Foxy wrote:Are Snap on tools worth it? NO. There are plenty of other makes around such as, Sidcrome, Kincrome, Stanley, Minimax with just a good as lifetime warranty, exceptional finish and comfortable in hand and with out the price tag.
Foxy

I always thought Stanley only made wood working tools until I ended up with one combination wrench I got with a bunch of used tools. I'm really impressed with the design and finish of this really solid wrench and have thought I'd keep and eye out for more. I just googled stanley wrench and can't believe the price of a whole set, $16.99 If they are anything like I have here they are a steel.

http://stanley.links.channelintelligenc ... &nRGID=531

I got a low profile socket set the other day. I'm blown away by the quality and the mechanical construction is miles ahead of the Craftsmen socket set I have now as far as the ratchets go.

Needless to say I'm on ebay now hunting for a used 1/2" drive set since new ones are a fortune.

In Europe , Snap-On is only a marginal player .
There are many producers of quality tools :
Bahco , Belzer ,Beta, Dowidat , Hazet , Saltus , Stahlwille , Gedore , Metabo , Facom , Teng Tools ...
In my experience , there is not one make that does everything best , so I don't stick to one make .
For combination wrenches I prefer Stahlwille : they are the lightest and the hollow ground shaft gives exellent grip .
Teng Tools has nice torque wrenches , Facom vise grips , Dowidat for thin wall sockets ,Kukko for pullers , etc ..

Coco wrote:I need some new ratcheting wrenches. I don't like buying crap but I don't want to waste my money on a name. Snap-On is probably twice the price of a similar Craftsmen set I'm looking at. Cheap tools break, wear out fast and need to be replaced so I want a good set of ratcheting wrenches. I have some Craftsmen sockets and they are decent that I've been happy with. I do own some ratcheting wrenches from Canadian Tire (probably a step down from the better Craftsmen stuff) and the quality is not so great.

Yay or nay to Snap-On?

Buy the best you can afford.

I don't like Snap-Ons, they're too shiny and don't grip well with oily hands.

I'm with Ludwig. Stahwille just sit in the hand so nicely but in some Whit. sizes, contrary to appearances, Gedore actually have slightly thinner jaws. I enjoy using the Gedore 3/8" drive sockets, they have nice fine ratchets.

I don't suppose that I have more than half a dozen spanners from any one manufacturer but they all have a specific job on the bike.

Hi in my view the only problem with Snap on is the addictive way we buy them, The van arrives each week and off you trot to "just have a look" and end up coming away with a set of wobbly 1/4 drive sockets that I now know I cant possibly live without. How did we ever find that screwdriver when the handle wasn't dayglo? And for years I made do with one small crowbar, now I couldn't even think of working without my dayglo prybar set! Standard ratchet, stubby ratchet, long ratchet, wobbly ratchet and make the tea and tune into radio 4 ratchet. 1/4,3/8,1/2,3/4. What next?

Ps have the hat, jacket, overalls and sweatshirt. waithing for a snap on thong!

Regards Bob

Their wobble sockets/extensions would make Snap On superb even if they were the only thing they ever made!

Hi Mike

I absolutly agree, I used to work on light aircraft and one airframe/engine had an exhaust manifold nut that you couldnt get on unless you used a 1/4 drive wobble socket.

I made up a 4' extention with 3/8 drive at the ratchet end and 1/4 at the socket end.

Regards Bob

MexicoMike wrote:Their wobble sockets/extensions would make Snap On superb even if they were the only thing they ever made!

I was working in a restoration shop back in 1980 when the Snap-on guy first came around with the wobbly extension set. 'How much for the set?' I asked. $45 was the reply. 'How much for the 1-1/2" extension by itself' I asked. $5.50 was the reply. I bought the short wobbly and was able to turn all my extensions into wobblies. Mr. Snap-on was not happy, but I was a kid making $300 a week, and couldn't justify $45.

Bought a 1/4" drive long handle fine tooth ratchet a couple of weeks ago - $74(!)... Cheap, I guess, compared to what the wife spends at Talbots.