Williams USA pricing vs. Snap-On

[The Critic]

Let’s say you have an opportunity to purchase some new Snap-On impact socket sets at a great price, but they’re still 60-100% more expensive than a comparable Williams USA set.

For an item that you’d be keeping forever and using as a hobbyist, is it still worth spending the extra coin for SO?

 

[Wamsutta]

Now you're starting to wake up if you're talking about Williams USA. They're almost the same socket. Very minor differences.

If I was going to spend a bunch of money, I go MAC USA impact sockets. I like the way they neck down on both ends depending on the size.

 

[Fedwrench]

No. We're talking impact sockets, not a flare nut wrench set. You could easily run with Proto, Wright, or any other impact socket and achieve the same results. Owning both Williams USA and Snap on Impact sockets, the only real visible differences are the size markings. Williams' markings are small.

 

[iagsxr]

Williams' markings are small.

I have Williams USA impact sockets in 3/8", both standard and metric. Their size markings piss me off. I even took an orange paint pen, dobbed on the sizes and wiped it off to make them stand out.

TBH I like my Tekton 1/2" impact sockets with their gigantor markings better.

 

[ATC]

For an item that you’d be keeping forever and using as a hobbyist, is it still worth spending the extra coin for SO?

The answer to that is almost always "no"

 

[VolvoRyan]

Who else is out there besides Williams? I guess Wright.

Snap-On is pretty stellar with warranty.... but chrome sockets aren't super warranty items.

If we're talking markings, Snap-On is pretty **** with theirs. Chrome sockets require reading glasses. My impact sockets have a lightly outlined NASCAR font ('cuz Murica).... and those are really hard to read. I tried paint markers, white-out, etc. Nothing survives.

-Ryam

 

[Bubba Fett]

Proto and Williams offer great sockets, but the markings tend to be small. As far a quality goes, they, along with Wright are probably just as good (maybe better) than truck brands.

To be honest, for home/diy work, Taiwan-made sockets will be just fine, and tend to be very easy to read. Because you need a lot of sockets (shallow, deep, SAE, Metric, Spline, E-Torx, pass-through, etc.) I think it's fine to go with a less expensive quality brand. You can always splurge and get a Snap-On ratchet.

The whole point of doing it yourself is to save money, so there is no need for home/hobbyist/DIYers to rack up tool truck debt.

 

[JeepYJ]

Snap-On is pretty stellar with warranty....

You haven’t been following the dead blow hammer thread?

 

[Steve_P]

I'm a fan of USA Williams but don't have any of their impact sockets- most of my newer ones are 10+ year old SK, and Sunex. I also have some older HF, and newer Capri and Tekton. As far as wear, they all seem about the same to me for home use. If I was going to do it over today, I'd go primarily with Sunex and or Tekton, because they seem as good as anything for home use.

I have some Williams USA chrome sockets and the small stamping size in 1/4 and 3/8 drives me nuts; I always regretted not buying the SK instead (again, 10+ years ago).

 

[CHI_Tool&Die]

Warranty is legitimately what you’re purchasing there if you have a reliable driver. I don’t believe Williams warranties impacts, but someone will correct me if I’m wrong.

As other said, Wright and Proto make fantastic impacts. And some of the Taiwan COOs are equally great. I wouldn’t lose my mind overthinking it. Snappy if you are going to use, abuse, and replace and anybody else of your not.

 

[VolvoRyan]

You haven’t been following the dead blow hammer thread?

They didn't warranty an eBay purchase. Why would they?

-Ryan

 

[JeepYJ]

They didn't warranty an eBay purchase. Why would they?

-Ryan

I wouldn’t call that a “stellar warranty”
Other brands will warranty broken tools with zero hassles at all. That seems better to me?
If the S-O warranty requires you to be the original purchaser their resale value should be drastically reduced.

 

[Wamsutta]

If the S-O warranty requires you to be the original purchaser their resale value should be drastically reduced.

I see a couple of eBay sellers selling items that are nothing but brand new Snap-on. They have got to be dealers is the way I figure.

But do you think the brand new Snap-on eBay item is covered by Snap-on warranty? Hell no.

 

[225]

I have all Snap On chrome sockets and all my impact sockets are Tekton. They're unbreakable.

When I say all I mean all, 3/8 short and deep, 1/2 short and deep, both metric and standard.

 

[Ton ton]

.

 

[Dave455]

Who else is out there besides Williams? I guess Wright.

Snap-On is pretty stellar with warranty.... but chrome sockets aren't super warranty items.

If we're talking markings, Snap-On is pretty **** with theirs. Chrome sockets require reading glasses. My impact sockets have a lightly outlined NASCAR font ('cuz Murica).... and those are really hard to read. I tried paint markers, white-out, etc. Nothing survives.

-Ryam

There’s a huge choice of manufacturers for impact sockets.

Asides from Snap On, Williams and Wright, Proto also come to mind. That’s not a bad choice for U.S. made tools.

Worldwide you have Hazet, Stahlwille, Gedore, Elora, Facom, SAM, KoKen, KTC, King **** and Deltec, to name just a few I’ve encountered.

