Craftsman and such are great tools for the home mechanic, and occasional use. They will not hold up like you want to in a shop. I have Snap-On, Mac, Cornwell, Matco, S-K, Proto, Williams, Klein, KD vise grip, Channel Lock, Cresent, Lisle in my box at work. At home, I have a mix of those, as well as Craftsman, GearWrench and Harbour Freight. If I could afford Snap-On at home, I'd have it, but can't. I also can't afford the downtime at work from Craftsman quality tools.

 

Everyone asks me what tools to buy for their personal use. I point them in the direction of Sears.

 

I still have some SK sockets and drives I bought on my wedding day in 1995. Yes the tools have outlasted the marriage. I divorced in 1999 and was just using the 3/8" drive last week.

My mom called me the morning of my wedding and said get over here to this house they have brand new SK tools here at a garage sale. I bought all they had for about $40. LOL Then went home and got ready for the wedding.

 

As far as I know, there is only one 12 pt bolt head on the Discovery: 9/16, for the brake caliper bolts, and swivel *****. For these I use a box-end or combination wrench rather than a socket.

I don't believe Craftsmen tools cause a lot of downtime. Failures are extremely rare unless the tool is abused and frankly, Snap-on isn't going to hold up any better. Where Snap-on and the other pro level tools are better is the ratchets are lower profile with more gear teeth so it's more likely to fit in a tight space and smaller arc handle swings will still work. The combination wrenches come in a greater variety of lengths and offsets so you can have stubbies, medium length and long pattern with various offsets. They also tend to full polish all the tools so they wipe down faster and more thoroughly. The tolerances and the tool material on Craftsmen versus Snap-on are comparable. I have enough Snap-ons to know that individually they're not that wonderful. It's just that the whole system is more thorough and complete with more options. For the pro, it's worthwhile because it can save time and over the course of thousands of hours of wrenching, the time adds up and the investment easily pays for itself. For the home mechanic, personally I just don't wrench enough hours for the savings in time to count for anything. I'm not saying I like to waste my time with the wrong tools -- it's just that the advantage those pro tools give amounts to nothing unless you're wrenching for thousands of hours.

 

I have broken countless Craftsman tools when I try to use them at work. When I use my higher quality tools, they don't break. Go to any shop with mechanics that have to provide their own tools. Sure, on occasion, you will find one in every 100 mechanics say they swear that Craftsman or NAPA(or whatever) is just as good. But that is 1% of them. You might call it abuse to break a Craftsman(or similar brand) tool, I call it professional use.
Don't get me wrong, I think Craftsman is a great brand for the home mechanic, and that is what we are talking about in this topic. But for those interested in becoming a professional mechanic, prepare to make the investment(a little at a time, of course) to buy a better quality tool.

That being said, I think this topic was originally meant to ask what tools people use the most, not what brand of tool.

I use my GearWrenches a lot and my electric impact(I don't have a good air compressor at home) and a 12V cordless 1/4" impact driver.

 

I have never broken a Craftsman tool that I wasn't abusing pretty regularly. All tools have their limits. I have spun the bearings in a few Craftsman ratchets; HOWEVER, I was using all of them far beyond their expected ability - and for some time they worked. I was always lazy and never used a long bar, or torque wrench. Always put a pipe on a regular ratchet and went at it. You will break Snap-On the same way. That said, I wrecked a Snap-On socket during normal conditions while installing my suspension.

I have built/torn down a turbo Integra GSR, 2 RX7s, a CJ5, the Disco, a few four wheelers, and countless other things and have always used my Craftsman stuff. With the exception of 2-3 3/8" ratchets and maybe 2 sockets, I've had no issues.

Agreed - not to be a comparison. Just commenting.

