Getting this in a few hours:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=009CH047000

Only $219 after getting $160 worth of rebates.

Sounds like a sweet deal for me, and I'm excited about finally being able to clean up my garage a little (and buy more tools)

In combination with my air compressor, I'm finally getting to the point where I can do some work on my car.

Nice!

I need to clean and re-organize my tool chest.

Nice!
I got my Craftsman tool boxes for my B-day last year. My old one was bought used, 20 years ago.

Really working that lifetime warranty, eh?



This is my early birthday present. I turn 25 in the end of July, but this deal was too sweet to pass up.

I still need jack stands, a jack, and one of those huge 200 piece mechanic tool sets and I'll be well on my way.

Hope to finish the yard soon so I can build a shed. Once that's done, I'm moving stuff out of the garage into the shed, and building a workbench in the garage. Then I'll finally be done.

Doesn't look like I'll get the $$ to mod my car until next year after the wedding. I continue to live through you guys and your driving stories.

I thought about getting a tool set, but tools really aren't what I need. I have tools from 20 years ago when I was a mech's grunt. Wrenches (met & eng), screw drivers, sockets (met & eng), impact sockets, air tools (which I haven't used in 20 years). Most everything I have is Snap On. I've got a couple of sockets that have turned up missing over the years. A complete socket set will be my next buy for my tools. I've been eyeing those craftsman highly visible sockets, the ones with the huge size on them.

Here is a pic of my "work space".

Nice workspace.

Unfortuantely I have almost no tools after being a poor college student who is finally out of apartment living.

I have a cordless drill and a few real basic wrench/socket sets that I normally keep in my fiancee's truck in case is breaks down.

I was eyeing this set of Sears mechanic tools with the high visibility markings, but I'm not sure I can afford it right now with the tool chest. It's a pretty good set for less than $1 per tool though, probably cheaper than buying each set individually.

http://sears.crossmediaservices.com/sear...26StartRow%3d10

The Craftsman high vis tools are usually on sale around here. In fact, I've seen them go on clearence sale. Keep an eye out!

Bobby, why is there a huge ricer 'R' on the bottom drawer of your tool chest????

It was left over from my Prelude-ricer days. There's also one on the inside of the lid for the top box. I had to do something with them.

How many horsepower did that add to your tool chest?


I couldn't resist...

LMAO!!!!

Beat me to it!

+3.4hp/+2.7tq

Any input on the mechanics set I linked above?

The fiancee got home last night, saw my assembled tool chest and said "Wow, there's a lot of drawers. When are you going to get enough tools to fill THAT up"?

She looked over at me grinning ear to ear and said "Ok, go buy some".



So, assume for a second you had absolutely NO tools. Would this be a decent start?

I need to know because I'm planning on getting it in an hour or two on my way home.

263 piece tool set for $200 is less than $1 per tool, and it has 150 sockets which should be good (even though they are NOT the high visibility ones).

Any input for me? What tools are most critical after this?

Nothing comes up when I click on the link, but I searched the sears web site and found the set, it comes with it's own case, right?. That's a nice set, but you're going to need to get some screw drivers, both philips and common.
This set looks like it comes with everything, including screw drivers for about the same amount of money.

That is a decent set too, although it doesn't have as many sockets, wrenches, etc.

I do have some screwdrivers- just a bunch of mix and match sets, some are stripped out, lost, etc. I also have a few screwdriver bits for my cordless drill.

I was thinking about maybe getting a Craftsman ratcheting screwdriver that comes with ~20 tips in addition to the set I was talking about. They have one of these for $20 right now. But I don't know if ratcheting screwdrivers are bad.

Other things I know I need: hacksaw, circ saw, sawzall, spanner wrenches, torque wrench...

Ratcheting screw drivers are awsome! I bought one off the Snap On truck when they first came out, of course I no longer have it due I lost it shortly after I got it.

Tq wrenches are good if you're going to use them.

Think about a Dremel if you don't already have one.

Also, this is nice to have. I had one and used it for my lug nuts. It just works a lot better, it's longer so you can really break something loose.

...and rails for your sockets, so they don't go rolling around in your tool box.
And get the drawer liners too. They help keep everything real nice.

Thanks for the input Austin. I'll take it all into consideration.

The drawer liners are already a must (but I'll cut my own because the Craftsman ones are a rip off).

I will do something to organize the sockets. I'm a very organized person and clutter drives me nuts.

Thanks again for the input. It's comforting to know I'm on the right track.

PS - I'll keep the Dremel and that 18" ratchet in mind. On my old car the lugs were seized on there and I basically took a 3/4 ratchet and a 5' long hollow steel pipe over the handle to get good leverage. Not good times had I been on the road.

That 18" is a flex handle, not a ratchet, but I know what you're talking about.

Good luck and have fun!