Quality hand tools

>>1163968
>buying tools you don't need

fuck off /diy/ and go to a nice restaurant with your son

>>1163968
>craftsman - middle tier
No better than harbor shit. They're probably both stamped out in the same chink factory

>>1163968
ok, I'll try, but I usually wash my hands after I jack off
don't you?

>>1163968
Harbor Freight isnt even bad nowadays if you buy their more expensive stuff. Weekend warriors do great with them.

I dont think people understand where Harbor Freight got the bad reputation.
Chinese tools today != chinese tools in the 70s when harbor freight started

You see this piece of shit? THIS is a throwback to what ALL of harbor freight used to be. Everything used to be quite literally pennies on the dollar for regular tools.

http://www.harborfreight.com/40-piece-3-8-eighth-inch-and-1-4-quarter-inch-drive-socket-set-47902.html

On the other hand, you buy their 72 tooth ratchets and their chromed socket sets, they arent much cheaper than Kobalts or Huskys but coming out of the same factories.

But obviously since they still sell that shitty socket set, the store is still littered with some cheap stuff, but if you pay attention to what you are buying Harbor Freight stuff will serve you real well.

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>>1163970
>on /diy/
>telling someone NOT to buy tools

>>1164044
>on /diy/
>telling people to buy stuff
>telling people to buy stuff they dont need

130108-casey-anthony-10a.jpg

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>>1164060
>prerequisite to /diy/ are tools
>biggest bitch people have is "people start threads about projects but dont have the tools to do it"
>guy wants advice on tools

>dont buy tools

The logic on this board is astounding

>>1164068
>buying anything you don't need
>logic

Best logic indeed

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>>1164072
Sure he doesnt need tools, he could easily go on about his life without ever working on anything again.
If you want to get technical, he doesnt need anything more than a few adjustable wrenches and some vice grips to do 90% of jobs.

Im glad you know exactly what tools OP currently has and know what type of work he does or wants to do. You would know better than he would, even though he is looking to build up his toolbox.

Thanks mom, what would he do without you?

>>1163968
never buy new. buy used shit off craigslist.

>>1164082
>fails argument
>resort to name calling

literal cancer

>>1164093
Eat

>>1164068
Fucking l
Fucking o
Fucking l

>>1164102
Just stop, you are not even trying anymore

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>>1164093
>>fails argument

Failed what argument?
That you arbitrarily decided what tools OP "needs" or not and that you know whats best for him?

Kek

>>1163977
no, i just go straight to sleep

This entire thread is a fucking trainwreck frought with flamboyant retardation, damage control, and arguments going absolutely nowhere.

In hopes of being solution-oriented, OP, personally I am a proponent of the middle tier if you're between avid hobbyist to borderline professional. Take care of the tools well and they will last as long as you keep them healthy. Oil/grease, rustproofing, some degree of proper storage. If you just collect shit grade tools for pennies and throw them around a toolbox in the back of a truck, they will last as long as they last but you'll always have some backups. If you want to turn these things into heirlooms or conversation points with your fellow elitist coworkers, and show them off in your fancy box with temperature control and a fur lining, by all means.

I have 10-20 dollar range chisels that I keep sharp and in a tool roll I made myself. They aren't million-sub-youtube-star grade quality, but I'm not trying to impress anyone in the end, I just want to work.

>>1164200
>buying things he doesnt need

I bought a Wera screwdriver set about a month back under the idea that I was getting "high quality tools" it wasn't expensive since it was on sale for about ~$25. Since the day it arrived, I realized that I had spent money on something I didn't need, I thought the same as you of "this thing will last me a lifetime stuff". Sure it feels nicer in the hand and has a more solid construction to it, but in the end I was left with something used to screwing stuff with that any other screwdriver could do. Dont be fooled by tool fetishes, tools are used for purposes not be caressed or looked at people get into the idea of buying expensive tools to do projects with, its really the other way around, start a project, then buy the tools you need. They are exceptions to this to, stuff like machinery such as drill presses/lathes/bandsaws while expensive can be useful in making stuff easier or if your into machining, woodturning, etc. Next tools you find in flea markets, ebay, craiglist, sales, etc are probably the best way to get good cheap tools, even if you dont nescessarily need them if you get them for cheap, they can be useful for future projects

>>1163968
>the same thing at HF is like $15-20 while craftsman (or husky or whatever) is MAYBE $50
I don't think they offer anything quite like the Joker wrenches.

