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Today, I became A beliver

K10 KRAWLER

K10 KRAWLER

1/2 ton status
Joined
Sep 16, 2008
Posts
399
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2
Location
Carstairs, Alberta, Canada
Today At work, I was Using my impact gun to loosen off a bolt when the airline blew apart. No biggie, So i went over to the bench and started to loosen the brass fitting off the chuck when I rounded it with my crapsman professional wrench. S**t... So I try again with a different craftsman wrench (lower model).. Damn, I Just rounded it some more. So I borrow a Mac Knuckle saver off another guy, just to see if it would work and IT DID!! it grabbed on to the rounded fitting and twisted it off no problem. I was amazed. At first I cound not justifly Spending lots of money on a wrench set. Dont get me wrong, I own a snap on box full of mac and snapon tools (with the occasional Craftsman of course). I just diddnt want to spend tons of money on a simple wrench set, I could not see why it cost so much. Now its safe to say, the next time I see the Mac guy, I'm buying some wrenches.
 
Yep high-quality tools are like a divorce, Expensive but worth every penny!!
 
hey. makes sure you try a set of the snapon flank drive plus before you buy.

I'm not starting a Mac Snapon debate. I've owned both. but snapon has a much different profile on the wrench body. I sold my mac wrench set because of the profile. snappy are much much nicer on the hands.
 
I will try them both, but I am going to school in a week and will be cashing in on my student 50% off deal. so that's the deal breaker there. Its my last year of schooling before I'm the big Journeyman!!

Hey Luke, the best part of it is, the Mac wrench I used was from your old set you sold to Bruno, haha!
 
that school mac deal is where I got that set of mac wrenchs. and you see I still sold them AND to an electrician :D
 
DEMON44 said:
hey. makes sure you try a set of the snapon flank drive plus before you buy.

I'm not starting a Mac Snapon debate. I've owned both. but snapon has a much different profile on the wrench body. I sold my mac wrench set because of the profile. snappy are much much nicer on the hands.
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I could NEVER use a Mac wrench again becuase of how they hurt my hands versus the Snap-on wrench that "fits like a glove".
 
I have both Flank Drive Plus and Knuckle Saver. Personal preference on the feel in your hand is the only real deciding factor for me. Both work excellent, and I am more of a MAC guy but I choose the Snap On wrenches.
 
Well, I guess Ill have to learn from all of your experiences and buy the snap-on wrenches.... it will hurt the wallet, But hey you ALL cant be wrong, right? lol I just cant believe i have been fighting with those crapsman this whole time. Your statement alone Luke, really made me think about what to get.......haha.... Silly electricians.....
 
I cannot speak about Mac wrenches but I know one thing with Snap-ON "Flank Drive" wrenches. That is, if non-marring is important, don't get them. I have heard tell some Harley dealers don't allow their techs to use Snap-On wrenches because of it. The design of their Flank Drive will leave marks in fasteners with chrome on them or softer materials. So if working in a situation where that matters, another option may be best.

Of course I will be the company man and mention all my wrenches are Matco, and our Opti-Torque really does work as well. I love, and it doesn't mar up your fasteners. Of course a wrench set is only as good as the guy standing behind it, so if you don't have a Matco guy, throw that out the window.
 
Oh and not as a company man, as a former tech and a garage tinkerer, I resisted too. For the longest time I used crappy Craftsman wrenches. I bought Matco impacts, universals, specialty tools and lots of stuff, but I resisted when it came to wrenches. Only after I became a distributor and took a set for myself did I see the light. And my eyes are open to the fact that I was silly for using what I did for how long I did.
 
The tool truck wrenches are by far the best ones out there. After that its a personal choice for which one you like the best. Living in the rust belt teaches you the difference between what works and its OK fast:wink1:
 
one other thing to point out other gripping capability is, as a marine guy buried in bilges, wrench profile becomes important for me... too big a casting around a box end can mean a 5 minute job turns into an hr.... :mad:

I would guess the same holds true for a dealership mechanic, etc... I know when I worked in the collision shop I just about wore out a 1/4" drive air ratchet doing dashes/columns...... :haha:
 
ryoken said:
one other thing to point out other gripping capability is, as a marine guy buried in bilges, wrench profile becomes important for me... too big a casting around a box end can mean a 5 minute job turns into an hr.... :mad:

I would guess the same holds true for a dealership mechanic, etc... I know when I worked in the collision shop I just about wore out a 1/4" drive air ratchet doing dashes/columns...... :haha:
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X2 on that. I love my Flank Drives, had`em forever.
 
I have a bunch of Matco wrenches. Mostly in the oddball stuff that you don't commonly use, like half moon and such. That being said, I prefer Snap On wrenches hands down to a Matco. The Matco wrenches are just to thick.

Also, when it comes to angle wrenches, Snap On is THE ONLY choice. All the other manufactuers sell you a pos with a 15 and a 60 degree angle. You already own a whole mess of wrenches with a 15 degree angle, what is the point of giving you another??? The Snap On angle wrenches give you a 30 and a 60 degree angle, giving you 4 different angles to use as opposed to just 2 additional for all other manufacturers.

Sled dog, maybe you can answer why they do that? No other tool salesman ever has an answer (or in the case of an old Cornwell dealer, he had a bull**** answer).

Martin
 
I don't know for sure but I would venture to guess expense. To forge a 30* would require a different tooling setup. They already have the 15* tooling setup so it is cheaper for them to just forge them that way. I don't really know manufacturing like I wish I did, but that is the first thought that pops to my head. I know it seems like "it is just 15* how difficult can it be? Turn the wrench" but it is a lot more than that when it comes ot making a wrench. And sadly we do not sell volume on angle wrenches. Mostly due to cost. I have good customers that love our Matco angle wrenches(aviation guys) but they only own a handful because they are so damn expensive. Everytime the sets hit the sales flier random techs look at the price and scoff.

And as far as thickness, I am thinking you have some older Matco wrenches. I could be wrong, but over the years as manufacturing processes have improved we have reduced the thickness of our wrenches in just about every way. I have never sat and measured the differences but the last set of Snap-On wrenches I had traded in didn't seem any significant difference in dimensions to my Matco ones.
 
sled_dog said:
I cannot speak about Mac wrenches but I know one thing with Snap-ON "Flank Drive" wrenches. That is, if non-marring is important, don't get them.
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This true. I have a set of Husky wrenches for doing stuff in the cabin where passengers would see a mared fastener. Flank Drive for the rest of the airplane, though.

Sorry Sled, we don't have a Matco guy so I can't give any input on your stuff.
 
I just speak what I know. I know not everyone has access to Matco tools or in the end, not everyone will like them as much as I do. It is the way of things.
 
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