Weekend mechanic looking for Made in USA Tools

[CharlestonSCToolMan]

New to the forum, thanks for having me.

I am looking for a nice set of tools I can use on the weekends to work on my car and truck. I would like Made in the USA and I don't mind paying for it.

I'm not quite financially on the Snap-On/Mac/Matco/Cornwell level, but I'll pay for quality.

As near as I can tell my options for mid-priced Made in USA sockets and wrenches are:

S-K
Wright Tool
Proto

Am I missing anything? Anyone have any preference? Thanks for a great forum!

 

[bonneyman]

Don't discount older, quality tools. Many fine examples of tools made by reputable makers like Bonney, Proto, and Herbrand exist that many times can be had for reasonable prices. You just gotta know what to look for, and where to look.

I've found tons of great stuff at pawnshops, thrift stores, and estate sales - especially if the owner is a former mechanic.

 

[Musicinabottle]

I'm in the SK section. Hit the pawn shops. That far and away is the most efficient use of your time and money. I scored a 1 3/4 SK 3/4 drive socket for $2 whereas on ebay it would have been a $40 bill.

 

[Wamsutta]

Get the longest wrenches you can find. From your list, the Proto combos would probably be the longest. Also from your list, Proto would be the best socket.

 

[PNWguy]

If you want complete sets all at once (or if you want everything to match) it'll be more difficult that hitting the pawn shops.

Be careful with SK. Some of their lower end stuff is junk. I got bought some SK tools for work, and it was possibly the worst ratchet I've had. Big gaps between the teeth, no quick release and it felt terrible (really large knurls and clunky). On the other hand, the pliers were really nice.

 

[Fedwrench]

Depending on where you shop Proto can be as pricey as the truck brands.

Another option might be Williams from toolsdelivered.com

Williams has two lines one US made the other Taiwan made. Both are quite good.

SK is a fine choice but, shop around for the best deal.

 

[skunkape1]

Although it's getting harder every day, you can still find some USA Craftsman in some Ace Hdwe. stores. Just a couple weeks back I found a C-man USA metric deep impact socket set on clearance for $19.99. They also had a few other socket sets, polished and raised panel wrenches, loose sockets, and other misc. USA C-man. If not in a retail store, even Ebay is a good source for NOS and of course used. Just be patient and you will find a good deal on what you want in no time. I know I've caught myself "needing" to win an auction for a tool like it's the last one on earth only to see a better deal just a few days later.

Not saying that all USA made C-man is stellar stuff, but alot of it is, for the price. Just a month or so ago Sears was clearancing some Industrial wrenches and sockets in a deal posted on the "Hot deals" thread here. Those were some outstanding USA made tools at crazy good prices. Good luck!

 

[Wamsutta]

Be careful with SK. Some of their lower end stuff is junk.

Their pliers and pry bars seem very good though. Probably because they're made by some other company.

 

[yjWrangler]

Good God, how many times a day can this exact same thread be made?

 

[Musicinabottle]

Good God, how many times a day can this exact same thread be made?

Well, maybe you should size the day, and start another. You can never have too many!

 

[Musicinabottle]

I've got some Craftsmen wrenches that are duplicates and replacement kick outs when I pick up SK. Make you a heck of a deal.

 

[mudflap]

I'm in the SK section. Hit the pawn shops. That far and away is the most efficient use of your time and money. I scored a 1 3/4 SK 3/4 drive socket for $2 whereas on ebay it would have been a $40 bill.

You guys must have alot better pawn shops than the ones around where i live..... I hit them all once in a while.. they have nothing but junk, and if i do find something i want, they have some crazy price on it.

 

[four.cycle]

Welcome to the site, CharlestonSCToolMan!

Good God, how many times a day can this exact same thread be made?

^ He does raise a valid point.
The question comes up on an almost daily basis from a new member.
The answers from each member here who responds are going to be different.

