New tool buyer

[Heiny57]

My son is getting the tool fever. He was considering Harbor Fright for the obvious reasons. I haven’t been in the new tool market for a long time so I thought I would post up here for suggestions as to what brands are left to consider, and affordable. He doesn’t need Snap On but American made is preferred. Where are some places to look for reasonably priced sets?

Thanks

[DeadNutz]

Unfortunately affordable and USA made don't quite go together too well right now. Anything new is going to cost some money. Going with used requires plenty of time to try and put together a set of the same brand. If the tools are not required to be used for work but he just wants to have them for personal use he has more choices. HF tools work just fine to use until he has the time and money to put together a quality set.
If he wants good tools for the best price he can just pay a visit to Phil.

[Heiny57]

If he wants good tools for the best price he can just pay a visit to Phil.

My son has one mortgage now, he doesn’t need another!    

[goodfellow]

Tekton is causing quite a lot of interest -- some items are made in the US, others in Taiwan, but overall it is becoming a major player; and soaking up some former Sears Craftsman market share. As an alternative, he can wait a year for the new SB&D Craftsman plant to get up and running in Texas, and then buy new US made Craftsman tools.

[bonneyman]

S-K is not cheap. Buuuuuuut.....

Buy once, never have an issue? That's worth some extra $$$ to me. I've used my S-K tools for 40 years. Worst thing that happened was about half a dozen sockets peeled the chrome. Ratchets, breakers, extensions never broke or bent. Never cracked a socket. Though, their screwdrivers sucked!

Or - if he has time - build up a nice old USA set from the pawn shops. Or the classifieds here and the dark side. And don't forget Epsteins. Would take alot of scrounging, but a nice USA tool set can be had one tool at a time.

Heck, depending on what he needs, I might be able to get him started on Bonney....

[34Ply]

If you buy HF or Texton to get buy for a couple years why not get by for 20. If they do the job that's what you want.   

[hickory n Steel]

I'm still acquiring tools, and while I'm not getting flea market deals I've done pretty well on eBay.

A great tip from a member was to look for brands that aren't exactly on everyone's radar, my wrenches are all Proamerica and US made NAPA ( Danahar I think )
you can get good US made user socket sets for similar to what you'd pay at HF, and with eBay you don't have to be as patient as you would hunting for them in the wild.
I'd probably go eBay for socket sets, but decent US made screwdriver sets aren't too expensive.
I don't know where I'd go for wrenches if I didn't feel like waiting for a deal on eBay ( it only took me a few weeks to have 4 wrench sets from eBay once I started looking )

If you're really determined you can get a good set of US made tools In reasonable time off eBay, but a lot of cheap tools are much better today than the 80's-90's junk tools I remember my dad using when I was a kid.

[Heiny57]

Tekton is causing quite a lot of interest -- some items are made in the US, others in Taiwan, but overall it is becoming a major player; and soaking up some former Sears Craftsman market share. As an alternative, he can wait a year for the new SB&D Craftsman plant to get up and running in Texas, and then buy new US made Craftsman tools.

The thought of Craftsman coming back is promising, they served me and millions of others well. I have heard of the Tekton brand but that is all. He has had some sticker shock with SK and Williams I have shown him. 

[hickory n Steel]

Tekton is causing quite a lot of interest -- some items are made in the US, others in Taiwan, but overall it is becoming a major player; and soaking up some former Sears Craftsman market share. As an alternative, he can wait a year for the new SB&D Craftsman plant to get up and running in Texas, and then buy new US made Craftsman tools.

I had that thought, but figured the new plant was a long ways off.

[Davethorik]

As far as tools go, I generally prefer USA made. And I appreciate your similar desire.

As an example, the last few individual sockets I've bought new, I will price check across USA industrial brands like:
-Wright (family owned)
-SK (bought and sold about 5 times in as many years, currently owned by Ideal)
-Proto (industrial tool division of Stanley Black & Decker, sister division to Mac Tools, also owned by SBD)
-Williams (Snap-on Industrial)

SK and Proto have a large assortment of sockets, more than Wright. It has been a while since I checked out Williams full lineup, but probably about half is COO Taiwan, however. Part numbers that are numerical =Taiwan, alphanumeric = USA.

Proto imports some things here and there, but most of their hardline is USA. SK I believe is 100% USA. Wright is mostly USA, except cougar pro (Taiwan, used to be USA) and maybe a few small odds and ends.

It's been my experience Proto is *usually* the cheapest, although not always. I know Stanley Black & Decker is in the limelight a lot for buying Craftsman, and achieved notoriety for putting many good old tool companies in the ground on its way to becoming the global juggernaut it is today. That being said, it seems they manage the Proto brand well, perhaps better than Mac.

I personally won't be rushing out to buy new USA Craftsman though- guessing it will be priced too high, won't sell, and in a few years we will start seeing wrench sets for $10 on the sale rack. Just like Craftsman USA, then Professional and Industrial of days past.

Some Williams stuff is very competitively priced. Offhand their ratchets, which are externally restyled Snap-on 36t pear heads, aren't that expensive. I like Wright tools, but their overall line is more limited (unless you are looking for 2" drive 6-1/2" impact socket). And they are probably the priciest of the lot. But their Wright grip wrenches are hard to beat.

I haven't bought any new SK tools in years, I do not agree with how this current iteration of the company is ran, and certainly won't reward it with my hard earned money. I just deleted a 2 paragraph rant on the topic. Lol I love my old SK tools, though!

