Best tools to have for Heavy equip/Diesel Field?
I go to a high school tech school for Heavy Equipment operations and Maintenance. I am a level 2 the class goes up to level 3, so i do have experience and do know quite a lot. Next year i will be going to either Penn Tech or Wyo Tech for Heavy equip or Diesel. I just would like to know what you guys think would be a good baseline of tools to acquire in the next year that you think i will use for the rest of my career and stuff that will always be handy to have. Thanks!
Well, Snap-On is considered the Holy Grail among mechanics. They have a tool for everything, they offer great service and their prices are phenominal. Then there is Mac, Matco, and Cornwell. All excellent tools, some better than others. Craftsman is a very good value for the money. I recommend getting a good Craftsman set starting out and build from there with better tools. I have some Craftsman tools I still use. Its all about return on your investment. I wont pay 30 dollars for a wrench I use 3 or 4 times a year when I can get it for 15.
Another thing to look at is who’s gonna take care of you. Snap-On and Matco will be there. Usually every shop I ever worked in, nobody knew where the Mac guy was. So choose who will BE THERE to service your broken tools, and who gives you freebies and discounts. And try to stick with one. Don’t get caught up in owing money to 3 different trucks. That will put an end to your paycheck quick!
As for what kind of tools you will need in your set, you will need to discuss that with someone who deals with this. The tool distributor knows best. Also your instructors will be able to give you valueable information. But any mechanic is going to need wrenches. You need both standard and metric. Don’t get cheapos, pay the money and get the good ones. You will use them every day, so they need to take a beating. The SAME goes with sockets, ratchets, and pliers. Anything you will use all the time needs to be good quality.
Impacts, impacts, impacts!!! Air tools are essential. Very expensive, I promise you will hate paying for these! You will need impact wrenches, air ratchets, air hammers, and die grinders. Again, get the good stuff. These tools will be dropped, left on the floor, have nasty shop air running through them, stepped on, and you might never oil them. So a cheapo will not last. Snap-On and Ingersoll Rand are your best choices. Matco and Mac just put their name on an IR tool sometimes, so know your guns.
Toolboxes. I highly recommend getting a craftsman for starting out. They are not as rugged as a good Snap-On or Matco, but they will work just fine and hold up. They are a lot less expensive starting out. When it’s time to upgrade, get a used tool box in good shape. Don’t pay 10 grand for a brand new one. The only thing you get out of that is a higher payment. I hope my advice helps.
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where in india would i find a heavy equipment (motor grader) training school?
Snap-on is generally thought of as the best, although they are VERY expensive.
If you are enrolled in the school, Snap on usually gives a large discount on tools.
Mac and Matco are good too.
I think Sears Craftsman is the best value / per dollar. They are lifetime guarantee, you just don’t have the dealer coming to your work every week to see if you need more tools / warranty.
A lot of the cost of snap on is to pay for the dealer / truck to stop by you .
If you are not working where the truck stops routinely, it is a little bit of a waste to pay extra for service when they are not stopping by you.
References :
I have snap on and sears tools
I am a third generation equipment owner and have ten pieces of heavy equipment; many old and take a lot of maintenance. My brother, who is older, is the real mechanic in the family and has tools ranging from Snap-on, Mac, Allen, Thorsen and a lot of expensive names (and Yah, Craftman is one of the best values). Me, I’m a cheap bas***d and know that I lose tools like a Labrador loses hair. I buy a lot of stuff from Harbor Freight. It’s not great stuff, especially for a professional mechanic but I can buy more things that I would not normally buy that are really expensive and they work. The only big socket (3/4" drive 1 5/8") I ever broke was when I put a cheater bar (pipe) on the ratchet and jumped up and down on it to break a nut loose. Snapped the socket. I have wrecked some of the rachets by abusing them and some stuff I wouldn’t buy on a bet. But the quality has gotten better in the past years. I bought my first piece of equipment (D4H) 12 years ago. I have inherited (Grandpa, Dad and bro), forgotten to give back (always thought I’d see those guys again) and actually bought a lot of good tools over the years but the majority of my stuff is still from Harbor Freight which gets me a little razzing once in a while (probably wouldn’t have bought that thing if it wasn’t so cheap). If you do buy good tools, my brother has a trick that works really well for keeping them; assuming you don’t lose them like me (working off-shift means working at night and being tired; things get lost). Paint the tool so you can recognize it from far away. My brother used white which is much more visible in the dirt at night (or in someone elses hand from a distance). Actually, if you’re really good, you’ll end up fabricating some of the best tools that you can’t find or afford. Talk to the old guys. They’ll tell you.
