Your WORST tool buy!

[cdeer001]

I got suckered by Robo-Grips, damn you Bob Villa!

Robo-Grips & the Pocket Socket......damn you Bob Villa! x2!!!!

 

[WWheeler]

Folding 4-way lug wrench.

Thought it would be a good addition to an emergency roadside kit. Got a flat on the interstate at night with wife and kids in the car and was just barely able to get off the road with non-stop traffic flying by at +70mph. Couldn't bust any of the lugs with that tiny thing. The wife stood on one side while I gave everything I had lifting up on the other -> No go. Would have just called for roadside service but had no cell reception.

So I jumped in the air and came down on one side and got one lug to break free. Put it on another lug and repeated, but this time the collapsible arm I was jumping on broke, the folding tire iron spun off and fractured my tibia right good. Did I mention there was no cell reception?

Roughly 3 hours later someone finally stopped and asked if we needed help. They drove off and called 911 further along when they got cell reception. Another hour later a state trooper finally showed up. Family spent the rest of the night with me in the ER. Car was towed by a bandit tow service the trooper called - cost over $300 to get the car back from them 2 days later ...

 

[lightning02]

HF ratchets bc after looking around you can buy better ratchets for the same money. the rubber coated (or whatever is on them) are the only ones worth buying since you really cant find something like that any other place other then tekten but they are the same.

250pc cman usa tool set when they where getting rid of them.

Hansen socket tray there good when i didnt have so many sockets but now that i do im better off with the kobalt socket steel trays

new toolbox, should have bought used.

 

[tweedlestan]

Hmmm.... Bronze screws are so soft I find it hard to believe any screwdriver would bend, let alone Snap On. Were these the instinct style screwdrivers or the hard handles and what did you replace them with? I have 2 hard handles & 4 instincts and they are some of the best screwdrivers I've ever owned. The instinct's tips are matched only by my Wera and Vessel screwdrivers. I also own Matco, SK, Black pro, red pro, and standard Craftsman, Crescent, Blackhawk, Klein, Stanley, etc and none of them match the Snap On's.

Keep in mind this screw was bronze, not brass. Marine grade and harder than you might think. These screws will break before they strip out. Work on a few old boats and you'll see what I'm talking about.

That screwdriver was an older hard handle one but with a new blade. 3/8 slotted. The set I had trouble with was an Instinct set, and that was 4-5 years ago.

I actually replaced them with two different sets, Hazet Hexanamic and old-school red handled Macs. The Macs are my go to for tough/dirty work. The Hazet are almost too nice to use. The Macs have handled every bit of use and abuse I could throw at them.

I also have an older SK set that has held up very well, plus singles from Wera, Felo, Toptul, Wiha, Witte, and a few others I can't remember offhand. Had a set of Matcos that had excellent tips but the handles were very hard to clean once they got greasy.

And of course I've used lesser brands like Craftsman, Stanley, etc.

The Snap on Instinct were the worst of any of the high end screwdrivers I've owned. I wish I had taken macro photographs of the tips and posted them here. I'm not saying they're all like that, but my set was horrible.

 

[Marcm157]

Although technically not a "Purchase" as it was gifted to me by my wife. The Gator one size fits all socket has to be the worst I have in my arsenal...

 

[NYBODYMAN]

Craftsman rubber strap wrenches. I do not know why I keep them. I have never been able to get them to work on anything.

Same here. I've had them for over 20 years and haven't used them yet.

 

[disston]

I have been trying to learn how to rebuild manual transmissions from BMW motorcycles of the '70's. Needed some professional micrometers and such, bought Starrett and Mitutoyo.

Then I got some parallels bars. Use the 1/4" ones sometime. the 1/8" wide ones are pretty useless. Fortunately I bought Chinese and these didn't cost a lot of money. In the past I have thrown tools in the trash that I consider useless. Sort of a ritual. I haven't been able to throw these 1/8 bars away yet. Maybe because they are so shiny.

 

[PassnThru]

Although technically not a "Purchase" as it was gifted to me by my wife. The Gator one size fits all socket has to be the worst I have in my arsenal...

Hex nuts no. Wing nuts yes.

 

[kctyphoon]

Kobalt pump pliers.. have used em a few times where the joints just slipped and the handles collapsed in my hands. They have since been replaced with channellock.

