Upgrading my combo wrenches...

[saturdaymechanic]

Tapping the wealth of knowledge here:

My only set of combo wrenches go to 14 MM and 11/16. Metric is in my car along with a couple of 1/4" and 3/8" socket sets and adj wrenches, SAE at home with my Craftsman mechanic's set.

I want to upgrade a set to keep at home. I'm looking at metric first (there's 2 Nissan's in the home) and SAE later. I'm a weekend DIYer looking for a complete or close to complete set. Craftsman comes to mind for budget.

Questions:Are ratcheting box ends a must have or an indulgence? Should I look for sets that go to 26MM? I do basic work like oil, brakes, spark plugs etc. I did change the tie rods on my Altima, but will look for any reason to use my tools.

Your thoughts?

 

[shampoop]

it depends. If you have a very nice socket/ratchet set, and you don't use your tools very often, you'll very rarely need to use the closed end of a wrench. But if you just have your average homeowners ratchet/socket set, and use your tools regularly, the locking flex ratcheting wrenches are very nice.

 

[Kylecivicsi]

I am a huge fan of gearwrenches. Yes, they are made in china, but I have stubby, regular, and XL xbeam sets in both metric and SAE for the same money some spend on a set of XL SO's.

That being said, my father has a shiny set of SO XL flank drive plus (or whatever their fancy marketing talk is for them), and they are finished nicer, and feel better in your hand. For someone who is not earning a living with them (like me, and sounds like you as well) there is no way I could justify the price for the big truck brands.

I also prefer the GW brand to the ratcheting craftsman wrenches that my dad owns. The GW's have a fully polished finish, so they clean up easy before getting put back in the box. The CM's my dad has are rough and like to cling to grease and other junk.

Just my friendly .02. YMMV

 

[Deskmechanic]

For a first set I would get a regular box end not ratcheting. I would recommend the made-in-USA Craftsman Professional sets if you can find one. You can add ratcheting later if you find yourself wishing you had it.

 

[trainwreck]

Questions:Are ratcheting box ends a must have or an indulgence? Should I look for sets that go to 26MM?

I'm no pro, but I'd say that ratcheting box end wrenches are definitely a luxury. We all got along for years without them, and most of my dad's generation never even heard of them. Having said that, I'd rate them as a luxury the same way I'd rate hot water as a luxury. We, as a species, got along for millenia without it. We could survive without it. (I did, for a whole year.) But would you really want to? Unless it's a choice between eating and wrenches, I'd save up for the ratcheting wrenches. I am so glad that I did.

As for sizes, only you can really say that. If you're just working on your car, you'll find that you hit the same sizes over and over again. Having a 7mm-26mm ratcheting wrench collection just seems like way overkill to me. Then again, I like overkill.

The GW's have a fully polished finish, so they clean up easy before getting put back in the box. The CM's my dad has are rough and like to cling to grease and other junk.

The older 36 tooth Craftsman wrenches had that sandblasted raised panel finish. The latest 72 tooth Craftsman wrenches are fully polished and chromed. I'd prefer the Craftsman if only because none of them have the cap-stop feature while at least some of the GearWrenches do.

I would recommend the made-in-USA Craftsman Professional sets if you can find one. You can add ratcheting later if you find yourself wishing you had it.

Ironically, I did the exact opposite of what DeskMechanic suggests, but that's also because I ran into an amazing deal on ratcheting wrenches before I found the Craftsman Professional wrenches. I would have had no qualms doing things DeskMechanic's way had sales worked out that way though.

 

[garagebug]

The older 36 tooth Craftsman wrenches had that sandblasted raised panel finish. The latest 72 tooth Craftsman wrenches are fully polished and chromed. I'd prefer the Craftsman if only because none of them have the cap-stop feature while at least some of the GearWrenches do.

I agree about the cap-stop. I bought my GearWrenches at Advance Auto Parts and they had ones without the cap-stop. I can think of situations where it would be handy, but I can also think of twice as many where it would be a problem.

 

[stopdroplol]

You don't need a complete set up to 26mm. My set only goes up to 15mm, and anything bigger than 19mm is likely gonna need a breaker bar to get loose. I would just go 6 -17mm and then if you need something bigger get it from harbor freight. The price on those things begin to skyrocket after 20mm or so and you'll save big bucks. You'll likely only need 1 or 2 odd sizes at that point anyways.

My experience is with motorcycles and the only thing over 17mm are the 2 axle nuts. 10 & 12mm make up about 70% of everything.

