Tool Guide
Here is my guide to tools, shop supplies, and misc. other stuff for the non-mechanic. When you ask mechanics what tools to buy, they often suggest impractical choices for the casual user because their perspective is different than the average person. A mechanic needs tools that don’t break, and are the very best that they can be. We, well…don’t.
Don’t get me wrong, I can’t stand tools that don’t work, and that’s the point of this post. Over a lot of time and trial-and-error, I have learned what tools are worth dropping the big money on (not many) and how you can get by when that isn’t the case. I will come back here and keep this page updated, so feel free to make suggestions, and to link to the post.
Tool Vendors
Craftsman: http://www.sears.com/ or your local MegaMall…Sears tools. You can order on line or go to the store and buy them. One cool thing about Craftsman hand tools is the lifetime unconditional warranty. If you bring a 10 year old screwdriver into a Sears w. a broken tip, they will exchange it for a new one, right on the spot. Cool, eh?
Harbor Freight: http://www.harborfreight.com/ or there are retail locations. These are cheap tools, but lots of hard-to-find stuff. Also, this is Shangri-La for specialty tools, and power tools that you won’t use every day (see my drill press note below). They also sell many tools that they will warranty on the spot, but it’s not all of them. I refer to them as “HF” sometimes.
Home Depot: Good selection of quality power tools, for hand tools, typically Sears or H.F. is better.
Snap-On: This is the white truck you see driving around to mechanic shops. You can stop in wherever you see the truck, and they will be happy to lighten your wallet for you. Top notch tools for an extremely large amount of money. If you want something from the Snap On guy, go to your local garage and ask them when the Snap On guy comes…he’s on a schedule. Meet him there, and bring a fat checking acct. balance.
Tool Guide
Allen wrenches: Harbor Freight - ultra cheap, and do the job. They do wearout if you use them alot, but they cost about $8 for a set. I have (2) setsof T-handles from there I've had for 4 years that I think cost me a total of$30. NOTE: If you do lots of work, you might want to get one set of betterkeys from Sears...but the Sears T-handle ones are no better than the HF onesand they're x2 the price. Oh, another NOTE: if you want a set of T-handlesthat are really good on the cheap, Google up the Motion Pro set. Not toospendy, and high quality. Also, when your allen keys wear out, you can grind off the last few mm off the end and poof new allen key w. sharp edges!
Canopy: Sam’s Club – for $210 they’ve got the EZ-Up Encore II. This is by far the best value in pop-up canopies going. It comes w. (4) zippered sides, a nice, thick top, and a very sturdy frame. The $100 special at Wal-Mart is false economy (don’t ask how I know this). Spring for the $210 one. Oh, and if it does break, schlep it back to Sam’s Club and they will exchange it. Really.
Compressor: HF - no place on Earth has as large a selection of perfectly good, cheap as hell compressors, hoses, air tools, and accessories awesome selection of hoses and attachments). A while back I bought an air-powered body saw (like a mini saber saw) and cut (60) 12 ga. sheet metal panels with it...it didn't break a sweat, worked perfectly, and cost me all of $19 with (4) blades. Try that in the Snap On truck. Oh, and if you watch the sales, compressors can be had for a song. I bought a 25 gallon stand-up model (the w/ oil kind) on sale for $94.00 last year...shipped to my house. I then went to the HF store and bought a 30' hose w/ reel, quick connect kit, and a few chucks for a total of about $30.
Cordless Drill: Sears or Home Depot - watch the sales. I tried a HF one and it was crap. Then I bought a Black & Decker 12v one at Home Depot on closeout for $30 and it rocks. For what I do, the 18v ones are overkill, and I don't like the substantial extra weight. The 12v one will drive a 4" #8 wood screw right through a pressure-treated 4x4 w/ no pilot hole. Do you really need more than that? If you’re someone who needs the best then buy Makita (the blue ones) at Home Depot…kinda spendy though.
Drill Press: Harbor Freight - in case you're noticing a trend, if you need tools that would normally be too pricey for the non-mechanic to buy (air tools, machine tools, etc) this is the place. They regularly have a floor-standing drill press on sale for around $120. I bought a multi-speed bench-top model there last year on sale for $49, and I've used it alot (drilling for safety wire mostly)...no probs. Hell, I paid more than that for my cordless drill...oh, no I didn’t…but still ( .
Motorcycle stands: Handy Industries or Pit Bull - H.I. for ultra-cheap ($99 for a front and rear stand together) and Pit Bull for the quality (I think it's about $250 for the set these days. The Handy stands work fine, but aren't as stable as the Pit Bull's. In fact, they don’t compare at all (but they do work). The Pit Bull ones are very solid…like, your grandkids will pass them on when they’re too old to need them any more.
Multimeter: HF again - I'm sure I'll hear about this from electricians everywhere, but I'vehad the same El Cheapo HF digital meter ($12 at the time IIRC) for 5 or 6 years, and it works fine. I also have a very expensive one (that looks suspiciously exactly like my cheap one) and I’ve compared readings of the two more than a few times…always spot on.
