Snap-On tools are for fools

[Chris Martino]

I have accumulated many Snap-On tools over the years and have not had any issues with quality but with so many other reputable tool companies out there, the days of 'Snap-On superiority' I think are now for the most part over-rated and over-priced, IMHO.


Chris

 

[Jim Cowden]

I buy the odd snap on stuff but I pretty much boycotted them years ago.

I bought some TENG last year and was very impressed.
I thought they were Asian but it turns out to be Swiss or German from memory.The prices are excellent.

People are waking up to the snap on prices.

Jim

 

[Cliff Beer]

One thing that has steered me away from Snap On is the fact that I would have to depend on some local franchisee to sell and service the tools - that's less desireable than being able to walk into any darn Sears anywhere in the country and get a free replacement for any Craftsman tool that broke on the job.

It doesn't make any difference if the Snap On guy in the truck is a company employee or an independent franchisee - they're the face to the public and you're stuck with that guy whether you like it or not. Snap On grants exclusive franchises to to the franchisee w/in certain geographies, and that's all about limiting supply of the brand for the purpose of lessening the leverage in the hands of the consumer to maintain pricing and control. Personally, I like walking into any old Sears and doing whatever I want.

 

[colin artus]

Can you still get Proto tools in the States? They always seemed to be good quality and I recall being told they were a subcontractor/supplier to SO.

 

[JD Doshti]

With the exception of A welder i believe every tool i own is from harbor freight and for years i have been happy. :thumbsup:

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

One of my friends who has been a professional MB tech for decades told me that the tools that actually contact fasteners are more important than what turns them. So generic drives, extensions, etc are fine, but it pays to get better quality sockets, wrenches, etc. I have a few Snap-On tools like screwdrivers, which are great, but most of my other stuff is Craftsman. I have a set of BluePoint combo wrenches (the cheap SO brand) which are very good, I've had them for decades. I can also get Knypex (sp?) stuff from the Snap-On guy, but I totally agree that the tool trucks are a scam, with SO the worst of the lot- they specialize in sucking people in so that they always owe money. No, thanks.

Auctions and garages sales are good places to find tools, and every once in a while you find technicians' sets going in those kinds of sales, usually a hell of a good deal. Watching the classifieds and CL helps a lot.

 

[David Briggs]

In the late 60's and 70's there was a significant difference between Snap On and the other guys but now I don't see it.
Dave

 

[Pat]

I've found that a visit to a pawn shop and estate sales is a great resource for tools if you know what you;re looking for.

 

[Jack]

My neighbor made a find at a local garage sale last year. BIG Snap On tool box for $50.00, went to move the box and found it FULL of tools, all Snap On. He thought he was getting a deal on just the box! Previous owner had passed away and young relative was selling.

 

[Pat Buckley]

In the late 60's and 70's there was a significant difference between Snap On and the other guys but now I don't see it.
Dave

I agree.

Most of mine are 30 years old. I can't ever remember needing to warranty one.

 

[Pat Buckley]

My neighbor made a find at a local garage sale last year. BIG Snap On tool box for $50.00, went to move the box and found it FULL of tools, all Snap On. He thought he was getting a deal on just the box! Previous owner had passed away and young relative was selling.

According to some he is a fool!

 

[Mark]

I've got my grandads old set. Don't know the brand but he was a mechanic in the '30s and '40. They say "Chrome Vanadium" on them. I also have a set of Craftsman, that I've collected over the years. I used to use Proto when I worked for Westinghouse.

 

[Sid]

I've got my grandads old set. Don't know the brand but he was a mechanic in the '30s and '40.

Well you know what they say - any tool that lasts long enough to become secondhand is a good tool.....

My wifes great grandad was an outstanding individual - a decorated WW1 veteran who was partially disabled by wounds and spent the rest of his life inventing devices to help people with physical disabilities. When the dear old feller died ( not that long ago, at the age of 104 ) I found he'd left me the contents of his workshop.
Much of it was woodworking equipment which isn't any use to me so I passed it on to friends who are skilled woodworkers and will look after it.
Some of the metalworking stuff I might never have a need for ( like taps and dies for really, really obsolete threads like CEI and BSC ) but I've been refurbishing the rest.
I just got through cleaning up the 6 inch engineers vice - derusting it and painting it with brush enamel the same as when it was made.

 

[Mark Brown]

i love sears always been there for me no questions asked! 40 years!

 

[Doug S.]

i love sears always been there for me no questions asked! 40 years!

