Anybody use Snap-On tools

[GTLC]

anybody here use Snap-On tools?

[Grassmechanic]

I've got some, not a lot. They're good, but expensive.

[ducky1]

snap-on mac a few craftsman

[UNISCAPER]

Snap On are the only tools we use. Dad was a mechanic, we owned a marina when I was a kid, got my first set when I was 6.

Last I inventoried, there are about $100,000.00 in hand and air tools in the shop

[landcruiser]

Snap on tools are great but I guarantee you tools don't make a mechanic. Buy what you can afford that a company will stand behind for a lifetime and don't get caught up with what name is on them. I've wrenched on all kinds of equipment, know mechanics who forgot more than I'll ever know about wrenching and I've never met anyone who was better than me simply because his tools costs more. You know what I mean?

[John Gamba]

Originally posted by landcruiser
Snap on tools are great but I guarantee you tools don't make a mechanic. Buy what you can afford that a company will stand behind for a lifetime and don't get caught up with what name is on them. I've wrenched on all kinds of equipment, know mechanics who forgot more than I'll ever know about wrenching and I've never met anyone who was better than me simply because his tools costs more. You know what I mean?

Wait till you ROUND OFF A NUT because of a CHEAP tool. Snap-on are like Exmark---NUMBER ONE!!!!!!!!!
John

[leadarrows]

Yes I have about $15000.00 invested but thats 1970's dollars so I don't know what they would cost me today. Also have Mac ,Maco, New Britain and Craftsman. I hate cheep tools. Nothing worse than working with c-r-a-p tools.

[GTLC]

Landcruiser I agree with you 100%. I have even seen mechanics and fabricators using Craftsman tools before. I was just doing this post just to see who uses them. I use Craftsman here myself.

[UNISCAPER]

Standar rule of thumb is keep Craftsman tools in your trailer and truck box, because if you loose them who cares....Go to Sears, buy another set.

We only use Snap on tools in our shop. Never seen a
craftsman truck pull up and check my stock before, and time is money.

Nobody's tools feel as good tom use as Snap on either.

[John Gamba]

Originally posted by UNISCAPER
Standar rule of thumb is keep Craftsman tools in your trailer and truck box, because if you loose them who cares....Go to Sears, buy another set.

We only use Snap on tools in our shop. Never seen a
craftsman truck pull up and check my stock before, and time is money.

Nobody's tools feel as good tom use as Snap on either.

Aint that the truth.

[burnandreturn]

I use mostly Snap-on. Keep some Sears and Throwawaybucks tools around for the wife and kid to use. I love it when the wife uses my cheap tools and rounds off a nut and starts using words even Bobbygedd(hahaha) doesn't know, and I hand her on of my good ratchets and sockets. Normal response from her is "Why don't you throw away all those @#$%^& tools and get that @##$$ Snap_on truck out here." Of course I respond " Well OK dear, if you insist" usually followed by a very low, bearly audible hahahaha and a wringing of the hands!!!!!!!!!

[burnandreturn]

Oh Yeah, Good tools don't make the mechanic, but they sure do let us really bad mechanics feel good!

[xcopterdoc]

I have a mix of about everything! Most of my bigger wrenches, over 1" are Craftsman. All the rest is Matco, Snap-On and Mac. I have a few Craftsman screw drivers that I use as loaners when someone is IN the shop and needs one. My rollaway is Snap-ON. It survived a collision and then being crushed by a run a way tractor in the shop! I like smooth fine gears in a ratchet, smooth wrenches that clean up easy and get a good bite. I also like a 2 yr warranty on the air tools. I do it for a living, so I buy the best one time.

[Fish]

I have a small fortune sunk into Snap On. Also have
Mac and Matco. I also have a large selection of SK
socket sets.
Craftsman boxes though.

[landcruiser]

I also have a mix of about every brand tool made. Mostly Craftsman because it's what I can afford. And, unlike their mowers, craftsman tools are not "cheap". They are very good and unless you are using the wrong size wrench/socket on a nut, they will never be responsible for rounding off a nut. Operator error in tool choice causes that 99% of the time. Go ahead and bash me but what I see here is a bunch of fellows who spent more money than the should have on very high quality but overpriced tools trying to justify their actions by bad mouthing certain brands. Hand me whatever brand tool you wish (just make sure it's the correct size) and I'll get the job done with my knowledge of the mechanical equipment not because I hold a certain brand tool in my hand.

[GTLC]

you are correct landcruiser, the rounding off the nut thing really doesn't happen and craftsman is a good tool for the money. The only rounding off I ever notice is the socket points being rounded down a little bit from wear.

[landcruiser]

n1alx, a worn socket, even if the correct size, surely could cause rounding off of a nut whether it be a Craftsman or any other brand. But, I believe that falls under the operator's error if he/she fails to look at the tool and notice it's worn. Because even with a Craftsman you can simply round up all your broken tools and take them down to the local Sears store and get new ones.

