Getting started with tools - recommendations?

[fancyTBI]

Tekton stuff is nice. I don’t think you’ll have any complaints there. Taiwan vs. China (HF) so you’ll save a little bit in terms of price increases due to tariffs.

My sockets are all Tekton. I got their 1/2 and 3/8 master set. Though for basic stuff you could almost get away with a 14mm, 13mm, 10mm, 8mm, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 7/8 (not all encompassing) but you’ll be reaching for those the most. My ratchets are Icon and Tekton.

My wrenches are Icon, Sunex, Die Hard (advance auto, kind of a flank drive knock off), and Crescent.

You’ll want a good set of screw drivers. I use my craftsman set and they’ve served me well. There are other options that give better performance. Vessel is going to be my next purchase.

Get a 1/2 drive ratchet and sockets for the big stuff. 3/8 can’t do everything when it comes to hand tools. 1/4 is good for interior work.

You’re gonna be overwhelmed at first. It’s going to seem like a big investment. I like where your head is at with the jack and stands. 12ton is absolutely overkill. I use a 6 ton under my trucks. Anyways, get the tools you know you need, gather the rest over time.

 

[toolmakerson]

I am new to working on autos and I'm eager to show my 1990 K1500 some love. I'd like to handle both basic maintenance and tackle some serious restoration and repairs.

I basically don't have any quality tools in this regard. I need all the basic things. My basic philosophy is to be willing to pay a little extra for legit quality tools, but to be objective about choosing that quality rather than slavish to a brand.

After some research, and with a view to the future, I think my near-term priorities should be:

- Floor Jack
- Jack Stands
- Socket set
- Ratchet wrench(es)
- Torque wrench(es)

Currently I'm thinking:
- Floor jack: Daytona (Harbor Freight) 3 ton low profile high rise floor jack

- Jack stands: 12 ton jack stands (for the extra wide base more than the weight rating). Not sure what brand. Husky?

- Socket set: Tekton impact socket set that has all the sizes. For hand tools in general I hear good things about Tekton and I love their warranty. Despite the additional cost, I figure I should get impact sockets now because eventually I want an impact wrench.

- Ratchet wrench(es): Tekton flex head ratchet

- Torque wrench(es): Tekton split beam torque wrench


Questions would be:
- Are these tools generally (apart from brand) a good start?
- How do these particular choices sound as a starting lineup? Anything you'd advise changing? If you do suggest changes, I'd love to hear your reasoning.
- Where is my ignorance showing here? What am I missing or misunderstanding?
- Seems like 3/8" drive is the correct place to start for sockets and ratchet wrench. Is that correct?
- What drive should I get for my first torque wrench? 3/8" (20 - 100 ft/lb)? 1/2" (50 - 250 ft/lb)? This may affect the question directly above?

Thanks so much for your feedback!

- ShieldToTheOnset

Drift pins, machinists hammer, small sledge hammer.

Allen wrenches.

Machinist's scale (people would call a "ruler"). Starrett/Brown and Sharpe good names for measuring instruments can be found at shows.

Eventually machinists vise to mount on your bench.

So much more, for the long term to acquire, so perhaps don't need to list more here.

But just wanted to mention here so you can refer back "is there a tool for that ?"

 

[toolmakerson]

I am new to working on autos and I'm eager to show my 1990 K1500 some love. I'd like to handle both basic maintenance and tackle some serious restoration and repairs.

I basically don't have any quality tools in this regard. I need all the basic things. My basic philosophy is to be willing to pay a little extra for legit quality tools, but to be objective about choosing that quality rather than slavish to a brand.

After some research, and with a view to the future, I think my near-term priorities should be:

- Floor Jack
- Jack Stands
- Socket set
- Ratchet wrench(es)
- Torque wrench(es)

Currently I'm thinking:
- Floor jack: Daytona (Harbor Freight) 3 ton low profile high rise floor jack

- Jack stands: 12 ton jack stands (for the extra wide base more than the weight rating). Not sure what brand. Husky?

- Socket set: Tekton impact socket set that has all the sizes. For hand tools in general I hear good things about Tekton and I love their warranty. Despite the additional cost, I figure I should get impact sockets now because eventually I want an impact wrench.

- Ratchet wrench(es): Tekton flex head ratchet

- Torque wrench(es): Tekton split beam torque wrench


Questions would be:
- Are these tools generally (apart from brand) a good start?
- How do these particular choices sound as a starting lineup? Anything you'd advise changing? If you do suggest changes, I'd love to hear your reasoning.
- Where is my ignorance showing here? What am I missing or misunderstanding?
- Seems like 3/8" drive is the correct place to start for sockets and ratchet wrench. Is that correct?
- What drive should I get for my first torque wrench? 3/8" (20 - 100 ft/lb)? 1/2" (50 - 250 ft/lb)? This may affect the question directly above?

