Rapey Snap-On Tools

[DMG]

I’ve seen a tool truck on the wrecker 2 times in my life. Probably broken down, but always hoped it was seizure for non-payment

We had an independent tool guy that came to our dealer 20+ years ago. He sold me the Sunex and SK stuff I have as well as the IR composite 3/8 and half inch impacts I prefer. It turns out he could afford to give deals on the tools because the real money was in pills. I owed him several hundred dollars when he was arrested and his truck was impounded. Never saw him again and his number was disconnected so a bunch of us never could find him to pay him.

 

[M92PV4U]

We had an independent tool guy that came to our dealer 20+ years ago. He sold me the Sunex and SK stuff I have as well as the IR composite 3/8 and half inch impacts I prefer. It turns out he could afford to give deals on the tools because the real money was in pills. I owed him several hundred dollars when he was arrested and his truck was impounded. Never saw him again and his number was disconnected so a bunch of us never could find him to pay him.

He didn't get to be a good salesman accidentally .

 

[muddyrover]

I'm probably going to buy my metric set from ebay. I just can't decide if I should get a ½ drive socket set or the wrenches next.

Picked up this flank drive plus set a little while ago on eBay missing the 10mm. That little fucker cost me 1/4 what the rest of the set did. Still in for about 1/3 the cost of a new set.

 

[DWT]

One of the reasons I have mostly snapon is that the snapon guy always showed up, always had what I needed and never gave me a hard time about warranty. He also frequently had used/tradein/repo stuff for 1/4-1/2 price if you had cash.

I question whether someone that suggests "vintage craftsman tools" and HF as a substitute for snapon has ever used a wrench. The craftsman weren't that great, just better than the newer Chinese stuff, they arent getting warrantied anywhere around here if at all.

You don't have a Lowe's nearby?


I'd wager a whole lot more fasteners have turned over the years by tools bought from a store than off of any tool truck.

Some of the newer Chinese stuff is solid. Bluepoint comes to mind and it's available off of your favorite tool truck so you can keep your superiority complex intact.

 

[Landslide]

Just saw this on marketplace near me 🫤

Oh don’t get me wrong, I know I bought mine at a really great deal. The guy I bought mine from is 85 yo and sold his house, so it was clean out time. I bought other stuff too like a once used Bitoch (sp) pneumatic Brad nailer, a heavy old octagon shaped 1 1/2” diameter drill rod 5’ long with a chisel end on it (was used at one time as a murder weapon- some guy killed his buddy with it - the guy I got it from is a retired cop and the courts were gonna throw this away, so he asked someone he knew there if he could have it) a tall double door steel cabinet with adjustable shelves, a 3” steel caster wheel small steel cart (think furniture dolly) some sharpening stones in great shape and maybe some other odd ball stuff. I think I spend a little over $50 total.

 

[Landslide]

We had an independent tool guy that came to our dealer 20+ years ago. He sold me the Sunex and SK stuff I have as well as the IR composite 3/8 and half inch impacts I prefer. It turns out he could afford to give deals on the tools because the real money was in pills. I owed him several hundred dollars when he was arrested and his truck was impounded. Never saw him again and his number was disconnected so a bunch of us never could find him to pay him.

So, who did he sell his pills to if not guys at, oh I dunno, shops that he called on? Were you shocked he got nailed or was it common knowledge he was pimping pills and tools at all his stops?

 

[M92PV4U]

So, who did he sell his pills to if not guys at, oh I dunno, shops that he called on? Were you shocked he got nailed or was it common knowledge he was pimping pills and tools at all his stops?

A dude around here was selling dope to the guys in the shops . Snapon kicked his ass to the curb then he became an independent.

 

[Landslide]

You don't have a Lowe's nearby?


I'd wager a whole lot more fasteners have turned over the years by tools bought from a store than off of any tool truck.

Some of the newer Chinese stuff is solid. Bluepoint comes to mind and it's available off of your favorite tool truck so you can keep your superiority complex intact.

