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Mechanics tool set

MC BumSlap

MC BumSlap

Big Belly Bum Scud
Joined
Jul 8, 2008
Location
Burnistoun
Moto(s)
Faux Bonneville
Name
J
Recommendations? Basically starting from scratch let's say. I don't need screw drivers as I have a set already.

Mainly looking for sockets and wrenches in both SAE and metric.

Thoughts on this? I'm heavily leaning towards this.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-286-Piece-Mechanic-s-Hand-Tool-Set-in-4-Drawer-Chest/1003095532

Or
https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DWMT7...id=1613694216&rd=1&s=power-hand-tools&sr=1-12

Or
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-Mechanics-Tool-Set-194-Piece-H194MTS/310561901

Or
https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/tool-sets/mechanics-tool-kit-225-pc-62664.html

Thoughts? Suggestions? I'm not looking to heavily wrench shit or use air tools.
 
The Kobalt set looks the best to me but I’d also get the screwdriver set and the pliers set as well if you can. Screwdrivers and pliers are a must
 
They're all lifetime guarantee now it seems and the basic hand tools are more or less the same imo. I will say as far as cheap ratchets go husky has some nice 144 teeth ratchets which I don't think are offered by lowes or hf. Short of that I'd pick the store that's nearest you or you frequent the most.

Rob will be along shortly to tell me I'm wrong
 
Most of those multi hundred piece sets are filled with Allen wrenches and driver bits btw. So make sure you read the actual contents lol
 
JesasaurusRex said:
Most of those multi hundred piece sets are filled with Allen wrenches and driver bits btw. So make sure you read the actual contents lol
Click to expand...

Allen keys are kinda shit to count as individual pieces off a xxx piece tool set, but they absolutely do things that way. Driver bits are a bit more useful, but you can get a gajillion piece driver bit set with every conceivable bit in it (even the ones that could take apart the stall wall in the airport/restaurant bathrooms) for less than fifty bucks. So don’t put a lot of worth in the bits either.


For that matter, in this day and age, not much worth in the SAE sized stuff either. Unless you’re working more on older cars or your house.
 
TheRobSJ said:
Allen keys are kinda shit to count as individual pieces off a xxx piece tool set, but they absolutely do things that way. Driver bits are a bit more useful, but you can get a gajillion piece driver bit set with every conceivable bit in it (even the ones that could take apart the stall wall in the airport/restaurant bathrooms) for less than fifty bucks. So don’t put a lot of worth in the bits either.


For that matter, in this day and age, not much worth in the SAE sized stuff either. Unless you’re working more on older cars or your house.
Click to expand...

Cheap shot at the end. I knew you would
 
If you're going to work on Japanese bikes. get a JIS screwdriver or two. Those aren't Phillips screws you see.
 
yodaisgod said:
Recommendations? Basically starting from scratch let's say. I don't need screw drivers as I have a set already.

Mainly looking for sockets and wrenches in both SAE and metric.

Thoughts on this? I'm heavily leaning towards this.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Kobalt-286-Piece-Mechanic-s-Hand-Tool-Set-in-4-Drawer-Chest/1003095532

Or
https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-DWMT7...id=1613694216&rd=1&s=power-hand-tools&sr=1-12

Or
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-Mechanics-Tool-Set-194-Piece-H194MTS/310561901

Or
https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/tool-sets/mechanics-tool-kit-225-pc-62664.html

Thoughts? Suggestions? I'm not looking to heavily wrench shit or use air tools.
Click to expand...

I am certain those brands are all made of Chinesium.

I’d suggest searching for a set of Snap On , Mac, Matco or Craftsman (older stuff made in USA) on CL.

I doubt you need 300+ piece set.
 
JesasaurusRex said:
Cheap shot at the end. I knew you would
Click to expand...

It was? It’s been awhile since I’ve worked on a third gen, but those were mostly metric weren’t they? Swear I remember using the shit out of my 13mm and 15mm working on GM stuff from that era.
 
lizard said:
I am certain those brands are all made of Chinesium.

I’d suggest searching for a set of Snap On , Mac, Matco or Craftsman (older stuff made in USA) on CL.

I doubt you need 300+ piece set.
Click to expand...

Agree. So many pieces of the big sets are redundant or unnecessary. Garage/estate sales are gold mines for finding solid older tools (perhaps not during pandemic, but soon I would imagine a flood of sales).
 
TheRobSJ said:
It was? It’s been awhile since I’ve worked on a third gen, but those were mostly metric weren’t they? Swear I remember using the shit out of my 13mm and 15mm working on GM stuff from that era.
Click to expand...

You're right. All the body stuff is metric and all the mechanical stuff is sae
 
JesasaurusRex said:
You're right. All the body stuff is metric and all the mechanical stuff is sae
Click to expand...

Yeah the mix and match years. Such silliness back then. I shit you not, I had a ground cable fastened to the engine with a 9/16 and a 15mm on the frame side.
 
lizard said:
I am certain those brands are all made of Chinesium.

I’d suggest searching for a set of Snap On , Mac, Matco or Craftsman (older stuff made in USA) on CL.

I doubt you need 300+ piece set.
Click to expand...

Yeah.

If you're gonna buy this from Horrible Fraught, get their Icon line. It's actually very well made. Quality is comparable to old Craftsman. YMMV.

They often have coupons that make the price very attractive.
 
interestingly enough, the costco one looks better than the one from homedepot , because it seems it has more star/torx bits?

YMMV I think you probably are going to need something additional down the road if you really work on something
 
The Kobalt is my favorite from this group. The etched sizes and colored bands are a nice touch. I'm guessing there might even be some small torx bits in there with all the little bits. The box is decent if you need that. All with a lifetime guarantee from a store that should be around for a while. :thumbup

But the Costco set comes in second mostly because of the price.
 
Nothing wrong with cheap tools for casual wrenching.
 
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