Thanks so much for your feedback!

- ShieldToTheOnset

Other... essentials (?)...

Breaker bars 3/8, 1/2.
Flare nut / line wrenches (must use for flare fittings; new ones tend to be crap)
Water pump pliers (plastic handles no likey) (easy to remove stock hose clamps)
Wire brush(es)
Tools for working on brakes (bleeding,lines,removing pads/shoes,etc.) for your model/year.
Drain pans for oil, coolant, etc.
Funnels for oil, trans fluid, etc.
Attachable bucket for filling coolant
Fuel pressure gauge
Any old cloth - free shop rags,
Air compressor (air in your tires, air tools, etc.)

 

[PAIRA90S]

If your in such a position might consider a lowish limit ($1500) credit card for strictly vehicle related parts/tools. Helps me maintain a budget while also allowing me to do proper repairs as compared to "on-the-cheap". While you're looking at tool boxes allow room to grow. See what you think you need then go at least 1/2 again larger. A lot of systems require a specific "set" of tools (brake jobs, A/C work, electrical, etc.) so you'll accumulate more as your experience grows. And stick to tools, as mentioned in these posts, for YOUR vehicle(s) to start. And there's almost always a special tool made for specific situations. Just because. We could have a whole thread on "Why did they do it like that?!" Best wishes on your new journey.

 

[evilunclegrimace]

Do yourself a favor, only buy the tools that you need to do the job that you are currently working on. Buying full sets is not always the best practice. I have been turning wrenches for more than fifty years and when I started, I jumped into tool purchasing with the idea that I had to have full sets of everything SAE and Metric, wrenches, sockets, crow's feet, line wrenches, torx sockets etc. I have tools that have never touched a fastener. Rent specialty tools until you find that you will use them on regular basis, Things like ball joint presses, bearing pullers and seal drivers. Once you see that you need the special tools on a regular basis then consider buying them to keep in you tool box.

 

[Komet]

Have a look at the mechanic school starter sets. If you want to do every job, you're going to end up needing all of that stuff. You don't need it all today.

Price / performance wise, your dollar goes farthest with Taiwan gear. Many tool brands don't make all their own stuff. I suspect VIM Tools and Astro Tools are the oems for certain Snap-on, Mac, Icon, Gearwrench, etc items. Those two mostly sell specialty and gap filling tools but I recommend browsing their lineups to see what they offer.

It's better to have the tool to do the thing than struggle with a handful of high quality things. Pittsburgh stuff at Harbor Freight can actually get a lot of work done. For example, Pittsburgh pliers are cheap steel and the $2 cutters kinda flex on serious cuts, but that same steel doesn't really care at all about gripping rubber hoses so the $18 3 pack of hose pliers works perfectly for the application.

Tekton and Icon are good middle of the road brands. Icon stuff is a good deal if you can get it on sale. Gearwrench stuff is good and occasionally goes on sale.

Daytona jacks and stands would be my choice, get the Super Duty jack unless you really need the low profile clearance. I'd go with 6 ton jack stands as the 3 tons are maxed out on a stock 4x4 but they are nice to have as well and get real cheap at certain times of year. It would benefit you to get plugged into Harbor Freight email deals. They're spammy but the good stuff coupons come out on Fridays. This is also useful:

Hazard Fraught Price Tracker

hfpricetracker.com, a free Harbor Freight price tracker. Find the best deals and the latest coupons, updated daily

hfpricetracker.com

I would start with sets of sockets in chrome, and get impact gear when you have an impact driver of some kind. Personally I'd go straight to the big sets that give you 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 drive because there's reasons for all of em depending on what you're doing. 1/4 is killer for access but the ratchet will break at 100ft lbs. 3/8 is the most comfortable compromise but it's bulky under the dash and weak for suspension bolts. 1/2 really lays down the torque and is hard to avoid if you're going much beyond 20mm bolts.

Flex head ratchets are good, they're not as strong as a fixed head. They break at the flex joint, not saying you'll break one but when you're reefin on one and you see that flex right at the joint it's a bit unnerving and makes a guy think he should be using a breaker bar. Recommend a big ol long one of those in 1/2" btw.

I would trust a Tekton torque wrench. 10-100ft lbs and one that does inch pounds for sub-10ft lbs will take you pretty far. They're most accurate in the middle of their ranges so you want a selection that overlaps in torque coverage. CDI Torque makes an excellent torque wrench, the guts are oem for Snap-on but the ratchet head is a simple coarse tooth unit, not usually an issue for final torques. Believe it or not my Pittsburgh torque wrench is also reliable after breaking it in a little.

