Just a little rant about my least favorite tool
 

So I wake up today, bright eyes and bushy-tailed ready to take on the world. I have the day off work and finally, we get some sunshine. I take hold of the day and load up the "old" LT1042 (after scavenging some parts off of it, of course) and take it to the scrap yard. After that, I head home and get the garage winter ready; dethatcher, lawn sweep, disc, tiller, push mower, and other things go out to the shed to make room for vehicles during the winter cause, ya know, they don't need shelter during the summer. Anywho, I get that done and decide it's a great day to tare into the new 1450 and do a little trunion work. I get the fenders off no problem, remove the old snap rings (break them off because they're so brittle) and get things ready for the new parts. I hop in the truck again and off to the hardware store I go. I get some new snap rings, washers for spacers, some tin, and then go aaallllll the way to the other end of town to Farm & Fleet for snap ring pliers because True Value was out of them. I get my first shiny new set of snap ring pliers home and and ready to knock this thing out before the girlfriend gets home from work. Then it starts.

It has 4 assorted ends for different sizes and of course, the only size that fits the snap rings I got are straight and I need the 90° ends. Ok, so I use a set of pliers to make the straight into 90° and riiiggghhhttt as I get them set, SNAP! The stupid nipple on the end breaks off. Doh!! :bash2: Ok, keep calm. My next thought is simple drill out the holes on the snap rings 1/1000000th of an inch to make the other snap ring heads fit but oh wait! My drill took a crap on me a couple weeks ago and I haven't gotten a new one yet! :bash2::bash2: Ok, so maybe I can round the nipples of the pliers a bit to make them fit but oh wait! I don't have anything abrasive to do that either :bash2: All this because of a cheap pair of snap ring pliers, my most hated of tools. I've always had bad luck with them, why oh why couldn't they just use something else. So, totally frustrated, I closed the freshly cleaned garage up (which, btw, isn't so clean because I have tools, fenders, and Cub parts laying everywhere :biggrin2:) and went inside. At least the meatloaf I made in the crock pot smells delicious :biggrin2:

So that's it, thanks for listening to my rant, carry on everyone! :biggrin2::beerchug:

Sorry about your day man! :beer2: Snap ring pliers are truly one of those tools you "get what you pay for" Lol! I have these..... and they have yet to let me down! But, obviously, I paid out the nose for them!
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QFT

I took the set back that I got from F&F and went right across the street to Menards. They had a $3.99 set and a $19.99 set. Let's just say I didn't make the same mistake again :biggrin2::beerchug:

Not to worry jimbob200521 we all have those days, lol.

Yep! you can say that again!

I don't need them often but when I do the good stuff is worth the $$$. :beerchug:

the way I approach tools is if we use it hard its snapon the dealer stops Mondays and if we need him in between he lives 2 miles away if we don't use it hard then I am not as fussy but snap ring pliers those are the good ones prolly replaced them 3 times already when the tips break off I think as often as we replace a broken tool it pays to have a good warrenty

Some days it doesn't pay to get out of bed...lol.

Your day sucked, but it will get better, and it will be worst.
Jonathan, I've got a similar set to yours, got tiered of buying the cheap stuff and having them break. I also don't use them much, but when I do need them I know they will perform the job. Our guy stops by every Monday 11:00 am and he also lives about three miles down the road, even went to his house on a Sunday needing tools.
I've got a lot of Matco tools, but they aren't around much anymore. I've got some Harbor Freight wrenches I've been trying to break, but the darn things are pretty good for being so cheap. I bought one complete set of open ends up to, I think 1" and it was cheaper than one of my Snap On's. Craftman is a pretty good tool, but pricy for the quality, their screw drivers suck, weak tips. Snap on has an excellent screwdriver.
Sorry to hijack your thread, just sayin'

What Sam said x2!

Thanks guy! I know we all have those days but sometimes it just feels better to vent about it :biggrin2:

Oh and I got home with my new set from Menards and lo and behold, in 3 minutes flat, I had both snap rings on without a problem. Guess I know where to go in the future for my tools locally :beerchug:

Jimbob,at least you have a Menards to go to buy your tools.I wish they would open stores down south.:Pray:

Gotta agree with the Snap-on set. Those jobs with the different tips ain't worth the time it takes to throw them away.

I bought a pair I really like at Home Depot for about 15 or 20 bucks, and they have lots of ends, are useable on internal or external rings, and haven't ever let me down. They're channellocks.

Couldn't say how many of those type I've broken..... I'll stick with the individual sets. :biggrin2:

You guys are bringing up an old thread! :biggrin2:

I've since gotten myself a good pair of these snap ring pliers (along with many more useful tools), but the brand escapes me at the moment. All I know is they work just fine :beerchug:

Edit: They might be Sanp-On :bigthink:

Menards is one of the worst places one could go to buy tools IMO....

