Best Socket Set?

[Steven Wilson]

I'm a confirmed hater of Craftsman powered tools but their handtools are reasonably priced and have wide availability. I like to peruse ReTool and other places to fill in the spaces in my socket aresenal. As a step up I would probably go with SK.

[Jason Roehl]

I have to toss in something here, while I have abused flathead screwdrivers on many occasions, I almost never open a paint can (I'm a painter), as Lee suggested, with one. The reason is that they tend to tear up the lid and then they don't close properly. I carry a "church key" on my keyring--it's labeled a "paint can closer", but I know what a bottle opener looks like. On the other end is a very small curl--approximately 1mm--that opens the most stubborn paint cans. So it's that or my painter's 5-in-1 tool (most often). I've even honestly broken a flathead screwdriver using it as intended--broke the tip clean off trying to turn a stubborn screw.

Back to your regularly scheduled thread now.

[Randal Stevenson]

In the USA Craftsman hand tools are made by Dahaner (who also make Kobalt, NOW). Most of Dahaners stuff is USA made, although they have at least one factory in either China or Taiwan (ROC). That factory makes Gearwrenches.
The Craftsman labeled Gearwrenches are made in the USA, I believe in the same factory as the Armstrong Gearwrenches.
Craftsman did start having foreign made sockets, ratchets, etc., when Stanley took over the original maker in the 80's. The Canada stuff is also Foreign (Stanley).
The FTC both changed and fined people over the labeling, Stanley has been fined over different brands being labeled as made in the USA, or USA when they were not. Husky, Mac, and a few others of their brands have been hit by this. The Mac division has tried to change this on their stuff that I see from the trucks.

As for the tool trucks, most will not stop by your house. You will have to run one down and then hope that they will swap something for you. Snap~On tried to recruit me as a dealer, and I have know a few others (NOT INTERESTED). I know the games, loss rates, tricks corporate has played with people, etc.
I have MULTIPLE brands in my box, of which several brands, are lifetime warranty that the companies are no longer in business (Gramps was a Mechanic 2x and had his own shop in the 20's). I had to replace some Snap~On lately, and as KC no longer has its own central office, and we have no dealer, I had to email Snap~On, they sent a box, with a RMA type number, then I sent them the items with a list included (in case of damaged box) and received replacements. There are some things of theirs I prefer, but for the budget, get Craftsman and get the better ratchets (the new low profile, or the older tank style, 45 tooth, with spinner attached) instead of the junk ones. Do get breaker bars, AND USE THEM, and then you will have to supliment as neccassary (5.5MM deep socket for Fords from tool truck, website, etc). If you need numbers for the ratchets, pm or email me.

[Al Willits]

Not sure but doesn't sears have a craftsman and a sears brand tool, seems to me I've seen tools with out the craftsman stamp, wondering if so, are they made overseas??

Al

[Jason Roehl]

Not sure but doesn't sears have a craftsman and a sears brand tool, seems to me I've seen tools with out the craftsman stamp, wondering if so, are they made overseas??

Al

That would be the "Companion" brand, I believe, and I don't think they carry a lifetime warranty like the Craftsman name does, and from what I've seen of them, they look like low-quality, low-durability tools.

[Greg Funk]

I've used Craftsmen sockets all my life have broken less than 5 parts in that time. Unless your son is a mechanic there is no economic justification for using Snap-on. I have a couple of Snap-on torque wrenches but I can't see paying extra for the sockets. Get 6 point not 12 point.

Greg

[Andrew Nemeth]

Just to clear a few things up. I was in Sears a few hours ago to get something with my fiancee and I took a look at their hand tools as I have not looked at them for a while.

Sears sells both Craftsman and Sears labeled products. The Craftsman hand tools are their upper line and carry a full lifetime warranty. Most of the Craftsman labeled hand tools still carry a "Made in the USA" logo on the box, most of the Sears branded tools did not.

I am in no way partial to Sears or Craftsman tools however I have both good and bad experiences with them. I find their hand tools to be of good quality although they are a bit pricey. What you are paying for is the convenience of being able to walk in a store 15 years from now and hand them a flathead screwdriver that you broke prying a something apart (we have all done it) and walk out with a new one. I worked at a Sears when I was younger and we never reused a hand tool warranty, never! I have sold and traded all my Craftsman power tools and I don't regret it at all. However, I can't recall ever changing my spark plugs and wishing I had a Snap-On or MAC tools socket, and I certainly don't think it would have made the job any easier if I had.

Keel, IMHO, if your son is a weekend warrior who would likes (or needs) to work on his car every once in a while, he will be well served by most any non generic tools you buy. Craftsman tools have the advantage of a no hassal lifetime warranty with easy point of sale access.

[Mike Henderson]

I have Craftsman and Snap-On tools and have not had trouble with either. I'm not a mechanic but I use to do all the work on my vehicles and the tools held up fine. Couple of times I took things back to Sears they replaced them no questions asked.

I also prefer the six point sockets over the 12 point.

Mike

[added note] I got to thinking about how old many of my tools are. I bought many of them in 1968 from pawn shops which makes it 40 years that I've owned them - and they were used when I bought them. I have a few from my father who probably bought them prior to WWII.

[John Newell]

I also prefer the six point sockets over the 12 point.

That, and the discussion of fine vs coarse ratchets, are separate (and worthwhile) discussions - no right answer, in my opinion. The six point sockets and coarse ratchets (assuming Sears still sells both) are stronger, and the six point sockets are less likely to round over a hex head, but some jobs (in particular, vehicle work) really need twelve point sockets and/or fine-pitch ratchets. Our friends who stick pipe onto socket wrenches should confine themselves to six point sockets (or, better, impact sockets)...

