Now carpenters can get on the Snap On bandwagon.
What do you want to bet that they are made offshore and just get the SO badge slapped on?
I don’t have experience with All Trade Tools but the nail guns are priced about the same as Hitachi, Senco, and the other nail gun manufacturers minus a few of their standard features.
Engineered materials and vacuum-press laminations prevent warping and keep a tall, flush-panel door from being excessively heavy.
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Replies
FWIW, I've used alot of different air tools in 16 years of being a mechanic. ALL of my air tools are now Snap-On. In fact, most of my hand tools are too!
If their name is on it, I trust it to be of excellent quality.
Boy, isn't that exciting. Now we just wait for that fancy Snap-On truck to show up so we can all join the Snap-On family of never ending revolving debt.
"Saint Peter don-cha call me 'cause I can't go,
I owe my soul to the Snap-On man."
As an ex auto tech myself my Snap-On rep would always tell me it was un American not to owe Snap-On.
After one quick look inside that fancy, fully air-conditioned truck, I stayed away. I'd already heard too many guys bragging about how much their shiny tools were worth.
What they didn't mention was how long it was taking to pay them off or how those open accounts limited their other credit options.
in some cases their tools aren't needed, but in others they couldn't be replaced. When I was in airline mtc I used mostly Snap On wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers. their sockets & wrench walls were thinner than any other allowing you to get the tool on nut/bolt that you couldn't with other brands. it sure was convenient to have the tool store come to us. As for their air tools I feel there are better brands like Ingersoll Rand industrial tools.
The only Snap-On tool I ever bought was a 7/8" plug wrench for my Cessna 150's old engine. It was outrageously expensive but I needed it to do "the rope trick", if and when an exhaust valve got stuck, so I paid.
I suppose you're talking about turbine engines needing thin wall wrenches. They're out of my league.
Edited 8/6/2008 11:05 am by Hudson Valley Carpenter
In the recent discussion of hand saws, I googled Sandvik saws to see who sold them. Turns out Snap On bought the sandvik line of saws and renamed them Bahco.You get out of life what you put into it......minus taxes.
Marv
boiler 7904
SNAP-on tools are made in America when the Snap On guy sells forgiegn made tools they aren't called Snap On.. They are called blue point..
Many of my Snap On tools came from my days as a pro mechanic there are real reasons why you buy Snap-On. the number one reason I can think of is all my Snap-On tools from 3 decades ago remain my pride and joy while the same or similar Craftsman tools are reliagated out into the boat should I ever need to repair something there.
Edited 8/6/2008 9:40 am ET by frenchy
I've never had a snap-on tool that I was disappointed in. If I relied my tools to make a living I'd have no problem buying something from them.
Alltrade is Cheap-a$$ china made ####. True enough, cheap #### is getting better quality all the time now, but doesn't change what it is.This is guaranteed a case of Snap-On whoring their name out to junk.Don't be so quick to assume high quality cause of the logo in this case.Might as well be buying the "Kawasaki" 3 gun nailer kit at Costo or Sams, or the Campbell Hausfield nailers - probably all made at the same place. They even look cheap - like a Firestorm nailer; 1 year warranty too.Buy a nailer from a company that makes nailers - not from a company that licensed their name to some cheapo stuff.I may be wrong, but how much you wan to bet that the guns are made in Taiwan? The fact that Alltrade has a hand in it tells you it's a licensing deal.Seems like I recently saw some other SnapOn product somewhere.... maybe a flashlight or a tool bag or something like that - it was a cheapo made in China #### and I was surprised to see it had Snap-On's name on it...No thanks.JT
Edited 8/6/2008 10:08 am ET by JulianTracy
"Seems like I recently saw some other SnapOn product somewhere.... maybe a flashlight or a tool bag or something like that - it was a cheapo made in China #### and I was surprised to see it had Snap-On's name on it..."You are correct, sir. Yeah, I've seen the same thing. Don't forget that SnapOn isn't the ONLY game in town, at least for mechanics' tools. Cornwall is one that comes to mind.Hilti has done something similar with a few tools made in China. I've also seen (I think it was a sidewinder) a PC rebranded as Hilti. But all this may have been Hilti's Home Depot experiment. How are they doing with that?
Honestly, I don't know that I expect the same quality from flashlights and tool bags that I do in the tools themselves. I certainly wouldn't expect their coin banks, pens, etc to be made in the US either.
IMHO, Ingersol Rand makes some real good tools/equip. Their impact guns and compressors are excellent, but I've personally never cared for using their impact guns...don't like the f-r mechanism, triggers are either off or full power(but plenty of power when you want it!).
I've got a 15(?) year old Snap-On IM5100 gun that's never been rebuilt, and still has a feather trigger and 600lb-ft of torque. The new(er) composite guns are nice and light, but I could never find any fault in this one to justify replacing it.
Are Snap-On tools expensive? Absolutely, but they have their place in critical areas. I don't care how cheap a tool is, when a broken socket or wrench damages whatever I'm working on, it's now cost me time and money.
EG: I could never see spend $$$ for a complete set of SO prybars, when 1 or 2 need to be really high quality. Consequently, I've got 1 SO prybar(in my most commonly used and broken size) and 2 sets of $5 HF prybars...they rarely get used, and when they break, I toss 'em.
Another EG: There are custom wheels that can't fit a normal thick-walled impact socket. Some of my Snap-On chrome 3/8 drive sockets have done lugnut duty with an adapter on my 1/2 gun, and not one has cracked. Try that with any other brand and you're damaging a $1000 rim when the socket explodes.
And you can translate that to everyday work -broken bolts because a cheap air gun has no throttle control, stripped bolt heads when cheap sockets wear and crack or when cheap open-ends flare out under torque, or a lack of power to complete the task at all.
They are very worth it, if you're spending smart money and buying them where they're needed. They won't make anyone a better mechanic, but quality work demands the right tools in the right places. I wouldn't try to do quality trim jobs with a harbor freight miter saw and blade either.
Cornwell tools are the typical swap-meet, HF, china ####. I'd much sooner buy S-K or Blackhawk for backup tools.
I've never had a snap-on tool that I was disappointed in. If I relied my tools to make a living I'd have no problem buying something from them.
Nobody ever has any problem buying them fine tools. It's paying for 'em. ;-)
Tell you what, take a look at those real close and then look at either a Milwaukee or a Ridgid nailer. They look to be the same to my eye.