Which Brand for School?

[mkrvgoalie]

I might have to buy tools for school soon, and I am not sure which brand I should consider using for school and when I start out in the Diesel field?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Fedwrench]

Don't know where you're at or which school you're going to but, many schools participate in the various votech programs offered by the tool trucks where you get name brand tools at half or so off list price. See your school for more information.

 

[Ken81590]

^^^ yea you get a 50% student discount. But it's only for 1 purchase, so if you use it, buy a lot. At half off, if you spend a lot, that's a lot of money saved.

But most tech schools promote S-K, but I don't recommend them. If you plan on being a mechanic for your career, go with snap-on, or Mac/matco. Find a local shop, ask them when their tool truck comes, and become a customer. But you will have to meet him there every week to make a little payment, so get a job lol

 

[drew03cmc]

Each brand excels in certain tools. Cornwell's ratchets are beyond smooth and tough. Mac makes some very nice sockets (USA) and I prefer their red hard handle screwdrivers to any of the others. Matco makes a hell of a nice box and Snap On has very good products in their impact socket lines, sockets, bit sockets, etc.

 

[wreckerman5357]

My recomendation is don't get yourself in a mountain of debt. You don't have to buy everything from one tool company either. At my tech school, Snap-On industrial would come buy every month or two. Their prices were about 50% of truck prices. You could make as many purchases as you wanted. The Snap-On truck also came by every Tuesday.

You don't have to buy everything off the truck either. I would refinement truck brand ratchets, wrenches, and screwdrivers. Other stuff can come from brands like SK, Craftsman, Channelock, etc. Anybody that thinks you need to have everything truck brand is stupid, thats a tremendous waste of money. On the flip side, someone that tells you not to buy anything of the truck is also stupid.

 

[cammok5]

im just finishing up at school and my advise would be hold off buying untill school starts. you techer should give a rundown on the tool discounts, if not ask, your schoold might also have difrent brands of tools you can use there and see what you like.

 

[wornoutoldman]

When I was eighteen and scored my first "real" mechanic job I spoke to my father about a loan for some tools. I suggested that Snap on was the best brand for the job. He was ready to help me but only if he got to choose the tools. After he did his comparison shopping he changed his tune. He didn't understand why I needed to spend SO much money on tools when he could get the same thing for virtually pennies on the dollar. I made what I considered the best decision by purchasing those Snap on tool myself. However that was thirty years ago and tool quality and availability is far better today than anyone could have ever imagined back then.


There are so many good/economical choices in tools today that buying all one brand make very little sense (with the exception being easy resale). I would ask your son to gather the tool list from the school he is attending and armed with that come back and use the search feature on this site to find the best value for any given tool on the list. There is no need to break the bank after all your the one spending the money right?

 

[jetmech09]

Whatever brand is half off, provided you like what you're buying. I had half off mac and snap-on in school, but I'm not really a fan of mac. Most of the tools I have now at work I got in school with the discount.

 

[Ken81590]

What I would do is save up for one of Snap-on, Mac/Matco's starter/apprentice sets, and whichever company you get the half off deal with, buy one of their larger apprentice sets.

 

[Hyster Gareth]

If you can't afford Snap-On, Mac, Matco, I would seriously consider Williams. They are great tools and excellent quality.

 

[crewchief888]

as has been mentioned in this thread, (and numerous others), a start up set of tools for school can be anything from HF to truck brands.

just starting school you'll most likely need basic hand tools, it's all i started with over 25 years ago working at a const eq dealer.
i bought tools when i had to getting started
ie: 1/2" dr impact and a couple deep impact sockets that i needed on a daily basis.

as experience grew, so did my tool selection, SO, matco, mac, proto, SK, cornwell, CM, stanley, IR, CP, bluepoint, and even HF all have found a "home" in one of my boxes.

most of what i started with resides in my home boxes, and have been replaced with better quality, shinier, and more expensive tools.

is a $10,000 box needed getting started?
probably not, a less costly box, or boxes, will serve through school, and into your early years of wrenching, when you have a stable income, then it's time for a new shiney, expensive box.
and take the old one(s) home for use in the garage.

just my $0.02

 

[SuzukiGS750EZ]

I jumped right into mechanics and all I can really say is buy what you need, what you like, and what is comfortable. Don't settle. If you settle and don't like it, it may not get used and will be a waste of money.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I jumped right into mechanics and all I can really say is buy what you need, what you like, and what is comfortable. Don't settle. If you settle and don't like it, it may not get used and will be a waste of money.

Sounds like good advice but I'll add, buy what you can afford right now. There is absolutely no reason to go ******* deep in debt to buy tools right now. You may not finish school or find that it isn't what you want to do. Spending thousands on tools that you may not need or use is a waste of money. It's the same reason you'll see people on here recommend that you start off with a HF box and spend your money filling it.

 

[Pointsnorth]

When I got into it, I bought what quality I could afford. Gradually I have replaced most of my tools with US (& Canadian) made, best quality tools I can find (why not, they are in my hand 2000+ hrs/yr). Sometimes I think it was a waste not getting the best from the start, as I despise buying anything twice. But I didn't get into debt this way, because the quality and quantity of my tools and box has always matched my income level.

 

[countryroad82]

When I went to tech school, I bought a Craftsman 150ish piece set because the toolroom was worthless. I made it through school with that set and I incorporated it into my main tools later when I started my shop. They have made me plenty of money and only in the past few years have I started replacing them with truck brand tools. Don't get over your head in debt at the beginning of your career, buy what you can afford and replace it if you need to later.

 

[vssjim]

Nothing wrong at all with starting out with medium priced brand like SK Tools. I still use plenty of SK stuff I bought thirty plus years ago every day.