OH, and as far as ratcheting wrenches go. There definitely a luxury. My dad's been wrenching on cars for 50+years and he doesn't use any. My sister actually bought him a craftsman set a couple Christmases ago, and he took em back..thats what the thinks of them.

If you do get some I'd spring for flex heads because if you "need" those, they'll definitely save you time fighting to get a combo wrench on. I got the Gear wrench flex heads, they're the best bang for the buck.

 

[Kirbot]

I agree about the cap-stop. I bought my GearWrenches at Advance Auto Parts and they had ones without the cap-stop. I can think of situations where it would be handy, but I can also think of twice as many where it would be a problem.

I didn't think I was going to like that when I first got mine.
But after using them for a while, I'm really glad it's there.

There's always standard combination wrenches for the rare occasion it's a problem.

 

[saturdaymechanic]

Thanks for the replies, I'm thinking maybe a Craftsman 7MM to 19MM to start with and adding in the 20's as needed. I like the other Craftsman Professional stuff I have, maybe I'll check them out.

Ratcheting box ends are sounding nice right now...we'll see...

I'll also check out GearWrench since people have been talking about them.

 

[Kirbot]

They are very nice, but I would still start out with a standard set.

Thats just personal opinion though.

 

[farmmech86]

Craftsman raised panel wrenches are a good choice - they are reasonably priced, they fit fasteners pretty good and they are pretty tough. One thing lots of folks complain about is the way they feel in their hand - some people find that the raised part of the wrench digs into their hands, making them uncomfortable. Might go to sears and grab one, really squeeze down on it and see how it feels in the hand. It's all about how a tool feels in your hands.

Ratcheting wrenches are a great time saver, but I'm not working flat-rate in a shop. So saving time is not really my biggest priority. I wouldn't say that they are necessary.

As far as sizes go - I know that some European cars have bigger metric sizes (my buddy's old BMW has some BIG metric fasteners - 24, 30 and 36 come to mind and a Land Rover guy I know uses big metric stuff) and I use big metric sizes on some of our farm equipment. But I've always heard that Japanese cars pretty much only use 8, 10, 12, 14, 17, 19, and 21. But I admit that I haven't worked on that many Japanese cars.

 

[W650Mike]

Ratcheting box wrenches are a luxury - much like A/C in the South.

Find a small GearWrench set and try them.

 

[Mighty Mouse]

I love my gear wrenches. I have the flex head ones as well. After using them for a few years, I don't know if I could go back. They are the first tools I grab when it comes time to do work.

 

[Kylecivicsi]

The older 36 tooth Craftsman wrenches had that sandblasted raised panel finish. The latest 72 tooth Craftsman wrenches are fully polished and chromed. I'd prefer the Craftsman if only because none of them have the cap-stop feature while at least some of the GearWrenches do.

I was speaking for wrenches, not ratchets. All the CMan wrenches I have used were the blasted ones, and I MUCH prefer the full polish of the GW over that, just because I like to keep everything clean and the CMans tend to fight back after a good day of use

I know CMan makes a full polished ratchet nowadays, but I dont recall ever seeing a full polish wrench set from them. I dont keep an eye on them too much though so I'm sure someone will chime in if they do exist.

If you're gonna spend money on new wrenches, I wouldnt go without the ratcheting box ends. Its not that much more to get them in either flavor (gearwrench or cman brand). both brands are made by the same company, IIRC. I just prefer the finish of GWs better. As long as they have a lifetime warranty and I can readily exchange them I'm happy. I need to get a couple sets of the lockable flex head gearwrenches, speaking of which...

edit: I found that CMan professional wrenches are polished, and look nice. However, I was unable to find a CMan full polished ratcheting set.

 

[GDA]

It might help if you are able to get a short list of the common sizes you might need to work on your cars/trucks. For example, with a list of common repairs and overhaul items like these it can help you determine what sizes you would want to get built up first:

oil change
spark plugs
valve cover gasket
water pump

wheel bolts/lugnuts
front brake calipers and caliper retaining bolts
front and rear wheel bearings
front strut/strut bearing retaining nut
rear shock bolt/mounts
front rear sway bar and links

Most of your other vehicle stuff will fall somewhere in between the sizes on that list with water pump and pulley bolts being toward the small side and wheel bearings being toward the largest sized bolts/nuts you will encounter.

That said, I would get all your requirements covered with standard combos and then shoot for getting a set to cover the common uses 10-19 in a set of gearwrench flex heads.

