Need advice on tool selection for school in the fall

hey guys,

my brother is starting college in the fall he is majoring in automotive engineering and he has a laundry list of tools that he needs to get. The school has a deal with certain brands to get a large percentage off. The only question is which brand to go with. so I would like to know what everyone thinks. I personally like Craftsman.
the brands are:
Craftsman
Mac
Gear wrench
Snap-On
thanks for any feedback

Being in the professional auto industry, I'll say go with either Mac or Snap-On. I like Craftsman too, but I can feel much higher quality in these other brands.

i agree with renegade. for the professional go with mac or snap-on. snap-on would be my first choice, but you can also mix them up with certain tools he prefers. when he graduates and if he goes to his new job with a craftsman box and tools, he will not look like a professional in the industry. its an investment in his future.

it depends on the tools....any and all pnuematic (sp?) tools should be higher grade, snapon impacts, snapon air wratchets...
id also get good impact sockets...but some tools really just dont friggen matter...
im no pro but ive been workin in a shop for a few years now and the craftsman/husky wrenches get used more than the snapon ones...im not afraid to torch and bend a crap wrench but id be a lil hesitant to do that to any snapon stuff...
but just depends on application and whether he wants stuff to work or if he wants to look cool with all snap on chit
:dunno:

I just started my career as a mechanic a few months ago, and one of the biggest things I've learned is don't feel the need to buy everything. Tools are expensive. And even more expensive if they sit in your drawers untouched.

That being said, if you can get the tools discounted like I did (51% on SnapOn) buy everything you can get your hands on! I plan on using all $7500 of my program That way the tools you never touch, you can sell and make a profit.


Edit: To the above poster, yea you do look like a little bit of a priss if you just start out and have all SnapOn stuff. People might get a funky impression. However, I started out with Harbor Freight wrenches. One broke after 2 weeks. I replaced it with a SnapOn one, and I still beat the living piss out of it. They do look nice but don't think they aren't tough too. Having a good tool guy also helps, a lot of them get reaaaally stingy when it comes to warranty-ing broken stuff.

Not a pro but I'd agree... snapon/mac for stuff that gets used a lot, husky/craftsman for stuff you abuse. I have taken a 4lb sledge to my husky impacts, 1/2" extensions, and evolv 12pt sockets and they are still doing fine. The 13mm 12pt is looking a little haggard now though... gets worse every time I swap a unit bearing.

DanMan2k06 said:

one of the biggest things I've learned is don't feel the need to buy everything.

Click to expand...

^This!
Something I've started doing: if I have to borrow something from someone 3 times, I start saving up for it.

Exactly. Our SnapOn guy comes every thursday. If I find myself using someone else's tool a few times that week, I snag one the next time the truck comes around.

I use Matco and Craftsman ( we don't have a Mac Or Snap-on dealer anymore) I like both and honestly I have had pretty good luck with both. I don't have much experience with Mac or Snap-on. I do have a lot of Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches and they are great.

Automotive engineering, is not being a mechanic. If he only needs these for school, and not for a job afterward, might as well buy the cheapest ones. But, anymore Craftsman is getting up there in price, and when you get Snap-On or Mac at 50% or retail... it's 6 of on or 1/2 dozen of the other.

Personally, I like the feel of my Snap-On, and Mac Tools over the Craftsman stuff. But, when it comes to a ratchet, one off the tool truck, then harbor freight, then only if I have to Craftsman.

What exactly is Automotive Engineering? I was an Automotive Technology major, which in short means I'm a mechanic. Automotive Design is just what it sounds like, but has nothing to do with engineering or turning wrenches. It's all art. Are you going to be the guy that works for SAE who tests the tensile strength of ball joint studs and crazy jazz like that? If so, you're asking the wrong people about what tools you need lol...

I am not professional and own pretty much all Craftsman tools. I have had plenty of experience with a tool breaking (mostly ratchets) when I need them. I have lots of friends and family who are professional that have Snap-on Mac blah blah blah and they are some very nice tools. If you are able to get a good discount and your brother is basing his career/life off of these tools, I would go with the best IMO. If I had the money I would buy Snap-on for my personal use. Good Luck to you and your brother.
P.S. I would mind using your discount for a few tools haha!

i am a technician at a dealership and can tell you the company does matter.

