SNAP-ON PHENOMINON HAS BEEN PEEKING MY INTEREST LATELY - MORE THAN USUAL!

[BigBill]

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.

 

[rwsmith]

Yes, I believe so.....

I'm pretty sure Ridgid went PC and got rid of "Miss Ridgid Tool"

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???

 

[Onomea]

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.

 

[model3sw]

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.

 

[model3sw]

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.

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.

 

[model3sw]

The ONLY Mechanics I see earning good bucks are the ones who specialize in high end, highly collectible and exotic cars such as Range Rover, Jags, Porsche, Maserati, Lamborghini, Ferrari, etc.

and Diesel tractors.

 

[chief38]

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........

 

[rkwood]

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.

Sent from my SM-G930U using Tapatalk

 

[Grayfox]

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.

 

[model3sw]

Snap on tools aren't top shelf there are industrial tools like Armstrong, Williams. I think Williams is one of the best.

Still can't beat the warranty on the craftsman tools.

Being a mechanic and owning all kinds of snap on tools I had a snap on tool break. Because I didn't buy it from the present salesman's tool truck he wouldn't warranty it. I found another snap on salesman who would.

Since I was a mechanic at the dealer at 18yo I had Husky tools back in the 70's. I still have them today.

I have mainly craftsman tools today.

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
e
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.

 

[model3sw]

Organizing my tools since I read this thread

See what you guys did. I've been organizing my tools and tool boxes since I read this thread. Well, it's not like I have very much else to do ( I did have lots to do ). Finding out I'm missing 10mm sockets out of almost every set of Snap-On sockets. Missing a 1/4", 2x3/8", and a 10/11 line wrench. And missing a 13 mm out of another 1/4" drive.

My metric combination wrench set already has a replacement Snap-On 10 mm as it had been misplaced once prior. The 10 mm is newer than my set by about 10 years.

Missing a few Snap-On sockets from my 1/4 and 3/8" drive. And some mix and match socket substitutes in my Snap-On and Williams 3/4" and 1" drive sets but filled missing odd sockets with replacement fill-in Williams I had (my original set of 40 years ago). I'm not too snobbish to substitute a Mac, Matco, Proto, Craftsman or SK socket to fill in a missing Williams or Snap-On.

I even have 1/32" increment sockets and some 32" wrenches. Most 32nd sockets are either Pre-WWII or just post WWII Williams stuck in between Snap-On standard sized sockets:

e.g. a full 1/2 drive socket set includes: 3/8, 13/32, 7/16, 15/32, 1/2, 17/32, 9/16, 19/32, 5/8, 21/32, 11/16, 23/32, 3/4, 25/32, 13/16, 27/32, 7/8, 29/32, 15/16, 31/32, and 1"

And I found 4 x 36 mm x 1/2" drive, medium deep, impact sockets. One belongs in the set and 3 extras. I can't remember what 36 mm was for but it must have been a popular one, like drive axle nuts, etc.

I have 7 x 3/8 to 1/4" adapter and I cannot find one 1/4 to 3/8" adapter. Plenty of 1/2 to 3/8" a few 3/8 to 1/2 adapters and a few 3/4 to 1/2" and 1/2" to 3/4" adapters.

Perhaps you guys want to go off line for swap stuff. I have multitudes of everything 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2" drive sockets, impact sockets, and much more of many brands.

 

[CScott]

I too was a Snap-On Dealer for more than 15 years. Don't be misled into thinking that some other brand with a similar outward appearance will be of equivalent quality and usefulness as genuine Snap-On. Costly? Sure. But a few years down the road and you won't think you paid too much especially if you use them professionally.
Remember, you can buy a Taurus or Charter Arms or any number of other serviceable revolvers for a lot less money than an S&W. But are they the same? No way.
You pays yer money and yah takes yer choice.
Scott

 

[sar4937]

I've never had warranty issues with Snap-on. They will follow you shop to shop, it's a profession. The average home DIY does not really need it. Today's cars and trucks demand it, or it's equivalent. Every trade seems to have it's own special tool provider. I don't see the issue, buy at your comfort level.

