Why Buy Quality Tools.
When you want to remove a nut or screw there is nothing more frustrating than to have the tool you are using ruin it. The wrench slips off the nut. The screwdriver tears out the head of the screw. The simple five minute job of hanging a curtain can turn into a day's worth of work if the tool wrecks the screw before you get it tightened.
Why does that happen? Why does the tool wreck the screw or nut? There are only two main reasons why. You are using the wrong tool for the task or you are using a poor quality tool.
The focus of this article is to teach you the reasons for using a quality tool. I will tell you about using the right tool for the job in later articles.
What do I mean by quality tools. There are basically three levels of quality in hand tools available to the average consumer here in the United States, cheap tools, homeowner tools, and professional tools.
Cheap tools do more than just waste your money. Why? Say you use that cheap screwdriver to try and remove a screw. The tool ruins the head of the screw and you then have to go back to the hardware store or home center (wasted gas) ask an expert how to remove the damaged screw (wasted time) He or she tells you what you need (drill bit, screw extractor, drill.) You are better off spending that $19.99 on one or two quality tools instead of that cheap toolkit. Quality tools will last. Quality tools will do the job for you and save you hours of frustration.
When new the screwdrivers will turn and loosen the screws the wrenches will tighten or loosen nuts. To buy real homeowner tools like the ones in the cheap set you will spend 75 to 150 dollars.
But one of the biggest problem with the homeowner tools today is many are not made to last. For example, the screwdriver set was on sale for a great price and it works for a while, but after the first or second year the tip rounds off or the edges of the tip break and you start to wreck the screws.
So you are back at Sears replacing it or buying new.
Level Three. Professional Tools.
A professional quality tool is actually more economical that buying cheap tools. The tool is made so it will do the job it was designed for and even take a little abuse of using it for the wrong application.
Professional tools are expensive but are designed to be used everyday, all-day long. You will pay two to five times as much for a professional quality tool as you would for the same thing in a homeowner grade. Companies like Sears and Stanley make both a homeowner line and a professional line of tools. Companies like Ideal, Starett, Snap-on, MATCO, and Milwaukee only make professional tools.
My website www.toolboxhero.com carries new, used and clearance Sears Craftsman tools. If you can't find the specific Craftsman tool you are looking for I've included a link to Sears where you can shop their current selection of tools. At www.craftsmantools.us I have put together a complete selection of quality tools from many, many different manufactures.
If you live in an apartment and just want to hang a few pictures or a professional that uses tools for a living you will find affordable and quality tools that will last you for many years on these two sites.