How Old Is Your Snap-on Ratchet? 

Great video, I searched my S710 ratchet for a date stamp found it between the on off on the head of the ratchet. A 1988. Thank you for sharing the info on how to date the tools.

Wow thanks for the video. I had heard there was marks but never really delved into it. I have been buying Snap-on since 1980. I recently broke down and had my three original 3/8 ratchets rebuilt. One given to me by snap-on dealer in April 1980 for my birthday, one in August 1988, and one in July 1990. All were gifts from my original snap-on dealer. The one in 1988 and 1990 on the day of the births of my sons. Many years of great service. I recently passed the ones I was given on my sons birthday to them, hence the reason for the rebuild.

This week I bought my first Snap-on® tools, and I'm quite impressed. My path to the truck is about fairly different that all you real mechanics out there, but my interest and passion are real! Anyway, thanks for the date chart and education. 56 and I learn a lot every day; the older I get, the more I become aware of what I don't know.

Thanks for sharing that, the dates on my tools match the time that I bought them. Never new that's what it was.

Nice one,i was looking at the date stamping info the oather night and my 1/2" ratchet is 1977.Havn"t checked my oather ones yet..I am still older than the ratchet!!!!!!

My oldest Snap-on wrench is a 7/16 combination dated 1953 that was handed down to me from my grandfather. I carry my tool box keys on it for luck.

Great Video, it's nice when people actually value their tools on application instead of monetary value, and want to know about the timeline. Thanks.

Hey, thanks for the date codes. The L-715 I acquired in the late 70’s was made in 1959 (had been designated for one occasional function on one piece of (now removed) equipment, so super low use, but minor damage where a specific socket had been tack welded on (still quite usable). The SL710 given to me for a favor in 1987, was in fact made that year. Some of my Snap-on wrenches are older than I am (69) and still see use.👍I gave away a very old Snap-on 5/8” square drive extension (yes, 5/8).

Thanks for showing us a way to date tools from snappy man

mine snap on ratchets 1/4 drive 2014 3/8 2004 and 1/2 from 2001 they haven't broken yet iv had them for almost 4 years no problems yet. I keep them oiled and I use the snap on breaker bars for any crazy torque. I worked for sears in the tools department I rebuild my craftsman ratchets and I got spare rebuild kits for them before I left sears. I would take any us made tools I could find when we would sort stock from shipments and put them on layaway right away.

I have 2 from 1975, 710’s from my dad… just rebuilt them last week.

got to show all my buddies at work the date on there snap on tools and i happen to have some vintage tools i had the date all wrong thanks for making this video!

Cool. I have a 1954 1/2" drive snap on ratchet. Still works like a charm!

Torque wrenches are date coded in the serial my tqr250ehv starts 0816 and my atech3fr300b starts 0821 both manufactured and originally calibrated in the respective dates only my beam style has been recalibrated

This is cool, I never knew there were date codes, I’ll have to go check all my snappy stuff and see when it was made, be cool to know round about when I bought my wrenches and all my ratchets etc

Very informative video! Do you know where I can find more info on Snap On made in Canada? I work north of Toronto and an old customer told me he remembers them being made around these parts.

My newest is 1981...my oldest is 1957. Was there a planned demic in 2012 ? Maybe Snap - On was building in WooHoo ? OMG. The virii is Stooperlube ! WOW. I wondered why my best fine tooths were sick ! Nothing acetone and a lil never seize wont fix.

I have yet to find any of these marking on my Snap-on tools I purchased in 1970? In the 80's I started to see some marks but not all were marked.

I have one snap on 3/8 ratchet, its either the 60's or the early 70's (Its always been in the toolbox, so don't know when my dad got it) , I'll got look for the date stamp. Its the only s o tool I ever owned. Snap on USA F 710 D

Good info, thanks. I will have to see when my ratchets were made.

Hell yeah just bought me a 1976 1/2" ratchet

i found a 1940s ratchet in the ground, cleaned it it up and re lubed the gears and it brand new from the 40s just not chromed out. thats quality.

9:30 "No date stamp, can't tell what year it is." Also look at the font type. I was told that the font type cross references to a year.

I have a few Snap On ratchets from the 1940s,1950s,1960s.3 of them have a brass selection lever and this is factory now obsolete.A couple are Canadian made,have CAN on it instead of USA.I do have a newer Snap On ratchet with no USA on it anywhere.

