Snap On take over. [Archive] - Kiwi Biker forums

Edbear

10th June 2006, 21:58

snap on is to expensive considering the average quality , ive got 2 snapon ro spanners and one isnt centered properly, same price will get ya koken or stahlwillie stuff and that real quality

While most of the gear actually branded, "Snap-on" is still made in the USA, the Blue Point range is Chinese. A lot of the USA-branded gear of different brands is now made either in Taiwan or China. Matco and Stahlwille are still good quality, as is Koken, (and Koken is the only company I've had problems with warranty over), but you're paying for the name and can get very good gear at much cheaper prices without going to the depths of "Supa Cheap" or Bunnings, etc. We deal with several different manufacturers and companies around the world and can offer a range of price/quality combinations to suit either the home handyman or the professional. It's a global market and competition is fierce.:rockon:

Brian d marge

10th June 2006, 22:06

Is that Snap on America or NZ??
Snap on were good back in the day. Our grandfather bought a 1/2 inch ratchet in 1938 odd and we had it renewed a few years back ( lifetime garrentee) and yes it was free!!!

I use Stahwille, nice in the hand , sockets Snap on, the van comes round and replace them if there is any prob

The tool box is Snap on as it has a picture of your Man Arron Slight !! and that alone was worth the money!!!

Looking over to the bench I am actually using a ratchet from the 2 dollar shop , ( 100 yen shop ) the quality of that is surprisingly good ( I use them at race meeting so if stloen /lost I dont care!)

Snap on lost the plot a good few years ago I reckon ...oh well

Stephen

Ixion

10th June 2006, 22:57

I've never bought Snapon, though it has a good rep, mainly cos the Snapon van never called on me!

Stahlwille or Koken for stuff that will damage bits if it's not good , Sidchrome is quite good.I still reckon by P&N for cutting tools. And Stanley for woodworking stuff. And you can get some good quality stuff at Bunnings. Mixed amongst the rubbish I'll grant you.

And for some things , cheap stuff makes sense. I bought a cheapo 20mm ring spanner at Super cheap. I just want it for the tool kit on the bike,it fits the rear axle nut. I don't want an expensive one in case I lose it, and a cheap one will work Ok for that purpose.

My tool kit is all sorts, accumulated or inherited bit by bit over the decades. Remnents of about 4 socket sets , cheap rubbish, good quality stuff, spanners bent at wierd angles and ground down to fit that bastard impossible to get at bolt, screwdrivers with holes drilled through the handle , all sorts of stuff , it all has its purpose.

myvice

11th June 2006, 17:44

Haven’t seen the Snap-On rep this year!
Slack bastard, not that he has missed much due to saving for new toy!
Don’t get the Matco rep ether... Nobody loves me!

Edbear

11th June 2006, 17:57

Nobody loves me!

Awww! We all wuvs you, Karl...!:grouphug:

Madness

11th June 2006, 17:59

Sidchrome has been exclusively made in Taiwan for a couple of years now. As a predominantly Australian brand under the Stanley umbrella, Sidchrome has had to go offshore to compete with Kincrome, an Australian owned company that buys exclusively from Taiwan.

Record tools are also now made in China. Record was bought by Irwin Industrial Tools of USA and the entire Sheffield manufacturing works has now ceased production.

Koken is by far the best bang for the kiwi $, however is limited to Socketry and the odd driver. Stahlwille is too expensive, many German brands have ceased to be imported into NZ as a result (Elora, Hazet)

King Tony is a little-known brand in NZ, Taiwanese but of good quality at a good price. It is being imported by Fox & Gunn, The NZ Stahlwille agents for many years. I'd buy King Tony over Kincrome,Powerbuilt,JBS or Sidchrome - they all come from the same village and have shite representation in NZ.

stify

11th June 2006, 18:16

got a selection of snap on gear, bought most of it 15 yrs ago( including a blue point impact gun which still out grunts the latest and greatest from most different brands) and i'll only add what hasn't gone missing has never broken, and some of the tools get a real hard time, had good results from matco tools aswell,but their reps are few and far between

marty

11th June 2006, 18:28

koken stuff is ok, but snap on and stahlwhille still comes out tops. i've got an awesome 72-tooth 1/4 drive stahlwille ratchet- only beaten by one of the guys new 106 tooth snap-on one.

i've had to drill out all the centres of my koken 6 point tube sockets to fit over studs. all the koken 12 point ones have rounded out (on titanium) but the snap on ones still go strong.

king chrome and king tony are ok for home use, but rubbish for aircraft engineering

marty

11th June 2006, 18:30

and nothing comes even close to a snap on ratchet screwdriver

Madness

11th June 2006, 19:02

and nothing comes even close to a snap on ratchet screwdriver

Agreed. I've sold industrial tools for 15 years and have often told customers to buy a Snap-On ratchet driver for that very reason. Stahlwille is preferred by Aircraft Technicians due to the slim profile of it's spanners and thin wall on sockets. KD tools have introduced a new type of socket drive called Vortex. It allows studs to pass right through the socket & ratchet (there's a hole). Overkill for many situations, but unique none the less.

