# Good Starter Set of tools



## andre3k (Dec 3, 2012)

Looking to build my tool collection. I do almost all the maintenance on my vehicles and boat, but my tool collection took a hit after a divorce a few years ago. Looking at the 309 piece Craftsmans set or something similar form Kobalt. Any suggestions?


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## devil1824 (Sep 4, 2010)

General maintenance around the house. Harbor freight. If making a living with your tools I would go for something better like you listed.


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## flatsfishinfreddy (Jun 28, 2011)

I have a big kobalt set and I like it. A cordless impact driver is a must.


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## jm423 (Sep 18, 2011)

Personal pref, but I like the "feel" of the Craftsman hand tools better than the few older Kobalts I have. And good warranty. No experience with (or confidence in ) most stuff from Harbor Freight.


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## carryyourbooks (Feb 13, 2009)

milwaukee is top of the line in power/cordless tools. kobalt has alot of good tools, too.


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## BadBob (Dec 16, 2010)

I started with craftsman but the kobalt stuff is getting pretty nice and thats what i use at work


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## bonehead (Jan 25, 2009)

I really like the feel of Mac tools . But most of what I have is craftsman .


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## goldie (Nov 17, 2008)

Tools are like Golf clubs, fishing rods , hand guns-- dont buy junk and dont forget you get what you paid for. The first time you booger up the head on a bolt because you bought a cheap socket or wrench and have to use a hot wrench to get it out , you will be kicking yourself in the arse. Buy good quality tools tools it will make your job easier!


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## andre3k (Dec 3, 2012)

devil1824 said:


> General maintenance around the house. Harbor freight. If making a living with your tools I would go for something better like you listed.


This is what I've been using so far. Nothing has broke on me yet. In fact I tiled about 1500 sq ft using a borrowed HF tile saw and did the trim with a HF nail gun.


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## lx22f/c (Jun 19, 2009)

goldie said:


> Tools are like Golf clubs, fishing rods , hand guns-- dont buy junk and dont forget you get what you paid for. The first time you booger up the head on a bolt because you bought a cheap socket or wrench and have to use a hot wrench to get it out , you will be kicking yourself in the arse. Buy good quality tools tools it will make your job easier!


 X 2


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## fishingcacher (Mar 29, 2008)

I had heard that the new Craftsmen stuff no longer carries a lifetime warranty. Anyone no for sure?


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## gigem87 (May 19, 2006)

fishingcacher said:


> I had heard that the new Craftsmen stuff no longer carries a lifetime warranty. Anyone no for sure?


Warranty is still there, but a lot of it is made in China now, not USA...


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## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

The ***** Sears tools without the lifetime warranty just had Sears and not Craftsman on them.Several years back,a friend bought a set of Craftsman wrenches that had Japan on them,and hair-lipped him so much he took them back.Sears said "they're under the lifetime warranty,so what's the problem''.He said he bought only American made tools.Sears has the best deals on sets.My Dad made his living as a mechanic for 40 years and only used Craftsman tools.


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## jtrux (Oct 28, 2010)

Hmmm, I haven't been buying too many Craftsman lately, just haven't been impressed. The finish seems to be the first thing to go. I've busted a few extensions as well so I started buying Snap On. They are crazy expensive and probably not worth it to most but they are very nice tools. The reason I bought them is because we use them at work (railroad) and we beat the hell out of them and they keep on going so I figured they would last me forever.


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## Zereaux (Jul 18, 2006)

If you want to buy a seriously good set of hand tools, look in to Martin Sprocket & Gear. These tools are industrial grade, like original Craftsman, Proto, Williams,
etc. Made is USA. Lifetime warranty. You have to buy them through a distributor,
my company reps them. I own some, but my father, father-in-law, and one grandfather were all mechanics, daddy worked in maintenance ad retired from Mobil Oil. My F-I-L was the best diesel mechanic I've ever known. I inherited all their tools, so I haven't needed to buy much of anything.

Kobalt is junk when compared to industrial grade tools. I wouldn't spend a nickel on tools from Lowes, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, Sears, or any consumer/retail outlet.
Like someone else said, you get what you pay for. PM me if you are interested in Martin...look them up on the web. There are Martin sprocket distributors in Houston an surrounding areas. Some will sell to individuals, some won't. If you are interested, I can hook you up. They have a website and a catalog you can download.

I've sold 100's of 1000's of dollars of their tools to maintenance departments at XOM, Goodyear, NOV, and general contractors all over Texas. Martin makes the best you can get. Period. For the quality, you can't beat the price.

Snap-on makes good tools as well, but they are very proud of them. I know a couple of guys that have Snap-on franchises and they do pretty well. Hard to beat a guy that drives up to the maintenance shop in a truck full of tools to sell, course those "house calls" cost money, but convenience is a value added service that is sometime worth the extra you pay for their tools.

Like I said PM me if you're interested, I'll get one of my employees to give you a quote.


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## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

I've been a mechanic 30 years next month and never heard of Martin tools.Learn something every day.


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## Zereaux (Jul 18, 2006)

Yeah, you won't find them at the the usual places.

Martin acquried Fairmont Tools when they purchased Houdaille Industries in 1984.

Everything Matin manufactures is the very highest quality and will rarely, if ever compete on pricing alone. Any educated buyer knows that the price of an item rarely reflect the true cost of that item through its useful life.

Most consumers do not get that, hence the success of the Wall-Mart and Harbor Freights of the world. Everything cannot be reduced to a commodity(rope, soap, and dope).

Industrial distributors must "add value" to what they sell. One of the ways to do that is by exposing our customers to quality products instead of the "cheapest".


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## Hooked (Oct 15, 2004)

Learn something everyday. Thanks for the info Zereaux, never heard of Martin I will try to remember this the next time I am in the market. I have almost exclusively bought Snap-on and Craftsman over the years.


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## 71 Fish (Dec 21, 2005)

Try Hazard Fraught (see page 2)


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