Williams wobble extensions no longer us made?

[mrjaw14]

I recently ordered some 1/4 wobble extensions from zero. Two of the three have been canceled and out of stock. I looked for an alternative site and no one has them. I looked at the Williams catalog and the part numbers have changed and they no longer have the made in USA logo under them. M-206 for example is now JHWM-206.

 

[four.cycle]

The company was acquired by Snap-on in 1993.
Williams hasn't been U.S. made for years.

 

[liliysdad]

The company was acquired by Snap-on in 1993.
Williams hasn't been U.S. made for years.

A truth and a lie in the same post. Impressive.

 

[iagsxr]

They have two lines, domestic and import.

IIRC the domestic part numbers are letters and numbers, import part number just numbers.

I bought import sockets for my race car trailer. They're plenty nice for where they get used, but not as nice as my domestic sets.

 

[KnurledNut]

When Snap-on changed the company name to Williams Industrial a couple years ago, they added the prefix "JHW" to all the part numbers, imported and domestic.

 

[mrjaw14]

What’s the part number for USA made 1/4 wobbles? Used to be M-206 for the 6”, but jhwm-206 doesn’t appear to be us made

 

[ohhimark]

It says USA in the picture:

1/4 Drive 6 Wobble Extension

{ "1": "1\/4 Drive 6 Wobble Extension" }

www.williams-industrial.com

Williams *usually* has a letter or letters in the part number for American made, and *usually* just numbers if it isn't, but not always.

 

[mrjaw14]

I saw that, but the actual catalog didn’t have the us logo under the wobbles like it does the sockets

 

[Wamsutta]

Williams hasn't been U.S. made for years.

Depends on the part number.

 

[CHI_Tool&Die]

I saw that, but the actual catalog didn’t have the us logo under the wobbles like it does the sockets

I don’t know if Williams has US manufactured wobbles anymore. All the places I shop have them as Taiwan.

 

[terrific]

I purchased several Williams branded wobble extensions and a flexible extension from Zoro in August and all of them are stamped USA, though you'd practically need a magnifier to read it.

 

[sightbike]

If memory correct, US made tool part numbers begin with alpha characters whereas Taiwan made tools have only numerical part numbers.

 

[AEAdam]

Could be nothing more than a shortage. Contact Snap On customer service and ask.

 

[iagsxr]

Know that I think about it, I bought some imported Williams extensions on purpose because they were knurled. The domestic ones are smooth(or were at the time).

I see you can get a Tekton three piece 1/4" wobble extension set for $16 on Amazon. I like my Williams tools, but that's the route I'd go.

 

[Steve_P]

Williams used to have "Made in USA" and a flag on the bottom of the catalog page if the items on that page were made here. They seem to have gotten rid of this and are now blurring the lines.

But yes, the PNs used to be all numbers for imported, and numbers and letters for USA.

 

[terrific]

I think the catalog was last updated in 2021. It might just be falling behind.

 

[ohhimark]

Ko-ken wobbles are nice, definitely not made in USA though.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

I'm all about made in USA tools, but just last week I got a set of Icon wobbles for the same reason mentioned above, that they have knurling on them. My first Icon purchase, and I feel like they were a solid buy. The same week I spent $175 on Proto locking extensions, so I will spend the money to get good stuff.

 

[Steve_P]

I'm all about made in USA tools, but just last week I got a set of Icon wobbles for the same reason mentioned above, that they have knurling on them. My first Icon purchase, and I feel like they were a solid buy. The same week I spent $175 on Proto locking extensions, so I will spend the money to get good stuff.

Agree about buying good stuff over buying the lesser, based on the COO of the lesser.

Tekton also makes really nice extensions, including wobble, with knurling; they're just like my older USA SK ones. The Proto locking extensions have the best design, that I've seen, for retaining the socket; again, I have the USA SK version of those, same locking device, in 1/4 and 3/8, and I cannot realistically pull the socket off.

 

[mrjaw14]

I looked at koken, but they are all the wobble fix right? I hate those lol

I was looking at proto but I think they are wobble fix too possibly?

I have some wobbles that are USA made and am trying to get more size variety that matches what I have now.

may look at the imports for the portable kit though

 

[designer485]

I looked at koken, but they are all the wobble fix right? I hate those lol

I was looking at proto but I think they are wobble fix too possibly?

I have some wobbles that are USA made and am trying to get more size variety that matches what I have now.

may look at the imports for the portable kit though

It looks like there are various sizes of the Williams USA wobble extensions available on eBay right now. Might want to scoop up a few there.

 

[roofdweller49]

I grabbed a M106A spinner handle that I thought was supposed to be USA made a year or two ago. Made in Taiwan