$48,000 Snap-On Socket Set?!?
- Thread starter BikeRider
- Start date
Lassen Forge
Well-known member
Bridges as well... 4 1/2" cap bolts holding tower legs onto pier abutmenets, cable saddles, and whatnot. Didn't need them often, but when we did, we did. IF we were lucky we could get the (heat-induced) torque value to go (usually it wasinduce heat to x degrees F (or C), then y ft lbs followed by z degrees further...) by hand using these assininely long (10' plus) cheaters, sometimes we'd need to pull out the PITA hydraulic drive...
Ha ha ha ha ha... we had a guy who absolutely HATED woking the bridge, he finally decided he could get transferred (tho he confided later if he got fired that was OK, too) by "losing" tools off the traveller under the bridge to go kersplash below....LEt's see, a 4 5/8" 2 1/2" drive socket was the first to go... (oops), he looked at me, shrugged, then picked up its 3 3/4" brother, set it on the edge of the traveler, and... Oops, oh gee, boss, so sorry, my foot must have nudged it... Third was a 4" spud wrench, tied to a 32" crescent and a 48" pipe wrench in a bucket... "Oops, the bucket slipped" (Dayummmmm.... ) and he was eyeing our hydraulic drive unit. I decided we needed to "go to lunch"... He rode back with me, I said "Hey, if you hate it here so much, who not just SAY something,no need to pitch our tools... " he finally copped to how he KNEW he was going to die if he stayed on the bridge (it happens, and once someone gets *there* a lot of the time it's a self fulfilling prophecy) and had to leave... If we had to can him, fine, but he couldn't go back up there...
Told him if he could take a week or 2 leave, we'd make something happen, he took a vacation. When he came back he was now part of a different )land based) crew, pack your locker and go report to so-and-so... I NEVER saw someone so damned happy. What got written on the report was "an unnown consecutive failure of 3 of the 8 traveller motors caused them to sieze violently, jerking the traveler violently and knocking tools into the drink"... I usually don't go that far out on a limb to go to bat for someone, but I knew the guy for the non stop assbuster he was... and hated to see him throw 12 years of a career out the window. Heard he retired a couple years before I did...
But yeah... IIRC his little "episode" cost us something like that. We were told by our then manager (nice guy but a hardass old school type) that next time that happened whoever "dropped" the tools would be following them...
Damn, I miss those days!
4 FN 27
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Probably for tightening down the Anchor Bolts/Nuts to a Wind Turbine Tower. If Snappy is smart (and they are) they are capturing subsidy moneys allocated to the energy programs. EV is the current rage for soaking up that cash.
4 FN 27
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Think of the tooling needed to produce such a large socket
No wonder they're so expensive
The plant where they are made (as far as I know). Quite the capital injection to finance:
Verses the cheap labor method:
rancherbill
Well-known member
They are designed for people spending OPM.
OPM is other people's money. They are used of BIG equipment / projects where companies provide tools. No worker would have or buy big sockets.
Depends whether we have to use self checkout.Since most everyone here knows so much about tools and what it should cost to make them, so, what's a fair price to pay for that huge socket set from Snap On?
dr_clyde
Well-known member
I would argue that if they are selling them at their advertised price, then that is a fair price. I doubt very much a huge decrease in price would increase sales enough to offset the loss in profits. When you need a socket set this size, you NEED it and the price is not really a factor.Since most everyone here knows so much about tools and what it should cost to make them, so, what's a fair price to pay for that huge socket set from Snap On?
Whether or not it’s a fair price to YOU is another argument, but as long as it’s a fair price to SOMEONE then that’s all that matters.
The biggest and smallest examples of things tend to be the most expensive versions of the things simply due to the increased cost of manufacturing coupled with the decreased demand.
Guys here love to look at stuff like this through only their lens or the lens of an individual vs the perspective of a company, large organization or municipality. It makes no sense for an individual to buy sockets of this size. But when it’s a necessity item that has been budgeted for and planned on, it’s no different than any other large capital expenditure. It just seems weird because “it’s just a few sockets”, not a CNC machine or something COMPLEX. Doesn’t really matter at this point.
Large sockets are required to work on some things, so the free market will determine a fair cost. I bet there’s only a handful of companies in the world that make tools this size. The demand is small, cost of manufacture is high, and competition is sparse so the cost is proportionally higher than a set of 3/4” or 1” drive sockets.
No need to argue with me, I don't give a **** what they charge for them. Many others seemed to, which was why I asked.
I've always thought that most everything they sold seemed overpriced, but that's just me. Obviously many others think their prices are just fine, all that matters to Snap ON.
