# Reliable tool companies



## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

now we all know snap on is one of the best.......and most expensive. but crafts man is nearly as good. but what do you all think about stanley? they sell them at target now and they have very good prices! i was in there the other day and they have a full set of ratcheting box end wrenches for $9! there is much more but thats all that caught my eye :thumbup:


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

for some strange reason I have a large supply of "Husky" tools... I must have picked them up somewhere along the line and not known but they last longer than the craftsman...


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

James said:


> for some strange reason I have a large supply of "Husky" tools... I must have picked them up somewhere along the line and not known but they last longer than the craftsman...


do they give the life time guarantee as well? i know craftsman may not last forever but you can always replace them and thats cool


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## konfuzion3 (Sep 17, 2004)

James said:


> for some strange reason I have a large supply of "Husky" tools... I must have picked them up somewhere along the line and not known but they last longer than the craftsman...



You can get Husky at Your local Home Depot... The store trusted by "Garage Racers" everywhere! :thumbup:


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## konfuzion3 (Sep 17, 2004)

Kobalt makes some pretty good hand tools. They have them at Lowe's.
Duralast is crap and can be found at Autozone.

I was actually checking out the Stanley stuff myself. They have some pretty nice hand tools. :thumbup:


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

1.6pete said:


> do they give the life time guarantee as well? i know craftsman may not last forever but you can always replace them and thats cool


dunno, none's broken so far... 

I hate craftsman's wratcheting mechanisms... its like they're made out of plastic or something cuz once you apply too much force they brake sometimes they do that like half engagment thing where it won't turn in either direction. dunno if that is just a fact of life or if there is a better brand out there.


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## konfuzion3 (Sep 17, 2004)

James said:


> dunno, none's broken so far...
> 
> I hate craftsman's wratcheting mechanisms... its like they're made out of plastic or something cuz once you apply too much force they brake sometimes they do that like half engagment thing where it won't turn in either direction. dunno if that is just a fact of life or if there is a better brand out there.


I've had the same problem with the half engagement problem. I thought it was just me.


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## Jaralaccs (Jan 18, 2004)

you get what you pay for. there's a reason they're that cheap- because they're cheap quality. cheap quality tools break on you, causing you to buy more which in time equal out to the same price as decent quality tools that you should have bought in the first place. SK tools are pretty good and inexpensice, matco has more stuff than I've seen from any other tool company


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## Blank (Aug 21, 2003)

1.6pete said:


> do they give the life time guarantee as well? i know craftsman may not last forever but you can always replace them and thats cool


husky tools are lifetime guarenteed...


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## Blank (Aug 21, 2003)

craftsman hand tools rock... but snap on and MAC are better... the wratchets(sp?) break under extreme loads but i love that sears NEVER gives you a problem, no questions, just a new tool. Ive seen some obvious abuses, hammer marks etc... no questions asked...


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## Blank (Aug 21, 2003)

oh and BTW... sears companion brand suck my nutz! they are about 20% cheaper and have no guarentee... spring for the quality, trust me... i got some for xmas and bent a screw driver head on an aluminum screw!


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

37 stickies said:


> oh and BTW... sears companion brand suck my nutz! they are about 20% cheaper and have no guarentee... spring for the quality, trust me... i got some for xmas and bent a screw driver head on an aluminum screw!


funny you should say that i was just looking at tool boxes at sears about an hour ago and found a small box, i want a small 2 drawer box that i can carry wrenches in and what not, and i founf a companion one for $30 in the exact size i wanted would it be worth it? its just a tool box. and i know what your saying about the ratchets and that happens to me too but i think i could live with buying a snap on ratchet and then all craftsman you would save hundreds if not thousands that way lol (if you had a FULL set of tools)


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## Zac (Mar 10, 2004)

I've had crafstmen power tools and wrenches break on me. I had their "special" Robogrip rust even though it was not ever expsoed to water. Craftsmen is allright for the occasional usage but they are by no mean the heaviest duty. Their older stuff may be better as my Dad has had a Model I drill for as long as I can remember and I still use it. Torquey as hell too. Anything they advertise as cordless I've found a joke. They are not that bad of tools but not for heavy dusty applications either. Most socket wrenches I use were made some time ago and a lot of it is pulled from my dad's stuff. These things are just strong and held the test of time.


