Snappy

[davidless]

WOW, to say the least, just got my snappy 3/8 ratchet and sockets today, all I can say is you get what you pay for, so far anyways. Growing up with craftsman what a difference, makes me wanna become a full time mechanic.
Finish is so nice I don't want to us it, maybe just keep it on my end table to play with, lOL

This is such a cool site

David

 

[RunninOnEmpty]

I actually just bought a few used Snap On ratchets in the past month.

I've used Snap On in the past - my dad was a mechanic by trade and had a lot of Snap On. I used some of those tools to work on my first couple of cars. I didn't know a lot about cars then and my dad did let me use the tools but he didn't really care to teach me. He got pissed - understandably so - when I used his torque wrench to loosen an axle nut once. I was 16 and didn't know not to loosen bolts with torque wrenches. It didn't break but probably threw the calibration off. My fault though I do wish he would have actually cared to teach me to use the tools properly.

Anyway, after those tools were sold off (long story not really appropriate here), I got my own toolset, Craftsman. I was still new to working on cars and I had issues with them rounding bolts off and all that other stuff that Crapsman tools do but I always blamed the fasteners themselves. For a while I thought Craftsman was pretty much as good as Snap On. LOL. I remember getting the standard RP ratchets in my kit and thinking they were good (they are nowhere near good) and then they came out with some other ratchet that advertised a swing arc of like half what I had. I lusted after those for a while thinking they were some awesome new technology that not even Snap On had. LOL. Not sure what was wrong with me back then. I guess I was a bit too susceptible to marketing BS.

It had been years since I'd used a Snap On ratchet when I bought the used ones recently and oh my god. The first time I used the dual 80 (which was one of the ones I just bought) I almost had to take a moment to myself. It had probably been about 10 years since I'd used anything Snap On other than a few random wrenches and sockets.

For the longest time I simply went by the advice that so many give out - which I put in my signature earlier today - that if you are only a "weekend mechanic" then Craftsman is fine. No. It's not. Craftsman is only fine when you are working with brand new bolts or don't mind drilling out rusted bolts that your Crapsman tools screwed up.

I have a Harbor Freight ratchet that I got after the Craftsman but before Snap On and even it is a hell of a lot better than any Craftsman I have ever used. For a brief time I tried other brands like Husky as well. Then for a while I thought Stanley was great. (Though Stanley at least beats Craftsman in my experience.)

 

[JUNK-MAN]

I was the same way when I got my first Snap-On ratchet only I got mine used so didn't have to worry about scratching it up that was already done for me.

 

[thegroundpounder99]

WOW, to say the least, just got my snappy 3/8 ratchet and sockets today, all I can say is you get what you pay for, so far anyways. Growing up with craftsman what a difference, makes me wanna become a full time mechanic.
Finish is so nice I don't want to us it, maybe just keep it on my end table to play with, lOL

This is such a cool site

David

Yes sir, there is a difference.

 

[bobcatdan]

Tools are very much a personal preference as choice as underwear is. That said, SO does enough stuff so right, there is a reason they are considered the gold standard of tools by so many. Why do you HF is copying SO designs and not craftsman.

 

[RunninOnEmpty]

Tools are very much a personal preference as choice as underwear is.

Ehh. To a degree. There is subjectivity, but not everything about tools is subjective. Sometimes you just have to admit that one tool is just better than another, period.

I guarantee you there is at least one person in this world that has used a Snap-on Dual80 and a Craftsman RP and would rather have the Craftsman and will say it is better (not just cost). That person's opinion is wrong regardless of the "fact" that his father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate once heard of a Snap On tool breaking.

There are people on this board who would rather have Hazet than Snap On. Those people are not wrong, nor are they right. That's where the subjectivity applies. Subjectivity applies where objectivity provides no clear answer.

A lot of people say there is no wrong or right in the world, but that's not true. There is a lot of wrong and right in the world. It's just that not EVERYTHING can be thought of that way.

 

[rodsnratfinks]

I grew up with random tools as well. Never had a whole lot of experience with them except for a few cursory pieces I'd picked up somewhere and what grandpa had in his box, until I got into the trade and tried a lot more of the high end brands. I'm not a die hard fan boy, but they are a no brainer brand for me. With most tools they make, I know right off the bat that their offering is going to be one of stronger, more streamlined, best fitting tools available. They certainly aren't the best at everything, but they are a good bet.

