I'm retired from an auto repair career. But as newer vehicles came in, the Sears tools needed to be slimmer to fit confined spaces. And Sears balked about warranties. Snap-on also was building some of the OEM tools, some jobs required these tools to make flat-rate. Some did the job quicker than flat-rate, so you could make better money. I've witnessed many go into extreme debt to impress the others in the shop with a giant toolbox, then came something akin to a nascar pitcart. Shop owners have it worse though. Software, and never ending updates and upgrades, and the test equipment and manufacturer's website subscriptions. Snap-on tends to give easy credit to techs, and they collect weekly. They also know when someone is about to be shown the door, and they'll surface at another shop with maybe a different salesman.
SNAP-ON PHENOMINON HAS BEEN PEEKING MY INTEREST LATELY - MORE THAN USUAL!
- Thread starter chief38
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It's just marketing.....
If you don't 'need' something, but it would be good to have around the shop, a hat or coffee mug might call attention to it since they've sold most of the hand tools to them already. And there MAY be some people that will buy a $400 tool just to get the hat. Shoot, if Rigid Tools offered me one of their calendars, I'd buy a lot of stuff, too.
Anyway, the shop owners are most likely their biggest customers and had a constant source of income than an individual like me. Since they come around every week, they need something to make people say, "I wonder what he's got todday." instead of here comes the dang Snap On salesman again.
I remember I bought a house from a guy that had a truck and it was super neat inside. He showed me how he played the xylophone on all of the wrenches laying in the racks.
If you don't 'need' something, but it would be good to have around the shop, a hat or coffee mug might call attention to it since they've sold most of the hand tools to them already. And there MAY be some people that will buy a $400 tool just to get the hat. Shoot, if Rigid Tools offered me one of their calendars, I'd buy a lot of stuff, too.
Anyway, the shop owners are most likely their biggest customers and had a constant source of income than an individual like me. Since they come around every week, they need something to make people say, "I wonder what he's got todday." instead of here comes the dang Snap On salesman again.
I remember I bought a house from a guy that had a truck and it was super neat inside. He showed me how he played the xylophone on all of the wrenches laying in the racks.
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I'm pretty sure Ridgid went PC and got rid of "Miss Ridgid Tool"
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This years Snap-on Calendar is laden with boring cars - no girls. 
MarvinTMartian
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You know Snap-on owns JH Williams, right?
ParadiseRoad
Member
...I have a 3/4 drive..200-600 lb. ft. Snap On torque wrench around here somewhere that was damned expensive when I bought it about a quarter of a century ago...
...I'd hate to think what it would cost now...
...had to have it though...to torque those Cummins Diesel head bolts and main bearing caps...etc...
...I'd hate to think what it would cost now...
...had to have it though...to torque those Cummins Diesel head bolts and main bearing caps...etc...
My father was a mechanic for roughly 50 years. He was as tight with a dollar as anyone I've ever known except when it came to buying his tools. He used Craftsman and Snap On only. Nothing else. "Quality and Warranty was his response when someone asked about his tools". I'm losing money when a tool breaks or doesn't do the job. Sadly as a former Sears employee I witnessed from the inside as the quality of all their products has gone down and well as their service and warranties. Thankfully he passed down 2 very important things to me. First he left me all of his tools which I'll never wear out and can pass to my sons. Second he passed on his mechanical ability and taught me how to fix things and I learned the importance of quality tools and how having the right tool for the job makes the job ten time easier.
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About half of my Sockets are vintage Craftsman (their new version is not for me) - many are Snap-On, and some Proto, Mac, Williams, Crescent for good luck. I've not broken an of them in all the years I've used them.
As a HVAC tech back in the 70’s plus working on my own cars back in the day I always used Craftsman, Snap-On was always out of my price range. Specialty tools for the trade were purchased at supply houses.
I did by specialty tools and punch sets from Snap-On and MAC tools. Had a friend who owned a garage who would pick things up for me when the truck came around.
Even though I am now retired I still have all my tools and test instruments.
One time my service truck was broken into and a good portion of my handtools were stolen but the company made good for them!
