Tool Poll

[MAD]

a guy i used to work with had the sk socket for driveshaft bolts.........his was always broke so he borrowed my snap on. the sk guy wouldn't warranty it after the second time......sk warranty *****.

As far as I know,S-K dealers are not bound or contracted in any way to S-K.They are completely independent and buy their tools from one or more of the large wholesale tool dealers. They often exchange tools as a service to their customers but they are not required to do it so warranty service is likely to vary even more from dealer to dealer than Snap-on. My one experience with warranty service directly with SK was great although I had to wait a little over a week to get it. I can see that on many tools for a working tech that would still "****" if you currently enjoy superb service form your Snap-on dealer. I am not trying start beating another dead horse. - only adding what I know to clarify the S-K warranty is since it came up.

 

[nissan_crawler]

I've got a set of deep boxend sk wrenches that are absolute ****, but I couldn't get them warrantied because that was "normal". I would trade them for a Craftsman Pro set in a heartbeat.

 

[T56 Impala]

No switching for me. I had Craftsman and continue to buy Craftsman. I did up grade to the Pro line since joining though! I also pulled some stuff out of my junk box that I thought was trash. Turns out it was Proto, S&K and Snap On stuff! I even found a few old Allen tools in there. (The SO stuff actually IS trash, but there is a reason I have it in my box I guess. Someone must have tossed it to the curb at some point and I picked it up.)

For me, there is no need for Snap On tools. I seriously doubt there is enough of a difference in them and the Pro Craftsman tools to justify the added cost. If Lisle and Craftsman don't make it, I might check out Cornwell, Snap On and the like. I have yet to run across a situation like that though.

 

[Coach James]

nissan, what is wrong with the SK wrenches? I've got an SK ratchet and a bunch of SK combo wrenches and they are pretty good.

The welding shop I buy from sells and will warrenty SK, but I don't know another place anywhere around here that sells SK.

Coach

 

[Phatsub]

1) Sears is 25 miles away from me. The Snap On truck stops less than a mile from me. Gas is $4.25 a gallon. Sears is a 50 mile round trip.

Here's a case were buying SO is cheaper than buying CM. Wow!

 

[nissan_crawler]

nissan, what is wrong with the SK wrenches?

They look like the were forged as part of a Russian 8 year old 4-H project. Some smooth chrome, some looks like a golfball, some looks like chipped concrete.

They "work", they just look like hell for the money.

 

[Coach James]

Ok. I've got some SK wrenches with a smooth chrome finish and others with a rough, almost pebbled, looking finish. The rough finish ones are a type of raised panel design.

Coach

 

[nissan_crawler]

These are nothing "typical", at least, not of other brands. It's not the normal finish like a craftsman raised panel. It appears to be flaked out in spots under the chrome, divots in other places, smooth in other places, just ****.

I could do a better job casting it in a bag of kitty litter.

 

[ni[x]it]

This forum has made me hate snap-on even more.
Too many elitest pricks pushing snap-on as better then *.*

 

[eschoendorff]

This forum has made me hate snap-on even more.
Too many elitest pricks pushing snap-on as better then *.*

Uh... okay. Have you actually used any Snap On tools?

Sincerely,

An Elitest *****.

 

[NSXSOON]

What if I already had Snap On before joining this board and I'm one of the guys pushing everyone else to buy them; what category do I fall into?

I voted No for the same reason.

 

[klswvu]

Voted No...

Mostly Craftsman with other brands thrown in... Snap-On, MAC, Old Husky, Gear Wrench, Stanley. Like others have said, my favorite ratchet is a long handle Snap-On. But to be fair, I should probably buy other long handle ratchets from Proto, Craftsman etc. to be positive. Yeah that is a good enough excuse.

 

[ni[x]it]

Uh... okay. Have you actually used any Snap On tools?
An Elitest *****.

Absolutely.
I work in aerospace, but not as a technician. I borrow what I need when I need.
I've never been impressed enough to consider snap-on. Best of all, are all
the horror stories of Snap-On dealer(s). Kids making $20.oo and hour, being
suckered into buying $12k of box and tools on credit. Used car salesman
tactics, over priced tools, unreasonable warranty.