 

[disston]

Folding 4-way lug wrench.

Thought it would be a good addition to an emergency roadside kit. Got a flat on the interstate at night with wife and kids in the car and was just barely able to get off the road with non-stop traffic flying by at +70mph. Couldn't bust any of the lugs with that tiny thing. The wife stood on one side while I gave everything I had lifting up on the other -> No go. Would have just called for roadside service but had no cell reception.

So I jumped in the air and came down on one side and got one lug to break free. Put it on another lug and repeated, but this time the collapsible arm I was jumping on broke, the folding tire iron spun off and fractured my tibia right good. Did I mention there was no cell reception?

Roughly 3 hours later someone finally stopped and asked if we needed help. They drove off and called 911 further along when they got cell reception. Another hour later a state trooper finally showed up. Family spent the rest of the night with me in the ER. Car was towed by a bandit tow service the trooper called - cost over $300 to get the car back from them 2 days later ...

Now I know why I carry a Snap On breaker bar in my trunk with the correct size socket for the lug nuts. Don't use anything else on my lug nuts. I'm not a biggest fan of Snap On and don't own all they make but I have a few because I think they are worth it, if you want something that always works.

Hope you're healing well.

 

[bcradio]

HF extendable 1/2" drive ratchet... that thing has been terrible for me. Always skipping so much so that I don't trust using it anymore.

Second would be the milwaukee Porta band swag table. Can't get a straight cut on that thing if my life depended on it.

 

[Project_shadow]

HF extendable 1/2" drive ratchet... that thing has been terrible for me. Always skipping so much so that I don't trust using it anymore.

Second would be the milwaukee Porta band swag table. Can't get a straight cut on that thing if my life depended on it.

I love my hf extend 1/2
Use it all the time

My worst is probably the three piece huge vice grip clamps from hf, the jaws don't line up and I've only had them just over a year and they have been used maybe 20 times

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

Craftsman rubber strap wrenches. Big one broke immediately, little one is around somewhere taking up room in the tool box. Never successfully used either one. Bought a OTC strap wrench a few years ago and it has saved me several times, wished I had bought it first and skipped the craftsman junk.

Kobalt pliers, should have known better. Warranted the side cutters twice and the needle nose once. Finally tossed them last year, not even worthy of the junkyard kit.

 

[Certified Drunk]

Anything from Harbor Fail, it's just like flushing money down the toilet.

 

[tweedlestan]

Anything from Harbor Fail, it's just like flushing money down the toilet.

Not even close.

 

[Tucko]

A Wagner paint sprayer. It went straight into the trash, not even worth returning to the store.

 

[7avalon7]

Craftsman bone wrench. Not totally useless, but just to bulky that it is hard to use. It is in my car as part of emergency tool box.

At least I am using point so I did not pay for it.

 

[Strouty]

https://www.zoro.com/huck-magna-lok...K3-8jjaoydtosuHNvPIOZPn3-2W0HC2Q5MaAqtA8P8HAQ

I bought an earlier model of this tool before Huck bought the company that made it. It is not even serviced where other Huck tools are. One guy handles it. You have to mail him the tool.
It does blind rivets and nutserts and was compact and very powerful when it worked which was almost never. I saw a used one on ebay that was less than the repair cost. The hydraulics were always screwed up. It was less that half the current price when I bought it. I really tried to make it work but it is a total loser. I saw it sold off one of the trucks. Don't even think about it.

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I have used one of these in the past, never had any issues with it. I actually own one, but have not used it in years, now you are making me want to try it out again. I was only using it for nutserts, maybe that was the difference?

 

[Socket Pounder]

One of those adjustable wrenches with a thumb slider. Garbage.

 

[American Locomotive]

Hex nuts no. Wing nuts yes.

As much as people hate on the gator grip, we've really abused one on a ton rounded and rusty bolts and it's done well.

 

[kctyphoon]

Anything from Harbor Fail, it's just like flushing money down the toilet.

Obviously you don't shop there..

 

[Madrona]

Performance Tools torque wrench. I used it one time to set the front hub bearings on my truck, and it broke. Though it was supposed to be good for over 300 ft lbs, apparently it couldn't handle 175 ft lbs. I warrantied it, and the replacement couldn't handle 90 ft lbs and it broke. JUNK.

