Lets make an all vintage Snap-on tool picture thread!

[gnpenning]

Can anyone give me any information on this snap on box. It has what is left of the triangle sticker and stamped Snap On in the lid.

Is this still a 40s box?

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Mid 40s 1/2" drive set box

 

[gnpenning]

Mid 40s 1/2" drive set box

Thanks. How did you identify it as a 1/2" drive box?


Any idea on value?

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Like 50$
Seen a bunch of them

 

[gnpenning]

Thanks.

How did you identify it as a 1/2" box? What are the clues someone can look for to tell the difference???

 

[Oldtuleguy]

The three socket trays are the tell

 

[redtop]

I would like to thank snapmom and Oldtuleguy for sharing pics of their SO Ferret collections and their knowledge about Ferret tools and tool boxes.

I have a Ferret Set tool box with the remnants of an oval label that appears to have been manufactured in 1937. There appears to be a small 1937 date code on the bottom of the box. It is possible that it is just a scratch that resembles the 1937 date code. My tool box is slightly different from the two Ferret Set tool boxes in Oldtuleguy's collection that are pictured on this thread in Post #2048. The older tool box pictured in Post #2048 has a V-shaped ratchet holder and a tab in the right hand corner of the tool box to keep the F-11 extension in place. The newer tool box pictured in Post #2048 has a straight ratchet holder, and it has no tab for the F-11 extension. My tool box has a V-shaped ratchet holder, and it has no tab for the F-11 extension. It is logical to assume that my tool box was made sometime in between the time that SO made the two toolboxes pictured in Post #2048.

The oldest tool in my Ferret Set tool box is the F10 breaker bar (1929). The oldest tool that is marked with the word "Ferret" is the F-6 extension (1935). The ratchet is model no. F70N. It has two date codes: 1945 and 1946. Most of the sockets are metric (8mm-19mm). The oldest socket was manufactured in 1948. The majority of the sockets were made in the 1950's. I am looking for a few more sockets (F10M, F12M, F13M, and F15M) and an F3 T bar. If you have any of them for sale, please contact me.

 

[gnpenning]

The three socket trays are the tell

Thanks for the education.

 

[d42jeep]

My Ferret box doesn’t have any trace of a sticker left, and although it was empty when I found it, I’ve filled it with a mix of 1944 and 1945 tools with some extra sockets plus a couple of slightly odd Ferret extras. It doesn’t exactly match the 1945 box image though.
-Don’

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Red top, that is the longer box with the holder for older ratchet, so probably 36 or 37. Rare box so nice find!

Gnpenning that box with triangle decal indicates 40s, but also made in 30s with oval decal. I think snapmom has a spectacular example of one with rare rubber coated tool handles if you can get her to post it.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Don, for some reason the catalogs continued to show that stopper tab in the ferret box for the f11 long after it was gone. They also incorrectly reversed the positions of the f2 and the universal.

 

[d42jeep]

Don, for some reason the catalogs continued to show that stopper tab in the ferret box for the f11 long after it was gone. They also incorrectly reversed the positions of the f2 and the universal.

Thanks. Good to know. I wondered about that.
-Don

 

[redtop]

Red top, that is the longer box with the holder for older ratchet, so probably 36 or 37. Rare box so nice find!

Thank you for letting me know.

I have another box that I believe is for a Ferret Set circa 1948. I cannot find a date code on it. I believe the box is made out of an aluminum alloy. The inside of the box resembles an image appearing on page 21 of the 1948 Snap On Catalog S posted on the collectingsnapon.com website. The outside of the box is marked "Snap-On" but not "Ferret Set." The box has no label or even a trace of one. The box is larger than my 1937 box. I have attached an image of the box with all but one of the Ferret tools that were pictured earlier in my 1937 box. An F4L Speeder (dated 1948 and marked "FERRET") replaces the F4 Speeder (dated 1937 and not marked with the word "FERRET). By the way, the F4L Speeder will not fit into the 1937 box because of the location of the socket compartment. It would fit if the socket compartment was moved a little bit to the left.

The 1948 Ferret Sets were sold with an F71 ratchet. The 1948 catalog indicates that SO offered the Standard Ferret Set (21 tools) for sale with or without a box. SO also offered for sale a Ferret Utility Set (43 tools) with or without a box. If anyone on GJ has a Ferret Utility Set box, I would appreciate your posting a pic of it on this thread.

 

[LesserSon]

redtop
I don’t have a 243-F-B 43-piece set, but I think it is the successor to the 84-B 38-piece set I have posted previously on this thread. My box was called FB-50 in the early 1940s catalogs. My set has pieces from 1939-1941. I repainted after a botched attempt to rinse something caustic out of it stripped most of the original paint and all the decal. It’s still missing the carry tray (pic from an eBay sale I didn’t win). Dunno if it helps at all. I think your KR-250 box would be similar, but probably with a metal “suitcase” handle, instead of the leather one mine has (and of course red enamel instead of gray).
Edit - no, I’m wrong - still has a leather handle: current EBay auction IDK - it looks exactly like my FB-50 except for the color. Seller says it’s original paint, but where is the decal? Dunno whether it has a model # on it, or how the seller IDed it.

 

[redtop]

Thank you for posting pics of your tool box and tools, LesserSon. They are impressive. I hope you find a carry tray.

I reviewed the 1941 O Catalog posted on the collectingsnapon.com website. The No. 84 Ferret Set is listed on page 11 of the catalog with a picture of the toolbox and an illustration of the tools included. On the same page, SO lists for sale the No. 85 Ferret Set (14 tools). I am intrigued by the the last sentence appearing in the listing, which encourages the reader to "uild up a "Matched Unit" kit of Snap On Ferret Wrenches." SO frequently encourages the readers of its catalogs to "buy more." I am unable to find any other reference to "Ferret Wrenches" in the catalog. I find it interesting that SO joined the word "Ferret" with the word "wrenches." It is possible that SO had considered marketing wrenches using the word "FERRET," but I doubt it. I have not seen any wrenches so marked. If SO had done so, it may have confused their customers who, after being exposed to years of SO marketing, have come to associate the word "FERRET" with SO's 3/8 ratchet-related tool line. I believe that it is more likely that SO was encouraging the purchaser of its No. 85 Ferret Set to buy wrenches in sizes corresponding to the seven sockets in the set. Does anyone on GJ have an opinion regarding this matter? Has anyone on GJ seen a SO wrench marked by the factory with the word "FERRET?" If you have one, please post a pic. If you have seen one, please let us know.

Here are two Ansel Adams-quality pics of my FX20 "FERRET"-marked extension (1947). It is almost 20" long. Unfortunately, it will not fit into either of my Ferret Set tool boxes.

 

[LesserSon]

Thank you for posting pics of your tool box and tools, LesserSon. They are impressive. I hope you find a carry tray.

I edited my post, and PMed you about the eBay auction. No affiliation with the seller.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Those trays can be tough to find. Here are my early and later sets....they are the same size, trays will fit in either.

 

[LesserSon]

Yeah! That’s what I was expecting for a KR-250. Metal handle on the box. Slanted script logo. Notice how the tray handle rises up to a 90° angle and runs level across. The tray handle of the red eBay tray is vaulted like a barn-roof, just as the FB-50 should be. The 1948 catalog picture looks more like yours, OTG. I wonder if the eBay seller has misidentified it. Or possibly, S-O really did paint some FB-50s red before rolling out the KRA-250.

 

[LesserSon]

trays will fit in either.

That’s good to know! I ran into a tray last summer that had the right dimensions, but had that straight level handle - I wasn’t sure it would fit under the lid. Now I suppose it was a KRA-250 tray. Maybe it’ll turn up again.

 

[LesserSon]

Has anyone on GJ seen a SO wrench marked by the factory with the word "FERRET?"

The drive tools (F-70N ratchet, handles and extensions) have “Ferret” on them. The sockets do not. The tools in your pics are the next generation. The “F” in the model numbers is all that’s left of “Ferret.”
I think pre-WWII marketing conventional wisdom was a catchy name would stick in customers’s heads, but post-WWII you see a lot of mixed numbers and letters, same with cars.
In a more general sense of the word, ratchets and handles and extensions for socket sets ARE “wrenches,” which is what you sometimes see in the catalogs and advertisements. I think that’s all they meant by ”Ferret Wrenches.”

 

[snapmom]

I have not seen Ferret marked wrenches.
48-50 was a conversion years. much like 30-31.
FR-84 Ferret rat. with a 50 code. shows up in the 48 cat. It is the same rat as the FR-42 shown in the 53 cat

There was a SR-84 in the 48 cat, I would like to obtain one.

 

[snapmom]

A mostly 48 whitworth 1/4 dr set of 12. There was a supplement to the 48 cat for whitworth and metric, but I have not see it. It seems like most of the sizes for 1/4 whitworth were only made in 48. I have not seen a metric 1/4 set from this era, but I have not looked to hard.

 

[snapmom]

A 47-49 RS wrench set 7 pieces. I think the set of 7 were only made during this time.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Yeah! That’s what I was expecting for a KR-250. Metal handle on the box. Slanted script logo. Notice how the tray handle rises up to a 90° angle and runs level across. The tray handle of the red eBay tray is vaulted like a barn-roof, just as the FB-50 should be. The 1948 catalog picture looks more like yours, OTG. I wonder if the eBay seller has misidentified it. Or possibly, S-O really did paint some FB-50s red before rolling out the KRA-250.

I suspect the name changed before the box did, and there may have been more than one tray configuration available later on.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I have not seen Ferret marked wrenches.
48-50 was a conversion years. much like 30-31.
FR-84 Ferret rat. with a 50 code. shows up in the 48 cat. It is the same rat as the FR-42 shown in the 53 cat

There was a SR-84 in the 48 cat, I would like to obtain one.

Never seen one in person, but seems like someone posted one awhile back.

 

[snapmom]

The 37 set with the rubber handles. 1/2 drive, the rats and breaker bar have model numbers that end with "R". there is a 3/8 rat like this, I have been looking for one.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Very nice. I have seen a couple of the tools but rubber is poor shape or gone.

 

[snapmom]

The 46-47 Ferret set, with a hammered silver finish. This is the basic set with 7 sockets.

Not sure if 47 is the last year for the F70N, could be 48.

 

[redtop]

I edited my post, and PMed you about the eBay auction. No affiliation with the seller.

I reviewed your edited post and the email. Thank you for your help.

 

[snapmom]

Basic sets are just that, most had room for adds.
Here is a good example of a ferret set with add on's

 

[snapmom]

Redtop:
I am happy you are interested in the 47-50 era, has not been properly researched.
You will find overlaps in models during the same year in this era.
Keep posting what you find, to share the history you have learned.

PS: they made some great steel during this era, but chrome seems to have a problem.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

I have a couple f70m, a 56 and a 57. Don't seem much different from the f70n.

 

[gnpenning]

Nice to see how the box should be laid out and the handles. Thanks OTG and SM.

 

[redtop]

Redtop:
Keep posting what you find, to share the history you have learned.

I have been happy to contribute in a small way to this enjoyable thread.

Here are two pics of a Ferret Set in a long box with a straight ratchet holder that sold in December 2019 on ebay with all of the tools and with free shipping for just $159.99. I believe that someone got a bargain. The box has grey paint and a triangular label.

 

[redtop]

Here are pics of Ferret Set advertisements from March 1949 and February 1950, respectively.

 

[Oldtuleguy]

Nice ads redtop. That grey box set with the triangle decal is your typical 40s set.

 

[snapmom]

It is a almost a complete change in style from the 46-47 set

 

[redtop]

Basic sets are just that, most had room for adds.
Here is a good example of a ferret set with add on's

That is an impressive Ferret Set, snapmom. That is a huge case with a wonderful assortment of tools. Do you know when the case was made? Does it have a model number?

It appears that SO began to manufacture its smallest Ferret Set case in 1933. In the 1933 J catalog SO described its new reduced sized Ferret Set box, as follows: "This new metal case is built to fit into your tool case, narrower than before and no deeper or longer than is absolutely necessary. The handiest Ferret Tool Case we have ever offered." SO offered for sale three tool cases in 1933: the K-6 Mechanikit, the K-3 Economy Tool case, and the K-4 Senior Tool kit.

I believe that SO may have increased the size of the Ferret Set case a few years later (1937 or 1938) because it discontinued making the F4 Speeder (15" long) and replaced it with the F4A Speeder (17 3/8" long).

 

[Oldtuleguy]

That is exactly what they did

 

[redtop]

For the man or woman who has everything, SO made a gold-plated 3/8 ratchet set. It is listed for sale on ebay right now. The seller indicates that the set was a dealer promotional item in the 1990's.