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New Snap on sockets, lighter stamping

JUNK-MAN

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So is this a fluke or are they making them like this now? I sent in my 8mm and this is what i got back. I'm usually not **** about my tools but the difference is very noticeable. It just looks lower quality.
d45187ef8e6d1ab6d41da7c472a7452e.jpg


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larry_g

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I can imagine that after knurling a few hundred thousand sockets the tooling wears and has to be replaced. What your seeing is a socket knurled with new tooling and one knurled with tooling near end of life.

lg
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CR888

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There ain't much point in knurling if it provides no grip. Given the price of SO sockets you would expect better. Small details matter when your product is marketed as the 'best'. Meh...
 

markeric

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So is this a fluke or are they making them like this now? I sent in my 8mm and this is what i got back. I'm usually not **** about my tools but the difference is very noticeable. It just looks lower quality.
d45187ef8e6d1ab6d41da7c472a7452e.jpg


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This thread should be fun..

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toolenthusiast

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So, let me get this straight... on Snap-on’s worst day, they accidentally made one socket that looks as terrible as a textbook Craftsman socket and will still engage a fastener 10x better.

Ok, got it. Time to short SNA and trade all my tools in!
 

zendriver

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So, let me get this straight... on Snap-on’s worst day, they accidentally made one socket that looks as terrible as a textbook Craftsman socket and will still engage a fastener 10x better.

Ok, got it. Time to short SNA and trade all my tools in!

If QC is slipping in the easy things, what's to say it's not being compromised in other manufacturing processes?

For the money I would expect better, but maybe that's being unreasonable any more.

Ok, got it. Time to short SNA and trade all my tools in!

Why would you want to do this?
 

Citation

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First, the knurling isn't too increase your grip. It's too quickly tell metric from SAE. Second, that lighter stamping looks the same as my father's 70's vintage SO sockets so perhaps it wasn't a mistake but a change for some reason. What's next, complain that the chrome is the wrong color?
 

zendriver

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First, the knurling isn't too increase your grip. It's too quickly tell metric from SAE. Second, that lighter stamping looks the same as my father's 70's vintage SO sockets so perhaps it wasn't a mistake but a change for some reason. What's next, complain that the chrome is the wrong color?



One socket is from 1975 the other from 2012.

The new one might be better, but is sure does not look that way.

8590db658ae7bef3f026a06917c37c0c.jpg



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Skylarkgp

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My complaint would be that it is harder to read the size. I have a set of Gearwrench semi deep sockets that I find I'm now using as my go to sockets but it is darn difficult to see what size they are due to small numbers and light stamping.
 
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toolenthusiast

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Yarpo said:
Wait, why would it grip 10x better? If both sockets are within spec, differences should be marginal.

Because Snap-on and Stahlwille blow everyone else away in terms of precision. You can verify this with a micrometer.
 

Mr_B

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I no idea why snapon never grasped idea of large size stamping and better handling features decades ago, they slow on some stuff that so obvious and easy improvements ...
 

larry_g

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If QC is slipping in the easy things, what's to say it's not being compromised in other manufacturing processes?

Would you please publish where you got the specs for this and what qualifies as in spec or out of spec? Or is this just something your assuming?

lg
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M6erfan

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Because Snap-on and Stahlwille blow everyone else away in terms of precision. You can verify this with a micrometer.

Can you though? There have been many threads gone down this road and measurements are a **** shoot at best. Anyway, off corner engagement is what it is, and very hard to quantifiably say one is "more precise" than another. And it depends on what you consider precise. I've handled the cheapest POS China/Pakistan made sockets that engage and turn fasteners just fine. Of course, strength/durability is another matter entirely...
 

Tallpilot

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I no idea why snapon never grasped idea of large size stamping and better handling features decades ago, they slow on some stuff that so obvious and easy improvements ...

That is very peculiar and since they are the trendsetter most downmarket producers copy them, at least in North America.

Can you though? There have been many threads gone down this road and measurements are a **** shoot at best. Anyway, off corner engagement is what it is, and very hard to quantifiably say one is "more precise" than another. And it depends on what you consider precise. I've handled the cheapest POS China/Pakistan made sockets that engage and turn fasteners just fine. Of course, strength/durability is another matter entirely...

There is also such a thing as too tight. If there isn’t at least a little plus side tolerance the fastener gets stuck in the socket and you have to stop what you’re doing and fish it out.
 

