# Tools Aboard - Where do you buy them ?



## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

As an adjunct to the tool storage thread, where do you buy your tools ?

Whenever I look through e.g Sears or Home Depot I see some really clever tools that I cannot buy down under and at very good prices .... but what about quality ? 

Traditionally American tools have been of a very high quality but I notice a few complaints re current quality of Craftsman tools.

What say ye fellow SailNetians .... where do you buy your tools or where would you LIKE to buy your tools ?


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## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

I buy all the cheep Chinese home depot Husky brand unless and I need a special high quality tool there fine.

The Roybi battery tools stuff is as good as anything on the market unless you go for festool money 

Up here I always stock up on there Christmas specials


I have a lot Craftsman stuff and it is still fine And USA made BUT they have sunk in a bunch of Sub brands to keep up with the Home depot husky brand and the lowes kobalt brand


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## TQA (Apr 4, 2009)

harbor freight

OK some of the stuff is rubbish but there are lots of great bargains to be had.


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## sfchallenger (May 17, 2011)

Disagree totally with the above. I used to buy Ryobi tools all the time; with moderate to heavy usage you'll find the battery life is for sh*%. Makita is better, Bosch is also good. Avoid Husky/Harbour freight/ Chinese built if at all possible, especially for engine work. Look at pawn shops/estate sales for older American tools, especially fitted wrenches, sockets, and things of that ilk. Older Craftsman, or better yet Snap/On or Mac. Channel Lock still makes ok stuff for the pliers and pipe wrenches. Klein makes good electrical tools and screwdrivers.

Better quality tools make the job easier; they are less likely to strip that important nut or bolt on the hard to reach side of your engine and will last a lifetime. Lesser quality tools lead to more cursing and a more difficult project. 

Just some advice from a carpenter by trade.


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## mitiempo (Sep 19, 2008)

I try and buy quality tools unless for occasional use only.

Craftsman 19.2 drills - I have 2
Dewalt 12 volt lithium small frame drill
Ridgid switchable head with multi tool and right angle drill heads
seldom used 12 volt Black and Decker drill and one old corded drill
Festool jigsaw - replaced a Bosch that I had for 15 years
Dewalt orbital sander
Black & Decker mouse sander
Makita laminate trimmer
Porter Cable router
Dremel Multi tool
Stanley socket set
and many hand tools, full collection of electrical including cutters, strippers, and crimpers for all gauges up to 4/0, several multimeters, etc

The scary part - I live on my boat.

But I own a van


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## sfchallenger (May 17, 2011)

I forgot to mention the Fein MultiMaster. An incredibly useful little device with oh so expensive blades and attachments but really incredible for some jobs. For power tools the choice between premier brands often comes down to ergonomics - where are the relevant controls you want and how easy are they to manipulate during use? For that reason I've ended up with a Milwaukee router, Porter Cable belt sander, Bosch jigsaw, and a DeWalt chop saw - each one offered what I wanted in that tool and belonged to that 'seems ok' crowd of tools that compete at similar price points for the offering.

I live on my boat too. I have a storage unit to hold the lathe, table saw, etc.


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## neverknow (Feb 2, 2011)

We use Craftsman tools almost exclusively and for the most part are very happy. Most times you will break off the bolt before the tool breaks. Often times that's with a pipe as a extension. 

So far our exp. is with fresh Lake Michigan water, I wonder how well those same tools will fair in salt water climates though????


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## PaulfromNWOnt (Aug 20, 2010)

Most of my tools come from Canadian Tire. Their hand tools have a lifetime warranty, and their power tools are very decent at a price point. Mastercraft is the brand name that belongs to the store, but they also carry other brands that usually aren't as good.

BTW, I don't care for cordless tools for home use. I would rather lug around the cord then wait for the battery to charge. We use Hitachi 18v cordless tools at work and I love them.


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## SloopJonB (Jun 6, 2011)

In Vancouver we have a great tool store - KMS. They have stores all over B.C. and are expanding across Canada now. I've been buying my tools from Stan since before he had shelving, literally. He opened a storefront back in the 70's and was only open a couple of evenings a week and Saturdays while he kept working as a heavy duty mechanic.

