Over at Amazon, this Dewalt 108pc mechanics tool set is on sale for $60.
It looks to feature the previous style of Dewalt ratchet, which has quick-release buttons. The set includes a selection of 1/4″ and 3/8″ sockets, hex key sets, and a bunch of accessories, adapters, and screwdriver bits.
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I’d describe this as a good set for users who might not know what they need or want in a mechanics tool set. You get a good range of sockets, and some other tools and accessories a beginner might not already own.
I guess it could also be suitable for a small and inexpensive road kit. Everything is stored away in an included blow-molded case.
Price: $60
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If you can spend a little more, Dewalt’s 172pc mechanics tool set is also on sale. It has a list price of $100 and is on sale for $85.
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I didn’t count, but it looks like this set comes with more sockets. It also adds in wrenches, and the ratchets are of the newer slim-head non-quick release style.
Price: $85
Buy Now(via Amazon)
fred
When I was a teenager – they sold big piece-count sets for cheap – by getting the piece count up with junky hacksaw blades, hex (we called them Allen) keys, and drill bits that hardly made it in wood. Glad to see the cheap drill bits and hacksaw blades have been dropped.
Damon
There are still junky sets like that out there. I just turned 15 years at my employer and they let you pick a “gift” from an online catalog. Interestingly, for my 10 year anniversary I picked a pretty decent Crescent brand socket and ratchet set made in Taiwan. I still have it in my truck as road tools.
Now the options for tools (what else would I pick??) was considerably cheaper and had some kit full of the filler junk you mentioned, and made in China. I picked a cheap Shop Vac instead.
Anyhow.. I think DeWalt is aiming a little higher these days with their tool sets; a notch or two above Harbor Freight, and more or less in line with some of the other more premium Asian brands like Sunex, Neiko, etc. They make nice stuff and these DeWalt offerings seem inline. At a good sale price, the DeWalt kits are really nice values.
jec6613
Their original marketing target was at the Craftsman lineup to catch people leaking off from the brand after they offshored manufacturing, but primarily to attract pro users already using their power tools and keep then from buying other brands. Not really for people turning a wrench every day (served better by Mac), more for when construction and woodworking types needed mechanics tools. They seem to have done quite well at it judging by their success so far.
It’ll be interesting to see how the lineup changes now that Craftsman is being brought into the fold – certain SKUs such as impact sockets are a natural extension of their power tools, after all. Then again, with Lowes getting Craftsman, DeWalt might stick around just to satiate the HD need for SBD mechanics tools.
Damon
Good comment, I think that’s probably pretty accurate. These DeWalt tools are good quality, designed to attract users in a commercial/industrial environment who use DeWalt power tools but need the odd hand tool here or there. These are not holiday gift kits from the wife/kids, although SBD might pick up some peripheral sales as such.
fred
Maybe that was the same logic when they slapped the Bostitch name on wrenches and other hand tools. But then again I saw the Record (chisel and plane maker) name slapped on pipe wrenches and the Marples name used that way too. Maybe all this brand overlap and diversity in naming targets different markets and outlets – or is used to see what sells. At one time the “big three automakers” thought that more brands invariably resulted in more dealerships and thus more sales. When they didn’t have much competition from foreign makers – that may have been true. They also made a batch of bad cars that didn’t help them with the competition GM’s competition/innovation between the brands seemed to disappear in favor of cost saving by standardization and you had small Cadillacs that were essentially Chevy’s with different trim. Thank goodness it looks like GM and Ford are back on track. Maybe SBD will take a leaf out of the GM and Ford books and figure out which of their brands are candidates for what GM did with Hummer, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and Saturn and what Ford did with Mercury. My take is that it would be nice if each of the brands “stuck to their knitting” and concentrated on innovating and making the best products they can in the categories that they know best.
jec6613
SBD is really only cross-pollinating basic hand tools, which they are pretty good at regardless of the logo slapped on them. Even a basic Stanley would be difficult to say is, “Bad,” only than others are better.
When you see them try something odd or new (the snakelight, for instance, or weird tool/battery configurations) it tends to start at their lower end brands first, such as starting at B&D then moving upwards to PC and DeWalt if it proves out at the lower levels.
They also didn’t much have a brand of mechanic’s hand tools that people could gravitate towards outside of Mac, which they don’t want to try out things downmarket in. That’s why the Craftsman acquisition makes so much sense – it gives them the consumer mechanic’s tools lineup they’ve been lacking and plugs a big massive hole there, and SBD already has a full lineup of power tools to bring over to Craftsman (I’m expecting PC-level quality there).
fred
SBD is more crowded at the high end mechanics tools – with their Proto and Facom brands – plus the MAC Tool Truck brand. They had also acquired Husky – but seem to have sold that brand off to Home Depot for use as a house brand. Their Blackhawk and New Britain brands – seem to have been mostly retired. Their homeowner sockets and wrenches – had been mostly sold under that Stanley brand – before they started adding ones with Bostitch and Dewalt names on them. Now with Craftsman – that may shift things about. Having Dewalt move into the hand tool business – may also be a respons to their arch rival TTI-Milawuakee’s moves.
The yeti
Merry christmas tool people.
Bill
I second that motion, Yeti!
Merry Christmas to Stuart and all of the tool minded people who add to this site with their input on a daily basis. May each of you find joy, love and a little sustenance during this season of celebration.
jec6613
The smaller set is designed to go with a drill – it has all of the attachments to connect the entire set of bits and sockets to a drill (but not an impact, obviously). For someone looking for a basic mechanics set to compliment their drill, a very good choice. Goes up to 17mm and 3/4 sockets.
The larger set not only has many more sockets and adds wrenches, but also is straight hand tools – no provision for a power tool attachment at all. Besides adding wrenches, it goes up to 21mm and 7/8 sockets, and a much larger overlap between 1/4 and 3/8 drive sizes.
I’d choose based on that more than any sort of piece count difference – both have a bit of fluff but nothing too bad.
z2w
They’re not impact sockets though, unfortunately. Probably not a really big deal if you’re driving them with a cordless impact driver, but still it diminishes the fitness of this kit for the case you’re describing.
jec6613
Definitely does – though a drill should still be fine with chrome sockets, as I mentioned. There are a lot of people who only use a drill for driving fasteners and not an impact.
Also, yes, a 20V impact driver an absolutely cause problems for chrome sockets, it just takes longer. 🙂
kent
Ratchets without a quick release? Oh please, skip that one.
Hang Fire
The $85 172pc set looks good for sockets. One should add a small flat-point screwdriver for removing sockets from the non-quick-release ratchets. (Yes I know it has a bit screwdriver) While I prefer quick-release ratchets, the ones included are 72 tooth and small head, they’ll do the job. Would it have killed them to add 17, 18 and 19mm wrenches?
The $60 set allows you to add a (hopefully no-skip) wrench set of your own choosing, and tries to make a complete socket set by not overlapping any 1/4″ and 3/8″ sockets. While the missing Japanese 19mm sockets can be handily substituted with the 3/4″, there are no metric sockets under 10mm, and the ubiquitous General Motors+DIN 18mm sockets completely missing. You’re going to end up buying a deep 3/8 socket set, and some single sockets, and then the carry case is useless.
If you understand their limitations and buy head to complete the skips, before you’re stuck in the field without an essential size, either one is a good value.