[GTLC]

i meant it doesn't happen to me, i don't know about with others

[xcopterdoc]

So.. I guess the answer is... yes.. I have and use Snap-On tools. That was the original question wasnt it? LOL!

[wedge]

i love snap on tools , i just recently blew 10,000 on a tool chest. but remember just cause you got em dont mean you know how to use em. but having em does help you look like you know what youre doing (half of this buisness is smoke and mirrors)

[GTLC]

Yeah, I am not too skilled on meachanic work, just having a good toll makes me feel better, though.

[grass_cuttin_fool]

Yep i have snap on mac and matco and crafstman, each company has good stuff, hard to beat the flank drive sockets that snap on has when another mechanic has used a bad socket or incorrect size and rounded them off a little bit, luv the ratchets also i think the best out there but just my opinion, and by the way, tool dealers are just like mower dealers the mower is only good as the dealer that sells it, face it they all break down at times same with tools

[sdwally]

Over the course of about 17 I have slow convert to Snap-On, Mac, & Matco. Still have some Craftsman's and other select China made tools. Cost of pro tools about $25,000. I have found Craftsman's rachets don't hold up. Broke one rachet 4 times in one year, got tired of running to the Sears store for a free replacement. Bought a Snap-On rachet and its never failed in over 8 years.
Do have a 3/4" China made socket set for under $40, but replaced the 3/4 rachet with a Craftsman rachet for about $70. Use the set about 3 times a year.
Also have had to grind down some closed ends on Craftsman wrenches to fit on to nuts that are up against a few housings, Snap-Ons fit without altering.
Found out Snap-On also sells a William's line of tools. Made in the same factory on the same tool dies as the Snap-On line. Have catalog but have not yet purchased any. Cost is much less than the Snap-On line. Available through are supplier but don't know if they are available off the tool trucks.

[landcruiser]

wedge clarifies my point much better than I do. Some folks think because they can afford the most expensive name in tools it makes them a mechanic and they seperate their abilities from yours by noting how you use an inferior brand tool. I've seen this over and over again. Bottom line is, the tools become irrelevant if you have a true working knowledge of the mechanical system you are working on. At that point, whether you are using Snap on, Craftsman or Mac, your knowledge of the mechanical system clarifies your worth as a mechanic, not the tools you use.

[burnandreturn]

Tools do not become "irrelevent" if you have "true working knowledge of the mechanical system you are working on" in my opion. Good tools do make a difference. Now if I have a choice I want a better mechanic with not as good tools over a not so good mechanic with the ultimate tools, shop etc. etc.... but the best scenario is a great mechanic with great tools. Now does it make a difference whether they are Craftsman or Snap-On, not much. Now if the mechanic has a bucket full of imported junk it makes a difference, in how fast he can work. Time is money any way you look at it. If that wasn't so we could all make the same amount of money with a cheapo mower versu's our big Z's.

I've also found in all kinds of business's the odd's are in my favor if I pick someone that is set up in a well organized, clean environment with profession tools. That person is successful or soon will be.

I believe it makes a difference if you pull up in clean up to date equipment versus's and old beater with a Crapsman mower. Only in the movies does the down and outer make it!!!!!

[burnandreturn]

Now if I had a "true working knowledge" of the English language I'd be better off!!!!!!!!! Typing and spelling is not my strong suit!!!

[wedge]

but on the other side of the coin is if youre a skilled carrer wrench swinger, you wont use inferior tools because just cause its guaranteed doesnt make it worth its weight. after youre fifth trip to sears you realize you can take a crap in a box and mark it guaranteed that just makes it a guaranteed piece of sh@t.

[Roger C]

I have all kinds of tools everything from snap-on to husky. They all do the job,But snap-on hold up the best & cost the most. Buy what's in your budget.

[barnard]

The tools don't make a mechanic. BUT good mechanics have good tools,whether snap-on,matco, mac ,proto ,thorsen, or SK. And I'm sure there are other good tools.

[barnard]

One more thought. A good mechanics work speaks for itself- with out the need to brag about his tools.

[UNISCAPER]

Yes, a good mechanics work does speak for itself... However, the first thing I ask to see when interviewing a mechanic is to see his tools...If I see a box loaded full of Chinese or Japanese or even Craftsman tools, I ask what he is asking to be paid...I then have to ask myself this:
If a mechanic is shorting himself by using lessor grade tools, is he going to short my company by using those tools? Or worse, is he the type who will settle for our equipment running OK, when it could run better?