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## lshadoff (Nov 26, 2002)

The quality of Craftsman tools has declined over the years if my experience is typical. I bought a Craftsman socket set in 1956 when I was in high school. In the mid 1980s the 9/16 socket broke (split down the side) when I had a 3ft. pipe on the breaker bar and put all my weight on it. I took it to Sears, and they replaced it with the equivalent current socket. Here is a photo of the 5/8 old socket and the new 9/16 they gave me: 










I complained at the time that they were not of equivalent quality, and was told that it was the best they had. Look at the thickness of the old and new and the depth of the 12 point grooves. The larger 5/8 socket is much thinner than the new 9/16, and I'll bet it's stronger. I can slip those old sockets over a nut where there is really small clearance around it.

Lew


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

so far, all of my craftsman sockets have held up. I even use my 3/8" chrome sockets on my bigass impact wrench (600ft.lb reverse torque) and haven't snapped one yet...

power tools.. I have a craftsman pro 18V cordless drill... I've used that sucker to buff my car, and anybody that's done high speed buffing knows you need high speed and torque to do that. no problems with it, but I have to keep a battery on the charger.. they go fairly quickly when doing stuff like that.

the rest of my power tools are all DeWalt... air tools are Craftsman Pro. hand tools are mostly craftsman, but then I have my snap-on ratchets. wouldn't trade them for the world.


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## Slayer2003 (Jun 4, 2003)

I like SOME Craftsman tools. dont mind the sockets n wrenches, open-ended and cresent. but i hate their damn Robogrip. the 2nd day i had it, i noticed the teeth were already waring down to nothing. and it doesnt work really well in tight corners, as to really put some force on something, requires a bit of room.

I really like matco, mac ans snap-on stuff better, but it can be pricey. Like stated, you get what you pay for.


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## ReVerm (Jan 13, 2003)

37 stickies said:


> oh and BTW... sears companion brand suck my nutz! they are about 20% cheaper and have no guarentee... spring for the quality, trust me... i got some for xmas and bent a screw driver head on an aluminum screw!


Some of those compaion tools are a great deal though if you don't put too much stress on them. I got a 10 piece set of box wrenches for 10 bucks + tax a while ago. I don't put much load on them, but they're holding up great in terms of wear & tear. They certainly don't look or feel like the best, but they aren't a bad choice if you just want to do quick repairs and around-the-house work every so often.


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## samo (Apr 30, 2002)

I love Craftsman tools in general, but I hate, HATE their socket wrenches. I've got a set of Channel Lock socket wrenches, that I cannot tell the difference between them and Snap On. Really nice ratcheting mechanism, really fine and really strong. The Channel Lock sockets seem to be just fine too, and I've put a stupid amount of torque on them.

For cheap tools to keep in the car, I use Kobalt. They're certainly not as nice-feeling as my Craftsman or Channel Lock tools, but they're half the price, and for a set of tools that's just going to get stolen, that's fine by me.

Personally, although I love Snap-On's socket wrenches and sockets, many of their other tools are simply overpriced. I have actually had some trouble with a set of Phillips tips I used to have for my screw gun. They didn't fit the screws well and really liked to strip the heads out. I promptly returned them and got a set of Hitachi ones that I like a lot.

For power tools, I love my Makita. I've got a 9.2V cordless drill of theirs, and it's TOUGH. Like, way tougher than it should be. My parents have an equivalent Craftsman drill, and it's much weaker and doesn't cool well, leading to the temp sensor tripping, and then you get to wait for it to cool back down again. However, my dad has a Craftsman drill from about 1960 that's tough as nails. That thing is unstoppable, but it also runs off 110V, which helps. His old Craftsman circular saw and jig saws are pretty decent too. Definately cold-war technology :thumbup: .


