Snap on side cutters failure.

[MDK22]

Knipex.

As for being stiff that is what penetrating oil and working it in for 15 mins is for.

 

[lazer50]

This for m Shaw and the fella with his own tool truck.im sure snap on still makes a very high quality tool for every purpose.i think it boils down to the guys today use tools for tasks not intended,they abuse them,pay no attention to tool specifications.hand tools,air tools etc.they think the lifetime warranty is an excuse to use tools however which way and then if a tool truck guy doesnt want to warranty he's a jerk.or if he does he's cool!true professional technicians realize that getting tools replaced for the wrong reasonswill eventually catch up!

 

[MDK22]

This for m Shaw and the fella with his own tool truck.im sure snap on still makes a very high quality tool for every purpose.i think it boils down to the guys today use tools for tasks not intended,they abuse them,pay no attention to tool specifications.hand tools,air tools etc.they think the lifetime warranty is an excuse to use tools however which way and then if a tool truck guy doesnt want to warranty he's a jerk.or if he does he's cool!true professional technicians realize that getting tools replaced for the wrong reasonswill eventually catch up!

SO is junk. It is over priced, 99% of the time rebranded, and any more is not the best of the best for tools. I really wonder if it ever was.

Also $16/hr is the median pay for a mechanic. That is before flat rate gets in there and normally lowers his pay. You take $16/hr and remove all of the stuff normal people pay for ie taxes, benefits, groceries, etc. Then he still has to buy tools. Which on the Truck are marked up around 200x what it costs to make it and at least 100x the cost when the guy actually picks it up off the truck (ie shipping, tool truck guy, warranty). Of course he is going to want it warrantied even if its abuse. Charging that much is abusing him so....

As for right tool for the right job that adds up especially at tool truck prices to be so bad it really does not pay to be in this field unless you do side work or are self employed.

 

[Sine Swept]

If you work for anyone, expect to need to do side work no matter what your business is.

 

[Brownsfan]

SO is junk. It is over priced, 99% of the time rebranded, and any more is not the best of the best for tools. I really wonder if it ever was.

Also $16/hr is the median pay for a mechanic. That is before flat rate gets in there and normally lowers his pay. You take $16/hr and remove all of the stuff normal people pay for ie taxes, benefits, groceries, etc. Then he still has to buy tools. Which on the Truck are marked up around 200x what it costs to make it and at least 100x the cost when the guy actually picks it up off the truck (ie shipping, tool truck guy, warranty). Of course he is going to want it warrantied even if its abuse. Charging that much is abusing him so....

As for right tool for the right job that adds up especially at tool truck prices to be so bad it really does not pay to be in this field unless you do side work or are self employed.

That is false. Snap On is not junk and 99% is NOT rebranded. In fact the vast majority of the their tools and tool storage is 100% made by them in the USA. More than ANY other tool company. Overpriced? That depends on how you view it. To you yes. To me yes and no. Some stuff is in my opinion but other stuff is worth every penny. But to say its all junk and 99% rebranded is completely FALSE

 

[MShaw]

"You take $16/hr and remove all of the stuff normal people pay for ie taxes, benefits, groceries, etc. Then he still has to buy tools."

Having been both a mechanic and a machinist it always griped me that a mechanic needed about 5 X the money invested tools as a machinist and got paid less. And as of about 20 years ago most large companies stopped requiring machinists use their own measuring tools and went to company supplied calibrated tools. And they still make equal or better pay than mechanics. End of rant!!

 

[gte718p]

"You take $16/hr and remove all of the stuff normal people pay for ie taxes, benefits, groceries, etc. Then he still has to buy tools."

Having been both a mechanic and a machinist it always griped me that a mechanic needed about 5 X the money invested tools as a machinist and got paid less. And as of about 20 years ago most large companies stopped requiring machinists use their own measuring tools and went to company supplied calibrated tools. And they still make equal or better pay than mechanics. End of rant!!

I'm not a machinist, but I work with lots of them. Every master machinist I know has 60k+ in measuring equipment, tooling, setup fixtures and tools. If they happen to run a small shop as a primary or secondary job that doesn't even begin to touch it.

 

[MShaw]

Not to belabor the point but I was speaking of the everyday line machinist, not a toolmaker or top line die maker.

On the other side there are master mechanics that work on everything up to major construction equipment that also have many thousand dollars in tools.

 

[abvw]

SO is junk. It is over priced, 99% of the time rebranded, and any more is not the best of the best for tools. I really wonder if it ever was.

Also $16/hr is the median pay for a mechanic. That is before flat rate gets in there and normally lowers his pay. You take $16/hr and remove all of the stuff normal people pay for ie taxes, benefits, groceries, etc. Then he still has to buy tools. Which on the Truck are marked up around 200x what it costs to make it and at least 100x the cost when the guy actually picks it up off the truck (ie shipping, tool truck guy, warranty). Of course he is going to want it warrantied even if its abuse. Charging that much is abusing him so....

As for right tool for the right job that adds up especially at tool truck prices to be so bad it really does not pay to be in this field unless you do side work or are self employed.

Value is in the eye of the beholder. I have just as much difficulty justifying a $15 burger at a diner as you do with tool truck pricings. Food service industry is raking in a healthy 200-500% on average, and on fountain drinks the margin shoots up to 1000%. I am not willing to pay $15 plus tax and tips for something I can cook up in 5 minutes at $3 food cost.

Yet, 30% gross profit margin is too much for you? Don't forget overhead expenses, repairs and fuel that comes out of the measely 30% margin. I know techs who dines out, tips, smokes and pisses away more than my weekly tool payments.

I was making less than $8 an hour when I started wrenching for a used car dealer, yet I was able to pay off my $20,000 "debt" from Snap-on in less than four years and I wasn't strapped for cash. Techs I know who shop off the trucks regularly rarely asks for the price, as the tools will usually pay itself in a few jobs.

 

[blown94conv]

SO is junk. It is over priced, 99% of the time rebranded, and any more is not the best of the best for tools. I really wonder if it ever was.

Also $16/hr is the median pay for a mechanic. That is before flat rate gets in there and normally lowers his pay. You take $16/hr and remove all of the stuff normal people pay for ie taxes, benefits, groceries, etc. Then he still has to buy tools. Which on the Truck are marked up around 200x what it costs to make it and at least 100x the cost when the guy actually picks it up off the truck (ie shipping, tool truck guy, warranty). Of course he is going to want it warrantied even if its abuse. Charging that much is abusing him so....

As for right tool for the right job that adds up especially at tool truck prices to be so bad it really does not pay to be in this field unless you do side work or are self employed.

Not here in CT. I know a few techs that do quite well, 2 work at dealerships, another works at Fed Ex. They are all north of 60K a year.