 

[nissan_crawler]

Absolutely.
I work in aerospace, but not as a technician. I borrow what I need when I need.
I've never been impressed enough to consider snap-on. Best of all, are all
the horror stories of Snap-On dealer(s). Kids making $20.oo and hour, being
suckered into buying $12k of box and tools on credit. Used car salesman
tactics, over priced tools, unreasonable warranty.

Load of ****. They only suckered themselves. Just like the idiots defaulting on ARM loans right now.

 

[Elroy]

This forum has made me hate snap-on even more.
Too many elitest pricks pushing snap-on as better then *.*

It is very clear to Elroy who's the Elitist *****

Absolutely.
I work in aerospace, but not as a technician. I borrow what I need when I need.
I've never been impressed enough to consider snap-on.

Elroy would bet your next statement would be something along the lines of:

I borrow everything I need to work on my High Performance Twin Turbo Sports Car and have never seen the need to own my own tools. Yep them Snap-On tools just don't cut with me. I prefer to save money and borrow ever thing I need. If I must buy I go to the local Harbor Freight and choose the MIT Brand. That way I have extra funds to buy soft copper tip spark plugs.

May Elroy puke now??

 

[eschoendorff]

Load of ****. They only suckered themselves. Just like the idiots defaulting on ARM loans right now.

I researched ARM loans once about 4 years ago. 10 minutes into it, I couldn't believe that anyone would actually take out an ARM loan!

 

[Danglerb]

I don't push tools, I make suggestions, and for anyone that uses tools trying some Snapon is a very reasonable suggestion. Many Snapon tools are the try it once, want it forever type, but plenty are nothing special compared to other options.

 

[billymade]

Elroy is in rare form tonite!!! LOLOL!!!!!!

 

[nissan_crawler]

I researched ARM loans once about 4 years ago. 10 minutes into it, I couldn't believe that anyone would actually take out an ARM loan!

Yep, I was 20 years old, buying my house, and 2 minutes with a cell phone calculator showed me that the arm loan could get quite scary. It was no different looking at Snap-On credit.

Besides, done right, you can get nearly new Snap-On for the price of new Craftsman. That's a no-brainer.

 

[Uncle Buck]

the whole hatred of snap on is Obama Campaign class envy thing .

I call BS on this, for some like me poor customer service is 100% behind my bias against SO, nothing more!

 

[paramudduck]

Be nice to them UB. They have to have some reason to make themselves feel elite. It's a self image type of situation.

 

[Danglerb]

That way I have extra funds to buy soft copper tip spark plugs.

May Elroy puke now??

If Elroy had a Porsche 928 he would know the copper tip Bosch plugs are the only ones that work well. I'm ordering some today from RockAuto so I have funds left over to buy food (thinking a Turkey Sierra from Panera bread).

 

[speed bump]

The more I use the tools I have the less I see the need for SO tools. Proto, Wright, Armstrong, Craftsman, and Napa seem to make and sell tools that do everything I need them to do without the price premium of Snap-on.

 

[lauver]

I have a mixed bag of tool brands including a fair assortment of Snapons (bought used). I think there are any number of other brands, including GearWrench (made in Taiwan), that make good quality tools at a far more reasonable price. I'm just not swayed by the Snapon hype. In fact, I place a much higher premium on my vintage brand tools (Plomb, Indestro, S-K, Blackhawk, Armstrong, Bonney, Proto, Lectrolite, etc) than I do on new Snapon brand tools. This is just my take on the brand preference discussion, but my opinion is not going to change because of exposure to this or any other forum. Let reason prevail!

 

[RAYJAY]

I call BS on this, for some like me poor customer service is 100% behind my bias against SO, nothing more!

DITTO HERE SNAP ON has customer service........ O, thats right just like bush and the whole republican party is for the middle class........
Just think 4 more years of the republican's in office there will be no more middle class.......

 

[PushStick]

I've got tons of old Snap-On tools plus Blue Point stuff, Proto, Plumb, etc. I've been accumulating it for years just like a lot of you guys. Nothing like good tools.

 

[rhandwor]

I buy some snap on if its something I need and they have it. I mostly try to buy used but its getting harder to find. The tools I use frequently I try to buy good quality. Occasional use tools I try to buy good foreign if a lot cheaper.