[Heiny57]

S-K is not cheap. Buuuuuuut.....

Buy once, never have an issue? That's worth some extra $$$ to me. I've used my S-K tools for 40 years. Worst thing that happened was about half a dozen sockets peeled the chrome. Ratchets, breakers, extensions never broke or bent. Never cracked a socket. Though, their screwdrivers sucked!

Or - if he has time - build up a nice old USA set from the pawn shops. Or the classifieds here and the dark side. And don't forget Epsteins. Would take alot of scrounging, but a nice USA tool set can be had one tool at a time.

Heck, depending on what he needs, I might be able to get him started on Bonney....

thanks for the help he is shopping right now, he is going to be moving soon and is looking for a bigger garage to fill with stuff.

[fatfillup]

If he wants good tools for the best price he can just pay a visit to Phil.

Liking that thought

[Heiny57]

Phil can you deliver? 

[bmwrd0]

Klein. They won't carry everything, but what they have is darn good.

But how quickly is the boy looking to build his tool collection? Most of us built it up over a long time, buying just what we needed. If he goes that way, it isn't too expensive to buy SK for some things like socket sets and wrenches, one set at a time. Also, things like Stanley 100 screwdriver sets can be had cheap on Amazon and according to Lauver, they are very good. Ask around and you will find a lot of things are out there.

[DeadNutz]

You never said is he looking for SAE or metric or both?

[hickory n Steel]

You never said is he looking for SAE or metric or both?

Oh yeah since I'm not working on cars I mostly went with SAE, buying used might take a lot longer if you're looking for metric stuff like most people probably are.

[Conductor562]

Honestly (as much as I love Proto), if I were starting out on a budget, I’d buy Tekton socket sets and add high quality American ratchets. Tekton sockets are actually very nice and their warranty is second to none in my experience. I bought a 3/8” service set to keep in my truck and was actually impressed with them for the money.

Unless something has changed in the last couple years, they actually warranty their taps & dies and about a year ago they warranted a pipe threading die. Most of their pliers are USA made Wilde. I gifted my brother a set of their Taiwan made combos, and he likes them a lot.

I can’t say a bad word about them as a company. They’ve constantly improved their lineup over the years and they’re lightyears ahead of what they were in the MIT days.

[torqueman2002]

If I may interject, .... It could be worse.

I know from personal experience, I am compelled to acquire tools - vintage, used, new. You probably know, after all you all found this website.

In addition, I have so many projects, my wife says they're too many she hasn't parked in our attached 2-car garage for years. In my defense, I say I don't have too many tools and projects, I just need a bigger garage or better yet - pole barn. 

I thought of this video, that may apply to some of you, as well as myself.

[slip knot]

I’ve been impressed with the gearwrench sockets I’ve bought.

[highland512]

I cant say enough for shopping in pawn shops. Most of my tool box was filled from pawn shops. Brands like Wright, Proto and even SK can be had for a good  deal sometimes because many people dont know those brands like they do CMAN or the trucks brands. Just last year I bought a NOS raised panel SK wrench set 3/8-1-1/4 for $40, a unused metric set of 1/2" drive Wright sockets for $15, and a 3/8" drive set of SK impact sockets for $7 (always haggle them down on price). The only down fall is time, it takes time to find deals and time to go to pawn shops but I enjoy going to them because you never know what you could find.

[fatfillup]

^^^^^^^^Time is the issue with pawn shops, auctions, CL, facebook, letgo etc.  Deals can be had in any metro or suburban area if you put in the time to look.  You can't be in a hurry.  I have bought tools most everywhere I travel and bought them at good enough prices to resell.  I have an advantage over others,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,I don't have a life

[bonneyman]

That's the ticket!

You gotta have the money or the time. Since I'm poor I gotta have alot of time! 

[Heiny57]

You never said is he looking for SAE or metric or both?

More metric I would assume, he has a Lexus RCF.

[Heiny57]

I think he is leaning toward Tekton.

[bmwrd0]

I would look to the discount places like Cripes, I have seen some great deals on Armstrong and Allen there.

[Uncle Buck]

I cant say enough for shopping in pawn shops. Most of my tool box was filled from pawn shops. Brands like Wright, Proto and even SK can be had for a good  deal sometimes because many people dont know those brands like they do CMAN or the trucks brands. Just last year I bought a NOS raised panel SK wrench set 3/8-1-1/4 for $40, a unused metric set of 1/2" drive Wright sockets for $15, and a 3/8" drive set of SK impact sockets for $7 (always haggle them down on price). The only down fall is time, it takes time to find deals and time to go to pawn shops but I enjoy going to them because you never know what you could find.

Yup, same here. Most of 40 years doing that and I totally agree. Hock shops and garage sales have proved very productive for me. Flea markets and swap meets too. At least half if not more of my tools were acquired that way. I really had no choice since I had a champagne appetite and a beer budget my entire life when it came to tools. Of course really knowing brands and what is good and what is crap is vitally important if you are going to buy used like this.

[highland512]

Yup, same here. Most of 40 years doing that and I totally agree. Hock shops and garage sales have proved very productive for me. Flea markets and swap meets too. At least half if not more of my tools were acquired that way. I really had no choice since I had a champagne appetite and a beer budget my entire life when it came to tools. Of course really knowing brands and what is good and what is crap is vitally important if you are going to buy used like this.

I cant seem to ever find anything at a garage sale. I guess its because Im never the first person there on the first day.

Anymore my tool buying is a beer appetite on a mad dog 20/20 budget.