I have found in my wrenching on BMWs, Land Rovers and a few Touaregs that my Gearwrench flex heads are the go to tool once the fastener has been broken free with my standard combo or breaker bar/socket etc. Also, if the nut/bolt is bigger than a 19 then I ahve found that access is usually not a problem and getting big swing with a standard combo works just as fast so swapping over to a gearwrench really does not make for an advantage.

Hope this helps and let us know if this is the path you are shooting for...

 

[pipsters]

m.sears.com/productdetails.do?partNumber=00946936000P

That set is a good full coverage set, the SAE set is good too.

It does have a lot of useless small stuff though.

"Set contains 26 metric combination wrenches. 16 regular length wrenches (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22mm) and 10 midget wrenches (4, 4.5, 5, 5.5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11mm)."

All for $60.00, although I paid $50 3 weeks ago

Raised panel but IMO they offer a better value over the polished sets which are more money for less sizes.

On my Volvo its got some bigger SAE on it like the tyranny drain which is a 15/16, so I bought the SAE set as well.

There is currently the polished metric/sae set on sale for $100 that includes 10-18mm and 1/4"-3/4" I believe, also look good, very pro looking.

 

[fringeofinsanity]

Personally, I consider ratcheting wrenches a luxury tool. I only finally bought myself a set this last year after wrenching for 28 years. And that's because of a recent change in the equipment I work on.

I'd go with a good set of standard wrenches first so as not to worry about that ratchet end and torque. Either find a used set of pro tools or go CM as it's a decent value for the cost, particularly for a DIY'ER. Then later get yourself a 2nd set later for convenience. Just my $0.02.

 

[pipsters]

Also you might be better off just buying the few you need say 15mm-19mm right now instead of buying another set.

No need for ratchets IMO from a budget perspective, I have a small 10-15mm gearwrench set i bought for $10 that really I can do without. No real need, they just make thinks a little bit quicker, but not much.

 

[saturdaymechanic]

Thanks again GJ! Great advice all around.

I have the Craftsman set up to 16MM, (14 was a typo). I will add in the few I'm missing (17, 18, 19)and do the same for the SAE 13/16", 3/4" 1"). These I will keep in the car.

At home, I'm looking at upgrading to the GearWrench flex heads and/or regular, Craftsman professional or raised panels, 8-19MM. I also like the idea of a used pro set for home.

I'm making a list of my wrenching needs tonight.

 

[swaustex]

I picked up some wrenches from this guy.

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/67deere/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=200


Those are some good deals

this company also sells them
http://www.tooltopia.com/search.aspx?find=&category=3593&manufacturer=37

Made in USA and tool truck quality from what I can tell.

 

[pipsters]

Here is the polished set I was referring to:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00934273000P?prdNo=15&blockNo=39&blockType=G39

If you think about it though, how often to you really use a wrench? They really aren't used that often any more. I can think of a few instances, namely holding a nut while you take out the bolt on say a control arm, but they just don't seem to be a every day item for the DIY guy. They do look pretty, especially the polished ones, sitting in a toolbox but mostly mine collect dust. Which is why I bought the raised panel ones, I got more sizes for less money.

I would go buy a small set of ratcheting wrenches and play with them, I think you'll find while neat, they really would be a waste of $$ if you bought a large set of them, before spending the large amount of $$ on a large set of ratcheting wrenches.

I would buy something that isn't redundant, these offsets actually make using a wrench useful in a lot more areas:

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00987641000P?prdNo=3&blockNo=27&blockType=G27

I don't think they are USA made though, too bad I would actually consider them for that $$ if they were. Those flex heads seem like a great invention/idea though, I would personally put those high up on the list, good idea, now I want some hahah!!

 

[Skin]

No offence to some people who posted and a dad or two, but ratcheting wrenches are fantastic. Not just time savers but stress savers as well. Yea so what they werent around years ago? That doesnt mean things cant improve. Go back far enough and a mechanic set would of consisted of a breaker bar, half a dozen sockets, and some open end wrenches. Perhaps those people scoffed at the first ratchets?

Heres where i use basic combo wrenches. Busting fasteners lose by wacking them with a mallet/hammer [assuming i have no impact or breaker bar available] and areas where i am absolutely strapped for clearance. Thats it. Ratcheting wrenches have become my go-to combo wrenches for spinning fasteners up and down. Makes no sense what-so-ever to sit there like a fool using a non-ratcheting box end or an open end if you can get a ratcheting ring around it. Make no mistake, if you can get a more sensible tool on there, like a socket with a ratchet or an impact wrench, do it, but if i'm limited to a combo wrench you can bet its going to have a ratcheting box end.

