Tools & Fabrication - what makes a cheap tool a bad tool?

im just wondering what precisely is the difference between cheap tools like Pittsburgh tools, from snap-on or matco tools.

China




I don't know the advanced details, only my experience in my profession (production maintenance) and at home. The old phrase "you get what you pay for" comes into play 9/10. The cheaper tools (again in my experience) break much easier (sometimes creating a lot of pain and or damage...), bend or warp easier, and tend to rust faster. I'm sure a lot of it has to due with the treatment during production.
That's not to say they don't have their place, like maybe tools you're only gonna use once or a kit you throw in your trunk for emergency situations. And there are some tools I would say are less expensive then others that work very well, like Gear Wrench - not cheap, just less expensive-seem comparable to say a Craftsman but the lower price is due to where they are made, or so I guess.

in my opinion you usually get what you pay for. If you aren't gonna be doing any pro work then normal wrenches and stuff is probably fine. I usually buy at least decent quality things just for piece of mind. Also, if you're fine with fixing things when they brake or messing around with things that don't work right then you could buy cheap things all the time. I guess its all personal preference. When it comes to things like torque wrenches thought I don't buy cheap things because that could lead to things being torqued wrong and other things braking.
I don't think youre gonna get an answer to this question, just everyone's personal opinion.

Just do your research. For example alot of the tool truck brand tools are made by other people and just restamped with a warranty added. Matcos screwdrivers are made by a german company called Witte Tools. You can actually order the Witte screwdrivers online for about a 1/3rd of the matco tool truck cost, but you wont recieve the lifetime warranty. Matco and Snap On both use Elkind to manufacture their allen and hex head wrenches. And I believe Elkind is sold at Lowes. Also, most of the tool truck brand air tools are made by Ingersoll Rand. Ingersoll Rand makes some quality stuff. I was a mechanic (lube tech/light line/heavy line diesel) for about 6 years and I use my tools at home almost as often as I did at work. Gear Wrenchs are awesome, and are ran on sale at sears quite often. I got my sets of gear wrenchs for around $45 for each set.

To me if a tool is cheap (mainly speaking for wrenches/sockets/ratchets), you'll find out why they're shitty real quick, in a work envirenment.
It's annoying as shit, when you're working on a real hot job, and you break a tool. Gotta scramble up a replacement or rig up some shit to get the job done.
Only thing worse than that IMO, is misplacing a tool you really need. Typical day for an army mech downrange, is losing or breaking a few tools on every job, since our tools are usually crap.

I've got an awful lot of tools and many of them are
import / cheapo. Stuff like Vise Grips are way better
than the Harbor Freight knockoffs. But a screwdriver
is a screwdriver as long as it's not chrome plated
(nobody chrome-plates tools if they're any good -
the chrome is inside, or it's black oxide).

"You get what you pay for" is what they want you
to think, but it's a best case scenario more than a
guarantee, unless there's a guarantee. As in cheerfully
refunded, not just another future victim exchange.

A lot of tools come from the same Mfg. just some get better steel,heat treatment,ect. and others come from foreign sources with who knows what "metal" was used.

I used Craftsman at work (Industrial Maintenance Mechanic) mainly so when something breaks I can 95%+ of the time replace at the local Sears store Vs. waiting for a truck.

Now for the really cheap stuff.... carry a small box when I go to the track to get out of most small jams and if it gets stolen there's no real loss.

Now for Harbor Freight stuff.... if it works once and does the job...it paid for it's self.

I work for a company that has our own tool line, we own our own foundry and private label for matco and mac just to name a few. Quality control, the type of metal used in the forging and few other process seperate the cheap tools from the good tools. You can buy good tools at a cheap price if you know what your looking for

I work for a company that has our own tool line, we own our own foundry and private label for matco and mac just to name a few. Quality control, the type of metal used in the forging and few other process seperate the cheap tools from the good tools. You can buy good tools at a cheap price if you know what your looking for

always happy to hear any tips you may have! always buying new tools, glad to get a bargain if i can...

bad tool = one that wrecks the part you're working on. Line wrenches come to mind, save $20 on cheap line wrench, wreck a $50 brake line.

This conversation could go all day.

It boils down to this. If you're a professional mechanic and make a living off your tools, cheap tools are not the way to go. That's not saying that all cheap tools won't last, I've got some cheap stuff I've been using for over 10 years. But there's definitely a difference in longevity in a lot of your cheap tools vs. Snap On/Matco/Cornwell/etc..

If you're a hobbyist or weekend wrencher, expensive tools are not required. Whatever you can pick up at your local Harbor Freight or Northern Tool store will be more than enough. HF actually has some decent stuff. I've got a couple of ratchets I bought from there that are 84t ratchets and work great. I use them almost every day.

If it screws up the job,breaks or gets you hurt it is a bad tool.My dad always hammered at me that if your life,fingers or toes depend on the tool get one you have no doubt about.

I turrn wrenches for a living. I sold Matco for a few years and have a lot of Matco stuff. Ive also learned that tool truck companys ( with the exeption to some Snap on stufff) Doesnt make anything. Match Wrenches are made by Kingsley tool Company. They also make arnstrong which is Identical to a matco. Same goes for ratches, Only they are cheaper but a little harder to get warrantied.
As Far as Harbor freight junk. If its a tool I rarely use, Or kinda idiot proof like an oil pressure guage Ive bought some.
When I worked as an idustrial mechanic I bought craftsman mostly. It worked good and working all over the building, loosing tools, it was cheaper to replace a 5 dollar craftsman wrench than a 25-35 dollar Tool truck wrench,