Do you have a power drill? Drills and impact drivers come in discounted sets pretty often. Impact drivers eat adapters but you can get impact power for cheap that way. I went straight to the top here with Milwaukee Fuel and regret nothing. Red team best and I've just never bothered with anything else because every brushless Milwaukee power tool rips.

Impact sockets are consumables. They are literally going to get hammered on. I got cheapo Husky units on sale, they work. Don't overspend here, fancy impact gear nets you almost nothing if a tool truck isn't going to show up at your workplace to replace it. I went 1/2 drive only for impact, am sometimes jealous of 3/8 impact offerings but I wanted that larger anvil for the hammering. Astro nano sockets are rather cool, best paired with deep sockets.

 

[0xDEADBEEF]

- What drive should I get for my first torque wrench? 3/8" (20 - 100 ft/lb)? 1/2" (50 - 250 ft/lb)? This may affect the question directly above?

I don't torque anything except for during engine reassembly, and lug nuts on a track car.

OTOH, if you don't have that feel for how tight is in the acceptable level of tight, a 3/8" is fine for 99% of automotive needs.

 

[95burban]

Daytona jack and stands

Buy the biggest mechanic tool/socket set you can buy.

Buy good ratchets, 80 tooth or more.

Set of ratcheting wrenches, make sure you get reverseable.

Go to home depot and buy the impact and drill combo from Milwaukee.

the icon tq wrenches are copy’s of the older snap ons

 

[Jeepwalker]

People are going to jump on me for saying this... but if you're young I'd go to HF and buy the largest set of HAND TOOLS they have, which is the 300 pc set. Heck. when I was young I didn't have any money, and I was working on a neighbor's farm and another job as a 12 year old kid. And I bought some Korean-made tools ..which were cheap at the time (this is like 1980) ..and I still have them and use them today. Never broke a single one! The Chrome hasn't flaked off them either. I have some Craftsman and other tools and the chrome HAS flake off some of them. I've also got some Quality SK tools and others... so.. but the best value would be the HF I think.

But this stuff soon ...LIKE ASAP, bc all that stuff is going to double (or more) in price REAL soon.

Power tools: I would buy Milwaukee M18 for all the main power tools (Impact, circular saws, sawzall, etc). Mainly to start out...get the Mil Mid-Torque impact. I have many different brands of power tools. Milwaukee really is top of the heap right now. If you buy from Amazon when they have a sale... you're good. But again, if the tariff pi$$ing match continues expect that stuff to double and more in price.

Otherwise, Bauer 20V tools for accessories makes the most sense. Fans, flashlights, light saws, etc. Bauer is better than Ryobi, better than craftsman ...but not as good as Milwaukee. Fairly close ...on some tools. But obviously Milwaukee is tops. But Bauer is a lot cheaper than Ryobi in most cases, certainly Craftsman and way cheaper than Milwaukee. I like Ryobi...I like Ryobi a lot. Ryobi has EVERYTHING... they're a great line. I like their batt chainsaws too. So that's a good way to go too. And you can find some good used Ryobi deals too on ebay (same with Miw sometimes). Milwaukee accessories are overpriced and generally not a good value IMO. I'd buy Bauer batteries off Ebay when someone is selling them (genuine) Bauer batteries cheap. If you're low on funds you could go Ryobi or Bauer. Bauer is a good value. I wish they had a decent mid-torque impact. But their impact does work pretty well for like suspension and stuff. It even took off some very rusty skid steer lug nuts...buut took forever to do it. Where the M18 mid-torque zipped them off effortlessly. But the Bauer worked great for suspension work and it's a lot more compact. Ryobi Impact is very underrated...but wish it was more compact. I love Ryobi....so if you were going to go with a Value-line of tools, ryobi or Bauer it would be. Craftsman is ok, but not anywhere NEAR the amt of stuff Ryobi has. Ryobi is part of the same company as Milwaukee (and Rigid). And Bauer doesn't have a good chainsaw... and some other things.

Impact Sockets: Walmart is cheap and I've never broken one yet. They're not usually Molybidum ..but if you want that, get them from HF when they go on sale.

Jack and jackstands I think the guys have covered. I personally like the old steel jacks. Ive got a bunch, never had one fail. They had larger saddles. The new aluminum Jacks have such a small saddle they're almost unsafe. A couple buddies have gone through several aluminum jacks ...and my 90's steel jacks that weight 80## are still chugging along great.

Again...don't sit on your hands. Buy the stuff right away.



Hand tools:

 

[ShieldToTheOnset]

Hey, everyone! I wanted to give you all a big thank you for the thoughtful advice! I will definitely be pondering and referring back to this thread.

As time allows (I'm out on vacation) I may follow up on some individual posts here and there.

Again, thank you!