The flea market is a great place to start as well as pawn shops. i have found a lot of loose name brand sockets in the loose tools bins. Full sets can be a bit pricy at pawn shops though. If I were buying to get started I would buy Craftsman. I have a small box full of Snap-On and some Mac, there is over $2500.00 in that box and you can tote it around. You get a lot more for your money with Craftsman. They have some nice affordable sets in their catalog. I have gotten some good deals on tools on eBay also. Another brand that suprised me was the Husky stuff from Home Depot. I have a set that came with a box I bought from HD and they have held up very well. After using these for almost 2 years I wouldnt have a problem going to HD and buying more of the Husky tools.

 

The problem with Husky now is they aren't as good as what I originally bought 10 years ago. Yes, they have the lifetime warranty, but Home Depot really dropped the ball on Husky. There's practically no service for the broken tool, as they get sent away to Stanley for warranty. You might get lucky and have an associate who knows how to beat the system get you what you need. But as far as getting Torx sockets? Nope. In the mail. Wait 3 weeks, your replacement is in your mailbox. Then, the chrome plating isn't as good either.

If you're gonna get a Husky set, get the biggest one you can afford, it's got 1/4, 3/8, 1/2" drive deep, shallow, 6 and 12 point, sae and metric. It's got 1/2" drive shallow 6 point sae and metric impacts. Sae and metric wrenches complete up to 3/4" and 19 mm. 5 flat head screwdrivers, 3 Phillips, 5 or 6 torx screwdrivers. And T10 to T50 torx sockets. 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2" drive ratchets, short, med, and long extensions, 3/8 and 1/2 universals, etc. It's got a bunch of other stuff too, basically 500 pieces for $500.

You can probably get the same set from Craftsman for about the same price. But with both, if you want more than just standard length wrenches, you gotta buck up for a 15 or 16 piece wrench set for metric, and another for sae. I got a Husky 15 piece up to 1 1/4 for about $150, had to buy a 1 1/16 for another $25, as that wasn't in the set. But I also had to double up, so I got a 16 piece Craftsman set up to 1 1/4, including the 1 1/16 for about the same price.

A couple other tools I'd recommend is the flex head ratchets. I've got them in 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 from Snap On AND Craftsman. And I've also got the regular head ones, but for the most part, the flex head ones have long handles. My big 1/2 Snap On is about 24" long. My 1/2 Craftsman flex is 16". Both of them have practical uses.

Also, get flex head gear wrenches. Just be careful with your clearances, as they usually aren't reverseable, and you could get the tool stuck with no way of backing off.

An impact driver is great for getting frozen or siezed screws to turn. Sometimes you get lucky and the head breaks off though, and in that case, an impact driver wouldn't have helped anyway.

Drill bits. Keep them sharp. Don't let anyone borrow them.
Get a tape measure too.

There's so much more that I could tell you, it's just not coming to me right now. I'll get back to it later.

 

I didn't see anybody mention prybars. I bought a 3 piece set at sears for $20, with the biggest being 24" they work fine. If you do suspension work you'll want bigger. I bought a 36" matco which did cost around $100 but well worth it.
I also love what I call HDH 1 and HDH 2. (hundred dollar hammer 1 and 2) 1 is a 42 oz deadblow ballpeen snap-on and 2 is a 5.5lb deadblow sledge hammer made by matco to remove those stubburn stuck on wheels.
I started out 3 years ago, and bought alot of cheap Harbor Freight tools. I still have most of them and if they broke outside the warranty I upgraded to better stuff.

 

cool guys i really appreciate all the input, i put it to good use and printed it out to write out my list...i have decided to buy a combo set of craftsmans from sears, it is a 377 pc set for $1,299 that comes with a 18 drawer chest/rollaway, im not gonna list all that it comes with, but it covers all the sockets i need, it has 6 different sets of wrenches including regulars, ratchets, flex head ratchets, and the new extreme ratchet wrenches...im also gonna grab an extra intermediate 3 drawer chest...after pricing all the same tools elsewhere im saving about 200 bucks going with that set, plus it has the warranty...all the stuff that dont come with it (aside from some airtools i liked in the Sears catalog) im getting from steves wholesale...my final total came up to about $2,600... thats a little more than i wanted to spend right off, but i managed to get everything you guys mentioned AND the stuff i listed, so i should be good to go......i did a meticulus price comparison at 3 different stores and i think i did pretty good....once again thanks for all the help, keep the ideas coming so this thread can help someone else later on....thanks guys....

