T/A2000

You may not be able to see them but where my sockets and extensions run across the bottom of my drawer I have magnetic rails that i have laying on their side.. works out well if you have the room to do it

rouseyss

well today was very successful. I wanted to just go window shopping and was at the mall went to sears checked it out and decided to stop by lowes on the way home and got a 40 piece 3/8" set on sale 50% off and then got military discount and paid 23.60 for the kit and its kobalt which is a brand i like because of warranty

Black02Bird

iTrader: (5)

You are in the military, does your duty station have DRMO? I work at MCAS Cherry Point and their drmo sells used tools and boxes for pennies on the dollar. just a thought.

rouseyss

No we dont. I havent heard of that before Im going to have to look into that

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

Pawn shops and flea markets are where I got most of
my hand tools originally. Flea market up here used to
get a lot of what looked like "lunch box specials" from
the Cape and contractors, back when they used to
actually do rocket building.

Yard sales in neighborhoods where blue collar folks
live (or die, old guys' estate sales are good for tools)
are also good fishin'.

LSXNV

iTrader: (1)

One of my most valuable tools has been my gear wrenches. The are good when it comes to tight spaces and on any newish car every space is tight. They are very tough but I did manage to kill my 8mm wrench. Trust me, you will never want to use regular wrenches again.

Syclone538

Some things to think about if just starting, or starting over on tools.

How often do you actually need a 12 point socket?

Craftsman's quality is going down. I still think it's good enough, though I'm pretty sure I don't have any new enough to be made in china, and working on cars is not what I do for a living.

Sears just might go under, so their lifetime warranty might not really be.

Having said that, I have the 145 piece at home, and got the 189 piece to leave at a friends place after he had to take most of his stuff to work. The 145 came from in store at a sears hardware, the 189 was online. One you pay tax, the other you pay shipping, so it doesn't matter.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...42000P?cw=true
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...8000P?prdNo=24
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...7000P?prdNo=10

Get one of those, a big screwdriver set, and some ratchet wrenches and you've got a good start.

If you are not in any hurry, at all, sears seems to put most tools they carry in store on 1/2 off sale at some point in the year. I got a great deal on their locking flex head ratchet wrenches. Watch their sales paper.

rouseyss

Im not in any hurry at all. I plan on buying me a new project car for my bday in August so I would like to have enough tools to have a good start. Money is no longer the issue on being strapped down to $500. I am not worried about pricing but at the same time dont have the money to spend on Snap-On products. Im thinking of getting the Northern Impact socket set and also need to find some gearwrenches that doesn't skip sizes.

99fbodyTA

i am an aircraft mechanic, so i buy ALOT of snap on, but i use it at work so i can justify it. but at home in the garage, go to harbor freight, 500 will go a long way.

Emdmechanic

iTrader: (2)

Really depends on the type of person you are . If you need a name brand in your box all polished to show off or not. I use whatever i get a good deal on .Im a locomotive mechanic and most of the stuff i use is 1/2 drive are larger. My home tools are williams, proto, blackhawk,craftsman. My work tools (since i have to provide them) Are mostly harbor freight . Ive had a set of their ratchet wrenches for 5-6 years now and still work good. All of their impact sockets have held up and even the 3/4" and 1 " sets are holding up. Another thing , Fathers Day can net some good buys everywhere, As well as X-mas. Walmart sells stanly and they are made by proto or the other way around . They have some good deals on sets sometimes. Harbor freights cheap wrenches are garbage. Craftsman quit giving ratchets as replacements here and now hand you a rebuild kit. I dont like cheap ratchets in any size or cheap screwdrivers. But like the guy above me said .. 500 at harbor freight will get you a Top box, roll around tool tray , and fill both of them up with the basics you will need to tinker with stuff . And on another note, I have broken more snap -on sockets than any cheap brand i own . And you have to take out a loan on your house just to buy the tool box . You can usually find the same box without snap-on written on it and save $5k.

Just my 2cents

rouseyss

I actually got the HF 301 pc. set for easter when I had a 25% coupon and I am happy with it very much. I only work on my cars and am actually saving so I can get me a new project car to play with and I am pleased with the quality of it so I will definitely keep going to HF until they give me reason not too. I appreciate the insight from ya. I could care less about showing off my tool sets haha

FirstYrLS1Z

iTrader: (4)

Tooltopia has a set on sale

http://www.tooltopia.com/gearwrench-80933.aspx

thenovaproject

iTrader: (1)

Lisle makes magnetic socket holders that lay down sears sells them