is my snap on ratchet made in USA?

[gerryw]

among other snap on tools my wife got me for christmas, i got a T72 1/4 ratchet, but it doesn't say USA on it anywhere?
Is it made in the USA??
gerry

[wrenchr]

According to snap on it is, I've asked them before.

[Diesel-Mech]

Snap-on is claiming that since they are a global brand that reaches many markets they no longer want to advertise the country of manufacture on the tools (I guess Americans have a negative image to the rest of the world or something like that). I think they are just trying to deceptively ease the transition towards off shore manufacturing with out the average consumer realizing it.

[bowtie3]

I have it been told by a pretty high up source in a SO plant that the gear and pawls are made in japan. SO couldn't keep tight enough tolerances on existing equipment.

[Gregster]

I had mine apart today.. The gear and pawls are excellent quality.. much better then my Mac fine tooth.

[gerryw]

thanks for the replies, the SO tools that are not made in the states are clearly marked with the country of manufacture (hack saw made in Italy, "T" handle socket drivers made in Spain) its just the ratchet has no such info
I do have some "gear" wrenches with no country .
to be honest i only buy SO made in the USA (the SO from other countries were gifts)

gerry

[Merkava_4]

You've got yourself an early T72 - the later units have the USA on them. They came out with the blank units to judge public opinion.

Snap-on seams to be waiting too late to move production to China. If they wait much longer, the labor costs in China won't be as cheap as it is now.

[bchee]

I have it been told by a pretty high up source in a SO plant that the gear and pawls are made in japan. SO couldn't keep tight enough tolerances on existing equipment.

more info on this please. That's interesting.

[gerryw]

i will email Snap On about this practice and get back to this thread with reply
gerry

copy of message:

I just bought a Snap On T72 1/4 drive ratchet.
I like the ratchet, but am concerned it does not say "USA" on the handle
Is this ratchet made in the USA?
I take pride in purchasing made in the USA tools, and will continue to do so whenever i can.
I have in the past received gifts of snap on tools that where made in Spain(AWSGM800 ) but in this case the country of origin was clearly marked on the tool, unlike my T72 ratchet.
i am looking forward to a explanation, have a great day
Gerald Wilson

[wrenchr]

You've got yourself an early T72 - the later units have the USA on them. They came out with the blank units to judge public opinion.

Snap-on seams to be waiting too late to move production to China. If they wait much longer, the labor costs in China won't be as cheap as it is now.

Wrong....................
The first run of the 80's were marked USA and the newer runds are not marked.:thumbup:

[Merkava_4]

Wrong....................
The first run of the 80's were marked USA and the newer runs are not marked. :thumbup:

Are you serious? :confused:

[wrenchr]

Are you serious? :confused:

Very much so!!!!!!:thumbup:

[Merkava_4]

Very much so!!!!!!:thumbup:

So ... us Americans have such a bad rap, Snap-on no longer puts USA on their tools huh? :D

[wrenchr]

I have no idea why it is not there but I'm sure there is a small part made else where so they can not mark it USA.

[Merkava_4]

I have no idea why it is not there but I'm sure there is a small part made else where so they can not mark it USA.

Maybe bowtie3 is right about the guts being made in Jay-Pan. :D

[KraftwerkMk1Jetta]

my new sealed head ratchet has no made in USA marking of any kind of it either. kind of disappointed Snap On feels it has to leave the USA off of it because of how other countries may or may not perceive us.

[Merkava_4]

my new sealed head ratchet has no made in USA marking of any kind of it either. kind of disappointed Snap On feels it has to leave the USA off of it because of how other countries may or may not perceive us.

It could very well be because of some international trade law related to its alleged japanese made parts.

I think it's gonna be funny if those guts do in fact turn out to be japanese made. :D

[eschoendorff]

I have it been told by a pretty high up source in a SO plant that the gear and pawls are made in japan. SO couldn't keep tight enough tolerances on existing equipment.

At least they are erring on the side of quality.

[48548]

I guess if I wanted to buy something made in japan, I would rather not pay made in USA prices, hahaha. Not that I am complaining about the quality, just the price.

