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View Full Version : How I get free or very cheap tools



Joliet Johnny
12-16-2011, 07:51 AM
I didnt grow up in a house where dad wrenched on the weekends to keep the family car moving. I also didnt grow up with much money and couldnt get a job when I started driving cause my mom was legally blind and I had to drive her everywhere she needed to go. When the car bug bit me I think we had a set of screwdrivers and a couple sockets and a rusted solid socket wrench. Here is how I got most of the tools before I got a job and bought my own. Hope this helps somebody.


1. Go to the pick a part junkyard, people constantly drop and or forget tools.

2. Offer to fix someones car, I have found people are willing to spend more buying tools than paying for labor.

3. Buy once cry once, yes you can find a screwdriver for under $1 but when it keeps breaking you would have eventually bought one with a lifetime warranty.

4. Go to garage sales and ask how much for the whole box, I once bought a box of random tools for $10 and got complete sets metric and standard Craftsman wrenches and almost had another to make one more set.

5. Dont be afraid to modify tools in a safe way to make a special tool that you wont use alot or costs alot, for example go look at the antenna mount on your Jeep. If you wanted to take that off you could go buy a special tool or you could file down a junk socket to match those notches.

6. Keep track or all your tools and occasionally wipe them with oil, this will keep you from prematurely replacing a tool that otherwise would have served you well for years.

Firemanray
12-16-2011, 08:29 AM
Pawn shops work for me. I dig for the quality tools make a pile on the counter in front of the most girlie girl clerk ( with nice nails) and keep her occupied by talking about HER. I don't touch the tools, she won't either. Usually gives a smoking hot deal to keep from dealing with a mound of dirty dusty tools.
Now i have to kill you since i shared my secret.:D

LizardRunner
12-16-2011, 08:50 AM
:DNow those are some very good tips. Unfortunately I did grow up with a grandfather mechanic and a hot rodding dad. The result...almost all my hand tools are Snap-on, purchased slowly as needs arrived from the truck that came to the shop once a week. I do use Pawn shops for the electric/air tools and I have found several rachets and breaker bars at the PNP I use. Once I found a full set of wrenches there in a roll up, I was shocked when I opened it and they were stamped with the Craftsman brand, sweet! still have those too. I have made lots of specialty tools, usually out of the cheeper stuff. I even have a wrench that I put three bends in to be able to reach one particular bolt. I re- heat treated it after I got the bends just right.

BlueXJ
12-16-2011, 09:57 AM
Lizard please explain your heat treating method to our members who may want to build a special tool.

bluedragon436
12-17-2011, 05:49 PM
I randomly collect my from different sources.. I have gotten quite a few tools over the years from the PNP, and pawn shops.. And then purchasing as I either find good deals, or am in need of the tool.. I got a 98euro socket set, that only has like 9 sockets in it.. just so I could get a socket for the hub bolt on my wife's car.. Somehow that became my Christmas present that year.. WTF?? LOL.. But this year I treated myself to a 225pc setup that stays in my Jeep.. Got to love those black friday prices, that someone forgot to change nearly a week later.. LOL..

XJ4IV
12-17-2011, 09:25 PM
I know how to get free ones... well uh I know how OTHER folks get free ones... work on my major projects... I lost a full set of impact sockets at matts shop... and they are TOTALLY gone and recently I just finished up a project on the ole DD and I have recently lost a handful sockets and a torque wrench ... oh well trucks running and worth the few bucks lost

bigjim350
12-17-2011, 11:57 PM
At the local swap meet that comes to town every 3mo or so, there is a guy who sells broken craftsmen tools. Dont know where he gets them, but he sales them VERY cheap. So you get a bunch of broken tools, run too sears, not all at once, and sooner or later you have a ton of new tools.

XJMJeep
12-18-2011, 02:11 AM
Pawn shops are a great place to pick up quality tools at a fraction of the price.
Back when I was a driver for my company I would take my lunch 2 or 3 times a week at a pawn shop in Seattle, after a while I got to know everybody that worked there and they would sell me any Craftsman wrench or socket for a $1 and ratchets for $2 it was awesome!
They would even save new items that came in to see if I wanted them before putting them out on the shelf.
My advice is go often, get to know the people working there, stay away from the chain pawn shops and you can get some great deals.

bluedragon436
12-19-2011, 01:46 AM
Pawn shops are a great place to pick up quality tools at a fraction of the price.
Back when I was a driver for my company I would take my lunch 2 or 3 times a week at a pawn shop in Seattle, after a while I got to know everybody that worked there and they would sell me any Craftsman wrench or socket for a $1 and ratchets for $2 it was awesome!
They would even save new items that came in to see if I wanted them before putting them out on the shelf.
My advice is go often, get to know the people working there, stay away from the chain pawn shops and you can get some great deals.

