Popular Mechanics says to only buy the cheap versions of these

[vaskidmark]

http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/products/13-useful-tools-you-should-only-buy-on-the-cheap?click=pm_news#slide-1

Pretty much what they say, although it's been really dificult to get rid of that moving dolley.  Right now it's hiding in the shed, keeping some tupperware-type box of something up off the floor.

stay safe.

[dogmush]

Disagree with the Jackstands and the Adjustable wrench.

Jack stands because even if you're in the load rating, when you start hitting or yanking on something under the vehicle they can sway and tip over. (really, I've done it)  also the cheap ones are smaller, so you are more likely to have them fully extended. Buy quality jackstands.

Adjustable wrench:  Cheaper ones have more play in the mechanisms, which makes them likely to not stay where you adjusted them to, which is more likely to round the corners of the hex.  Buy the good ones.  Or better yet, learn to identify hexes by sight and use the right wrench/socket.


To add to tools to buy cheap list:  Disk brake caliper set.  Way better then a C clamp, and won't destroy your parking brake.  Ball joint installer and remover.  The little bushings make the job easier enough to be worth buying, but really how often do you need the tool at all?  The $400 Snap-On ain't needed here.

[Brad Johnson]

Most of it is usable advice, if a little tongue in cheek and appearing to be directed at the "I occasionally tighten a doorknob" mechanical aptitude group.  Two notable exceptions, however...

Never, ever buy cheap chisels.  If you do, expect them to be either A) so soft a posicle stick will blunt them, or B) so brittle they shatter into jagged uselessness at the slightest impact.

Wtf is a "ball hitch wrench"?  Last time I checked there wasn't a single mfg who made a wrench specifically for ball hitches.  Also, if you've ever lived in the real world where hitch ball nuts tend to do nasty things like corrode themslelves into place, you know the value of a sturdy wrench.  Every time I've tried to use a cheap no-name wrench in any but the lightest of applications I ended up with a just-as-tight fastener and wrench-shaped piece of metal origami.

Brad

[brimic]

Buy quality jackstands.
Adjustable wrench:  Cheaper ones have more play in the mechanisms, which makes them likely to not stay where you adjusted them to, which is more likely to round the corners of the hex.  Buy the good ones.  Or better yet, learn to identify hexes by sight and use the right wrench/socket.

All of the above!!! Especially when a quality set only costs about $20 more. I loathe cheap adjustable wrenches with sloppy gritty mechanisms.

I would add in pry bar too. If I'm going to lean on something with all my might, I don't want the steel to be made with shitty chinese heat treating where the bar will bend like a noodle (if I'm lucky) or snap off sending shards of angry metal flying at mach 3 with a jagged end left that could potentially lodge into my person.

[dogmush]

Wtf is a "ball hitch wrench"? 

http://www.kmart.com/reese-towpower-hitch-ball-wrench/p-082W205189110001P

Box end wrench with 1 1/8" on one end and 1 1/2" on the other.  Does like 90% of trailer balls in the world.

[Brad Johnson]

Pipe wrench.  Does 100% of hitch ball nuts.  Even metric.  Works on pipes too.  Also functions as a sledgehammer or home invasion deterrent.
 

http://m.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-18-in-Heavy-Duty-Pipe-Wrench-31025/100084131/

Brad

[lupinus]

Agree on the adjustable wrench, chisels, and jack stands. Some things are fine to cheap out on, things you'll use once in a blue moon and don't require any real stress. Things that are going to take stress, or that failing will possibly kill you, don't go cheap. Few if any need the snap on priced version, but don't buy the ones even Harbor Freight would blush at selling.

[lee n. field]

Giant Screwdrivers
Almost never used on giant screws.

For Enfield stocks.

Collapses only occasionally.

Enthusiastic endorsement.

adjustable wrench

Cheapies are, as he said, loathsome.

Pry Bar (3-foot)
Ugly, for when things get that way.

Packard-Bell opener.  Every computer tech should have one.

[MechAg94]

How about cheap websites that make you load 15 separate pages to read the whole article?  

I think my iPad chokes on all the ads.  

[MechAg94]

I disagree partially on the screw drivers.  