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## OldOneEye (Oct 22, 2002)

Here is a few things I found out from a Snap On tool guy. The Kobalt stuff is made by the same company that makes Snap On, and it is better than Craftsman quality at Craftsman pricing. Not a bad deal. Only problem is they don't have the sales that Sears has, or the selection. 

The Mac or Matco is owned by Stanley, and supposedly comes off the same line as the Craftsman tools. So you get Craftsman quality for more than Craftsman pricing. Not a good deal.

You do get what you paid for. Every Snap On tool I have played with feels better than the comparable Craftsman. If I used them day to day for work, no question I would get Craftsman. But I sit in a cube, like a caged animal all day so I only use my tools sparingly, so I can't justify spending that kind of money.

The one area I couldn't afford not to have the Snap on is the ratcheting screwdrivers. Nobody comes close, so I have 4 of them that probably cost me close to $40 each, but worth it.

Juan


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## Token Moron (Mar 28, 2003)

OldOneEye said:


> Here is a few things I found out from a Snap On tool guy. The Kobalt stuff is made by the same company that makes Snap On, and it is better than Craftsman quality at Craftsman pricing. Not a bad deal. Only problem is they don't have the sales that Sears has, or the selection.
> 
> The Mac or Matco is owned by Stanley, and supposedly comes off the same line as the Craftsman tools. So you get Craftsman quality for more than Craftsman pricing. Not a good deal.
> 
> ...



craftsman also makes companion...its a subdivsion. the good thing about craftsman is that whenver something does go bad with a hand tool, no worries....u can keep exchanging it whenever u want as many times as u want/need. no questions asked. besides the husky, i dont know of any other company that replaces your tools on site.


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## OldOneEye (Oct 22, 2002)

Well, I had a tool fail on me at the worst time (I'm covered in gunk, cars half apart and a socket splits in half). What then? Craftman and Kobalt replace them as well, lifetime warranty.

One thing the Snap on guy told me the craftsman tools were good at was removing rounded bolts. They have enough give so you take the next small size socket, pound it onto the rounded bolt, pull out your impact driver and pull it out. You then take the socket (with the bolt inside) back for a new one. 

Juan




cHoPs said:


> craftsman also makes companion...its a subdivsion. the good thing about craftsman is that whenver something does go bad with a hand tool, no worries....u can keep exchanging it whenever u want as many times as u want/need. no questions asked. besides the husky, i dont know of any other company that replaces your tools on site.


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

Snap-On also does lifetime warranty on most of their stuff. When I was working for a machine shop in Tulsa, I snapped a few ratchets and pryba--- err screwdrivers.. we just call our salesman and he brings by new ones when he's in the area again. 


of course my boss also had 6 track-size toolboxes full of Snap-On. probably has $150,000 in just hand tools. the Snap-On dude would probably give him a BJ if he called and said he wanted one.


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## tony22r (Oct 5, 2004)

*..the Softer side of Sears...*



lshadoff said:


> The quality of Craftsman tools has declined over the years if my experience is typical


I hear that... I used to be a Craftsman fanatic until I started running into a whole slew of busted ratchet mechanisms, chrome flaking off of sockets, power drill internals grinding & skipping after only a few years.

I thought it was just Me at first but I started to notice lower quality in general; subpar finish, exposed tooling and forging marks, sloppy polishing... the kinda low-grade stuff you expect from cheap Chinese-made "Harbor Freight Tools"!

About a decade ago I started switching over to Husky/Home Depot tools. This started when some B!oTch at Sears actually Interrogated me on How I had destroyed a box-end wrench! (I dropped it across my battery terminals and half of it melted) But Screw that! All this B!oTch needed to know was that it was BUSTED and I wanna NEW one!
Also at the time... Craftsman didn't make a ratchet handle that had Both quick-release AND knurled spinner... which is Very useful when everything's covered in transmission fluid!

Now a decade later, almost all my tools are Husky. I also dig the Stanley multi-bit magnetic screwdrivers; shaft is steel and all the bits fit in the handle.

One things for sure though; NO one makes a tool that I Can't break.