[Roy Hatch]

Life is too short to spend it reading all of these posts, but I will take a moment to describe my experience.

In April 1956 when my wife was in the hospital with our first child, I stopped by Sears and bought a set of tools. Sockets, ratchets, open end wrenches, etc. Now, almost 52 years later, I still use them. I have broken a few (only when misusing a tool) and have found that Sears takes great delight replacing with new. Why not, it's their least expensive advertising and possibly some of their best.

Now that she is no longer giving birth to children, I have learned a different approach to buying new tools.

Roy

[Wes Bischel]

Also 1/2" drive sockets of the non-impact variety can suddenly all but disappear from an impact gun in use . Poof, gone. Returning about 1/10 of a socket still gets a replacement from Sears.
Greg

I've only seen the aftermath of that mistake!

Now I feel old - this thread got me thinking how old my Craftsman sets were - 20 years? - no, 25? - no, oh geez 30 years old!

Wes

[Tom Sweeney]

As a former mechanic who now works for Snap on tools 2nd largest customer after the US Gov't. I'd say that the actual craftsman sockets are fine for most people. When I was 16 years old -31 years ago - My dad & I drove to an uncles house to pick up an old tool box of my Dads for me to use. in it were mostly craftsman tools from when he owned a garage in the late 60s. After 15 years as a mechanic & many more years in between I still own some of those tools. I've bought / owned probably $25,000 (when that was a lot of money)worth of MAC, Snap on, Matco, Craftsman, etc. The pro brands are nicer finished, heavier duty & much more expensive, but I have had very few problems with Craftsman. I do like the looks of the old fogey craftsman sockets where you can actually read the sizes & if they are made in the USA would buy that set in a heartbeat!

[Jim Mattheiss]

My first set of 3/8 inch sockets (Sears brand) and the 1/4 socket assortment set (Craftsman brand) are now 25+ years old. Damn - how time flies.

I can't see how a starter "mechanic" set needs to be Snap-On. My 8 year old son has a set of Kobalt cutting pliers, a 5-in-1 screwdriver and a hammer. When he gets older I'll pick up a basic wrench set and a basic socket set from Sears, Lowes or Home Depot.

If he becomes a full time mechanic he can spring for the Snap-On's himself.

BTW - the 3/8 inch Sears sockets are still in regular use. I did buy a used S-K Swivel-Head ratchet to replace the Sears one, but beyond that I'm satisfied. 25 years of occasional use - if they evaporated tomorrow they down owe me anything.

This approach fit's my woodworking tool selection - Jet contractor tablesaw versus a Unisaw - Porter Cable sander versus Fein/Festool - RIDGID shopvac versus Fein/Festool.

This is by no means a criticism of Unisaw/Fein/Festool et owners. If you want it and enjoy it, go for it. Live and let live.

Cheers

Jim

[Mark Rios]

.........I can't see how a starter "mechanic" set needs to be Snap-On. My 8 year old son has a set of Kobalt cutting pliers, a 5-in-1 screwdriver and a hammer. When he gets older I'll pick up a basic wrench set and a basic socket set from Sears, Lowes or Home Depot................

Cheers

Jim

NOW JUST HOLD THE PHONE FOR ONE CONFABULATIN' MINUTE!!!


This set of tools of is for a child (or up to a teen)??? How in a pork chop's name did I miss that? I was thinkin' of Keel's son as being an adult for some bonehead reason.

So, yeah, a nice set of Craftsman sockets, ratchets and wrenches would do just fine.








(Man!...I gotta learn to read better.)

[Randal Stevenson]

That, and the discussion of fine vs coarse ratchets, are separate (and worthwhile) discussions - no right answer, in my opinion. The six point sockets and coarse ratchets (assuming Sears still sells both) are stronger, and the six point sockets are less likely to round over a hex head, but some jobs (in particular, vehicle work) really need twelve point sockets and/or fine-pitch ratchets. Our friends who stick pipe onto socket wrenches should confine themselves to six point sockets (or, better, impact sockets)...

Sears standard non sealed ratchets are the coarse ones. They are fine if you ocassionally open/clean and regrease them (no longer oil). Their finer non sealed ones are 45 teeth (round head ratchets, examples 43176, 44977) of these, the later with its knurled spinner in the way, is nearly impossible to normally get gunk into the gears. Then they now have the sealed, thin profile, fine tooth (60 tooth) ratchets. (example 44996) These are wonderfull, but so tightly constructed, that when I knew I had gunk in it (jumping a tooth occassionally), I tried to open/clean and regrease it, and the parts went bye-bye.
Six point sockets are recommended, with only a few exceptions, for 12 point bolt heads on things like Ford Drive shafts, and some Dodge Ram vans (maybe commercial only).

Back in the 80's (and again a couple of years ago), Sears Dropped the Craftsman name and warranty on certain items, like pocket knives. They changed these to Sears brand for a while, then back to Craftsman again. Now, they have dropped the non replacable bladed pocket knives, with utility knife bladed pocket knives.
Instead of some of that, they are changing both warranty and brand names on a few items, like the tape measures. In older days, people replaced the insides of tapes, and broken handles on hammers. Now we are going back to that. Some of the other items, like metal shears, that got returned from being dull, are now only being branded, with the original makers name.
They also went toward enforcing the no commercial use policy in the 80's, and things like their own mechanics, stopped using their tools (can't get replaced), so they laxed on that, but now are slowly going back towards that. (IE, don't wear a mechanics uniform into them).

If you go there for tools, watch the sales, as you missed a great starter set a couple of weeks ago. NO fluff, like a lot of their sets have.

AND AGAIN, I stress, GET BREAKER BARS. So much of peoples ratchet problems are from not using breaker bars, or when having resistance, not switching to the next drive size.