First step is to live somewhere they actually have pawn shops.. I have noticed we don't have hardly any pawn shops, and the ones we do have, don't have crap... That's ok.. I'm thinking of hitting up the big pawn shop when I head down to SC this week.. See if I can't grow my tool collection some in one stop..

4.3LXJ
12-19-2011, 10:57 AM
The pawn shops around here want nearly new prices for what they have. Not such a good deal at all.

Joliet Johnny
12-21-2011, 10:17 PM
The pawn shops around here want nearly new prices for what they have. Not such a good deal at all.

same here and mostly only have power tools that dont apply to me

seu83
12-23-2011, 11:17 PM
For hand tools I've been buying alot of pittsburgh stuff from harbor freight lately. I've used them alot and haven't broken one yet and they have a lifetime warranty. I use to buy craftsman, snap on, and mac. I had nothing but problems with alot of the craftsmen drivers. The snap on and macs were nice but 80 bucks for a small set of wrenches is a little steep.

Niac
12-25-2011, 01:09 PM
For hand tools I've been buying alot of pittsburgh stuff from harbor freight lately. I've used them alot and haven't broken one yet and they have a lifetime warranty. I use to buy craftsman, snap on, and mac. I had nothing but problems with alot of the craftsmen drivers. The snap on and macs were nice but 80 bucks for a small set of wrenches is a little steep.

I've had bad experience from H.F. A B-day present, full set of tin snips. Never used but broke one at a time in my plier drawer. Vise grip type pliers that the jaw teeth rounded off instead of the bolt. What goods that.;)
I liked their grinder. It lasted two years of heavy use. My Dewalt didn't do any better, but I could buy parts to repair it and it had more power and just felt better. The feel of good tools is something I just like.:sniper:
But I can't afford the Mac,s etc.

BlueXJ
12-25-2011, 01:57 PM
You have to pick and choose at HF but some of their stuff is OK while other stuff is crap.

offroadman1973
12-25-2011, 06:43 PM
You have to pick and choose at HF but some of their stuff is OK while other stuff is crap.

i have had good luck with their wrenches and sockets! may want to try sears for the rest!:D

cherokeewrecker
12-27-2011, 11:59 PM
When my father used to work at one of the junkyards near where we live, I used to work with him on the weekends, and I was always the one that was allowed to search through all the new junkers coming in or the ones that were out back and clean whatever tools, or stereo equiptment was in them, and thats how we always had gotten tools. Granted my dad used to buy from the snap-on guy and the SK guy that came every week but thats besides the point... While I worked there( from about 5 years old till I was 11) I must have found at least $6,000 worth of tools that people forgot in their old cars. Along with tons of other stuff...

4.3LXJ
12-31-2011, 10:04 PM
Just thought I would share something. I went shopping for some torx bits tonight and went to sears as usual to buy craftsman stuff. I like their warranty. Any, they have a new line called evolv.

http://i649.photobucket.com/albums/uu215/warriorsuspension/Build%20Stuff/IMG_1515.jpg

These are regular craftsman tool with the full warranty that in this case only cost $10 for the whole set. They are made from recycled craftsman tools that have been warrantied.

bad luck
07-04-2013, 05:00 AM
I used to get tools in pawn shops too. But I agree with Steve it seems like you can buy new for just as cheap as most of the pawn shops. And if I buy nice new expensive tools they just get lost or "borrowed" I do buy some tools on ebay, if they are american made and a decent price.

grapeape
07-04-2013, 07:07 AM
I grew up similar to the OP, with a Dad who had minimal tools and didn't believe in buying metric tools.

I picked up a large collection of tools that now include everything from wrenches and sockets to mighty vacs, impact screwdrivers, torque wrenches, a bunch of specialty VW tools, and even a monstrous cherry picker.

Yardsales- tons of opportunities here, especially when you find estate sales

Craigslist- A while back I found an ad on craigslist where a guy was selling a nice rolling box for $200. He took a job with the border patrol and needed to move ASAP. I went and picked it up, and his wife emptied all the tools out of it. He called me back a couple hours later and asked me to come back- the tools were supposed to be included with the box! I ended up with a full set of sae and metric SK sockets and wrenches from that one, then sold the box for $150 a couple years later.

Coworkers- When I started working in shops I noticed that a lot of the older techs had huge collections of broken Crafstman tools that they had long ago replaced with Snap On, etc and never got around to exchanging. I bought a whole mess of them for pennies on the dollar, and exchanged them at Sears.

I've never had much luck with pawnshops. Their prices are overinflated, and they usually want to sell the whole package box and all.