Edbear

11th June 2006, 20:19

and nothing comes even close to a snap on ratchet screwdriver

Unless it's branded Irazola, (the factory that makes them)...:innocent:

Madness

11th June 2006, 20:41

Unless it's branded Irazola, (the factory that makes them)...:innocent:

http://www.irazola.es/ingles/destornilladores.html

The Snap-On ratchet drivers don't appear on the Irazola web-page. besides, I was always told that only Snap-On manufactured tools carry the name, the rest is Blue-Point. Danaher Tool Group make a shitload of Blue point (kastar, K.D etc)

I've heard of Irazola before, anyone importing them? Sulco? They might be busy doing nappies still.

avgas

11th June 2006, 20:44

ive always found Koken to be better. Oh and Wurth is a overpriced piece of crap, dunno why my work keeps getting em.

Edbear

11th June 2006, 20:47

Snap-on bought the factory. The two drivers are identical apart from the brand name. Yeah, Sulco sells the Irazola branded ones.

And they don't sell nappies, they're baby wipes! Second in NZ only to Johnson and Johnson!

Also, Duct tape, along with a whole bunch of other stuff!:msn-wink:

Madness

11th June 2006, 20:58

Good on Sulco for "branching out". There will always be money in baby shit.

Impact Wrenches.
Ingersoll Rand make some of the (if not THE) best Impact Wrenches in the world. They lead the way in terms of composite materials and directional bias, giving the user more power with less weight. The IR Tools are available branded IR through these people (http://www.ubd-online.co.nz/airtools/) and also being sold with both Wúrth and Facom branding for an additional 50-60% in price.

Edbear

11th June 2006, 21:08

Agree to a point. Sulco sells IR as well and their 3/4 gun is particularly good, more compact than others for the same 1200ft/lb of torque. Have had some troubles with the 1/2 inch composite guns though.

The Sumake 1/2in. is currently the best IMO at a no bull 1000ft/lb in a composite body compact gun. The only thousand pounder on the market, beats Snap-on's 950ft/lb at a significant price advantage, too.

Do you know that SP Air in Japan, make air tools for several different brands? I personally like Sumake, (Taiwan), air tools, good quality stuff at a good price!

WINJA

11th June 2006, 21:33

thing about a rattle gun any piece of shit is better than none at all, i started using one at work running it of a botlle of nitrogen with a reg farkin awesome for ratling off condensor and evap ends

Edbear

11th June 2006, 21:37

thing about a rattle gun any piece of shit is better than none at all, i started using one at work running it of a botlle of nitrogen with a reg farkin awesome for ratling off condensor and evap ends

Unless you're attempting to remove Honda or Audi crankshaft bolts...

Interesting you're using bottled Nitrogen! Sounds very convenient and mobile! Might cost too much for general workshop use, though.

Madness

11th June 2006, 21:39

Put a reg on a dive bottle. Fire departments in the US run air recip saws off their air tanks to cut wrecked cages apart. Big fuckoff sized recip saws, not those $100 Taiwanese panel saws.

Kiwi's and tools. We sure know how to use and abuse 'em.

WINJA

11th June 2006, 21:44

Unless you're attempting to remove Honda or Audi crankshaft bolts...

Interesting you're using bottled Nitrogen! Sounds very convenient and mobile! Might cost too much for general workshop use, though.
I CARRY NITRO SO I USE IT, I CANT USE AIR TO PREASURE TEST SYSTEMS CAUSE THE OXY IN AIR AND OIL IN THE SYSTEM CAN SELF IGNITE LIKE A DIESEL , SO USE WHAT I GOT I USUALLY CARRY A 'D' BOTTLE WHICH IS ACTUALLY HEAPS , I USED TO TAKE IT TO RACE DAY AND USE THE NITROGEN IN MY TYRES AS WELL

Edbear

11th June 2006, 21:45

Kiwi's and tools. We sure know how to use and abuse 'em.

Yo' not wrong!:doobey:

Edbear

11th June 2006, 21:49

I CARRY NITRO SO I USE IT, I CANT USE AIR TO PREASURE TEST SYSTEMS CAUSE THE OXY IN AIR AND OIL IN THE SYSTEM CAN SELF IGNITE LIKE A DIESEL ,

Interesting! I always say a day is never wasted if you've learned something!:yes:

Nitrogen is good for racing applications but a bit of a waste for general road use. HAving said that, my Bro-in-law in Aus uses it in his Falcon tyres and swears by it.

