I bought a 150# Mac Tool torque wrench about 20 years ago. It has never been used much but decided to send it in (23 January) to get it calibrated just in case. It WAS just like new. I mean JUST LIKE NEW. Finally in mid March tool distributer said that it couldn't be fixed but would sell me another for $150.00 plus old wrench. NO WAY, send it back to me. Finally got it back this week (April 11) and guess what- it was destroyed and can no longer be used - EVER. It is their policy to do this if they have discontinued a tool or you don't want it repaired. Called Mac Tools and theytell me it is to avoid lawsuits. BULL !!!!!!!!!!! Ever hear of a waiver? They won't repair or replace. I'm going to have to hear a small claims court judge tell me that before I believe it. Mac Tools will see snow in hell before I ever buy another tool from them !!!!!!!!!!!

 

That is why own some CUMMINS tools!

Honestly all joking aside, there is actually Cummins tools.

I would never buy a tool frm MAC tools again either. Good luck buddy!!!
Wheelo

 

Call me what you want but I have mostly Craftsman tools. It is a pain to have to go down and get them replaced but I've never had them turn me down even if it meant upgrading to the latest and greatest.

Rick

 

Craftsman will never get another dime of my money. After breaking my 2nd 3/8" drive ratchet on the first bolt I used it on I got ticked and will never buy another one.

 

Craftsman has been nothing short of great in my experience w/ them.

Had 3 broken ratchets and a 3/4 socket that I busted. Went to Sears, picked up all the new ratchets off the shelf and the socket, went to the counter they printed me out a recipt and I was in and out in 10 minutes tops. That's decent customer service in my book.

 

Same here

except its not a good thing when the girl that works at the tools dept knows u by name already But hey, i do the same get what i need, leave brokens, and i also get my reciept, smile and go...

Rick

 

Found out that Craftsman will not replace a rachet with a bent handle. Something about abuse.

 

If your bending the handle of a ratchet the last you need to worry about is abuse. You probly have more oppressing issues like joining the Tough Man Competitions

 

Crafstman used to be good tools years ago. Their quality has gone down hill lately and they quit carrying as many specialty tools. I feel they are a good investment for a week end shade tree mechanic but if you make a living using them I would go with the likes of snap on. My own tools are a mix of snap on, sears, craftsman, mac, Husky, channel lock, vice grip, and a ton of cheap stuff. This doesnt count the specialty tools. I think you are nuts if you only buy from one supplier.
All the dealers have their bad reps. You just have to learn who they are and not deal with them. I have had replacement tools from all of them along with denials. Yes I have been denied with Sears also. I Used to take tools back to them by the bag every 2 weeks when I used them for a living.
I think that you got hosed on the torque wrench but it is a common practice that I have heard of from other companies. I dought you will get very far on it. Unfortunatly you will probably still end up buying a new torque wrench and and going through alot of aggrevation.

 

hey mountain goat, i too think you got hosed on the torque wrench issue but i also agree with robert chilton...he makes a good point. good luck to ya though!

no for a question of my own, i will be going to college in August to be a Diesel Technician, and i'm gonna need some tools. they have the vendors come in with their semi trucks full of tools and i can get them for 60% off. now i myself, swear by craftsman, they have never failed me, i think they're great tools buuuut, i never did make a living using tools everyday, and i never did use them too "hardcore" i guess you could say, so now, out of all you guys here, can i get a show of hands on what is the best tool to go with? i'm not even sure if the craftsman vendors come to school, but i do know for sure that Snap On, Mac, and i believe Cornwell might come too but not sure on the last one, but there are more than this anyway. but if i go with the "buying from a vendor" route, then it will have to be one vendor only. so what do ya'll recommend?

sorry for kinda sorta thread jackin' but it's still on subject...right...

 

Why cant you set up an account with multiple vendors? I never have used cornwall tools but this is my preference. Snap on ratchets and long extensions. I also prefer snap on wrench profile but a good substitute for smaller wrenches are Husky brand from the Home Depot. Same profile, cheap, and have a life time warrenty. Mac makes a better impact hammer gun IMO and their impact universal sockets have saved my but more than once. I cant stand their ratchets though. They have a real fine tooth count that is really annoying. I buy most of my socket sets from sears but they are augmented by Huskys and cheapies. Alot of times you can get a really good deal on 3/4 or 1" ratchet sets at a bolt supply specialty store for about a 1/4 of the big companies price. I buy alot of cheap wobbly extensions at auto zone.
Honestly alot of it is personal preference and if the dealer is good. My best advice is dont get used to buying all your tools off the truck. It is a bad habit that will make you broke in a hurry once you are out of school. I have worked with a couple of guys that owed their entire pay check to the snap on man and had to do side jobs to put food on the table and keep the lights on. Good luck with your career.

 

Mountain Goat, forget about a waiver, they destroyed your property, and on purpose! That makes it a criminal act in my book. Anyway, I would send the president of Mac Tools a letter explaining the situation. Demand replacement or payment within two weeks or so, or you will take legal action. Small claims court involves no more than filling out a form and paying a small fee which beomes part of the claim, at least in New Jersey. I've won several BS cases like this. It's amazing how their tone changes in front of a judge!

