Debate about $1000 Snap-On impact wrench
- Thread starter Jacobson
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I'm not big on buying Snap On except where I see a clear value for quality or design no one else offers. I bought that $1000 impact and would do it again and recommend it to anyone with no hesitation. It has an inertia brake, no one else does. And it is the smoothest impact I've ever used, no torquing on my wrist when hammering on a STUCK bolt or nut, all the other ones my coworkers have **** to use for more than a couple hits. ( the new vibratherm ones from aircat might be as good idk) I don't know about you but I use a 3/4 every day and avoiding damage and possible medical treatment in my wrists, elbows and shoulders is worth the extra $400 I spent
American Locomotive
Well-known member
I came from manufacturing, and you would be astonished at how cheaply you can make low-volume stuff these days - even in the U.S. I'm really not sure how "low volume" this tool is either, when one or two will likely be stocked by just about every snapon franchise.
Makita builds their 1100 lb-ft XWT08Z 1/2" electric impact in the U.S, and somehow can sell them for just $200...
WittHay
Well-known member
I have no idea what Reddit is but the price on the Snap-on 3/4 is not that bad. Snap-on USA made MG1250 for $1100. A Mac Taiwan made AWP075 is $950. IR Chinese 2145QiMAX for $800 to $850. The new Milwaukee 1" cordless kit retails for $1300.
Not that hard to find a vocational truck or piece of equipment that is worth $500,000 (half a million) and up. Heavy duty mechanics are in demand and are paid well compared to the flat rate automotive sector.
Not that hard to find a vocational truck or piece of equipment that is worth $500,000 (half a million) and up. Heavy duty mechanics are in demand and are paid well compared to the flat rate automotive sector.
Farmall450
Well-known member
That comment was on point. Which one of us left it?
nieuport17
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Popcorn.
Yum.
Yum.
Farmall450
Well-known member
Yes, that's very true. I do agree w/ the first comment about massive debt (from anything -- education, car, etc) though.
Makita assembles here. Night and day difference between importing your parts from Malaysia, Thailand, or China slamming it into a clam shell and calling it done vs doing casting, forging, machining, polishing heat treating etc...in the US. There is way more money invested in a nice pneumatic tool vs a cordless one these days. Half of a cordless tool anymore is usually an off the shelf motor and off the shelf trigger switch.
Yes Taiwan can build some good pneumatic impact wrenches cheaply but a lot of those internal components are shared across fifty different brands so the cost is brought way down vs a CP, IR, SO etc.. that does all its own manufacturing for themselves. Im not saying they aren't making a tidy profit at a grand but its also a really nice tool that's priced roughly in line with its competition. Like I said if you're going to act incensed about a truck tool target something far easier like combo wrenches or cordless.
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WittHay
Well-known member
Yes, that's very true. I do agree w/ the first comment about massive debt (from anything -- education, car, etc) though.
I know debt and tool trucks has been talked about one or twice on GJ before. I dont think anybody is recommending buying tool truck 3/4 impact sockets and the like. Quality air tools have always been relatively expensive for their power. Whether that is Snap-on in the 90's or CP made in Japan over the years.
if you save money on cheaper impact sockets and what not. You should have some money to buy a good impact gun, torque wrench or some other quality higher dollar items.
The following comments are just my thoughts on shop equipment. Usually tools over $500 are put into the equipment class for depreciation for bookkeeping and accounting . Prices becomes less of a factor and more what you want and like. Whether that is a welder, tool box or large impact
If I was looking for a 3/4" impact first thing Monday morning the choices available to me are Snap-on, Mac and IR. The Mac is currently on sale for $870. The Mac is the one I personally would buy because I dont like the handle style of the IR and I think the Mac is slightly better balanced than the Snap-on. The Snap-on 3/4 is probably the most powerful but i can settle for 2nd best
Its not important to me that the HF Earthquake with the 90 day warranty is about $350 cad or the Amazon might get it delivered price is $550 cad for the IR 2145 instead of the $800 B+M price
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Lookin4'67Galaxieconv
Well-known member
Nope. Meanwhile OP hasn't posted since #7, sits back and watches the shitstorm he created. Just like Davey Hogan started the barforama in Stand By Me.
thesilverone
Well-known member
OPs a troll who "plays" dumb
Yes, that's very true. I do agree w/ the first comment about massive debt (from anything -- education, car, etc) though.
Nope the only thing that causes debt on here is SO, buy a tools box and spend a whole career paying it off.
The biggest thing I've learned on here is how the truly "smart shoppers" on here can go to HF with $500 and have every tool you'll ever need for life.
kctyphoon
Banned
I love when the SO guys compare their tools to exotic cars just justify price and performance ..... Ya know, the least reliable cars on Earth.. "but the service is amazing"...
RedneckWelder
Well-known member
Most of y’all have never worked in the industries these kinds of tools are used in and have no idea what it takes to get the job done.