Pliers: HF again - get the complete set for $12 or whatever. If you do a lot of electrical stuff, go to Sears and get some good dikes though. Note that no-name vise-grip knockoffs suck. If you want Vise-Grips, go to Sears and get good knockoffs, or buy the real thing.
Ratchets: Craftsman and HF- ratchets are the only tool I've worn out a few of, and they're always cheap-o's. I have one Craftsman that is 15 years old, and still works fine. However, if you need one bad, and you are poor, go to Harbor Freight, where you can buy some for about $6. My exact strategy is that I have (2) good Craftsman 3/8" ones because that's what gets the bulk of the use. Then I bought a bunch of specialty ones at HF for cheap (stubby ones, flex-head, etc). This has worked out well re: always having the tool I need at a low investment level.
Ratchet Extensions: Harbor Freight - they work fine, and you can fill an entire drawer of your toolbox for about $15. Get a set of the wobble-end ones…they rock.
Screwdrivers: Snap On - I swear upon all that is sacred to me that you will never regret this purchase...you will have them forever, and the handles are the best in the biz. If you can't afford it ($115+ for a set), skip all the way to Harbor Freight. None of the ones in between are worth bothering, and they have some that have Snap On knockoff handles...not as tough, but stillgood for gripping. It has been my experience that if you pay close attention to making sure you have the proper size screwdriver for the screw you're wanting to turn, this is about 90% of the battle re: not stripping the head...even if you have cheap screwdrivers.
Sockets: Craftsman - nobody needs better (there may not be better, unless you need thin walls). If you lose sockets a lot, then get them at Harbor Freight (HF) instead…they are pretty good too.Sockets (specialty): harbor Freight - I'm talking about Torx, allen head sockets, etc. They're virtually free, and they work great.Tool box: Sears - the mid-grade rollaways are economical, well-designed, and long-lasting. I've got about $250 into mine total, and it's great. It travels to every race with me, and has held up great. I am confident it will be with me until I die.
Wrenches: Craftsman - the regular grade ones are fine, and they have the cool Snap-On looking skinnier shiny ones too...good for tight spots, but not necessary. Get a set of the ratchet wrenches while you’re there…best tool ever. One thing that sucks about Craftsman is that sometimes it’s hard to find a set of wrenches unless you want a combo set w. SAE and metric. If you only need one or the other, sometimes you’re SOL.
Wrenches (specialty): Harbor Freight – crowfoot, stubby, extra-long, etc., they have it all. Remember these tools get even less use than your regular tools, so it is not necessary to spend big dollars on them.
Don’t get me wrong, I can’t stand tools that don’t work, and that’s the point of this post. Over a lot of time and trial-and-error, I have learned what tools are worth dropping the big money on (not many) and how you can get by when that isn’t the case. I will come back here and keep this page updated, so feel free to make suggestions, and to link to the post.
Tool Vendors
Craftsman: http://www.sears.com/ or your local MegaMall…Sears tools. You can order on line or go to the store and buy them. One cool thing about Craftsman hand tools is the lifetime unconditional warranty. If you bring a 10 year old screwdriver into a Sears w. a broken tip, they will exchange it for a new one, right on the spot. Cool, eh?
Harbor Freight: http://www.harborfreight.com/ or there are retail locations. These are cheap tools, but lots of hard-to-find stuff. Also, this is Shangri-La for specialty tools, and power tools that you won’t use every day (see my drill press note below). They also sell many tools that they will warranty on the spot, but it’s not all of them. I refer to them as “HF” sometimes.
Home Depot: Good selection of quality power tools, for hand tools, typically Sears or H.F. is better.
Snap-On: This is the white truck you see driving around to mechanic shops. You can stop in wherever you see the truck, and they will be happy to lighten your wallet for you. Top notch tools for an extremely large amount of money. If you want something from the Snap On guy, go to your local garage and ask them when the Snap On guy comes…he’s on a schedule. Meet him there, and bring a fat checking acct. balance.
Tool Guide
Allen wrenches: Harbor Freight - ultra cheap, and do the job. They do wearout if you use them alot, but they cost about $8 for a set. I have (2) setsof T-handles from there I've had for 4 years that I think cost me a total of$30. NOTE: If you do lots of work, you might want to get one set of betterkeys from Sears...but the Sears T-handle ones are no better than the HF onesand they're x2 the price. Oh, another NOTE: if you want a set of T-handlesthat are really good on the cheap, Google up the Motion Pro set. Not toospendy, and high quality. Also, when your allen keys wear out, you can grind off the last few mm off the end and poof new allen key w. sharp edges!
Canopy: Sam’s Club – for $210 they’ve got the EZ-Up Encore II. This is by far the best value in pop-up canopies going. It comes w. (4) zippered sides, a nice, thick top, and a very sturdy frame. The $100 special at Wal-Mart is false economy (don’t ask how I know this). Spring for the $210 one. Oh, and if it does break, schlep it back to Sam’s Club and they will exchange it. Really.