I did by specialty tools and punch sets from Snap-On and MAC tools. Had a friend who owned a garage who would pick things up for me when the truck came around.
Even though I am now retired I still have all my tools and test instruments.
One time my service truck was broken into and a good portion of my handtools were stolen but the company made good for them!
Snap-on's business model is sell very high quality tools at a very high cost. They offer credit so mechanics can get into deep debt, and they deliver the tools for the "convenience" of their customers.
20 years ago when I was a mechanic, my boss was ~$20k in debt to the Snap-on guy. When I visited him a few years after I quit, he had the biggest, nicest tool box S-O sells and told me how it had been repo'd from another mechanic so he got it for a killer price, which as I recall was maybe $15k? It's been a long time.
I never fell for it and use Craftsman, Crescent, and other store bought brands to include recent manufacture Stanley. I'm not a pro anymore, but I still maintain our vehicles and will do jobs most folks wouldn't. I have broken a few Craftsman sockets over the years, but it was under serious stress and they were replaced with no issues. My main travel socket set, which has countless hours of abuse logged, is a Chinese Stanley set I got at Walmart 20 years ago.
20 years ago when I was a mechanic, my boss was ~$20k in debt to the Snap-on guy. When I visited him a few years after I quit, he had the biggest, nicest tool box S-O sells and told me how it had been repo'd from another mechanic so he got it for a killer price, which as I recall was maybe $15k? It's been a long time.
I never fell for it and use Craftsman, Crescent, and other store bought brands to include recent manufacture Stanley. I'm not a pro anymore, but I still maintain our vehicles and will do jobs most folks wouldn't. I have broken a few Craftsman sockets over the years, but it was under serious stress and they were replaced with no issues. My main travel socket set, which has countless hours of abuse logged, is a Chinese Stanley set I got at Walmart 20 years ago.
BigBill
Absent Comrade
All my mechanics tools through the many years have been a mix and match. The only tools I had that were the same were S&K 1/2”, 3/8”, 1/4”, drive socket sets. Ingersoll rand impact sockets, s&k combo wrenches. Everything else is one of’s but there a whole set just different brands.
I got by for many years. Heck I’m 67yo now. I’ll never have a complete set of the same brand tools.
When I first got married we didn’t have much. I needed tools so I purchased one or two a week from the MAC TOOL GUY.. it worked out.
I got by for many years. Heck I’m 67yo now. I’ll never have a complete set of the same brand tools.
When I first got married we didn’t have much. I needed tools so I purchased one or two a week from the MAC TOOL GUY.. it worked out.
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Yes, I believe so.....
Yeah, they got a lot of criticism from wives and others of the female persuasion. I just thought the girls were darned attractive. My wife said she didn't like those pictures of 'girls doing those things with tools'. Maybe that's implied but it isn't the reason I liked them. Most were very decent. A few got a little rough. A guy put one in his office that was pretty rique and was told to pull it down.
But it doesn't matter what your are selling. You have to put a pretty girl in the ad. And a dog. Both of those images are known to compel people to buy. So if they made a calendar featuring the 'Rigid Dog' would it be bad???
Yeah, they got a lot of criticism from wives and others of the female persuasion. I just thought the girls were darned attractive. My wife said she didn't like those pictures of 'girls doing those things with tools'. Maybe that's implied but it isn't the reason I liked them. Most were very decent. A few got a little rough. A guy put one in his office that was pretty rique and was told to pull it down.
But it doesn't matter what your are selling. You have to put a pretty girl in the ad. And a dog. Both of those images are known to compel people to buy. So if they made a calendar featuring the 'Rigid Dog' would it be bad???
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This thread piqued my interest, too.
Never done any mechanical work to speak of, but I have always had a collection of hand tools at hand since I was a kid.
I get a kick out of remembering where I was and what I was doing when I acquired various pieces — Virginia, Arizona, New York, Oregon, Hawaii, and Tokyo. Over sixty years...