 

Anything you abuse will fail prematurely. But a higher quality tool will outlast a poorer quality tool the majority of the time. There will always be the exception to the rule. I have my grandpa's Snap-On 3/8 swivel head ratchet with a long handle that gets additional leverage all the time. It is over 60 years old. I have had it repaired twice. I have a Craftsman 50th anniversary 3/8 ratchet that stripped it's gears the second time I used it with no cheater bar applied. Does that prove that Snap-On is better? You could say it sure does. But I base my experience on the experience of my father and his father on their tool useage and knowledge as well as my own personal experience. No matter the stories a few can spin up, you can never compare Craftsman to Snap-On. It's like comparing a Hyundai to a BMW. I had a Hyundai Accent that had a top speed of 134mph and handled like a dream(just had to know how to drive. I used to drive SCCA). Does that mean that Hyundai is on the same field as BMW? Definitely not. But some would like to think so. Kinda like comparing a Land Rover to a Jeep...
I'm not saying go out and buy Snap-On or Mac or whatever. It only pays to have those if you need them to put food on the table. They will make a mechanics life easier. And that is what tools are for.

I also carry 2 adjustable spanners(cresent wrenches, although one is Snap-On and the other Kobalt), a multi-tool, a bicycle pump, a Stanley blade screwdriver and a Craftsman phillip screw driver in my Disco at all times.

 

You will also hear mechanics swear that their $12,000 (empty) toolboxes are totally worth the investment. I won't argue, but it's not for me. The professional has to live by his business decisions and I'm not interested in interfering. I will say that I see wealthier home mechanics drop big bucks on pro tools that they will rarely use, just because they have the money and want the best. I can't help but wonder if it wouldn't be better that they got involved in sponsoring some other people that are more involved, you know, in competition.

 

Have to agree with you on those points.
I was taught when I first entered the trade that it's not the toollbox that makes the mechanic, but rather the tools(doesn't imply brand, but rather a good collection of usable tools). I have seen many toolboxes overflowing with toolbox bills and no tools. Those mechanics tend to be not great mechanics.
I currently have two toolboxes at home. A Mac and a costco stainless box. I love the Costco box. It cost my $900 brand new and works flawlessly. I highly recommend the stainless boxes at Costco(if they still carry them). More than enough space for the home mechanic, look great and clean up beautifully!

 

I have to say that the best way to figure out what kind of tools to carry is to do some jobs on the Land Rover and you'll learn -- I mean, that's how I'm learning.

I changed out my third members which involved pulling the axle half-shafts. If I was on the trail and busted an axle, guess what? They're full floaters and all I need to do is pull the broken junk out and keep rolling in "3WD." Since I've already done that job, I know what it takes. I know the method and the tools required and I won't have to figure it out on the trailside.

Bill Burke even wrote an article about this: Tool Kit article by Bill Burke

Besides the axle stubs, I think it's worthwhile to know how and have the tools to replace broken ball joints on the tie-rod and drag link. Basic engine stuff, and tire repair too.

I cut my teeth on a 60's British bike for which it was normal to rebuild the carburettor or do a top-end job on the side of the road (otherwise it would have never seen the road). Pretty much nothing stopped me until the cap on the big end of one of the rods passed me going 70 down the highway. I pulled over and looked at the fist-size hole in the crankcase and ok, I had to walk.

My Land Rover is for trail driving on short trips. It's not an expedition vehicle and I couldn't fit my four people, dog and all the tools and equipment for expedition style travel on the Discovery. The Camel Trophy Discoveries carried just two people and were loaded out with stupid stuff on the roof rack -- stuff like spare tires and jerry cans that you never want to put on a roof rack if you have any choice. And remember those guys had 37 other Discoveries with teams and Defender support vehicles as well.

So yeah, I might carry a portable air compressor but for the life of me I can't find a place to mount an onboard air system and tank, so I'm not going to be using an impact wrench to pull off a radius arm on the trail and weld it with my onboard welder (don't have one of those either). But when I was rebuilding the front hubs yesterday, I learned that yeah, you do need both a 1/2 and 9/16 12 pt. socket as well as a box wrench. You can't get the brake rotor hat off with a box wrench unless it's got a real funny offset. An impact is even better because you don't have to figure out how to hold it. Also, you can get the retainer rings (circlips) off with a screwdriver (that's what I did) but I ordered some ring pliers because they're not that expensive and they make it a lot easier.