Compressor: HF - no place on Earth has as large a selection of perfectly good, cheap as hell compressors, hoses, air tools, and accessories awesome selection of hoses and attachments). A while back I bought an air-powered body saw (like a mini saber saw) and cut (60) 12 ga. sheet metal panels with it...it didn't break a sweat, worked perfectly, and cost me all of $19 with (4) blades. Try that in the Snap On truck. Oh, and if you watch the sales, compressors can be had for a song. I bought a 25 gallon stand-up model (the w/ oil kind) on sale for $94.00 last year...shipped to my house. I then went to the HF store and bought a 30' hose w/ reel, quick connect kit, and a few chucks for a total of about $30.
Cordless Drill: Sears or Home Depot - watch the sales. I tried a HF one and it was crap. Then I bought a Black & Decker 12v one at Home Depot on closeout for $30 and it rocks. For what I do, the 18v ones are overkill, and I don't like the substantial extra weight. The 12v one will drive a 4" #8 wood screw right through a pressure-treated 4x4 w/ no pilot hole. Do you really need more than that? If you’re someone who needs the best then buy Makita (the blue ones) at Home Depot…kinda spendy though.
Drill Press: Harbor Freight - in case you're noticing a trend, if you need tools that would normally be too pricey for the non-mechanic to buy (air tools, machine tools, etc) this is the place. They regularly have a floor-standing drill press on sale for around $120. I bought a multi-speed bench-top model there last year on sale for $49, and I've used it alot (drilling for safety wire mostly)...no probs. Hell, I paid more than that for my cordless drill...oh, no I didn’t…but still ( .
Motorcycle stands: Handy Industries or Pit Bull - H.I. for ultra-cheap ($99 for a front and rear stand together) and Pit Bull for the quality (I think it's about $250 for the set these days. The Handy stands work fine, but aren't as stable as the Pit Bull's. In fact, they don’t compare at all (but they do work). The Pit Bull ones are very solid…like, your grandkids will pass them on when they’re too old to need them any more.
Multimeter: HF again - I'm sure I'll hear about this from electricians everywhere, but I'vehad the same El Cheapo HF digital meter ($12 at the time IIRC) for 5 or 6 years, and it works fine. I also have a very expensive one (that looks suspiciously exactly like my cheap one) and I’ve compared readings of the two more than a few times…always spot on.
Pliers: HF again - get the complete set for $12 or whatever. If you do a lot of electrical stuff, go to Sears and get some good dikes though. Note that no-name vise-grip knockoffs suck. If you want Vise-Grips, go to Sears and get good knockoffs, or buy the real thing.
Ratchets: Craftsman and HF- ratchets are the only tool I've worn out a few of, and they're always cheap-o's. I have one Craftsman that is 15 years old, and still works fine. However, if you need one bad, and you are poor, go to Harbor Freight, where you can buy some for about $6. My exact strategy is that I have (2) good Craftsman 3/8" ones because that's what gets the bulk of the use. Then I bought a bunch of specialty ones at HF for cheap (stubby ones, flex-head, etc). This has worked out well re: always having the tool I need at a low investment level.
Ratchet Extensions: Harbor Freight - they work fine, and you can fill an entire drawer of your toolbox for about $15. Get a set of the wobble-end ones…they rock.
Screwdrivers: Snap On - I swear upon all that is sacred to me that you will never regret this purchase...you will have them forever, and the handles are the best in the biz. If you can't afford it ($115+ for a set), skip all the way to Harbor Freight. None of the ones in between are worth bothering, and they have some that have Snap On knockoff handles...not as tough, but stillgood for gripping. It has been my experience that if you pay close attention to making sure you have the proper size screwdriver for the screw you're wanting to turn, this is about 90% of the battle re: not stripping the head...even if you have cheap screwdrivers.
Sockets: Craftsman - nobody needs better (there may not be better, unless you need thin walls). If you lose sockets a lot, then get them at Harbor Freight (HF) instead…they are pretty good too.Sockets (specialty): harbor Freight - I'm talking about Torx, allen head sockets, etc. They're virtually free, and they work great.Tool box: Sears - the mid-grade rollaways are economical, well-designed, and long-lasting. I've got about $250 into mine total, and it's great. It travels to every race with me, and has held up great. I am confident it will be with me until I die.
Wrenches: Craftsman - the regular grade ones are fine, and they have the cool Snap-On looking skinnier shiny ones too...good for tight spots, but not necessary. Get a set of the ratchet wrenches while you’re there…best tool ever. One thing that sucks about Craftsman is that sometimes it’s hard to find a set of wrenches unless you want a combo set w. SAE and metric. If you only need one or the other, sometimes you’re SOL.
Wrenches (specialty): Harbor Freight – crowfoot, stubby, extra-long, etc., they have it all. Remember these tools get even less use than your regular tools, so it is not necessary to spend big dollars on them.
posted by (diet) Dr. Thunder at 9:18 PM
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