If money is no object, by all means buy the most expensive brand-new tools you can find.
If you want more bang for your buck, consider the suggestions to check out the second-hand market, which is literally glutted with premium-quality US-made tools.

The pawn shops here locally are for the most part a lost cause, although I have managed to score a couple gems from the one down on 54th & Pacific.

Craigslist can be a ****-shoot, and in many cases you're dealing with some real flakes. On the other hand, I scored a couple nice sets of (virtually unused) sockets and a set of metric combination wrenches (along with some vintage Indestro stuff) the other night from a young man who was cleaning out Grandpa's tools from the basement - got the whole lot for $10 bucks:



Every day there are socket sets and wrench sets listed on Ebay. Sometimes they're high, sometimes they're low. Sometimes they're rusty junk with asking prices that will make you laugh, sometimes they're like brand new at crazy give-away prices.
Currently the most perplexing are the new and almost-new PROTO socket sets and wrench sets being listed at less than half of MSRP.

You might want to take a look at this thread:
https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6981398#post6981398
(* scroll up a few posts and you'll find the PROTO stuff - there were several sets listed over the course of the last week or so. *)

Also check out the other threads in the "Hot Deals" forum.

Also check the "Classifieds" forum for items being sold by other members.

Other than the "truck brands", currently the best-quality US-made hand tools (sockets and wrenches) are being produced by Proto, S-K, Williams (US), Wright Tool, Wilde (pliers), and Klein (pliers).

Subjective opinions, of course, will vary from member to member.

YMMV

 

[Musicinabottle]

You guys must have alot better pawn shops than the ones around where i live..... I hit them all once in a while.. they have nothing but junk, and if i do find something i want, they have some crazy price on it.

Could be. I took the wife to a doctors appointment and wound up hitting a very small pawn shop a block away, and found a very nice American made Rigid 6 inch pipe wrench for $5, a 1 3/4 X 3/4 drive SK socket for $2 and a Craftsman Phillips and a 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch adapter for a buck. They had a lot of SK stuff, but I had to head back to get the misses. I'm going back in a week though with a cardboard box..........

 

[d.mcfarland]

Wright sockets and wrenches would both be fantastic choices.

 

[RAS61]

Assuming you're in Charleston SC (like me), there's a CL listing for an older Snap On box with tools for $850 asking. Can't tell what tools this includes or if it's in your budget, but it might be worth checking out.

https://charleston.craigslist.org/tls/d/snap-on-boxes-with-tools/6462661566.html

 

[GTO]

Snap on or S-K from ebay.

 

[4Kings]

If you have a Menards down there check out the Masterforce stuff. I saw a couple of weeks ago a 170pc set for about $100. It's at least on par quality-wise with CMan USA. Now if warranty is an issue, just remember that Menards is clearanceing Masterforce sockets & wrenches.

 

[bwringer]

If you have a Menards down there check out the Masterforce stuff. I saw a couple of weeks ago a 170pc set for about $100. It's at least on par quality-wise with CMan USA. Now if warranty is an issue, just remember that Menards is clearanceing Masterforce sockets & wrenches.

Exactly what I was about to post. The Masterforce sockets, wrenches, and screwdrivers are US-made and fantastic. Pretty much what Craftsman used to be. The Masterforce pliers are Chinese and not all that great.

It looks like Meanards may be replacing Masterforce stuff with Gearwrench (Taiwan and China) and shiny chinese Crescent branded junk, so don't delay.

 

[John in OH]

Truck brands are good quality, but WAY overpriced for the home mechanic. The brands that you listed are all excellent, reasonably priced, US made tools ... as is the Williams US-made line.

Personally, I'm a fan of Wright ... proudly made in Barberton, OH.

I'm retired from the power generation industry and nearly all of the hand tools used in the power plants by our mechanics were either Wright, Williams, Proto, or Armstrong(essentailly no longer available). No money wasted on over-priced truck brands. These tools were used hard on turbines, pulverizers, crushers, conveyors, pumps etc. by often tool-abusive mechanics. Good US made tools that took a real beating.