 

[Frank46]

Over the years I've aquired various hand tools. 70's era Craftsman,Proto, Williams, Armstrong and others. Recently as I'm getting older running back and forth to the garage for tools and that was getting old fast. I sprung for the Kobalt master socket and ratchet set and added a selection pf both inch and metric wrenches. These were bought over a period of time as money permitted. Now when I have to mess with my Sears riding mower or Kubota L3800 diesel tractor just about everything I need will be on a cart or cart mounted tool box. Not a professional mechanic by any means just someone who like to fix stuff.Haven't broken any of the Kobalt stuff yet and since lowes is about 20 minutes from the house they do have a replacement warrantee. Sears no longer has their store in my town. About an hour each way next town over. Probably have about three complete sets of sockets. wrenches. and whatever.Son in law has my old Dewalt 14volt cordless drill so perfect excuse to get me the 29 volt one. Frank

 

[model3sw]

I too was a Snap-On Dealer for more than 15 years. Don't be misled into thinking that some other brand with a similar outward appearance will be of equivalent quality and usefulness as genuine Snap-On. Costly? Sure. But a few years down the road and you won't think you paid too much especially if you use them professionally.
Remember, you can buy a Taurus or Charter Arms or any number of other serviceable revolvers for a lot less money than an S&W. But are they the same? No way.
You pays yer money and yah takes yer choice.
Scott

Can you give me some insight. Since I closed my garage in West Palm Beach, just one town over my Ranch is 1000 ft off a main commercial drag of Military trail. I have called Snap-On no less than 5 times in the past 15 years to schedule a driver stop here. They never showed.

I had to mail in some of my warranty stuff to Snap-On to get it replaced.
I have about 5 items that need legit warranty replacements and NO Snap-On dealer. What's the best way to handle this ?

 

[Old Seabee]

Tools

Find a local shop where the Snap-On dealer stops and when handle your warranties there . That also will give you a chance to talk to him and resolve the problem. OldSeabee

 

[Boox]

I too was a Snap-On dealer at one time. Early 70's, in a suburban-rural area in the Syracuse NY area. About 65% of my business was corner gas stations. The rest was mostly heavy equipment shops, and some truck service outlets.
My first van was an old Grumman bodied NBC bread truck with about a zillion miles on it. The one with the curved front window glass. Bought it for $500 and had it painted and decaled and after signing a mortgage loan on my house i was in business. 10,000 dollar initial investment. There were 6 other dealers working from our local warehouse, one guy with 20 years in and all the rest had multiple years on the road. It was fun work and I had a ball, made some good friends and a few not so good.
Now I remember one year, we had a tool box promo going on and that year SO was offering like $100 extra on any trade in tool boxes. Our most expensive at that time was probably around $500. but with the profit from those trade in boxes I bought my wife a year old Monte Carlo dealer demo with a 402 fat block in for $2400 cash.
The fun was from the older guys, in the truck shops and heavy equipment shops. SO said to keep payments on tool balances at at least 10% of the balance. Those older guys would not give more that $5.00 a week, regardless of what they owed, and that was when you could catch them in the shop as many were on the road doing repairs. I used to get hell from my supervisor about that every month. It was fun trying to catch them old guys.
But the real problem, and the reason I gave up the franchise was the first real gas crunch...remember that? Odd even days, gas limits, stations were closing left and right and within about 6 months half of my business was done, gone. Got out safe with a few bucks, but even now, 90% of my tool box is still Snap-On. In fact my primary tool box is an original from the early 40's. I love my Snap-On tools.

 

[Old Seabee]

Tools

Liked talking to tool salesman about chasing people for money , in bathrooms standing on toilets . The story's were unbelievable.
Bought a lot of tools that we would call financial adjustments . OldSeabee

 

[johnbeaver]

New a guy long ago that used Craftsman, but I don't think he bought any from Sears.
He would prowl garage sales and haggle down busted Craftsman tools and return to Sears for replacement.
Always thought it somewhat CS but it worked for him.
We bought Craftsman for the shop, mostly. Sometimes Snap On.