 

[dwilliams35]

I've ended up with a bunch of SO over the years: the ones I bought were simply because they had some individual item I needed that I couldn't find anywhere else. Others I ended up being given, etc. etc.. Meanwhile, given the wide assortment of tools I've got to choose from, from chinese junk to SO, I really don't know that I can say that I ever specifically hunted down an SO to do some specific task: if I've got five SO 5/8" open end and a craftsman, SK, or even some HF stuff happen to be sitting on top of them in the drawer, I'll use the one on top. In my book they're just tools: sure, they're made better, but enough better to justify the extra cost? Not a chance. 99.999999999999 percent of the bolts I run in and out don't know the difference: the ones I have problems with have sixty years' worth of sitting outside under their belt, and snap-on can't get them backed out either. I also do more than my share of cutting wrenches in half, welding assorted stuff onto them, etc. etc. etc.: that's a lot easier with something more reasonably priced.
I don't buy many hand tools anymore now anyway: I've pretty much got everything I need to do any job that comes down the pike as far as wrenchin'. Current tool budget goes into machinist tools and electrical test equipment.

 

[83yota]

NO WAY Strap-on is just overpriced junk, besides my local dealer is MIA

 

[Dave88LX]

Heck no. Craftsman has gotten me through 99% of the things I've had to do. Only time I made a trip to the Snap-On truck was to get a swivel socket to take the injector pump off my Dodge Ram, seemed a lot beefier than the Craftsman one.

I'm another one that "can't justify the cost".

 

[Bolster]

I voted "no" because most of my tool purchases after joining this board have been vintage tools.

However I am really tempted to try a SO 80 tooth ratchet in 3/8, just to see what all the buzz is about. When the economy improves I think I'll try one.

One thing you gotta say about SO tools, they make other high quality tools look like a bargain!

The other tools that are "pushed" heavily on this forum are GearWrench. So far I have resisted those, too.

 

[G-force]

The only Snap-on tools I've been buying are ratcheting tools. Partially because of this forum, but also because I've been short on ratchets for far too long. I got tired of having to walk out to the barn or shop because I left my 1/2" out there.

The combination of the Dial 80 technology and the MS cashback offer is really the only reason I splurged and bought so many of them. 7 brand new SO ratchets in the last month alone

 

[Dust]

I'm an apprentice tech at a Dodge dealership, and the VAST majority of my tools are Craftsman. They work, I can get them easily, they're inexpensive, and easily replaced. Hell, I use my chrome sockets with an impact gun and they haven't broken yet.

I also just spent about two hundred bucks on more Craftsman and Gearwrench tools in the last two days, and I feel I got a good deal even for being a total cheapskate.

I like Snap-On tools. I really do. I like a lot things about them. Their finish, their design, and the huge number of specialty tools. However, I think they cost about three or four times more than they should. Three hundred bucks for a set of wrenches that, for sixty bucks, I could buy at Sears? Forget the open-ended Flank Drive system, that's just highway robbery. I don't much care that the Snap-On rep comes to me; in fact that's more of a hinderance to me. I'd rather just go by a tool house and browse around, taking my time. I suppose if I had the money and the real necessity to deal with a sales rep I would, but I'm the kind of guy who prefers to do things completely on his own, and that includes shopping.

Anyway.

I have some Snap-On tools. I love the 24" 1/2" breaker bar. The ratchets are the some of the best I've ever found. I like some of their tool chests. But for me, I prefer mixing and matching the best that I can find that fits my preferences, and if that means a pricey Snap-On or a cheapie Harbor Freight tool, then so be it.

 

[TejasBimmer]

I have no S/O at this time...mainly Craftsman, Wiha, Armstrong, and now Grearwrench.
If I had not built our new home and remodeled one of the rooms and bought cabinets for the garage, I would have bought every damn S/O tool.
Kidding aside, I know that after we are done with the home, I will more money freed up to get some S/O tools -- but most likely they will be used...which is fine with me.

 

[Frank Elson]

When I first found this site I owned one Snap On spanner - dunno where it came from.

Today I bought my second Snap On item - a socket - it winked at me in this box of cr*p at the boot sale. I KNOW I only bought it because of this site

 

[vssjim]

No I have what I have and buy what I like, not a S-O nut but I have lots I just use like any other tool.

 

[Abodyracer]

No, I haven't changed and probably never will. I have mostly all C-man and while I do agree that Snap On is a better tool they are not worth 5 times more than a comparable C-man. Just my opinion.