 

I'm still using a 3/8 ratchet I bought in a set from a Kroger store about 35 years ago. Has never given me any trouble unless it gets so greasy and dirty the open ratchet wheel gets clogged up. I just spray some WD-40 on it to clean it and go back to twisting bolts off.

My dad R.I.P. bought me a Globemaster 1/2 inch drive set for my birthday about the same time and it's still working fine. It was made in China I think but can't be sure.

Most of my tools have been accumulated over the last 40 years a bit or a set at a time from many different manufacturers. I can't see spending top dollar for tools when the cheap stuff does what I want. Call me cheap but I still git er done!

Oh, and if it breaks (rarely) I throw the durn thing away and go buy another cheap one. Life is to short to worry about such trivial things.

Edwin

[edit] I don't mean to put down your plight with your torque wrench. You have every right to be angry at them and I would be too. If they won't make you whole then Sue their pants off!

 

Here's how the tech school deal works Ridiculous....

All the tool vendors will come in and give you a tremendous discount offer on "starter tool kits". This is the hook they want to set into you so that you will buy there product for the rest of your career....or so they hope. I've been a dealer tech for about 15 years now. Most of the snap on tools I own were deals I got from drop-out students at vo-tech, and Ebay. I will not disagree that snappy does have some nice stuff...but you can make a living with cheaper tools. Here's my advise for air tools.

Ingersol Rand 231 1/2" impact. Cheap (can be found for around $120) and I'm only on my second one in 15 years. Had the other rebuilt for $60 bucks and it's my back up.

Mac 1/4" air ratchet. AR 251 is the latest part number (sorry, this one's not cheap). I destroyed two of Snap On's "best" 1/4" ratchets back in the Neon head gasket extravaganza days. Bought the Mac and it's been trouble free.

Snap On FAR 72B 3/8 air ratchet. As you can see, I'm not a big Snap On fan, but this one gets top honors. I own two of them (gotta have back ups!!) and they will hurt you! They are that good. Now here's the $$$ deal..... I bought my first one new for way too much. The second one I purchased used off of Ebay for cheap and then sent it to Snap On for "recon" and had less than $100 invested.

Ingersol Rand 2115 3/8" impact. Again....not too cheap, but it's the same as the MAC one I have and it's definately paid for itself.

I truely feel if you go with those recommendations you will find many years of reliability.

On my wrenches, my standards are Snap On (I did mention buying tools from tech school dropouts right??) that I stole. My metrics are a set of Craftsman. I really can't think of a time where I cursed the craftsman wrenches for not being as good as the Snappy's, and I know when I lose one of them it won't hurt as bad if it's the Sears one. I did lose a 1/2" Snappy wrench a few years ago and simply replaced it with a Craftsman. Speaking of losing tools....NEVER pay alot for 1/4" drive sockets. Those little suckers will disappear and you can buy sets of Craftsman sockets for what a single Snap/on, mac, etc.. will cost.

Sockets.... For impacts I have ATD. They are fairly inexpensive and I have had very little probs. Replaced the common ones over the years, 19mm, 13mm, 15mm, 8mm.
3/8 swivel impacts...bought a set of Sunnex for around 80 bucks back at my beginning. I've only replaced the 18, 15, and 13. Used MAC since the truck is a bit "handy".

Tool Box.... I'd hang em on the wall if they wouldn't disappear. A tool box is just that...a BOX! Don't fall into the "all box no tool" fool. I worked out of a slider drawer craftsman box for years. Keep your eye out for a deal as they do come along if you want into something bigger. Our Mac man came in to our shop five years ago and said the warehouse contacted him with a closeout deal. If he bought two boxes he would get one free. A co worker and I each bought a box at his cost and that gave him the third to sell for his profit.

Hope some of this info helps. Nothing worse than getting into the biz and having some guy in a shiny truck bury you in 10K of debt.

.....and keeping on topic, here's my experience.. I bought a Snap On 3/8 torque wrench about five years ago. It had a very fine head and worked well with little rotation. The head went bad so I gave it to my Snap On rep. He put a new head in it no charge which was cool....until I went to use it. The new head wasn't nearly as fine as the original, as matter of fact it made it useless to torque the fuel tubes on the rear cylinders on the Cummins equipped trucks. I contacted Snappy on my prob and he told me that was all he could do. "They discontinued that head because they had to much trouble with it" is what he told me..... I would have never bought it in the first place with a course head on it. I ended up trading it (and more $$$ than I care to think about) for a new MAC torque wrench that has a reactionless head on it which works even better than the old fine tooth head the snappy had. Our shop has seen to date: 4 snap on guys (currently mia), 3 matco guys (currently mia), 2 Mac guys ( one moved and the other stepped right in. BEST customer service in these parts!!), 1 Cornwell guy (just started about 8 months ago. seems ok, but time will tell).

 

You're suppose to slide the cheater bar all the way up to the neck!
I love Craftsman tools! I've taken back 3/8 drive sockets nobody could bust without a cheater bar and them replace it without a word! Now I'll never own another Craftsman screw driver but the rest are top notch!