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Is this current Snap-On quality?

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JatoTheRipper

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My cousin is in senior high and going to vo-tech for diesel mechanic training. He is allowed to purchase discounted Snap-On tools through their "Student Excellence Program". He recently purchased the 10 piece metric Flank drive wrench set. The 14mm wrench is a Flank Drive Plus so it has to be returned. But after inspecting his wrenches I'm shocked by the quality. The photo labeled "good" is what I expect from Snap-On. The other two show the laser kerf cut marks. Is this typical? Or is it possible that these kids are getting discounted prices because Snap-On is selling them blemished tools?
 

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Xcursion88

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JatoTheRipper said:
My cousin is in senior high and going to vo-tech for diesel mechanic training. He is allowed to purchase discounted Snap-On tools through their "Student Excellence Program". He recently purchased the 10 piece metric Flank drive wrench set. The 14mm wrench is a Flank Drive Plus so it has to be returned. But after inspecting his wrenches I'm shocked by the quality. The photo labeled "good" is what I expect from Snap-On. The other two show the laser kerf cut marks. Is this typical? Or is it possible that these kids are getting discounted prices because Snap-On is selling them blemished tools?
Click to expand...
You've only two photos listed and no descriptions with them.
.
Are you talking about the open ended area insude that grabs the fastener?
 
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Dave455

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That is not acceptable.

The whole reason for purchasing a Snap On wrench is that it’s “the best”. Decent steel, cleanly broached, properly hardened and flawlessly finished.

Here’s one of mine that’s unused for comparison.0644E18A-BE49-4410-A715-94338D5494A5.jpeg

Now, it may be they are selling ”seconds” to the students at lower prices, which might be fine, except that’s not the advertised deal. The deal is that they get a “discount”. A discount, off the regular price, for the regular tool.

If they are selling seconds to kids who might not know better, I think that’s a ****** thing to do!

Wherever they came from, take ‘em back!
 
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Davefr

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Dave455 said:
That is not acceptable.

The whole reason for purchasing a Snap On wrench is that it’s “the best”. Decent steel, cleanly broached, properly hardened and flawlessly finished.
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I disagree. The reason to purchase SO is because they're fit for the intended use by/for professionals. The value proposition does not extend to flawless "jewelry like" finish. I have a lot of SO and other pro quality brands and minor marks from the manufacturing process are not uncommon. I really don't think the fastener will be impacted by these blemishes.

If all SO tools had to pass a "jewelry like" cosmetic screening then how could they maintain their everyday low prices?:)
 
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Xcursion88

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Davefr said:
I disagree. The reason to purchase SO is because they're fit for the intended use by professionals. The value proposition does not extend to flawless "jewelry like" finish. I have a lot of SO and other pro quality brands and minor marks from the manufacturing process are not uncommon.
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This....

X1000

16552296198827471675098388042358.jpg

Here's an angled wrench from SO.

I must say...i never noticed this before and quite honestly I don't care. Does it work as intended? Indeed it does.

Some things I read on here are fairly silly at times like people wanting to warranty a 1/16" drill bit and this isn't far from it.

If the finsh was bad where the handle is ok ..

But where it grips the fastener...c'mon
 
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Dave455

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O.K.

A tool only NEEDS to be “good enough”. Minor blemishes are more than acceptable.

But… these are not minor blemishes, but scoring of the working surfaces.

I can get a wrench that’s “good enough” for about 1/4 the price of a Snap On. Why wouldn’t I if the Snap on wasn’t better?

And, irrespective of what’s really needed, my wrenches (and indeed most Snap On that I’ve seen) do seem to be superbly broached.

The O.P.’s are, without doubt, not as good, and in my experience not typical of Snap On, which I think was the original question.
 
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Davefr

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Dave455 said:
Why wouldn’t I if the Snap on wasn’t better?
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Maybe it is better despite the blemishes:

Maybe the heat treatment process yields superior strength without adding lobster claw bulk

Maybe the fitment to the fastener is precise so there's no slop or spread

Maybe the fit in your hand is comfortable but slim enough to access tight spots.

I personally weigh these factors much more important then blemishes. The first time the OP's wrench meets a tough/rusty fastener it'll have plenty of blemishes. Next time it's dropped on the floor it'll even have more. I'm no SO "fanboy" but think this is "much ado about nothing".
 
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neophyte

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That appears to be standard abrasion from the broaching operation.
I don’t really own much Snap-On so can’t really provide feedback on them.
Armstrong wrenches back before the brand was killed off tended to vary a bit on the broached ends, both open and box.
Sometimes the broached end was ultra smooth, and almost looked polished.
Sometimes it was coarse like that.
I presumed the difference had to do with either how old the broach used was, or with how thick the plating layer was.
The smoother wrenches tended to be obscure stuff which was likely made in smaller quantity.

The coarser broaching might actually help the wrench open end hold onto a nut or bolt better.
 
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JatoTheRipper

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Thank you for the intelligent responses!

This site is always good for entertaining responses. There are a lot of intelligent people on here that can read, know tools and have common sense, but then you have the other side.

“I gots dem dere Snap Ons and they ain’t jewelry. I use mah tools, woman! In fact I got the good ol’ set of eagle units. I’m not buying those Japanese metric garbage wrenches. They work on both standard and metric bolts on my old lady’s car! You may round off a nut once or twice, but they done work. If you gots a problem it’s your fault. Go cry to Snap-On because I ain’t care!”

No, see I expect to get what I pay for. If the typical Snap-On wrench doesn’t look like this then I didn’t get what I paid for and I expect better. In this case it’s not my money, but I’m looking out for my cousin. When it comes to high end products, fit and finish DOES matter.
 
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zendriver

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Maybe they are selling tools that used to be thrown into the scrap bin.

