I was cleaning out somethings from my apartment in preparation of moving. I brought most of my tools to the parents house to be stored in their garage. Last night their home was burglarized while they were sleeping. Thief broke into the garage to get in the house.

Apparently he was content with finding a nicely stacked set of tools including (didnt have much to begin with, which makes it worse) :

Craftsman 12v drill with 2 batteries
Craftsman 19.2v drill, 2 batts
32pc drill bit set
Dewalt rotory tool
53pc Craftsman Mechanic tool set
3ton floor jack
2 jack stands
Soldering iron
33yr old toolbox (originally was my grandfathers) with misc wrenches, screwdrivers, etc.

I've been paying my way through college and grad school for the last 6 yrs, and besides the toolbox, all of those things were accumulated over time and purchased with my own dollar. So I can't even begin to describe how pissed I am about the tools. But on the other hand, I am thankful my tools satisfied the scumbag so that he didnt actually enter the house. Anyways, stepping down from my , I'm going to need to start rebuilding my tool collection.

What would you guys consider to be the essentials of a novice-intermediate tool collection? I don't really do any major mechanic work, but I'd like to have the tools to be able to do brakes, bolt-on exhaust stuff, and changing out common parts like alternators, water pumps, spark plugs, etc.

Keep in mind I'm not looking for top-of-the-line tool quality. Just looking for the best overall value that will allow me to do novice-intermediate work.

 

Sorry to hear about the theft I would cry if my crap was stolen..

I recommend hitting sears up right now for some craftsman tool deals..In this economy,they are like every other retail store, STRUGGLING. Last i looked they were running some pretty good deals on tools..

 

+1 for craftsman/sears.

make a decent sized set purchase to start out with and then just supplement as you need.

ratchets, sockets, screwdrivers, wrenches, and pliers are essential.

 

dude, that sucks! glad nothin happened to your parents.

imho, go to wal-mart and get the 201 piece Stanley socket set. Stanley is one of the best out there and you can't beat the wally world deal with a 1/2" torque wrench. speaking of which, Craftsman for that. and Black and Decker for power tools. it's what i have and i'm supremely satisfied.

 

whats a good wrench set as far as the specific types of wrenches in the set (ie. long, short, ratcheting, flex-head, etc) and what are the most common sizes I should be looking for?

 

I dont know about walmarts stanley brand but sear's craftsman has lifetime warranty, (just in case you forgot with all the anger) so that might be something to look into.

 

I actually just picked up a 20pc set (10sae, 10metric) made by Durabuilt for $17 Never heard of them before but they have a lifetime warranty.

 

Depending on what you need, you'd be surprised what you can find at a Pawn shop. Usually you'll find stuff that's junk, but there are times when you get those guys that buy all the nice tools, then 5-6 months later can't afford the electric bill, so they're pawning off Dewalt and other nice tools hardly used. You just got to know what they're worth, and know how to low-ball. Hell, you never know, you might find your old stuff out there for half what you paid for it! (sorry, that was a low blow )

 

the stanley set actually comes with a manufacturers lifetime warranty too. i almost bent a breaker-bar once, but the stanley socket held up great. so imho, still a great buy.

 

That was the FIRST place I went to look for it...actually went to 3 different pawn shops and told them what to look out for. I've been back daily to check lol. Awhile back I had a watch stolen from me at a bachelor party, found it 2 days later at the pawn shop.

 

True story, listen to this.....

My buddy needed to goto Home Depot to get some materials for a deck he's building, he asked me to go, so who can ever resist a trip to Home Depot. Was out for about 2hours, during that time he got 2 "suspicious" phone calls. Suspicious in that he seemed like he was being real short and then not telling me who called. So whatever, didnt think too much of it.

Get back to my apt and sitting in my living room is a new cordless drill, a new Dremel 300, a new 94pc Craftsmen mechanic set, and the same jack and jackstands I had before, and a 6pack of Guinness.

So I'm thinking what the hell is going on, I call up my friend who just left and he swears he doesn't know anything. So first things first, I open up that 6pack lol Inside I find a note from my fiance...

Hope this makes you happy...because I can't stand you sulking around anymore.
P.S. I figured this would be the first thing you open.

I think this pretty much confirms that I've found the right woman.

 

Yeah, you picked the right one, don't let her get away!

 

SCORE!!!! FTMFW!

 

I worry about that at times too. I'm sure I have a small fortune in tools, a lot of it was passed down from my grand-father, other stuff from auctions, and i've spent a good amount on a few specialty tools.

I think that Sears is a good bet for a starter kint with a good selection of stuff needed. Sorry about th tools man.

 

Anyone who steals tools should be beaten slowly over a period of 3 years

 

Yeah who in the world would steal tools.... seriously! That is like stealing pacifiers from babies, its wrong and whoever did it needs to be PUNISHED! With 20 sprays of hot coolant from the engine!

...Too much?