>>1163976
Dat exchange tho.

>>1163968
>>1164204
I agree with this. When it comes to something simple like a screwdriver, why spend a load more? I've used plenty of Stanley screwdrivers and they work just a well as Macs or Kleins. Though I will say, some things are worth it like any power tool.

I am of the opinion that cheap ratchets, sockets, wrenches, etc, are just as functional and good as Snap-On types.

I have many tools however, that are several times the cost of Harbor Freight equivalents in things that demand precision and are used to gauge the quality of my other tools, jigs and fixtures (Mitutoyo verniers, Starrett straight edges, American-made 321 blocks, etc. Also on quality cutters like my Hansen taps, Norseman drill bits. In this realm you can see where your money went.

>>1164252
Tell that to your knuckles next time you are jumping on a motor mount bolt.

>>1164230
Some of the shitty ones chip and grind off. I can tell a big difference in my stanley and sk sets. Most time stanley is fine, but u have a philips thst is about rounded or real tight and sk doesnt seem so expensive

>>1164227
Just dont be wearing a mechanics shirt

>>1164200
Top fucking kek. Yep. <muh $250 carbidedrill bits.>

You faggots ever used a stabley set to drill out a bolt?

>>1164104
My

I have a Harbor Freight tool box and I never realized how good it really was until I went to Sears and checked out their Craftsman boxes.

My "US General" toolbox utterly shits on any of the Craftsman boxes. The steel on my box is about twice as thick and heavy.

>>1164227
Harbor Freight is much easier to exchange to nowadays
You ever try to return something to ACE or some other craftsman retailer that isnt sears?
Its fucking awful

Also good luck actually having a Sears nearby in the next few years. 3 of the 4 near me went out of business.

Now that Craftsman is owned by Stanley, who knows how long the warranty will even exist

>>1164256
You're right about that. But I will say Stanley does have a warranty that's decent. Not trying to sound like a Stanley salesman either, just saying cheap tools have their place as well as expensive.

>>1164266
My local sears is easy to exchange but it's just a small one with tools and appliances. Just walking and walk out with a new one pretty much. As far as other stores, I wouldn't know because I live in a smaller town.

>>1164273
The Sears Hometown store went out of business, the Sears Outlet went out of business. And the 3 other standalone Sears in the surrounding areas went out.
All 3 Kmarts and 1 super Kmart all are gone.

Its no wonder they sold off the Craftsman name.
The only sears I have left is an anchor store for an old decrepit indoor shopping mall thats on its last legs.

I dont buy new craftsman, but I have bought quite a bit old and turned the broken stuff in.
The people at Ace acted like they had never heard of the warranty and it was like pulling teeth.

The last remaining Sears I have is in a bad part of town and they were never great about it in the first place.

Its scared me off from buying any new craftsman. The way stores are closing down, I cant imagine any sears existing in the near future.

>>1164278
I'm with you on that. Only Craftsmen I own and use are from my father and grandfather. With Stanley owning them now, what's the point in buying anymore? Suppose it's time to find a new middle of the road suppler.