Hey! I heard something Disturbing the other day... someone told me K-Mart was buying out Sears?! Or they're Merging or something??
That's kinda scary...
Just a few years ago K-Mart went through Bankruptcy! What's UP??


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

yeah, it's true.. basically sears wants more stores, and K-Mart wants the reputation.. the good news is you'll be able to buy craftsman tools at K-mart.. the bad news is they're all going to be built in China by an 8 yr old making $0.30 a week.


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## Token Moron (Mar 28, 2003)

as it stands, most of craftsman's newer electronic shit is built in china....only the handtools are built in america. the bad part about snap on is that if u do bust a tool, u have to wait for them to come to you, which u never know how long that could take, and some people need their tools then and there, and thats the good part about craftsman, if u bust a tool halfway through the job, just go get a new one......really cant beat that.


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## Crazy-Mart (Jul 14, 2002)

i got mostly mastercraft sockets and ratchets at home with the everlasting garanty from Canadian tire ... i go there to change the rachets insert about twice a year without any problem ... and had 24in breaker bar broke on me after 4 years of total abuse (getting my whole 185lbs smashing on it each day!!... and i mean it ... im putting inj. molding molds from 300kg to 5.5tons into machines each day) ... and had no problem replacing those ...

Snap on is pretty good but without anyshop close to me it gets pretty hard to have those "broken" tool changed ... old story , one of my friend had a 1/2in breaker bar he broke twice in the same day trying to loose a half shaft nut... he actually ended up buying a 3/4 breaker bar... this one never failed 

As for my favorite and best tool awards goes to PROTO/Challenger those ive never broke anything yet  i even torned a ratchet once and it still works very good ... (would have never done that with the mastercraft)


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## Jasper (Apr 2, 2004)

i have all craftsmen tools, simply because of cost. i could get snap-on or mac, but i cant justify spending thousands on tools when most of the stuff i do is maintenance (recently did shocks / leaf springs / brakes on an S10 Sonoma, some engine work on a boat, but that stuffs farther in between)

i wish i had snap on, but its kinda useless for me.

only time i've ever broken a craftsmen socket was doing brakes on my moms old saturn (it was a lemon, needed brakes every 6 months) we used a 3ft pipe as a breaker bar, and snapped hte socket into 2 pieces. we brought it back to sears, and instead of just replacing it, they gave us an identical one to what we had (to keep the set together)...AND they gave us one of those super heavy duty black sockets, that's meant to be used on impact guns and torqueing things to like 2000lb/ft....they won me over right there.


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## OldOneEye (Oct 22, 2002)

Most Snap On guys have a route, and if someone in your shop owes him money, he will be by like clockwork.

Juan




cHoPs said:


> as it stands, most of craftsman's newer electronic shit is built in china....only the handtools are built in america. the bad part about snap on is that if u do bust a tool, u have to wait for them to come to you, which u never know how long that could take, and some people need their tools then and there, and thats the good part about craftsman, if u bust a tool halfway through the job, just go get a new one......really cant beat that.


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## sentratuarusguy (Nov 2, 2004)

I have found that the stanley pro stuff is ok it is lifetime guaranteed but not like sears i think its more of a pain. stanley is made by mac tools so the quality is similar
btw craftsman ratchets suck they will about kill you when they slip


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## sentratuarusguy (Nov 2, 2004)

i do use crapsmen wrenches with no problem also the amco tools or what ever the brand that advaced sells is ok


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## no1see2me (Oct 1, 2004)

tony22r said:


> I hear that... I used to be a Craftsman fanatic until I started running into a whole slew of busted ratchet mechanisms, chrome flaking off of sockets, power drill internals grinding & skipping after only a few years.



The ratchets do suck, I use Snap-on Rachets and all Craftmans sockets and wrenches.



tony22r said:


> I thought it was just Me at first but I started to notice lower quality in general; subpar finish, exposed tooling and forging marks, sloppy polishing... the kinda low-grade stuff you expect from cheap Chinese-made "Harbor Freight Tools"!.