And I keep a lot of screws, metal fixtures, hinges, hooks, other hardware, etc., and enjoy it when something comes up in the household, as something always does, either to fix or create, and I apply some piece of hardware, perhaps repurpose it from long ago, that I have been dragging around for decades.
One of life’s small but pleasant satisfactions, I find.
Never done any mechanical work to speak of, but I have always had a collection of hand tools at hand since I was a kid.
I get a kick out of remembering where I was and what I was doing when I acquired various pieces — Virginia, Arizona, New York, Oregon, Hawaii, and Tokyo. Over sixty years...
And I keep a lot of screws, metal fixtures, hinges, hooks, other hardware, etc., and enjoy it when something comes up in the household, as something always does, either to fix or create, and I apply some piece of hardware, perhaps repurpose it from long ago, that I have been dragging around for decades.
One of life’s small but pleasant satisfactions, I find.
After being a mechanic for 10 years (at that time) I put aside the Craftsman boxes for my employees to use and ordered a full set up from Snap-On which was the 60th Anniversary Dale Earnhardt, Jr triple-tier tool box with decal / overlay on the covering lid that folded down in front of the top drawers to lock. That was 1980. In 1998 on my #2 sons 21st birthday I gifted him that box that he idolized since he was a child, in near / as new condition. He still has it in the near same condition.
Other mechanics thought me nuts that I would clean and wax both the outside of the cabinets, and drawers inner and outer. I never closed up the shop until all my tools were clean and put away. Clean with a toothbrush in the parts washer if greasy. Till this day NONE of my Snap-On tools have caked on grease in recesses of the lettering or in the socket teeth
Next came the roll around work box solely for my Body tools and paint guns which included another full set of wrenches, ratchets, screwdrivers, pry bars, and specialty wrenches like the infamous S shaped hinge wrenches.
The next was a taller, wider box set with side cabinets (took up about the width of a car lift at head of bay against the wall. Again. another set of everything, but catered more toward Diesel trucks with ratchets up to 1" drive.
In those days there were no roller-bearing drawers so, once a year I'd polish the aluminum sliders with a light coat of white lithium as I could not let silicone anywhere in the shop because just a tad of aerated silicone in the garage could ruin a pain job in progress.
I always wondered if Snap-on made a Roller Bearing conversion kit for the slightly older (pre-roller bearing drawer) tool boxes.
64 years old I still use my tools albeit I no longer need 1/2 of them.
If I was to go into business today, I would not buy Snap-On. Snap-On was my pride, joy and vanity to have own and use.
For all practical purposes, Harbor Freight Pittsburgh tools are quite impressive at about 20% of the cost of Snap-On.
I cannot remember how many times I re-ordered popular size sockets and wrenches that were misplaced. e.g. 10mm wrenches that were borrowed and not replaced in the set. Made me furious. Sure it would be found sometime later (sometimes a year later) but when I need a wrench NOW, I want it right in that spot it belongs. LOL ! (Sound familiar ?)
Then I started buying anything old or antique that was imprinted Snap-On or Blue Point. I have some very unusual tools included a tappet wrench set from the 1930s to the 1/32" increments, an electric drill that comes back by number to the late 1930s. The wire was brittle and cracking. I tested it, it worked perfectly and have not yet found the correct, replacement, period cord to refurbish it.
I have all my sockets, wrenches and ratchets in 12 point and 6 point sets from 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" drive including torx, spine drive, and specialty sockets.
I haven't done a massive reorganization in about 10 years but I have boxes upon boxes of new and used snap on tools that have yet to be organized.
When my driver was giving up his route, I made him a deal to purchase his entire inventory at less than his cost, just to have spare and sets for myself. One set in the body shop, one in the auto repair / mechanical shop and one in the Diesel repair shop ... and ... enough to make my sons a nice set when they were of age.
Some call it an addiction, some call it an obsession but I call it neither. As long as I can touch those tools and make money with them, all if well with the world. Expense is justified.
