OT: Where can I get good comparison of wrenches by brand/model?

On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 03:13:27 GMT, "Mike64Bug" ran around screaming and yelling:

expensive tools can bite you....my brother valued *my* snap-on tools more than he valued a brotherly relationship with me...I MISS MY TOOLS.... JT

and they work great....i have even had them swapped out when i "thought" they were worn(open end wrenches when using them when i should have been using box end...) JT

Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!

...bullshit. By not spending the extra money on that one item I have more money to spend on other items....for most of us the money still gets spent. Whether we are paying one american over priced tool maker..or three merikun owned retail stores...we are still providing american jobs....and hey if ya save enough money buying cheap tools you might be able to hire an american carpenter to fix up your house. So take yer righteous indignation and hire and indian proctologist make sure yer getting enough oxygen to yer american brain. =-)) Besides, I like to support all the morons in this country who haven't enough natural talent to survive if it weren't for minimum wage jobs...for teh rest of us...well there is plenty of work available for those who are worth hiring. ;-)

..Gareth

On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 00:12:16 -0400, "ThaDriver" ran around screaming and yelling:

driver, the corret term would be "sprung"...open end wrenches are NOT made to break loose tight or rusted nuts....but we all use them for that....i have sprung tools of all kinds over the years...Snap-on and Mac included...used to swap them out too...BUT since I don't work "in the trade" anymore it is way less convenient to swap out mac or snap-on tools...i currently have a busted 36mm socket that has been in my worktruck for almost two years...still haven't had time to track down a Mac man....for your shadetree/backyard mechanic it is almost rediculous to buy snap-on tools for weekend use....mechanics and such, do swear by them, because they are *great* tools *AND* they can pay as they go to the snap-on man that stops by their place of employment on a regular basis, which allows for easy replacement of broken tools...not so for an average Joe... JT

Hi JT, I wasn't talking about "sprung" wrenches. I was talking about the china wrenches that are made so poorly that they don't fit when brand new. Take a *good* wrench in with you sometime & hold it up to one & you'll see what I mean. Yes, you cane even *see* the difference in most cases! ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"

Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!

Gary, How much do you make? It's funny how the folks that make a good living in this country don't have a *clue* about what's happening to the economy! Did you know that unemployment is at an *all time* high? Did you know it's

Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!

On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 15:30:05 -0400, "ThaDriver" ran around screaming and yelling:

paul, definitely....But your response was directed at the Great Neck tools that Gary suggested(for the price) and i agreed with...you said "They weren't worn they were just not made to very good specs - thus the reason to avoid them! (not to mention you're taking away American jobs!)"....that is why i responded as i did....The Great neck tools that can be bought at Advance/Discount autoparts are indeed good tools, especially for the price...i dont' have a whole set, but i have several sockets and wrenches in that brand that are very good...i have, as i stated, returned them for new ones with no questions asked....they did not become sprung, or worn, because they were "bad", just that *I* abused them....can't blame that on the tool...and i did not cost any American thier job by buying them...the American salesman will continue to work if i continue to buy stuff...neat how that works... JT

On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 15:36:45 -0400, "ThaDriver" ran around screaming and yelling:

someone does indeed need to wake up...but its not Gary....NAFTA exists, as does our "global economy" because the same Americans you are trying to defend are cheap asses....they want top quality for bottom dollar...it doesn't happen that way...MOST Americans will spend ten dollars on a cheap *whatever* ten times instead of buying the quality one for fifty bucks that will outlast all ten of the cheapies...THIS is why we lose jobs to countries with lower labor/taxes/etc rates...unless you want to get into Unions and how they are driving industry OUT of the country with their whining and overly greedy demands....but i don't partake in these kinds of discussions usually....because i am the "poor" person you seem to want to defend....but in the future please allow ME to speak for myself...but i won't respond till after work....yes there is work out there...but you can't be "too good" to do it...i have changed fields several times over the years and NEVER (even about three/four years ago) had a problem finding work...i am a subcontractor and "finding work" is a continual process...there are jobs, and there is plenty of work to be found, if the person wants to find it...(KEY WORD "IF") JT

not cost any American thier job by buying them...the American salesman will continue to work if i continue to buy stuff...neat how that works...

Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!

up my constitutionally gauranteed freedoms in the name of homeland security when we are doing nothing to protect the damn border???

Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!

You're right - it all boils down to greed. I personally will spend 2 or 3 times as much for a "made in USA" part. Case in point: I bought a motor mount for a Dodge awhile back. Went to pep boys, & they threw one on the counter, cost of $3. I asked where it was made & it was Singapore or Tiawan or something. Went somewhere else & bought one made in US for $8. As for the unions, I agree with you there too. They're the reason we can't afford a new car. As for work - it's harder than you think to find work that will cover all most folks' bills & have anything left over. Especially someone like me that's worked so much (for 30+ years on concrete & lifting heavy frame tools) that they've worn out all the joints in their body & have major back, knee, feet, & etc. problems (not to mention the mental deficiencies

- LOL!). ~ Paul aka "Tha Driver"

Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!