WINJA

11th June 2006, 21:55

Interesting! I always say a day is never wasted if you've learned something!:yes:

Nitrogen is good for racing applications but a bit of a waste for general road use. HAving said that, my Bro-in-law in Aus uses it in his Falcon tyres and swears by it.
ITS CAUSE THE PREASURE BARELY CHANGES WITH INCREASE IN TEMP, ESPECIALLY IN AN ENDURANCE RACE

TwoSeven

11th June 2006, 22:22

Matco is owned by Danahar isnt it. I think one would notice if they brought Snap-On. Certainly I think one would have to clear it with the SEC before buying a company worth a couple of billion US.

Motu

11th June 2006, 22:42

I first saw this rumour on iATN (international Automotive Engineers Network) the first internet forum I joined back in 1999,I still check in several times a day,the most important tool in a mechanics toolbox in this day and age.At first there was disbelief,a minow swallowing a shark someone said - they changed their tune about who was the shark when they found out who Matco really are.They are a part of Danaher,with a 2 billion $ turnover for the first quater of this year,they can swallow Snap On easy.Matco are basicly their tool outlet,as well as Matco they own Allen Tools (the reason you call an Allen Key an Allen Key) KD and Fluke,they are a huge company.

I've seen all the tool trucks come and go - there is only one tool truck that has come in every week with the same driver for the 10yrs I've been here - Dave in his Matco truck.He's more a friend than a salesman,and I've bought a swag of stuff off him over the years,but not so much lately....nor off anyone else for that matter.Our Matco 1/2 drive gun is over 15 yrs old,the workshop hack and it's been heavily abused...used everyday,seldom lubed.So I had it serviced a couple of months ago by Dave...$50,didn't need any parts,just a strip and clean.If a tool truck comes in we buy tools - you'd think the tool companies would know that.....haven't seen Sulco for over 6 mths....haven't bought a thing off Sulco for 6mths....be there,make a sale.

Edbear

12th June 2006, 07:57

Thanks for the info,Motu. I'll stir up your local rep if you let me know where you are!

F5 Dave

12th June 2006, 11:00

Well it had to happen. Last week I’ve finally noticed a crack in my 17mm socket.:shutup: Maybe I’ve got lazy & used it on the impact gun as it was to hand at some stage. Sigh, guess I’ll have to buy a replacement. Osmo, what a great brand:yes: . Got a whole socket set for $30 from the bargin basement in about 1980. Ok the ratchet was Ratsheit but the rest of the sockets were 6 point & fit on bolts accurately never stripping them. The extra material of a 6 point makes them strong. Why the hell aren’t all sockets 6 point?

I have Metrinch wall drive as well which are good for dodgy bolts but they fall off if you know what I mean, lots of slop in general use.

I inherited a Tipco Ally Ratchet that has suffered all sorts of abuse, is maybe 50yrs old & still brilliant. Maybe the yanks did make some good tools back then.

Paul in NZ

12th June 2006, 11:21

True story....

My dad was a mech in an advanced unit during WW2 and was a mechanic all his life.

He 'found' a snap on tool kit in a yank bomber that had crashed and realised it was way better quality than the stuff he was using so it went onto the truck.

About 5 years ago, a couple of the sockets and the rachet were definately worse for wear. I think we split one of the sockets undoing head nuts on some dire old pommy flathead using a bit of water pipe as a tommy bar but....

He took em into the local snap on guys, told them the story and they replaced the lot. They couldn't believe it and whats more, were happy to replace it just for the yarn..

Good on em...

kickingzebra

12th June 2006, 12:48

Hmm speaking of bottled gas to use air tools, my recommendation for the day si not to use oxygen on compressor driven nail guns. Ups the velocity of the nail far too considerably. Dangerous... Kinda fun though...

marty

12th June 2006, 13:59

apart from being a fucking stupid thing to do, pure (breathing) oxygen reaching an oil source WILL explode in an explosion that will leave nothing for your rellies to bury. your nail leaving the gun too fast will be the least of your worries.

here's a link i found with a quick google search: http://www.nda.ox.ac.uk/wfsa/html/u19/u1902_01.htm

SARGE

12th June 2006, 14:01

i cant wait till KMart starts selling Crafstman Tools.. ( they just bought Sears in the States)

Maha

12th June 2006, 16:50

Who would buy tools that have 'snap' attached to there name?.....:weird:

Timber020

12th June 2006, 22:41