I do most of the job with cheaper tools. Some things you have to bite the bullet on and buy better. Most of our guys have a wide range of tools from Snap On all the way to Gearwrench and some HF and everything in between.
I do most of the job with cheaper tools. Some things you have to bite the bullet on and buy better. Most of our guys have a wide range of tools from Snap On all the way to Gearwrench and some HF and everything in between.
American Locomotive
Well-known member
Do you really think Snap-On manufacturers every single part of that gun in-house? Do you really think Makita imports every single component of their tool?
You're also way wrong about the amount of money invested in a pneumatic tool vs. cordless. Pneumatic tools are easy, simple, and haven't changed much in overall construction in 80 years.
It takes highly specialized tooling to mold the cases on an electric tool, the fixtures and machines for winding motors are expensive and highly specialized, the control electronics for each type are bespoke, and figuring out how to package it all is no small feet.
A guy in his basement with a mill and a lathe could honestly make a working pneumatic tool from solid blocks of metal. Can't say the same about an electric impact.
I love property tax. Keeps the meth heads away.
A cell phone costs about $300 to make.
Profit margins are about 60% on average.
Yes, but Snap-ON tools are reliable and perform great.
They are not unreliable like exotic cars (which is a bit of a myth)
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acer66
Well-known member
Maybe snap on makes these type of tools just to stay present in forums etc.
rijndael
Well-known member
Not when R&D costs are factored in.
DSLTRK
Well-known member
Man, the sanctimonious attitudes displayed by (the same) posters on this forum makes me want to puke.
None of your business if someone wants to spend THEIR MONEY. IT'S THEIR DECISION. Don't need the reasons why you question their decision. Don't need the tired cliche's. Don't need the put-downs. You aren't scoring any points here.
I think if you want to list the features of another option, great, but keep personal criticisms to yourself.
Example: "I really like the IR 285b-6. It has a good balance with exceptional breaking torque, and is relatively quiet."
None of your business if someone wants to spend THEIR MONEY. IT'S THEIR DECISION. Don't need the reasons why you question their decision. Don't need the tired cliche's. Don't need the put-downs. You aren't scoring any points here.
I think if you want to list the features of another option, great, but keep personal criticisms to yourself.
Example: "I really like the IR 285b-6. It has a good balance with exceptional breaking torque, and is relatively quiet."
alexb2000
Well-known member
I also don't understand the debate.
If the Snapon is really overpriced, then the market will speak and no one will buy them, and eventually Snapon will cease offering that model.
If the Snapon is worth the premium, then people will pony up. They proved this with tools like their ball joint press that is very highly priced and late to market as compared to Astro or OTC.
This is just the free market at work, nothing to get upset about. Just enjoy the best time in history to be a tool consumer and shop wisely.
Last point, with regard to price vs. performance, even if the Snapon is marginally stronger and less fatiguing to use, it will be worth it for the right user. No, not for the guy who takes off one axle nut or crank bolt a day, but it will for the guy routinely changing track pads on a D10. This lack of perspective shows that a lot of commenters just haven't done the kind of work that this tool is intended for.
If the Snapon is really overpriced, then the market will speak and no one will buy them, and eventually Snapon will cease offering that model.
If the Snapon is worth the premium, then people will pony up. They proved this with tools like their ball joint press that is very highly priced and late to market as compared to Astro or OTC.
This is just the free market at work, nothing to get upset about. Just enjoy the best time in history to be a tool consumer and shop wisely.
Last point, with regard to price vs. performance, even if the Snapon is marginally stronger and less fatiguing to use, it will be worth it for the right user. No, not for the guy who takes off one axle nut or crank bolt a day, but it will for the guy routinely changing track pads on a D10. This lack of perspective shows that a lot of commenters just haven't done the kind of work that this tool is intended for.
acer66
Well-known member
You're not a professional technician working on machinery.
What you said is like a heart surgeon saying "I don't want open heart surgery". Of course he doesn't because there is nothing wrong with his heart, but if he ever does need heart surgery he knows what colleague to have do it.
Man, the sanctimonious attitudes displayed by (the same) posters on this forum makes me want to puke.
None of your business if someone wants to spend THEIR MONEY. IT'S THEIR DECISION. Don't need the reasons why you question their decision. Don't need the tired cliche's. Don't need the put-downs. You aren't scoring any points here.
I think if you want to list the features of another option, great, but keep personal criticisms to yourself.
Example: "I really like the IR 285b-6. It has a good balance with exceptional breaking torque, and is relatively quiet."
I agree, but that also goes the other way. If someone wants to buy cheaper tools, that’s on them and not for others to complain about.