Meh, jealousy won’t get you anywhere here. Keep jerking off on your HF cHiNa tools as your knuckle is bleeding from a broken wrench.

 

[DWT]

Meh, jealousy won’t get you anywhere here. Keep jerking off on your HF cHiNa tools as your knuckle is bleeding from a broken wrench.

I like tool truck tools but It's impossible to justify their prices. I make my money with mostly old US tools with some choice HF and a bit of tool truck mixed in for flavor.

I don't remember the last wrench I broke but Ill guarantee it was the open end losing half its jaw due to a big ass cheater wrench doubled up.

Ratchets all break, especially super fine tooth models, they aren't designed for cheater torque. Im still sad about my medium length proto 3/8 floppy headed ratchet getting summer teeth but the icon ratchet I replaced it with is killer.

 

[DMG]

So, who did he sell his pills to if not guys at, oh I dunno, shops that he called on? Were you shocked he got nailed or was it common knowledge he was pimping pills and tools at all his stops?

I found out after the fact that a bunch of guys at the dealership were buying from him. Some of them were surprised that I didn't know, I guess I was naive or not paying attention.

 

[DMG]

You don't have a Lowe's nearby?


I'd wager a whole lot more fasteners have turned over the years by tools bought from a store than off of any tool truck.

Some of the newer Chinese stuff is solid. Bluepoint comes to mind and it's available off of your favorite tool truck so you can keep your superiority complex intact.

25 minutes away. They stock very little craftsman and the stuff they do have is made in China crap

 

[Landslide]

25 minutes away. They stock very little craftsman and the stuff they do have is made in China crap

I watched a YouTube video on a guy who loves craftsman tools talking about this. Some years back craftsman was going to build a manufacturing plant in Texas and start making them in the USA again. Well, they built the plant then pandemic then I guess they figured out the profits weren’t tgere to follow through with it in the end. I guess people buy craftsman tools today at Lowe’s but I don’t know anyone who does personally

 

[[486]]

Im still sad about my medium length proto 3/8 floppy headed ratchet getting summer teeth but the icon ratchet I replaced it with is killer.

I've got an SK like that, got several fixed handle ones for parts but I still treat it really gently

 

[DWT]

I've got an SK like that, got several fixed handle ones for parts but I still treat it really gently

When it spits teeth grab the icon I pictured and be happy. I grab it first even over my tool truck variants. It's just a nice ratchet.

 

[Landslide]

My thing boils down to this simply put. People justify their buying cHiNa made tools for most common reasons which usually means, they’re cheap people in most everything they do imo.

But choices have consequences in the long run. You think buying this stuff is great for your pocket book. I agree it is, initially, but not in the long run big picture.

Decades ago it was Buffalo tools made in cHiNa that a lot of people bought. Buffalo machines like drill presses used to be mfg in the USA until the 70’s or earlier. I botched about it back then saying it would put Americans out of work. But they were cheap tools and poor quality.

Then over the years more and more things started to go to cHiNa to be made over there. Still cheaper to buy. Again I warned people about what was happening

Fast forward to today and it’s become reality. Sure stuff is still made in the USA but it’s getting hard to find now more so. But the main thing I’ve always said is that once most all USA made tools are gone, the cHiNa tools prices increase to where USA tools were at. There’s a lot of other things that have gone the way of the dodo 🦤 bird as far as made in USA goes, but now you’re paying high prices for it made in cHiNa. You’re paying USA made prices for crap made in cHiNa. Plus you’re paying money to a communist red army party. Fuck that.

 

[M92PV4U]

Fast forward to today and it’s become reality. Sure stuff is still made in the USA but it’s getting hard to find now more so. But the main thing I’ve always said is that once most all USA made tools are gone, the cHiNa tools prices increase to where USA tools were at. There’s a lot of other things that have gone the way of the dodo 🦤 bird as far as made in USA goes, but now you’re paying high prices for it made in cHiNa. You’re paying USA made prices for crap made in cHiNa. Plus you’re paying money to a communist red army party. Fuck that.

My dad has been telling me this forever.

