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Expensive Tools Vs. Cheap Tools

19K views 32 replies 17 participants last post by  sbchevfreak 
#1 ·
Hello, I was wondering if anybody has had any horror story about cheap tools. I have a mix of snap-on and an off brand in my tool box. I have not noticed a huge difference, but then again I am not a full time mechanic. I have heard that the sizing on the cheap ones will bend and change over time, any truth to this???
 
#2 ·
any tool will wear out.snap on wrenches and sockets are pretty tough. Probably the best (JMO) Cheap stuff is ok a lot of the time but if it bends easy it will stretch, deform ...open end wrenches tend to open a little. Honestly I have used snap on mac and some matco. I like snap on the best. Mac tools work OK but dont perform as well as other brands.
The way a tool fits in your hand can make a big difference. I had a set of mac wrenches and they were kind of a square shank design. Worst wrench I ever used.Those square edges tend to pull your knuckles apart when pulling hard. They just dont "cradle " in your fingers as well as a snap on.
If I had to choose a different tool brand it would be Craftsman. They feel good in the hand they are pretty tough and the warranty and service is very good.
 
#3 ·
to put it simply you get what you pay for. although you have to shop. i to love snap-on tools and matco. i have found that cornwell has become wayyyy too proud of their hand tools. i havent seen a mac dealer for years so i couldn't say. a diy'r will do just fine with a craftman or S/K set-up
 
#5 ·
I filled in a few items with Stanley from Wal-Mart and they have done well for me, one thing I like is a set of hollow sockets and ratchet I got, it allows the socket to fit over studs that protude thru the socket,the ratchet fits over the outside of the socket.
 
#6 ·
Certain tools that see heavy use need to be good ones and there are "special use" tools that also need to be good ones. The rest of it can be something else and someone alluded to the tool feeling comfortable in the hand. I have a mix and now only buy just what I need..the latest was a set of the special wrenches for brake lines and they make it nice.

Sam
 
#7 ·
I'll also chime in and say "it depends". Tools that see heavy use (breaker bar, sockets, ratchet) I'll use Craftsman. On the other hand, I've got Costco sledge hammers and a very large Chinesium bench vise that work fine. Note that I get my Craftsman tools used at Carlisle, since even a broken tool can be exchanged for free at Sears.

I've got a couple of Chinesium die grinders and the problems are 1) they use a lot of air and run the compressor down, and 2) they tend to be disposable. That's a case where I need to upgrade to brand name.

Then again, it's kind of hard to screw up a C-clamp or an anvil, for example.
 
#8 ·
cheap tools

I at one time use the best I could get in my opion at the time. Now when the tape measure is showing less in my favor than I have seen, I hate to spend good money on a tool I will use today and I will tip over tomorrrow, if you know what I mean, it's all about age.

Later 35terraplane
 
#9 ·
35terraplane said:
I at one time use the best I could get in my opion at the time. Now when the tape measure is showing less in my favor than I have seen, I hate to spend good money on a tool I will use today and I will tip over tomorrrow, if you know what I mean, it's all about age.

Later 35terraplane


That's the way I see it these days too, when I bought my Chinese built lathe everyone said "an American or European machine will last 50 years and that cheap Chinese outfit won't last half that long", ok at my age so what if it only lasts a few years? :rolleyes:

Same thing with hand tools, and it is not always because of age, sometimes it just don't make sense to buy the best. When I ran my shop I made a living with my tools and tool failure cost me big time so I learned early on not to buy cheap. After retiring and for what I use them for now it would just be plain dumb to buy Snap-On but I won't buy the cheapest thing out there either. There is a middle ground between tools for making a living and tools for home/hobby work, Craftsman is the most popular home/hobby tool and probably top of the line for that even if they are not true industrial quality but even more money can be saved by buying some of the other import tools available today. I would not bring home HF wrenches and sockets if they were giving them away for free but even Stanly wrenches and socket sets from WalMart are a good buy for the money and IMO rival Craftsman for home use, however Craftsman has a much better warranty.


Lately I have acquired a few Kobalt tools from Lowes and I was really surprised at how well they are made! I got a set of "Channel lock" type pliers and these seem to be very well built with the teeth holding up well even under some real abuse, the screw drivers also seem to be a real bargain for the money and although I have yet to try the ratchets and sockets I suspect they too are a cut above most cheap sets, of course the Kobalt line is not dirt cheap but it is not expensive either.
 
