Favorite brand of tools to use?
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 60
Likes: 0
From: Lubbock, TX
Favorite brand of tools to use? I guess kinda what prompted me to ask this is that I really don't wanna buy and use tools that aren't made in the USA ...
I recently bought a really really nice cordless drill from Home Depot made by Rigid Tool, only to find out it was made in China.
I know Craftsman hand tools are all made in the USA, but what about their power tools?
It really sucks cuz this drill is REEEEEEEEEEEEEALLY nice but I feel bad cuz it's not home-made, so to speak...
So my question is, what are you guys' favorite brands of tools to use, and what all brands are made in the USA, for hand tools and power tools?
I recently bought a really really nice cordless drill from Home Depot made by Rigid Tool, only to find out it was made in China.
I know Craftsman hand tools are all made in the USA, but what about their power tools?
It really sucks cuz this drill is REEEEEEEEEEEEEALLY nice but I feel bad cuz it's not home-made, so to speak...
So my question is, what are you guys' favorite brands of tools to use, and what all brands are made in the USA, for hand tools and power tools?
power tools- dewalt, makita
hand tools- snap on but craftsman is good for at home stuff, Matco swivel sockets
air tools- IR, all but one snap on air tool i've purchased has been a waste of money IM31 3/8" impact has no ***, so I just bought a new snap on MG31 has tooooo much ***.
drill bits-#1 snap on, Irwin or Blu Mol
hand tools- snap on but craftsman is good for at home stuff, Matco swivel sockets
air tools- IR, all but one snap on air tool i've purchased has been a waste of money IM31 3/8" impact has no ***, so I just bought a new snap on MG31 has tooooo much ***.
drill bits-#1 snap on, Irwin or Blu Mol
Staging Lane
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
From: Tri-cities area, Tn
For power tools, I have Dewalt. I've got an 18volt Hammer drill and an 18 volt impact driver.
For hand tools, Snap On is my choice, but I have a few Craftsman tools. The Matco man is supposed to be paying us a visit, and told us about their student discount. I'll probably spend a pretty decent amount with them to try them out and because our Snap On man is a jerk.
I saw the Rigid power tools at Home Depot a few weeks ago. I noticed they had a mail in form to receive a free lifetime warranty on everything INCLUDING batteries and normal wear items. I wonder how well they will honor the warranty. I definitely thought about picking something up from them.
For hand tools, Snap On is my choice, but I have a few Craftsman tools. The Matco man is supposed to be paying us a visit, and told us about their student discount. I'll probably spend a pretty decent amount with them to try them out and because our Snap On man is a jerk.
I saw the Rigid power tools at Home Depot a few weeks ago. I noticed they had a mail in form to receive a free lifetime warranty on everything INCLUDING batteries and normal wear items. I wonder how well they will honor the warranty. I definitely thought about picking something up from them.
TECH Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 742
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From: Cincinnati, OH
I use Craftsman Professional line for pretty much everything, even the multimeter. Have a Makita drill in addition to a couple of Craftsmans. Sears is close and I rarely break any of their stuff anyways.
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Teching In
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 37
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most dewalts are made in mexico...some are still made in the US, usually the larger equipment like miter saw, etc...check the box...but man, mexico or us, they keep on workin after being beaten to death by my careless employees
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TECH Regular
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 416
Likes: 1
From: Minnesota
Milwaukee stuff is made in the US, Mexico and Germany.
I have mostly Snap-On, Matco, and S-K. I perfer Snap-On hand tools. I have a lot of Matco and Chicago Pnematic airtools and Cordless stuff is Snap-On.
I have mostly Snap-On, Matco, and S-K. I perfer Snap-On hand tools. I have a lot of Matco and Chicago Pnematic airtools and Cordless stuff is Snap-On.
TECH Veteran
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 4,055
Likes: 1
From: Hartsdale, NY
Dogmeat:
You are new here; right? Take some advice: don't pour salt in an open cut!
You should not care where a tool is made. You should base your buying decisions only on whether your purchases provide you with value. We live in a world economy that is based on the capitalist system. It has been like that for about 15 years or so.
We ALL benefit from it.
In a capitalist system funds flow accross borders to find their best use. Sure we in the US have lost tons of manufacturing jobs to South America and Asia. So what, since we have gained more service sector jobs and our standard of living in the US is rising and is higher than any other country.
PS - If you think you bought a car that was "made" in the USA you are wrong. Yeh the car was assembled here but that is about it. The tires are made in Asia, the wheels are made in Canida, the glass is made in Mexico, the leather is made in Argentinia, the carpet is made in Pakistan, the battery is made in Chili and on-and-on-and-on-and-on...
You are new here; right? Take some advice: don't pour salt in an open cut!
You should not care where a tool is made. You should base your buying decisions only on whether your purchases provide you with value. We live in a world economy that is based on the capitalist system. It has been like that for about 15 years or so.
We ALL benefit from it.
In a capitalist system funds flow accross borders to find their best use. Sure we in the US have lost tons of manufacturing jobs to South America and Asia. So what, since we have gained more service sector jobs and our standard of living in the US is rising and is higher than any other country.
PS - If you think you bought a car that was "made" in the USA you are wrong. Yeh the car was assembled here but that is about it. The tires are made in Asia, the wheels are made in Canida, the glass is made in Mexico, the leather is made in Argentinia, the carpet is made in Pakistan, the battery is made in Chili and on-and-on-and-on-and-on...