References :
Well, Snap-On is considered the Holy Grail among mechanics. They have a tool for everything, they offer great service and their prices are phenominal. Then there is Mac, Matco, and Cornwell. All excellent tools, some better than others. Craftsman is a very good value for the money. I recommend getting a good Craftsman set starting out and build from there with better tools. I have some Craftsman tools I still use. Its all about return on your investment. I wont pay 30 dollars for a wrench I use 3 or 4 times a year when I can get it for 15.
Another thing to look at is who’s gonna take care of you. Snap-On and Matco will be there. Usually every shop I ever worked in, nobody knew where the Mac guy was. So choose who will BE THERE to service your broken tools, and who gives you freebies and discounts. And try to stick with one. Don’t get caught up in owing money to 3 different trucks. That will put an end to your paycheck quick!
As for what kind of tools you will need in your set, you will need to discuss that with someone who deals with this. The tool distributor knows best. Also your instructors will be able to give you valueable information. But any mechanic is going to need wrenches. You need both standard and metric. Don’t get cheapos, pay the money and get the good ones. You will use them every day, so they need to take a beating. The SAME goes with sockets, ratchets, and pliers. Anything you will use all the time needs to be good quality.
Impacts, impacts, impacts!!! Air tools are essential. Very expensive, I promise you will hate paying for these! You will need impact wrenches, air ratchets, air hammers, and die grinders. Again, get the good stuff. These tools will be dropped, left on the floor, have nasty shop air running through them, stepped on, and you might never oil them. So a cheapo will not last. Snap-On and Ingersoll Rand are your best choices. Matco and Mac just put their name on an IR tool sometimes, so know your guns.
Toolboxes. I highly recommend getting a craftsman for starting out. They are not as rugged as a good Snap-On or Matco, but they will work just fine and hold up. They are a lot less expensive starting out. When it’s time to upgrade, get a used tool box in good shape. Don’t pay 10 grand for a brand new one. The only thing you get out of that is a higher payment. I hope my advice helps.
References :
ASE master tech. 6 years and 40 grand later, I know a thing or two about tools.
Snap-On is alright for tool storage and some of the most common small tools or general tools. In my box I have a little of everything. There is a purpose for this. I believe that 60% of my tools are Snap-On like wrenches,pliers,ratchets etc. 20% Matco, Mac. and Craftsman. and the other 20% is from an independent dealer I use. The independent sells S&K, Gear Wrench, Gray Pneumatic, Ingersol, Sunex,etc.
When I first started I was all for Snap On quality and thats good. But its hard to buy the tools you need to get the job done because they are so expensive. I’ve been in the Heavy Equipment Industry for about 8 years out of 10 and I’ve found that quality can be found elsewhere than just the big name dealers. You can check out a set of impact sockets made from Snap-On and put them next to a set of Sunex Sockets (American Company doing its manufacturing in Taiwan) and the workmanship is almost the same. They almost look identical. You can pay the same amount you paid for the Snap-On set and get 2 1/2 times more product spending the same amount on Sunex. As far as wrenches go , from 5/16 thru 1 1/4 I use Snap-On, cheap wrenches don’t cut it, the measurements are off and they don’t fit anything. But when you get from 1 5/16 to 3 inch wrenches, I still have some china wrenches that I haven’t been able to break unless you were using it on a press or something. On air tools, go with quality , stay away from plastic composite body stuff, stick with the big dealers.
Now, I usually by from the dealers if its an extremely good deal on the sales flier. But oddball stuff I get from my independent (hammers,chisels,pry bars,creepers,flashlights,multi meters,jumbo tools). Oh and stay away from the crappy shoes that Snap-On sells. They make tools not shoes. I fell for them once. Your better off going to payless and buying some $30 boots every 3 months. Hope this helps and welcome to the industry.
References :
I’m a diesel/auto technician with 10 years experience. http://www.elliteautolube.com