I’m in the U.K, so although I like U.S. tools, the quality to price ratio isn’t always great for me. A Snap On 17mm impact will set me back about £18, a Hazet just £8, and a Deltec (British made) a frac less.

I tend not to bother with sets. I’ve got a mish mash of predominantly KoKen, Hazet and Deltec. Snap On do win it for availability, as I can usually track down the truck same day if needed.

KoKen and Deltec win it on the range available. I can’t think of anything that one or other don’t offer.

The Japanese makers tend to win on visibility of markings, and yes, this is something a lot get wrong.

Here are KoKen

And KTC.


I don’t get sentimentally attached to impact sockets, or worry too much about warranty. Although I have hand sockets that belonged to my Father and Grandfather that I treasure, I’ve always viewed Impact Sockets as consumables, and I keep spares to hand in the popular sizes.

 

[VolvoRyan]

I see a couple of eBay sellers selling items that are nothing but brand new Snap-on. They have got to be dealers is the way I figure.

But do you think the brand new Snap-on eBay item is covered by Snap-on warranty? Hell no.

No matter how you slice it, eBay can be sketchy. I wouldn't buy a set of Tekton tools on eBay. Go right to the source. Have an account with the company, and you'll be in much better shape. When I had to warranty an internet purchase from Snap-On, two emails in 15 minutes had the UPS truck on the way with two-day shipping.

-Ryan

 

[Wamsutta]

No matter how you slice it, eBay can be sketchy. I wouldn't buy a set of Tekton tools on eBay. Go right to the source. Have an account with the company, and you'll be in much better shape. When I had to warranty an internet purchase from Snap-On, two emails in 15 minutes had the UPS truck on the way with two-day shipping.

-Ryan

Actually, you can slide by if you work in a shop on a dealer's route. He's not going to remember whether you bought the item from him or eBay.

 

[Dakotadadv8]

I would if you have $. My CM is fine for now and there are many options may upgrade to SO in the near future 1/2 drive metric shallow and deep.

 

[rsanter]

Williams is good quality

 

[Bubba Fett]

.

I see your point.

 

[Ton ton]

I see your point.

It's amazing how much impact a period has.

 

[Bubba Fett]

It's amazing how much impact a period has.

Don't I know it.

 

[JWC86]

No matter how you slice it, eBay can be sketchy. I wouldn't buy a set of Tekton tools on eBay. Go right to the source. Have an account with the company, and you'll be in much better shape. When I had to warranty an internet purchase from Snap-On, two emails in 15 minutes had the UPS truck on the way with two-day shipping.

-Ryan

Not arguing with you, eBay can be sketch and I would never get something like Tekton from there either but I’ve had a great run getting snap-on tools from eBay, probably spent over $2-3k on Snap-On hand tools from eBay over the last few years for substantially less than off the truck prices. Most of them were brand new in wrapper/package from guys selling a lot of SO stuff. Not sure if it’s new techs getting the student discount or what.

As far as warranty I’ve had no issues with warranty and I’m not even a tech on the guys regular route or anything. I’ve spend less than $1k with him over the last 5 years and he doesn’t seem to care how, what, when, where or why it’s broken or where it came from. If it says Snap-On on it and it’s broken he warranty’s it.

 

[nadogail]

All my Williams, Armstrong and Snapon came from a used tool store. They have all been good.

 

[Wamsutta]

Guys that post a single period are some tough hombres. I don't mess with them.

 

[oldschoolcraft]

EDIT: sorry it's a Wright wrench, not Williams. Sorry, these are my first tools from either of them, and both are US-made companies with W-starting name so I got them mixed up in my head, never owned tools from either before this. I'll correct my post below and sorry to intrude on a Williams vs Snap On post with this, I thought it was Williams at the start.

Everyone here talks about how amazing WRIGHT (fixed) tools are. TTC had them win one of the wrench tests.

I ordered my first few factory new WRIGHT wrenches and they came in today. One of the handles is bent around 15 degrees from the factory. Passed their QC. Passed the guy putting it in my box to ship it to me.

Do I return this one wrench, or do I return all of them and go with used like new used Snap On that I've been finding some decent deals on?

 

[Wamsutta]

Everyone here talks about how amazing Williams tools are. TTC had them win one of the wrench tests.

I ordered my first few factory new Williams wrenches and they came in today. One of the handles is bent around 15 degrees from the factory. Passed their QC. Passed the guy putting it in my box to ship it to me.

Do I return this one wrench, or do I return all of them and go with used like new used Snap On that I've been finding some decent deals on?

What's the part number on the bent wrench and where did you buy the set from?

 

[Callelle]

Do I return this one wrench, or do I return all of them and go with used like new used Snap On that I've been finding some decent deals on?

Why would you return an entire set of wrenches over one flop on one wrench before you even try them and go with something else.

 

[oldschoolcraft]

Why would you return an entire set of wrenches over one flop on one wrench before you even try them and go with something else.

I didn't get an entire set, I just bought a few of the SAE sizes that dont overlap with the Metrics. The metric set was out of stock. So I got 3 wrenches here, one of them is bent, and this is my very first exposure to WRIGHT (edit to fix) tools, so I'm questioning if I actually want to buy the metric set when it comes back in stock, and I'm definitely returning the bent one, so I'd just be returning the other 2 (not for warranty, just a "within 30 days changed my mind" return and then going a different route.

