What type of tools do you use? | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

What type of tools do you use?

Hilti is another awesome brand. Their 36V 3.6A battery hammer drill will goes through concrete like it's butter.
 
Hilti, Milwaukee, Makita, etc. All the good stuff. There's a reason it costs so much.

and my personal favourite: Stihl

stihl-saw.jpg
 
nfq I've rented those a couple of times, but couldn't justify buying one. They work great on both concrete and steel/metal depending on the blade you put in. My chainsaw is Stihl and still working like a champ after 27 years, although I did have to get the fuel line changed a few years ago as it completely rotted out. Not bad for the only repair in all those years of abuse by both me and my brother.
 
Lyndsay said:
nfq I've rented those a couple of times, but couldn't justify buying one. They work great on both concrete and steel/metal depending on the blade you put in. My chainsaw is Stihl and still working like a champ after 27 years, although I did have to get the fuel line changed a few years ago as it completely rotted out. Not bad for the only repair in all those years of abuse by both me and my brother.
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I bought a used one back in '98 that was 2 years old then. Clean/maintain it regularly, Still fires up like a champ to this day. Use it when we're doing Patio work on a roof and those stones need cutting. Like a knife through butter with the Diamond blades. The fumes aren't bad either :D
 
Starrett, Mitutoyo, Interapid, Tesa, Kurt....My daily use tools are specialized, but for sockets wrenches etc, It's pretty much mastercraft. I'm an auction hunter, yard saler, swap meet, and flea market guy for tools. I'm slowly replacing (and adding to) my collection of lower grade mastercraft stuff with higher end tools as they come along. the past couple years I've got some really good deals on some really quality tools. Buying buckets of sockets, or wrenches for less than scrap price is a great way to build a quality set on the cheap. Sure they might not match, and maybe half the bucket is off shore junk, but it's netted me some really good bargains on high quality tools. PLus if you have to modify a wrench of socket to do a job, you're not ruining your "set" (for the OCD people like me who cringe at an empty spot where a tool used to be)

When Irwin went to china with vice grips, I scoured the GTA (and beyond) looking for the last of the made in USA ones (very noticeable quality difference). I think I've picked up around 20 or so, in all different sizes, and a bunch of repeats (very handy for welding). bunch at work, some at home, some in the truck, a few back at the barn, etc. They're very hard to find now, and if I see a pair, I buy them. Wife always laughs at me when we travel, cause I'll stop at every backwoods hardware store we come across and run in to see if they have USA made vice grips. It's become a game. I've bought a few of the old Peterson ones at flea markets, and yard sales too.
 
Most of the stuff is Mastercraft with the lifetime warranty. Even gotten CTC drill bits replaced under the warranty. Have some Craftsman and lots of mix and match bits and pieces.

Realistically the Mastercraft with the lifetime warranty is just fine for anyone up to pro use. Some buddies had a hobby garage, lots of work on bikes, sleds, trucks and it was mostly Mastercraft stuff.
 
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Mechanics Tools:

Snap-on, MAC, S-K (best bang for the buck IMO), Grey, Herbrand (now out of business) and some other odds and ends. I also have some old Mastercraft stuff (back when they were made in NA, not Taiwan and china like now). The current Mastercraft etc. stuff is all made in Asia and it shows.

I also have some princess auto stuff, mostly odd stuff that I or will only use a couple of times.

Power Tools:

Hilti, Makita, Dewalt, Milwaukee, and like the hand tools some cheap stuff (mastercraft etc.) for the ones I do not use very often.
 
Power tools are a mix of Bosch, Makita, Porter Cable (before dewalt bought them and wrecked the brand), DeWalt and King.

Table saw, planer, jointer, vertical belt sander are all Delta, the compressors are King, drill press and bandsaw are Buffalo, metal lathe and vertical mill are Chengdang.

hand tools used to be Snap-on or Mac but these days I will but CTC for most stuff since the flyer prices are impossible to beat. I love princess auto but the quality goes from WoW! to wow.........