 

[bcradio]

Other than Williams, you pretty much have the main brands down. Good luck in your hunt.

 

[blackwire]

This is a place where you can pick up some reasonably priced USA tools

https://www.harryepstein.com/

 

[6PTsocket]

If you want complete sets all at once (or if you want everything to match) it'll be more difficult that hitting the pawn shops.

Be careful with SK. Some of their lower end stuff is junk. I got bought some SK tools for work, and it was possibly the worst ratchet I've had. Big gaps between the teeth, no quick release and it felt terrible (really large knurls and clunky). On the other hand, the pliers were really nice.

That is the round head ratchet design that they sold to generations of satisfied mechanics. It is not some low end item. Many prefer the knurled handle and can live without quick release. As to the coarse teeth, tooth count wars are a recent thing and it is not that often that you don't have 5 degrees of swing. SK recently came out with kits to up the tooth count on those ratchets. The reason they are still alive and well is because the are bullet proof. I am not trying to change your opinion. To each his own. My favorites are my old Williams super ratchets but I have a few old SK's, too.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[zakmartin]

Their pliers and pry bars seem very good though. Probably because they're made by some other company.

Actually, it's funny you should mention that. SK's indexing head pry bars are pretty awful. I just bought a set of 3 bars for around $170 and honestly, the plastic grips on those things are TERRIBLE. The rest of the tools seem well-made, but man, I couldn't get over those awful green grips. I paid a HUGE premium buying those to keep my tool set as Made in USA as possible, and now I kind of wish I went with the brand that makes them in Taiwan for 1/3 the price.

 

[reader2580]

If you have a Menards down there check out the Masterforce stuff. I saw a couple of weeks ago a 170pc set for about $100. It's at least on par quality-wise with CMan USA. Now if warranty is an issue, just remember that Menards is clearanceing Masterforce sockets & wrenches.

Masterforce is basically the same as USA Craftsman. You almost certainly won’t get a USA replacement if you warranty something in a year or two.

Menards is replacing the Masterforce stuff with other brands since the vendor closed their USA plant.

 

[erty67]

If you are looking for USA made to support US companies, awesome. If it's for weekend warrior quality, why not Taiwan stuff? Carlyle and tekton seem to get great reviews on here.

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[The Fall]

That is the round head ratchet design that they sold to generations of satisfied mechanics. It is not some low end item. Many prefer the knurled handle and can live without quick release. As to the coarse teeth, tooth count wars are a recent thing and it is not that often that you don't have 5 degrees of swing. SK recently came out with kits to up the tooth count on those ratchets. The reason they are still alive and well is because the are bullet proof. I am not trying to change your opinion. To each his own. My favorites are my old Williams super ratchets but I have a few old SK's, too.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

100% agree. SK round head ratchets are great. I use them more than the fine-toothed Snap-On ratchets I got when I was taking auto classes. They're stout. The ones I didn't buy new, I inherited. They were used professionally back in the 1980s and 1990s and have never been rebuilt.

 

[VH5150]

You can also check out Blackhawk by Proto. Their website is very good about letting you know exactly which items are USA made vs. the ones that are not. I have some of their deep 3/8" sockets and they've been great.

 

[neuralsnafu]

Wright for sockets.

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[Ole Slewfoot]

Many prefer the knurled handle and can live without quick release.

There is one QR ratchet on my truck, and it pisses me off nearly every time I get it by accident. Luckily the other 8 or 10 don't have that problem.

 

[Coach James]

You guys must have alot better pawn shops than the ones around where i live..... I hit them all once in a while.. they have nothing but junk, and if i do find something i want, they have some crazy price on it.

Same here. The shops around here, the hand tools that looked like they had spent 10 years on the ocean floor.

Coach

 

[VH5150]

Everyone has listed some outstanding brands and I'll piggy-back on the SK, Wright, Blackhawk, Proto, and Craftsman USA bandwagon - they are all awesome and the pricing isn't too extreme.