They probably don't have much competition for those sized sockets, so that might play into the price as well. Most likely they probably don't sell millions of them, but still have tooling and production costs.
Oresti
Member
Those are the ones sold to the government. Where nobody cares about the price.Sorry for the throwaway post but I just heard on a YouTube tool review video that apparently Snap-On sells an 8 piece socket set for something like $48,000. Is this an urban legend or is it true, and if so why are they so expensive?
Is this a specialty set for NASA or the military or aviation industry, where ultra-precision and reliability are of paramount importance for obvious reasons?
I tried to google it but came up short, but I did come upon this nearly $29,000 14 piece set on Snap-On's site:
Snap-on Store
shop.snapon.com
So what's the deal with this set?
3baygarage
Well-known member
Most of that money probably goes toward worker’s comp after an employee lifts the box they’re packaged in.
619DioFan
Well-known member
I am surprised the lid to your dryer didn't cave in.This is Snap-On's 2-1/2" to 1-1/2" adapter. Next to a 3/8" - 1/4" adapter. Great conversation piece. Usually I ask myself if there's a better spot to put it.I took these pictures recently to show a customer of mine.
I'd love to see the socket set.
Southern83
Well-known member
We have a 2 1/2" drive impact at work. I've known it to have been used a handful of times. Definitely a last resort but it still has its place. Hytorc's get the most use when it comes to the larger stuff. Bad part is we have two sets of sockets. One for the impact only and the Hytorc has its own sockets and they're probably more than what SO charges.
@dr_clyde is on point. Most don't get to see the price involved with large industrial projects. A major turbine outage budget is in the millions.
@dr_clyde is on point. Most don't get to see the price involved with large industrial projects. A major turbine outage budget is in the millions.
Tim in Indiana
Well-known member
Whenever we need large sockets we usually look to Gray Pneumatic. We get much better pricing than Snap-On and they hold up just as well. I believe they go up to 8" hex in 2-1/2" square drive.
We've also bought Ozat and they hold up well also plus they have 3-1/2" square drive.
We've also bought Ozat and they hold up well also plus they have 3-1/2" square drive.
Yeah they need to lower the prices of these so common folk can afford them.
And make them in 1/2 drive.
I had no idea I'd inspire such an interesting and lively discussion, just as I had no idea what these sockets were for or what they actually were, size-wise. I thought they meant smaller ones such as everyday people might buy, only with some very special properties that few people needed. I guess I was right except for the size. Still seems kind of pricey to me unless there's some pretty advanced metallurgy going on here or they had to build specials molds and machining tools to make these and given how few they sell they had to charge this much for them. Anyway, now I know, and now I know where to turn if I need an 8" hex socket for my wind turbine or suspension bridge.
Thanks all. Glad I found this site as I'm just a part-time home DIYer who fixes his cars.
Thanks all. Glad I found this site as I'm just a part-time home DIYer who fixes his cars.
After the warranty expires, just sell them as decorative vases for $1000 each or make lamps with them, and sell for $2000 a piece. But you need to be a tik tok influencer.
Just hire the local bum, and give him 5 bean burritos, and a bowl of lentils soup.
neophyte
Well-known member
Not forged !
Cheap Cunts.
neophyte
Well-known member
I didn’t realize they made sockets that large.
Attachments
danski0224
Well-known member
Can that socket set be safely transported by a Honda Ridgeline?
Asking for a friend.
Asking for a friend.
4 FN 27
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Wow...how do you really feel?
At least it is not powdered metal.Not everything with strength needs to be forged. Considering the secondary operations after forging I don't know if it would add any significant advantage? We build a lot of Tools or parts of Tools for the automotive industry and not one of them are forged. Lots of heating thou.
bcschief
Well-known member
Is there a NSN number for it? If so, we can get someone to run a fedlog on it and get the price.
scooby074
Well-known member
Ive dealt with these guys https://www.imperial-newton.com/impact+sockets.htm/metric/black-steel/250/12-point/ultramax/ for sockets for the Offshore oil and gas. Theyll do customs and exotic material. Want a 1/2" drive 4" socket, in Titanium? They can do it. With minimum charges and just custom work in general, theyre not for the faint of wallet, but when there are procedures and special requirements, and the rigs are charging $1M/day a $5k socket is a drop in the barrel.
Bubba Fett
Well-known member
They are expensive, but if a corporation or government agency needs one, then it's more expensive NOT to have it, because whatever is using fasteners that big is important.
I hope they throw in some pocket screwdrivers for the whole crew though.
I hope they throw in some pocket screwdrivers for the whole crew though.