I dont make my living with tools anymore so its really hard to justify the cost of snapon or mac, but i really do hate cheap tools. There is nothing more frustrating than having to use a cheap ratchet handle or a poor philips screwdriver. The more screws i've seen wrecked by bad screwdrivers.......
 
Mastercraft, Powerfist (Princess Auto), Snap On, Mac, Rigid, and Blue Point.

Good tools a lifetime investment I guess.
 
I use DeWalt Impact gun/Sawzall/Drill/Light kit. Hilti Hammer drill. Mastercraft hand tools. Milwaukee Electric impact. Lincoln welder. Mastercraft drill press. Vice Grip/Husky grips (about 10 pairs).

Anyone who says you need to buy snap-on stuff because they can break or whatever isn't using them right. I have only ever broken Mastercraft stuff by doing stupid things like using an 8' pipe on a 1/2" ratchet or using non-impact sockets on a high torque gun.
 
My mastercraft tool box is full to the brim with mastercraft tools, including electric impact guns, socket sets, ratcheting & regular wrenches, screwdrivers, etc, etc. I tend to abuse them and have so far only broken a couple of phillips screwdrivers which have been replaced no questions asked. Can't argue when the 95 piece screwdriver set goes on sale for $20
 
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Thinking about it, i can name like three tools I have that arent mc, my sawzall (B&D) which i got from CT on clearance when they did the renos, my sander which is B&D and was a gift, and a set of T-hanle allen keys i got from princess on sale (powerfist).

This excludes my specialized stuff like the chainbreaker i got from riders choice, no idea who makes that.
 
Just got a 162 peice set from CT, its Master Craft. Have a tool belt too from when I was volunteering at Habitat for Humanity.
 
budgetracing said:
I use DeWalt Impact gun/Sawzall/Drill/Light kit. Hilti Hammer drill. Mastercraft hand tools. Milwaukee Electric impact. Lincoln welder. Mastercraft drill press. Vice Grip/Husky grips (about 10 pairs).

Anyone who says you need to buy snap-on stuff because they can break or whatever isn't using them right. I have only ever broken Mastercraft stuff by doing stupid things like using an 8' pipe on a 1/2" ratchet or using non-impact sockets on a high torque gun.
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Try working on really old cars where every bolt is rusted and the heads are rounded, doing stupid things is the norm on this crap... The ability to take the extra torque or grip a rounded nut/bolt. Other than over torquing another factor is how do they survive force when the socket is not square on the bolt (when undoing something in hard to reach areas). Then you will get an appreciation for the better tools.

The older MC stuff was really good (when it was made in NA and much more expensive--my first socket set, 30 years old now was MC, it had 15 pieces and was $50--in 1982!--none of them have ever broken). The new stuff is all made offshore and the quality has dropped (thicker walls, less strength). The other aspect is not strength but how the tools fit in your hand (wrenches and ratchets), my higher quality stuff is just more comfortable in the hand.

For the home user not much of this really matters and hopefully we are not letting our motorcycles become rusted messes...

There is a reason the snap-on truck makes stops at the Canadian Tire autocentres...

Of course the catch with the power tools is they are made by the lowest bidder, very hard to get parts for because they tend to change manufactures and design every few years (they are basically disposable).

(BTW, $50 in 1982 is more than $100 today.... They now sell hundreds of pieces for $100...)
 
So it seems like as long as your not a mechanic or working on old rusty cars then the maatercraft maximum series is tue best bang for buck when the go on sale.

With that being said has any one used the warranty. Do you need to keep your receipts? Or can you just bring them in any CT and they replace it? Or do you have to send it in somewhere?
 
I think you just bring it in. My brother is a mechanic and he used to go in weekly and they knew him and they would tell him to go and pic up the tool and go. He now uses only MAC and Snap On cause it was so fustrating having tools break weekly.
daisoman said:
So it seems like as long as your not a mechanic or working on old rusty cars then the maatercraft maximum series is tue best bang for buck when the go on sale.

With that being said has any one used the warranty. Do you need to keep your receipts? Or can you just bring them in any CT and they replace it? Or do you have to send it in somewhere?
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