buying tools, info wanted.

[Guest ON3GO]

Hey guys i get a deal threw school. 45 to 55% off all snap-on tools, they will open a account for me and ill pay monthly.

so if i buy say 10000 worth of tools i only really pay say 5 to 6000 bucks.

pretty good deal i think.

i have ALOT of tools now.. what ever hand tool you can think of i have, its sad how much money i have in tools but then again you cant work without them.

 

right now im looking for:

 

Mig + Tig snap-on welder

Plasma Cutter/Standard Duty

Impact Gun Cordless, 12 Volt, 3/8" Drive

Mini Air Ratchet with 5 Foot Hose, 1/4" Square Drive

Air Brush kit

Sandblaster, Vacuum

Impact Sockets

Die Grinders

Nibbler (i have one that does just straight cuts right now)

Air Hammers

Air Ratchets

Micro Sander and Polisher Kit

Orbital Sanders + Polishers

 

maybe a few misc tools here and there.

the rest of the hand tools i can get from sears and matco.

i might get a big tool box as the 3 craftsman boxs i have are over packed now.

 

i was gonna get the HVLP and RP spray guns from Snap-on but i might just get them from a better company for those type of tools.

 

anyways what you guys think?

im looking for a dual post lift right now and a few other things to get my little shop going.

right now its gonna be sorta like a 4 car garage but alot deeper and a little loft up stairs to sleep or conduct biz .

also a little storage area for engine building and storing engines and parts.

 

anyways keep you fingers crossed for me.

 

let me know if im forgetting any key tools i need.

a compressor is gonna be a BIG buy but ill do that once the shop starts to get built. prob do a big outdoor unit.

 

mike

[Tim240z]

Snap on welders are apparently not the greatest (made in China, I think). Do some reasearch on that before dropping coin....

[80LS1T]

Personally I think the compressor should be on the top of your list. How are you going to run all those tools with out air power? In all honesty I wouldnt buy a new snap on box. They are like cars, as soon as you drive it off the lot you loose money. Just buy a nice used one from the snap on guy. Thats what I did and I got a $5500 box for $2900. Trust me on this, paying on a box is not fun and really pointless because the box wont make you any money! I've been working in the "field" for 2+ years and I probably have $10000 in tools with my box. Nobody said this profession was cheap! Most of the guys I work with probably have $50,000+ in tools!

 

For the 3/8" electic impact I would recommend the Makita 14.4V. The Snap-On one is pretty big in size and I havent heard the best things about them. The Snap-On guy says its better than the Makita but all the other tool guys that I talk to say the Makita is better and cheaper than similar impacts. I have had the smaller 9.8V one for a year and a half with no issues. I even lite it on fire once when I was trying to clean in because I got it all full of tranny fluid......so I thought I would just spray some brake clean on it and clean it off.........yeah then I hit the trigger and suddenly it and my had was on fire! I got the fire out pretty quick and it still hasnt missed a beat! LOL

 

We had the same deal when I was in school for snap on tools. I unfortunatly didnt take advantage of it though!

 

 

Guy

[randy 77zt]

not all snap on stuff is good just because it says snap on on it.on 1/2 imapct guns i perfer ingersoll rand 244.if you goto a website like northern tool you can get that gun for almost 1/2 price compared to the truck.i only buy off of the truck when i dont have time to shop.

[MusPuppis]

I havent heard good things about Snap-On welders. The general consensus regarding welders is to stick with the big names.. Hobart/Miller, Lincoln and Esab (some poeple dislike Esab for one reason or another.. I have no opinion, they seem fine to me).

 

Really, for home use I dont know that it matters much. I actually wish I had gone with a non brand name welder from HF or the like so I could have gotten one that came gas ready. I bought a little Lincoln that I really like, but for the use that it sees, I think I over did it. But for shop use, I'd go with one of the big guns ALL the way.

 

Edit,

 

Are you going to school for auto body or auto mechanics? I start school for auto body in January.. I wonder if a similar deal will ever be available to me.. hehe.

[john kosmatka]

We have both a snap-on and lincoln mig welder at our shop. The lincoln is more preferred.

[JMortensen]

I'm going to 4th the opinion on the Snap-On welder. My friend bought one, welded my clevises for my strut tower bars, realized what a piece of crap it was, then returned it. He ended up with a Lincoln. Unfortunately my car got to be the test bed on that one.

 

I am also not impressed with Snap-On's impact guns, nor their normal ratchets. I haven't had any problems with their air ratchets. My favorite tool is my Snap On ratcheting screwdriver. Love that thing. Aside from that I think you can't beat Snap-On wrenches. They definitely have the best wrenches in the biz. I have no experience with their body tools like the sander and airbrush.