>>1164042
I bought that exact socket set on a trip to the junkyard because I forgot my tools and harbor freight was close than my house.
Trying to take a fender off, I:
>cracked the 3/8" 10mm socket
>broke the 1/4" adapter while using the 1/4" 10mm socket
>chipped a tooth on the gear

Totally ruined my Sunday. On the plus side, it only cost me 4 bucks

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OP here

just like predicted, most of the replies/shitstorm were about the first two parts
It might appear that I did it intentionally, but, believe me, I didn't

>>1164200
I have a garage and keep all my tools in the best condition I can (from the cheapest to the most expensive)
I mostly work in that garage and I rarely carry some of them to a junkyard or to other friends' houses (to fix their shit)

>>1164204
>>1164230
kind of agree with this, that's why I started the thread

what I'll probably do is not buy them myself but drop hints to friends (if not for this year, maybe next) about one of the sets and maybe they'll do the sensible thing and buy me one instead of wasting money on stupid shit

>>1164261
Harbor Freight toolboxes have a reputation for being better than most Chinese toolboxes.

I'd own one already if I didn't feel bad every time I bought a Chinese product, but I'm not having much luck finding a reasonably-priced good used toolbox.

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>>1164299
I was given a 10$ set from walmart that looks very similar.
I busted the pawls in the socket the first time I used it too.
Its almost amusing how poor it is, the sockets themselves are thick and poorly chromed.

>>1164261
Practically best deal in the store

>>1164308
>what I'll probably do is not buy them myself but drop hints to friends (if not for this year, maybe next) about one of the sets and maybe they'll do the sensible thing and buy me one instead of wasting money on stupid shit

wow, what a fucking pussy

>want something he doesnt need
>"tool fetish"
>can't afford to buy it
>proceeds to manipulate friends into buying it for him

wow just wow

>>1164375
hard to read the whole thread, isn't it?

>OP comes with a question about buying something he doesn't really need
>shitstorm starts on a side-subject (as predicted by OP)
>few posts addressing the main question
>OP gets CONVINCED not to waste money
>idiot comes at the end and decides OP is just poor
because no one gets convinced by facts/reason/some one else on the internet, right?

Why does this board have so many confrontational faggots on it now? This place used to be /comfy/.

>>1164594
summer is around the corner

>>1164594
>>1164595
OP here
now I feel bad about for starting this thread
even though I learned something (about tools, not 4chan)

>>1164594
Clover posters
Banner posters
Summer

>>1164325
what is the small plastic ring for? i have a like 5-6€ set with probably half the nuts, no idea what that plastic thing is for

>>1164684
Its for turning the socket with your hand.
Its knurled, you stick it on the ratchets square drive, then put a socket on
You can now spin the socket with your fingers

>>1164694
thanks

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>>1164708
I actually have a 72 tooth 1/4 ratchet with the ring actually built into the ratchet.
Its pretty useful at times.

>>1164044
>buying tools
>not making them
This is how you sound, stupid.

>>1164715
Best use is getting a nut off in deep...

Yah boi

>>1164068
>guy wants advice on tools

No, this fag doesn't want advice on tools. If he wanted advice on tools he'd have asked for advice. Instead he starts babbling about a German brand that's sold side-by-side with Craftsman in Sears.

On top of it, Wera is good, but unless you're going to use that shit every day, it's not worth the added expense when a set of Walmart Stanley's are fine for weekend warriors.

>>1164317

That's because the Harbor Freight toolboxes are fabricated in the same factory as Snap-On. They're still assembled in Algona, but the components are manufactured in Xinghua, China in the same plant that makes US General. That said, it's been that way since the late 90's when they contracted the component manufacturing to Stanley. When Stanley shut down it's last sheetmetal plant in Newfoundland in 2012, the fabrication went overseas to China.

All that said, Snap-On toolboxes are still fucking great and chink manufacturing has been up to snuff, BUT you can get literally the exact same thing at Harbor Freight, sans the logo.

>>1165312
Please provide some evidence that Snap-on toolboxes are made from Chinese metal. That would be a serious violation of FCC regulations regarding country of origin labeling, since they are sold as USA origin with no "from global materials" or similar additions.

>>1165745
>serious violation of FCC regulations
from hunting down pirate radio to managing 'made in usa' labeling, is there anything they don't do?

>>1165806
Kek, I meant FTC not FCC.