Steel mills... oh boy... how about the fact that US Steel management wanted to have a good bottom line in the early '70s... so they sold their next generation steel process to the Japanese. Before then, Japanese steel was crap. Not that many years later, most of the steel mills around Youngstown, OH, Western PA, and West Virginia were shuttered up or teetering on the brink of disaster.

Have to jump in... couldn't agree more with one point especially... I had to come to TX to get a decent job and not be forced to join a union. Growing up in Ohio I watched as people were blindly killing their own jobs.. case in point: American Motors plant in Western Ohio/Indiana... I forget ... it was "over there a bit"... the workers were told be beleagured management that the plant was losing $$ at a high rate, it was old, the assembly line methods were too inefficient, and the wages were way too high (they were among some of the highest in the industry).. they needed to take a slight reduction in pay (management on down to the lowest job) to keep the plant open... and the contract was coming up. The union told them to strike for higher wages and stuck to their guns. Management gave up - shut the plant down - and the folks had no jobs at all. What was left of American Motors was eventually bought by Chrystler . Of course, management can be abusive and greedy too sometimes... and so we need checks and ballances.

What we all really need to do is to be thoughtful, more polite... don't cut folks off on the highway just to get there 20 seconds earlier... work honestly for your company... and expect them to treat you fairly. If they are doing something that seems unfair... look into it, it may be a matter of perspective.. if not, ask if they've noticed that the policy (whatever it may be) "inadvertantly gives the wrong impression to the workers... making it appear that they are being short changed"... (i.e. be political)

KEEP NOTES of what you do/say in a personal pearl harbor file.. and if they continue to wrong you/get back at you.. you have material with which to counter attack... but hopefully you will have instead gotten them to change - and avoid the hassles for everyone.

On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 21:49:42 -0400, "ThaDriver" ran around screaming and yelling:

maybe i should state that *I* don't have aproblem finding work...i do it on a constant basis...if i didn't there would be no work and no money, no house, no savings, no vw, no, no, no.....so yes *I* do feel it is not that difficult to find work... JT

On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 02:28:38 GMT, "KWW" ran around screaming and yelling:

i have seen it several times in myarea....there is a Yokohoma tire plant near me..(former Mohawk plant) and the union there is so proud of their ability to strike the workers often wear t-shirts that have a snake on them that is morphing out of a tire...says "ready to strike"...they think they are funny...their wages are definitely in the high range for this area, and the jobs are production jobs that are not a highly skilled area....i installed many tire press machines there when i worked as a leadman installing machinery....this plant is almost nothing more than a tax writeoff and a loophole for Yokohama(japan) to use to avoid taxes on imported tires....they struck for 13 weeks several years back...they wanted the moon and stars but did not want to apply themselves or give the company any assurance that the over 50 percent scrap rate(per day) would get better....anyway after 13 weeks the bigwigs threatened to stop a new expansion of the plant that was about to start and shut it down....they accepted the contract that was offered after week *2* of their strike.....they try to make power plays, and this time the company won... there is a volvo/white plant near me that basically did the same thing when the union decided to strike...they offered a very generous package(over what they had) but the union wanted MORE(who doesn't?)....they said they would cancel plans for a HUGE expansion(almost double the plant size) and move operations to other plants...the union wisely accepted teh more than generous contract....good thing to because where the plant is located(dublin virginia) there are not enough burger king restaurants to have used all those employees....I want all i can get too, but i don't want anymore than i earn....greed will killa company.. JT

it on a constant basis...if i didn't there would be no work and no money, no house, no savings, no vw, no, no, no.....so yes *I* do feel it is not that difficult to find work... JT

Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!

On Fri, 16 Jul 2004 13:35:09 -0400, "ThaDriver" ran around screaming and yelling:

i wish you all the luck in the world...but i think determination is more important than luck at this point...i am far from "well off" but i do make a decent living....i have to "compete" daily for work from a company i subcontract work from....i have to take more pride in my work and do the "best" job...and i do...i am *overbooked* with work from the company, because of this....i have done various jobs in the construction field for quite some time now(relative...im only

important than luck at this point...i am far from "well off" but i do make a decent living....i have to "compete" daily for work from a company i subcontract work from....i have to take more pride in my work and do the "best" job...and i do...i am *overbooked* with work from the company, because of this....i have done various jobs in the construction field for quite some time now(relative...im only 31(tomorrow) )...i left pipe fitting/machinery installation due to the wear and tear it puts on one's body....i do "manual labor" now, but to a lesser degree...(i am a trim carpenter(trimwork, cabinetry...finishwork) )and i have been where you are now....i do wish you the best.... JT

Giggle Cream - it makes dessert *funny*!

On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 01:23:25 -0400, "ThaDriver" ran around screaming and yelling:

thanks...

you are welcome...they were genuine...

i get a bit grumpy at times too....(see the post i *JUST* posted...hehe...sorry...kinda) JT