I would call any man who didnt have a set a fool who enjoys working harder than they have to without hesitation.

As far as basic combination wrenches go, while i dont use them extensively i will say that longer lengths do make quite a few tasks easier. Having the beam extend past obstructions so you can get a firm grip is better than comforming your hand to some odd space to get ahold on one.

If its of any interest i hope to be doing a small comparison of Armstrong, Craftsman Pro, and GW basic combos soon. I can throw a basic raised panel in for size comparison.

 

[kams1973]

I agree wholeheartedly with the previous post. Once you get used to them, the ratchet wrenches will be your go to wrenches. I personally prefer the flexhead gearwrenches. I strongly encourage you to buy ratchet wrenches first. You already have combos anyway.

 

[saturdaymechanic]

I like the idea of not buying something that is redundant, I will fill out my standard set and I like the GW flex heads.

If I find a used pro set that works money wise, I may be interested as well.

 

[NY Old Guy]

I've been buying Proto, seems like there's some decent deals on Proto and maybe better than Craftsman? Then again it is a bit more expensive perhaps.

 

[patrickw10]

If you are just buying them few sizes i would check out pawn shops flea markets and maybe post a wtb in the classifieds here. Because those large sizes are probably gonna add up to quite a bit.

 

[saturdaymechanic]

I've started filling in my cman raised panels.My next set will be ratcheting box ends.

Just got to decide on the cheaper GW set for $40 or spring for the GW flexhead set...Hopefully I'll have them by the weekend.

Thanks for all the insight GJ!

 

[pipsters]

I would call any man who didnt have a set a fool who enjoys working harder than they have to without hesitation.

If they were all the same price I would agree, but fact of the matter is you can get many more regular non-ratcheting wrenches for the same price of a smaller selection of ratcheting wrenches. For a true mechanic is the time saver needed? Sure when you are getting paid by the job. For guys like me I could care less if it takes me 2 mins to put a nut on vs. 30 secs. Also in reality the regular gear wrench does the same job that the regular wrenches do. The flexing ones? Different story, they are a more useful tool.

 

[saturdaymechanic]

I picked up the GW 8 piece plus 2 bonus wrenches for $40 at Sears today. At first they rang up at $69, but the manager gave them to me anyway since they were displayed under the $40 tag. It was a good deal.

It was hard to pass up the GW flexheads, but at $90, they will have to wait for now

They may be similar, but for a DIYer, I upgraded my wrenches. The cman raised panels will be a back up. Now I can't wait for the weekend to try them out.

Thanks again GJ...

 

[PT Doc]

I picked up the GW 8 piece plus 2 bonus wrenches for $40 at Sears today. At first they rang up at $69, but the manager gave them to me anyway since they were displayed under the $40 tag. It was a good deal.

It was hard to pass up the GW flexheads, but at $90, they will have to wait for now

They may be similar, but for a DIYer, I upgraded my wrenches. The cman raised panels will be a back up. Now I can't wait for the weekend to try them out.

Thanks again GJ...

Sears matched the True value 29.99 deal and for some reason gave me a$2.oo price match credit. In the end sears wants our business.

 

[mkdive]

I am a huge fan of gearwrenches. Yes, they are made in china

All four of my XL & stubby sets (SAE & Metric) were made in taiwan. They must have moved manufacturing since I bought mine?

They are great wrenches IMO

 

[saturdaymechanic]

Sears matched the True value 29.99 deal and for some reason gave me a$2.oo price match credit. In the end sears wants our business.

That's the deal I needed. TV is about a 30 min drive for me, but it's good to know for next time.

 

[amolaver]

i strongly prefer 6 point wrenches. i haven't found a reasonably priced set in long pattern, but these are incredible for the money - 14pc 6mm-19mm, no skips, full polish, $43+shipping.

http://www.toolsource.com/full-polish-combination-nonratcheting-wrench-metric-14pc-p-111493.html

ahm

 

[chewy7]

I picked up some wrenches from this guy.

http://motors.shop.ebay.com/67deere/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=200


Those are some good deals

this company also sells them
http://www.tooltopia.com/search.aspx?find=&category=3593&manufacturer=37

Made in USA and tool truck quality from what I can tell.

we have a metric set of s k on our farm and they are also really high quality