Slip_Kid
Well-known member
Science Channel has how they make a snap-on box. The show is "How it's Made". Started at 7:30PM EST.....................
Science Channel has how the make snap-on box
- Thread starter Slip_Kid
- Start date
Cant... Im Craving Fig Newtons now... Way to go.
american lockpicker
Banned
Is it on Youtube I don't watch TV anymore.
griff99
Well-known member
mrholeshot
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Anybody thinking about dishing out over 10K for a toolbox may think twice after watching that video. Just nothing to it. Instead of Snap-On they should be called Snap-Together, lol
Soon2AdjustYou
Well-known member
here is the snappy combo wrench video
snappy wrachets
snappy screwdrivers
snappy air impacts
snappy wrachets
snappy screwdrivers
snappy air impacts
thesilverone
Well-known member
The ratchet video looked like it was filmed in the USA but no USA markings on the ratchets.....
apong23
Well-known member
I saw this today also, seems like theres nothing to it.
chadster1
Well-known member
They are doing something right. I have a box in use in my garage that was made in 1968 and another made in 1977.
The Rider
Well-known member
Highly skilled US manufacturing at it's finest.
$10K for 2 hrs work? Mmmm, nothing like the smell of buyer exploitation in the morning...
$10K for 2 hrs work? Mmmm, nothing like the smell of buyer exploitation in the morning...
No Doubt... It may snap/slide together during the Assembly process but those welds factored with Years of R & D Experience = out to a Damn Stout Box..
no, the Dual80 has no USA, but look at 3:55, L872 has USA on it, of course, it's not Dual80. L872 is a 32 teeth 3/4 dr. ratchet.
The Rider
Well-known member
Alternatively, you could argue that so long as you use half decent steel, slides and paint to begin with there's ****** all else to go wrong...
The Rider
Well-known member
You imply that SO experience and know how are the reasons why the boxes are so durable.
I contend that anybody using the right raw mats would be able to produce a box with similar staying power.
I Honestly believe there is more to it then starting with quality Parts, Its takes years of R & D to Make a Box that will last a lifetime. Im not saying that "Joe Blow" couldnt buy the same Parts and hammer out a quality box, But that Snap on box has Years.. and Years of testing and Real Life Usage to adapt to making a better box.
are you saying manufacturing skills and design don't count? if I send you some quality sheet metal you can make some boxes for me as good as Snap On?
The Rider
Well-known member
Agreed! Well mostly...
Snap On make a fantastic tool box. Amazing in fact. Looks great, lasts forever. Blah, blah, blah.
(Though I'm not sure how it would take even the most minimally qualified structural engineer more than about three hours to design a box and drawer structure capable of meeting SO's excating standards, using premium materials)
But design "excellence" aside, my issue is how those "years & years of testing" can justify the prices they charge.
Case in point:
SO KRL1024. List Price: $16,770.00
Features:
"Lock 'n Roll® Drawers prevents drawers from drifting open when unit is moved
Two Full Width Drawers - 3" and 5" High
Interchangeable Drawers and two-inch mounting centers for drawer slides allow for optional drawer configurations
Premium Non-Slip Drawer Liners
Extra Heavy-Duty Spring Loaded Casters
Two Sliding Writing Surfaces
Heavy-Duty Ball Bearing Slides On All Drawers - With Quick Disconnect
Heavy-Gauge Double Wall Steel Construction
Includes Stainless Steel Top
It's a box with drawers. And two "sliding writing surfaces". Whoopee ******* doo.
VW Golf: $17,620.00
Features: Are you kidding me? It's a ****** car. And a good one at that. Body, brakes, engine, seats wheels. 3yr 36k mile warranty.
Surely, nobody can seriously argue that spot welding several dozen pieces of steel together, spraying them a single colour and the accompanying R&D (roflmao) can compare with designing & building one of the worlds best selling compact cars?
Help me understand. What am I missing?
The Rider
Well-known member
are you saying manufacturing skills and design don't count? if I send you some quality sheet metal you can make some boxes for me as good as Snap On?
I'm saying that all the manuf skills & design in the world don't justify a $17k toolbox.
Obviously you could make the same assumptions about any Consumer product, Why do people buy 200K Ferrari's when they could have a VW Golf? Or a 500K 2500sqft home versus a 200K model? They both serve the same purpose. Do they not? Its about Personal Preference and you could spend a lifetime arguing the Pro's and Con's of either choice. I can only base my opinions on what i know.. And i own 2 (Second Hand) Snap on Toolboxes and there both 25+ years old and they are Hell Bent for Stout. Ive looked at some of the Lower Priced Toolboxes and while there are some good Values out there (Harbor Freight comes to mind) Im afraid they wouldnt hold up to extreme weight loads and Daily abuse that is considered Normal Daily activities for someone in a Professional field, I expect a VW Golf Wouldnt like to be exposed to 170MPH Repeated Trips around a Track etc...