 

[mushia]

A none brand one which I even can not think of its name.

 

[maintguy]

Kobalt triple cut. Could never get the hang of them.

Kobalt self adjusting locking pliers. Pure freaking junk.

 

[chris142]

I bought an electronic refrigerant leak detector from the Mac truck. Paid about $375 for it. It would never beep. Sent it back and they said it was fine.

Held it in a stream of leaking refrigerant and no beep. Ended up throwing it in the trash since it didnt work and Mac would not fix it.

 

[Parrothead]

A pair of needle nose pliers from Dollar Tree. I needed them to clean out a drain at a rental and was there for other stuff (plunger, etc.). They broke first use, which was about what I expected.

 

[6PTsocket]

A pair of needle nose pliers from Dollar Tree. I needed them to clean out a drain at a rental and was there for other stuff (plunger, etc.). They broke first use, which was about what I expected.

If being out a buck is your worst bad purchase you must be leading a charmed life. LOL.

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[JBudd2]

Craftsman 'bone wrench' stuck to overhead beam in the shop is a good conversation piece and everyone that spots it agrees that is a good use for it.

 

[JasonB1989]

I have this snap on spring puller thing that I picked up on the truck two years ago. Used it once and put it back in the box. It essentially is a pair of vice grips that is more difficult to use. Pointless waste of time and money. Anyone who goes in my box picks it up and asks what it is. I just shake my head and laugh.

 

[mowkep]

I have a pair of Robogrips pro and 2 pair of regular robogrips that I've had on Craigslist for about 6 months. I have them included with a pair of Vipergrips which equal the usefulness of the Robogrips

 

[bixxjs]

Parts store oil filter wrench,it pierced the filter and it took me over an hour to spin via the old skewl screwdriver and hammer method.

 

[Project_shadow]

Kobalt pliers, should have known better. Warranted the side cutters twice and the needle nose once. Finally tossed them last year, not even worthy of the junkyard kit.

I use mine for professional use, I've not had any problems, but I did find that the adjustable swill sometimes loosen up, just muscle memory now to check every few turns

 

[Project_shadow]

Kobalt triple cut. Could never get the hang of them.

Kobalt self adjusting locking pliers. Pure freaking junk.

These kobalt pluses are a pain in the ***, I use mine when I'm in the house for small stuff, useless for mechanical work

 

[DGersic]

I have a pair of Robogrips pro and 2 pair of regular robogrips that I've had on Craigslist for about 6 months. I have them included with a pair of Vipergrips which equal the usefulness of the Robogrips

I have a set of Robogrips. If you'll pay shipping and add $5, I'll take the ones you're trying to unload.

The only good thing about the Robogrips is that they were a gift.




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[chris142]

I also had an 88 tooth Matco 1/4 ratchet that was garbage. Constantly locked up and would not ratchet even after Matco man rebuilt it. Replaced it with a hf composite one that works fine. The Matco one went into the recycle bin.

 

[doogdoog]

Long ago I wanted to get some Proto 12pt. flare style wrench and I went out and got me a set. The first time I used it, the fitting was very tight so the wrench expanded and slipped. After that I went for the 6 pt. flare wrench and never looked back. I also bought a knock out set from Harbor Freight and the first time I used it, the tightening bolt snapped. It looked like it wasn't tempered right. After that, I never bought anything that required torquing down like coil spring compressors, etc.

 

[mfewtrail]

Robo-Grips & the Pocket Socket......damn you Bob Villa! x2!!!!

Those pocket sockets are actually handy when used to hold a chisel or punch. Almost zero possibility of wrecking your hand if a hammer blow strays off target when using them like that.

 

[rustbucket5]

those channel lock reversible snap ring pliers. thought i was set only to find out that they have so much slop in the mechanism under load that they are literally useless

 

[dr_clyde]

I once bought a pallet jack in an online auction. Due to some fairly bad lighting and bad photography, I didn't see that it was missing the wheels. That's $40 I sent to the scrap yard.

 

[cliftonbros89]

Craftsman 'bone wrench' stuck to overhead beam in the shop is a good conversation piece and everyone that spots it agrees that is a good use for it.

I received one of those as a Christmas gift. Never used it. I'm not sure I could if I wanted to. It wouldn't hardly fit any where.