ISO website for cheap ratcheting wrenches

[pjstevko]

Guys I'm looking to buy a set of ratcheting wrenches and everywhere i look even a cheap set of craftsman are more than i wanna spend....

Where do you guys buy "cheap" tools online?

If they aren't gonna be used a lot would a pair from HF be ok or will they fall apart on the first use...

PJ

[RowdyW]

pj, HF tools will work for you. They are decent for the price & they are guaranteed. They are not really built for the pros. Typical homeowner quality.     Rudy

[MarkT]

HF has several grades of wrenches.

[foakes]

I always go to Sears online for Craftsman, PJ —

The cheapest Craftsman tool on sale is 3 times as good as the best Pittsburgh by Harbor Freight, IMO.

The difference in price is generally very little, if the Sears tools are on sale.

About the price difference of a cup of Starbucks — which goes through us in an hour, or so — but the Craftsmen tools will be with you for the rest of your life...

When I am wrenching on the job — last thing I want to worry about is when/if the tool will fail.

Here are a couple of current examples —

Best, Fred

[Gobi King]

Guys I'm looking to buy a set of ratcheting wrenches and everywhere i look even a cheap set of craftsman are more than i wanna spend....

Where do you guys buy "cheap" tools online?

If they aren't gonna be used a lot would a pair from HF be ok or will they fall apart on the first use...

PJ

costco has em, $19 for the set, not sure if it is SAE or Metric, I can pick up a set if you don't love costco

[Wompus Cat]

I don't care what brand of Ratchet Wrenches you buy  NONE of them  hold up  very long if you use them often .
So IF you don't use them in a Daily  Repetitive  situation  then Harbor Fraught, Chicago , Costco are all good .

[MarkT]

My older wrenches, screwdrivers, pliers are Craftsman, from back when they were all made in the USA.  These days like so much else, most of them are made in China.  My ratcheting wrenches are Gearwrench or Husky.  I'd consider most of the current Craftsman stuff no better than those.  Sears sold off their brands like Craftsman and Kenmore as they went down hill and were desperate for cash.

These days Craftsman is owned by Stanley Black and Decker.

[Midway Tommy]

At least Craftsman's lifetime warranty is still honored. Works pretty good if you've got a Craftsman carrier close. Many of the parts are made in China, and other countries, but at least a big share are assembled in the USA.

I've never thought much of Harbor Freight stuff and never purchased much from them, other than this little back saver when I just happen to drive by. The register guy always looks so annoyed when I walk up with a half dozen or so of those junk sticks.   I'll go through a couple or so a year.  

[jurelometer]

I thought that the idea with ratchets is that you are supposed to use wrenches with the non-ratcheting end to break free stuck bolts/nuts, and use the ratchet end for speed/efficiency.  I didn't hang too much with auto mechanics growing up, but seem to remember that the ones that used ratchet wrenches always used single sided. 

If only for occasional use, why not skip the ratchets and just get a set of combos with a box end?  Nothing to break or get stuck, cheaper, and even the low end ones will work well enough.   I think you would have a hard time finding a mechanic without a set of combo open/box end wrenches. I see ratchets as an add-on and not a basic tool.

-J

[oldmanjoe]

I thought that the idea with ratchets is that you are supposed to use wrenches with the non-ratcheting end to break free stuck bolts/nuts, and use the ratchet end for speed/efficiency.  I didn't hang too much with auto mechanics growing up, but seem to remember that the ones that used ratchet wrenches always used single sided. 

If only for occasional use, why not skip the ratchets and just get a set of combos with a box end?  Nothing to break or get stuck, cheaper, and even the low end ones will work well enough.   I think you would have a hard time finding a mechanic without a set of combo open/box end wrenches. I see ratchets as an add-on and not a basic tool.

-J

  The response i heard the most was , The walk in clinic has pretty nurses and i now have a date for friday night !

[MarkT]

I thought that the idea with ratchets is that you are supposed to use wrenches with the non-ratcheting end to break free stuck bolts/nuts, and use the ratchet end for speed/efficiency.  I didn't hang too much with auto mechanics growing up, but seem to remember that the ones that used ratchet wrenches always used single sided. 

If only for occasional use, why not skip the ratchets and just get a set of combos with a box end?  Nothing to break or get stuck, cheaper, and even the low end ones will work well enough.   I think you would have a hard time finding a mechanic without a set of combo open/box end wrenches. I see ratchets as an add-on and not a basic tool.

-J

I like the ratcheting combo wrenches!  I use the open end when the ratcheting box end won't fit and a breaker bar and socket when it objects to coming off!  I have all the standard combo wrenches too and of course there's always the air impact gun, electric impact gun, air ratchet and cordless impact wrench and impact driver.  When all you have is a hammer the whole world looks like a nail and I don't want to be that guy!

[Midway Tommy]

I thought that the idea with ratchets is that you are supposed to use wrenches with the non-ratcheting end to break free stuck bolts/nuts, and use the ratchet end for speed/efficiency. 
I see ratchets as an add-on and not a basic tool.

-J

I bought a full GEARWRENCH SAE/Metric set for just that reason. Break loose with the open end, back the nut off, or on, quickly with the ratchet box end. If the nut won't budge with the open end I grab an SK combo & a hammer & then go after it with the hex ratchet combo. I stay away from using a hammer on my Snap-on & Blue Point combos.  Never broke an SK yet, though.     

[Cuttyhunker]

Harbor Fright 

[Maxed Out]

 Sears always bragged about craftsman tools made in USA, but the rest of the world got "made in Taiwan" craftsman tools. This was the norm for over 40 years, and Sears did a good job of keeping this a secret.

[MarkT]

I know contractors and mechanics who use HF tools.  They tend to lose them or have them stolen before they'd wear out so they just save the money.  Some HF stuff looks good/feels good others are not so much.  I haven't broken anything yet.  My son even likes their power tools which are junk in my book!  If they break he just takes them back and exchanges them... he buys the extended warranty.