[gerryw]

i will email Snap On about this practice and get back to this thread with reply
gerry

copy of message:

I just bought a Snap On T72 1/4 drive ratchet.
I like the ratchet, but am concerned it does not say "USA" on the handle
Is this ratchet made in the USA?
I take pride in purchasing made in the USA tools, and will continue to do so whenever i can.
I have in the past received gifts of snap on tools that where made in Spain(AWSGM800 ) but in this case the country of origin was clearly marked on the tool, unlike my T72 ratchet.
i am looking forward to a explanation, have a great day
Gerald Wilson

Here is the response (less than 10hrs to respond):

Yes sir this is made in the USA at our Elizabethton TN plant. Don't know why it is not marked USA but all Snap-On ratchets are USA made .

CrystalLakeOrderEntrySC@snapon.com

[bchee]

Here is the response (less than 10hrs to respond):

Yes sir this is made in the USA at our Elizabethton TN plant. Don't know why it is not marked USA but all Snap-On ratchets are USA made .

CrystalLakeOrderEntrySC@snapon.com


I don't know if I would be satisfied with that response - specifically "don't know why it is not marked USA"

[gatewaysysop]

Very much so!!!!!!:thumbup:

For what it's worth, I've heard something on this from an eBay seller. I purchased a new, 'USA' marked F80 from a guy and asked him how he got one with the USA stamp on it, since they no longer make them this way.

The guy told me his son worked in one of the SO plants and that he was selling it for him. He said that according to his son, they received new equipment (moulds I think he called it) for making the ratchet bodies and that the new ones did not have a USA stamp on it, deliberately. He also said that according to his son, this was done so that if/when parts of the manufacturing operation are moved to Mexico or wherever else, they can use the same equipment without having to create new versions without the USA stamp, which would be costly, apparently. :headscrat

The last thing he told me was that his according to his son, there were new moulds coming for the wrenches in the near future and he feared they wouldn't have a USA stamp either. Has anyone seen any new wrenches yet w/o the USA stamp? I really hope that doesn't happen. :headshake

Again, this is second hand from an eBay seller, so take it with a grain of salt, but that's what I've heard. Just wanted to pass it along since it seemed relevant in this thread. Personally I think it's one of the more plausible explanations I've seen, but that's just me. YMMV.

[gofastman]

I guess if I wanted to buy something made in japan, I would rather not pay made in USA prices, hahaha. Not that I am complaining about the quality, just the price.

my thoughts exactly, I dont have any problem with foreign tools, but I dont want it to carry a made in USA price

[gerryw]

[QUOTE=gatewaysysop;357749]For what it's worth, I've heard something on
The last thing he told me was that his according to his son, there were new moulds coming for the wrenches in the near future and he feared they wouldn't have a USA stamp either. Has anyone seen any new wrenches yet w/o the USA stamp? I really hope that doesn't happen. :headshake


Yes its true, i have a set of sae wrenches open end/ratcheting box end with no USA stamp:shocking:

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=all&item_ID=76091&group_ID=19834&store=canada&dir=catalog

so your fears have come true.

regarding the SO response, i guess it was sent on to a SO rep in canada, and he will get back to me regarding the reasoning(of not having a USA stamp), stay tuned!!

gerry:beer:

[bchee]

Yes its true, i have a set of sae wrenches open end/ratcheting box end with no USA stamp:shocking:

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=all&item_ID=76091&group_ID=19834&store=canada&dir=catalog


I don't think that's the same. Those ratcheting wrenches are known to be imported, Taiwan probably. Same as the Blue Point ratcheting wrenches.

Snap on claims that the ratchet in question is made here, yet it has no country of origin stamp.

I think the problem would be if the non-ratcheting wrenches had no origin stamp.

[bowtie3]

Here is the response (less than 10hrs to respond):

Yes sir this is made in the USA at our Elizabethton TN plant. Don't know why it is not marked USA but all Snap-On ratchets are USA made .

CrystalLakeOrderEntrySC@snapon.com

Thats absolutely correct the body is forged, finished and chromed in Elizabethton then the parts are all assembled and the finished product is shipped from there, but this source assures me that the gear and pawls are not made in Elizabethton TN.