I was in a Sears hardware store a few years ago watching a young man exchange a whole lot of sockets that looked OK to me. I asked why they were being replaced. The young man explained that after years of normal use the sockets had rust on the insides and that he wasn't just about to put them on the expensive chrome engine bolts he had just purchased. After he left I brought up this issue with the store manager, pressing the point that having replaced tools that were still functional he was increasing the price of Craftsman tools, albiet only slightly, to the general public. His reasoning was that if he didn't replace the tools, the individual would probably have just taken them home and put them into a vise and cracked them so that there would have been no doubt that they were broken, necessitating the replacement anyway. He indicated that the sockets he had replaced would be sent back to Sears corporate headquarters, who would have them re-chromed, probably for resale.

Like others, I've never had Sears hedge on replacing a Craftsman hand tool (although they don't offer the lifetime warranty on the Sears brand of hand tools, only the Craftsman brand). I was once helping a friend clean up around the shop and found a Craftsman 1/4" ratchet in a pile of mud, it had obviously been there for decades. Sears couldn't replace the ratcheting mechanism inside, it was so old that they didn't have a replacement for it any more, so they gladly replaced the ratchet with a new Craftsman piece.

My cheap Craftsman tool boxes are full of Craftsman tools, never did get the Snap-On bug, never will. The Sears Hardware store in my town closed down, now I have to go 20 miles to get the Craftsman tools, but to me the longevity of the warranty has paid off :thumbsup: and that makes the trip worth it.

Doug

 

[Cliff Beer]

I think the Craftsman tool line is the one product line that single handedly is keeping Sears afloat economically! I don't know if they're made in China or Wichita (I hope it's Wichita) but I'll keep buying them and pass on the rest. My wife thinks I have a wrench sickness (that's wrench, not wench....) as I have 6 point, 12 point, stubby, offset, ratchet, every possible variaton from 4mm/1/4 up to 36mm/inch and a half. Must be over 200 wrenches I would guess. Ah well, I could be spending money on drugs or gambling instead....

 

[Dave Lindemann]

I've always had inexpensive wrenches and sockets of questionable quality. They've always worked fine but were nothing special. Recently I purchased a set of Craftsman tools and what a difference! I've never owned Snap-On or MAC tools and I'm sure they must have attributes that make them worth the extra money but I'm very happy with the quality of Craftsman.

Dave L

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

One of the advantages to SO is that they will have specialty tools for automotive work, since virtually all their sales are to auto technicians. Of course, you'll pay dearly for them, but sometimes they have exactly what you need, and if you are a professional tech and are doing the same thing over and over again, the cost of the tool can be paid back to you in beating flat rate on the same job many times. Most of us here, though, are not in that situation and it's a waste of money for us.

I have heard good things about FACOM tools as well- Griot's Garage sold them a few years ago, but the line has disappeared from their catalogs, so evidently they didn't sell very well.

I have a few Cornwell tools- competitors to SO- and I think some Macs as well- also competitors to SO. And all about the same, except that SO are more expensive. My dream is to be at an estate sale and find a full box of tools- good ones of any brand- old Craftsmans would be fine. Probably never happen.

Incidentally I still have a Craftsman electric drill that has to be at least twenty years old. Still works fine. Probably made by B&D, who used to be good as well. Not any more.

 

[Dick Bartmann]

Dave, I dont have $60 K invested, but probably 30K in 4 rollers full of tools. I have big variety and some my Snap-ons I have had 50 years already. I like there tools but in todays market there are many others that are very good and "feel" good. Biggest complaint I have is 3/8" flex ratchets, always seem to fail after few years, Snap-on guy fixes but they don't last. After buying 3 over time I gave up and bought 3 made in Taiwan for 1/2 the price for all as opposed to price of 1 from Snap-on, still haven't had failure on 1st one. My biggest concern on tools now is wish i could get some value out of them, I'm old and need to dispose of 90%, but seems no real market for used tools because most don't appreciate good ones, trying to find young guy worthy of giving them too now. Yes. in todays competition, the high priced tool guys have a uphill road to hoe.

 

[Gregg]

Dave, I dont have $60 K invested, but probably 30K in 4 rollers full of tools. I have big variety and some my Snap-ons I have had 50 years already. I like there tools but in todays market there are many others that are very good and "feel" good. Biggest complaint I have is 3/8" flex ratchets, always seem to fail after few years, Snap-on guy fixes but they don't last. After buying 3 over time I gave up and bought 3 made in Taiwan for 1/2 the price for all as opposed to price of 1 from Snap-on, still haven't had failure on 1st one. My biggest concern on tools now is wish i could get some value out of them, I'm old and need to dispose of 90%, but seems no real market for used tools because most don't appreciate good ones, trying to find young guy worthy of giving them too now. Yes. in todays competition, the high priced tool guys have a uphill road to hoe.

Dick, I will gladly help you out and take them off your hands.