On The Tree
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 179
Likes: 3
From: Warsaw , Ohio
Words of wisdom from our resident Cliff Clavin , I can't believe how stupid you are its bungholes like you that's wrecking this once great country. Minimum wage service jobs might make some idiot beancounter like you happy but well paying manufacturing jobs give the standard of living that we are used to. With that said....
Dogmeat.... its Snap-on all the way , I still have most of the Snap-on tools that I bought 31 years ago at my first job and they still work fine and I use and abuse my tools every day. Stan
Dogmeat.... its Snap-on all the way , I still have most of the Snap-on tools that I bought 31 years ago at my first job and they still work fine and I use and abuse my tools every day. Stan
Hand tools I buy Craftsman because they are pretty cheap, close to my house and I'm not a mechanic for a living. Air tools, I haven't saved up the coin to buy those yet, don't know what I would get. Power tools, Bosch, because I work there and get an awesome discount. 
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 358
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Originally Posted by sssuch
Words of wisdom from our resident Cliff Clavin , I can't believe how stupid you are its bungholes like you that's wrecking this once great country. Minimum wage service jobs might make some idiot beancounter like you happy but well paying manufacturing jobs give the standard of living that we are used to. With that said....
Dogmeat.... its Snap-on all the way , I still have most of the Snap-on tools that I bought 31 years ago at my first job and they still work fine and I use and abuse my tools every day. Stan
Dogmeat.... its Snap-on all the way , I still have most of the Snap-on tools that I bought 31 years ago at my first job and they still work fine and I use and abuse my tools every day. Stan
I absolutely agree with that... When someone starts selling a program that will do HIS job for cheap, and he finds himself working for $2.00 an hour, then just maybe the moron will understand...
Last edited by BigDaddyZ28; Sep 1, 2005 at 05:36 AM. Reason: Made it smaller...
TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 358
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by Dogmeat
I know Craftsman hand tools are all made in the USA, but what about their power tools?
The SnapOn tools would probably be the safest and best bet if money was not a big concern.
TECH Fanatic
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,231
Likes: 1
From: Just This Side of Damnation
Like it or not, it's a global economy. Whining about it isn't very helpful. America has the best standard of living for the largest population. Hell, even our poor have color TVs, air conditioning, food, and cars.
When prices for American-made are double what can be had by buying imported due to unions, lawyers, and EPA regulations, most folks can't HELP but buy what they can afford.
When I can, I buy Craftsman. Otherwise, I buy what I can afford.
When prices for American-made are double what can be had by buying imported due to unions, lawyers, and EPA regulations, most folks can't HELP but buy what they can afford.
When I can, I buy Craftsman. Otherwise, I buy what I can afford.
Staging Lane
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 86
Likes: 0
From: Butler county, right above slimey ass Cincinnati, OH
Yeah I'm from Milwaukee. And I was personally disappointed in 97' when Milwaukee moved to Mississippi, and then started the global manufacturing stuff. (It was mainly over state tax, we all know how that works in the north vs. the south)
But like Mr. Incredible said, we're in a global economy. So those are the rules of the corporate hustle these days. :shrugs:
Speaking of tools, I was on "Klein Tools" site today: http://www.kleintools.com/ and was wondering....Does anybody on here use/no somebody who uses um.
I saw Klein tools commercial on the speed channel during the Lemans/Canada race today (Where the new GT2 C6-R's swept 1, 2 today btw.
), and was just wondering who likes/dislikes/uses Klein tools. 
But like Mr. Incredible said, we're in a global economy. So those are the rules of the corporate hustle these days. :shrugs:
Speaking of tools, I was on "Klein Tools" site today: http://www.kleintools.com/ and was wondering....Does anybody on here use/no somebody who uses um.
I saw Klein tools commercial on the speed channel during the Lemans/Canada race today (Where the new GT2 C6-R's swept 1, 2 today btw.
), and was just wondering who likes/dislikes/uses Klein tools. TECH Apprentice
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 358
Likes: 0
Originally Posted by Mr Incredible
Like it or not, it's a global economy. Whining about it isn't very helpful. America has the best standard of living for the largest population. Hell, even our poor have color TVs, air conditioning, food, and cars.
When prices for American-made are double what can be had by buying imported due to unions, lawyers, and EPA regulations, most folks can't HELP but buy what they can afford.
When I can, I buy Craftsman. Otherwise, I buy what I can afford.
When prices for American-made are double what can be had by buying imported due to unions, lawyers, and EPA regulations, most folks can't HELP but buy what they can afford.
When I can, I buy Craftsman. Otherwise, I buy what I can afford.
A very big part of the reason that the 'standard of living' is so great here is because so many Americans 'borrow' and go deep into debt to get the things that they could not normally afford otherwise. The average American credit card balance in this country is over $7,500.00 (quoted from Dave Ramsey's book). Most other nations do not view 'debt' the same way that Americans do. (Japan is the worlds largest holder of American debt (US Treasury Bonds) immediately followed by China) I wonder why? What happens if they 'dump' all this paper?
While it is true that unions and lawyers and the EPA help our costs to go up some for the price of the goods we buy, It is also true that China has 'pegged' the value of their currency to the dollar as a way to keep the price of their goods down and reduce competition in the marketplace. Good for China but not good for America. It may be a 'global economy' but it is NOT a level playing field... There is a reason that Chinese goods are so cheap compared to ours and it is NOT because their citizens enjoy working for $.25 an hour. China is a communist gov. and the people have NO choice in the matter...
An 'accountant' like Robert should know all of this allready, It is common and easily obtained info.