 

Sounds like you did your homework and ended up with a good set. Take good care of them and they should last you a long time.

 

When you find the Craftsman pliers (any of them; side cutters, needle nose) just don't work for you any more, upgrade with Channel Locks.

 

Later on, you may want to get a cordless 3/8" drive impact gun. We have one from bluepoint at the shop, and it is really handy. Great for oil pans, valve covers and other things with a zillion bolts holding it on. It develops like 100ft-lbs, so it has its limitations, but boy does it come in handy. No annoying cord or air hose to haul around either.

 

As much as I luv my Craftsman tools I've got to agree 100%. That's not to say that Sears won't replace their Pliers because they will. I work in Industrial Maintenance and things like Channel Locks are used extensivley and i have used the Sears brand but nothing holds up like Channel Loc brand .

 

When it comes to putting together a tool set, it really depends on what you will be doing and how high your standards are. I have certainly run into jobs where NOTHING but Snap-on would get me by. On those kinds of jobs, Craftsman, parts store no namers and Husky to name a few would bend and twist themselves into cork screws and/or destroy the fasteners and parts that I am working on. I have also found that a top-notch set of tools consisting mostly of Snap-on as well as some MAC, SK and Armstrong (thats what I have) makes jobs go much smoother and quicker mainly because the tools are more precise (less slack in the wrenches, ratchets, sockets, extensions etc), made of better metal (less bending, spreading, twisting,) and are less bulkey (less clearance and space issues).

I prefer to buy grade A tools the first time and not need to upgrade down the road. The only time I buy dirt cheap is for one time use tools and tools that need to be cut up...ie and odd size wrench that I need to make.

 

Amen!

Buy it once; buy it for life!

Mike

 

That is true, I bought some Matco sockets, for a buck each, little rusty. But not a problem.Go often, and you will find deals.

 

man i hear that, but i couldnt have gotten all i did for the price i did.....now i just gotta wait for them to get here.....BTW eco, cool avitar, Twizted kicks azz..Im a Juggalo for life, mcl.......

Oh yeah, i got a different job than i originally was going for...I WAS trying to get on at a large car lot here in okc, they had paid training and ASE courses...BUT, that didnt pan out and im glad, cause tuesday im starting my new job at HP Racing, they do alot of custom race car and performance work, along with fleet work to pay the bills...should be very cool....

 

I recommend getting a least the basic craftsman tools the have some really good sets for reasonable price. You do not want to buy something that is uncomfortable and flimsy if you are going to use it every day. look at the snap on ratchets and screwdrivers they are worth the extra money buy the basics now and add on while you go.

 

Sometimes the little things are the most frustrating things. I recommend buying an extendable magnetic pickup tool, for when you drop that nut down into the hollow in the rad support beneath the headlight bucket.

 

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...=impact+driver
These are good to have and not many people use them anymore!!
Don't use that big roll away, Sell it on craigslist or something. I have all my tools in seperate hand boxes, Sears had a fathers day sale and I went and bought a bunch of the plastic tool boxes and I have my metric in one box, sae in on, my half inch set in another, my screwdrivers in a big tool bag, My electronics tools in one bobuy klein tools they are $$$ but worth it especially the wire strippers!!) My speciality tools in their own box, Basically it is easier to work with. If someone gives you a call, you can grab the appropriate boxes and hit the road. Beats pulling tools out of the rollaway(I use mine for storage of the doubles of tools I have) I worked at a company I didn't want to leave my tools at so instead of loading up a 300#+ tool box, It is easier to lift a bunch of 50# boxes!! Get one of those mini drill press that you put a hand drill into
It is nice for side of the road repairs, you can put a cordless drill in it and take it out for using it normally!!