Tool box recommendations for future A&P mechanic

Check out the forums at garagejournal.com if you want to see all the arguments of snap on vs Marco vs harbor freight vs craftsman. For an actual toolbox the rolling box’s that harbor freight sells seem to get good reviews over there. Hand tools are a toss up based on personal preference. I will say that snap on screw drivers are one of the few places to splurge over cheaper alternatives. Their electronic torque wrench is also pretty awesome. Save your money and don’t buy expensive socket or wrench sets. You are going to need that money to buy specialty tools.
 
Doug States said:
Don't forget the foam to shadow your tools. I like the stuff I've gotten from FoamFitTools.com. You can get foam blanks to cut yourself (I used a hand held router) or CNC cut by them for specific tool kits.
Click to expand...
Foam would be nice but I have too many tools in each drawer for foam. My home HF box.
SDC10134.jpg


SDC11248.jpg
 
Gary Ward said:
Foam would be nice but I have too many tools in each drawer for foam. My home HF box.
SDC10134.jpg
Click to expand...
Yep, foam liner with organizers/carriers like that is what I use, too. Foam cutouts are great for a tool control program, but the carriers serve the same purpose. Hardest part is people remembering to check for empty spaces at the end of the job and end of the day.
 
Foam shadowing is the biggest rip off. I get what it's for, but plastic holders are way cheaper and take up less space.

The only thing I use foam for was for my line case as I don't need many tools and I was able to make 4 layers in my HF Apache large case.

Tool box in the hangar are the plastic rails/holders or even the blow molded case the tools come with.
 
Forget the foam inserts. Buy yourself a 3d printer instead. There are hundreds of designs for printable tool organization and many are customizable to meet what you have. The foam inserts work good for production shops that use the same tools day in and day out but suck when you buy a new tool for a specific job and have to get new foam inserts in order to put it somewhere. What you really want is just for the box to be organized so you easily recognize when a tool is missing or not put back after the job is done.
 
EdFred said:
Funny thing. I was putting together a spare toolbox for the cabin this weekend with wayward tools obtained from my drunk neighbor about 8-9 years ago. It's a 3-8 drive 9mm that's missing. There must be 200 spare sockets I have, and that's the one missing. Not the 10, had extras of those. 9mm.
Click to expand...
Your drunk neighbor is still trying to cram it into a G17 magazine.
 
GaryM said:
Your drunk neighbor is still trying to cram it into a G17 magazine.
Click to expand...
Ha. I bought all his firearms in that haul, too. Along with a motorcycle, and a bunch of other random crap. I had a post about it on here few years back.

pilotsofamerica.com

Anti-argh.

This is like the opposite of the Garmin GPS saga. Last week I started cutting up a tree on the neighbors property that died and fell towards mine, with about 10' of it crossing the property line. He comes out and helps me pile up the branches I'm taking off the trunk. After a bunch of...
pilotsofamerica.com pilotsofamerica.com
 
kmacht said:
Buy yourself a 3d printer instead.
Click to expand...
THen you need a CAD program to design the layout which have some pretty steep learning curves. Free slicer programs are not bad, but setting always seem to need tweaked.

Even if you have the .stl file modifying it is a PITA until you invest the time to learn the program and then you never print anything again because you are sick of jams, misprints or failures. Home 3D printers are pretty finicky... don't believe the youtube videos where every print is good and is complete it 5 minutes.
 
pfarber said:
Home 3D printers are pretty finicky...
Click to expand...
Nothing an A&P can't handle. :)

Even my wife is happy that I have one. At the moment it is printing a custom size embroidery hoop.

CAD is a bit of a learning curve, but there is a difference between being able to cobble something up out of simple shapes and elaborate multi/curved surfaces with textures and a screw top, and...

Designed and printed a cup holder for my scaffolding - it is the 21st century after all...

CupHolder.jpg
 
Last edited:
I always thought the custom cut out foam drawer inserts were a rip off. For my current tool box, I bought the anti-fatigue foam mats from Harbor Freight and cut them out myself with a razor and dremel. For a prior tool box, I used a yoga/exercise mat.

For the tools themselves, I personally have a mix of just about every major tool manufacture. Honestly, Icon from Harbor Freight will be “good enough” for 95% of all the jobs you’ll do. Their ratchets are actually really good, on par or better than a lot of offerings from the new Craftsman and Snap On. And yes, Snap On now makes a lot of junk. Their older stuff (30+ years) will be top notch. But anything from the last decade will be a crap shoot. The YouTube channel Project Farm does a LOT of comparison testing, is informative, and is usually a lot of fun to watch.

The best advice I could give as a 27 year wrench bender with a military background is to start small and basic, and then buy what you need as you realize you need it. You will still end up with a couple drawers full of tools that only get used maybe once or twice a year, if that. But for the tools you use everyday, you will want to find the ones that fit YOU best and are most comfortable and reliable for YOU.
 
I understand that you can't fit as many tools in a box with the shadowed drawers, but for an A&P it probably makes sense so you know you have everything back in your box at the end of the day.

The foam guy I mentioned before just released this video with a Harbor Freight box and mechanics set. The OP was looking for a starter box and tools... this might be an option.
 
I got a toolbox on wheels that I love, it’s not full, and it was cheap, somehow I got a special and then another discount for taking the floor sample. It plugs in and has an extension power outlet, usb ports etc. I cannot complain. I guess I could take tools out of my tool bag and fill it up one day too. I like decent quality stuff but I think any of the brands mentioned are good except for harbor freight haha, especially for the smaller tools, they snap off in a heartbeat, in my experience.
 
Gear wrench is pretty good too. Not to mention Williams and MAC.
 