 

[john.k]

Using a torque multiplier sorts out the impact sockets ........nothing but Koken for me .

 

[Chrome Vanadium Cody]

Do you mean there’s a bend partway up the beam or just that the ring end is bent at a different angle from the rest of them? If it’s the second I’d say it’s par for the course on an industrial brand. Wright is known to often have those mixed in too. Basically what these brands offer is nice strong USA made tools at a lower price point than the truck brands (and some other innovative strong points in Wright’s case) but less attention to detail on stuff like this

 

[oldschoolcraft]

Do you mean there’s a bend partway up the beam or just that the ring end is bent at a different angle from the rest of them? If it’s the second I’d say it’s par for the course on an industrial brand. Wright is known to often have those mixed in too. Basically what these brands offer is nice strong USA made tools at a lower price point than the truck brands (and some other innovative strong points in Wright’s case) but less attention to detail on stuff like this

When I put the wrench flat on the table, it's upside-down U-shaped. The box end and the open end are flat on the table and the handle is curved upwards. I happen to have a feeler gauge set on my coffee table and it took several of the largest gauges to measure the gap from where it should be sitting flat against the coffee table.

Roughly 1/16" which is pretty noticeable given the shorter wrench. I used trig to calculate the angle of the bend to be and... funny enough, I nailed it. I estimated 15 degrees and the calculation of trig shows 14.5 degrees

So my factory new wrench is bent 15 degrees in the middle. Personally I dont find it acceptable but maybe I'm being unreasonable but my concern is not just aesthetic but I question whether the wrench is structural as strong as a non-bent wrench. Did this issue result in a weakness that will result in premature breakage, perhaps with injury to the user?

I of course think that this 15 degree bent wrench is still probably better overall than a even a straight Harbor Freight wrench, but I dont think even HF would have passed this wrench through QC. Which is disappointing given I want to support American manufacturing and there's an American who made it and didn't notice, and an American who looked at it and said "yup this is fine" and third American who put it in a box to send to me.

The point of wanting to support American manufacturing is that it's supposed to be good, I dont want to support my neighbors financially if they are going to be on TikTok and IG instead of doing their jobs properly.

 

[Wamsutta]

I didn't get an entire set, I just bought a few of the SAE sizes that dont overlap with the Metrics. The metric set was out of stock. So I got 3 wrenches here, one of them is bent, and this is my very first exposure to Williams tools, so I'm questioning if I actually want to buy the metric set when it comes back in stock, and I'm definitely returning the bent one, so I'd just be returning the other 2 (not for warranty, just a "within 30 days changed my mind" return and then going a different route.

What's the part number on the bent wrench?

 

[Steve_P]

When I put the wrench flat on the table, it's upside-down U-shaped. The box end and the open end are flat on the table and the handle is curved upwards. I happen to have a feeler gauge set on my coffee table and it took several of the largest gauges to measure the gap from where it should be sitting flat against the coffee table.

Roughly 1/16" which is pretty noticeable given the shorter wrench. I used trig to calculate the angle of the bend to be and... funny enough, I nailed it. I estimated 15 degrees and the calculation of trig shows 14.5 degrees

So my factory new wrench is bent 15 degrees in the middle. Personally I dont find it acceptable but maybe I'm being unreasonable but my concern is not just aesthetic but I question whether the wrench is structural as strong as a non-bent wrench. Did this issue result in a weakness that will result in premature breakage, perhaps with injury to the user?

I of course think that this 15 degree bent wrench is still probably better overall than a even a straight Harbor Freight wrench, but I dont think even HF would have passed this wrench through QC. Which is disappointing given I want to support American manufacturing and there's an American who made it and didn't notice, and an American who looked at it and said "yup this is fine" and third American who put it in a box to send to me.

The point of wanting to support American manufacturing is that it's supposed to be good, I dont want to support my neighbors financially if they are going to be on TikTok and IG instead of doing their jobs properly.

If I understand you correctly, I have several wrenches like this, not sure if they're Williams, but I do have some Williams USA wrenches; even with this "defect", they're just fine as far as being functional. It seems to be more common on smaller sizes IME. Post a picture of it. If you're bothered by it, send an email to Williams.

 

[Wamsutta]

So my factory new wrench is bent 15 degrees in the middle.

Has anybody asked you what the part number of the wrench is?

 

[drtyler]

Has anybody asked you what the part number of the wrench is?

Or how to know you’re on someone’s ignore list.

 

[oldschoolcraft]

Has anybody asked you what the part number of the wrench is?

I dont have it nearby, it's one of the wright grip wenches made in USA.

 

[Wamsutta]

I dont have it nearby, it's one of the wright grip wenches made in USA.

I thought you said it was a Williams wrench?

 

[oldschoolcraft]

I thought you said it was a Williams wrench?

Oh damn you're right! For some reason I thought it was a Williams wrench! Jeez
It's the ones that won the Torque Test Channel test, that's why I bought it.