I'm proficient when it comes to cars but am working and learning on it constently. I'm now interested in beginning to accumulate some tools and was wondering how you guys might recommend going about it (i.e. what order to purchase thing and what to purchase) Funds are a little low so it will be a slow task but necessary.
thx

 

1. buy your basic set of wrenches and sockets. dont buy crappy ones, youll just end up buying them again. I'd get a set of craftsman professionals, the regular ones I dont like.

2. buy a box, one with much too much room. A good stand up rolling one if you've got the room.

3. Get the usual, a good set of screwdrivers, esp long ones, channel locks, visegrips, allen wrenches, etc..

4. add tools you need! extensions, wobbles, those tools you have to "make" yourself, anything you use, that you can see yourself using again, buy them and stow them.

5. you'll find yourself owning a good set in no time.

 

Thanks alot for your input.... What size tool set do you think would be the best for me to buy? I see Sears has an abundance of sets to choice from.... Same goes for tool boxes.... What size do you think would be good for someone in my position?

 

I'd get the biggest that you can afford...and, if possible, start out with with mostly metric stuff, as that's pretty much what everything is these days. If the sets that you're looking at come with both metric and SAE, then you really have no choice, but if there is a choice between metric or SAE, I'd get the metric stuff first.

As already mentioned, start out with the basics...good, solid, professional grade wrenches, deep and shallow sockets, extensions, ratchets, (1/4", 3/8", and 1/2"...you'll use 3/8 the most), get a good 1/2" breaker bar, various sized professional screwdrivers, pliers and vise grips (long needle nose pliers can be invaluable), a 4 piece pry bar set, ball peen and dead blow hammers, a rubber mallet, gear wrenches, a good cordless electric drill and bits (12v at least), a multimeter, wire strippers and crimpers, soldering iron...the list goes on.

You can acquire specialty tools as needed (pullers, certain sockets, valve spring compressors, etc), or rent/borrow if funds won't allow. Eventually you're probably gonna want to speed things up and invest in an air compressor and air tools...if so, I recommend Ingersoll Rand; excellent quality at a fair price.

Since budget is a concern, you'll find that there's a nice sized stainless steel toolbox available from Costco for around $700, which is an excellent price for sizeable tool storage.

If you have any friends or acquaintances who are professional mechanics, stop by their shop and ask them if you can browse through their tool box to get an idea of what's necessary, and look at which tools are the dirtiest and most worn out...these are the ones that get used the most (unless they have some brand new items due to their old ones getting lost or worn out).

I'm sure I'm leaving something out...you literally can spend tens of thousands of dollars on tools very easily and still need more, but with some wise choices and checking for sales, you can really save some bucks. Don't forget Christmas...give your loved ones part numbers for exactly what you want (I do this to my wife every year). And join the Craftsman Club...it's free and Sears has monthly specials that are available exclusively to club members.

*EDIT* Almost forgot...a good tap and die set is definitely invaluable when a bolt or bolt hole gets stripped, not to mention easy outs or something similar for when a bolt breaks (which will happen from time to time). And definitely get a good flashlight or drop light...it's tough to fix what you can't see!!

Good luck!!

 

Also.. go to Sears and join the their craftsman club.. go in there an buy your stuff during one of those sales. You get 10% off everything and they have good deals on tool sets, etc.

I agree with the above.. the larger toolset you buy.. the cheaper per piece they will be. Buy something nice and buy something large.

Same with a box... pick the one you like and buy one two sizes bigger...

Seriously though a few things I would recommend.
1. A set of Gearwrenches - both regular length and stubbies.
2. A set of u jointed sockets
3. A good assortment of extensions and joints.. you would be surprised now much you can save your knuckles.
4. An allen key socket set.

A large socket set and wrench set goes with out saying... but I already did.

 

I have just started building my tools and have decided which direction I want to go. I invested some time into the proccess so I would ensure these would be the tools I retain forever.

I think I would avoid buying a massive socket set from Sears. You will find that you end up with many sockets and tools you do not really need. For instance you will have all sizes in both 12 and 6 point versions which really is not practical. I currently have a craftsman socket set that I recieved as a gift that I use and works fine, however I have added to them as nessesary with SK sockets and I intend to eventually phase them all out with SK sockets.

