Any Snap-on experts on here

[flying haggis]

Picked this up at the car boot this morning and after a quick clean up and degunk of the internals its works just fine. There doesnt even appear to be any wear on the teeth of the ratchet.

The writing on it is ( I think!) GM-70-M

 

[Ed Weber]

As far as I know those were Military issue, great little tools

 

[Bingy man]

Definitely a good buy , a quick search on eBay will show you that snap on tools are possibly more expensive 2nd hand than new ..

 

[ajs]

Definitely a good buy , a quick search on eBay will show you that snap on tools are possibly more expensive 2nd hand than new ..

Have you seen their new prices recently? It's within the last month they quoted me £40 for a bog standard pozi #2 screwdriver.

 

[Ed Weber]

I acquired most of the Snap-On tools I have in the late 80's, the prices now are petty shocking.

 

[stuart little]

I had a 10mm hex bit, the type used on cyl. head bolts, it 'snapped' (I guess that's where the name came from). I bought a Sealey set as a replacement to finish the job. That set lasted for years after. Instead of the foc replacement from Snap-on, I accepted some pliers.
VERY overpriced, IMHO.

 

[Daniel2]

I acquired most of the Snap-On tools I have in the late 80's, the prices now are petty shocking.

Relatively, there were also in the 80's.

 

[spanner48]

I'm only a "Snap-On expert" to the extent of knowing not to buy them. Over-chromed; over-priced; not the best - Stahlwille - quality.

If I buy anything, it's the un-chromed Blue Point stuff

 

[Sideways]

That's a nice find at a car boot. Please let us know how you get on with it. I'm another of the brigade that doesn't know how to rate snap-on because I've never owned any.

We have a better range of quality options than our American chums I suspect.
Stahlwille is my go to, plus old (not current) Facom, some Beta and the good Japanese brands like Koken. That's before we start on Wera, Knipex and Bahco.

 

[Inspector]

Flying haggis You scored a good tool.

I will probably be off by myself here in that as good as the quality of a Snap-On ratchet is I am not crazy about using them. The smooth handle is slippery when my hands are oily which is often when I need it. I have a Canadian Snap-On 70M 1/4 drive ratchet similar to the one above bought in the late 70's and I prefer my Craftsman and MAC ratchets. The old Craftsman has more teeth for the pawl to engage so it required less of a rotation to click in a tight space and it had a rougher, sandblast like finish so easier to grip. The MAC has a knurled handle making it easier to grip. The other Snap-On tools were decent and I have a number of them. Don't get me wrong if I was offered a Snap-On ratchet I wouldn't hesitate taking it for my tool box.

Pete

 

[flying haggis]

And, as you are all probably wondering, it cost me the princely sum of 50p (or 88 cents for Pete)

 

[Ed Weber]

That's a nice find at a car boot. Please let us know how you get on with it. I'm another of the brigade that doesn't know how to rate snap-on because I've never owned any.

We have a better range of quality options than our American chums I suspect.
Stahlwille is my go to, plus old (not current) Facom, some Beta and the good Japanese brands like Koken. That's before we start on Wera, Knipex and Bahco.

Bahco is owned by Snap-On

Snap-On tools are expensive, no argument there. though the quality arguments are a little confusing to me.
Some like A 0ver B, I get it but Snap-On and others make dozens of ratchets with different heads, different length handles, number of teeth, etc. You can't compare just any ratchet to another. I have Craftsman ratchets that are good, some, not so good. The same goes for other brands as well.
I say this as someone who worked professionally as a mechanic for many years. If a tool didn't meet requirements it was soon gone.
All the top brands have good and not so good tools. Snap-On i still lifetime guaranteed, so once you buy a tool, you have it forever and as mentioned, resale is still good.

 

[niemeyjt]

If I buy anything, it's the un-chromed Blue Point stuff

Interesting - I buy the unchromed sockets for use with impact wrenches - for that use case the benefit is that there is no chrome to hammer off.

But can anyone tell me why it is actually worth buying chromed sockets?

 

[Ed Weber]

The chrome is easily cleaned of most anything. Nothing sticks, stains, dents or scratches the chrome.

 

[Geoff_S]

The chrome is easily cleaned of most anything. Nothing sticks, stains, dents or scratches the chrome.

My Triumph Herald might question that.

 

[Fergie 307]

Nothing cuts as effectively as flaking chrome. Admittedly it does hold up well on a quality tool, but will still go eventually unless the tool has a very easy life.
Once mine begin to go they end up in the drawer for use on rusty rough stuff. I keep a separate pristine set for the stuff that is new or has been restored.

 

[Ed Weber]

I've had a Craftsman socket set with poorly applied chrome, they all got replaced.
None of my Snap-On tools have ever flaked the chrome, I used to work on tractor trailers, they did not have an easy or clean life. YMMV

 

[Bingy man]

I think the selling point for snap on is the lifetime no quibble garantee on most of their tools , a lot of my friends in the trade rate them over the others - I recently lost the shaft for my ratchet screwdriver down a duct but managed to get one on eBay for a lot less than direct from snap on. Fortunately I have enough sockets wrenches but every now and again I need a replacement or repair. Imo the quality is also very good so I didn’t mind paying a premium price ..

 

[RonnieI]

I've had loads of mechanics tools over the years and they have a fairly hard life for a DIYer. The best I've found are the Halford Professional stuff. Rarely had a breakage and when I have had a problem (with a screwdriver socket losing the little retainer and a ratchet that broke a pawl), the item has been replaced immediately. Their stuff is my go to if I need a mechanics tool.

 

[stuart little]

Bahco is owned by Snap-On

Snap-On tools are expensive, no argument there. though the quality arguments are a little confusing to me.
Some like A 0ver B, I get it but Snap-On and others make dozens of ratchets with different heads, different length handles, number of teeth, etc. You can't compare just any ratchet to another. I have Craftsman ratchets that are good, some, not so good. The same goes for other brands as well.
I say this as someone who worked professionally as a mechanic for many years. If a tool didn't meet requirements it was soon gone.
All the top brands have good and not so good tools. Snap-On i still lifetime guaranteed, so once you buy a tool, you have it forever and as mentioned, resale is still good.

That's news to me, I have & like Bahco tools, especially their wood chisels 9made in Spain) & hacksaw blades (made in Sweden). The odd Snap on spanners I have, were all recovered from under bonnets (hoods), left by previous mechanics!