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Hi, everyone!
I’m going to be attending an ASE approved vocational course to get my toes wet in auto service, and I could use some help picking up some basic tools on my list. Maybe you guys can give me some suggestions that won’t break the bank? Without getting into detail I simply can’t justify spending insane amount of money on basic hand tools *Cough* Snap-On/Matco, but need help deciding on a few on my list.
I recently bought this nice set from Home Depot, and it has almost everything I need except for….
A Multimeter, Chiesel Set, torque wrench and breaker bar. Any suggestions?
I was looking at thisthis breaker bar by Harbor Freight’s Pro Seriesby Harbor Freight’s Pro Series. Also does anyone know how well my Husky set will hold up? It looks pretty nice in comparison to snap on sets I’ve used in the past.
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I’ve had many issues with Pittsburgh metal, mostly in the form of breaker bars and prybars bending and not coming back. To be fair, this was 10-15 years ago when I was starting out and couldn’t afford expensive tools which are typically very good. My Pittsburgh 1/2″ torque wrench, however, still tests accurately with the tester on the Snap-On truck. I would get the Pittsburgh breaker bar. It’s so cheap that it will not be the end of the world if it fails when pushed abnormally hard and needs to be replaced.
Your Husky set looks like a good start. Add 1/2″ impact sockets (SK or Grey Pneumatic) and gun (IR 2135QTI or similar) and you should be off and running for basic service work in a shop.
Punches, chisels, and prybars : Craftsman is fine, Mayhew is better, and tool truck ones are more expensive but pretty equal to Mayhew. Mayhew only makes tools like that. They are not cheap, but they are the best at a cheaper price than tool trucks and you can get them easily if you don’t deal with a truck.
I’d recommend a Fluke 115 multimeter or equivalent. It’s way cheaper than the highest end ones, but good enough that I’ve been using it for A+ level electrical diag for years without it falling short. To be fair, a Power Probe is a more important tool for electrical problems in most cases and I use it many times more often than a meter. Still need the meter for measuring resistance, voltage drop testing, and parasitic draw testing on a regular basis though.
Another bit of money/space saving advice: Buy only Metric tools unless you have a specific reason to need SAE sizes (such as working a lot on antique American cars). I only use them for air line fittings and occasionally 3/16″ brake line tube nuts. Everybody is still using 5/8″ or 13/16″ spark plug hexes though, so don’t forget about them.
[quote=”Fopeano” post=150150]
Your Husky set looks like a good start. Add 1/2″ impact sockets (SK or Grey Pneumatic) and gun (IR 2135QTI or similar) and you should be off and running for basic service work in a shop.Punches, chisels, and prybars : Craftsman is fine, Mayhew is better, and tool truck ones are more expensive but pretty equal to Mayhew. Mayhew only makes tools like that. They are not cheap, but they are the best at a cheaper price than tool trucks and you can get them easily if you don’t deal with a truck.
Another bit of money/space saving advice: Buy only Metric tools unless you have a specific reason to need SAE sizes (such as working a lot on antique American cars). I only use them for air line fittings and occasionally 3/16″ brake line tube nuts. Everybody is still using 5/8″ or 13/16″ spark plug hexes though, so don’t forget about them.[/quote]
I would be careful with the Pittsburgh prybars I have snapped them nearly went into my face 3-4yrs ago. Not to say they don’t work for light stuff but, I would suggest the Craftsman 3 pc set. They are currently on sale for 20 bucks so its not much of a jump but, make sure they say made in usa or have usa stamped into the steel. If you can afford 50 bucks for them get the Craftsman Professional Driving Head ones. The Pittsburgh will work for a month maybe two but, this is something I would strongly suggest you get Mayhew Dominators or Craftsman Professional Driving Head.
If you can not get the Fluke as Fopeano Mentioned. Extech makes good cheap meters. Its what I used before I got my bluepoint for free through school. I used them for computers and have bought several of them they hold up well (First one got stolen, Needed one at my parents house). They are also who makes the professional versions for Craftsman before everything started going down hill.
Remember you can always get tools through ebay, garage sales, etc. You need to be careful with ebay though lots of cheats out there if you go looking for tools. Hand tools are something that you can get used and as long as it has a good lifetime warranty get replaced. Snap-On etc is against someone buying it online and trying to get it replaced so just do not tell the truck guy. Do not dump a lot of money into doing this though because abuse is not replaceable and unless you have a spent money the truck guy is not going to want to warranty anything. Also not everything has to be Snap-On or any other tool truck brand to work. Find people who do this for a living and ask. I have like 15-20k in tools. If I bought Snap-On versions I would have spent close to 60-80k. I work on Big Rigs (everything is harder, tighter, and stronger) and have very few Snap-On tools. Also buy tools to do the job and not a Snap-On box right away even if you get a discount through school because a box is expensive and does not make you money it just sits there.
While you are in school I would also suggest you check out this post: So you want/are going to be a mechanic/technician
Thanks, I appreciate all the feedback guys!
I’ll give the suggestions a look. I want to avoid the truck brands; I simply have bad experiences with my Snap-On dealer when trying to warranty anything of my fathers when my father owned a tire shop. Nothing a quick call to corporate didn’t fix, but it’s a hassle so if I purchase anything Matco/Snap On it’ll be used from Ebay. Plus if I ever get anything lost, or stolen I won’t be crying for an entire week 😆
The Multimeter especially I’ll check out. I simply can’t afford to Spend $300 here, $400 there, and $10,000 on a tool box whenever I ask mechanics at the dealership I work at for advice. I’m like gee have you guys never started out 😛
Thanks for the tip about Metric being interchangeable. I always thought so, I only have experience working on Civics, Integras, and CRX from the 90s and never had the need for any SAE product. They were just included in the Husky set I purchased so a bonus I suppose.
I skimmed through the link MDK. I continue reading in a second, but I for sure am going to use your tool box advice and simply start with a tool cart.
Find out how picky your local HF is. Typically my local one doesn’t ask for a receipt (and really shouldn’t need to considering its Pittsburgh) and the only one here (and I am there often). Their breaker bars and torque wrenches, I actually haven’t had an issue with. Their ratcheting gears though in their ratchets are always slipping. Their pry bars are horrible as mentioned and I wouldn’t recommend their sets of large 1/2” sockets (they tend to slip). In general though, I’ve had a good experience with their pry bars and torque wrenches (and you sure as hell can’t beat the cost when they have them at 11.99 as they sometimes do).
I’ve also used HF cobalt drill bits and I’m actually surprised at the quality of them.
As far as left handed drill bits (for removing busted bolts), I’d highly recommend irwins setMay want to look into Community Colleges as many times they offer you pretty steep discounts on quality Snap-On and/or Mac tools if you are enrolled in automotive tech. If I were to actually be a tech full-time, I’d just enroll for a couple classes in order to receive some discounts as well as to validate how serious I was.
Check out Amazon and the second hand market,one place is a tool forum called Garage Journal and they do have a classified section.I have purchased used tools from there and never been burned yet.This is Garage Journal’s website, http://www.garagejournal.com Mac,Matco and Snap On don’t make all of their tools,some are rebranded tools made by another tool maker.I have a Matco A/C and fuel line release tool kit which is made by Lisle.Mac and Snap On have the same set made by Lisle too.Check this video out and you will be amazed how much Matco and Snap On don’t make, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v14o15fd47c
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