Elsinore13
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I know people who piss away a more than a grand on a weekend to go hunting or fishing or to go shoot their machine gun. And then I know a few who have left more than that at the ***** bar or casino. At the end of the day, they have absolutely nothing to show for it. That poor sap who pissed away a grand on his Snap On impact? Yep, he still has his impact. And while I couldn’t justify the $900.00 shot of tequila, I did partake in some handmade 50 buck apiece margaritas with lunch a few weeks back! Oh, I flew first class from Texas to Newport Beach to get them as well. Went to watch a motocross race and stayed in a 400.00 a night hotel. Good times with friends, although I really don’t have much to show for it now.
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Jazzman442
Well-known member
The First time I stepd on a tool truck I noticed they had tools no one else had or made. I figured out then that these have a place. I either bought the tools that no one else made or I needed one asap. I can not figure out why the Hell anyone would buy any regular tools from these trucks. Sockets, wrenches, screw drivers and Pliers ETC. there are tons of better options and way better pricing else where. Its your money but I would rather spend it on things that mater like a house a better car etc not on tools. Yes I use tools for a living. But they have great bragging rights. LOL
davethorik
Well-known member
x2, Yeah how does nobody else notice this? He has done this a while, start a troll post and leave for another few months. He won't respond to direct questioning, DO NOT FEED THE TROLL
FSrepair&fabrication
Well-known member
In my line of work $1000 for an impact is cheap. But we dont work on cars lol
thesilverone
Well-known member
nice to see someone else that gets it
IR released one about 10 years ago there were selling for 1500,
If you really want to work your self into a sweat check the price on Paoli motorsport guns you might get educated, but then you rather ***** about something you can not have.
Sears is out of business buddy.
And owning craftsman and HF boxes, I can tell you, Snap-ons blow them out of the water if you use them every day. Home owner? Part time mechs like me? GTFOH. But when you open and close the drawers a hundred times a day and cycle the locks 4+ times a day, a krl runs circles around us general, crafstman, milwaukee, kobalt, dewalt, husky, and whoever else sells boxes now. After a couple years of the drawers being full, they don't open and close smoothly. They don't like to lock. The casters are tiny, and the top is way too low. Comparing the KRL to the equivalent size hf (there's one of each in my shop, the krl is about 15-20 years old and the hf is 5) the KRL opens much smoother, with more weight in it, it's at a much more comfortable height to work at, the locks work without jiggling every other drawer and shaking the key.
I won't own a snappy box unless I get a used one, go full time, or win the lottery. But I can see why they cost what they do. I've yet to see anything hold up as well, they use better materials, the coating is more durable, and they're better engineered. The only other thing I'd consider is a drop top mac but mac doesn't come to my shop, and it might not win out considering to use the drop top you can't put a hutch on it or use it for a workbench.
Aside from harbor freight or truck boxes it's near impossible to find a toolbox that does double slides and has a long top drawer which is a must for anybody working out of it all the time. The top drawer is THE drawer, it's where the most important stuff is, where most guys keep loaded with metal. Long prybars, ratchets, and sockets make it get heavy, fast. Without big double slides it won't hold jack and still open.
Made in the USA helps too.
Someone? Yes. HF? No. We replace our HF shop impact gun every spring. The more components, specifically moving parts (or substitute electrical connections) a hf tool has, the more opportunities there are for them to F it up. HF impact sockets? Sweet. HF prybars are great for the money. Chrome sockets? Leave a little to be desired but they'll work. Flex head fine tooth swivel head ratchets? Uhhhhh....
I have no idea what the warranty is on their stuff but they banned one of my guys from the store after something he bought broke the next day. I think he flung some words at the manager but she deserved it for not replacing a tool from the day before because "if it broke so soon it must have been used wrong." That kinda sums up their warranty.
FSrepair&fabrication
Well-known member
IR makes stuff priced way more than that. Check out the 2900 and 3900 series they start at like 1800 all the way up to 6k.
Elsinore13
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I've got about $10,000.00 ******* in a self piercing rivet gun to put aluminum panels on new Ford trucks. $1000.00 for a top of the line impact all of a sudden seems like a bargain.
BDT/NWMN
Well-known member
I am wondering if some people can afford to be talking about expensive tools.That's a good point.
Good point about exponential commercial use vs. residential use.
Sticking with the $9000 SO box example, is there anything else in the market that could stand up to daily use? Like 80% as good. If so, what is that price point?
VinceG
Well-known member
I think the Matco and Mac are a tad bit cheaper and very similar in quality, but I don’t know about COO. I’ve heard good things about Waterloo and Lisle But other than the dealership issue toolboxes in my local Ford dealer I’ve never seen a Lisle or a Waterloo ever. I’m sure there are other brands as well that make quality things a bit under snap on prices but still much higher quality and much higher price than a big box store toolbox.
Now that I think about it, the value of a harbor freight is probably similar to that of a snap on, as in weight carried times number of cycles divided by dollars might be similar, but to get the same utility you need to buy a box much more often.