Wrench It

[Jolly]

Are expensive wrenches worth the money?

[gob]

No! I own every tool you could ever think of. I have use almost every manufacture. Once everything is said and done the Craftsman hand tools are the best bang for your buck. It is the ease of replacement that puts them at the top for me. Now Ace Hardware and many other places will warranty them out. Most of the others brands you must send to the manufacture or wait on the truck to come by once a week if you are lucky. Then 50% of the time they will have it for you next week. By the way....you can grind 1/2 of the chamfer off the boxed end and all the wrench perform better.

[Jolly]

I've got SK, Craftsman and a HF set I keep in my truck bag. The truck bag contains stuff that will work, but not stuff I'd cry about if it walked off. The HF wrenches, some HF allen wrenches, some screwdrivers of all brands, a couple of Kobalt knock-offs of Channellocks, a pair of Vise-grips, a pair of dykes and a 9" Doyle sidecutter.

[DEKE]

I buy mostly HF tool sets. Both trucks have a set in the bed box because you just never know what/when/where you'll need something. And if it gets lost in the process, it can be cheaply replaced. I also have laborers come to help get jobs done on the farm and they are forever losing something. I've stopped to help someone broken down beside the road and just given him a couple of tool because I couldn't wait and he couldn't get the job done fast enough. HF makes it so cheap and easy to replace that I just don't worry about it.

[Ozarks Tom]

I guess over the many years he lost most of them, but I do have quite a few tools from my father's tool box. He was a machinist during WWII and through the '50's. There's no comparison to the quality, for instance the side cutters have been used as small bolt cutters without a trace of a nick.

[Jolly]

The HF sockets ain't bad. The city crews carry these on their trucks in various drives.

www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/sockets-ratchets/sockets/12-in-drive-sae-high-visibility-socket-set-10-pc-67919.html

They use better quality ratchets, but the sockets do well enough.

[joebill]

Wrenches quality seldom matters screwdrivers on the other hand, it's crucial... Joe

[daw]

I don't like HF for I have seen wrenches
break in the hand. Some thing's are being
made better but wrenches should be quality.

[fixitguy]

Snap-on screwdrivers are really nice to use, most of the bigger ones you can place a wrench by the handle for more leverage.

I have mostly Snap-On stuff, because the company gives deep discounts to first year vo-tech students in the repair industry. It hasn't cost that much over the years to buy a little here and there to add to my initial purchase.
Some things you don't buy from Snap-On, such as impacts. I have a Cummins impact set from HF I picked up 25 years ago. I've cracked one socket, and welded it back up. I think I paid about $15 for the set then.

[joebill]

I might be tempted to buy snap on FLANK DRIVE sockets....great idea....but I dunno if the flank drive plus adds anything, and it looks like it might tear up the fasteners and make them stick in the sockets....Joe

[farmrbrown]

Jul 18, 2022 15:14:54 GMT Ozarks Tom said:

I guess over the many years he lost most of them, but I do have quite a few tools from my father's tool box. He was a machinist during WWII and through the '50's. There's no comparison to the quality, for instance the side cutters have been used as small bolt cutters without a trace of a nick.

Same here.
My box was always full of Craftsman until the 90's when they sold out and started making their stuff in China. At that point there wasn't any reason to maintain MY loyalty and since then it's a crapshoot when you buy a tool. You'll know the 1st time you use one how the quality of the steel is and whether you'll buy that brand again. HF won't last a lifetime, but if it gets you thru a couple of jobs and you can get a replacement fast and cheaply, that'll be the best you can hope for, lol.