and even come with a tool roll if you like those. My opinion is if you can snap the head off a grade 5 bolt it's doing a decent job. I took photos of the biggest one so you can see it better. $11.97
Is that a 11/16" wrench in that set ?
OP
mrholeshot
MEMBER EMERITUS
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2010
- Messages
- 8,043
Yes they come 5/16X3/8, 7/16X1/2, 9/16X5/8,11/16X3/4
z28snksknr
Well-known member
Great thread. Keep sharing. My tool budget is applying for unemployment currently, but that isn't stopping me from making a list for a sunny day.
Bolster, the jingoism is what I am talking about. If someone wants to say that brand or tool X is superior to others because they have direct experience, that's fine. But too often on here people open their yaps to piddle all over tool or brand X because they are pre-disposed to dislike it without any actual experience. It goes like this:
[In voice of Gronk, the caveman] "Uh, tool come from across Big Water. Tool bad. Man bad."
I also have an MIT breaker that I have used a few times and which seems a real nice piece.
I am tempted to try some C-man Pro pieces since I hear good things about them on here, including in this thread.
[In voice of Gronk, the caveman] "Uh, tool come from across Big Water. Tool bad. Man bad."
I also have an MIT breaker that I have used a few times and which seems a real nice piece.
I am tempted to try some C-man Pro pieces since I hear good things about them on here, including in this thread.
sberry
Banned
Darn, I might score a set of those Husky but not 2, I like the 1/2x9/16 combination, one of the main reasons I would want them.
OP
mrholeshot
MEMBER EMERITUS
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2010
- Messages
- 8,043
The only neg things I would say about this set is I wish the 1/2 and 9/16 was on the same wrench. But for 12 dollars it's a moot point.
cheap bastard
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 3, 2006
- Messages
- 614
mrholeshot,
I have to completely agree with you concerning Craftsman breaker bars. I have picked up many of them over the years in purchased cars, auction or garage sale deals and such. Every last one has broke the drive end or the pin. Due to the nature of their lack of providence they have been of various vintages. I had a couple warrantied and the replacements broke also. Craftsman breaker bars in my possession are now treated to a quick and certain death with no warranty ever desired. The goal is to get them out of the pool. My 30 year old Duro-Chrome and a couple Industros that have found their way here have never failed, even with long pipe extension abuse.
I have to completely agree with you concerning Craftsman breaker bars. I have picked up many of them over the years in purchased cars, auction or garage sale deals and such. Every last one has broke the drive end or the pin. Due to the nature of their lack of providence they have been of various vintages. I had a couple warrantied and the replacements broke also. Craftsman breaker bars in my possession are now treated to a quick and certain death with no warranty ever desired. The goal is to get them out of the pool. My 30 year old Duro-Chrome and a couple Industros that have found their way here have never failed, even with long pipe extension abuse.
Scout Driver
Well-known member
Allen tools bought at Menards during the 15% off "bag sales" will be my contribution to this good thread. The wrenches and sockets have a great "fit" on respective fasteners. The impressive tolerances of this "fit" is comparable to some of the big name tools. Chrome and finish are of high quality. While country-of-origin is not supposed to be a factor here, these tools are made in USA.
Scott
Scott
SnowBlaZeR2
Well-known member
Really? I have a Kobalt that has never failed me and I've been wanting to replace it with a Craftsman, just to match my other tools. Yes I'm a bit OCD about my box. Maybe I should just stick with what's working for me. That or never use the Craftsman, haha.
shotgunfatcat
Well-known member
Stanley dead blow hammers are great...
OEM tools aren't bad, specifec tools though.
my old craftsman 80 tooth 1/2 drive is the sh*t.
Tools I will never buy again are great neck (cheap autozone tools, the duralast are actually pretty good as well), I grabbed a torx socket set, first pull rounded the damn thing right out (heads on an explorer, went back and got the duralast one, didn't even know my dad had a snappy one though....I have used that duralast one a bunch now, looks brand new still.
Not a fan of craftsman screwdrivers( the read and blue handled ones)
OEM tools aren't bad, specifec tools though.
my old craftsman 80 tooth 1/2 drive is the sh*t.