M6erfan

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That is very peculiar and since they are the trendsetter most downmarket producers copy them, at least in North America.

There was a thread regarding this not too long ago, apparently it has something to do with Americas fascination with lifetime warranty. Foregoing nice ergonomics for, strength? Even though all the Euro and Ko-ken sockets I own seem every bit as, if not stronger than some USA made straight wall designs.
 

zendriver

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Would you please publish where you got the specs for this and what qualifies as in spec or out of spec? Or is this just something your assuming?



lg

no neat sig line



Yes, I am just assuming, but weak embossing like that is the way that they are going with their sockets, that is tough to see why people want to spend the money on them - unless they have perfect eyesight.

Socket looked hard to read from the image, let alone under a dimly lit vehicle.

That appears to be the way they make them these days so, if that works then great.

Hopefully my snap on sockets from the 1970s to last me the rest of my life at least I can read them.




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Loscaldazar

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Because Snap-on and Stahlwille blow everyone else away in terms of precision. You can verify this with a micrometer.

Odd, because every measurement I've ever taken tends to see most hand tools come out to be identical the the thousandths of an inch. Usually the only difference is when I start looking at the ten-thousandths of an inch. They are a few exceptions that are a few thousandths off from each other, but all of those tools have worked well and I can only assume that a difference of a few thousandths is more than acceptable, seeing as the fastener is much more likely to vary a higher degree than the tool.

Now, granted, I haven't bothered to measure the 60 sockets for $4 type tools, but Snap On, SK, Proto, Craftsman, Gearwrench, Tekton, Pittsburgh pro all have come out near identical in my measurements. I'd be more comfortable saying that the difference between sockets of different brands is near immeasurable and any differences found are more likely due to measure error than they are to differences in the specs that the sockets are manufactured to.

Mass production of products accurate to the thousandths is no longer a difficult task. In some areas outside of hand tools, we are already mass producing things with tolerance ranges being only a few nanometers or less (and that is being done in Taiwan interestingly enough).

10x is quite the claim. I'd love to see the data behind that

As you already suspect, he has no actual evidence. It's like the people on this forum that say "insert brand name" is so much better than "other brand name" because they can feel how much "tighter" the socket engages. There is no part of our body that can tell the difference of tens of thousandths between two items.

Hand tools are very low tech. They aren't difficult to manufacturer.
 

6PTsocket

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Because Snap-on and Stahlwille blow everyone else away in terms of precision. You can verify this with a micrometer.
And how pricise does it have to be to matter in the real world. This reminds me of those old Hi Fi systems that had .0001% distortion and fed good speakers that had several % distortion. I have used all kinds of sockets and rarely found one that did not fit well enough to turn a fastener. Legibility, durability and rust resistance gets the job done. If some company goes out of business tomorrow I won't have to go unto therapy

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dr_clyde

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Looks like a QC fluke. I have a couple 2018 date code sockets which match the code on the lightly stamped one, and the stamping on mine is deep and clear.

**** happens. Factory tooling wears, and the QC guy can't check every single socket. They'll swap it for you again if you want.

It would be a different story if you got a whole set, but just one? Fluke.
 

Yarpo

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As you already suspect, he has no actual evidence. It's like the people on this forum that say "insert brand name" is so much better than "other brand name" because they can feel how much "tighter" the socket engages. There is no part of our body that can tell the difference of tens of thousandths between two items.

Hand tools are very low tech. They aren't difficult to manufacturer.

That's why I love getting people to throw out claims like that, always enjoy keeping everyone honest :D Good job team.
 

CR888

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If this was a cheap low end HF socket with the exact same issue, would the term 'fluke' be used to describe the situation.:dunno::dunno:
 

sweet victory

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As someone with a manufacturing plant beside their office....QC is going to take random samples, not inspect and christen every newly born socket. Shipping probably pulls from inventory and ships. If it's in inventory, it's already been final inspected. Shipping people also aren't responsible to inspect products.

If it bothers you, call them up. We can't do anything for you...
 
Last edited:

ChrisLS8

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Jan 16, 2015
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This. I worked as a manager for a large beverage company and they would run 1500 cases per hour. The QA department checked quality 24 hours a day but they only pulled 12 bottles from each line per hour to do their testing.

It was the same at our dozen other Co packing plants
 
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