Most of my stuff is snap on but i also have mac matco and craftsman


snap on is in my opinion made for everyday hard use. its good quality because it has to be. they dont want to replace there life time warentee tools as much as you dont want to have them replaced.

i have had my gear wrench ratcheting box wrenches for 10 years and love them. most snap on tool guys will replace your gear wrench stuff because they sell them.

my second choice would be matco i have a big matco tool box and again the quality is good but a matco tool dealer is hard to find.

mac comes to my shop every week but i personally havent liked there stuff.. this is my personal opinion. i dont like my mac guy and that might be a reason but i have never liked any of my mac tool dealrs.

i also have harbor frieght tools for those you dont use often

so on a short rundown

for main everyday use

snap on
matco
craftsman

followed bye gear wrench.

another thing you have to keep in mind

if he is about to make a huge tool purchase, he can make weekly payments
with the higher tool brands, snap on matco and mac

so that is helpful

hope that helped

M.

The Craftsman Pro stuff is actually really decent, the regular stuff is good too. And the fact that you can take back broken stuff pretty much any time and get a replacement is nice as well. You do not have to wait and hope that your Toy truck guy has a replacement for you.

If you are starting from scratch, have a discount with Snap-On (or Mac or Matco for that matter) and have student loans to buy tools with...
Go with a full set, 10-27 MM, of 6pt combination wrenches. Same sizes, 1/2" impact deep & 3/8" impact deep. Shorty sockets should be fine in "regular" but you may as well go impact.
Get an IR impact gun. Craftsman and Blue Point / Snap On are good, too - but IR is the shit. I know more than a few guys with IR guns that get the job done 20+ years after purchase.
Quick story about snap on vs craftsman:
I was putting a brake caliper back on to a Honda that was in the shop. The female side / nut side of the bolt started spinning on the driver's side caliper. I went to put a box wrench on it so I could torque the bolt properly. My Craftsman wrench was too wide, wouldn't fit into place. Armundo, with six figures worth of tools, lent me a Mac wrench - which did fit. Bolt torqued, job done.
You aren't just paying for a stronger tool, you are paying for a tool that works places Craftsman won't. If you are going to be a pro, you don't want to dick around for alternate solutions. You just want to get the job done.
Spend the money if you can. Craftsman is great but I wish I had Snap.

Klein Tools

One thing that reallllly helped me out in the beginning, were size adapters. 1/4" to 3/8", 3/8" to 1/2", get them ALL. You may find you don't have a socket you need in the right drive size, but if you have all the adapters you can substitute and usually get the job done. I've put together more combinations of adapters than you can think of in the clutch...

DanMan2k06 said:

One thing that reallllly helped me out in the beginning, were size adapters. 1/4" to 3/8", 3/8" to 1/2", get them ALL. You may find you don't have a socket you need in the right drive size, but if you have all the adapters you can substitute and usually get the job done. I've put together more combinations of adapters than you can think of in the clutch...

Click to expand...

Xamillion.

All my impact sockets are 1/2", my breaker bar is 1/2", I have 1/2 to 3/8 and 3/8 to 1/4 adapters.

I really need to get some 3/4" drive stuff now... but damn is it ever expensive.

kastein said:

Xamillion.

All my impact sockets are 1/2", my breaker bar is 1/2", I have 1/2 to 3/8 and 3/8 to 1/4 adapters.

I really need to get some 3/4" drive stuff now... but damn is it ever expensive.

Click to expand...

Yeah, I've used reductions to get my 3/8" stuff onto my (only) impact gun, a 1/2" model.
3/4" is great for modified rigs and crankshaft bolts but a good 1/2" gun will work for 95% of uses, a 3/8" air ratched for the other 4.5% and 3/4 & 1/4 can split the rest.

Well, the 3/4" stuff is because the new rig I just got has 1.5" lug nuts... and similarly sized hardware on most other stuff. I'm not going to be doing much to it, but I will need some larger tools just to maintain it. 1/2" is just fine for the XJs and MJ.