In large, I'd agree with that but they do have some half way decent tools there. Not all of them can be home runs nor would I say a professional mechanic should stock his shop with all Menards tools. That being said, I'd say 90% of the guys on here would be just fine with them :beerchug:

I got a set very similar to jmechs. Bought them at harbor freight tho and ive yet to have a issue with them. Beats the heck outta the ones ya gotta change the heads on

They seem too work fine for me and even thought I don't use them too often when I do I'm not exactly "gentle" with my tools. In other words, if they were poor quality or had broken I'd have already replaced them and wouldn't be telling you how good they are. Just my experiences.

I have gotten almost half of my snap-on tools at pawn shops. You have to make pretty regular rounds to get the good deals though.

Terry

Snap ring pliers? don't need no stinkin' sap ring pliers.
A few screw drivers, pocket knife, sum ice picks and lotsa bandages will git er done! :biggrin2:
(sorry I just couldn't resist)

...and half the day trying to find the retaining ring when it flies off. Good luck if you don't have a cement floor.

Glad you had good luck with them. I don't buy cheap stuff. Count on my tools too much to have broken ones. But, when it's how you make your living...... Lets just say it separates the good (tools) from the bad pretty quick.

Around here those clips are called Jesus clips. When they fly away we always say "Jesus, need your help again to find another clip".

I know what you mean but the set I mention isn't a cheap set. After all, channellocks is, if not the best, one of the best brands of pliers you can buy.

I paid well over $300 for that set. What did the Channel Lock set cost?

Wow you got taken but whatever works works. I meant cheap as in quality not price. Mine were about 20 bucks and they have almost every size I need and are much better I material thickness and construction than those stamped ones like that in your big set.

Also it's not a set its 1 pliers with lots of interchangeable tips and a switch for internal and external snap rings

I seriously doubt that J-Mech got taken. He makes his living with tools. Look at it this way, you promise a customer that you'll do a job for X amount of $$ and have it done at a certain time. In the middle of the job you cheap tool breaks, damages the project your working so now you need to do more work replace the tool and you don't get the job done as you said you would so you don't get paid and the customer doesn't come back for future work. How much did you save?

People who don't own Snap-On tools, or use their tools for a living always think that. It's ok, I don't expect you to understand. Besides... if I do ever happen to break one.... ever.... (50 years form now) they replace it for free.


Yeah, like I said....those are junk. Broken every single pair of that style I ever bought. Plus, if the area is tight, you can't get those bulky ones in. I'm done debating this. It is what it is.

Agree with both points. If I was using my tools to make a living, I wouldn't have the set with the exchangeable tips. But for someone who just works in his own garage on Cubs, garden tractors, and his own vehicles, a $20 set is just fine. If it breaks in 5, 10 years, it's not like they'll be expensive to replace.

My point is, you BOTH have valid points. John is right in saying you get what you pay for; if in 50 years his break, he gets new ones for free. That is the right choice for a professional mechanic. But the other side is it doesn't make sense for a guy like me to drop big coin on a professional set when I use them less than 6 times a year on a Cub.

So there, we can all be right!! :beerchug:

I have a full set of Mac snap ring pliers I've owned for 25+ yrs now. They were pricy, but I got my money out of them for sure-pretty sure it was on the first tranmission I built...my suggestion is to buy one or two of the common sizes off a tool truck. They are really worth it.

Think what u want but They're not junk

The tools you own greatly depend on the frequency you use them, like Jon I work in a shop so all my tools are snap on or Cornwell and yes they were very expensive but I've got my money's worth out of them and I depend on them to earn a living. My cousin has a mix of craftsman and hf and they get the job done when we work on his cars but I wouldn't use them daily as the quality just isn't there, just about every time we use his tools we break a few while I can't tell you the last time I broke one of mine. I agree if you don't wrench for a living there's no point in buying expensive tools but for what I do its a necessity. Nothing like a good tool debate:biggrin2::beatdeadhorse:

Craftsman tools are probly almost as good as snap on and the warranty is better and easier to use. I'd use them as a pro just as I use em now

What ever, I'm done. :beatdeadhorse:

This is getting good now!

CubCadet129, why don't you tell us about how much you turn wrenches....
How long have you been buying tools and using them? Enlighten us on your experiences.

:popcorn::popcorn:

I have Astros, crap ones, no good either.:biggrin2:

I hate my interchangable tip set. After some use it was impossible to keep tips from slipping out of position on the more difficult removals. Maybe the channellocks are better made.

Elsewhere I read that kastar makes the snapon snap ring pliers.