They have the best prices around and sell every level of quality in every kind of tool imaginable from bargain bin junk to Festool. I can't imagine buying EITHER myself - $600 for a cordless drill? Puleeeze - I can buy 10 DeWalts for that. How much quality can you use?

I buy my tools for home use on a cost benefit basis - I have pretty expensive American combination wrenches but a Taiwanese chop saw for example - the saw doesn't get used much and I can buy three for the price of a high quality one. So what if it took me an hour to get it adjusted to cut accurately? KMS had a special on some Chinese combo wrenches - SAE & Metric in long and stubby for $40 - I picked up a set for the boat. So what if they get rusty? Better them than my several $hundred good ones. I could have got ONE Snap-On or Mac for that price. I acquired a B&D 18V VSR drill with charger & 2 batteries from Air Miles - free. It's still doing everything I ask of it.

My attitude is buy the quality you need for the job you need to do with it. Not many of us need the very top end pro tools so use the money for something else. 

One thing I will NEVER buy again is a Craftsman power tool. Starting in the late 70's, I have had a 4X24 belt sander, a 3/8 drill and a 2 Hp router - all JUNK. The belt on the sander wouldn't track no matter how you adjusted it, the drill died in short order and the router had a phoney collet setup where the end of the motor shaft was split instead of having a real collet. They have been living on a reputation made 50 years ago and haven't lived up to it for decades now. Pretty well ALL tool vendors offer a lifetime guarantee on hand tools now - it's pretty meaningless really - when was the last time YOU snapped off a combination wrench? I've never had a hand tool that could've warranted a replacement except a Snap-On screwdriver that had an overly hard tip that chipped.


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## sfchallenger (May 17, 2011)

So, it occurs to me that the OP didn't really specify which application these tools were for. General boat maintenance? Redoing the brightwork? Engine repair? Rig tuning? Woodworking on board, or some combination. So I may have been a bit hasty in the 'buy the best possible' outlook. I would never purchase a Festool drill either, although their sliding circular saw/track setup is very nifty and a godsend in the right circumstance (usually residential paneling, but headliners do come to mind). But it all comes down to what you expect to do on board and what kind of sailing you're doing. Going offshore for an extended period? You'd better have everything you can think of in the best quality possible. Occasional daysailor? Probably you can get by with a screwdriver, hammer, pipe and crescent wrenches and lots of tape. It all depends on what you hope to do with your boat, the complexity of the systems you have onboard, and how often you expect to see a port or mooring where you have access to other resources. One thing I will say is that I have more propensity to take care of my good quality tools and I tend to care less about the ****ty ones. I'd bet that everyone on this thread has owned an awful pair of needlenose pliers, the kind that have tips that shear at the slightest rotation, they corrode quickly, bind, and then instantly become the only tool you have that can get you out of a situation you'd like to be rid of in a hurry. 

I'd close with something I've heard from the carpentry world - 'If the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail.'

Best of luck,
h


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## mitiempo (Sep 19, 2008)

I bought my Festool jigsaw from KMS, Craftsman drills from Sears, and also shop at Lee Valley, Canadian Tire, Home Depot and others on occasion. 
Rather than buy the Fein I bought the Dremel Multi Tool. Craftsman drills (19.2volt cordless) are good but the newer ones aren't as good as the older ones. With cordless tools multiple batteries are the only way to go.

With tools that I use regularly I prefer good quality, if it is for seldom use like my angle grinder - $20 from canadian Tire.


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## tommays (Sep 9, 2008)

I own all kinds of Metabo Fein Bosch and other high quality tools we are talking about tools your leaving on the boat in saltwater


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## T37Chef (Oct 9, 2006)

Tools I keep on the boat are usually purchased at the $1.00 table at the local ACE Hardware or old craftsman that are not in such great cosmetic shape  I don't keep many electric tool aboard, and old craftsman drill, thats about it. I keep the good stuff at home or in the truck. 

