Where do you buy your tools?

[dud]

Just asking because I find myself buying from time-to-time and am looking for new sources. I inherited a load of old Craftsman (made in USA) tools about 12 years ago and have supplemented them with some from Harbor Freight. My only (local) sources are Sears (God only knows how long they will be in business), HF and Northern Tool. I've checked HD and the cost/performance ratio on their "Husky" brand is questionable IMHO. Lowe's brand of Kobalt tools look a bit interesting but again ... they look better when they drop their prices around the holidays.

Thanks ...

 

[RLGL]

Snap-on , Matco and Mac. Most off the truck but some on line

 

[Kelvrick]

Depends on what kind of tools. I have a bunch of harbor freight, sears (craftsman and gearwrench), home depot (husky, ridgid, hdx), lowes (kobalt), and a bunch more. Dremel, bosch, hitachi, it all depends on how often they'll be used and how much I want to invest in it. Mainly, it goes by need and how close the store is and sales (driven by sites like slickdeals and fatwallet) for me to buy tools I want and potentially may (never) use.

Bigsky and vminnovations often have good prices on refurbished power tools of all brands.

 

[WackyDan]

I've got a mix like all of us... Husky from HD which have actually held up well. A good bit of Kobalt from Lowes which have proven to be pretty decent (Buy them on sale). I supplement those with some stuff from Northern Tool which I think tends to be better than Harbor Freight.

That said, there are certain tools that last you a lifetime that I have no problem shelling out more for like my GearWrench box wrenches, etc.

 

[bruceb]

About 70% of mine are from Snap On, some are from Sears Craftsman line. Only a very few (air tools) are from Harbor Freight. Snap On, Matco and Cornwell Tool some of the best you can get. But quality tools are not cheap.

 

[jlee]

I have an Ingersoll Rand impact. I don't buy HF air tools anymore - I had a cutoff wheel (air) and it sucked.

Some stuff is a random mix of whatever was on sale.. Porter Cable lithium impact driver, Black & Decker lithium drill, Milwaukee cutoff/angle grinder. My H frame press is from HF. Most hand tools are Craftsman.

 

[bruceb]

Most of my electric power tools are from Porter Cable (Rockwell). My cordless drill is a DeWalt, but it is the old 12V version, not the better ones that are currently out there.

 

[schmuckley]

Harbor Freight,Home Depot,Lowe's (last resort) ,Sears,Pawn shops.
I pawn shop for name-brand hand tools;I've busted too many cheap Chinese tools on hardened nuts/bolts to not.

 

[Bartman39]

Snap-on is my main set... A few Craftsman and a few and I mean a very few Mac and Matco... But of all things I have a few Harbor Freight items such as a 2-3 die grinders and a reverse-able drill that is one tough drill... But for the main part its all Snap-on (about $65-75K worth) and its all in a $14.5K Snap-on box...

Oh almost forgot I also have a Craftsman double bottom that is full of everything (around $20-25K)... This is besides all the other tools that I have which are a bit of everywhere in my shop...

 

[MasterAndCommander]

Sears for Craftsman,
HarborFreight for cheapies,
Amazon for hard to finds...

 

[pauldun170]

Most of my stuff comes from sears. The rest are from whatever store is closest when I realize that I'm halfway through something and I don't have the right tool in the chest

 

[IronWing]

For stuff I want/expect to last I shop at the local tool store. For cheap crap, I shop at Ace Hardware simply because it is half a mile from home as opposed to the next closest store which is twenty miles away. Ace carrying Craftsman improves things. There is a good new/used tool store as well that is good for "there ain't no one on this earth that stocks these things anymore" type tools.

 

[JCH13]

In order of preference:

Sears (Lifetime warranty on all hand tools in-store)
Home Depot (Lifetime warranty on cordless power tools from Rigid, including batteries)
Amazon (Fast delivery of hand-to-find stuff)
Yard Sales (inexpensive, and sometimes really nice, tools)
Harbor Freight (cheap crap that I don't plan on using more than a few times)

 

[Hail The Brain Slug]

Most of my tools are Kobalt brand from Lowes. I usually go between Lowes and Sears, but I like the quality of Kobalt better than Craftsman. I can't afford anything from Snap-on or Matco, so I only have a few that are hand-me-downs from dad.

Lowes offers a comparable warranty to Craftsman, and they will replace most tools in-store.

 

[Wuzup101]

Mostly sears and Amazon depending on the item.

 

[ISAslot]

Harbor Freight for me

 

[steppinthrax]

I used to be a hard core Craftsman fan. I liked how you could walk into any Sears and they would swap it out. They had a "Forever" warranty. Now since Kmart and Craftsman are together and they have scaled back their warranties to a point where it's very restrictive. they also won't give you NEW back but they repair your tool and give it back to you. Had trouble getting a ratchet replaced last time.

 

[olds]

Sears or Amazon.

 

[bruceb]

Did not know about the Lifetime Warranty on Rigid tools including the batteries. Rigid makes a decent line and I will consider them to replace my old DeWalt cordless drill.

 

[JCH13]

Did not know about the Lifetime Warranty on Rigid tools including the batteries. Rigid makes a decent line and I will consider them to replace my old DeWalt cordless drill.

I did, and I like my Rigid tools more than my older DeWalt ones.

 

[dud]

I used to be a hard core Craftsman fan. I liked how you could walk into any Sears and they would swap it out. They had a "Forever" warranty. Now since Kmart and Craftsman are together and they have scaled back their warranties to a point where it's very restrictive. they also won't give you NEW back but they repair your tool and give it back to you. Had trouble getting a ratchet replaced last time.

This has not been my experience. I have had issues with two (2) craftsman tools in the past ... one was a lock plier that they replaced with new while a ratchet was replaced with a rebuilt on that they had to go into the "back" to get me. Not really happy with having to take a hand-me-down on the ratchet.

 

[Jimzz]

Sears, HD, Lowes, harbor freight, Amazon, eBay, and some from smaller shops but that was mostly back in the day when there were more.

Just get a socket set of Triple Squares from amazon for $23. I needed a 14mm Triple square since my current set does not have it.

 

[JCH13]

Having worked at Sears I can tell you this: if you ask for a new ratchet, or any new tool, you will get one.

If you get a cheaper 'Evolv' or whatever tool they will only be replaced once. No, no lifetime warranty on that $6 ratchet driver.

The basic ratchets are routinely rebuilt as the handles are almost always fine, the ratcheting mechanism just needs replacing. And yes, this is done 'in the back' where there is usually a small workspace for just this reason.

 

[rommelrommel]

Did not know about the Lifetime Warranty on Rigid tools including the batteries. Rigid makes a decent line and I will consider them to replace my old DeWalt cordless drill.

Only if bought from Home Depot on that.


Most of my hand tools were bought used, any name brand that has a local store and lifetime warranty.

Power tools I have no brand loyalty, it's totally model to model. I have Bosch, Sears, hitachi, and some other older stuff. I research online to see what is best for my application. With the rigid HD warranty I might start shopping there.

Speciality tools that won't be used often come from Canada's Harbor freight, Princess Auto. They have lifetime no questions asked warranty as well, but you can expect to use it if you run some of the tools hard so I only buy stuff I don't count on from them.

Specialty tools that are important I research and buy online or however is needed.

 

[ThatsABigOne]

Harbor freight, of course. There is absolutely no need to get more expensive stuff.