Best tools you own

[Shran]

I like Tekton tools. They seem to have some very nice QC on the stuff I bought. They also seem to be one of the only inexpensive brand that sells full sets, not just the common sizes.

This is so irritating!!! I hate it when sets don't include every size. I have an expensive Carlyle 1/4 socket set that didn't come with a 5.5mm... had a set of Bostitch flex head wrenches that didn't come with 15 or 18mm wrenches. I almost never use the 17 or 19 that came with the set...why???

Craftsman used to be really bad about advertising tool sets as "mechanic's sets"... 300 piece set and 200 pieces of that were allen wrenches, screwdriver bits and it would definitely be missing sizes. What "mechanic" would want that??? Probably the ones who work in a bank and don't know better...

 

[pjtoledo]

This is so irritating!!! I hate it when sets don't include every size. I have an expensive Carlyle 1/4 socket set that didn't come with a 5.5mm... had a set of Bostitch flex head wrenches that didn't come with 15 or 18mm wrenches. I almost never use the 17 or 19 that came with the set...why???

Craftsman used to be really bad about advertising tool sets as "mechanic's sets"... 300 piece set and 200 pieces of that were allen wrenches, screwdriver bits and it would definitely be missing sizes. What "mechanic" would want that??? Probably the ones who work in a bank and don't know better...

try 7/32" its less than .002 larger than 5.5mm

incomplete sets, yeah, gotta luv 'em

 

[Curious Hound]

This is so irritating!!! I hate it when sets don't include every size. I have an expensive Carlyle 1/4 socket set that didn't come with a 5.5mm... had a set of Bostitch flex head wrenches that didn't come with 15 or 18mm wrenches. I almost never use the 17 or 19 that came with the set...why???

I Agree that's irritating. On the other hand, it depends what kind of mechanic work you do. Automotive, I rarely need 17mm and 19mm. Though 19mm makes a great 3/4". But at work, doing industrial mechanic work, I rarely need 15mm or 18mm and my 17 and 19 are my best friends. I carry an 11mm in my tool belt and it works great on 7/16" hex bolts. Complete sets would be nice.

 

[Snoranger]

This is so irritating!!! I hate it when sets don't include every size. I have an expensive Carlyle 1/4 socket set that didn't come with a 5.5mm... had a set of Bostitch flex head wrenches that didn't come with 15 or 18mm wrenches. I almost never use the 17 or 19 that came with the set...why???

I hate that 5.5mm is even a size... you could have made it a 5 or a 6mm, but you picked 5.5mm.

 

[RustyShackleford94]

My torches are much older, the cart is steel and the tanks are retained by chains. By the way, your torch head is on backwards- the oxygen knobs should both be on the same side.

Thats a stock photo from the HF website. My set was in the shed and didnt feel like going to take a pic lol. I like the portability of my little set, plus theres a Praxair less that 15 minutes from my house so refilling the small tanks is no problem.

 

[Shran]

Yeah...5.5 is stupid. Drives me nuts that Ford used it everywhere.

I use 17mm a lot at work, as well as a bunch of metric hex sizes (3, 5, 8 are common.) European medical equipment...the manuals we get are amusing, everything is in metric but "loosely" translated into Imperial. M5OD shifter bolt nuts are 17mm... the oil filter adapter on 4.0s have a 19mm through bolt... otherwise I rarely use those but occasionally I have to on automotive applications. I can't think of a time I've needed 16mm though, that's even less common.

Now we're way off topic.

 

[Roert42]

The least used wrench I have ever seen. The 9mm.

For some reason every set comes with it, even the incomplete one.

 

[pjtoledo]

Yeah...5.5 is stupid. Drives me nuts that Ford used it everywhere.

I use 17mm a lot at work, as well as a bunch of metric hex sizes (3, 5, 8 are common.) European medical equipment...the manuals we get are amusing, everything is in metric but "loosely" translated into Imperial. M5OD shifter bolt nuts are 17mm... the oil filter adapter on 4.0s have a 19mm through bolt... otherwise I rarely use those but occasionally I have to on automotive applications. I can't think of a time I've needed 16mm though, that's even less common.