See Above...
mtkst19
Well-known member
i see what you are getting at, but coming from a professional tech who works on German cars, i can tell you in ten years the tool box would be worth more than the vw. Plus i can write off the purchase of the box on my taxes whereas i can't the car. Lastly, the tool box will likely never have a failure. the vw on the other hand...
all kidding aside, from a tech standpoint a toolbox is something you buy once and have for a while. More like a house purchase than a car. I personally don't own a snappy box. I have secondhand matco box that was every bit an 8k box that i paid considerably less for. How the prices are figured out, i do not know.
but to follow your car theory-- how can you justify spending double or triple the money for a bentley contiental or audi a8 when a vw phaeton is the same car built on the same chassis layout? You pay the premium for prestige as well as better build quailty.
Consider the snap on box the bentley of tool boxes. Cheaper boxes do the same job. But prestige and trade in value are w/ the snappy.
RLRRLRLL
Well-known member
i still want one....
djb2
Well-known member
I love 'How It's Made'.
The video doesn't make me think any less of the boxes. The number of welds shown was more than I expected. And everyone knows that the profit margins on professional boxes is very high. There is nothing special or expensive about the construction. The boxes are mostly made of common steel, spot welded together. The punches and jigs might have cost a bit to make, but they will be used, unchanged, for years. It's not like other industries, where you get only six months or a year of use before the design changes.
The video doesn't make me think any less of the boxes. The number of welds shown was more than I expected. And everyone knows that the profit margins on professional boxes is very high. There is nothing special or expensive about the construction. The boxes are mostly made of common steel, spot welded together. The punches and jigs might have cost a bit to make, but they will be used, unchanged, for years. It's not like other industries, where you get only six months or a year of use before the design changes.
Lookin4'67Galaxieconv
Well-known member
Amen. I have several SO boxes from the '80s and I'm amazed at how good the quality is. I will never sell these to get something else. I can see these lasting another 30-40 years without a problem. Esp. compared to much of the offerings sold at Sears, Lowe's, Home Depot, the buyers club warehouses, Tractor Supply, etc. HF's US General boxes, that many people here own, are probably the best value for anyone that absolutely has to have a new box.
Whenever someone is considering spending several hundred dollars or more for a brand new toolbox from one of these places, I always recommend they be patient and look for a good quality used truck box, even if it's several years old and doesn't have BB slides. Anyone that appreciates quality and craftsmanship will be happier with one of these in the long run.
mrholeshot
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No doubt they are great. Just really hard to see the cost justified after watching one built especially when you think that you can buy a nicely equipted F-150 for the cost of a top, bottom and side cab of a decent size Snap-On tool box. No emmissions testing, no electrionics, no leather interior, no glass, no crash testing, air bags, sensors, etc etc etc, You see where I;m going. It's a cabinet filled with drawers. Never said they wern't good ones and I agree they are great. Just way overpriced.
mrholeshot
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I traded tool boxes faster then cars. They are fine toolboxes and among the best in structure but they fail as well. The bottom line is it's sheet metal bent into shape and set of roller slides, casters, red powder coat a locking device and a 5000 dollar emblem. They can be easily duplicated. In a fire they collapse like the WTC. It doesn't take much heat to destroy one. While I know it's not fire rated I had a KRL650/655 Combo melt down to about two feet tall. There was a lot of weight in it but the wooden work bench two feet away survived with minimal damage. You are correct in paying for prestige. I knew that when I bought my very first set. I didn't really mind but I think they have gotten really carried away with themselves on price. Lots of really great alrenatives out there in boxes that look and feel and perform just as nice for 1/3 the price or less. The resale value of a Snap-On box isn't all that great on a % rate based on what the box cost new. Lots of slightly used Snap-On boxes out there that are going but 30% of new value on average.
If you are the original buyer of a Snap-On box you got hosed no matter how much you like the box. It's the second owner that gets a high quality box for decent money.
GeorgiaHybrid
Well-known member
They are overpriced but then again, does that VW or F 150 come with a lifetime warranty? If something does tear up on them, does VW or Ford send a tech to your house with the parts to fix it? I have had slides replaced on boxes so old that if they were cars, they would rusting away in a junkyard or crushed.