#10 ·
cheap tools

Your right buying to make a living, and buying to use at home are two different things. The trouble with me is I see a tool I have to have it. I bought a crimper for a cable i needed to put a loop on one end, I buy a crimper thats 3' long and cost $130.00< I have used it once in the last 15 years that i have had it, pretty costly crimp. I have enough tools to last 4 guys a lifetime. I have had some 50 years, now the darn things are wearing out, i have to take them a get replacements, i don't know what i will do with them, I was hope they would last until I quit using them then just give them away , but these are like new now so I guess I will have to have an auction which I didn't want to fool with, oh well maybe I will live another 50 years or so.

Just keep me out of the tool dept. 35terraplane
 
#11 ·
joe_padavano said:
I'll also chime in and say "it depends".
I'll second that, and not offense to others, but in my experience I have not been at all convinced of the old adage "you get what you pay for". I've purchased rather expensive tools that have failed and I've purchased inexpensive tools that have held up very very well. And then, as oldred and terraplane have said, some tools are best purchased based upon your age and limited usage.

I would also agree that Craftsman hand tools are a good safe bet for hobby use or even for moving into the pro ranks. For power tools, air tools and other larger scale tools..."it depends", just like Joe said. So when looking for something specific, I'd first try using the "search" function here on HR.Com. A lot of specific tool choices have been discussed in some detail and you can get good guidances as to which brands have worked well and which haven't.
 
#12 ·
I think it depends on how an how often you use them.
I have some cheap wrenches that I have had for 20 years, they are not used often. I don't bust loose stuck bolts with them but they have swivel ends on them and they do come in handy.
For every day use I have drawers full old craftsman tools. I purchased most of them new years ago and now snap up used ones when I find them.
 
#14 ·
Ive probably helped keep Snap On in business for years,they looked good and felt good in your hands.
I have quit buying most of them,way too high I would much rather spend the money on good parts.
Still when it comes to certain tools you have to think quality,IE torque wrenches,precision tools,dial ind. mics. etc.
I think the advantage to Snap On is the guy comes to u.
All in all consider this.What would be the difference between using a 1/4 inch ratchet with a 7mm socket under a dash Snap On vs. el cheapo.
Now as far as torquing heads or bearings or measuring rod bolt stretch,then I want the best!
All my torque wrenches r Snap On,I just turn them in for re-calibration,they get sent off n the guy brings them back to me.
I made a bet with another mechanic one time.I threw a Snap On screwdriver on the shop floor along with an el cheapo wooden handle one.
We watched another tech walk around with the cheap screwdriver in his hand trying his best to find out who lost it.
Snap screwdriver dissapeared in about a second,it had my name on it.I found it ,but I had to ask for it!
 
#15 ·
I have a few snapon type pieces, a lot of middle of the road craftsman (some Kobalt and Huskey) and a surprising number of cheaper HF and other stuff.

I have made a living with them at times, but most of the time it's just what I would call serious hobby use (lets face it, you're serious when you have a bridgeport and metal working lathe in your shop to make pieces because you don't feel like much of what is on the market is made correctly).

I'll be honest, I can't think of any Snapon type tools that I've been happier with than Craftsman, I'm not sure why people consider them better. They usually cost much more, sometimes look cooler, but I've never seen them function better, and I've had some snapon stuff that has really pissed me off to the point that I've thrown it out when I found something cheap that worked better.

the _really_ cheap stuff like harbor freight... that you have to look at on a case by case basis. The Pittsburg sockets and wrenches can be quite good, I have some that are as good as my craftsman and snapon ones. My basement/take somewhere/junkyard set of wenches cost $9.99 each for SAE and Metric (minus a 20% off coupon) so I'm not going to worry that much about loosing one in the jy, and I'll be honest, in function and feel I can't really tell them from my $$$ ones, and I don't even own $$$ impact sockets or deep wel 1/2" drive sockets, I bought some Pittsburgh ones for cheap and they do the job so well that I never bothered getting "good" craftsman or better ones.