 

[goforride57]

 

[pi_guy]

This thread is going to flame out very shortly.
But as I asked my Snap On guy today, since metric is so popular why does SO not make 8 pt square sockets in metric?
Some of my SO stuff has over 30 years of use.

 

[bobcatdan]

Where do you run into metric sqaure nuts? Even then 12 pt sockets work on square nuts just fine.

 

[Fusion13]

Here we go again......

 

[SantaAna12]

I drink the Koolaid.

Or.......

I like good tools.

Pretty cool to be able to appreciate and afford them too.

Excuse me while I refill my Koolaid.

 

[Art From De Leon]

No one forced me to drink the Kool-Aid, and yes, there is a difference.

 

[ryanm]

reasonably speaking, buy the best tools you can afford. the difference between a craftsman ratchet and snap on ratchet may seem like alot (and it damn well can be), but if you own that tool for 5 years or whatever it may be, the difference in price in my opinion seems much more reasonable

 

[fordnut85]

Well I think I'll put my 2 cents in before all the flamers get here

Snap-on makes alot of really good products such as ratchets, screwdrivers and the like and for diagnostic equipment they have some of the best coverage out there. That being said for some reason most folks cannot understand the cost of these tools and yet the same people have no problems with the price difference between a Ford Taurus and a Ferrari. I for one NEED tools that perform ALL the time. It is also really nice to have a dealer that I can call with a request for a specific tool and I can have it in my hands in an hour or two.

 

[sonvolt]

Trolling snap on, SK, and socket thread. What's next craftsman China ?

 

[iajonesy]

I just finished a 40 plus year career as a maintenance mechanic in a large factory.I had Craftsman tools from day one and never had a failure of any kind and in fact had some of my original tools upon retirement.That said,I have a large assortment of Snap On tools at home and a S/O box as well.I now work on hotrods in my garage and love my Snappy tools.I would have used them in my factory job but they would have walked away faster than the C/M tools did.
I agree that tool brand is a personal choice,but S/O quality is undeniable and I love quality.

Mike

 

[pi_guy]

Where do you run into metric sqaure nuts? Even then 12 pt sockets work on square nuts just fine.

Part of the question was to bug my SO guy. He stocks all the metric stuff and points out that every time I order some thing in standard.
Next week I will ask him why none of the Hi Perf sockets come in metric.

 

[devoncoolman]

I drink the kool-aid sue me. Tastes pretty good too.

 

[CJM8515]

My father has some old craftsmen stuff, its ok. But in all honesty even husky/stanely tools outshine RP CMan stuff all the time. I have several different brands but I love snap on ratchets.

 

[gooblunar]

There first thing I bought was a ratchet and after that I was hooked. I'm drunk on the kool-aid! !!!!

 

[RunninOnEmpty]

There first thing I bought was a ratchet and after that I was hooked. I'm drunk on the kool-aid! !!!!

which one?

 

[davidless]

A lot of good points, I'm sure my late father would think I'm smoking crack on what I spend on tools, he was fine with Chinese, and grizzly wood working equipment, me, I've gotta have a pm-66 (only USA made table saw back in the early 2000's), but every time I used it, I smile.

My opinion is you don't need to be a professional to enjoy nice tools, after all, people that buy expensive sports cars aren't necessarily professional drivers, they just like nice cars

David

 

[arz71]

If you think a professional is expensive, try hiring an amateur.

That would be a good fit for the truck that fell off the lift.

 

[gooblunar]

which one?

fhl80

 

[tankmech77]

Ive been Using craftsman along with other brands professionally for going on 10 year snow and cant say they ever "CAUSED" me to round out or otherwise ruin any fasteners. not my US made sockets or my chinese impact sets. For that matter neither have my Taiwanese Kobalts, Protos, or SK's I think the only tools I've used that I can honestly say caused any damage to fasteners were adjustables on small stuff when I knew better but got lazy and thought I could just be careful.

My favorite set of SAE wrenches are my Armstrong made Craftsman reversible ratcheting combos that I use the HELL out of daily on everything from warehouse and telescoping forklifts to 180 foot aerial booms and their industrial gas & diesel motors.

My go to ratchet is the newer style 84 tooth model. Most comfortable non ergo handle I've ever used. That and my Wright. Until I got those I always had the regular RP's, while I'll never say they were great ratchets they always worked fine when I didn't have anything else