I have a SL710 and a F 710 D. I assume it's 70s or 80s but I can't find a date stamp anywhere on them

I have an MV71 ratchet but I don't see a date code. Just curious how old it is or which years was it produced.

I got a snap on wrench from my grandpa. Don’t see date code. Says on handle the old snap on logo. Made in USA and number F-710-A. Any idea the age??

all i can say buddy is those are fine looking ratchets right there...

Thank You So Much Now know How Old This ratchet Is 1927 WOW

I have a 1/2" ratchet dated 1957. Got it from a friends Dad with I started wrenching, and have had it ever sine.

Never knew, cool! My ratchets are from the early to mid nineties, and are date stamped on the ratchet head, just under the selector.

I have a Snap-on 3/8 drive stubby model FM70A USA stamped in the handle but theres no date code. How can i find the date it was made?

Theres no date stamp on the torque wrench probably because it was made by Precision Instruments.

Great vid. I am curious are you a dealer tech or a independent. Not judging, just curious. I was a dealer for 4 years then moved to a independents or the last 8. I have about the same collection but I got rid of my breaker bars and go with the 24 inch Ratchet on 1/2 inch. Even with a cheater bar it holds up. Did not know about the date stamps. Did not think it mattered with the life time warranty.

Happy New Years. Second time watching this video. Just wondering what is supposed to be the second part to it? Lol & the whole not engraving USA for a couple of years it's funny because I first started buying snap on tools in 2012. So a bunch of my stuff from when I first started doesn't snap USA lol. Again happy news bro glad to see the channel growing.

Interesting neat fact about snap-on.

I have 1/2 ratchet 1936. Working perfect

I dont see a date stamp on mine how can u date them they are USA stamped on the head and the handle. Thanks for the video great information

Great post sir. I just got two ratchets one is a FLF80A USA is has a little dot I can't make out. No reading glasses. The other is a FLL80 USA also can't make out the dot just got both two weeks ago

I have some really old snap on tools I have some videos up of some of it I have more to come once I have moved

Hey cool video. I went checked out some old snap on I got passed down made in Canada tools 1/2 in breaker bar an extentions no date stamps. Be cool to know how old they are

Thanks for the Info

Hi Joel, I'm pretty sure I saw a video where you swapped the inside of a 3/8" drive ratchet for a 1/4" drive. I can't find it anymore and can't remember what ratchet it was. I was wondering if you could swap the extra long 3/8" drive ratchet with a 1/4" drive making the FHLF80A a foot long 1/4" ratchet? Really enjoy your videos, keep em coming.

I got a Snap On ratchet I couldn't find any particular date code or maybe it's the number I'm going to give you. I was wondering if you can help me out with that? F 710 C Also what does the C mean?

come a long way in a short space of time my friend!

Good video I date all my snap on tools too they do make great ratchets

Great informative upload, Budd 👍💯 My Dad gifted me a breaker, not a Snappie but hey, Only use it for certain jobs & would NEVER lend her out .... Thanks for the charts to , Interesting to see when my vintage peices were made.... I can certainly tell the difference between pre, 1980's tools... Snap-on today, has changed man .... The hardness, the metal ain't so good, that's why I'm hunting for vintage, still get parts aswell. All the best, that's a few grand worth on that bonnet!! Get a lot of coffees with that! 🤣

I (my dad) has a 1947 snap on ratchet in his tool box. He’s got a lot of really old snap on stuff from his grandfather.

My father was a ASE Master / GM / Chevrolet Master. The owner of Gerber Knives would only let him work on his Vette at the dealer, he did that for 10 years and got a semi-desk job with the govt.. That work ethic was instilled in me. I just got a entry auto tech job with the govt paying 14/hr plus full benefits, tire, lube, brakes, parts runner . and I will be using his / our tools, he made me promise that I would never sell them no matter how hard off I get and I want to pass them to my son. He bought all the tools directly from the Snap-On Truck. The main go to rachet is a F-732 Flex 3/8" rachet has no date code (monsterpawn.com/ebaynormal/05/5-3-06-1g.jpg). I just grabbed two rails of sockets, one set is 1964 and the other is 1984. He doesn't believe of the date codes. "I started buying them around 1983ish". RE: Snap-On Made in the USA -- Since there are strict standards for being able to say MADE IN USA which requires everything to be made in the USA. Even O-Rings, C-Clips, etc there are some parts of the rachet guts that are not made in the USA, but 99% of the tool is, the head, handle, etc is made in the USA. Since say a clip they used inside the guts wasn't made in the USA, they can't stamp it made in the USA. That's what I was told via Snap-On, and I know the law and I believe it. At least they didn't put Assembled in the USA. :D

Best ratchets on the market for the professional

Hey, for whatever it may be worth, I contacted Snap On about a month ago and the rep swore their ratchets are still currently made in the USA and that they have no intentions on moving it any time soon. For all I know though, she could have just been shit at her job.