 

I wouldn't get a big ol compressor if you don't own your home. Moving a 600 lb compressor over and over is less than fun.

[Oleh]

snap on welders are crap.

Get a miller or lincoln.

[grumpyvette]

"snap on welders are crap.

Get a miller or lincoln."

read thru these sites

 

http://metals.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aws.org%2Fcgi-bin%2Fmwf%2Fforum_show.pl%3FmarkRead%3D1

 

http://www.htpweld.com/

 

http://www.millermotorsports.com/

 

http://www.welders-direct.com/home.htm

 

SNAPON are good quality HAND TOOLS, BUT WAY OVERPRICED!on most tools and insanely overpriced on some of the more complex tools... I own lots of SNAP-ON ,MAC,CRAFTSMAN,S&K, ETC...yeah the snap-on and MAC are better quality but don,t get crazy,especially when your starting out and your incomes LOW!, buy what you NEED NOT what you want! and don,t get yourself in a long term finacial bind, you can get a servicable tool chest at PLACES LIKE sams club for 1/6th what snap-on charges,THINK BEFORE BUYING THINGS, YOU DON,T NEED TOP QUALITY in SOME things, don,t forget to check the local papers for older mechanics tools , guys retire or die and their wifes often sell $20,000 PLUS tool collections for $5000

 

read this,(who makes what)

 

http://www.team.net/www/morgan/tech/whotools.html

 

http://www.team.net/www/morgan/tech/morewhotools.html

 

best advice will start with don,t expect ANY quality from HARBOR FRIEGHT OR NORTHERN TOOL on they type of tools that require any PRECISION

(jack stands will be fine if you get the 12 ton size)but most other tools are sub standard quality

[EvilRufusKay]

Ingersoll Rand probably makes the snap on air tools either them or cambell- hausfield. Most air tools are made by one of them, they just put different names on them.

[JMortensen]

IR definitely doesn't make Snap On's air tools, maybe CH. I quickly looked through Grumpy's links and couldn't find which cheapo Chinese company made Snap-On's welders.

[EvilRufusKay]

They change manufacturers from time to time just like most retailers. Best price for them means more profit. I recently tested a bunch of impact wrenches for Stanley Tools. They were deciding on what company to use to put their name on. MAC were IR with the MAC name on them. We only tested one Snap-on and it was the "snap-on" top model. It faired pretty well and I thought it was IR but we did so many that I could easily be mistaken.

[Guest ON3GO]

IR makes the matco air guns.

thanks for the info on the welders.

im gonna get a miller.

 

reason why not getting the air compressor now is cuz the shop is just about to be built so when i get back i can pick one big one with a extra storage air container.

 

guess ill just get some reg-ole tools from snap on.

 

i got my SATA paint guns today

 

mike

[(goldfish)]

features for the price($2K abouts), thermal arc is about unbeatable. I helped my dad look though the specs. Now I don't weld, but he liked it the same as the millers, control panel looks fidely, no real basis for durability, is more portable.

[HowlerMonkey]

I know this is an old thread but you cannot make a sweeping statement on snap-on welders for the simple fact that more then one manufacturer makes them for snap-on.

 

I got lucky purchasing a FM140 snap-on welder made by CK systematics.

 

It is by far the heaviest 110 volt welder on the market and is a solid machine with quality parts unlike many other snap-on welders.

 

The reason for this is that it features a huge step-up transformer unlike most any other 110 volt welder I have ever seen.

 

It features 100% duty cycle and I've welded a continuous 150+ inches in one run with no trouble.

 

The only thing you have to watch for is making sure you provide it with enough current or you end up with something akin to having a firehose (the fm140) fed by a garden hose (a plug farthest from the electrical panel of the building).

 

Plug it close to the panel and it kicks ass.

 

When looking for welders, search and search for information and reviews before buying.

[The love of JDM]

My personal views,

 

I used to use other brand tools then kept breaking them. Even tho the others had warrenty I didnt like having to replace them at least once a month. Finally fed up and got a credit line with snap-on and have been very impressed thus far. 18v impacts-timing gun and everything in between doing the same work and havent broke a single one.

 

Welder used is lincoln mig on basic voltage and hasnt failed once in over 5 years.

 

Tool box using is cobalt - blue series, made by snap on bought through lowes and much cheaper.

[Tony D]

I broke a brand-new, never used AT100 Snap-On (BluePoint) die grinder dropping it and snapping off the air inlet portion of the casting. It was $105 at the time.