I'm building my personal set of snap on tools now, as I can.

My cordless tools are cHiNa Hercules brand. They look exactly like a fucking Dewalt and work fine for me so far. All of the Milwaukee and Dewalt I've looked at, at this point are also made in China, so I don't give a fuck.

First hand experience, Franklin Electric motors, controls have gone down hill since manufacturing moved to Mexico .

 

[arse_sidewards]

But choices have consequences in the long run....

Someone should have told that to all the people who voted for the EPA and federal labor law BS while simultaneously voting for free trade. Say nothing of the decades of misguided "if we give them an unfairly good deal they'll stop being commies" policy toward China.

Nobody with a brain should be kneecapping themselves buying domestic in light of all that shit. Trying to fight macroeconomic conditions is like pissing into a hurricane.

First hand experience, Franklin Electric motors, controls have gone down hill since manufacturing moved to Mexico .

On some level shit has to go downhill because society cannot afford the level of "nice" it used to because instead of paying for "nice" it's paying for non-productive people and activity at every level of the economy and in every product and service.

 

[M92PV4U]

On some level shit has to go downhill because society cannot afford the level of "nice" it used to because instead of paying for "nice" it's paying for non-productive people and activity at every level of the economy and in every product and service.

Manufacturing moved to Mexico and the only ones to reap the benefits of cheaper labor was Franklin.

 

[muddyrover]

Most of my craftsman stuff is from the 50 and 60's. I have a complete 3/8 and 1/2 set from the 1930s. The only ones in active service are the 1/2" drive =V= series .

 

[DWT]

My thing boils down to this simply put. People justify their buying cHiNa made tools for most common reasons which usually means, they’re cheap people in most everything they do imo.

But choices have consequences in the long run. You think buying this stuff is great for your pocket book. I agree it is, initially, but not in the long run big picture.

I hope you get phantom pains below your stump every time you type out cHINa.


I'm absolutely NOT cheap in most areas of my life. If I was I'd be rocking every tool from HF and my RC crawlers would all be from Amazon. It's not about being cheap, it's 100% about value per dollar. Cheap shit breaks and will cost you more money due to repeat purchases or down time.

Most people here would shit their pants if they knew what I have in RC cars. I could easily have a decent sized tool truck box full of tools. Any given weekend I have about $10k in the cab headed to play and several times that on the shelves. None of it is cheap Chinese shit because those parts fail like a HF bargain basement ratchet.

 

[muddyrover]

It's not about being cheap, it's 100% about value per dollar.

There is no value in rounded off fasteners when working on your own equipment. Who cares on a customer's vehicle you'll never see again.. right?

Might not matter most of the time but when you have to pay for every nut and bolt out of your own pocket, it adds up if you want it right so you can take it apart next time. Six 1" grade 8 fine thread bolts that hold the arbor on my log skidder would have been over $100 if I had destroyed them getting them out.

I work on my own stuff, but if for some reason I was out of town broke down and the mechanic whipped out a bunch of Pittsburg wrenches, I would limp the truck down the road if possible.

 

[arse_sidewards]

I'd really love to subject some of you idiots to a blind test.

Chinese wrenches tend toward the tight side and they save all the money on the finish and the shape. Not nice in the hand at all but they work damn good at their one job.

Can't speak for sockets as I don't have more than half a dozen domestic ones to compare to.

 

[muddyrover]

so... when one brand wrench you have in the skidder tool box starts to round a bolt then you take the time to walk 1/2 mile out of the woods back to the header and grab a Snap-On out of the truck box and the flank drive removes it ..... is just luck?

You don't need to be blind to see that.... but maybe to not.

 

[DMG]

I'd really love to subject some of you idiots to a blind test.

Chinese wrenches tend toward the tight side and they save all the money on the finish and the shape. Not nice in the hand at all but they work damn good at their one job.

Can't speak for sockets as I don't have more than half a dozen domestic ones to compare to.

The Chinese are known for making tools, knives, atvs, etc that look like quality stuff but have crappy materials. When a socket splits or a wrench stretches a bit on a bolt head, you have a problem.

