Wright tools?

[Helios]

Has anyone had much experience with this brand? I had never seen them until today.
I needed a ratchet w/ low angle ratcheting mechanism due to limited room while changing the starter on the Mustang. Stumbled across the ratchet at the local hardware store thinking it might fit the bill. US made and decent feel (if a little dated in the external design).
After my initial use of the tool, I'm impressed. It actually makes my Craftsman ratchets feel like Chinese/Tiawanese junk. We'll see how it holds up in the long haul.
If it holds up over the long haul, I may have found my new choice of ratchets.

 

[alberto]

I got turned onto Wright through this site. I now have a decent selection of Wright sockets, ratchets and wrenches. I think they are very underrated overall, considering the quality you get for the price they sell. They seem to be a bit hard to find, at least compared to other brands.

 

[Deafautotech]

what year of mustang you have??

 

[littletoes]

House of Hose in Spokane WA is a Wright Tool distributer, for anyone in the area that might want to know. I've only used a couple, and they worked fine.

 

[Scout Driver]

I've used the International Harvester tools that were made by Wright. Basically a clone. Excellent quality tools. Is the ratchet that you bought a dual-pawl model? They are a very nice ratchet. Solid feel with a tiny amount of swing to make it "click".

Seeing that you are pretty new here....Welcome to the Garage Journal.

Scott

 

[jabberwoki]

Beefy US made? industrial quality! Great tools go for it just ask grantCee

 

[woody 73]

Wright tools are very well made,they come fom my home state. You will not go wrong with these tools,they are made to take the abuse of everyday use.

 

[LincolnCont.]

I think they are very underrated overall

I think they are only percieved as underated in the eyes of the Automotive World where they are not well known due to the "BIG FOUR" stranglehold. In the Industrial World- mining, oil, food processing, ect. they are everyday commonplace same as Proto and Armstrong.

 

[littletoes]

i think they are only percieved as underated in the eyes of the automotive world where they are not well known due to the "big four" stranglehold. In the industrial world- mining, oil, food processing, ect. They are everyday commonplace same as proto and armstrong.

what he said.

 

[Helios]

what year of mustang you have??

'92 Bimini Blue LX 5.0L. It's the newer toy, I've had the car for about a year and a half now. I've been wanting one for about 15 years now, but I've always talked myself out of it until last March.

Actually thinking of selling the 914 & GLi ('89) and buying the new '11 GT. I'm finding that I'm just too damn busy to keep 3 project cars on the road.

 

[Helios]

I've used the International Harvester tools that were made by Wright. Basically a clone. Excellent quality tools. Is the ratchet that you bought a dual-pawl model? They are a very nice ratchet. Solid feel with a tiny amount of swing to make it "click".

Seeing that you are pretty new here....Welcome to the Garage Journal.

Scott

I believe it is. I ended up grabbing the one w/ the flex head & straight handle. I was looking specifically for a ratchet with a lower swing angle than the Craftsman ratchet. For reference, the Wright that I bought would get 7 clicks compared to the 2 (if I finagled it just right) of the Craftsman. I was very happy w/ the performance of it today.

Oh, yeah, thanks for the welcome too. I don't know how much I will post..........I tend to be more of a lurker scrounging for information and ideas.

 

[diesel research]

I had not heard of wright until reading about them on here. After paying a little more attention to the tools I use at work (an extreme industrial setting) I noticed many wright tools. They are so old used and abused that the markings were barely visible and I simply never cared. Mostly 1" drive stuff in the ~4" range along with a few 1.5" drive. Probably 30 years old. Some proto and williams in the mix as well.

As was stated above, they are just not heard of in the automotive sector but common place in industrial sector. Come to think of it, in a previous job, many of the mill/lathe setup tools were wright.

Never tried any ratchets or many wrenches under ~1.5", so minimal experience there.

 

[chopper1]

My first tool set in the 60's was a Wright. Still have it and it still gets used.

 

[Coach James]

I have some of their sockets, ratchets and wrenches. First rate stuff.

Coach

 

[alberto]

I think they are only percieved as underated in the eyes of the Automotive World where they are not well known due to the "BIG FOUR" stranglehold. In the Industrial World- mining, oil, food processing, ect. they are everyday commonplace same as Proto and Armstrong.

Good to know, thanks. Yes, my use is only in the car world (non-pro).

 

[Vinko]

I think they are only percieved as underated in the eyes of the Automotive World where they are not well known due to the "BIG FOUR" stranglehold. In the Industrial World- mining, oil, food processing, ect. they are everyday commonplace same as Proto and Armstrong.

I think this is a good point. I don't see much (if any) Wright in my section of the west coast, but part of the appeal of an auto tool is its bling. I wouldn't be surprised that if in some instances, were we to compare materials, the industrial stuff was more serious than the auto stuff. My experience with SO sockets in the 90's was a disaster for industrial and assembly use until I found Apex. Same with torque wrenches, until I found Sturtevant.

 

[mrholeshot]

. It actually makes my Craftsman ratchets feel like Chinese/Tiawanese junk. .

Most Chinese/Tiawanese ratchets actually make Craftsman raised panel ratchets look like junk because they are junk. Don't underestimate a lot of asian ratchets. Many of them go well beyond what you can buy at sears.