Tools I will never buy again are great neck (cheap autozone tools, the duralast are actually pretty good as well), I grabbed a torx socket set, first pull rounded the damn thing right out (heads on an explorer, went back and got the duralast one, didn't even know my dad had a snappy one though....I have used that duralast one a bunch now, looks brand new still.
Not a fan of craftsman screwdrivers( the read and blue handled ones)
OP
mrholeshot
MEMBER EMERITUS
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2010
- Messages
- 8,043
Really? I have a Kobalt that has never failed me and I've been wanting to replace it with a Craftsman, just to match my other tools. Yes I'm a bit OCD about my box. Maybe I should just stick with what's working for me. That or never use the Craftsman, haha.
I don't know what it is with the craftsman breaker bars. I broke a few at critical times without much effort. I broke on in Dilllon SC while I was working on a winch on my Rollback. I was on the exit at HF tools on 95 and broke a new never used Craftsman breaker bar. I drove over to HF and picked up a 24" Snap-On look alike for like 10 dollars and finshed the job. I took it back to Sears the next time I went and got a new one. I thought it was an isolated defective product. Turns out that sometime in the last 12-15 years they started building them out of ****. With one pull they snap like plastic. Funny thing is the HF 24 inch is one tough *** breaker bar. I've never had a pipe on it but I've yanked on it pretty hard a few time. I have an old SK that has been indestuctable, That thing has seen more pipe than a crackhead.
sberry
Banned
I have 3 or so of the MIT 24 inch ones, very good for the 12$ I paid for them. One of my guys did manage to break one with a cheater, I wondered WTF, "Well I didn't know if we had 3/4 stuff, duh, whole drawer of it right in front of him should have been a clue. Me, would have used a heavy impact anyway. I carry one of the bars in my pickup though, paid for itself in one use.
DARKSCOPE001
Well-known member
I saw a cool little 1/4 set at loes the other day. it was there in house brand of Kobalt. the set was pretty much a compleate rail of SAE and metric. I think it might have had an extention. But it was a thru drive ratchet. with a locking flex head and the handle seemed pretty long. I love long handles and the locking feature seemed to be pretty good. I was thinking about getting it. If memory serves me right it sold for about 20 bucks. Wouldent be a bad little tool if you use it right and dont try to break bolts free with it.
THANKS
Sean Scott
THANKS
Sean Scott
quattrojon
Well-known member
An excellent thread. My vote is for K-D combination wrenches..... so underated, and so inexpensive.
Randy_che
Well-known member
Estwing Hammers - A touch more expensive, but worth it.
Robertob
Banned
I second that. Bought some of the rough ones 22-32mm for $5 each brand new!
scarrylarry
Well-known member
Re: USA/Canada
Took my elderly Mom for a trip to a mall last week,I think it was last week.Anyway I have been meaning to get a set of metric ignition wrenches as I have the SAE's that I bought in the US.So I went into Sears and picked up the Craftsman pouch of 10 pcs. at 40o/o off. they were still like $16.?? after tax.You Americans sure get good prices on tools
scarrylarry
Took my elderly Mom for a trip to a mall last week,I think it was last week.Anyway I have been meaning to get a set of metric ignition wrenches as I have the SAE's that I bought in the US.So I went into Sears and picked up the Craftsman pouch of 10 pcs. at 40o/o off. they were still like $16.?? after tax.You Americans sure get good prices on tools
scarrylarry
Mr.Nutcase
Well-known member
Indy_500
Well-known member
I got my 302 piece craftsman set w/thin profile ratchets for $180 (on closeout for $200 but got a $20 gift card with any purchase over $100) That comes out to 60 cents per tool
Indy_500
Well-known member
I'll second that. I really don't think they're that expensive. only like $15-$20 per hammer.
ourkid2000
Well-known member
When I was at Home Depot yesterday I noticed Estwing Hammers that were made in Taiwan. They had yellow plastic handles with a heavy mallet head.
atlinwi202
Well-known member
My dad was a carpenter and used his estwing 22 oz claw for who know how long. He got out of the trade and I used it for 4 summers while I framed houses during the college summers. I love that hammer, It is worn perfectly on the waffle head. it made me really good money for a summer job.