If you don't want to buy one fine, don't. But do not tell someone they are "crazy" or "stupid" if they decide to get a nice box or that it is a "waste of money". That is YOUR opinion and not THEIR opinion. I happen to like nice cars, nice tools and nice firearms. To me anyone that buys video games, large TV's or has an "iPhone" is wasting money but that is my opinion and it is THEIR money to spend as they see fit.
If you don't want to buy one fine, don't. But do not tell someone they are "crazy" or "stupid" if they decide to get a nice box or that it is a "waste of money". That is YOUR opinion and not THEIR opinion. I happen to like nice cars, nice tools and nice firearms. To me anyone that buys video games, large TV's or has an "iPhone" is wasting money but that is my opinion and it is THEIR money to spend as they see fit.
Jeeper
Well-known member
I am sure that if SO sold as many boxes as VW does automobiles, they would figure out how to drive out cost of manufacturing to lower the price to the consumer.
Yes, it looks like a lot of manual labor goes into making a box like this and there are many different configurations.
If they were producing automotive volumes you'd see a lot more of this automated.
In addition the SO dealer needs his 30 pts of margin vs. the car dealer that might get 10.
P.S.
That girl making the box is a cutie!
Joe From NY
Well-known member
The sad thing is probably within a short time, those canadians in the video will be replaced with chinese, and the price will not go down!!!
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mrholeshot
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I NEVER said anyone was Crazy or Stupid for buying one. I've bought new toolboxes every few years (sometimes 2-3 times a year) all my life. I bought only Snap-On or MAC since the 70's. If I still had my shop I'm sure I would be in a new Epiq or something. I also have things that are overkill like my Kimber pistols,Rolex, Nice tools, etc. I think if you want something and you can afford to get it then go for it.
I can't get a Snap-On man to replace a screwdriver if I run him down,The chances of him showing up at my house to change out a slide is slim to none and slim is packed up leaving town.
Trying to compare the warranty agaist an F150 and a tool box is like apples to a phone booth. But if you vehile is under warranty the dealer will come pick it up from your house. I'm not knocking the quality or warranty of Snap-On boxes. The prices are crazy. I said the same thing when I was on the truck buying them. I wanted them so I bit the bullet and got them. My point is that there are so many great alternatives to Snap-On toolboxes at a reasonable price that you are really only buying the name. If your Montezuma, Extreme or whatever drops a slide thats easy enough to replace.
You can buy a Montezuma 72X30X46 elite box with 17 drawers for less than 2900. The closest Snap-On box to it is the 19 drawer 7023 that comes in at about 9500. The Motezuma is heavier by about 200 lbs. Is there really 6600 dollars differance in these two boxes? I've owned enough Snap-On boxes in my lifetime I just don't go gaga over them anymore. It's a tool like anything else. When I was coming up you just didn't have the choices you do now. Where I was at you either had a Craftsman, mac, Snap-On or an occasional Hout. When Snap-On came out with their magic paint that could resist brake fluid or just about anything else it was a big selling point for them and it made them worth the extra back them. They were expensive but not in the rediculas area yet. For me there is just no way they can justify the cost of a Snap-On box.
i'm not hateing on Snap-On as I'm sure if I had my shop still I'd have a lime green 1024 hugging the wall somewhere in my shop but even when I could afford it I shook my head in disbeleif.
mrholeshot
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They have hundreds of differant boxes. They probably don't have but 40 differant drawer sizes. If you have a sheet metal brake, spot welder and punch press you could build one over several weeks by yourself if you have some skills. I'm thinking about building one out of some nice thick Aluminum. I build one out of wood with 0 experiance. I have mad skills with aluminum and steel. I'd polish the aluminum then clear coat it.
Lookin4'67Galaxieconv
Well-known member
Why do we keep having the same discussion over and over and over again? If you buy a truck toolbox new, you're going to pay a lot of money for it. If you are okay with that, fine. If it's way overpriced to you, and not worth it, that's fine too. Lots of members on here decide buying a new one is what they want to do, and they do it. Others don't.
It's not whether one way is right or wrong, it's whether one way is right or wrong FOR YOU.
As for the craftsmanship, I will guess there's an extremely small amount of people that could take the same raw materials and produce a toolbox anywhere near the quality of a truck toolbox. And even if you could, how long would it take?
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blue dog
Banned
Just write MRHOLESHOT a check for $3500 and he will build you a custom oak tool box made right here in america with the drawer configuration of your choice. And you will have a money left over to get those tap dance lessons that you have all ways wanted. win win
mrholeshot
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Like I said, Ive done it over and over. I'm just waiting for someone to give me a good reason to justify why Snap-On charges so much for them other than the sticker on the box.