HQ Tool Suggestions

Lasherž

CarAudio.com Elite
Was wondering what your guys' opinion was on some useful tools and brands. I'm always looking for hidden gem tools at garage sales, estate sales, or 2nd hand stores. I'm mainly hoping to focus on brands which are mostly guaranteed to be of worthwhile quality, so brands that are hit and miss I'm only interested in certain product line names. I'll start off on a few obvious ones.

Mitutoyo - Any measuring devices
Fluke, Keithley, HP, Siglent, Agilent, Keysight, B&K Precision, Rohde & Schwartz - Electronic measurements, testing, and power supplies
Hakko, Quick, Atten, JBC - Soldering or rework stations.
Hilti - Drills and impact drivers
Greenlee - Crimpers, cutters, electrician tools
Nichicon, JamiCON, Panasonic, Ruby - Capacitors
Omron - Electronic switches
Panasonic, LG, Samsung, Toshiba, Sanyo - Lithium cells
Maglite - Flashlights
Mattco, Snap-on, Mac - Sockets and wrenches
FLIR - Thermal imaging
Fiskars - Hand tools and gardening
Honda - Small engines
Morse, Starrett - Milling, blades, taps, and bits

Maybe the list will be a good reference once it's big enough. Any suggestions about brands that ooze superior quality in a certain field?

Will be adding more as they're suggested or as I think of them. Feel free to rip the brands if you've had a bad experience as well, that's what the thread is about.

Briggs & Stratton - Small engines (Quality has gone downhill recently)
 
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Harbor freight. 👍
Talk all the **** you want about them but lifetime warranty on hand tools and they are cheap as **** and easily exchanged if needed. 🤷‍♂️

Snap on $175 for 3/8" ratchet. PITA to warranty.
Pittsburgh $19 BEFORE 20% off coupon and Lifetime warranty.
 
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Harbor freight. 👍
Talk all the **** you want about them but lifetime warranty on hand tools and they are cheap as **** and easily exchanged if needed. 🤷‍♂️
It's true that a lot of tools don't really need to be top notch. I mean, this has served me well in the worst situations for 5 years for example:
In general though, if you see a pittsburgh or chicago electric tool at a garage sale it's going to look like a better deal than it is unless it's dirt cheap.

Also not for nothing, this Walmart tool has done far more wire stripping than my auto-strippers just because I keep it in the glove box 24/7.
 
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Who needs quality when big box stores have such lax return policies aka rental policies.

They are so desperate to get foot traffic in the store they will do anything to appease customers.

Before you morally upright haters talk ****- I have worked on both sides of this fence. The battle is as futile as the war on drugs. There is an allowance for these types of losses a company incurs. It's built into their book keeping. They enable it, they encourage it.
 
Who needs quality when big box stores have such lax return policies aka rental policies.

They are so desperate to get foot traffic in the store they will do anything to appease customers.

Before you morally upright haters talk ****- I have worked on both sides of this fence. The battle is as futile as the war on drugs. There is an allowance for these types of losses a company incurs. It's built into their book keeping. They enable it, they encourage it.
If you can't beat em, join em eh? Correction: They absorb it, because that's the price of a return policy like that. It's like car insurance, it's price is built on the knowledge that most people aren't trying to commit insurance fraud.
 
If you can't beat em, join em eh? Correction: They absorb it, because that's the price of a return policy like that. It's like car insurance, it's price is built on the knowledge that most people aren't trying to commit insurance fraud.

Because the insurance industry is so honest and innocent and always looks out for the consumers........


If I didnt know any better Id say you're another bobby2names account trying to make a name for yourself. You react in similar ways to certain posts and you show a similar gap in knowledge of what worked in the past vs what works today. Could be me but I'm throwing that out there.
 
Because the insurance industry is so honest and innocent and always looks out for the consumers........

If I didnt know any better Id say you're another bobby2names account trying to make a name for yourself. You react in similar ways to certain posts and you show a similar gap in knowledge of what worked in the past vs what works today. Could be me but I'm throwing that out there.
Well the other side of that is that they're still making a profit obviously. In Harbor Freight's case they can offer return policies like that because a) Their products are extremely cheap and b) The hassle of returning an item usually involves going through the tool company rather than the store, which for a cheap tool eventually your time in getting the return postage cleared is worth more than the tool.

Idk who that is, but personal drama on a car audio forum sounds like a pretty shitty way to occupy one's time. I think using a hardware store as an unpaid toolbox worked in the past and also works today, but it was never not a douche move... Unpopular opinion of the year, right?
 
Harbor Freight tools are cheap and of ok quality. That said, my go to is their oscillating multi tool. At $20 it pays for itself within one hour of use. I usually get a year out of one with heavy use. So not knocking them, just funning around.
 
Harbor Freight tools are cheap and of ok quality. That said, my go to is their oscillating multi tool. At $20 it pays for itself within one hour of use. I usually get a year out of one with heavy use. So not knocking them, just funning around.
I've always heard anything that's meant to do a bunch of things often does a bunch of things badly.. but I've also gotten decent use out of one of those redoing a glued down tile floor.
 
Well the other side of that is that they're still making a profit obviously. In Harbor Freight's case they can offer return policies like that because a) Their products are extremely cheap and b) The hassle of returning an item usually involves going through the tool company rather than the store, which for a cheap tool eventually your time in getting the return postage cleared is worth more than the tool.

Idk who that is, but personal drama on a car audio forum sounds like a pretty shitty way to occupy one's time. I think using a hardware store as an unpaid toolbox worked in the past and also works today, but it was never not a douche move... Unpopular opinion of the year, right?
It works because it gets you back in the store. When I go for a warranty exchange, I usually pick up spare blades for my other tools, and a random doohickey because it looks like something that will make life easier. Autozone has the same policy with lifetime warranty on autoparts and tools. You always leave with more than you needed.
 
It works because it gets you back in the store. When I go for a warranty exchange, I usually pick up spare blades for my other tools, and a random doohickey because it looks like something that will make life easier. Autozone has the same policy with lifetime warranty on autoparts and tools. You always leave with more than you needed.
There's a big difference between warranty exchanges for broken parts and returns. I mean if it breaks because you were giving it the 300lb gorilla routine then sure, it's got a warranty, that's what it's there for. In terms of returns like buying a specialty tool for a project and then returning it after you're done.. Naw, in that case you're going back to the store to rip someone off. Either a multi-million dollar organization or the average Joe that the employees repackaged it for and didn't label it as open box.
 
There's a big difference between warranty exchanges for broken parts and returns. I mean if it breaks because you were giving it the 300lb gorilla routine then sure, it's got a warranty, that's what it's there for. In terms of returns like buying a specialty tool for a project and then returning it after you're done.. Naw, in that case you're going back to the store to rip someone off. Either a multi-million dollar organization or the average Joe that the employees repackaged it for and didn't label it as open box.
Yes I see that often in HD or Lowe's. Used tools in the returns desk that look to have been bought for a one time use. I agree, that is theft by deceit. My returns are purchased warranty. After all, that is the reason of purchasing said warranty. 3 months manufacturer and then one year store after that. Cannot beat that deal for only $9.
 
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