I recently bought my first wright ratchets. They seem to be of excellant quality but not having really used them yet I can't speak for the strength.

 

[Hiball]

You will not be Dissapointed in your Wright Tool purchases, They do cater to the Industrial sector as they dont offer Long/stubby wrench patterns or Vehicle specific tools but Id put my money that there Drive tools would meet or Exceed any Truck Brand. Also there Ratchets are a bit dated but there dual paw 82 clicks were years ahead of any of the Current ramped up productions that Snappy, Matco and Now Craftsman Offer. Another Plus is there tool line can be found VERY Cheap via Ebay and other outlets and Everything that is Stamped Wright is MADE IN THE USA. So.. Lets Review...
There US Made, Tough as Nails with designs that have been around forever and they can be bought at a fraction of there Tool truck counterparts. Hmm....

 

[78fj40]

I use Wright at home and at work and I'm impressed with the Quality and price. Made in the USA and lifetime warranty are a plus too.

Not to hijack, but I have some socket sets for sale in the classified section Link

 

[catfish]

Most Chinese/Tiawanese ratchets actually make Craftsman raised panel ratchets look like junk because they are junk. Don't underestimate a lot of asian ratchets. Many of them go well beyond what you can buy at sears.

Why do you love Chinese tools so much?
China is responsible for the race to the bottom in tool quality we are seeing nowdays.

 

[Davefr]

Why do you love Chinese tools so much?
China is responsible for the race to the bottom in tool quality we are seeing nowdays.

Actually the Chinese/Taiwan trend has been an increase in quality. Meanwhile many of the USA brands have been on a downward spiral.

Read some of the ratchet shootouts and you'll see examples of Chinese/Taiwan tools kicking Craftsman's **** and nearly on par with SO.

Every tool needs to be evaluated on it's own merits. COO won't tell the whole story any more.

 

[RRmech]

I put together a nice NOS 3/8" drive WRIGHT socket set.
A ratchet, two extensions, and a 14 piece metric socket set ran me around $50 on flea-bay.

Steve

 

[bonneyman]

I've not yet purchased any Wright tools, but have talked to them on the phone. Very nice personal service.
Got a catalog, and would really like to try their Wright Drive and Wright Spline wrenches. Those look like they would give my Bonney's a run for their money.

 

[vssjim]

You should find Richard of TR Tool Supply he has great service and great prices so he is on the net and will take care of your Wright Tool needs

 

[littletoes]

I've been in the market for some 1/2" impact metric sockets, shallow. I was considering Proto, but now I'm going to check the Wright stuff out and compare prices.

 

[Vinko]

Every tool needs to be evaluated on it's own merits. COO won't tell the whole story any more.

I agree, though maybe COO can often be a general indicator.

But do you remember when USA-made didn't necessarily mean it was good quality? There was a time when USA made could mean medium quality. Now since the decline of everything it seems, maybe our values have shifted, and what seemed like medium quality then seems good now, because in the meantime so much Chinese **** flooded the market.

I remember when German or Swedish made meant the best.

 

[catfish]

I remember when German or Swedish made meant the best.

It still does?
China copies , they don't innovate (apart from the new 'ultra soft' tool steel they're using nowdays).

 

[chevy302dz]

Actually the Chinese/Taiwan trend has been an increase in quality. Meanwhile many of the USA brands have been on a downward spiral.

Read some of the ratchet shootouts and you'll see examples of Chinese/Taiwan tools kicking Craftsman's **** and nearly on par with SO.

Every tool needs to be evaluated on it's own merits. COO won't tell the whole story any more.

Every tool does need to be rated on it's own merits, including Craftsman. Nobody will argue that the raised panels are junk but Craftsman makes several other ratchets that are much higher quality. This often seems to be forgotten when people use Craftsman as the poster child for poor ratchet design.

 

[TheGrooveking]

I think they are only percieved as underated in the eyes of the Automotive World where they are not well known due to the "BIG FOUR" stranglehold. In the Industrial World- mining, oil, food processing, ect. they are everyday commonplace same as Proto and Armstrong.

The truth is anyone who bought Matco tools from 1979 to early 90's were buying either Bonney wrenches or Wright sockets and ratchets with Matco's name on them. I bought most of my Matco tools between 1981 and 1986 and still use those very same ratchets, for some reason I gravitate towards them and prefer them to my Dual 80's and newer Matco 88 teeth models.

Wright tools are tough, plain and simple.

TheGrooveking

 

[RoarkIndustrialSolutions]

I distribute Wright and use them for our shipyard, power plant, and paper mill clients. Well known in those industries and well respected. Manufactured in the US with US steel. They carry a Wright Tool Lifetime Warranty. Comparable to Armstrong, Proto, SO and other commercial grade tools. Most times at a better price point.

Any questions or requirements, feel free to contact me at [email protected].

 

[Keep]

You will be extremely happy with your Wright tools.

I just picked these up yesterday:

They match these rather well:

Oh and they have nice hard handled screwdrivers as well:

 

[Vinko]

It still does?

I had in mind that production of goods themselves seemed to have dropped off in those two countries. I have no expertise, so I could be wrong.