I'm so old I even have a few Penncraft ratchets from back when JC Penny competed against Sears Craftsman and another big store called Montgomery Ward.
 
Magman said:
Monkey Ward?
Click to expand...
I have a set of combination wrenches that are stamped "Grants". Probably not the greatest in 1960 whatever, but they're better than most now. I'm not sure who I inherited them from, but I've never been in a Grants as far as I know.

As far as ratchets goes, I really never liked the feel of Snap On. My favorites are SK. I think they finally went away, sadly, but were around until sometime in the 2000's.
 
Silvaire said:
Anybody else remember JC Whitney?
Click to expand...
I remember that they sold aftermarket center brake lights, back when it was possible to get a ticket for having one...or at least so the urban legend goes.

I still have a wheel bearing packing tool from them, works great. Basically two shallow cones, threaded on a hollow rod that had a zerk fitting at one end, and a weep hold near the other end.
 
Silvaire said:
Anybody else remember JC Whitney?
Click to expand...
The first car I ever bought (at 14 with cash from money I had saved up from raising basset hound puppies since I was about 7) was a 1940’s Chevy, from an old military buddy of my dads. It came with a few driving lessons on how to shift the vacuum shift three on the tree and a few mail order parts catalogs (jc being the main one) and the advise to learn how to improvise, you won’t be able to just go to Napa when something breaks.
I still have and occasionally drive that car, I find it funny now that all these years latter that I can get almost every single stock part ordered and delivered within a few days thanks to macs, It would have saved so much time and thinking of a solution, but I’m glad I experienced it.
 
Silvaire said:
I'm so old I even have a few Penncraft ratchets from back when JC Penny competed against Sears Craftsman and another big store called Montgomery Ward.
Click to expand...
I have a Montgomery Wards socket set that my dad bought me when I got my first car in 1976.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
Yup.
If you went to the store in person in the olden days it was actually Warshawski auto supply
Click to expand...
I remember going there with my brothers in the 60's. You had to take a ticket with a number, ours was #89. So when they finally called 89 we went to the counter and they said "Sorry, we're still on the BLUE tickets"
 
Silvaire said:
Anybody else remember JC Whitney?
Click to expand...

Yep. Got their catalogs for many years and still get occasional emails. I don’t recall ever having bought a thing from them.
 
JC Whitney got bought out about 10 years ago. I’d ordered from them starting back in the 80s, visited the Mother Ship off the south side of I-80 with some buddies in the late 90s. It seems carparts.com is their successor.
 
I always liked and thought SK tools were top of the line. I haven't seen them in ages. First used them in vocation hi school.
I don't think we had a monkey wards anywhere near by so I never used their tools.
My late boss had a 76 and 78 dodge vans that he used for his business. They were accessorized with JC Whitney stuff. He had a fuss buster on his dash that I believe came from JC? Remember them?
 
IMHO SK made the best 1/4 “ drive ratchet. Very little friction and minimal

movement between clicks.

My MIL heavy- duty Snap-on was just the opposite. Very coarse movement.

Would not ratchet with self-locking nuts. Hated it!

Not all Snap- on are created equal.
 
Magman said:
IMHO SK made the best 1/4 “ drive ratchet. Very little friction and minimal

movement between clicks.

My MIL heavy- duty Snap-on was just the opposite. Very coarse movement.

Would not ratchet with self-locking nuts. Hated it!

Not all Snap- on are created equal.
Click to expand...
Snap on and craftsman and maybe others made course and fine toothed ratchets. I have a few of each.
I remember going into Sears and having my ratchets rebuilt while I waited and watched. I also remember getting fine or course put in because that is the only type they had at that time.
When sears stopped selling individual tools and only in sets is when I stopped buying craftsman tools.
 
Last edited:
Agree with Gary.

Some items get used (and lost or broken ).

Sockets for GA in frequency of use:

7/8 deep, 11/32, 3/8/ 7/16 then all the rest.

Un-scientific survey
 
SK is still around. From reading various sites, it looks like some of their tools are made just across town from Lycoming engines and some are made in China. Apparently anything from SK sold on Amazon is Chinese.

sktools.com

Collections

With ice in your veins and steel in your hands, there’s nothing you can’t fix. All you need are SK Professional Tools: Premium quality, precision-crafted.
sktools.com sktools.com
 
Ed Haywood said:
After reading this thread, I went and replaced my cheapo screwdrivers with old school craftsman clear handled ones. Maybe not the best but a step up from the garbage I was using.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm starting to feel a bit guilty about some of the cheap stuff I use. Maybe I need to do a bit of upgrading myself ...
 
Gary Ward said:
Snap on and craftsman and maybe others made course and fine toothed ratchets. I have a few of each.
I remember going into Sears and having my ratchets rebuilt while I waited and watched. I also remember getting fine or course put in because that is the only type they had at that time.
When sears stopped selling individual tools and only in sets is when I stopped by craftsman tools.
Click to expand...
Ace Hardware still sells individual craftsman tools and has a good selection, though I don't think they carry individual sockets.

When Lowes bought the Craftsman brand, it created a big legal mess. Sears sold the brand but was still trying to sell the tools. Sears is basically a dead company living on the fumes of its decaying corporate corpse. Quite a fall for those of us who can remember the Sears catalog being the ultimate wish list as kids. But Lowes has reinvigorated the Craftsman brand as a competitor to Ryobi.

I read somewhere that the parent company for Craftsman (Stanley?) tried to bring hand tool production back to the US, and built a factory in Texas, but they failed and shuttered it without ever producing a single wrench or socket.

Edit: news story on Craftsman factory in Texas here
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top