I've had my tools for quite awhile now so I have not noticed this, but I do know that you need full body armor before using anything from Harbor Freight. I shattered air impact sockets of theirs with my Campbell hausfeild cheap air ratchet, I would of hated to see what would have happened if I was removing lug nuts with my Blue Point gun.




tony22r said:


> Hey! I heard something Disturbing the other day... someone told me K-Mart was buying out Sears?! Or they're Merging or something??
> That's kinda scary...
> Just a few years ago K-Mart went through Bankruptcy! What's UP??



End that rumor, It's true, K-Mart now owns Sears, which makes me feel like I have a K-Mart house now, from tools to lawn tractors, to applinces and clothing. Pretty depressing huh.


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## OldOneEye (Oct 22, 2002)

Snap On > Mac
Mac = Stanley 

That is what I was told by someone who works in the industry. Mac has gone downhill, Stanley hasn't gotten better but Mac worse.

Juan




sentratuarusguy said:


> I have found that the stanley pro stuff is ok it is lifetime guaranteed but not like sears i think its more of a pain. stanley is made by mac tools so the quality is similar
> btw craftsman ratchets suck they will about kill you when they slip


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## Asleep (Jan 19, 2003)

you know what the funny thing is? there are only something like 3 tool manufacturers in the entire u.s. every name brand tool is made by that big 3 list of names. i wish i could tell you their names and the sub brands, but i learned it years ago when i was first starting out in the aircraft industry. ever notice how some tools look just like others? for instance, craftsmen & husky, cobalt & snap-on, powerbuilt & snap-on? the biggest thing i look for is the warranty and how comfortable my tool is in my hand... (  ) example, i wont use snap-on wrenches cuz they hurt my palms and i only use snap-on screwdrivers. i dont like craftsman ratchets because they dont have enough clicks per turn. 
also, did you know that if you go to home depot, you can ask them to match and beat any of sears specials on tools? try it sometime, ive seen a guy purchase a 400 piece set at almost a buck a tool. my ex-wife is a store manager there so i know how they work their tool deals. 
when it all comes down to it, its personal preference. just dont buy any of that cheap shit, even for emergencies, it isnt worth it and youll just end up buying another set.


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## Token Moron (Mar 28, 2003)

i used to work for home depot...and i know the company that makes husky tools is the same that makes craftsman. sears doesnt sell husky because craftsman is their line so if they were to sell husky, they take from craftsman sales....its weird how it works but asleepaltima is right.


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## BII (May 13, 2004)

I like the chromed husky wrenches more than the craftsman wrenches. And yeah the Craftsman ratchets are teh suck, I have to replace them all the time. But I've never had a problem.

My dad's a professional auto technican and uses Snap-On/Matco/Mac and a few Craftsman things (back-up/extra stuff mostly).


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## Spelchy (Jun 24, 1987)

Especially for woodworking, DeWalt all the way. Their drills put out more torque than any other I've seen. I also lucked out and picked up a set of metric snap-on wrenches at a garage sale for something like $50. It was in the 10th or so grade so I can't remember exactly how much, but it ruled. I have craftsman ones too, but I dont usually use them. Lee Valley tools are also amazing in quality.


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## Token Moron (Mar 28, 2003)

spelch said:


> Especially for woodworking, DeWalt all the way. Their drills put out more torque than any other I've seen. I also lucked out and picked up a set of metric snap-on wrenches at a garage sale for something like $50. It was in the 10th or so grade so I can't remember exactly how much, but it ruled. I have craftsman ones too, but I dont usually use them. Lee Valley tools are also amazing in quality.



id have to agree, DeWalt is the shiznit!! their power tools are untouchable(short of milwaukee)


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## AVERAGE (Aug 9, 2002)

cHoPs said:


> id have to agree, DeWalt is the shiznit!! their power tools are untouchable(short of milwaukee)


i agree dewalt power tools are nice but the battery life is pretty short. i have a set a ratchet wrenches called gearwrenches from whatever company that i could NOT live without.


