Wrench advice!

[BajaBound]

Hey guys,


I currently own a complete craftsman raised panel wrench set in mm and sae and I would like to upgrade my wrench set and want to hear some opinions.

I recently bought a 155 bluepoint 3/8 and 1/4 socket set and am really enjoying the quality and that lead me to look at the BP wrenches but I read that williams was a similar quality. So after some browsing I found williams supercombo which look like a good upgrade.
I have had great luck with all of my craftsman tools except for the wrenches which absolutely ****!

I just moved into my house and now all of my current tools have found there way into my new 56" 11 drawer harbor freight tool box. I am looking for middle of the road quality so here is what I am looking at...

Craftsman Pro

or

Williams supercombo.


Tell me what you guys think. Thanks in advance!


-Ian

 

[Jimmyg]

Williams

 

[toolnut]

The Williams are not middle of the road wrenches. I would rate them up there with the Snap on ones. Probably made by Snap-on. Selling the Craftsman wrenches? How much?

 

[yaidunno]

I really like my Craftsman Pros. Williams makes a nice tool too. I went with CM for an easy warranty exchange if needed.

 

[SMKS]

The Williams are not middle of the road wrenches. I would rate them up there with the Snap on ones. Probably made by Snap-on. Selling the Craftsman wrenches? How much?

They are up at the top end, quality wise, and are made in the same factory as Snap-On wrenches (according to the How It's Made episode).

Also, they are up at the top of the price range. They're pretty expensive.

There is a Williams import line, but the Supercombos are USA made.

 

[Fedwrench]

The problem with Craftsman pros is that the new versions (Craftsman Polished) have fat open open ends and are made in the PRC. They might end up being great wrenches but, they're too new to market to tell. The older US made versions by Armstrong were a great value on sale.
What kind of deal can you get on the Williams super wrenches? Everytime I price industrial branded wrenches, the tool trucks seem like more of a bargain.
A couple of options worth considering (at least to me), would be the Gearwrench Fixed non ratcheting combination wrenches and waiting to see how the new SK wrenches are.

 

[BajaBound]

Craftsman wrenches are staying with me and they live in my off road tool bag in roll ups sorry.

Let me clarify I meant the satin finish taiwan wrenches as middle of the road.

These supercombos are clearly not run of the mill.

So I have found 2 sets- new

7-24mm for 247

and

5/16 to 1 1/4 for 235

Seems like a very competitive price, what do you all think?

The Craftsman pro set do not come with 20 or 21mm which absolutely boggles my mind.

 

[Jimmyg]

USA made Williams are very high quality tools, I have recently bought quite a bit of taiwan williams as well and am super impressed with the quality, mainly sockets. I haven't Used any Williams import wrenches, but if it's like any of the other imports I wouldn't hesitate to try it. The import stuff is rebadged blue point at a price reduction

 

[BajaBound]

I am considering the sockets too as they look nearly identical to the blue point sockets.

 

[Jimmyg]

They are identical, I've replaced most of my cman sockets with Williams, much nicer IMHO

 

[BajaBound]

Excellent to hear that they are identical!

 

[SMKS]

The import stuff is rebadged blue point at a price reduction

Blue point and the Williams import line do seem to come from the same supplier. The ratcheting wrenches are the same. The ratchets are the same. The satin finished wrenches look the same.

I had a set of the Williams import sockets. They seemed very high quality.

 

[Jimmyg]

Whilst me mainly use snap on at my tech school we have a few blue point sockets and Wrenchs thrown in the mix, I've compared my Williams stuff to the blue point at school and they are the same, just marked Williams or blue point. For the price I really don't think they can be beat.

 

[Jimmyg]

Also the blue point and Williams ratchets are a dead give away. Both have the same funky handle, but the ratchets are very nice as well, I tend to use the 1/4 drive Williams more than my snappy, the snappy 1/4 just seems like it was made for a dwarf, too small for my liking

 

[BQuicksilver]

Get something with more function, not more cost IMO.

I have a full set of raised panels as well. Not super cool here, but I sure am not breaking them or having quality issues at all. If I do get rough with them Sears is at least an easy warranty claim for a non-pro.

I grabbed a set of XL flex head gearwrenches as a 2nd set. They're longer = more torque, can flex and reach fasteners any wrench above can't, and of course they ratchet and save me time. That adds a LOT more to your set than a shinier piece of chrome with a spendier name.

Just my .02

 

[BajaBound]

Get something with more function, not more cost IMO.

I have a full set of raised panels as well. Not super cool here, but I sure am not breaking them or having quality issues at all. If I do get rough with them Sears is at least an easy warranty claim for a non-pro.

I grabbed a set of XL flex head gearwrenches as a 2nd set. They're longer = more torque, can flex and reach fasteners any wrench above can't, and of course they ratchet and save me time. That adds a LOT more to your set than a shinier piece of chrome with a spendier name.

Just my .02

I appreciate the input I really do. I went back and forth but for the price at nearly 50% I couldn't pass it up. I bought the sets tonight and I feel pretty good about it I looked at all the options and I really feel that I made a smart buy I still have my raised panel and they will never leave my possession and they will continue to pull duty on my truck. I am building my self a proper tool box that will last me through the years.

 

[Jimmyg]

What did you decide on?

 

[BajaBound]

I bought the williams and I cannot wait to get them!

 

[Jimmyg]

Very cool! Let me know how you like them, I'm eyeing up a SAE ratcheting wrench set from Williams on eBay for $100

 

[BajaBound]

You got it! And if you pick those up please let me know how they are aswell!

 

[HandyManny]

No need to off load those Cman raised panel wrenches. You'll find need for standard length wrenches like those Cman raised panels. If you want to upgrade consider longer pattern combo wrenches - Proto, Williams, or Wright. I'd even suggest NAPA (high polished pro wrenches).

I've kept all my older standard length combos and they come in handy often in tight spaces. Mine are the older satin finished Proto and a couple sets of the newer recent Kobalt combos.

 

[Serj]

+1 on the Wright wrenches. they have nice thick beams which are very comfy to wrench on, USA made w/ US steel, usually less expensive than similar snappy or williams, very similar in pricing to Proto. However, i've heard/seen that they really only offer one intermediate pattern vs long/short.