One thing that's important to note is how simple this is to repair as well. It would literally take less than 5 minutes to install the replacement part. One thing I've really been impressed with snap on ratchets is the ease of replacing components and the simplicity.
Now THATS a ratchet.. My snap on guy told me that's usually the only thing that'll break on them.. Now I believe him and yes they're 8 times better because you can do that to it and fix it in less than 10 minutes and it's good to go again.. All that being said: a ratchet is NOT a breaker bar..
I just picked up an F80 and it doesn't have USA stamped on it. The guy said he bought it new off a truck. Man what an upgrade it was from my Stanley ratchet!
Many Snap On tools are over priced and overrated. However I do believe snap on ratchets are worth the money. 1) They ratchet well in tight places even after they have been used hard for years. The lock swivel head is tuff as could be and will not let loose causing busted knuckles. They heads are very compact for the amount of durability they have. I am big and strong I weigh 285# and have never broken a snap on over 1/4'' drive. I have broken craftsman sockets with my snap on ratchets. The one time I did break a 1/4'' snap on ratchet I took it back on the truck the snap on man tore it apart cleaned it up installed a rebuild kit and did not give me any crap. The snap on man did ask me how I broke it after he was finished, I told him it was all that would access the spot I was in and I was pulling on it with all my strength. Like I said I am a big boy. It was really my fault but he stood behind the tool. All my snap on ratchets are almost 20 years old. Even if you buy a used on that is really old chances are the snap on man will have a rebuild kit on his truck.
I have pretty good luck with the Craftsman China made have not broke it yet just bought one 2 months ago I work on cars and work on semi trucks for a living and drive trucks
You are "da man"... Ya Crazy MO FO.... Love all your vids. So refreshing to see an honest mechanic that speaks the truth instead of just another tool truck fan boy with an empty wallet. I'd let you work on my junk cars any day....
Real Tool Reviews does this as well.He did with a Snap On flank drive plus 9/16 wrench vs a Wright grip 9/16 wrench breaking a grade 8 3/8NC 16 bolt in a mandril which he put in a vice.Broke the bolt and never rounded off the head of the bolt.Did the same test with SK's X frame ratcheting wrenches,the open end never spread and the ratcheting end still works.Tool companies do take new tools off the line and test them.Cornwell does this.
the two snap ons break gracefully, a repair kit will bring them back to new, pretty good really, but still out of my price range, i generally scour ebay for used german ratchets! (dont bid me up lol) but it is good to know they didnt break under anywhere near normal circumstances, no one could pull that hard
I have 2 FHNF100 ratchets (round swivel head, 100 teeth), one used at home and one at work. I have broken each of them once in the mechanism (no breaker bar). Worth it because I love those ratchets. I didn't see inside of either of them. I have never broken any of my other Snap-On ratchets.
+Jose Leon Unfortunately if you get a rebuild kit from a truck that's a good chance it will be foreign made parts. So any warranty claim doesn't bring back a made in USA ratchet back to life 100%. I'll be sticking to SK TOOLS for the time being. They've always been made in the USA and they're just a great ratchet.
I broke a snap on, craftsman, and a kobalt 1/2" trying to get the pitman arm nut off my crown vic. They all broke this exact same way, I have yet to see the internals break from putting to much pressure on any brand tool I've used, just the socket hub.
Snap-On makes the best tools thru and thru. Over priced for sure but but my theory on pricing is that you pay 3x the actual worth so they can cover 3 replacements. The tools perform well enough that they usually don't need to replace them more than once, maybe twice in a mechanics career. I have had my 3/8 ratchet rebuilt 3 times and the handle replaced once and every time was from me abusing the tool lol. If you ask me if I think they are worth the excessive price, I would tell you to find tools with the equivalent quality, strength and service for less. If you can than I will buy this tools but I have yet to see it. So yes, they are worth the price.
Buy gearwrench you wont have to decide to pay your mortgage or pay the tool truck. I have multiple gear wrench ratchets and wrenches and snap on put them side by side. Its the exact same tool with a different name on it. Since I have seen the light in the past 3 or so years I have saved my self thousands of dollars. I challenge any sceptics to go to any online tool vendor buy a gearwrench 120 xp 3/8 ratchet and use it for a few months and not be impressed.
So, the Anvil in the ratchet broke, but not the actual ratchet, interesting. The flex pin and the handle did not fail, so if you have the internals, 5 minutes later, this exact ratchet will be back in business. If you buy quality, you get quality.
That is an ideal failure mode. The Taiwanese junk like Toptul, the teeth will start skipping before anything else breaks (2 work buddies have it, barely a year of use). Skipped teeth, had it rebuilt and then eventually it exploded, the socket mount shredded off and the rest of the guts of the ratchet simply came out. In no way is his use an abuse situation (no pipes), he then went and bought a F80 off a Snappy truck, no issues since. Once you work on German cars, you'd see how some tools last and some just fail for no reason. The Bluepoint torx bit sockets, absolute junk, shitty tolerances and weak metals. It will snap in half or it will round off the fastener. Hazet's golden torx bit sockets are my favourites, more than the Heavy Duty Snap On's. If I was in the states man, I would send you a couple of my ratchets that I don't use. Koken 3/8" (24 teeth), Wurth round head (72 teeth). I have 12 Dual 80's and counting, I refuse to use anything else.