If you want, you can send me a set of HF for a month and I'll send you a set of snapons for the same month. You will see.

 

[DWT]

There is no value in rounded off fasteners when working on your own equipment. Who cares on a customer's vehicle you'll never see again.. right?

Might not matter most of the time but when you have to pay for every nut and bolt out of your own pocket, it adds up if you want it right so you can take it apart next time. Six 1" grade 8 fine thread bolts that hold the arbor on my log skidder would have been over $100 if I had destroyed them getting them out.

I work on my own stuff, but if for some reason I was out of town broke down and the mechanic whipped out a bunch of Pittsburg wrenches, I would limp the truck down the road if possible.

I haven't rounded a bolt or nut that wasn't already well on its way to being junk. Most of my chrome sockets are old craftsman and 99% of my impact sockets are Pittsburgh that I'll put up against the highest dollar tool truck impact sockets any day. All impact sockets take a beating and mushroom around the drive eventually.

The last chrome sockets I split were old craftsman and a no name 13/16 spark plug socket I was using an impact on for lug nuts on one of my own rigs. It still got the nuts off without rounding them.

 

[M92PV4U]

All impact sockets take a beating and mushroom around the drive eventually.

And when a snapon does, you exchange it for a new one, same with extensions.

 

[DWT]

And when a snapon does, you exchange it for a new one, same with extensions.

Same with harbor freight.

 

[arse_sidewards]

The Chinese are known for making tools, knives, atvs, etc that look like quality stuff but have crappy materials. When a socket splits or a wrench stretches a bit on a bolt head, you have a problem.

If you want, you can send me a set of HF for a month and I'll send you a set of snapons for the same month. You will see.

I'll try to remember to pick up some Snap On next time I go to the local used tool place so I can compare wrench stretch vs craftsman, 00s China, 2020s China and 2010s HF. I'd be real fucking surprised if it doesn't just come down to how chunky the wrenches are. Deflection is what rounds shit and basically all steels deflect the same amount when subject to the same forces, it's just a question of hardness and breaking shit vs flexing back.

Sockets are a red herring. Nobody ever breaks them except when doing knowingly stupid shit like using a big impact on a small chrome. Heck, my turned down 1-1/8" pinion and yoke socket only ever sees stupid shit from the 1" gun these days and is still going, granted it was an impact socket to begin with.

so... when one brand wrench you have in the skidder tool box starts to round a bolt then you take the time to walk 1/2 mile out of the woods back to the header and grab a Snap-On out of the truck box and the flank drive removes it ..... is just luck?

You don't need to be blind to see that.... but maybe to not.

Even the cheapest of the cheap 6pt socket have had flank drive since forever.

Literally the only way to miss out on it is to be a massive retard who goes off chest thumping about domestic tools and pick up a set of 1960s tools that predate it. Serves the fuckers right.

Forgot to take a picture of my HF's or my Amazon specials last nigh so here's a 10mm from a Walmart generic auto tool kit that's in my "interestingly broken shit" collection for not having a proper 3/8 square on the back end.

 

[DMG]

By using better materials, some tool companies make a socket or wrench that fits in tight places and is strong. It’s easy to throw more low quality metal at something. Btw, I consider Sunex impact sockets to be as good as Snapon or anyone. Unless they have gone to shit in the 20 years since I bought them. Snapon excels at making wrenches, ratchets and screwdrivers. As well as special tools.

Btw, cheaper sockets get belled out at the end so they can’t grip a bolt well enough to break. They just spin on it. It has happened with every brand of chrome socket I have used. It takes much longer with tool truck brands and SK.

 

[DMG]

basically all steels deflect the same amount when subject to the same forces, it's just a question of hardness and breaking shit vs flexing back.

This is not true. There are pretty massive variations in the strength and deflection of different steels. Heat treatment is a huge factor, too.

Surface hardness as well. Compare the jaws on your oldest visegrips to a new pair. They are made a bit soft so the teeth wear out pretty fast.