Craftsman is good for anything you don't care about tight fits... but after doing heads/cam/intake on my car I'll never use crapsman on my motor again!

I kept breaking sockets, rounding bolts off....

Then I went to Harbour Freight and bought a nice set of impact sockets... they did the trick... they're not as nice as snapon but I got a 40 piece impact socket set for 30 bux so can't beat that...

I've since been back to harbour freight MANY times and racked up some good charges buying new tools

 

offset swivel head 3/8" ratchet!

worth it's weight in gold and absolutely priceless for f-bodys!

 

oh... another thing.. not sure if it's been mentioned (too much reading :p) but some wratching wrenches! Those things will save you alot of frustration!

 

Yeah another vote for the ratcheting end-wrenchs! Get a whole set of them, metric and english! BTW, I have both Craftsman and Husky but I think I like the Husky tools a little better . . . also they have the same replacment deal and they will take old Craftsmen tools in trade for new Huskies!

 

Those ratcheting end-wrenchs are GREAT! Definately worth it. As far as air tools, I really like Ingersoll-Rand, some good stuff.

 

Ingersoll-Rand air tools are the best, but they are very pricey. Check your local Harbor Frieght store for some very affordable, although slightly cheezy, air tools.

 

snap on by far. save up your money and buy some quality. yeah sure sears gives you a fat warrenty but with snap on you dont have to worry about anything wearing out. a friend of mine has a full size snap on tool chest and work bench. sure it costs like an arm and a leg but he pulled out the top drawer all most all the way out climbed on top of it and jumped up and down a few times and the drawer still slides perfectly. now thats quality. did i mention he weighs 180?

 

Just make sure the tool chest you buy has ball-bearing slides, makes all the difference in the world.

 

Although not written for Chevy's this information is still very good for beginners looking for what tools to buy and of what quality. Tells you what it's worth spending your money on and what you can go cheap with.
Buying guide

Craftsman has been offering "Professional" Series tools that are much better then their regular line; screwdrivers, combo-wrenches, and ratchets are some of the ones that have impressed me enough to stick with Craftsman. Kobalt tools sold at Lowes initially were very impressive but what I see coming out now isn’t. Home Depot with it’s Husky brand warrantees some items for life that other don’t such as torque wrenches and air tools.

No affiliation with anyone just found this information helpful and thought other would appreciate.

These are some of the tools on my wishlist.
terabyte's wish list

BTW this is a repost of a post I made in Miata.net
compressors

Here are some other links I have found pretty helpful.

Torque Wrench writeup I did.
Air compressors I'm looking into.
http://www.hotrod.com/tipstricks/42178/index.html
http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/41998/index.html
http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/53940/index.html
http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/84183/index.html
http://www.vorshlag.com/tech_jacks1.html

Enjoy

 

Here is my take on it... You could save up and buy Snap-on, or MAC, etc. (the best/ most expensive). Or you can buy Craftsman, Husky, etc. (good/ affordable). In the end, you end up with the same tool no matter what brand you go with. But I'll take affordable w/ free replacement over expensive any day. Never had a problem with Craftsman. ...just my $.02

Craftsman does not warranty torque wrenches thoguh.

 

They Don't????

I had my 3/8" inch/lb torque wrench replaced under warranty... the ratcheting mechanism broke , brought it in and they gave me a new one...

 

I'd have to argue that with either snap-on or blue-point which is made by snap-on.

 

Here is another repeat of what was said above;

Budget minded = Craftsman
Money no object = Snap-On, Mac or Matco

A look at the chests and tools used any service department of any brand of vehicle and you'll see the majority is either Snap-On, Mac or Matco.

I had Craftsman exclusively and broke or bent into pretzels many of their ratchets. Yes, the free replacement is nice, but the time taken to drive over to Sears is sometimes a PITA. Upon working in a service department and then luckily having a family member work at Snap-On's world headquarters in scenic Kenosha, WI, I started obtaining Snap-On exclusively. With her discount it worked out to be the same price as Craftsman.

Anywho, since then (the early 90's), it took until last year for me to FINALLY break a Snap-On ratchet, a half inch 18" long unit when trying to brake a bolt loose on a frame of a truck. I had my feet on the frame pushing with all my 250lbs of weight is what finally did the ratchet it. I stripped the teeth in the head and did a nice roll over on the concrete floor as I went flying. Just like Craftsman, they too have a lifetime warranty, so I sent it back and within a week I had a nice shiny unit. A PITA compared to driving to Sears, but considering I probably broke 50 Craftsman ratchets to 1 Snap-On, I can deal with it.

I like either, I prefer using Snap-On most of the time, but there are sh*t projects around the house that a Craftsman works perfectly for too.

When I get a chance, I'm gonna upload the pictures of my garage and you can see both Snap-On and Craftsman working in unison.

 

If you work on cars for a living then it has to be snap on tools. Ask just about any automotive tech out there and thats what they will recomend. I only started using them not long ago and they make work alot easier. If you can afford them, then by all means get them. But if you need a hammer or something of that nature just about any brand will do hahaha. For the serious stuff..Snap on Mac and Metco are the way to go. Don't know if this is true, but I hear Craftsman may be leaving Sears to be sold on a truck like the others now.

 

Yeah, I can see it now...Bob Vila driving around my neighborhood, with the "This Old House" theme playing on the loudspeaker, showing us 23 ways to use that wratchet extension!

 

I dunno about Sear's letting their proprietary Craftsman name out of the store. That's their bread and butter. Sear's is having tough times in this economic climate and the tools and appliance section of the store is the only thing keeping them afloat.

 

Craftsman is your best bet, I perfer their more expenisve tools (the full polished ones) but their basic stuff is alos great. If you break a snap on anything the snap on truck comes and u hand it to him say a socket he looks at it and says " this is a standard socket and by looking at the crack I can tell this was done with an impact wrench" and he will either give u a bunch of crap and replace it or say he will give u half off a new one . We have had 3 snap on guys that came to our shop and all 3 were like that. Crafts man on the other hand I had to cut a wrench in half cuz i needed a stubby, when i was done I took it to sears handed it to the guy at the counter and he said " ok go grap a new one" no questions asked. I have retuned tools that were broke, burned, arc'd, bent, old ,worn scratched and cut in half and I have never had problems. I vote sears.

Brad
1999 firehawk 484

 

When it comes to air tools the right maintenance practices can make even the cheap ones last a long time. My dad has used some of the cheapest air tools I have ever seen and he made them last 10+ years. He always told me at a minumum oil air tools everyday that you use them. And if your are using them for extended periods keep them oiled while you are using it. If you feel the tool getting warm, stop and oil it. Heat is what kills air tools.

Just my .02
Josh