I have decided to build my sockets, drive tools, and wrenches all in SK. Do some research in this forum and you will see what people think. Additionally you can by the SK brand on thetoolwarehouse.net at a great price.

I just bought some great SK conbination wreches. I bought the long pattern versions as their length is equivalent to the SnapOn standard length wrenches. I have also heard the the Craftsman Pro are a good value.

I also bought the SK five piece 3/8" wobble extension set, a 24" 1/2" drive breaker bar and a 1/2" drive 5" extension. I figured this along with my sockets would be a good start.

I am still looking for a tool chest but my recomendation for a budget is buy one used on craigslist.com or any where you find a better deal than new.

I did not want to make this post too long, but if you have any questions let me know, I use this forum all the time for good information.

 

I just got a pretty big set (245 piece) from Sears as a gift. Alot of it is 6 pt. vs. 12 pt. crap. I don't plan on using the tool box/bin it comes with cuz it doesn't open all the way (by design)

Easy to Read sockets FTMFW!!!

Saw the Sears "Cross Force" wrenches. I can't wait for the geared ones (if they make em)

 

Sears craftsman. Buy the biggest set you can afford and add to it as you need tools or have time. You will also be suprised, as you go, You will find sometimes you need 12 pt sockets. i.e., ARP fasteners. You don't need a box right away, but you will be suprised how fast it fills up. I need more room now. You are always going to find a tool you need for a certain job. Recently I had to buy wobler sockets (not wobler extention) to pull my tranny. $50. But I needed them.

 

The set sears has on sale for $200 looks like a good starter. Not sure what your budget is.

 

dont forget a torque wrench

 

and a BFH when **** gets rough...

 

tools are always ftw. you cant have too many.

 

go get a Craftsman catalogue from Sears - they've been phasing out their non-laser etched sockets so they're practically giving them away. Look on the 'discounted items' shelves and you'll see what I'm talking about. Ive seen one kit of 1/4 and 3/8 sockets (180 piece) for $99 - thats about 1/3 of all the sockets Craftsman makes. Theres another 1/2 drive kit going for $229. So, for less than $400, you can have pretty much every socket (not specialty) you'll need. I know Craftsman may not be at the top of the list but you can't beat their warranty and if something breaks, you dont have to delay your project for a week waiting for the Snap-On guy...

If your budget is somewhat higher, I'd go with this kit - http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...seBVCookie=Yes

Boxes? Unless someone's giving away a good used Matco, again, go look at Sears. They've got the 3 level stand-up units for under $300 - sure, the slides suck and they dont look as pretty as the Snap-On/Matcos but they'll hold your tools just fine and will last for years... or until you can afford something better.

 

For making a living I would certainly recommend quality (expensive) tools.

For occasional use with an eye towards the budget, I'd recommend getting cheap. The import tools are getting better, and you can get a set of regular AND deep sockets for what it costs for just a Craftsman socket drive.

Obviously, some items should be first quality. But you can get by with some cheap things to get you going and upgrade later on, using your already purchased items for spares and a mobile tool bag.

 

If I had to start over again, I would skip buying the craftsman sockets. Personally, Id go to thetoolwarehouse.net and get SK sockets. You will pay a little more but you get more complete sets.

For Example:
http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/SK-1947.html

Its a full 21 pc set. Rather than going to sears and getting a set that is missing some sockets.


Craftsman tends to leave out sizes and you have to go digging to find them in singles. Same with wrenches.

Also, spend the money and get youself a set of quality rachets such as snap-on. Skip over the cheap ones.

As far as a toolbox. Get something with ball bearings. Skip over the friction sliders.

 

i work at a dealership(internship) and i'm going to have to say that as far as wobbles go i would go to snap-on or sk or the like. In my experience they work better that craftsman wobbles. other than that craftsman is good.

 

I've been looking at torque wrenches. What would you recommend 1/2 or 3/8 inch drive?

 

Anyone ever use a SK torque wrench?

 

find out what your best friend has, and get the other. that way, between the two of you, you'll have both. i work at a dealership, and we do alot of tools like this. it works for us because we need alot of propietary tools the trucks dont carry(we work in the commercial truck shop of a car dealership. kind of a one-off deal.)

 

Thank you very much, but maybe I should have phrased my question differently.

I'm the only one of my friends that works on our own cars. So what would be the most effective in each of the following?
1. General maintenance / work
2. Building a shortblock, 347