You just have to be careful with the stuff, they have good stuff at Harbor Freight, you just have to pick it out. Also, you might find that lots of places have a similar tool for vastly different $$$ and that the quality is the same but that one might just work better for you. Like I really like the 4 or 6 way screwdrivers (the ones that have a hollow shaft and a reversible bit in each end). The $1.99 HF ones are just as good (actually I've found some quality issues with other places more expensive ones, so unless you pick through their piles, I would argue, quality wize the HF ones tend to be better), but for some retarded reason I like the Home Depot, buck brother's ones better. I always thought that it was because I bought one of theirs first and got used to how they are laid out, but my brothe refuesed to spend 3x as much on one and has been using other ones and suddenly started buying them after using one of mine and likeing it better.
 
#16 ·
IT DEPENDS is the answer to this question! That is all there is to it, "generally speaking" you get what you pay for.

I don't buy the "if you use it to make a living it needs to be better and if you use it at home you can buy cheap stuff". I don't buy that thought for a second.

While doing things you DON'T do all the time you MUST have the better tool so you have a better chance at success! Learning to play guitar? Pickup a Fender Strat and tell me how much easier it is to play than a Korean copy!

You want to learn bodywork, pick up a Martin Body hammer and pick up a Harbor Freight hammer and tell me which one "feels" better in your hand and which one does the job better.


When I plumbed my bathroom a few months ago I had to go out and buy a bunch of tools that I may use once again, maybe never, I don't know. But I bought the BEST. I have learned that if you don't know, if you have to ask the question, then by the best!

If I learned anything doing my plumbing job (about half the house) it was that those tools saved my butt!

I am sorry, I gave up buying cheap tools long ago, WHEN I DON'T KNOW BETTER. In other words, if I am buying a tool that I know nothing about, I am going to buy the best, PERIOD. My trade, autobody, that is different that is where the "It depends" comes in. SOME cheap tools can be found to do what I want. But I KNOW where I can get away with it. If I don't KNOW, I am going to buy the best, you just can't go wrong.

You can't go wrong because you can always sell the good tool, the cheap tool is WORTHLESS once you pay for it.

Brian
 
#17 ·
Well one thing I will say is that my kobalt tools seem to be working pretty good. Like I said on the first post. My tool box is a mix of kobalt and snap on. I like having the Kobalt around cause some times I find my self using the wrenches as a hammer (haha) and don't like smashing up my snap-on wrenches which I have spent a small fortune on.
 
#18 ·
car2shirt.com said:
Well one thing I will say is that my kobalt tools seem to be working pretty good. Like I said on the first post. My tool box is a mix of kobalt and snap on. I like having the Kobalt around cause some times I find my self using the wrenches as a hammer (haha) and don't like smashing up my snap-on wrenches which I have spent a small fortune on.
Kobalt is a Snap On label!

The thing is, the "cheap" tools have came a LONG way! When I first started in the body repair business I bought Snap On ratchets and swore I would never by anything else. That was 30 years ago and I still have those Snap On ratchets (other than the 1/4" which I seem to have lost every number of years) and I still wouldn't use anything else. HOWEVER, those Kobalt, Craftsmen, and some other mid grade ratchets are DAMN nice and rival Snap On quality for sure.

Even the ultra cheap Harbor Freight have came a long way! There are some Harbor Freight "dollar tools" that are not "all that" bad. :mwink:

The problem knowing which ones! The half inch "impact" sockets I bought there? LOLOL, JUNK, out and out JUNK. I broke one after another. gave up and bought an S&K set from 10mm to 36mm as I remember for $200. They will NEVER break and I have used them most every day for a number of years ago.

But really, the "mid grade" tools have came a LONG way and the Snap On, MAC, Matco have taken a slide down, so the difference is not nearly as much as it was when I bought my first Snap On wrench set off the truck in 1978.

Brian
 
#19 ·
high buck tools vs cheap tools

I have never had to use tools for a living, that is I never needed large amounts of tools at work. I was in a machine shop and all I needed was a pencil at first, then computers. But I had the best you could buy as far as Mics. went. But I did have a lot at home for my hobby cars, body tools, air tools, mech. tools, and tools for wiring , strippers, crimper's, wire tie guns, some of the wire ing tools would cost a couple hundred or more. A lot of the wrenches I had were craftsman which I first started buying when I was 12. I never had any problem with anyone of them, except one socket, every time we tried to loosen the wishbone nut we would break the socket, we would run over to sears and they would replace it, sometimes we would break 3 or 4 in one day we used breaker bar boy those nuts were tight. I often wondered if it was the ten foot pipe we put on the breaker bar?

