Ductape
Member
THAT ONE i'll keep in my favorites !
"Cheap" vs. "Expensive"
- Thread starter Farmwithjunk
- Start date
THAT ONE i'll keep in my favorites !
If anybody's still expecting an on-topic reply -
My carpenter hand tools are first-line because I bought them when I was making my living with them. Stanley and Craftsman; and Stilletto made the best framing hammers. A Black&Decker Professional worm drive saw. When you are going to work until you are tired at the end of the day, quality pays. I still have all that stuff.
Otherwise Craftsman for the hobby tools that I intended to last my lifetime. And now HF for stuff like that tumbler/polisher and an infrared temperature sensor that are simply toys. Also HF for items that will pay for themselves first use and longevity isn't a priority - the 1/3hp 50 ft drain cleanout tool, tractor Quick Hitch, jumbo metric wrenches for the 50 hour walkaround on the tractor. When I need quality, for example an Ez-out set, I check the used tool dealer first then whatever the NAPA store has, if I can't find used.
I inherited hundreds of pounds of mismatched quality tools Dad accumulated from yard sales - SnapOn, Mac, Blue Point, old Craftsman Professional power tools. When I was younger I wasted many, many hours working for Dad maintaining this place using those tools. Frankly, matched sets of grade B stuff from HF are more productive for getting a project completed. I've bartered some of the old stuff for modern quality tools at the used tool dealer - for example a half dozen rusty battery chargers plus $10 for a modern Schumacher 2/10/50 charger. A few of the items like the 15, 16, 18 inch Crescent wrenches cleaned up ok and work as good as new. Everything else is destined for the used tool dealer when I find something there that I need.
My carpenter hand tools are first-line because I bought them when I was making my living with them. Stanley and Craftsman; and Stilletto made the best framing hammers. A Black&Decker Professional worm drive saw. When you are going to work until you are tired at the end of the day, quality pays. I still have all that stuff.
Otherwise Craftsman for the hobby tools that I intended to last my lifetime. And now HF for stuff like that tumbler/polisher and an infrared temperature sensor that are simply toys. Also HF for items that will pay for themselves first use and longevity isn't a priority - the 1/3hp 50 ft drain cleanout tool, tractor Quick Hitch, jumbo metric wrenches for the 50 hour walkaround on the tractor. When I need quality, for example an Ez-out set, I check the used tool dealer first then whatever the NAPA store has, if I can't find used.
I inherited hundreds of pounds of mismatched quality tools Dad accumulated from yard sales - SnapOn, Mac, Blue Point, old Craftsman Professional power tools. When I was younger I wasted many, many hours working for Dad maintaining this place using those tools. Frankly, matched sets of grade B stuff from HF are more productive for getting a project completed. I've bartered some of the old stuff for modern quality tools at the used tool dealer - for example a half dozen rusty battery chargers plus $10 for a modern Schumacher 2/10/50 charger. A few of the items like the 15, 16, 18 inch Crescent wrenches cleaned up ok and work as good as new. Everything else is destined for the used tool dealer when I find something there that I need.
civesnedfield
Member
I thought you would. Gary use to do a morning spot on the local radio station up home. Duct Tape tales was always my favorite segment.
shinnlinger
Member
I have almost always been a tool snob and purchased name brand stuff but now that almost all of that stuff is made in China, and the quality of the generic stuff made there is getting better I may have to consider buying crap once in a while, especially if it is only for occasional use (Now I have said this to myself for the past 5 years, but I dont think I have bought much junk since then)
From time to time someone will give me a tool that I consider to be gimmicky junk but then it will be what is handy and sometimes these gimmicks actually work as advertised!
From time to time someone will give me a tool that I consider to be gimmicky junk but then it will be what is handy and sometimes these gimmicks actually work as advertised!
Back to the original question. I have Booney combination & socket wrenches that I received when I was in high school. I've picked up a lot of Craftsman at farm auctions. Being on a farm & having employees at times , I've found that they misplace expensive tools just as quickly as cheap tools. I have my good tools in a tool box in the shop. Those tools are to stay in the shop. I try to keep a cheap set of wrenches(Harbor Freight) in each tractor. The imported tools are better quality than they used to be. If they break, I replace them with a better quality. Chisels & punches are US tools.
Shinnlinger and Leonard touched on a significant point here.
There is an evolution going on, and the stuff from China now ranges from awful to pretty darned good. I haven't figured out how to consistently find the good stuff but its out there. I think an obstacle at present is the Chinese custom of unrelated manufacturers working off the same prints, some turning out quality and others turning out look alike stuff that is dreadful. Then US importers that don't know any better buy from the lowest cost provider.
