Craftsman vs. snap on. worth a fight??

[explorer2 10+ year member]

I use a mixture of all different brands of tools that I have accumulated, snapon, mac, matco, sk (wayne), proto, blue point, cornwell, williams, older craftsman, etc. My old craftsman stuff holds up great, but I am not impressed with the newer stuff they put out. If I had to buy all new tools I'd probably go with cornwell. They are lesser known but they have tools that are the same quality and tolerance as snap on with a better price and better dealers.

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

520,833A alternator stud FTW?

actually, says it's off a 75,000kW generator, i don't know what voltage

 

[Ignatowski 5,000+ posts]

its not worth a fight but snap on is better in most circumstances

weather snap on is worth the extra money they charge IMO they are

not - I prefer matco personally.

 

[phantom240 5,000+ posts]

520,833A alternator stud FTW?

actually, says it's off a 75,000kW generator, i don't know what voltage

That bolt is nothing. Ill take a phone pic of a few things we have laying around our machine shop we made for a customer.

 

[bikejunkie223 10+ year member]

its not worth a fight but snap on is better in most circumstancesweather snap on is worth the extra money they charge IMO they are

not - I prefer matco personally.

I have found the price between Matco, Snappy, and Mac are basically the same- I went with Snap-On because that's who comes to our shop every week, the matco guy and Mac guy are real incosistant so they can pound sand- they don't get my cash.

 

[bigbangtheory 5,000+ posts]

Let me start by saying I am a professional Honda Master technician, and then I will tell you my opinions. In school and when I started out, all my stuff was craftsman. Great tools for the money, but as you start using them every day compared to Snap-On, Mac, or Matco you begin to see the quality difference- it's little things that average dude will never notice, but someone who uses them everyday to make a living will. The gears on the ratchets are tighter. The sockets and wrenches grup nuts and bolts tighter without rounding off the things. As a pro- I don't have time to run to Sears whenever something breaks, so it is a major convienience to have the Snap-On guy come by every week. They absolutely cost more, and some of the stuff is obscenely priced (flank drive plus wrench set!) If you use the stuff to make a living it pays off to have the nicest tools you can afford, but for the average dude craftsman or Husky or whatever are fine. I do stand firm in that Snap-On toolboxes are the nicest you can get, but are also the msot expensive, and it's hard to justify that purchase to me- a toolbox won't make you any money, while a wrench or ratchet will. All my sockets, ratchets and wrenches are Snap-On, same with screwdrivers (ratcheting screwdriver FTW!) My pliers are mostly channel-lock except for a few specialty ones. Air tools are snap on air ratchets and ingersoll-rand impact guns. My drill is a 14.4v Milwaukee cordless. I do have to admit I own a ginormous Snap-On toolbox too- hard to justify but it looks awesome and works extremely well. That's my opinion

X2! I am no means an expert on tools, but have had my fair share with snap on and craftsman as well as some mac's. My dad is also a master tech at Midas and in managment. He dont work on cars as much as when he was just a tech, but he has went through every possible tool you could imagine being in it over 30 years. He swears up and down for daily use the snap-on is the best. We have invested so much in snap-on over the years that I betcha we could own a new house!//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crap.gif.7f4dd41e3e9b23fbd170a1ee6f65cecc.gif Anyway craftsman isnt bad at all though, as that is what I usually use, but I dont work on cars no more and those tools rarely get used due to my back problem. But both are good for what they are intended to do.

 

[Crzy 10+ year member]

all my tools are snapon, same as box, a much higher quality product then craftsman. i will buy craftsman tool if i just need it for a one time use or wont need it much because its cheaper but if its a tool i will use a lot, snap on only. the screwdrivers feel better in my hand and the tips are much harder and a better fit in most screws they i undo. and who doesnt love snapon //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[nVRuckus 5,000+ posts]

once the third one broke even he finnaly gave up on the brand, and picked up a dewalt, its been doing good, but he still paid 6X as much as my crasftsman

dewalt > craftsman on electric tools //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif I prefer ridgid myself for electric, get husky for regular tools //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif same lifetime replacement and cheaper than craftsman //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/tongue.gif.6130eb82179565f6db8d26d6001dcd24.gif

 

[yacob.naif 10+ year member]

craftsman just makes everything

if you really wanted to specialize, you'd have snapon wrenches, dewalt or milwaukee electrical tools, ingersol rand pneumatic drivers, porter cable nailguns, MSD crimping tools, weller soldering tools, etc.

there's no 1 brand for everything

 

[bikejunkie223 10+ year member]

craftsman just makes everything
if you really wanted to specialize, you'd have snapon wrenches, dewalt or milwaukee electrical tools, ingersol rand pneumatic drivers, porter cable nailguns, MSD crimping tools, weller soldering tools, etc.

there's no 1 brand for everything

Except for the nailgun thing you basically named my stuff! WTF do I need a nailgun for?

 

[jjski78 10+ year member]

Well, I'm an aircraft mechanic, and I can say from experience, if you're going to be using the tools every day, go with Snap-On or Mac or Matco. Reason being: they're more comfortable in the hand. Craftsman ratchets and screwdrivers have some really poorly designed handles ergonomically speaking. When I first joined the Air Force, my unit had all Craftsman tools. Then they put me in charge of buying tools. We got all new Snap-On tool kits in really nice kevlar carrying bags. You notice the little things when you switch from Craftsman to a brand like Snap or Mac or Matco. Like was stated before, the ratches have better gearing in snap-on, they work like a champ in tight places. The screwdrivers feel hella better in the hand, and the ratchet has pretty much the same handle. Also, you need to know that if you are a professional mechanic, Craftsman's warranty doesn't really apply to you unless you buy their professional series. Those cost just as much as Snap. Of course, they'll never know that you're a pro, but that is how their warranty reads. Just my .02