Later 35terraplane
 
#22 ·
cboy said:
Ha. That's my theory. Abuse 'em til you break 'em.
I guess I came from a different line of reasoning. For me, It was abuse them only if you have to, and if you have to abuse them, then do it with respect. There has been times where i would snap a ratchet doing something completly stupid and far beyond the meens they were designed to handle. Instead taking the tool to the store and demand that they replace it from the life time warranty, I would just buy another. (unless its a snapon, then i payed my extra dues to warrant my abuse)

Think of your tools as your car, sure you have a 10 year 100000 thousand mile warranty on the power train. It should be replaced if it fails right? but if your winding out that little neon to 8k rpm and pop a piston through the side of a block, is it chryslers obligation that that they should replace it?

People have to remeber companys still have to make money, and its getting to the point where people are inheriting tool sets from grandparents, or buying them from yard sales more than they are getting them from the company. Then when that person breaks the tool and gets it replaced under the life time warranty, isnt that company losing that much money on a 20 some od year old tool? I believe this is one of the many reasons why most companys are making cheap tools more expensive and more expensive tools out of cheaper materials. They need to make up the slack from somewhere because everyones starting to cash in their second hand freeby tools for a brand new replacement.

I would not be surprised if in the near future tool companys required an original owner reciept to get a tool repaired or replaced if they want to stay in buisness.
 
#23 ·
detroitiron said:
I guess I came from a different line of reasoning. For me, It was abuse them only if you have to, and if you have to abuse them, then do it with respect. There has been times where i would snap a ratchet doing something completly stupid and far beyond the meens they were designed to handle. Instead taking the tool to the store and demand that they replace it from the life time warranty, I would just buy another. (unless its a snapon, then i payed my extra dues to warrant my abuse)

Think of your tools as your car, sure you have a 10 year 100000 thousand mile warranty on the power train. It should be replaced if it fails right? but if your winding out that little neon to 8k rpm and pop a piston through the side of a block, is it chryslers obligation that that they should replace it?

People have to remeber companys still have to make money, and its getting to the point where people are inheriting tool sets from grandparents, or buying them from yard sales more than they are getting them from the company. Then when that person breaks the tool and gets it replaced under the life time warranty, isnt that company losing that much money on a 20 some od year old tool? I believe this is one of the many reasons why most companys are making cheap tools more expensive and more expensive tools out of cheaper materials. They need to make up the slack from somewhere because everyones starting to cash in their second hand freeby tools for a brand new replacement.

I would not be surprised if in the near future tool companys required an original owner reciept to get a tool repaired or replaced if they want to stay in buisness.
I'm like you,,i TRY to take care of my tools and not abuse them,but...in my opinion if someone who actualy wrenches all the time and says they NEVER abuse a tool,then they've had all easy work to do or bull.....

I've had to abuse a few tools,but they for the most part held up,now i wouldn't take a 10# sledge hammer and hit a ratchet to try and break something loose with it,but i HAVE had my foot on a few wrenches and ratchets trying to break something loose though.

As far as companies loosing their arse on people returning them?..bull...you know how much it actualy costs a manufacture to make one wrench or ratchet?...in the pennies,not the dollars...
If someone returned a 20 year old tool that broke,then that tool done great,but thats what he paid that extra money for wasn;t it?..the no questions asked LIFETIME warranty.

The problem is these "over the pond" cheap slave labor are producing pretty decent tools for the little price,not the customers returning on a gaurantee they paid for a high quality tool.

So the problem lies in the company taking shortcuts and using less quality materials and processes to try and keep their cost down to compete with slave labor over seas..NOT because i returned that craftsmen ratchet i bought 30+ years ago when i was a teenager.

That's another subject that gets me hot headed,all these companies are having their products made over seas where even little kids are slaved,beaten if they don't perform,or worse yet are murdered...to me thats like we are supporting communizim.....

I don't care WHAT higher quality tool you buy now a days,the quality of them now are what those same companies 20 years ago would of NEVER let that tool leave the building for sales..it would of been scrap......
 