I replaced it with a Harbor Freight die grinder ($9.99 at the time). It broke as well doing the same thing...

 

Then I took them apart. Now, realize this was 1996, and at that point Harbor Freight was probably getting their air tools sourced differently than now, but...

 

Aside from the casting that said 'Blue Point' and the other from HF that said nothing on it...they were identical---by identical, I mean they both had 'made in japan' stamped on the bodies in the same spot, with the same stamps, the NTN bearings inside were the same, the vanes were identical, the rotor body had the same part number stamped on it....

 

It was the LAST time I spent $100 for a Die Grinder from Snap-On.

 

Similarly, the 1/2 Drive Impact Wrenches from HF were $58 at the time, and the I-R tune up kits were $58. The parts interchanged. They were knockoffs.

 

Working for I-R for five years, I learned they source parts the same as anybody else.

 

What matters most is that for the tools you use the most you buy the best quality tool your income allows you to at the time. But don't get crazy hung up on brand names or cost thinking that something expensive is automatically better.

 

I watched through dissection many Snap-On rebrandings of other far less expensive tools (for instance Black and Decker Professional Angle Grinders, Snap On price $256, B&D price, $68! Same exact electric angle grinder save for the stickers on it!)

 

The link above about who makes the tools is a good start. But if you keep your eyes peeled, you wil find the same tools you can get from "Snap On" from their OE Supplier with their own brand on it far more reasonably priced.

 

The key is the stuff you USE, you want to be decent quality. As stated above, when you start out maybe you don't NEED the best.

 

It's like school loans. Many people go out and get $120K in debt for college. Woo Hoo, now they got a $70K job...and $120K debt to service.

 

Same goes for mechanics and technicians starting out. Some times 'community college' makes FAR more sense, ESPECIALLY when you are in the trade and think you may 'change majors'---sucks to have $30,000 in Hand Tools in a big roll-around box when you find out you're in production management.

 

Nice for working on the car at home...but what could that $30K have bought you otherwise?

 

As someone who has conservatively 3 full sets of tools due to having had to maintain a home set, travel set, and shop set in the past. Collating them all together when you go work in the front office makes you stand back and either say "MAN, I'm glad I bought Craftsman!" or "Woah, how am I going to sell some of this stuff off now?"

 

Tools are always on sale, for sale, or up for grabs. Remember that. There is little to go wrong with an open ended wrench or ring spanner. Pawn shops are great places for deals on partial sets, or to fill in what you don't have. Beats paying full price, and the warranty is still the same.

 

I would search the socket bins at the local pawn shop for BROKEN Craftsman sockets, and buy a couple good ones at the same time. Usually the owner GAVE me the broken sockets "Oh, you can HAVE those, I can't sell them!"

 

Wanna know where I went with broken Craftsman Sockets?

 

Hard to beat free or nearly-free tools.

 

I digress...

[1 tuff z]

back in the 80's i began my tool collection with snap-on but quickly realized that without going into debt i could not afford what i needed. so...i switched to craftsman. no regrets.

 

since i sit behind a desk now and don't have ready access to a 'snap-on guy' it is inconvenient to get any broken tools either fixed or replaced vs. craftsman-where i can go to any sears or k-mart to replace them.

 

if i had it to do all over, i'd have started with craftsman from the beginning.

 

imho.

[Evan Purple240zt]

I have a mix of those brands of tools. I also used to own the FM140 welder, which was a badass 110v unit!

 

I know this thread is old too, but its still valuable to some folks so Ill add my .02

 

I absolutely love my snap-on 3/8 ratchet, and screwdrivers. Everything else? Craftsman does a nice job. Their screwdriver tips and ratchet handles are junk IMO.

 

Also, I am a huge fan of ace hardware brand tools. I have been buying them for years and they are really good quality tools!! Lifetime warranty on most of it too.

 

Evan

[HowlerMonkey]

I no longer use the tool condominiums and instead roll around a craftsman top and bottom box full of tools specifically geared toward the brand I am working on.

 

I am used to seeing some techs snicker when I show up at new dealership with that setup but laugh inside when the same techs have to swallow pride a few weeks later and ask to borrow a tool from me since I tend to buy what nobody else has or thought to include in his box.

 

This gives you bargaining power within the shop.

 

95% of that limited selection goes unused if you work at toyota and about 80% will go unused while working for nissan.

 

I cringe when I see a new kid straight out of UTI buy a huge setup from snap-on or mac but it does show a level of commitment.

 

Dollar store box wrenches are good and I've got a drawer full of them that were cut off or bent for a specific task...........those get borrowed a lot as well.