1.  Get the ones rated and insulated for electrical work.  Makes me more comfortable with some household jobs.

2.  There is nothing quite like using a good gun smith screw driver set.  I always hated using flat head screw drivers until I used one that FIT the screw perfectly.  I said partially above since these sets are not expensive.

I also don't know why they listed giant screw drivers and pry bars when they are often the same thing.

[Boomhauer]

Most of it is usable advice, if a little tongue in cheek and appearing to be directed at the "I occasionally tighten a doorknob" mechanical aptitude group.  Two notable exceptions, however...

Never, ever buy cheap chisels.  If you do, expect them to be either A) so soft a posicle stick will blunt them, or B) so brittle they shatter into jagged uselessness at the slightest impact.

Wtf is a "ball hitch wrench"?  Last time I checked there wasn't a single mfg who made a wrench specifically for ball hitches.  Also, if you've ever lived in the real world where hitch ball nuts tend to do nasty things like corrode themslelves into place, you know the value of a sturdy wrench.  Every time I've tried to use a cheap no-name wrench in any but the lightest of applications I ended up with a just-as-tight fastener and wrench-shaped piece of metal origami.

Brad

I use an impact wrench when I change hitch balls. Not that I often change my hitch balls, anyway- we standardize on one size and any new trailers we get that don't have that size get a new tongue welded on.

That said, my large size wrenches are Wright brand wrenches. This is what they look like, check out the girth of the handle. You ain't breaking that bad boy. Made in the US, they tailor to the industrial customers. I have them up to 2 1/2" at this moment. If you need a large wrench, I highly recommend them.



It's stupid to cheap out on jackstands. I love Harbor Freight but if there is a tool I'll spend money on it's quality jackstands.

Similarly, the only prybars worth having are quality prybars. Mine are made in the USA by Wilde and Mayhew, which are relabeled by a variety of names. My big bar of excessive leverage is an old crawler crane axle. I've seen the high quality bars break under extreme conditions, I can't trust a lesser prybar that might break under more normal conditions.

The orange dead blow hammers are GTG IMHO. I have a few and use them frequently, have not broken yet.

The Pittsburgh Pro stuff at HF, that is made in Taiwan, is pretty quality stuff, as are the Earthquake impact wrenches and the red tool chests and tool cart.

[K Frame]

Disagree on the chisels.

Everyone should have a set of GOOD chisels, and a set of cheap chisels.

Cheap as in Ace hardware/Home Depot house brand cheap. They're adequate, and if you clip a nail when you're working to remortise the latch on your front door, you really don't care all that much.

I use my cheap chisels far more than my good ones (about $50 a piece). I use the good ones when I know I have to do truly precision work (like mortising a hinge) and when I'm 99.99999999999% sure that I'm not going to run into a nail.

[zxcvbob]

Pipe wrench.  Does 100% of hitch ball nuts.  Even metric.  Works on pipes too.  Also functions as a sledgehammer or home invasion deterrent.
 

http://m.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-18-in-Heavy-Duty-Pipe-Wrench-31025/100084131/

Was gonna say the same thing but you beat me to it.  Works on axle nuts too.

[RoadKingLarry]

Pipe wrench.  Does 100% of hitch ball nuts.  Even metric.  Works on pipes too.  Also functions as a sledgehammer or home invasion deterrent.
 

http://m.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-18-in-Heavy-Duty-Pipe-Wrench-31025/100084131/

Brad

I've got a really old 36" Crescent wrench that works great on ball hitches.  Turn the hitch sideways in the receiver and stand on the wrench. No drama. I've also got a set of 3/4" drive sockets with a ratchet wrench and a breaker bar. I can get it loose. And in dire cases I can always break out the blue flame wrench, never had anything fail to give way to that. My best pry bar was made from a buggy axle. It's 5' long and both ends were reworked in a coal fired forge for use as a pry bar. I was probably 5 or 6 years old when I watched my dad and uncle do that.
Load bearing tools where safety is an issue I go premium quality. Same for chains and tie downs.
I'm a big fan of farm sales and the like for tools. Some of the oldest stuff is the best for brute force stuff. 

[brimic]

Changing ball hitches? What's that?
They got this newfangled device called a receiver hitch where a rusted up ball ain't no thing.

[RoadKingLarry]

All my trailer stuff runs 2" balls. The trailer my "new" boat was on had a 2-5/8" hitch. I didn't feel like shelling out for a ball and a stinger for something I was gonna pull twice.

