Tools for VoTech student? What brand?

I have always bought whatever brand I can afford at the time for the farm shop, but being he is looking at using these for his livelihood after graduation so I want to get him good ones, what brand would you guys suggest? Snap-on, Mac, Cobalt, etc? Thanks in advance for any help.

Rod

Lots of mechanics here start of with Craftsman, KD, Allen or Blackhawk. Later they move up to something else for the tools they use the most.

I got some of my Snap On from a guy that went deep in dept to the Snap On truck when he started mechanics school. A few months later he decided wrenching was not for him. He sold his Snap On tools for pennies on the dollar and still owed the truck man a small fortune.

Another poster stated that all Kobalt was made in Taiwan. Actually, Kobalt wrenches, ratchets and sockets are USA made by Danaher. Prior to that, they were made by JH Williams.

In the past 10 years I have purchased and used other brands of tools. I now have S-K, Blue Point, Snap-On, and Thorsen wrenches. I also have a set of Snap-On and Evercraft (NAPA) sockets. All of the brands have a lifetime replacement warranty. Most of the Snap-On and Blue Point tools were purchased used at auctions.

I use mostly the Snap-On tools now, but if I were buying new, I believe the Thorsen and Evercraft brand tools are a better value, (and better quality) than Craftsman is today.

If you can afford it, buy Snap-On. Yes, it's expensive. But forty years later you will still own a quality tool with plenty of life left, even if you don't use them professionally. And they sure feel good to use.

Dale

Dale

PROTO is also a good brand. They can be purchased on ebay cheep and are a top line tool. They are used more by aircraft mechanics and the average grease monkey gets a hard on over snap-on not Proto hence lower ebay sales prices.

Also. there is an incredible deal on stainless tool chests at Cosco. The CSPS tool boxes are great! Hammerhead sells the same unit for over 3k and its $700 at Cosco.

The thing that has convinced me to pitch my craftsman is the poor service. Recently I shattered a 3/4" deep socket. I went to the store three times over the course of 4 months and each time was told they would be back on the shelf in a week or two. The 18 year olds running the show there couldn't figure out if one could be sent direct to my house. What if I was a professional mechanic? I sure wouldn't want to waste my time running to sears to get replacment tools when all the other guys just ring up the snapon guy and he drops off the tool I need in a few days.

A good point that was brought up is what if your son finds out he doesn't like what he is doing. I have a Mac tool box I got for cheap because after 6 months a kid decided he didn't want to be a mechanic. My recomendation is to get him the basics and don't skimp. A good set of wrenches, sockets, and screw drivers will last him a life time and be well worth it even if he isn't a mechanic.

Also, don't buy off the truck. Contact the rep that sells to the school and try and by at the student discount. Now will be the cheapest that the tools will ever be because the student discount is well below the cheapest truck price.

Either Snapon or Mac tools will serve him well. Proto also makes a good heavy duty tool that I have seen at several heavy duty truck shops. Proto can't compete with the service from Mac and Snapon

I went into the local Sears store in the town I was living in at the time. This was one of the franchise stores; the company had closed down their company owned store in this town a year or two before.

I explained what I needed to the high school aged girl behind the counter. She handed me a catalog and said I would have to order what I wanted. They carried very few tools, and all of them were in the large sets.

I left there and stopped by the Ace Hardware store on my way home. They had what I needed, on the shelf-and their set had one or two more sockets, and a rail-for less money. The fit and finish is as good as any of my Craftsman stuff, and they advertise it as lifetime guaranteed (although I haven't had to use it yet).

Needless to say, I'm pretty sure I've spent my last dollar on Craftsman tools, unless I need something special. Even after relocating to a larger city, there are still Ace Hardware stores everywhere, at least in Nebraska.

When I went to trade school in Milford NE they had a deal with Snap-On that allowed me to get a REALLY good set of tools and toolbox for a decent price. They also had a deal going with the local NAPA dealer which got me a good air impact wrench.

Also, since I'd known for a long time what I was gonna do after high-school, lots of people gave me "tool money" for HS graduation instead of the more traditional gifts...that really helped out too, several thousand dollars worth.

I worked as a mechanic several years after college and invested in more Snap-On tools from time to time, as well as filling in the gaps with cheaper "Harbor Freight" type stuff now and then when I saw something I needed. Now that I'm not turning wrenches for a living, that investment in tools is still used most every day keeping our ranch equipment going and on "hobby" work. Haven't set foot on a Snap-On truck in years, but I'm sure glad I invested in them initially.

as they got lost or broke I move up to higher quality in that item

nobody was walking off with my stuff either

There probably is one brand of tools that is better in general than other brands (I don't know what it is) but most companies don't seem to be able to offer high quality across the board. In many cases the very best tool, or class of tool, will be made by some company which may not market anything else which is better than mediocre.

The best thing for you to do might be to post a list of the tools you are considering buying for your son and let people weigh in on who makes the best one of each type.

On a different note, my personal advice would be for you to not get too heavily invested either financially or emotionally in a new interest of your son's at the beginning. If he stays with it there will be plenty of time for you to give tools as presents, etc. Kids do better with their parents' approval and encouragement than with their disapproval and disappointment. If you get yourself too heavily committed to a plan that doesn't go, it will be harder for you to be sincerely supportive if your son comes to tell you that it just isn't what he wants, after all.

All the best, Stan

You have to leave your e-mail open for him to e-mail you. Both your responses say No E-mail down in the corner which pretty much shuts that door.

All the best, Stan

My son started a similar program this fall. I have been buying him reasonable-quality tools as the need arises, some from pawn shops, and several of his classmates started out selling their souls to Strap-On. One has dropped out, and is trying to unload his tools (and debt) on another guy.

My son has also realized mechanics will NOT be his life's work, and, although he will finish the course, already has his sights set on an MBA.

A friend's kid went through a similar program, put $$$$ into tools, which remain locked up in his Dad's garage, while he pursues other interests. He doesn't even change spark plugs in his pickup... his Dad has us do it.

It seems the "mine's bigger than your's factor" causes a lot of tool debt, too.

So I'd advise proceding cautiously with the "big bucks" tools until you see how things go for him at school, and how determined he remains to work in that field after graduation.

I tried college when I first graduated HS and really wallowed around for 2 years not knowing what I wanted to do. I quit, got married, had a couple kids, and decided managing a restaurant, farming part-time, and working another part-time job wasn't going to cut it. I went back after 8 years away from college and got a B.S. and M.S. and really worked hard at it (especially since I had a family to feed and I was footing the bill too, not dad) and now have an awesome job I love and I can actually afford to feed the kids and buy toys (read: tractors, etc...). I think he will probably go the same route and whether he becomes a mechanic or not the life lessons he will learn will be valuable to him.