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Mechanic's Tools: Anything and Everything
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Before you go out and buy one, let me know. I will talk to a few dealers and see what the best price is that they can come up with.
I have one guy down to $120.
Sorry bud, since you agreed to the terms of service of Edmund's and Town Hall, you do not have the right to post what you want, without them having the right to remove it.
As an administrator of a site with a forum (NOT Edmund's nor do I work for them), I know where they are coming from. From reading the e-mail to you, I think they were very coordial and actually nice about it. I would not have been as nice. The one thing you have to remember about forums, most of them, they pay for everything, it is theirs and you are a guest.
Since this is an image issue, they are well within their rights to tell you that you may not post them.
The one thing you have to realize is that images affect load time, Load time affects traffic and so on.
Bottom line, you agreed to their terms of service when you signed up. So, deal with it.
Any helpful or informative post is welcome but without logos attached.
Mr. Shiftright
host
Maintenance and Repair Message Board
We are actually guests here.
Continue to use your logo and you will join the ranks of Town Hall menmbers who have been banned from these forums.
Nothing like slapping a host in the face...
"Can't we all just get along?"
[!*>
it was interesting to read all the other posts.
now we gotta go through this?...pleeeez
So...what's the latest with tools?
Saw an interesting set of wrenches the other day, I think they are made by KD.
They are called Gearwrenches, the box end has an internal ratchet. To my surprise they were thin and not bulky. Fine tooth ratchets.
The guy on the tool truck told me he couldn't keep them in stock!
I can't believe nobody mentioned one reason the young guys like to go for S/O tools - the calendars! You guys must be getting old!
Having said that, I must say I haven't seen a S/O calendar in quite a while. Maybe they don't make them any more?
FWIW, I have taken several broken Craftsman tools back to Sears for replacement. Never once was I questioned about how they were broken, or whether they were abused or not. I love that. Strictly as a shade-tree mechanic, I see no reason to buy anything else, unless it's a special-purpose tool.
Dave
Nope, Snappy no longer makes the "good" calanders. You can thank politically correct times for that.
thanks, here goes.
i'm wanting to buy a dual action orbital sander. the one i have looked at is a craftsmen at sears, but they also have the IR brand. is it worth the extra 20 bones to get the IR?
thx
Craftsman is the only brand I know of that continues to give what is in essence an unconditional lifetime guarantee. They do not ask for sales receipts, they do not disallow wear-out as a reason for return... well, I could go on. Suffice it to say that Craftsman makes it obvious that they have the best deal in the nation for hand tools.
ABSOLUTELY! Without a doubt.
Ok, I may be impartial, cause I favor IR over any other air tool.
I won't suggest what kind of buffer you want, but I will recommend that you use MEGUIAR'S polishing products. I have created some car, truck, and motorcycle paint miracles with their stuff.
(;^]
Free speech applies to public forums, not private ones.
These can be hard to find. Viking makes the best straight line sanders on the market.
Hutchins makes good stuff too but for some reason the body guys don't get real excited about thier products. Well built, quality tools though.
p.s. thought of 2 more - www.autobodysupply.net and www.eastwoodtools.com
I posed a few questions to the owner concerning his tool buying habits. He told me that he has the typical odds and ends of many brands, but only two brands make up the mainstay of the tools he and his several employee mechanics really depend on for making a living. He told me those tools are CRAFTSMAN & SNAPON.
I would be inclined to agree with them on the tools, but remember that pros will purchase the quality tools they have access to. If there is a Snap-On truck coming around every week, then you most likely find a large perventage of their tools. If Mac or Matco are around more than Snappy, then you may see more of those tools.
Noen of them come around my shop, so since I do alot of business with an industrial supply, I purchase alot of tools from them. Lifetime warranty, available in all of the industrial supply stores I deal with and no hassles.
Warranty isn't worth much if you can't replace a tool when you need to. Personally, I used to buy strictly Snap-On and Mac tools. When you need to have a $130 wrench replaced and they refuse to warranty it,that is when they quickly get put on the "DO NOT do business with" list.
