Stanley, Klein, Channel Lock, and Craftsmen have served me well in he HVAC trade and for automotive work. I've also bought some tools from JC Whitney ( 40 years ago) that have worked well. I like Fluke for electrical testing in HVAC but its overkill for auto work.
I've had Proto, Kennedy, and Craftsmen rollaways. The Kennedy held up the best but all did the job. X2 on the BB slides.
regards
rikard

 

if your on a tight budget dont buy any tool or boxes new . look for used stuff and used boxes , pawn shops , yard sales , classifieds . craftsman never made any of there own tools and now days they get there stuff from different sources and a lot of there stuff is junk ! plus there warranty stinks , depends witch store you go to , they quit exchanging
tools if they had RUST on them under the guise of ABUSE ( google craftsman tool exchange with rust ) there customer service SUCKS !!
lowes has good customer service and home depot dose also , at least in my area !
husky , kobalt are good . Ace hardware started to sell Snap-on and there prices are better than from the truck !!

 

Whatever you get don't get a DeeZee, i got one of there 5th wheel boxes to put at the front of the bed and that box is crap. I didn't have a any other option i am using a Extang beg cover so that was my only option !

 

For that matter Tractor Supply Has a house brand called masterhand, I have a couple of their wrenches and stuff and they've been pretty good, the box looks alright, and they're not terribly expensive.

 

I wanted a top and bottom for really cheap. Kobalts I found were good but they were 1 or the other. I found a top and bottom from Harbor Freight and craftsman

 

again, don't rule out Tractor Supply, they do have both.

 

Ill look into them

 

Just did their tools are cheap and have a lifetime gaurantee thanks!!!

 

Yeah, they are good tools, haven't tried their line of power tools but the hand tools I have don't leave a lot of room for complaints. The toolboxes look solidly built (I'm there just about every day)

 

I like craftsman and snap-on hand tools. They are good quality and i have never had a problem with warranty issue. But then again i keep my tools clean and organized and free of rust. Only once did i have them ask me about a warranty item and it was a broken socket and they asked if i had used an impact. I said nope, and they gave me a new one. In truth, I was actually using it on a 50ton press when it dislodged, broke and was hurled across the shop.

Remember, when you buy hand tools, they will last your forever. I bought some cheap tools for the junk yards and other situations where i might loose or ruin tools. And i hesitate to use them because of fear of them breaking and injuring my self or them rounding of bolts. I'v never feared breaking any of my craftsman or snap on tools, and they have a better design to minimize rounding off of bolts.

 

this is from MY SEARS COMMUNITY ;

posted on March 30, 2009 at 11:40AM Inappropriate? Quote Reply
If any of you have a problem returning Hand Tools to Sears print off this letter. Hopefully most of you have never had a problem.

It's from David Figler the VP/GMM, Hardware,Tools & Paint at Sears.


Subject: Craftsman Hand Tool Lifetime Warranty

There have been several news articles and emails regarding customers being denied Craftsman Hand Tool exchanges for reasons that are not part of the warranty. We've had specific complaints of denied exchanges based on:

- Tools having rust on them

- A 3 Piece per day limit on exchanges

These are NOT valid reasons for denying our customers their right to exchange their Craftsman Tools under the Lifetime Warranty.

The warranty states: "If for any reason your Craftsman hand tool ever fails to provide complete satisfaction, return it to any Sears store or other Craftsman outlet in the United States for free repair or replacement. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state."

Our Craftsman Hand Tool Lifetime Warranty is one of the most important competitive advantages we have in the market. It is crucial that we ensure all of our sales associates are trained to understand all the hand tools that are covered under this warranty.
replies: 284 latest post: November 05, 2010 at 12:48PM by HandymanNick

 

There are only 2 parts on their ratchets that are plastic and that is the directional lever and the socket release button

The gear isn't plastic how gullible are u to believe that its plastic it wouldn't last 5 seconds if it was...

Secondly no tool manufacturer is ****ing dumb enough to make plastic gears for a ratchet made for that kind of job...

If u still think they are plastic go buy one and take it apart...

Anyways as far as tool boxes kobalt is good.. u can look at cornwell but they are high...



PS.... stop spreading bull**** lol

 

One more anti-craftsman point from a procraftsman. Almost every town with a population over 10000 has a Lowes, HomeDepot or both. Austin has a population pushing a million and I think there's only two Sears. I couldn't even count how many Lowes and Depots there is here. Most cities I've lived in were lucky to have one Sears. Sears use to be an empire, but they have lost a lot of their sales to competition from a number of companies. Seems to me the only thing setting them apart from other stores is their selection of automotive tools. After seeing all the frustration with their quality on here, it's got me thinking Sears better get back to what made craftsman what it was.

 

Sorry, posted that in wrong thread

 

Sorry I was mistaken the gears arent plastic then.

All I know is I gave up on them long ago, as a mechanic I continually broke sears ratchets and sockets (newer ones), till I sold it all and bought some Stanley ones. I was only using the stuff for roadservice use and didnt abuse them either. They are just cheap now or something. At the shop I used mostly SK b/c while being cheaper than mac, matco or snap on they are very good stuff!

What kept happening is the gears inside stripped out very easily on the ratchets and the sockets (least the ones I had) had like a label on it that wore off easy. No other brand, have I used that had more issues with broken stuff. Funny however the very old craftsmen stuff I do have is top notch and hasnt ever broken, just the ones I picked up in the last 10 years or so.

Quality is way down imho on sears stuff, plastic gears or not.

Also a pet peeve of mine, overall sears hardly carries anything and what they do carry is cheap junk. I have a 20 year old craftsmen chainsaw that is very nice, its borderline professional-newer stuff is such cheap trash its unbelievable. Maybe since kmart bought them out they cheapened the stuff, but I cant get over how cheap some of their stuff is even vs the cheaper brands at the orange depot and lowes.