#24 ·
cheap tools vs high buck

Well I guess you didn't read my post very well, I was 12 when that happened, and yes we had cars back then at 12, the law said you couldn't drive them on a public road, not that you couldn't own them. I didn't live in town , and I worked in a junk yard. When I was 12 anew car was a 1956 whatever. At 12 if they said I could get a new tool if something went wrong with it, or at 66 years old and I got some thing 30 years ago, with the understanding that if something goes wrong or it breaks and nothing was said about miss use your dam right I will trade it for a new one. That store or company never felt bad when they took my money and gave me the warranty, so why should I feel bad about trading one in for a new one. I'm not the dumb one here I didn't make up the warranty to start with they did, and they must have known that they were going to be misused to start with.
That was suppose to be a joke anyhow, since turning in those sockets and finding out a nut will come loose with a little heat first, in the last 54 years I have turned in two ratchets.
As far as cars and there warranties, they are just a selling tool, you know as well as I do, if you go out and buy a GT mustang or HEMI. challenger 99'9% of the people that buy one are going to put their foot in it sooner or later. I really don't think turning tools in or breaking cars by misuse are causing the Co. to use cheaper material, they would rather send them off shore so they can get them made cheaper, bring them back and sell them for the same, and put more money in their pockets.
They are having a forum right now on this site about tools and how they can't get them replaced when they just go bad ,and I'm talking snap-on and the high buck tools. So I guess if you can say you have never since the age of 12, misused anything you are in the top .1% and more than likely own one of the stores or companies that sell some thing that has a warranty.


Later 35terraplane
 
#25 ·
As I have said before it is not how good a warranty is it is how often you need it that counts. Craftsman may be very good about replacing a tool but that don't mean squat if you are trying to make a living with them, there are not many jobs that will let you just stop what you are doing and trot down to the local Sears for a replacement! THAT'S what matters and if you break a half dozen Sears sockets and they replace all of them with no complaint that's fine but they STILL broke so what do you do until you can get a replacement? I know a Snap-On socket will break if abused enough but you will break a bucket full of Craftsman to every one Snap-On, I have seen it tried. The new guys would seem to always go to Sears to get started but when they found themselves trying to barrow a tool to finish a job it did not take long for them to see the light. Sure Snap-On will fail under the right circumstances but they will take abuse that Craftsman would never survive. Like I said that "good warranty" don't mean squat when you are out in the field and need to get that thing going and trying to explain to the job supervisor just what the hold up is, I know I have been there!
 
#26 ·
cheap tools vs highbuck

I was trying to give the short version, but I guess it will take the longer one.
!st off we broke a total of 6 sockets, I started by saying I was buying craftsman because I lived it the country and never saw a snap-on guy or any-one else that sold tools so that is what I had Good or bad. I also was 12 years old and I don't know of a lot of kids that tools are at the top of their wish list at 12, I was also working in a junk yard that was back in the woods, my job, cutting up what could have been future street rods, the year was 1956.
I was 15 or16 can't remember and don't care, a friend of mine called me up on a Sunday and told me to bring some tools mainly my socket set, he told me he needed the half inch drive, well I didn't have a lot of those sockets, I didn't have a lot of money and I couldn't afford a whole set at once so I got what I needed. He needed the one for the nut on the wishbone, I get over to his house and ask him where his socket was. Now this kid had more money than the 5 or 6 of us that hung around together had combined. He had all snap-on tools, he would get them at a gas station where the salesman stopped by his house, ( and for you younger guys they used to be service stations.) anyhow he told me he had broke it trying to get that nut loose, well we went on to break mine and two others that we got from sears, they ran out or we might have broke more, plus we broke the snap-on breaker bar.
Monday he got a new socket and breaker bar, broke that one and one other.
Now you have to remember 15 years old, yes it was a great misuse of tools but at 15 that does not come into play, it is the last thing you would think of, it between you and that nut now, you could care less about the breaking of sockets, breaker bars or anything else, we are going to get her off. We would of kept it up until one of the older guys stopped by and said have you tried heating it up, what do you know it came loose (with a snap-on socket only because the sears store hadn't got any in yet).
Out where I am now it's a long way to any tool store and over the last 54 years I have gotten tools from about every maker except the real cheap ones. in those years I have turned two ratchets in for replacement just in the last couple of years both snap-on and they are not the ones I use most of the time, and the one they would only give me a rebuilt one not a new one. No I don't think snap-on are the best except in cost. There is a forum running now on what people think of snap-on but don't go there if you have a weak heart.



Later 35terraplane
 
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