Now we're way off topic.

works fine when you can't find a 5/8
I made up a compatibility chart, comes in handy.

best tool?
still using the Dremel I bought in the 70s.

 

[97RangerXLT]

Gotta agree with @Roert42 on the 3lb mini sledge. I love my Estwing.

I also really like my Craftsman flexhead 3/8 ratchet with the bent handle. Best 36 bucks I ever spent in the late 90s

AJ

 

[bilbo]

This is so irritating!!! I hate it when sets don't include every size. I have an expensive Carlyle 1/4 socket set that didn't come with a 5.5mm... had a set of Bostitch flex head wrenches that didn't come with 15 or 18mm wrenches. I almost never use the 17 or 19 that came with the set...why???

Craftsman used to be really bad about advertising tool sets as "mechanic's sets"... 300 piece set and 200 pieces of that were allen wrenches, screwdriver bits and it would definitely be missing sizes. What "mechanic" would want that??? Probably the ones who work in a bank and don't know better...

I'm not sure if it's true or not, but an old mechanic that lives near me that I get parts from sometimes said it's because there is a common standard size that is close enough.

I lose my tools often enough that I don't know if I have a complete 'set' of anything anymore. When I lose or break something generally I just go get a single to replace it with, hopefully better quality.

 

[alwaysFlOoReD]

My MAPP gas torch is amazing. Its made alot of things alot less headache. Oh and my 6ft custom cheater pipe....its my 1/2in rachets greatest enemy.

It's been awhile since I've seen you on here. Hope things are good.

 

[Shran]

I'm not sure if it's true or not, but an old mechanic that lives near me that I get parts from sometimes said it's because there is a common standard size that is close enough.

I lose my tools often enough that I don't know if I have a complete 'set' of anything anymore. When I lose or break something generally I just go get a single to replace it with, hopefully better quality.

I have a rather large hodgepodge collection of tools... I don't make a big deal out of having complete sets but I try to make a match if I break something from a set that was matching.

My good tools stay inside my shop. There's a good chance they will go missing if I let them outside for fresh air...currently missing a nice Craftsman crescent wrench that I think is in my yard somewhere. I have a separate stash in every vehicle, my shed, my house, and a junkyard bag. I figure if I can keep them in one place they won't go too far...the junkyard bag is the exception and I don't much care about anything in it.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

It's been awhile since I've seen you on here. Hope things are good.

Yes everything is good man. Just needed some time away.

 

[don4331]

Best tool I owned was an 18v 3/8" DeWalt impact. But I left it in the cart at PnP while I was working underneath and someone decided they needed it more than I did. DeWalt just got the one I had right - it would smoke its 18v 1/2" brother.

The most used tool - Snap-On 1/2" ratchet that my Dad bought in '50s. Spent it's 1st life in garage, 2nd on the farm and still gets regular use on Rangers when I can't get the Impact in. Snap-On rep even replaced its guts for free - said any tool over 60 years old deserved a little love.

I like my Snap-On, but they tend to be too expensive for some one off jobs. And it's getting hard to justify some of the Imperial stuff, just about everything is metric - only took 50 years to convert us.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

I just ordered that kit for my new service truck. We have 1 of them in the shop toolbox. The PP3 is pretty much the perfect tool for any basic electrical work. It great for lighting issues.
The short finder doesn’t work worth a damn and a short to ground... the entire truck just make it beep. And corroded wires... if there’s even 1 strand of wire still sort of making a connection, it won’t help you find the problem. If you have a legit open circuit, it’s a great tool and will help you find the problem quickly. (We dont call it a short finder, we call it the Beep, beep, beep... we starting calling it that to pick on someone, now it’s just the name of the tool.)

So... I’ve been looking at the Power Probes. Any particular reason why I should get the 3 or the 4? I had been looking at the 3 master kit but then I saw the 4 in a master kit…