Other mechanics thought me nuts that I would clean and wax both the outside of the cabinets, and drawers inner and outer. I never closed up the shop until all my tools were clean and put away. Clean with a toothbrush in the parts washer if greasy. Till this day NONE of my Snap-On tools have caked on grease in recesses of the lettering or in the socket teeth
Next came the roll around work box solely for my Body tools and paint guns which included another full set of wrenches, ratchets, screwdrivers, pry bars, and specialty wrenches like the infamous S shaped hinge wrenches.
The next was a taller, wider box set with side cabinets (took up about the width of a car lift at head of bay against the wall. Again. another set of everything, but catered more toward Diesel trucks with ratchets up to 1" drive.
In those days there were no roller-bearing drawers so, once a year I'd polish the aluminum sliders with a light coat of white lithium as I could not let silicone anywhere in the shop because just a tad of aerated silicone in the garage could ruin a pain job in progress.
I always wondered if Snap-on made a Roller Bearing conversion kit for the slightly older (pre-roller bearing drawer) tool boxes.
64 years old I still use my tools albeit I no longer need 1/2 of them.
If I was to go into business today, I would not buy Snap-On. Snap-On was my pride, joy and vanity to have own and use.
For all practical purposes, Harbor Freight Pittsburgh tools are quite impressive at about 20% of the cost of Snap-On.
I cannot remember how many times I re-ordered popular size sockets and wrenches that were misplaced. e.g. 10mm wrenches that were borrowed and not replaced in the set. Made me furious. Sure it would be found sometime later (sometimes a year later) but when I need a wrench NOW, I want it right in that spot it belongs. LOL ! (Sound familiar ?)
Then I started buying anything old or antique that was imprinted Snap-On or Blue Point. I have some very unusual tools included a tappet wrench set from the 1930s to the 1/32" increments, an electric drill that comes back by number to the late 1930s. The wire was brittle and cracking. I tested it, it worked perfectly and have not yet found the correct, replacement, period cord to refurbish it.
I have all my sockets, wrenches and ratchets in 12 point and 6 point sets from 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" drive including torx, spine drive, and specialty sockets.
I haven't done a massive reorganization in about 10 years but I have boxes upon boxes of new and used snap on tools that have yet to be organized.
When my driver was giving up his route, I made him a deal to purchase his entire inventory at less than his cost, just to have spare and sets for myself. One set in the body shop, one in the auto repair / mechanical shop and one in the Diesel repair shop ... and ... enough to make my sons a nice set when they were of age.
Some call it an addiction, some call it an obsession but I call it neither. As long as I can touch those tools and make money with them, all if well with the world. Expense is justified.
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My Snap-On rep in NYC ended his daily route at my shop his truck to do his paperwork and have some coffee with us, then on his way back to Long Island where he lived. He had to repo a fairly new (appx 1 year old) roll around work bench from a rough area in Brooklyn. He was worried to go repo the box, alone, so I accompanied him. He sold it to me (appx 1982) for $800, the exact balance the guy owed (a $2500 box at that time). The repo sale deals had to be cash on the spot, though. No finance but usually great deals. If he doesn't' sell it fast he'd be burning fuel carrying it around in his truck, taking up valuable space where other NEW merchandise could be.
I, prefer the genuine Crescent, Vise-Grip, Channel Lock and other specialty tool brands but if I were a young man going into business now, I'd spend a few buck at Harbor Freight and be done with it. I do have a few VERY large (about 16" long and 20" long) that are Snap-On Channel Locks and they're just as good or better.
I recently purchased a hard wood topped tool box (GENERAL ?) about 48" long by 20" wide by about 3" high just for my gunsmith tools not to mix up the tools with my auto and truck tools. VERY nice $239, on sale from $299. Very nice but I found out quickly it was too small so I made it a loading bench.
I ordered a 6' long by 24" wide by about 42" high HUSKY box (with hard wood deck) from Home Depot, on sale $999 + tax. Waited 10 days for it to arrive and it had slight pops on both end (not in the corners) when I went to pick it up. Didn't matter to me because you can barely see them and it's not a Snap-On or Mac but built just a nice. I offered them to take 20% off and I'd keep it or order me another with no damage. After a little coaxing they went from 10%, to 15% then called the manager and OK-ed 20% off. It meets the purpose I needed it for, it looks great and it's heavy. 6 x 360 degree locking casters, too.
