Anybody recognize this 3/8" Snap-On ratchet? Someone told me it might be military. Never seen one like it before.

 

i see them on ebay all the time. looks to me like its either real old, or a cheaper model. it doesnt look comfortable to use.

 

Thanks for the reply. It actually isn't too bad as far as comfort. It is short though, only about 6" long. Don't even remember how I aquired it, must have found it somewhere.

 

I think by the script on it it is just a old model,I just found a bunch of old Snap-on sockets in a box that some guy gave me at the end of his day having a yardsale.I also bought 3 wrenches at another yardsale that were 3 for a $1 and there was a very old mac 3/8" wrench that had a cheap looking finish on it,it has a very rough casting like a cheap wrench would.Good finds for the wall of old tools I want to build.

 

I don't know about military but my Dad has a 1/2 drive looks just like it from the 50s and it still works great. One of the older Snap-On guys I deal with said some parts are still around.

Rod

 

Thought it might be pretty old, thanks guys.

 

Ive got one 3/8" and a 1/4" at work. I was told by my snap on salesman that they were indeed made for government use but when i asked him why they were shaped that way he didn't know. Im guessin they were made from the 50's thru the 70's because of the script. The nice thing is that they still make the parts to warranty them if they break, they are the same as the newer ones!

 

Based on the date mark, it is a 1962 vintage. It isn't military as they are all marked with a M part number.

 

Thanks mercman86 and jbullfrog, that narrowed it down a lot.

 

looks similar to one I've had since early '50s

 

If you have snapon screwdrivers with black handles - they don't make them anymore, but they'll still re-blade them for free. I know this because I still have the very first snapon tool I ever bought...

Back in the seventies, fresh out of high school I had to start getting some tools together if I wanted to do tear-down at a VW shop, and that was the one that opened my first tool account.

I was kind of leary of it all - but three years later I had tons of snapon stuff...

My first RV job in tennessee a dealer came by and I brought it from home just to get it done, it had a snapped tip. He told me never to part with it!

Other than scars on the handle it looks brand spankin'

 

think they will do the opposite?I had a handle rot off

 

I don't think they can. But they WILL give you a brand new handle.

I guarantee they will!

I had a ratcheting box wrench that was in a garage fire, then rusted out in the yard for a year before being found by the lawnmower, and when I took it to work a service writer said "NO WAY in HELL they replace THAT!"

They did.

It was a wrench I needed just for VW bug engine mount bolts, metric 17 at one end, 19 the other. It too went back to 1977...

I have a brand new one in my box now that looks like I bought it yesterday.

 

Guess it depends on the dealer
A friend bought bought some tools from a retired mechanic and had some broken tools,the dealer wouldn't replace them saying he didn't buy them new

 

Report him to SNAPON. There is no such change in the policy that I know of - it's the same as Craftsman.

If they HAVE changed the policy - tell them we will let people know far and wide!

Also mention we have heard rumours they were bought out by a japanese corporation, and are concerned about that.

By the way - never admit they are not your originals. If there is such a change, they've broken faith.