i have a few of everything. craftsman is junk now! i have a torque wrench that had the head fail in a little over a year. only used it 5 or 6 times.

snap on is good stuff, but price wise, its stupid expensive.

i have a few mac, and matco tools, just small things, box wrenches mainly.

cornwell is another good brand, top quality, but cheaper than snap on.

i got a few sk wayne tools from my neighbors family when my neighbor passed away(was like a grandfather to me.)

most of my tools now are kobalt. lowes is right down the street from me, so its just easier to go there.

good luck!

 

SB,
As others have said this is like asking Chevy, Ford or Dodge??

I have a mixture of Craftsman, Snap On, Mac, & Matco tools in my box. I worked in the automotive industry for about 6 years and when I got out of the Army I started with a set from Craftsman. Then as I could afford things I would add tools. I like a lot of the new Craftsman hand wrenches and they are on par with tools coming off any of the trucks. One thing to know about with Craftsman is that if you do buy their tools and happen to break something then do not wear your shop uniform into the Sears store to get the broken tool replaced. They won't honor the warranty for professional mechanics. I found that out one day when I tried to get some tools replaced. Went to a different store a few days later in non-work clothes.

IMHO For the price Craftsman is a good tool set to start with and then you can build on it from there.

 

Craftsman has been junk for 20+ years. It's only now that the die hard, "My dad bought Craftsman and my grandpaw bought Craftsman" people are admitting it.

Yes, Snap-On prices are stupid. It's wise to shop around and base the purchase on quality and not price.

Other options are Koken, Hazet, OTC, and Stahwille.

Pay once, cry once, and save money in the long run. Also remember that time is money (for those who subscribe to the Harbor Freight mantra of "I got the lifetime warranty for it" as you spend more time driving back and forth to replace your shatty tools).

 

I have craftsman, snap-on, IR, harbor freight, etc. I'm not loyal to any brand.

 

I started it since you didn't yet :P

off topic section you'll see it.

It may get interesting as well since I bought my first RBA last night and i'm going to make a better attempt at building a micro coil tonight.

 

I ended up going with matco tools. I thought the snap on was a bit overpriced. Mac looked pretty good too, but I really liked the matco tool boxes best. I saved a lot of money with the student discount. My list price total came to $10,296 and with the discount I paid $4,343.

 

My 3/4" drive set is Matco. Dad bought the breaker bar and one socket when he was fixing a large truck one day but that was all he needed so he never got around to getting any more. When he died I got all his tools {and if he could come back for just one day he would probably spend it kicking my *** up and down the block for what I have done to his tools} but anyway,...

I bought another single Matco socket to a job I was doing my self several years later but, for many more years the tools just laid in the tool box unused. Then one fine summers day I went to a yard sale and there were several more Matco 3/4" sockets in an old wooden Kraft cheese box with a little sign that said "Sockets $1.00" so I asked if that was for each and the woman said no for the whole box so I bought them.

It was a steal and I know it.

 

Drunk post #1. Gary, my toolbox is half filled with harbor freight tools. If you know how to use leverage and know the limits of said tools, they will last. Now, I'm talking hand tools. Other things I have bought from Harbor Freight, not so much...like the sump pump I can count on replacing once a year, or the cheap a$$ solar lights.....be an informed consumer.

 

My toolbox is known as the Frankenstein Box because I've got many different brands and parts from 1 broken socket on another brand of socket that broke LOL!!

 

Snap-On is certainly the best quality, but, they command a premium price, and availability is a drag. (gotta wait for the truck.)

I have a boatload of craftsman tools, of various vintages..... wrenches are ok, but, the sockets don't last like they used to. (all made in china now, with cheap china steel) I have blown up a lot of craftsman sockets, but, haven't broke a wrench yet.

Mac is good, but, have the same problem as Snap-On, gotta wait for the truck....

Kobalt seems to be fairly good quality, Lowes here sells them, along with Autozone, I think...... decent tools, good warranty, easy to replace.