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and Diesel tractors.
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While I never thought Craftsman (I own PLENTY vintage Craftsman tools) were in Snap-on's league, they were always a good solid tool built strong & reliable. What happened to them over the last 5 years is pathetic!
IMHO their tool boxes are NOT even as good art Harbor freight! Instead of stepping up to the plate like Milwaukee, Kobalt, Channel Lock, Carlyle, etc. has done, they went down & dirty! I wold not touch their stuff today........
IMHO their tool boxes are NOT even as good art Harbor freight! Instead of stepping up to the plate like Milwaukee, Kobalt, Channel Lock, Carlyle, etc. has done, they went down & dirty! I wold not touch their stuff today........
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Agreed. The last sets of Craftsman Industrial socket sets and wrenches that I purchased in 2012 are quite good, but even their main lines (still made in America) were slipping by then.... Their Chinese stuff is total junk now.
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Grayfox
US Veteran
I turned wrenches for 42 years. Mostly on heavy trucks and equipment.
The thing about Snap-On and similar tool trucks is that they gave a new guy in the trade a chance to get what he needed, pay over time and make a living right now. There's no way a new guy in the business can afford all the tools he needs right off the bat. I too was indebted to the Snap-On man for many years. But once I got him paid off, I never bought tools on credit again.
Frankly, I never liked Snap-On wrenches. I dealt with a lot of rusted and frozen bolts. SO wrenches were too thin and in a hard pull felt like they were cutting into my hand. Never cared much for their socket wrenches either. Again, I just didn't like the way they felt in my hand. I do love their screwdrivers though and did buy those.
I always used Craftsman wrenches. In fact I only bought from SO, Mac or others if Sears didn't make it. Back in the day Craftsman had a lot of specialty stuff too. Sears had a separate special catalog just for tools. Craftsman wasn't cheap, but it was no where near the price of the fancy brands.
The great thing about Craftsman was that in the event I broke or lost something, I didn't have to wait a week for the Snap-On guy to come around. A quick stop by Sears on the way home solved my problem.
Sadly, Craftsman ain't what it used to be. Quality has fallen badly and there's not near the selection they once had.
I do think Snap-On made excellent tool boxes even if they were very expensive. Out in my garage right now is the same set of SO boxes that I used for most of my career. I bought those back in 1975.
The thing about Snap-On and similar tool trucks is that they gave a new guy in the trade a chance to get what he needed, pay over time and make a living right now. There's no way a new guy in the business can afford all the tools he needs right off the bat. I too was indebted to the Snap-On man for many years. But once I got him paid off, I never bought tools on credit again.
Frankly, I never liked Snap-On wrenches. I dealt with a lot of rusted and frozen bolts. SO wrenches were too thin and in a hard pull felt like they were cutting into my hand. Never cared much for their socket wrenches either. Again, I just didn't like the way they felt in my hand. I do love their screwdrivers though and did buy those.
I always used Craftsman wrenches. In fact I only bought from SO, Mac or others if Sears didn't make it. Back in the day Craftsman had a lot of specialty stuff too. Sears had a separate special catalog just for tools. Craftsman wasn't cheap, but it was no where near the price of the fancy brands.
The great thing about Craftsman was that in the event I broke or lost something, I didn't have to wait a week for the Snap-On guy to come around. A quick stop by Sears on the way home solved my problem.
Sadly, Craftsman ain't what it used to be. Quality has fallen badly and there's not near the selection they once had.
I do think Snap-On made excellent tool boxes even if they were very expensive. Out in my garage right now is the same set of SO boxes that I used for most of my career. I bought those back in 1975.
Yes, never a problem exchanging a Craftsman tool for a replacement but haven't done so in over 20 years. Had no idea they have Chinese tools, too. Were those the "Sears" branded tools. I recall a cheaper line just named Sears not Craftsman.