Harbor freight, Home Depot, etc are good for cheap tools you don't mind losing overboard...not that I have ever dropped anything overboard


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## captflood (Jan 1, 2011)

GREETINGS EARTHLINGS; You all should be buying localy made stuff and keeping your own factoies busy, I always try to buy Britool stuff (Home is England) but I do hve a quantity of Craftman small sockets got when I was last across the pond (Iwoa), Sears and a farm shop have a great variety of wacky things for the boat but I cannot yet justify a bull whip on board for the long haired one. Go SAFE Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm ?


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

It was a general question, nothing specific in mind though I was thinking non power.

Jonesy has mentioned Canadian Tyre to me and I'll check out KMS. Craftsman made in the USA get good raps but their Chinese gear not so much. 

Thanks to all for your replies.


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## bljones (Oct 13, 2008)

For wood-specific specialty tools, some hardware, silica gel, sandpaper, storage boxes, etc., I like Lee Valley Tools

For general mechanics tools, Husky at HD, Craftsman at Sears and Mastercraft at Canadian Tire are all pretty much on par as far as quality, price and return policies are concerned. 
Electircal tools- I buy grinders when they are on sale, wherever they are on sale, 2 at a time. at $20 a piece, usually with three or 5 disks included, it's like buying computer printers- often cheaper to replace than to reload or repair. I recently bought a mastercraft 1/4 sheet sander because it has wire bale hold-downs, which I prefer over the maddening stamped/serrated steel sheet clamps on my old sander- and in one of Canadian Tire's bizzaro clearance sales, I got the sander and a 6a 3.5" power planer as a bundle for $24.95. The planer itself retails for $99. I promptly put the planer up for sale on kijiji for $30 (Makes a great christmas present!)

But, I prefer my Skil jigsaw over any others, simply because the exhaust is on the rear rather than on the left side, making it easier for this lefty to operate, and my Mastercraft circular saw is on it's second cord, has been dropped a half dozen times from decks and shed roofs and still saws true. My Ryobi radial arm saw is not as robust as the cast-iron craftsman saw it replaced but it works. My cheapy Skil table saw and Delta mitre saw are both almost a decade old and still trouble free, if not the fanciest tools in the world.
Cordless tools? I don't have much experience with modern cordless stuff- my Mastercraft 12v drill, and 7.2 volt driver are a decade old and do what I ask them to do.


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## MikeinLA (Jul 25, 2006)

I like Craftsman hand tools. Not their cheaper line, but the regular Craftsman. I believe they still have a lifetime guarantee. As far as odd tools like mallets, measurers and the like, I usually shop Home Depot or Lowes. I also find Stanley to be pretty reliable.

Mike


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## tdw (Oct 2, 2006)

It makes good sense for me to buy tools ex US if only because of the vast range of products available many of which are unobtainable in Oz. Yes the prices are also pretty damn good but its more the range that gets me going.


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## SloopJonB (Jun 6, 2011)

MikeinLA said:


> I like Craftsman hand tools. Not their cheaper line, but the regular Craftsman. I believe they still have a lifetime guarantee. As far as odd tools like mallets, measurers and the like, I usually shop Home Depot or Lowes. I also find Stanley to be pretty reliable. Mike


Has Stanley started to improve their quality? Once upon a time they were a great name but the bean counters whored them down to the lowest level of "handyman" trash. I haven't so much as glanced at anything with the Stanley label for 25 years.

I've noticed a lot of responders mention Home Depot. If you live in a decent sized city I recommend tracking down a specialty shop like our KMS. They have MUCH better selection, better prices and staff (not "associates" or "partners") who actually know tools. KMS even has a repair service.

Another good place to find is a liquidator who handles tools & materials like sandpaper - some VERY good deals can be had. I just purchased a sleeve of 1000 grit silibide wet/dry paper and a double sleeve of 150 grit Aluminium oxide paper for $35 total. The 1000 grit usually goes for about a buck a SHEET here. I've found the best liquidators are the ones who are linked with a huge company like Costco and who handle the returned electronics and so forth. They usually have someone who checks & repairs those kind of items hence they tend to operate at a higher level than a lot of the smaller places.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

A couple of years ago I called Ryobi to replace the trigger switch in a year-old portable drill. The plastic slide in the switch had broken, no slide, no switch, no drill work. A cehap 79c switch would have replaced it--but this switch is a special Chinese custom export model, no standard switches matched up.