[Tallpine]

All my trailer stuff runs 2" balls. The trailer my "new" boat was on had a 2-5/8" hitch. I didn't feel like shelling out for a ball and a stinger for something I was gonna pull twice.

You have to have a lot of balls if you're going to pull many different trailers. 

[HankB]

. . . It's stupid to cheap out on jackstands. I love Harbor Freight but if there is a tool I'll spend money on it's quality jackstands . . .

Just read a recent thread where someone wrote that you should never buy something from Harbor Freight where a failure is likely to kill you . . . it would seem that jackstands would fall into this category.

Sometimes cheap can be TOO cheap; a guy at work got a big pipe wrench - about 3' long - from some cheap importer of Chinese tools, and it  broke the first time he used it; the hook jaw simply snapped in two. Examining the fracture revealed it wasn't steel, but cast iron. And LOW GRADE cast iron at that.

[K Frame]

Uhm....

All of my pipe wrenches are cast iron, with steel jaw plates, and every one of them is American made.

They've been made that was for years...

Stanley, Urrea, Rigid, Superior Tool, Kobalt, Craftsman, all are made out of cast iron.

There are also cast aluminum pipe wrenches, but they also have steel jaw plates.

The ones from Harbor Freight say they're "steel construction." I doubt that. Those appear to be standard cast or ductile iron handles with steel jaw plates.



As for the jack stands, no way in hell am I cheaping out on those, OR a jack.

[brimic]

Uhm....

All of my pipe wrenches are cast iron, with steel jaw plates, and every one of them is American made.

They've been made that was for years...

Stanley, Urrea, Rigid, Superior Tool, Kobalt, Craftsman, all are made out of cast iron.

There are also cast aluminum pipe wrenches, but they also have steel jaw plates.

The ones from Harbor Freight say they're "steel construction." I doubt that. Those appear to be standard cast or ductile iron handles with steel jaw plates.

Correct. Pipe wrenches are made of cast iron or aluminum as you stated- nothing wrong with that.
However- not all cast iron is equal or of a known quantity. Chinese metals on low end tools tend to be suspect.

[KD5NRH]

Jack stands because even if you're in the load rating, when you start hitting or yanking on something under the vehicle they can sway and tip over. (really, I've done it)  also the cheap ones are smaller, so you are more likely to have them fully extended. Buy quality jackstands.

1/4" thick 4" steel square tube with 14ga 2" square tube legs and a v-cut at the top for the jack point or the axle to sit in makes a hell of a tough jack stand, and cheap enough that you can make a new set for each height you might need.  If you need many different heights, use 3.5" square for the upright and cut 4" square tube sleeves in each height to slip over it.

[K Frame]

Yes, you are correct. I was specifically addressing the statement that made it seem as if pipe wrenches were supposed to be made of forged steel as opposed to cast iron...

Some companies also make titanium pipe wrenches. I don't even want to know how much they are...

And I THINK at one time there were also magnesium alloy pipe wrenches...

[Nick1911]

Sometimes cheap can be TOO cheap; a guy at work got a big pipe wrench - about 3' long - from some cheap importer of Chinese tools, and it  broke the first time he used it; the hook jaw simply snapped in two. Examining the fracture revealed it wasn't steel, but cast iron. And LOW GRADE cast iron at that.

I discovered that harbor freight vices use cast iron for the female thread that the leadscrew engages.

If you really crank it down, it'll shatter.  I ended up making another one from some steel bar stock and a big acme nut.

[K Frame]

"I discovered that harbor freight vices use cast iron for the female thread that the leadscrew engages."

For a light duty vice that would be OK. Medium duty would be fine with a sleeved female thread.

but if you need a heavy duty vice, you want a cast steel body, and they are not cheap.

[Marnoot]

Agreed that jack-stands aren't something to go cheap on. My personal policy is that if failure of the item in question could very likely lead to death, I don't go cheap on it. Jack-stands are firmly in that category.

I spun a Harbor Freight 4-way lug wrench in half a few years ago. Spun apart the 1/2"-thick "steel" shaft right between the middle and the end, not a break at a weld. I'm 140# dripping wet. That's some awfully terrible steel if I can do that to it.