Snap-On dealers own or lease their routes. Sometimes they are finicky about warranty replacements if you do not buy from that dealer. It is a non-issue for ANY Snap-On dealer to do the exchange, they get the replacement back from Snap-On but it seems if you're not one of their top-buyers they figure I needed nothing new that I did not already have with common stuff (like ratchet sets and wrenches, in triplicate. I haven't had a Snap-On dealer service me at my location (my ranch) in over 20 years. I don't need a weekly stop just once in awhile would be nice. The Dealer that came here only once figured he didn't have anything on his truck that i didn't already own so he just never came back.
Snap-On is the only private company that carries the Kia / Hyundai crash data retrieval hand held device other than directly from Kia / Hyundai's proprietary tool distributor at $5K. I placed a call to Snap-On to ask for a sales rep to pass by for that reason alone, no one ever showed.
When I was about 17 I purchased a set of used tools from a retired mechanic and family friend. The majority were Williams (One of their trade marks is "SUPER WRENCH" love that name). It include a full tappet wrench set in 1/32" increments.
The Williams Tool Company was (and may still be) on Williams Ave, between Liberty Ave and Atlantic Ave ... about 10 blocks from my shop in East New York section of Brooklyn (my shop from 1974 to 1986 when I sold it and moved to Florida. There was no retail sales counter, just a commercial entrance to a counter in the warehouse.
I have many Williams and wouldn't part with them. One old wrenc impressed me many years ago. 9/16" open / box wrench. it has to be at least 60-70 years old now. The open end never spread wider, the 12 point box wrench end never slipped but it was SO well used (while always cared for) the chrome started to wear. NOT peel, WEAR As it wore the chrome "feather-edged" back to reveal either a copper or bronze plating as the primary base for adhesion with the Chrome over. I haven't seen that on any other wrench. I have had a few Snap-Ons that peeled but were replaced for that reason alone but never a Williams.
I was impressed when I saw how well the Williams tools wear many years ago, and I'm still impressed. I could have swapped that wrench (or any other) at the tool counter on Williams Street any time I wanted but never did. Most of my 3/4" drive and 1" drive ratchets and extensions, sockets, and wreches from 1+1/4" up to under 3" sockets are Williams. The big sockets (3/4" and 1" drive) are a black bluing almost like a soft smooth parkerized finish. The large metric sockets are mostly Snap-On but sometimes need to use a 1" to 3/4" drive adapter because NONE of the big stuff is dainty. The sockets are SO thick walled that when you need to get into a tight spot, like a pinion nut off a large diesel rear sometimes you need a narrow socket. It's big, it's heavy and you need LOTS of room to swing the 1" drive ratchet with a 3 Foot handle. Oh, the sockets are so thick I needed to thin down the wall of a few for a special purpose, e.g. grind off most of the wall to have it fit in the recess and STILL has never cracked or broken.
In the used set of Williams wrenches (very old) were manufactured with a blue/black finish. A few started to get rust pocks on them. The counter man says ... "oh, I cannot exchange these for you because we no longer make that finish. Will you be OK with a Chrome set ? I'm thinking ... twist my arm a little more, let me think about this a minute ... HECK yeah !
To me tools are sacred. I take care of all of them although I haven't done a major reorganization since I semi-retired 10 years ago.
I have been a Forensic Mechanic (master) and Crash Investigator since 1996. I would pack up what I might need if I was out on a particular job then one day a Snap-On wrench went missing. I bought a Pittsburgh 300 and some odd piece tool set from Harbor Freight on sale less 20% discount coupon for pocket change. Now when I go out on a job I just load that one and I'm on my way. Those are the "expendables". However, when I need to meet with a bunch of engineers on a tear down (usually on a serious crash / death case that is video taped from start to finish) I pack up only the best tools. The Snap-On hand tools, my Fluke Multi-meter (instead of the Harbor freight $30 primo model ). In 1986 my Fluke cost me near $300 and it is still functions better than any other. And all my electrical diagnostic tools and scanners
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I also do the electronic Crash Data Retrieval with $20K of equipment in one Pelican case. $20K dos not include the Dell Rough Service laptop and some direct-to-unit or special connectors). Bosch charges $1000 per year for the software subscription.
