I appreciate the offers for the freebies guys, but I can't take your tools.

I'll look at eBay and start shopping around garage/estate sales.

I'm sure the Chinese crap would work OK for my amateur work that I do, but it just rubs my fur the wrong way.

Wouldn't it be great to get some factories fired up again and start pouring American steel with American workers again?

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
I appreciate the offers for the freebies guys, but I can't take your tools.

I'll look at eBay and start shopping around garage/estate sales.

I'm sure the Chinese crap would work OK for my amateur work that I do, but it just rubs my fur the wrong way.

Wouldn't it be great to get some factories fired up again and start pouring American steel with American workers again?

With Trump as president you may get your wish.

Jim

quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo54:

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
I appreciate the offers for the freebies guys, but I can't take your tools.

I'll look at eBay and start shopping around garage/estate sales.

I'm sure the Chinese crap would work OK for my amateur work that I do, but it just rubs my fur the wrong way.

Wouldn't it be great to get some factories fired up again and start pouring American steel with American workers again?

With Trump as president you may get your wish.

Jim

Your lips to God's ears, my friend.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:

Wouldn't it be great to get some factories fired up again and start pouring American steel with American workers again?

New Craftsman Tool Factory in Texas
.
Stanley Black & Decker will expand its U.S. manufacturing footprint with a new Craftsman manufacturing plant at AllianceTexas in Fort Worth. The groundbreaking for the 425,000-square-foot facility will take place this summer, and the plant is expected to be completed in late 2020.
The new plant will manufacture a range of Craftsman mechanics tools, including sockets, ratchets, wrenches and general sets.
The manufacturing plant will be located east of I-35W at Eagle Parkway and North Beach Street. The plant will employ approximately 500 full-time employees.
Stanley Black & Decker purchased Craftsman in 2017 and the following year, Craftsman launched a refreshed brand identity in August 2018, unveiling more than 1,200 new products. The brand is now on pace for an accelerated growth trajectory to reach $1 billion in incremental revenues by 2021.
“We are very pleased to have worked with Stanley Black & Decker on this expansion project,” said Robert Sturns, Fort Worth director of economic development. “The Stanley Black & Decker name is known across the nation for their craftsmanship and expertise in developing quality tools. This expansion increases their North American footprint, and they join the ranks of other high-profile manufacturers that have a strong presence in Fort Worth.”
Stanley Black & Decker currently operates approximately 30 manufacturing facilities in the United States, with more than 100 manufacturing facilities globally.
“The addition of Stanley Black & Decker’s manufacturing operations at AllianceTexas reinforces the importance of retaining and creating new job opportunities in the United States,” said Ross Perot Jr., chairman of The Perot Group and Hillwood, developer of AllianceTexas. “The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at AllianceTexas will help generate hundreds of jobs in Fort Worth and North Texas, which will have a lasting impact on the region.”
.

A quick look at eBay shows many offers of USA Craftsman wrenches in metric and SAE in good condition for reasonable amounts. But I look forward to buying newly made American-made Craftsman tools.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:

You can replace the same wrenches; try ebay.

Snap-on are good. Mac are chinese. Snap-on hand tools are made in the US. Some air tools, compressors, welding helmets, and other products sold under the snap-on brand are made in China, and elsewhere.

Williams tools are made in the US, identical to snapon, and also sold under snap-on. They're often about half the price, too.

Gearwrench products are good.

Stanley Black and Decker bought craftsman.

Actually Mac wrenches are still made in Dallas Texas along with Proto.

quote:

Proto, SK, Wright, and Williams

These are much nicer wrenches than Craftsman. Craftsman have many numerous sharp edges that abrade the hand. Also Craftsman are hard to clean because of all the nooks and crannies. As a teenager I thought Craftsman was super, but once working as a mechanic I realized they were bottom of the barrel for USA made wrenches.

Check out this review of Wright wrenches:

Snap-On
Matco
Cornwell

Those are my go to brands for wrenches, sockets, and screwdrivers. Buy once, cry once.

quote:

Originally posted by Ryanp225:
Snap-On
Matco
Cornwell

Those are my go to brands for wrenches, sockets, and screwdrivers. Buy once, cry once.

Mac tools are much weaker than Snap-on. As an example, the open end wrenches will simply not remove a very tight nut. In a tight spot, Craftsman are too thick. However Snap-On will remove an extremely tight nut using the open end of a wrench.

Go buy replacements ASAP and sure as shit the originals will show up.

quote:

Originally posted by maladat:
The tool nerd websites tend to like GearWrench for moderately-priced (still not cheap!) import wrenches.

Proto, SK, Wright, and Williams usually come up as good Made in USA wrenches.

I have a mix of cheap Craftsman, Kobalt, and Husky and they've all been fine. A combination wrench is not complicated.

I would be inclined to be more careful about selecting a quality product if I was buying ratcheting combination wrenches, which have small moving parts under stress.

I have a bunch of old USA craftsman, but I have locked onto Proto for my long-term fill in the blanks project. You can't beat the quality, 100 pct USA made. And as good as quality as the pro truck brands at one third the price.

It can be hit or miss, but flea markets can have genuine Craftsman, S-K, and other American made tools.
I applaud you for keeping your set of tools at a good quality level.

Have you looked under the last car you worked on?

If not, pull it into the garage, drop a 10mm 3/8" drive socket under the car and wait 20 minutes.

I've had wrenches missing for years reappear using this one weird trick.

Thanks for the heads-up mjlennon. Just put in a bid.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig2340:
Have you looked under the last car you worked on?

If not, pull it into the garage, drop a 10mm 3/8" drive socket under the car and wait 20 minutes.

I've had wrenches missing for years reappear using this one weird trick.

Similar to the way we find the TV remote. Just look under the dog.

The best way to find an old wrench is to buy a new one. The old one will show up shortly thereafter.

Shadow the tool box. Line it with foam and cut out the shape of the tool, and ensure that each time the tool is used it gets returned to that spot, and it makes retaining tools much easier. It's especially important where a lost or missing tool presents a serious threat.

Shadow foam for tool boxes or drawers, the good two color kind, can runs several hundred dollars. However, the rubber shop floormats from harbor freight that interlink, can be turned over, cut to the shape of a drawer and tools traced with a ball point pen. They cut with a sharp life and will last a long time, and work perfectly. If you want a different color beneath the tool, line the bottom of the tool drawer with colored craft foam from walmart, and for a few bucks, you can do an entire box.

FastCap Kaizen foam is also very inexpensive, easy to cut, and can be had in two colors to make missing tools stand out, and/or enable labeling.

quote:

Just put in a bid.

I may outbid you and then send them to you. Just as payback for not taking up your virtual buddy above and the offer of a replacement out of his stash!

quote:

Originally posted by Georgeair:

quote:

Just put in a bid.

I may outbid you and then send them to you. Just as payback for not taking up your virtual buddy above and the offer of a replacement out of his stash!

I learned how to win eBay auctions years ago.

It's funny though, I think back to when I was a kid using dad's tools. My brothers and I never really understood why he'd get so pissed off and smack us around when his tools weren't where they were supposed to be. Now we get it.

if you just have 2 wrenches to replace and if you have the time, stop at a pawn shop. Make sure you know what the price should be and be ready to dicker - I've found pawn shops often as crazy dollars but might back off if you make a reasonable offer.