All tools break when used incorrectly. Any tool tortured will break. That is is the ultimate test. It makes no difference where it break, the teeth or the drive nub, broke is broke. Your weight on all of the ratchets you test just proves one thing, they are all doing the job they are designed to do.
hey thank you for your post im an old s-k guy and they do hold up well but even they are over priced now every time i buy a craftsman set they come with a ratchet. so i have like 6 or so lol and my s-k i bought when i think it was 30 or 39 something like that snap-on are great but just to expensive
Wrenches too.. Much stronger, much better quality metal .. I know 70+$ for a 15mm combo wrench is a lot but that wrench will last many lifetimes and will not break.. I swear they won't break.. The points on their box end stay sharp and never wear down. It's amazing.
I just can't justify the price on their wrenches. I have a few Snap-On combo wrenches, but most of mine are old school USA made Craftsman for standard and Blue-Point or Blackhawk for metric.
part of this equation for you remember....snap on costs so much not because it's made of unbreakable materials or internals but because you get lifetime warranty with a truck to bring new tools your way. buy what you can afford and use that sht with a little common sense. it'll last longer then you might expect
they don't put usa on it becouse most of it is made in China and assembled in USA if more parts.on it were made in the USA it would say usa. it has to have a certain amount of usa made parts. for them to put usa on it...
I agree snap on is stronger, I have alot from the truck at work. But u were being alot more carefull with the SO. who cares what people say, make all kinds of videos and return the tools, there under warranty. I like watching all theses to know what the quality is, I have a mix of SO and HF I use every day at work
Hey if you didn't keep the flex joint tox screward tight on that ratchet it may have broke where the head meets the handle and it also helps that it was a locking flex ratchet. Good ratchet though I have he same one I rebuild them myself
I'd say go ahead and order the rebuild kit then warranty out that broken kit so when it legitimately breaks next time you can just slap it in. Not hurting anybody just saving time.
DO NOT WORRY ABOUT BREAKING TOOLS WITH LIFETIME WARRANTIES!!!! THATS WHY THEY ARE EXPENSIVE!!! THE WARRANTY IS BUILT INTO THE PRICE WHEN NEW!!!!! THATS WHY THEY ARE EXPENSIVE!!!!!
I had a lot of Harbor Freight Tools and never had an issue with the warranty latest Indian and one no-questions-asked kind of like Sears for example Snap-on Cornwell Matco Mac some of this year's professional stuff use drop forged paws and gear services some of the low end Sears Cobalt Harbor Freight as well as other generic brands use a powdered Metal Gear process for example cordless drills that have metal gears have powdered metal gears not drop forged or machined just a little insight I enjoy the videos
I have an Autozone ratchet set. i have had it since i was 16 years old. I have never broken my tools, nor have i ever had a problem with them. i dont see the reason in buying anything more expensive when i can put (compared to the snap-on)only 30 pounds less of force on it and still get the same performance. just my opinion.
TheFanatic I have wrenched professionally, for a well established shop. I still have that set, and have gone through several "professional grade" tools since.
Is the rebuild kit you are getting US made? I know the Snap On guy I deal with told me, a new ratchet is US made, with US internals, but all the replacement internals are Taiwan.
Lmao i have a proxxon 1/2 wrench i use it always to break loose bolts. I use a 1 meter pipe (over 3ft) an put it over the wrench and break loose all kinds of axle nuts or crank pulley bolts. Never snapped of.
If makes you feel better buy it. Snap-on might make some tools slightly better but unless your going to mars and can only take one it doesn't really matter. Brand names don't make a mechanic?
Snappy ratchets are pretty damn nice. But any more its just a luxury item. The Gearwrench 84 tooth 2 pc set on amazon is very cheap and damn good. The Armstrong 1194 is excellent. I had to buy a long 3/8 flex snap on just to see what the fuss was about, and admittedly I love the thing. But no way should anyone buy one on credit. That shit is a scam.
how could you!!!! may the fleas of a thousand camels infest your nether regions!!! sorry Snapon fan. But, really I tip my hat...I don't have the guts to do this
I guarantee the Kobalt is NO BETTER than the Pittsburgh. More than likely come off the same assembly line and get a different logo. But they're almost DOUBLE THE PRICE!
How come you haven't done a craftsman wrench yet? do you already think they're shitty? i was thinking of picking up a 311 piece cman set just for a few things like rebuilding dirbikes and building a project car. i inherited a fucking TON of tools from my late grandfather who had a shop, but i wanted to pick up a fresh new tool kit just to have something shiny and organized XD i know all his tools are tough as nails because he used them every day for 30 years and they're still good 2 go, so i'm not really like in the predicament if this cman tool set don't hold up i'm up shit creek without a paddle because i've got a fucking ton of backup everything XD i think they still have a lifetime warranty on them at sears tough and theres like 5 in my town so i'd have no problem getting them exchanged anyways.
Snap on and Matco tools are WAY overrated. When I see tools like that for sale I don't even look. They go right over my head. I hate coming across them and I feel very strongly about that. I am not hating on those of you who like them, I just think they are WAY WAY WAY over priced and aren't much better than proto or the American made craftsman or some of the other vintage ratchets made in the USA. If you use your tools properly you don't have to worry about them breaking like that. A 1/2 breaker bar made in China and socket will break loose just about any bolt. (Not that I am supporting China crap.) I knew immediately that you were going to break the tip off the ratchet because of the fact that the socket extended out so far and created some flex. With a shorter socket I believe you would have had to use more force to break it which could have resulted in the internals erupting. Thank you for the demonstration.
While you're learning which ratchets hold up the best.....you probably oughta learn how to weld, too. The goop on that bolt looks like seagull shit. I enjoy your videos, though....thanks.
bullshit, you SHOULD return and warranty all the tools you break on youtube. you are doing us a service and giving them FREE advertisement that is worth the cost of one damn tool.