[gatewaysysop]

[QUOTE=gatewaysysop;357749]For what it's worth, I've heard something on
The last thing he told me was that his according to his son, there were new moulds coming for the wrenches in the near future and he feared they wouldn't have a USA stamp either. Has anyone seen any new wrenches yet w/o the USA stamp? I really hope that doesn't happen. :headshake


Yes its true, i have a set of sae wrenches open end/ratcheting box end with no USA stamp:shocking:

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=all&item_ID=76091&group_ID=19834&store=canada&dir=catalog

so your fears have come true.

regarding the SO response, i guess it was sent on to a SO rep in canada, and he will get back to me regarding the reasoning(of not having a USA stamp), stay tuned!!

gerry:beer:

Well, FWIW, I was actually asking about regular non-ratcheting wrenches, as I believe the eBay seller was speaking about. Has anyone seen any of *those* without the USA stamp?

[Gregster]

[QUOTE=gerryw;357861]

Well, FWIW, I was actually asking about regular non-ratcheting wrenches, as I believe the eBay seller was speaking about. Has anyone seen any of *those* without the USA stamp?

Hmm maybe something that has a later 08 production date but my flank drive plus wrenches which are dated 08 have USA stamped on them...

[wrenchr]

Well if we could get someone to order a rebuild kit for a F80 I think that would solve the mystery!! The bag would have to be marked with where it is made!!

[bchee]

Well if we could get someone to order a rebuild kit for a F80 I think that would solve the mystery!! The bag would have to be marked with where it is made!!

hey, that's not a bad idea:)

what typically comes in a repair kit? Is the gear itself included?

We could just ask pedro_snapon if the repair kit bag has any clues...

[Merkava_4]

What typically comes in a repair kit? Is the gear itself included?


The gear is included along with a pawl, a washer, a reverse lever, a spring, a steel ball, seals, screws, lube, and sometimes even a new cover plate depending on the model.

[Fedwrench]

If you bring up an F80 on the snap on website, it lists USA as the country of origin. No country of origin is listed for the repair kit.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=all&item_ID=81183&group_ID=20864&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

[bchee]

If you bring up an F80 on the snap on website, it lists USA as the country of origin. No country of origin is listed for the repair kit.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?P65=&tool=all&item_ID=81183&group_ID=20864&store=snapon-store&dir=catalog

I'm not sure how accurate the item descriptions are on the website. For example I searched for the F872 ratchet and the repair kit RKRF872B but neither one lists country of origin. And, of course, all those ebay sellers with older ratchets claiming they are dual 80 based on snapon.com info.

[bchee]

The gear is included along with a pawl, a washer, a reverse lever, a spring, a steel ball, seals, screws, lube, and sometimes even a new cover plate depending on the model.

it sounds like they give you everything except the body. I'm really tempted to order a repair kit...$10.83 with tax

[Merkava_4]

If the parts turn out to be made in Japan, that won't bother me at all; if they were made in Taiwan or China, then I'd have a problem.

The japanese folks care about quality; look at Mitutoyo.

[wrenchr]

http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk173/wrenchr/57213.jpg

[Mr.Nutcase]

I just check the snap on site..
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?search=true&item_ID=81183&PartNo=f80&group_id=20864&supersede=&store=snapon-store&tool=all\
Country of Origin:USA

[gougou]

Holy crap. I'm from China. I know there might be a small amount of people there do not like Americans (because of something related to arrogance, prejudice, or the war in Iraq :mad:), but they ALL believe "Made in USA" means top-notch quality.

I can tell you, they even think American cars are made with the best quality :bounce:



Snap-on is claiming that since they are a global brand that reaches many markets they no longer want to advertise the country of manufacture on the tools (I guess Americans have a negative image to the rest of the world or something like that). I think they are just trying to deceptively ease the transition towards off shore manufacturing with out the average consumer realizing it.

[billymade]

Is the F80 on sale? Its coming up about $8 off! Go figure! :)

[FNFS2000]

They need to get you used to not seeing the USA on their tools, so it won't make as large an uproar when its all coming in from Taiwan.

[gatewaysysop]

Well if we could get someone to order a rebuild kit for a F80 I think that would solve the mystery!! The bag would have to be marked with where it is made!!

Been there and done that. No country of origin indicated anywhere. :wtf: