anyone know who makes matco socket rails?

[mikehaugen]

These are by far the my favorite socket rails as they have a ball detent, come in different lengths and colors, and are made in USA. I know matco does not make them, as I have seen them come with other brands' tools but I cannot find these exact rails, though I have found some that are close. Here is a link so you know what I am talking about.

https://www.matcotools.com/catalog/product/STD2512/3-8-STUDS-FOR-PLASTIC-SOCKET-RAIL/

https://www.matcotools.com/catalog/product/SKTRL10M/METRIC-SKT-RAIL-10-1-2-WORKING-LENGTH-BLUE/

The other nice things is that they are modular so you can mix/match different drive sizes on the same rail. The problem is... they are expensive ordering from matco, and since I don't have a rep to deal with I don't see the point in paying the high cost from their website... I mean $1 per socket stud??!! last time I ordered enough to make a few rails I was in well over $100 and I now want more and am trying to find an alternate source.

 

[paulsomlo]

https://www.harryepstein.com/index.php/catalogsearch/result/?q=socket+rail

 

[mr.lemons]

Are you sure they are made in the USA? They look the same as Bergen, US pro, Silverline etc.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0015NRKBS/?tag=atomicindustr-21

Edit, didn't see the above post. I guess these are a similar design but not the same manufacturer.

 

[mikehaugen]

https://www.harryepstein.com/index.php/catalogsearch/result/?q=socket+rail

I do believe those are them... thank you. Less than half the price for the clips and about 1/3 the cost for the rails. I knew they had to be somewhere.

 

[Fluelikesymptoms]

I have the Ernst socket boss rails in my box. Since I have left working dealerships and went to manufacturing, I find myself doing more mobile work these days and often have a mess in my car or truck as a result.

I am waiting on more socket rails, trays, and some mounting brackets from Ernst. I have plans to modify some of the mounting options into one of the large non rolling packout boxes.

In the end I will be able to easily remove my sockets and ratchets from my box, quickly transfer them to my packout box, throw my packout box around and when I open it everything still be organized and accounted for. When I'm done, simply remove them from the packout box and drop back into my mac box.

The socket rails are very similar to the matco ones your looking at plus some, and reasonably priced. You can fit different size drive clips onto the same rail, I believe they have something similar to the ball detent, but I am using the lock and twist. They are decent on space, come with stickers to mark each clip to your liking with a dedicated size. They also have a hiviz option which I use for metric and red for sae but they also offer blue. They also have clips that will hold your ratchets and extensions either on the rail or another option to hang it off the side of the rail so you can have a ratchet extension and sockets all on one rail.

Quality is pretty good I find myself adding a dab of superglue to some of the stickers that start to peel off.

I broke a "peg" on one of the trays that lock the rails onto the trays. That was my fault though as I was experimenting with it. It didnt take a whole lot of force to break it, but it is strong enough that it isnt just going to break on it's own with normal operation.

Highly recommend, they seem to have all the features you are looking for

https://www.ernstmfg.com/Socket-Organizers.aspx

 

[MattT]

I forget who makes those but they've OEM'd them for several companies.

Are you sure they are made in the USA? They look the same as Bergen, US pro, Silverline etc.

Edit, didn't see the above post. I guess these are a similar design but not the same manufacturer.

Those are chinese knock-offs. HF is the most common source of those in the States. They're ok but the peg fit isn't as good and they're not as strong as the US made originals.

 

[Fedwrench]

Vim tools made those rails for several manufacturers.

 

[Hellreaver]

https://www.harryepstein.com/index.php/catalogsearch/result/?q=socket+rail

Thanks for finding this!! Been looking for these for months. By far my favorite socket rails. Matco DOES have a lifetime warranty so maybe it's worth it if you abuse them.

Clip Rails

www.wrighttool.com

Made by Wright Tool, it looks like. Way cheaper and looks identical. Here's a table in case the site goes down:

W008	8"	SAE Red
W010	10"	SAE Red
W013	13"	SAE Red
W108	8"	Metric Blue
W110	10"	Metric Blue
W113	13"	Metric Blue

Are you sure they are made in the USA? They look the same as Bergen, US pro, Silverline etc.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0015NRKBS/?tag=atomicindustr-21



Edit, didn't see the above post. I guess these are a similar design but not the same manufacturer.

I've tried those knockoffs, they're waaay worse than the matco/wright ones.

 

[decableguy2000]

VIM is the OEM I do believe. They made them for Craftsman, Kobalt, Matco etc.

