Let me toss in my $.02 here.
Having worked as a pro mechanic for many years, and being the proud owner of
approx. $1 Jillion dollars in tools (You laugh, I once asked my accountant if
I could claim Snap On as a dependent on my taxes) There is a difference. Pro
tools have closer tolerences and use higher quaility base material (less
likely to break). Also a greater varitey of tools are offered. (different
lengths, offsets, head designs etc)
Let me give you one example. On old Volvo's the clutch fan is bolted on with
4 6mm studs and 10mm nuts. Over time these nuts get real tight. Because of
the extreme torque required to remove them, these nuts would round off and
require a chisel. (not fun). A few years ago Snap On came out with a new type
of open end wrench that they claimed did not put stress on the corners of the
nuts but rather on it's flank. (they call this Flank Drive I wonder why?) so I
bought one to try. Since that time I have not rounded one single fan nut, not
one. That 10mm wrench cost about $20 and has saved me at least $500 in saved
productivity (it takes time to chisel off a nut).
For weekend use Craftsman is probably fine, but for pro work, I'll take a pass
and spend the extra $
Rick Ewald
67 MGB
In a message dated 3/29/99 6:31:58 PM Pacific Standard Time,
vscjohn@huntnet.net writes:
> With all due respect to the financial guy at Stanley, who added much info
> regarding who
> makes what, but not much as to actual quality, I will bet you the tool of
> your choice that
> I can pick the Snap-on from the Craftsman while blindfolded every time(I
> seldom work in
> heavy gloves). I hesitated to mention in the original discussion the
> balance, finish,
> and feel, which is much different, as I suspected it would go over many
> heads. buy what
> you want, but you cannot negate the quality difference. Same is true in
air
> tools,
> Craftsman versus IR and such, and in power tools, Craftsman versus Soiux,
> Milwaukee and
> the like.If you can't satisfy yourself any other way, check the active
trade
> in Snap-on on
> eBay, and look for the same in Craftsman, not there. Or perhaps everyone
> participating
> there is too dumb to understand. Craftsman makes good value in tools made
> to a price
> target, but is not the equivalent of top line tools. John
>
> Art Pfenninger wrote:
>
> > Reading the post from the person that works for Stanley confirms my
> > suspicion. This argument reminds me of a test they did on bottled water.
> > When all the lables were covered up people could not tell the difference
> > in
> > taste. One women was upset because she choose NY city water over the
fancy
> > bottled stuff, she said the test wasn't fair(?). Any way put a pair of
> > heavy gloves on close your eyes and remove a nut with a $3 dollar
> > Craftsman or Husky wrench and then with a $15 dollar Snap On. Which one
> > worked better?
> > ...Art
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