21st century economics?

Either the wrench works or it does not, maybe “flawless” is a thing of the past. :dunno:
 
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Komet

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Have a look at these junkers:
20220614_152658.jpg

Oops, they've always been that way.
20220614_152743.jpg

Best wrenches I own, fitment is second to none. If it's tight on the fastener and removes it every time, I just don't see what the problem is. Nice bolts are gonna come out easy anyway, and grimy rusty nasty bolts are going to fill the minor gaps with gunk. I guess it might affect the resale value of a collection that doubles as a tool set occasionally?
 
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Jacobs976

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Komet said:
Have a look at these junkers:
20220614_152658.jpg

Oops, they've always been that way.
20220614_152743.jpg

Best wrenches I own, fitment is second to none. If it's tight on the fastener and removes it every time, I just don't see what the problem is.
Click to expand...
Looks the same as my 2020 one. Doesn't mess with anything since you can't even feel the grooves usually. It's just left over tooling marks that the chrome didn't cover up.
 
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charbar

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I just looked at mine out of curiosity-Looks like the smaller wrenches (around 14mm and 9/16 on down) show some broaching marks, but the bigger sizes are pretty clean looking. My smaller ones look a little better than the ones picture, but they have some miles on them so I'd imagine its just wear. I've never honestly noticed the marks before. Sure hasn't ever seemed to affect anything as far as use.

I looked at my Protos to just for the hell of it. Nice and smooth the whole way through.
 
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KnurledNut

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Komet said:
Have a look at these junkers:
20220614_152658.jpg

Oops, they've always been that way.
20220614_152743.jpg

Best wrenches I own, fitment is second to none. If it's tight on the fastener and removes it every time, I just don't see what the problem is. Nice bolts are gonna come out easy anyway, and grimy rusty nasty bolts are going to fill the minor gaps with gunk. I guess it might affect the resale value of a collection that doubles as a tool set occasionally?
Click to expand...
 
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KnurledNut

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charbar said:
I just looked at mine out of curiosity-Looks like the smaller wrenches (around 14mm and 9/16 on down) show some broaching marks, but the bigger sizes are pretty clean looking. My smaller ones look a little better than the ones picture, but they have some miles on them so I'd imagine its just wear. I've never honestly noticed the marks before. Sure hasn't ever seemed to affect anything as far as use.

I looked at my Protos to just for the hell of it. Nice and smooth the whole way through.
Click to expand...
Thats why I asked the OP what size wrench he posted.
Not uncommon on smaller sizes...because the vibratory polishing media is too large to get in there during tumbling.
 
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neophyte

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Komet said:
Have a look at these junkers:
20220614_152658.jpg

Oops, they've always been that way.
20220614_152743.jpg

Best wrenches I own, fitment is second to none. If it's tight on the fastener and removes it every time, I just don't see what the problem is. Nice bolts are gonna come out easy anyway, and grimy rusty nasty bolts are going to fill the minor gaps with gunk. I guess it might affect the resale value of a collection that doubles as a tool set occasionally?
Click to expand...
This is what the ends on my flare nut wrenches look like, although mine are Armstrong.
 
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Zewnten

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Will they turn a bolt? Of course. Are they living up to the premium hype that is Snap on? No.

But in my opinion Snap On has been lowering the quality of their tools, probably since 2010 is my guess. Wrenches older than that are much thinner in the ends and beam than the ones made after, noticeably so in feel and weight. They're still the leader in unique and oem specialty tools but outside of that they're a name. Ferrari's are something special, lots of attention to detail. Not exactly a straight comparison to the cadillac of tools, ei you can buy the exact same thing with a different badge for cheaper or something unique for the same price if you shop around.
 
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Xcursion88

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Dave455 said:
O.K.

A tool only NEEDS to be “good enough”. Minor blemishes are more than acceptable.

But… these are not minor blemishes, but scoring of the working surfaces.

I can get a wrench that’s “good enough” for about 1/4 the price of a Snap On. Why wouldn’t I if the Snap on wasn’t better?

And, irrespective of what’s really needed, my wrenches (and indeed most Snap On that I’ve seen) do seem to be superbly broached.

The O.P.’s are, without doubt, not as good, and in my experience not typical of Snap On, which I think was the original question.
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"and in my experience not typical of Snap On"

Honestly it's about a 50 percent ratio of blemished in that area to non blemished.

Affects absolutely positive zero functionality.

If you're actually using the tool it won't be pristine long anyways.

I've owned some nice wild vehicles over the years and I always enjoyed them most behind the wheel running hard.

But hey...some people like to enjoy them looking from their kitchen window.


To the original poster...

Tell the cousin to start using them and fuhgetaboutit!!!!
 
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JatoTheRipper

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Xcursion88

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Komet said:
Have a look at these junkers:
20220614_152658.jpg

Oops, they've always been that way.
20220614_152743.jpg

Best wrenches I own, fitment is second to none. If it's tight on the fastener and removes it every time, I just don't see what the problem is. Nice bolts are gonna come out easy anyway, and grimy rusty nasty bolts are going to fill the minor gaps with gunk. I guess it might affect the resale value of a collection that doubles as a tool set occasionally?
Click to expand...
SO is always worth more to soneone using it rather than on a plaque.
 
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Xcursion88

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BobsDynaflow said:
I was told Snap-On purposely did that to keep from slipping off the bolt or nut.

AND I believe Snap-On offers discount at trade school students so they will get comfortable using there tools, so when they stating working in shops they will continue to buy from them.

my 2 cents

Bob
Click to expand...
Never.


They'd never keep track of sonething like that mess.


It's purely coincidental.

Grab em' ...

.put on fastener...

Turn fastener....

Reinstall fastener....

Wipe tool when done...

Put away...


Rinse and repeat.
 
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