 

[CScott]

Liked talking to tool salesman about chasing people for money , in bathrooms standing on toilets . The story's were unbelievable.
Bought a lot of tools that we would call financial adjustments . OldSeabee

I've got plenty of stories about chasing people for money but perhaps not as many as most people think. One I do remember was catching up with a guy as he was coming out of a methadone clinic. For some reason (!!), he was in such a nice frame of mind he paid enough on the spot to get all caught up with me.

 

[CScott]

The best sales aid was to replace tools under warranty but for some reason, many SO dealers would hedge on it. The company would always back up my decisions on warranty but I would also try to fix what I could and re-sell them as used. More profitable and would interest lower budget customers.

Honestly, I think your best bet would be to befriend a mechanic that does have regular visits from a SO dealer and leave your stuff with that person to be fixed or exchanged. I actually do this now in my present job for my customers because I usually see a SO dealer on my sales route.

Scott

 

[chief38]

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.

I disagree somewhat..... Most who own their own home can easily get an Equity loan (on their home) and the interest rates on them are somewhere's in the 4 - 6% range rather than the 22% interest or whatever the Snap-on guy charges. One could get a lower interest loan and buy all the descent quality tools they need to get heir career going. Equity loans usually have no prepayment penalties and they don't have a Snap-on guy breathing down their necks every week and pushing them to get into debt even more!!!

For those who do not own their home I think you do have a point, however they would be far better off borrowing seed money from a parent, relative, Bank (if they can qualify) or good friend.

YES, S-O makes it too easy to borrow from and once they get their hooks into to you, you pay almost forever at ridiculous interest rates far beyond current going rates.

All that said, they DO make GREAT tools!!

 

[Adk.IBO]

I too was a Snap-On dealer at one time. Early 70's, in a suburban-rural area in the Syracuse NY area. About 65% of my business was corner gas stations. The rest was mostly heavy equipment shops, and some truck service outlets.
My first van was an old Grumman bodied NBC bread truck with about a zillion miles on it. The one with the curved front window glass. Bought it for $500 and had it painted and decaled and after signing a mortgage loan on my house i was in business. 10,000 dollar initial investment. There were 6 other dealers working from our local warehouse, one guy with 20 years in and all the rest had multiple years on the road. It was fun work and I had a ball, made some good friends and a few not so good.
Now I remember one year, we had a tool box promo going on and that year SO was offering like $100 extra on any trade in tool boxes. Our most expensive at that time was probably around $500. but with the profit from those trade in boxes I bought my wife a year old Monte Carlo dealer demo with a 402 fat block in for $2400 cash.
The fun was from the older guys, in the truck shops and heavy equipment shops. SO said to keep payments on tool balances at at least 10% of the balance. Those older guys would not give more that $5.00 a week, regardless of what they owed, and that was when you could catch them in the shop as many were on the road doing repairs. I used to get hell from my supervisor about that every month. It was fun trying to catch them old guys.
But the real problem, and the reason I gave up the franchise was the first real gas crunch...remember that? Odd even days, gas limits, stations were closing left and right and within about 6 months half of my business was done, gone. Got out safe with a few bucks, but even now, 90% of my tool box is still Snap-On. In fact my primary tool box is an original from the early 40's. I love my Snap-On tools.

My first encounter with Snap-on was at Honda of Syracuse in 1976 as an 18 yr old mechanic there. Snap-on tried to recruit me then, I was not ready for the commitment. 1986 I was ready after stepping on a truck for a warranty and telling the story of being recruited the dealer said this route is up for grabs. 2 years later I went on to be a Field Manager in the Adirondacks, recruiting and training new and existing dealers. Not quite 2 years later I went back on the road as a dealer and stayed another 10 years. I changed, the company changed, and we became incompatible. That was around 2000. Glad I had my journeyman electrian background to fall back on, otherwise I would have had to stay a dealer...