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arthur chambers (Art355)
Junior Member
Username: Art355
Post Number: 205
Registered: 6-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, February 28, 2002 - 3:41 pm: | |
When I'm at the hanger and working on the Ferrari or the motorcycles, I have a pretty complete set of Snap On tools. Some of the tools are craftsman, but very few, and only those where SnapOn doesn't have a similar tool. The reason is the feel, SnapOn toos just feel better. I know that both Sears and Mac have attempted to match the feel, but I don't think that they have come close enough yet.
When I'm home I have craftsman. When tools break it is usually the weekend and there is a Sears close by. With their warranty, it is easier to return them.
When I'm on the road, say at the track, I have cheap tools, that are essentially throw aways. While I have never had a tool stolen at the track, I have lost them, and broken a few. |
Erich Walz (Deleteall)
New member
Username: Deleteall
Post Number: 44
Registered: 12-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, February 28, 2002 - 3:22 pm: | |
I actually posted on this topic a little while ago when I was looking(I had Craftsman). Here's what I found out through self/others.
Check Halfords in England. They're a UK Wal-Mart and they sell a line of halford's professional tools which are supposed to be pretty good and just a little bit more expensive than Kobalt, etc. I've heard they also carry Facom now. I would think the prices would be very good even with shipping. In the US check Groit's garage and ultimategarage.com, both carry Facom.
American brand SK is owned by Facom and so an SK dealer will be able to get you some Facom tools(the American catalog is small though). Or, you could just get SK(which arguably has a european flavor). Plus, you'll notice a lot of the SK tools are just relabeled Facom stuff. Another thing about SK is that their chrome plate is very nice looking.
I looked into USAG but as I read their warranty, its limited. While they're cheaper, they're not cheap and I would expect a better warranty.
If you want a better domestic, go with Husky tools from Home depot. They're durable, reasonably priced, lifetime warranty, etc.
If you go and check them out you'll see they're pretty good. The reason for this is that they're made by Stanley tools which actually used to make Craftsman. In the mid-90's Sears offered out the contract and Danaher won because of price, not quality. If you do an internet search on tools many people will differentiate between old craftsman and new craftsman. New Husky are "old Craftsman." And as opposed to truck tools and some of the higher end tools sold at retail shops, the people at Home Depot don't care that you're replacing it(or why) because it isn't coming out of their pockets. |
BretM (Bretm)
Intermediate Member
Username: Bretm
Post Number: 1774
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, February 28, 2002 - 3:12 pm: | |
I still like Williams more than Snap-On. I like using the snap on tools where the space permits, but the rachet in particular that I have is somewhat clumsy compared to my Williams which has a really small head, good for getting in those tight Fcar spots. |
Bernard Rowe (Gtsturbo)
New member
Username: Gtsturbo
Post Number: 44
Registered: 2-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, February 28, 2002 - 2:12 pm: | |
In Europe many pro' mechanics still use Snap On, expensive but the best.
Facom & USAG are popular but are always thought of as number 2.
In F1 the teams may be sponsored by a tool company, but most of the tool boxes will contain Snap On.
I used to work for two F1 teams so I know a few mechanics in the business. |
'75 308 GT4 (Peter)
Intermediate Member
Username: Peter
Post Number: 1616
Registered: 12-2000
| | Posted on Thursday, February 28, 2002 - 2:10 pm: | |
Richard, tool use has been discussed here before, for all of our personal choices, look it up in the Keyword Search of this site.
I use a mix of a few old Snap-On that I inherited, Craftsman, Mastercraft (Canadian Tire store brand, just as good as CM) and mostly off-shore. Sorry, no experience with these fancy Euro stuff. |
Richard Stephens (Dino2400)
New member
Username: Dino2400
Post Number: 31
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, February 28, 2002 - 1:20 pm: | |
Here in the USA, Snap-On seems to set the standard for mechanics tools, and they sure do feel great in your hand, but cost prohibits me from always buying snap-on stuff. As far as cheaper tools here in the USA, craftsman is available everywhere and are fairly cheap and lifetime warranty but I just don't like the feel of them and sometimes the quality isn't that great. I bought a set of Kobalt wrenches (snap-on's store brand sold at Lowe's) to keep in the trunk and liked the flat face on the wrenches at first but now they are just too large (the long handle 3/8" rachet is nice though). In a pinch, I bought an extra 13 and 17 from Ace Hardware from their professional series which are shaped more like snap-on and seem to have good chrome.
But if one wanted something a bit more European, in keeping with the character of his car, what would you recommend?
Two options that I've found are Facom (www.facom.com), which seems to be the current Ferrari official tool, and USAG (http://www.usagshop.com/) which I believe used to be the tools used by the Ferrari F1 team. Both are less expensive than snap-on. Have any of you used these? Any other European brands to check out? What brand tools would you be likely to find in a mechanics box in Italy?
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