Just my personal opinion.
moving on...
I have done simple mechanical work before, and had always used craftsman tools, just cause they seem like the most for your money. But I am now working as an assistant mechanic, and I am noticing everybody seems to gravitate towards snap-on in my shop. What is so special about snap on tools?
The quality is a bit better and special application tools are sold that are unavailable elsewhere.
Prices have gone from high to ridiculous in the past few years. A person can spend over 10,000 just for a big set of toolboxes alone!
And, a lot of it is simply status and peer pressure. Having a Craftsman toolbox would be "beneath" many mechanics.
I always shake my head and wonder how these guys can afford it. But then, I wondered that twenty years ago too.
Of course, with some shops charging over 100.00 per hour in labor, I guess they might be making the money.
I happen to have Craftsman tool boxes, although those are the home shop boxes. I have an Armstrong top box, but it stays in the shop with minimal tools and all of the rest of the tools have one large tool box they ride in. A Ford LN8000 33,000 lb truck. The Snap-on top box I had in it, fell apart from vibration, so I had to have drawer sets custom made for it and no actual tool boxes ride in it anymore.
I know guys that make alot more money than me and they buy only Craftsman tool boxes, then I know some young pups who make less than half of what I do and they buy only Snap-On. Go figure.
You are right, it would be senseless. Nonetheless, I would still have the right to do it. You have no say in the matter. Ok, now that you at least understand the analogy, heres a situation. You walk into a hosts house with your T-shirt on, and the host says he doesnt like chevys and asks you to take off your shirt or leave. Would you demand to stay in his house and practice your 1st amendment rights, or would you respect his property and either leave or change? See, you have no first amendment rights on someone elses property. Edmunds is private property, it is not public domain.
Why dont you try contacting the host and asking for permission to have your signature and why you feel it is appropriate, rather than to wind up the old middle finger and evade his decision by changing your names and being a pesk. Im sure common sense will prevail in the end.
As far as snap on tools are concerned, the big issues are convenience and specialty tools, and the drawback is price. So it is like a ferarri...definitely has its benefits, but not justifiable to a large majority. Is there a major quality difference?
"Having a Craftsman toolbox would be "beneath" many mechanics."
Thats funny, in our shop we all use the same toolbox, and it is a rather large expensive snap-on toolbox. I find the thing to be a piece of junk, with rattly doors that cant stay shut, and broken handles, with rusted paint. Maybe we abuse the thing too much but I dont think were that bad. So far the only snap ons that I like better than craftsmans are the pivoting head ratchets.
I've been thinking of spraying silicone on my CV joint boots when I change the oil, to help keep them pliable and make them last longer. But I have heard that silicone is actually not good for rubber, and that they will break down sooner. What has your experience been with this? If silicone is no good, is there anything else I can do to make them last longer?
Dave
Maybe this belongs in N&V Fanatical car care. :<)
Harry
Where can I locate an economical version of the BIG caliper that one uses to measure across the span of a set of newly installed brake shoes, and as well use the other end to measure the inside width of the brake drum you are fitting over the installed shoes? Just this past week I have discovered that my "age old" technique of tweaking the adjuster star wheel through the back of the hub is no longer a universal solution to adjusting new brake shoes.
Harry, sounds like you spend more time detailing the underside of your car than I do on the whole thing!
Dave
They usually buy out of convienience or from the tool guy they like the best. Most have a mis-match of brands.
Now...they might prefer Snap-On sockets and swear by Mac wrenches or something like that.
I also checked out some Ingersoll Rand impact air wrenches at a local outlet, yesterday. I rode my motorcycle over there to make sure I didn't buy a bunch of stuff (hard to carry home). I've got to say, those IR tools are expensive-- but I already knew that.
(;^|
BTW, are you taking the time do have the shoes arc cut to the same as that of the drum?