If you want to really support U.S. manufacturing, also consider the following:

Bondhus and Eklind - both companies specialize in hex and torx tools.

Klein - awesome screwdrivers, nut-drivers, pliers, crimpers, etc.

Wilde - awesome pliers, prybars, chisels, and punches. They also make the Tekton pliers and Craftsman prybars. But if you go to Wilde's website, you can get Wilde branded tools which is really cool.

Mayhew - also awesome prybars, chisels, and punches.

Channelock - awesome variety of pliers.

Martin Tools - now, these are expensive but maybe check out ebay. They make great combo and service wrenches, and auto-body tools. They aren't pretty, but they'll take a beating.

Happy hunting!

 

[VH5150]

I forgot to also mention that in addition to all of the previously mentioned top brands you can find on ebay, there are also quite a few NOS (new old stock) NAPA Professional USA tools out there. I got a full set of NAPA Pro SAE combo wrenches last summer and so far they're great. The open ends aren't up there stuff like the Wright Grips, but otherwise they're really good wrenches.

 

[kb1982]

Ebay is a great place to look for sockets, ratchets, and wrenches. SK is one of my favorite brands, along with Proto. Member four.cycle post alot of great deals in the eBay permathread. Tooltopia has this set of metric SK combo wrenches for 156. I just recently picked up a set to replace my Craftsman RPs. As for sae wrenches, they are easier to find great deals on NOS then metric counterparts. Proto comes up often. The SK set is 8mm-22mm.

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[four.cycle]

Member four.cycle post alot of great deals in the eBay permathread. Tooltopia has this set of metric SK combo wrenches for 156.

^ With the implicit understanding that you guys who are shopping for deals on tools have good enough sense to double-check current prices on like items at Amazon.com, ToolTopia.com, ToolUp.com, Zoro.com, Harry Epstein, etc., etc..
Especially on those big-ticket items.

Sometimes I'm completely off the mark!

Mentioned just above was NAPA - currently there's an Ebay seller who's unloading a mess of NOS US-made NAPA - I posted a bunch of it just a couple days ago. Unfortunately the "sets" of wrenches and sockets are not as comprehensive as they could be - if you want the full meal deal on a wrench set - no skipped sizes on those metric combos - focus on S-K or Proto - but wait for a deal - particularly on the S-K, which overall is a bit overpriced on the used sets.

.... and just because it doesn't SAY "or best offer" in the ad doesn't necessarily mean you can't send the seller a message and make him an offer - I've done it LOTS of times.

 

[Fialaja]

Give Cripe distributing a look as well as e bay

 

[Shadowdog500]

I'm hoping we will be able to buy "Made in USA" Craftsman tools at Lowes later this year.

Stanley said a year ago that their Craftsman tools will be made in the USA, and they will begin selling them at Lowes in the second half of 2018.

All of my Craftsman tools are decades old and have held up well. If one ever breaks, I'd hate to get a Made in China replacement.

Chris

 

[Fialaja]

While I’m glad sbd is bringing manufacturing back to USA, I worry quality will suffer in order to make some ridiculous retailers price point. 19.99?29.99?

 

[mmason7764]

I forgot to also mention that in addition to all of the previously mentioned top brands you can find on ebay, there are also quite a few NOS (new old stock) NAPA Professional USA tools out there. I got a full set of NAPA Pro SAE combo wrenches last summer and so far they're great. The open ends aren't up there stuff like the Wright Grips, but otherwise they're really good wrenches.

Van Halen,

You just reminded me, last year I bought some NOS NAPA from Hand Tools for Less:

https://www.handtoolsforless.com/password

He was a great guy to deal with and very responsive. When he is unable to tend to his web site, he stops taking orders, which is the situation tonight.

Mark

 

[mmason7764]

Their pliers and pry bars seem very good though. Probably because they're made by some other company.

I was under the impression that SK pliers are made by Western Forge. Both are owned by Ideal. So, same family?