tool repair options

[volaredon]

The "Craftsman alternate" thread got me thinking;
I have a MAC air ratchet and a S/O 1/2" impact out for repair at the moment/ and being as how I currently do not have direct access to the respective trucks, I had to take them to a buddy that works at a dealer where they stop at regularly, to be able to have him send them in for me,
and i am about to start a new job that I need tools at, but at the moment it appears we wont be able to have the trucks stop by regularly like I have had in past jobs
so as I see it, i have 2 options when I need warranty service;
1) do like I did this time and bug a buddy, get them to act as middleman
or 2) find an alternate way/place to take them to
I am more interested in repair services for impacts and such, than simply exchanging broken hand tools.
I also have a S/O AVR (battery/alternator tester) that has been in my attic for a couple years because it dont work and I want to see about getting it repaired. all I get on the screen is an error message--yes I know how to use it I bought it new and it used to work fine
if I can get a more reasonably priced alternative that always helps too.

Some years ago I went to a flea market and got a guys card that was there w/a bunch of air tools that he'd overhauled and had a sign on his space that advertised this service and claimed to be able to fix all the truck branded air tools; but I have since lost that number

It wont break my heart "not to" have to take my stuff back to S/O directly, if you get what I mean

I threw away a 3/8 dr impact (S/O..... it wasnt cheap when I bought it) a couple years ago because it was plum wore out
because I had no place to take it for a rebuild at the time now I gotta buy another 3/8 impact having them rebuilt is somewhat cheaper than buying new especially with the tool truck ones


and 1 other question; do you guys find it better for you to buy a "good" impact and have it rebuilt when needed or buy cheaper brands and chuck em in the scrap and buy another when the need comes up?
The tool trucks all charge a flat fee for this no matter how "bad" of condition the tool you send in may or may not be. broken anvil? costs the same as if everything is wore out, case cracked from using an air gun as a "hammer" etc.
on my 3/8 air ratchet, it is gonna cost me $125 to have a new anvil put in/ I hope they go thru the whole rest of it; but this is a $275 air ratchet though.
it worked fine except for that anvil. (the square drive where the socket snaps on, snapped off) that sounds high just for that 1 part thats bad.

 

[mattmankow]

Air tools are fairly simple. SO list all the parts on their website. Ever think about DIY?

 

[MattPersman]

Snap on takes then direct they send you a shipping label then have you call them to pay and send it back to you I just did this a couple months ago in between snap on guys

 

[jjjrmx5]

That's always been the ying and yang of buying air tools.

If used daily and in order to make money or a living, the higher quality air tools do have their place. Down time due to tool breakage means lost hourly wages or lost production time in mfgr.

I do the NASA "triple redundancy" rule with all heavily used air tools so I always have a backup. Or two. LOLOLOL.

Snap-On does teh 1 year warranty and then somewhere between $90 and $120 for repairing them after that. Considering if you are using a $422.00 list MG725, it will take several repairs before the scale tips.

Buying more tools of lesser quality is no more or less of a boon unless frequency of use is less. Then a less expensive but near comparable tool may work out fine for you.

Repairing air tools is not difficult but there have been some technological advances that make modern air tools far more efficient and better at the same time than even decade old units.

It's all relative.

 

[daveblank]

Check out www.fixthattool.com

 

[emeraldcoupe]

Check out www.fixthattool.com

i second that

 

[Thunderbisciut]

As stated, air tools are pretty simple creatures, and they're very easy to repair. If Snap On only charges $125 flat rate, then that's a good deal if you have a busted housing on an impact of something, but terrible if you just need a refresh, or some new vanes, or some of the smaller parts.

I refreshed my Blue Point impact a while ago, under $10 in parts ordered from Snap On. I put a new crankshaft in a CP 1/4 ratchet last week, $10 in parts. I'm working on getting some new seals and springs for my Vessel impact from Japan, under $10. If I want a new blade assembly for my CP shears though, it's more expensive than buying a whole new unit, lol.

Snap On has all the exploded diagrams with prices for their air tools, ereplacementparts has many for some of the other manufacturers. If you have an issue, take it apart and see what needs replacement. You'll be surprised when it only takes a few minutes to pull the thing completely apart and realize you only need a few bucks worth of parts to fix it. If it's worse than you thought, then either bin it and buy a new one or send it to Snap On for that nice flat rate.

 

[billymade]

Tell us which models that you have; in the case of Mac, many of their tools have been oem aircat, IR or Florida Pneumatic (afaik Mac never manufactured their own air tools). Snap-on many times have their own designs (blue point are usually 3rd party oem's like IR) and thus their parts are available from them. Both companies will do flat rate repairs; you can contact them directly and they will start the process over the phone.
Air tools are pretty easy to repair; you can take them apart and see what is wrong, replace broken parts and keep working. The parts are usually available from their perspective OEM's. Pretty much any air tool can be repaired; flat rate fees and the cost of parts are considerations in the ultimate cost effectiveness of the repairs, if the labor is too high... consider repairing the tool yourself and buying the parts that need replaced. In the future don't throw away air tools; especially in the case of Snap-on, you can sell them to others on ebay for parts or repair.
To really evaluate a repair; you should take the tool apart and see what is broken... as other have said, many times it is something inexpensive, simple or literally a good cleaning to get them operational again. If the part is expensive and more then 1/2 the cost of a flat fee repair; you might consider the flat fee repair, as they will replace allot of other parts too and give you a warranty. Each situation requires you to see if it worth it and worth your time, effort. If someone is in a production environment; the tool goes down, you are losing money at that point, a flat fee becomes a pretty good deal... especially, when/if a truck guy will give you a loaner in the mean time. In that type of scenario; as others have said, have backups for all production tools is a must and guarantees that you will continue to produce, get work done and make money. Use one that works; when that wears out, ship it out and keep working with the backup, when the back up wears out, ship it out, use the rebuilt back up... repeat! Contingency plans and back up tools; planning ahead for worst case scenarios always is smart!

 

[sberry]

Would ****** a new CP for 100 bucks or so and if I wear it out wouldnt bother fixing up a worn unit, every replacement part available,,, brand new 125.

 

[Thunderbisciut]

Send your used CP tools to me sberry. I'll gladly fix em and put them back into service.