I'm old enough to remember when Made in Japan meant junk. This was right after their industrial capacity was destroyed and they were desperate for export earnings, so they shipped over whatever they could. This went on for a decade. Then suddenly they shipped over Honda motorcycles, Sony TV's, and Toyotas. Then after another decade Kubota, Yanmar, and other tractors of such quality that they are still in use today. Times change.
I don't know if China will catch up to that world-class quality level, but I see an evolution underway.
And ... I say keep an eye on Harbor Freight. The sell such a mix of usable stuff and junk that they have a well-deserved reputation for pretend tools. But I think their corporate goal is to work toward being the Craftsman of the 21st century. They now sell DeWalt, Makita, Stanley, alongside the China clones of those tools. I can't find any investor information so they must be privately held. I expect somebody is about to make a fortune.
There is an evolution going on, and the stuff from China now ranges from awful to pretty darned good. I haven't figured out how to consistently find the good stuff but its out there. I think an obstacle at present is the Chinese custom of unrelated manufacturers working off the same prints, some turning out quality and others turning out look alike stuff that is dreadful. Then US importers that don't know any better buy from the lowest cost provider.
I'm old enough to remember when Made in Japan meant junk. This was right after their industrial capacity was destroyed and they were desperate for export earnings, so they shipped over whatever they could. This went on for a decade. Then suddenly they shipped over Honda motorcycles, Sony TV's, and Toyotas. Then after another decade Kubota, Yanmar, and other tractors of such quality that they are still in use today. Times change.
I don't know if China will catch up to that world-class quality level, but I see an evolution underway.
And ... I say keep an eye on Harbor Freight. The sell such a mix of usable stuff and junk that they have a well-deserved reputation for pretend tools. But I think their corporate goal is to work toward being the Craftsman of the 21st century. They now sell DeWalt, Makita, Stanley, alongside the China clones of those tools. I can't find any investor information so they must be privately held. I expect somebody is about to make a fortune.
PaulChristenson
Member
Best tool is my cell phone...
I have my John Deere Service deparment on speed-dial of my cell phone...
My other tools are Craftsman...
I have my John Deere Service deparment on speed-dial of my cell phone...
My other tools are Craftsman...
My hand tools are almost all Craftsman. But I have been buying a few Kobalt from Lowes here lately. I like them just as well and maybe even a little better than Craftsman. I bought some larger torque bit drivers from Advance Auto Parts when I was putting brakes on the Silverado and neither Lowes or Sears went large enough. They've work OK. I've also bought a couple of sockets from TSC, they've been OK as well.
Power tools is usually DeWalt. Though my router is a Black and Decker Quantum - precursor to DeWalt. Table Saw and Band saw are Craftsman bought used. I like those OK. Bought a new small Craftsman Drill Press a couple of years back and it is a piece of junk. If I would've used it sooner it would've gone back.
Air tools are a mix. Mostly Craftsman, but my framing nailer is Porter Cable. Palm nailer is a Tradesman, brad nailer is DeWalt. I also have a nailer/stapler that I bought from Harbor Freight. After some modification with the angle grinder (DeWalt ) it works OK now.
Power tools is usually DeWalt. Though my router is a Black and Decker Quantum - precursor to DeWalt. Table Saw and Band saw are Craftsman bought used. I like those OK. Bought a new small Craftsman Drill Press a couple of years back and it is a piece of junk. If I would've used it sooner it would've gone back.
Air tools are a mix. Mostly Craftsman, but my framing nailer is Porter Cable. Palm nailer is a Tradesman, brad nailer is DeWalt. I also have a nailer/stapler that I bought from Harbor Freight. After some modification with the angle grinder (DeWalt
) it works OK now.GreenWannabe
Senior Member
Mostly Craftsman, seen a fair amount of wreching with them - rare to have to replace one, except the Phillips I used to put a Sears shed together, with its hardened screws! But then 90 % of mine are almost 50 yrars old too.
Fred
Home is where the bus is....
Fred
Home is where the bus is....
All the following quotes apply to my mostly inherited collection. My father started wrenching in high school then in the motor pool in the service. Landed with a power company maintaining their fleet of T&D trucks. I think I've got at least one of every brand mentioned BUT brings me to the point of my favorite 3/8ths ratchet, HERBRAND! Of all the tools I have Herbrand has always been my favorite and they are no more, don't really know just what kind of quality but they fit nice in the hand. The ratchet handle is contoured and I think I like it cause it's got the shape outline like a 36x24x36 blonde .....
Being the son of a mechanic I don't think I really had a choice. I was always told that cheap tools will eventually lead to skinned knuckles, and a paying job waithng for you to replace the cheap tools. That said Snap On is the number one choice followed by Craftsman. Power tools are an assortment of Porter Cable, Makita and Milwakee.