So I called Ryobi because everyone knows you can order parts to repair power tools. Nope, not Ryobi. No parts available at all, no repairs except replacing the whole thing--and a whole drill kit with it.

While Ryobi finally did right (after quite a conversation) and replaced the WHOLE DRILL...it shouldn't take that kind of wheedling and time and effort to replace a defectively made cheap plastic switch.

Sorry, but I rate it "Chinese export quality to the wide-eyes in the low kingdom, made to sell for a price". Not junk--but NOT on a par with Craftsmen, or even Black & Decker. (Who now own DeWalt as well.)

For light use, supposedly the average "home" drill is actually only used for THREE HOURS in it's entire life. And I'm sure Ryobi is almost good enough for that, but I aim higher.


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## sawingknots (Feb 24, 2005)

if you can't fix it with a hammer,you need a biger hammer,most tools today are juck so buy 2 and yes ryobi makes pretty good cordless tools but also yes the batteries are juck[clever martketing stratigy no doubt]


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## Maine Sail (Jan 6, 2003)

hellosailor said:


> A couple of years ago I called Ryobi to replace the trigger switch in a year-old portable drill. The plastic slide in the switch had broken, no slide, no switch, no drill work. A cehap 79c switch would have replaced it--but this switch is a special Chinese custom export model, no standard switches matched up.
> 
> So I called Ryobi because everyone knows you can order parts to repair power tools. Nope, not Ryobi. No parts available at all, no repairs except replacing the whole thing--and a whole drill kit with it.
> 
> ...


Interesting, I bought a Ryobi kit exactly 8 years ago, almost to this day, when I walked into Home Depot to replace my FOURTH failed $110.00 DeWalt battery in 8 months. On a whim I bought the HUGE kit that was on-sale for X-Mas. I got about eight tools. I have used these tools nearly daily for eight years and they all still work as do all my batteries. A couple of batteries, #4 & #7 are getting weak but the rest still do just fine. When I first started buying Ryobi the batteries were two for $39.00 so I bought a total of eight thinking I'd chew through them, and I have not.
At the time I figured if I got one year out of the kit it would have paid for itself. I have far exceeded that..

I also should commend Ryobi for coming out with the Li Ion batts that FIT my older tools. I have yet to buy them, no need yet, but I will eventually...

I am not the only person who works on boats that uses Ryobi. Morris Yachts has a slew of them as does Tim at Lackey Sailing. I have zero complaints with Ryobi and they have far exceeded my expectations and have proven to be an excellent value. I won't loose sleep if one falls overboard vs. my Milwaukee stuff..

That being said my FAVORITE boat battery powered tools are the Milwaukee M12 series. They are small and fit anywhere on a boat. It was like they designed them specifically for what I do. The M12 line-up can't be beat and they even have a PEX expander among other unique LiIon powered tools. Unfortunately they are $$$..

All in all I have tools that range from Lie-Neilsen & Fein to Harbor Freight & Ryobi..

The wrenches etc. that I leave on the boat are usually Harbor Freight and the tools I work with daily include Snap-On, Mac, Craftsman, Husky etc. etc. All generally work equally as well & have lifetime warranties, only I paid dearly for the Snap-On stuff.


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## bchaps (Mar 30, 2010)

Since I am NOT an engine mechanic and only perform normal oil/fuel filter engine maintenance, I have purchased a complete set of inexpensive sockets and wrenches. If while hanging precariously over the water, a wrench drops I will not shed a tear. Power tools (and oddly screw drivers) must be high quality. I prefer Bosch electrics and Klein screw drivers...and yes, there would be some tears if one of thse goes over-board.

Bill

s/v Charbonneau


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## SimonV (Jul 6, 2006)

Ozito from Bunnings for power, hand tools I go for cheep and shinny, two of each and replace regularly when droped or rusted. Sydcrome for my socket sets.


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