 

[Hellreaver]

I have the Ernst socket boss rails in my box. Since I have left working dealerships and went to manufacturing, I find myself doing more mobile work these days and often have a mess in my car or truck as a result.

I am waiting on more socket rails, trays, and some mounting brackets from Ernst. I have plans to modify some of the mounting options into one of the large non rolling packout boxes.

In the end I will be able to easily remove my sockets and ratchets from my box, quickly transfer them to my packout box, throw my packout box around and when I open it everything still be organized and accounted for. When I'm done, simply remove them from the packout box and drop back into my mac box.

The socket rails are very similar to the matco ones your looking at plus some, and reasonably priced. You can fit different size drive clips onto the same rail, I believe they have something similar to the ball detent, but I am using the lock and twist. They are decent on space, come with stickers to mark each clip to your liking with a dedicated size. They also have a hiviz option which I use for metric and red for sae but they also offer blue. They also have clips that will hold your ratchets and extensions either on the rail or another option to hang it off the side of the rail so you can have a ratchet extension and sockets all on one rail.

Quality is pretty good I find myself adding a dab of superglue to some of the stickers that start to peel off.

I broke a "peg" on one of the trays that lock the rails onto the trays. That was my fault though as I was experimenting with it. It didnt take a whole lot of force to break it, but it is strong enough that it isnt just going to break on it's own with normal operation.

Highly recommend, they seem to have all the features you are looking for

https://www.ernstmfg.com/Socket-Organizers.aspx

ERNST Makes them for Tekton for sure. They look decent! I hate lock and twist though. At least when it's done poorly. Being able to not worry about them getting lost in the packout sounds great though. I wish the Ernst had handles like the snap on KASKT5.

VIM is the OEM I do believe. They made them for Craftsman, Kobalt, Matco etc.

I don't think so. The Wright ones look exactly the same and I can't even find VIM's socket rails at all.

 

[Wine-o1]

Cripe distributing has some NOS in stock for cheap

Search: 87 results found for "Rail"

Name brand tools and more for less.

www.cripedistributing.com

 

[Callelle]

VIM is the OEM I do believe. They made them for Craftsman, Kobalt, Matco etc.

VIM doesn't make anything.

 

[lilcraigford]

I've recycled this post several times over the years.

The two major sources for plastic USA-made socket rails are VIM and Ernst.

VIM:
Armstrong
Craftsman *Formerly; from the Sears/Craftsman days.
Kobalt *Formerly; can still be found NOS through places like Cripe Distributing.
Matco
McMaster-Carr *I believe these are Wright branded.
SK *Formerly; only included in some socket sets.
Wright

Ernst:
Mac
Snap On
Tekton

Here is an older post with part numbers for the VIM-sourced rails.

 

[Hellreaver]

I've recycled this post several times over the years.

It's a really nice list with a comprehensive guide, so I appreciate it for that... But it doesn't really prove that VIM makes them, right? Seems like vim is at least not super out-and-proud about being an OEM. I talked to wright today and they seemed to imply that they manufacture them.

 

[mikey03]

ERNST Makes them for Tekton for sure. They look decent! I hate lock and twist though. At least when it's done poorly. Being able to not worry about them getting lost in the packout sounds great though. I wish the Ernst had handles like the snap on KASKT5.

I don't think so. The Wright ones look exactly the same and I can't even find VIM's socket rails at all.

What don’t you like about twist and lock? I only got one rail with them for a portable kit where I want them real snug and seems okay but only only used it a couple times tbh

 

[mikey03]

VIM doesn't make anything.

Does anybody really make anything? You mean like they pay a Taiwan factory to make stuff but the same factory makes stuff for other people. Does that mean only SBD and Snap On make stuff since it’s there name on the factory?

 

[Etchase]

I believe VIM punched out the metal socket clips on old fashion rails, but the machine doesn’t seem to be in production anymore. They don’t really make or design anything. They purchased the patent to the mag socket rails. Can’t wait until the patent runs out and a real manufacture can start pumping them out at a reasonable cost. They have one guy that keeps track of engineering drawings of the stuff they sell. They are a distributor with a sales background. Several US manufacturers besides Snap On and Stanley, and lots of distributors.

 

[ericisright]

oops

 

[Hellreaver]

oops

Ew, why'd you link the harbor freight ones? Those ones ****. They're straight abs instead of nylon-gf and they're completely different

 

[cbracer]

There's a lot of Kobalt branded ones here for cheap

Search: 64 results found for "socket rails"

Name brand tools and more for less.

www.cripedistributing.com