Aodhan

Hey all-

Was talking with my dad (He drove the civic we're buying from him down from Colorado) over the weekend, and the parents know I'm going to be building up the car, so mom being mom, she decides that a tool kit from sears (One of those 160 piece ones or similar) would be a good christmas present.

So, those that have looked at them before, what's a good starting tool set? If not Sears craftsman, any other recommendations?

This would be my first tool set, and I'll supplement it with a couple of jack stands and a jack and a few of the more specialized tools, and I don't have much at all in the way of tools yet.

John
P.S. Being an only child rocks

Endo-land

Craftsman is an excellent base, I do just about everything with my set and I use sc jack and stands also. Just dont get too caught up in the name, stuff like compressors and impact wrenches are just too much from them.

DrZFiNeSt

iTrader: (1)

Snap-on all the way!

Ron454321

I've had my craftsman set for years. Its slowly dissipating but it holds its on. Although I have come to love my husky black chrome sockets, the husky wrenches aren't all that great.

Endo-land

Snapon is very nice along with cornwell and mac. However for a hobbiest who is not going to make a living from mechanics it would be a waste of money that could be used towards the car.

Aodhan

Yeah, I looked at snapon, but that's some serious $$$ for tools that won't get that hard of use.

I've always had good luck with the craftsman, any opinions on which set?

John

Luserkid

Snap on is good for wrenches and alot of there sockets. Ther ratchets (sadly to say) suck ***. I have broke 3 different sets of ratchets (and not just the part the head tip, i mean handles and other parts). My craftsman have broke as well but only the tip never the handles. That **** hurts when you punch something hard by a broken tool (in my case was the floor).

Dont get the 160 pcs. Try getting your hands on the 254 or 260 kit that craftsman has, thats what i started with and still use alot of them.

Aodhan

Does craftsman sell them in metric? Looks like american measurements on all the sets I'm looking at (And mom wouldn't know until I tell her)

FuNkDrSpOt

iTrader: (5)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Aodhan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Does craftsman sell them in metric? Looks like american measurements on all the sets I'm looking at (And mom wouldn't know until I tell her)

</TD></TR></TABLE>

They should. Almost everything i own, most of which is craftsman, is in metric.

Luserkid

All there sets come with both SAE and Metric. Its good to have some SAE, you never know when you might need them.

95ProjectEJ1

iTrader: (5)

Get the 263pc Craftsman Mechanic set in Metric. It retails for 269.99, but I have seen it on sale for 200. Its a great deal. It will be the one I get thanks to Luserkid's suggestion

shady visions

to make your searching short, here's a link to their website for the set.

I work at sears in tools, and have for a while, and this is a good set for the money. It has 3 ratchets (3/8in, 1/2in, 1/4in,) and about 150 something sockets. The carrying case isnt worth **** which should be alright if you're not carrying it too far from your driveway.

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_1...l+set

There's the link, snap-on is great, but not really practical in his situation.

By the way, around Christmas time, if that's when she's going to be buying it, the set drops down to 169.99, which is what i got it for. It's a steal, especially for that many tools.

drtysohc

Craftsman blows unless you don't use your tools that often.

Mac &gt; *

Doostur

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DrZFiNeSt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Snap-on all the way!</TD></TR></TABLE>

Worth it, but pricey. Entry level, you cant go wrong with crapsman.

FuNkDrSpOt

iTrader: (5)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Doostur &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Worth it, but pricey. Entry level, you cant go wrong with crapsman.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You can get worse, craftsman isn't crap. The stuff you get at autozone is crap.

My personal opinion is that some of the hand tools that you'll be using more, you may want to buy pricier duplicates of because the ergonomics is godsend. Your hand and arm fatigue a little less.

jdm91CrxSi

kobalt. snapon. craftsman. armNleg. greek. w/e

pgpbubble

I have the craftsman 540 piece set; but i still have parts that i've been adding on with snap on and matco; every manufacturer has its ups and downs; i prefer matco air tools over snap on or craftsman air tools. I prefer Snap On breaker bars and prybars over matco or craftsman. Its all the quality in the tool your looking for.

jdm91CrxSi

ohh blah on crafstman breaker bars and ratchet extensions.. = bent

hatchling37

I'm a tech, and I use my 263 pc. set of Craftsman **** now. It'll take a good amount of abuse, and has their "no questions asked" lifetime warranty. It's pretty awesome if you can break it and get new stuff for free. I think if you're not going to use them all the time and you're not going to beat the **** out of them, that big set should be enough to hold you over for at home use. You can't go wrong buying a majority of Snap-On or Mac stuff, but like you said, they're very spendy if you're not planning on using them all the time.

instructor74

Get yourself a nice crafstman set . I added an extra set of box wrenches It always comes in handy to have doubles when it comes to this common hand tool.

95ProjectEJ1

iTrader: (5)

Search yard sales for junked craftsman tools. Bust em and return them for new ones

suicide_shift

snapon, cornwell, matco all the way for me.

it depends what you will do

a sears craftsman screw driver set = 30 -35 bucks

snap on soft grip screw driver set 125-250

if you ask ANY mechanic what they use for tools itll be oneof the 3 brands i listed abouve. sears craftsman is good for the DIY and will never be a professional mechanic. and you're absoultey sure you will never be a mechanic

FuNkDrSpOt

iTrader: (5)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 95ProjectEJ1 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Search yard sales for junked craftsman tools. Bust em and return them for new ones </TD></TR></TABLE>

they don't have have an unlimited warranty anymore.

suicide_shift

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by FuNkDrSpOt &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">they don't have have an unlimited warranty anymore.</TD></TR></TABLE>

ya they do.......................................

suicide_shift

thatz only true for katrina victims, sears doesnt honor tools in the flood

http://consumerist.com/consume...2.php