Don't get me wrong here, any tool is better than no tool, but one of the biggest issues I see in our industry witrh mechanics is they are underpaid. Where a landscape mechanic makes $15-20 an hour, that same mechanic at a dealership could earn $28-32 an hour...So, why am I going to pay a person top dollar above industry rates who does not use the best tools made?

[barnard]

I don't Know. I do all my own work. An exception to that was on a personal vehicle under warranty. 13 trips to the dealership on on two problems. The mechanic and the shop foreman both had big chests of snap-on tools. Neither would make a pimple on a mechanics butt.

[burnandreturn]

What's wrong with a mechanic braggin about his tools, we all brag about our mower's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[UNISCAPER]

Barnard you said the magic words here...NEW VEHICLE....Since the integration of computers to the automotive industry, all mechanics abilities have been challenged. Bluntly put, computers and cars do not mix. We got better milage with cheaper cars and better performance without computers added to the mix top screw things up, but, that is a different topic for a different thread....

There is a reason more pros use Snap On tools than any other brand, and I'm sure if all the others were as good, they would be used too. Fact is, thety are not. They will get your job done, but not as well. It is the same as trying to grade something with a Japanese tractor then using a Ford. Once you drive the Ford you will never get on another Jap machine...Same difference

[xcopterdoc]

I agree with alot of what you said Bill..
As a career wrench turner, now going on almost 30 yrs, I don't bother with the cheap tools anymore. When I first started out I had a bunch of my Dads old tools that werent needed when he would upgrade to a better tool. They served their purpose then and I still have em, but as time rolled on and I made more money and my responsibilties and jobs/equipment changed, so did my tools. Now a days, more than any other time I can remeber, money is time.. employeers dont wanna wait, they want it done now and they want it done right. So you have to have the right tool for the job. If I'm gonna spend MY money for the right tool, be it a screwdriver or a handheld computer, I want it to be a quality tool also. Are there guys with mega bucks from somewhere that buy the biggest and baddest tool chest known to man and dont know sh**? YUP! Are there LCO's and landscrapers who have all the cool equipment and trucks and dont know sh**? YUP!
I will have to disagree with ya though Bill on the new "computerized" vehicles. I think we are getting way more use outta them than ever. Its not uncommon anymore to get 200K out of a gas motor. 30 years ago that was unheard of with out a rebuild. Impossible? no.. but not the norm it is today. It can be a pain to work on and troubleshoot without training for sure, maybe even next to impossible anymore. But that doesnt make it a bad thing. The computers today monitor everything and make micro second adjustments that in the end lead to lower emissions, higher mileage/gal, and a longer engine life. JMHO of course.

[barnard]

Uniscaper, Actually the problems were fluid leaks,A damaged block from a botched head gasket job. The "mechanic" got carried away with his abrasive disc in the vicinty of an oil passage. Six redoes on this then a new block. The other was a cracked torque converter hub. (missdiagnosed another 6 times then an unneeded rebuilt tranny on the dealers nickel. None had anything to do with computers, and everything to do with incompetent mechanics or "techs" as they call them now. Also I agree Snap- on tools are top notch, I own a few,they are not the only quality tools on the market.

[randy448]

snap-on,mac,matco,craftsman,S+K use em for 30 years find out it does make a difference.Use a little common sense,sears sets are a bargain for starters or service trucks.

[UNISCAPER]

Barnard:

Sorry to hear you got a bad tech...Let me guess, torque converter hub, do you drive a Ford with an E4OD?

xcopterdoc, I hear you regarding computers, but, we used to get 200,000 miles back in the 60's out of our 3/4 ton Chevies.

I agree that some things in newer vehicles are more refined, but I got to ask you...Is the computer really necessary to integrate into automatic transmissions?

I don't believe there was a stronger tranny than the C-6 Ford, Turbo 400 GM, and 727 Torqueflight of Chrysler. Vacuum shift worked well for 30 years, and they can't seem to get an automatic tranny to go more than 100K, and when they do go, it costs thousands rather than hundreds.

I guess I am just a very frustrated mechanic/race car driver, as we owned a marina when I was a kind, and I used to be able to use my tools and core knowledge to work on our company trucks. Since the integration of the computer to the automotive scene, there are fewer things we can do without buying a $40,000 diagnostics machine.


I will still maintain that Snap On tools are the best, and I use my instincts when we hire a mechanic here. If I see too many off brand tools, I am put a red flag up and keep searching applications.

[grassdaddy]

4 days a week a different tool truck comes to the plant-snap-on,mac,matco,and cornwell.Some of these guys spend a fortune on boxes and tools.But it doesn't make alot of sence to me because one guy has a 12,000.00 bright yellow snap-on box full of nothing but snap-on tools.The guy beside him has a 6ft tall toolbox made from landscape timbers full of craftsman.Both guys have been there for years,both make the same amount of money. ---but one can say"LOOK WHAT I GOT"