Help I have an old Snap-on ratchet and could not find it on the code sheet it's 71 the lever to forward and reverse is on the bottom side of the ratchet where the socket goes on I have never seen one like that please help

I have one from 1948. Not worth anything right?

Mine are all bought new in 1978 after all my previous tools were stolen. Really screwed by insurance company payout.

I love the FLF80A!! it's brand new and just got it today. It's made in 2016 and sometimes there's oil seeping out of the drive square gap between the back plate. Is this normal? I just started using it today as I bought some sockets

I have a Snap-On F-70-M 3/8" drive smooth handled ratchet....no other Mark's

The reason snap-on ratchet would not be stamped with the USA mark is because one little part of the ratchet assembly wasn't make in the US.

Hi I love this video I have been looking to find out when the logo on the head of ratchets changed I have one that has the -o and I have one where the o is open with the line like a turn on button and on the first the snap has joint letters and the second has an “a” like this Could anyone shed some light 💡

I checked this random 1/2 drive 12p 3/4 socket and the date code is I so it's from 61 that's cool. It was given to me

Hey I'm liking your videos as I love snap on tools myself but I'm pretty sure the date codes are not on those styles of torque wrenches because precision instruments makes the torque stick and snap on just puts there ratchet heads on them

there are many tool from snap on that they are not made in the usa but asemble in usa that is why they dont say usa thats coming from my dealer from snap on

I didn't realize you are a garage journal member, me too :)

I'm just about to post a 1/2 drive ratchet to my 1st cousin once removed and the date code is 'G', yup it's a WW2 one.

great videos bro keep up the good work

the oldest I have is a spinner 1/4 inch handle and socket from 1932 and 1933

Holy shit my ratchets from 1963

thank god for this man and his values

"half way to 250 subs" damn man. come along way

Great Vid Brother can you do one on those line wrenches I've got a Set of them I'm Guessing 1960's

they still say USA on the torque wrench heads cause I bought a new one 2 weeks ago and it says USA on the heaf

I have a spinner handle from 1933 and a socket from 1932

mine was 18 years old snd i broke it friday.. beyond pissed.. the new ones arent the same

Old 1/4" ratchet here, TM 711; no date stamp anywhere?

Have a 3/8 standard ratchet F720 USA. Would that be 1930?

I have a snap on ratchet that has 7 on it like the 1937 but it has No 71-M on it

Great video thanks

My T936 1/4 ratchet has a “s” date stamp

Mine says f732 usa but it doesn’t have a stamp

1:08 confirmation of the Canadian dialect... that is commented with respect, sir.. I meant BUD...

according to my snap on dealer they stopped engraving usa on them to save a whopping 10 cents for the engraving process not that they would pass any savings on to you but from all the screaming they did put it back on the handles not the heads it was more cost effective that way any way that's what I was told so who knows either way cool video

Holy crap mines an og. No date code pf-87

Never knew this. I have a 1951

none of my duel 80's have USA on them

Wouldn't it be crazy of there were some snap on mafia that secretly imported their tools across the border from tawain unknown to the tool world lol

Great video btw!!

Are you telling me that there is a possibility my snap on ratchets may not be made in the USA???

Seriously never watched this guy I live near Chicago trying to restore an old snap on ratchet brewing Tim hortons

2016 I just bought mine

Great info. Seems a bit chicken shit for snap on to mix around the USA on some and not others and to not definitively state all ratchets are USA made 100 percent. It's not like there are that many parts in them.

My oldest is am s715 1/2 old boy, 1978 and still gets abused daily

your fuel line wrench is mid-late 1970's.

Nice intro

i looked one of mine up apparently its one of the first 5/8 drive ratchets made milwaukee #7

Dope

Tim Hortons coffee at the beginning????

Good TOOLS

Mine was born on June of 1988.

It says USA in the red handle the red handled quarter inch drive ratchet it says USA in the red handle

Lol I have a 1/4 ratchet from 1939, crazy old

After the "USA" there is nothing on my old 1/2 SL710 ratchet.