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## Token Moron (Mar 28, 2003)

AVERAGE said:


> i agree dewalt power tools are nice but the battery life is pretty short. i have a set a ratchet wrenches called gearwrenches from whatever company that i could NOT live without.



yea, dewalt battery life isnt all that great...and the price range for the batteries is over the top too. those ratchet wrenches u speak of are really nice too. Good thing about them ratches is that they are guaranteed for life from the manufacturer(downside is u have to send them through mail to have them replaced)


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

I think craftsman is WAAAY overpriced. Crescent, Kobalt, or Snap-On would be my pick if I had to choose on a single brand. I was just at Sears looking at drills (which I couldn't afford, even as an Xmas present). A few years ago, I bought a craftsman 14.4V drill and flashlight combo with 2 batteries for $75. Now, I'm lucky to get a decient one for under $100, and that's with only the drill. I also bought a wrench there. I damn 10mm open-ended wrench I needed for my brakework. $8 for a single 10mm wrench with the craftsman name on it. I decided to get their off brand one for $2.


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## Token Moron (Mar 28, 2003)

Ninety-Nine SE-L said:


> I think craftsman is WAAAY overpriced. Crescent, Kobalt, or Snap-On would be my pick if I had to choose on a single brand. I was just at Sears looking at drills (which I couldn't afford, even as an Xmas present). A few years ago, I bought a craftsman 14.4V drill and flashlight combo with 2 batteries for $75. Now, I'm lucky to get a decient one for under $100, and that's with only the drill. I also bought a wrench there. I damn 10mm open-ended wrench I needed for my brakework. $8 for a single 10mm wrench with the craftsman name on it. I decided to get their off brand one for $2.



the thing about craftsman is that if u get each tool independantly, u can get a hefty price tag. but if u buy the tools in packages (151pc tool set) u can get them wayy cheap. also, sears carries a shitload of cheap drills(not cheap in quality) theyve got plenty of 19.2v with flashlight with 2 batteries for like $79. or u can get a combo pack with a sawzall, drill, circular saw, flashlight for like $139. Ive got REALLY good hookups at sears so if i ever wanted to buy something big like a tool set, drills, etc or tool chest i can pretty much get like 40% off or more...depending on what it is.


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

cordless drills rock...............cordless circular saws blow! they have tiny little blades and if you kink it even alittle they dont have enuff torque and just stop.


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## Token Moron (Mar 28, 2003)

personally, id never buy any cordless power tool. only power tool id buy is a cordless drill....thats it.


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## Sentra200sx (Oct 6, 2004)

i ussually only get crasftman hand tools and DeWalt power tools.


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## pete? (Jul 6, 2004)

i had a 10mm ratchet break on me last weekend, PUTTING IN A CAI! i was simply removeing one of the hose clamps (you screw it, it gets tighter) and it snaped in half it was one of the easyest jobs it could have ever done in its entire life. but idk the brand it was one of those crazy cheap ones i think like you could get it in a $25 machine. it was pretty san too because after i broke it i used a screw driver and it worked fine lol


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

Just a bit of info for your guys...


Kobalt is NOT made by Snap-On.. Snap-On used to own the factory where Kobalt tools were made, but they have no influence on the tools themselves. source:
http://www.team.net/www/morgan/tech/Kobalt.html#TWO


The rest of the info that's important is here:
http://www.team.net/www/morgan/tech/whotools.html


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## Aussie John (Jan 3, 2005)

have any of you guys heard of the brand " sidchrome " ??? they were the finest australian made tools... i have a massive collection of them, but sadly.. now they have turned to getting their tools made in china, taiwan etc... thats junk in my opinion.. i only have the aussie made product.. have served me really well, and will serve the next person who inherits them nicely  also in my box is a collection of snap on, blue point, stahwille, gedore (german, not indian) and bahco ( swedens finest )!

p.s: and yes, i do know alot of blue point product is also made in china/taiwan.. but i think the standard is ok.. acceptable.. sadly, the price normally isnt!


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## Ninety-Nine SE-L (May 5, 2002)

I just got 2 10pc set of Kobalt sockets. 10 metric, 10 standard, 1/2" socket. They work great with my breaker bar.


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