Recently, one of the mechanics at my local shop got himself a brand new Snap-on box with a top hutch, and I got a little jealous — ok, a lot jealous. It’s big, blue, shiny, and completely lust-worthy.

The five thousand dollar buy-in is steep for most, but you’re really buying the Snap-on name and quality. A box like this will last through many moves from house to house, from shop to shop — and all the while it’ll hold a ton of tools without sagging or faltering like a few department store toolboxes might. Plus, you can always expand or adapt this versatile box to suit your circumstances.

Only the buyer can say whether the Snap-on box is worth the uber price difference. But most of us can agree, this box is mighty good looking — even with all the drool stains on it.

Rolling Toolbox And Top Hutch [Snap-on]

Snap-on recently introduced the magnetic Lock-A-Wrench 12-piece wrench organizer under their Blue Point label. Apparently it isn’t just for wrenches — it appears to work with most shafted tools. Attach this organizer to your workbench for easy storage, or stick it to your metal toolbox or cart to keep tools within reach.

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Tighten or loosen hose clamps in hard-to-reach places without worrying about the driver slipping off the nut. SMC Corporation designed their locking nut driver to lock onto a nut with the flip of a lever.

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Head over to Snap-on’s website for a killer deal. Buy a 71-piece 3/8″ general service set for $300, and get your choice of a 51-piece 1/4″ socket set; 10-piece mini-pliers and 7-piece screwdriver set; or the Lock-a-Socket tray and LED pocket flip light. Each of the three options normally retails for around $130.  The offer ends June 30.

Snap-on [Corporate Site]
Buy One, Pick One Deal [Snap-on]

Cars and tools are so closely connected, some people have trouble separating the two. You can’t really have one without the other. In the case of Snap-On’s ’57 “Glomad” Chevy, we have to say we had no idea tools could look so damn good on a car.

The Glomad sports actual wrenches that make up the two-tone on the sides and the rails at the rear of the trunk — and the lug nuts on the bad-ass rims are sockets. It also comes complete with a huge, fold-out Snap-On tool system in the cave-like rear area.

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To help make holiday shopping a bit easier encourage you to buy that high-buck bauble you’ve been drooling over, Snap-On is offering a 10% discount on select items and free shipping on most orders under $500. It seems that only a few items are discounted, but the free shipping is offered site-wide until December 31st. Reasonable exclusions apply – it’s hard to expect large, bulky items to be eligible for free shipping, but with Snap-On’s prices, few products under $500 fit this description.

Snap-On [Manufacturer]
Sale Items [Snap-On]

We’ve seen lots of swivel-head ratchets, but we’ve never seen one that swivels in this plane.  As PutnamEco – the reader who clued us in to this find — said, you can “start off like a screw/nut driver and finish like a regular ratchet.  This is one of those tools you don’t realize you need until you have it.”

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Sadly, Ace has closed most of their hardware stores near us over the last few years, so we don’t get into the stores much.  (We miss them, too.)  That’s why it tool TM reader Todd’s email to clue us in to this interesting practice: Ace carries Snap-on branded flashlights and gloves, but Todd says the tools don’t appear to carry Snap-on’s “Made in the USA” logos or Snap-on’s legendary warranty.

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I’ve heard about Snap-on’s new 7.2V cordless screwdriver (model CTS561) from a number of sources, and when I saw their email campaign today offering free shipping it goaded me into actually taking a close look at the specs.  Snap-on wants $130 for the CTS561 — almost exactly what Bosch is asking for the PS-20 “Pocket Driver,” which makes them an obvious comparison. 

After the jump we pit these two mini-drivers against one another in a “battle of the spec sheets.”

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We have a little cheapie code scanner — actually a couple of them — around the Toolmonger shop, but we aspire to one day pick up a serious unit, like Snap-on’s Ethos.  It’s the real deal, not only handling the standard OBDII codes, but reading pretty much anything a post 1980 car can send.

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Need an extension longer than the “short” one and shorter than the “long” one?  Snap-on’s new variable-length socket extensions might fill the bill.  They’re also spring-loaded so they’ll stay on the fastener.

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Snap-on recently released a couple of new micro pneumatic tools, including the slick-looking 3″ micro dual action sander pictured above.  Features include a one-piece polymer/composite housing, an oversized trigger — a big deal to anyone who’s had hand cramps from squeezing a trigger you can only get one finger around — and a diffused exhaust exiting at the bottom of the handle.

It spins at 15k RPM free, and draws 2.07 CFM at 90 PSI.  While this is obviously meant for prep work in a paint shop, it’d be incredibly useful around the home shop.  We’re spoiling for one to make small sanding projects easier.  You wouldn’t even need a ton of compressor to drive it.

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For those of you who own VWs and Audis and work on them regularly — you know who you are — Snap-on’s made life a little easier with a custom socket specifically designed to ease the removal and installation of Polydrive head bolts

No offense intended, but after working on my 944S2, I’ve sworn that I’ll never buy a German car again.  Lease one, maybe.  But not buy.  However, I know from email that more than a few of you are fans of the yellow, black, and red and are willing to do what it takes to keep ‘em running — even if that means removing the front of the car and moving the radiator into the “service position” to replace an alternator.

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When we saw the above in our email, we immediately wanted to cut it out and paste it over our significant others’ bathroom mirror.  Kudos to Snap-on for realizing that a) we do love chrome, b) fire = good, c) tools are a great gift for Valentine’s Day (even if all your SO can afford is a socket or two)!

As far as we can tell this missive doesn’t represent any special sale or discount, just a reminder to give (and hopefully receive) the gift that keeps on giving: tools.

If you get a chance, let us know in comments what tools under, say, $50 that you’d love to receive for Valentine’s Day.

Rob writes: “If you’ve ever struggled with getting a hose clamp off from an awkward place, you need these!  You just put the clamping head on the clamp and squeeze the handles — which lock – to open the clamp and hold it open to move it.  It’s a little on the spendy side if you don’t need them a lot, but it’s definitely the right tool for the job.”

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FYI: Snap-on’s offering 10% off some specialty items until December 20th.  For example:

• a 6-piece magnetic ratchet set in chrome for $59.81
• a 7-piece mini screwdriver combo set for $52.61

Good hunting.

10% Sale [Snap-on]

Trevor D. says that while this tool isn’t amazing, it does work great and is one of this favorites around the shop. He writes: “Run the reamer/deburring tool along the edge of a motor’s mating gasket surface, around freshly drilled holes, leading edges of oil seal cavities, and so on and – bam! – you get burr-free edges insuring a perfect seal and gouge free entry of any parts that will go right past that edge.  I use mine on steel, aluminum, plastic, you name it.”

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