Where tools are made

I see alot of Harbor Freight bashing (well all foreign made) here and wondering are any tools actually made in the US? How can you be sure? I asked the snap on guy if his wrenches were made in the US and he said they were made in overseas, but chromed in the US, and thats how they use the "made in the usa" label. Is that correct Snap On reps? So what tools are actually 100% USA made? This isnt made to be a argument, just really curious.

I hate accidents happen, but you have to always ***ume something bad WILL happen. There are so many good techs I know that are missing a digit. Be careful guys, no matter where the tool comes from.

 

check over on the garage journal. I think there is a thread on that board about what is and what isnt usa made..

IE vise grips just went made in china.. Makes you think what else irwin is going to make over there

 

I really think the wal m@rt mentality kills us. How much can you get for how little money. To compete, companies outsource..I know thats basic business, but its how the tool companies work as well as everyone else.

 

There is a Snap-on factory on the NW side of Milwaukee, Wi. I don't know what they make at that location but its been there for 25 years.

 

Ya...I would like to know this.

My best buddy, known him since we were like 10, asked me to watch his house.

He's hanging with his chick in Europe...before he left he purchased like 12gs in snap on.

I've been borrowing tools and leaving IOU's ...I sure wish I could say that he paid too much and they were from china...

That way I wouldnt owe him like 4gs...would I?

 

Here in the small town I live in is one of the original Mac Tool forging shops. It is now owned by Stanley but I still hear them every night pounding out sockets and so on.

 

stanley also produces craftsman and matco....
what My matco guy was telling me. big long story about questioning how long craftsman was going to be around becuase of who was going to be warrenteeing crafstman stuf.

 

"Made in Overseas" - that's a cl***ic. If it has a barcode that begins with 690-695 that is a sure sign of 'Hecho in China'. Buying old brand tools at swap meets (remember those - swap meets?) may give you a better chance of finding 'Hecho in USA'.

 

A lot of Snap On stuff is now made in China.

 

I don't know for sure what is made where but I did notice when I bought my Mac box it has a sticker that says "***embled in USA with global parts". I do know one thing though, "global parts" or not, my Mac box is hands down better quality than 99% of the cheaper priced boxes.

 

Harbour Freight tools are great to modify and make special stuff out of like bent and welded wrenches or welded sockets to taps or extractors

 

how cool is that

 

I forgot..the snap on rep said the only thing they sold truly all made in the us was their most expensive tool boxes...the cheaper (by snap on standards) were made by someone else.

 

My Snap On box says made in Canada? Anyone elses say that?

 

As much as i cherish my new snap-on and mac stuff, i still love finding the early snap-on wrenches and stuff at estate sales and swap meets. the old stuff doesnt ever break it seems like. And the old world snap-on craftsmanship is supurb
And after my first ****** knuckle with a craftsman ratchet i refuse to use craftsman ratchets/sockets/endwrenches. i feel my safety is more important than ease of exchange!

 

i see that alot, almost all of the blue point line of tools from snap on are china made but i think most of the actual snap on brand are still made in the u.s.according to my local dealer.

 

I think most Snap On on tools are made here. Blue Point are made over seas. Most Mac non chrome tools are made over seas.

 

heres some good reading about what it takes to have "made in the USA" on a product, http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/adv/bus03.shtm

 

There's a thread on here for stuff made in the USA
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=291616

 

Klein makes a good tool that is made in the states.

 

You can call and ask them.
http://www1.snapon.com/display/DocMgmtDisplayFile.aspx?fileid=8096

BTW, I used to work for a small company they owned. The story goes that the stockholders demanded outsourcing to maximize profits and keep up with other Fortune 500 companies.
They tried different things. Last I heard, the lower tier stuff they are expanding into is mainly sourced overseas.

The quality has slipped, and they are t******* employees every chance they get.

 

I got to thinking about this after I posted on the "Harbor Freight will kill you" thread....When I bought my bike shop in 1976,there were a bunch of box and open end wrenches made in INDIA...a lot of them..At the time,I thought I'd be replacing them pretty damn quick...Now,over 30 years later,I use them as wrenches,hammers,pry bars,and weapons..and have never broken any of them,with rough everyday use....Yet,if you ask me what comes from India that's worth a damn,I couldn't think of a thing..except my 30+ year old wrenches...Another country of origin story..My dad bought me,in the mid 60s,wrench sets from Japan..He bought them at a jewelry store around Christmas...They look like total homemade,crude ****..and I've never broken any of them,either..I reach for them first,all the time,because my dad bought them for me..I don't use the Craftsman,or Mac stuff I have if the old Jap one is within reach...

 

Saaaalute. My birthplace....My dad worked the Algona plant.

 

By the way my favorite and best set of wrenches were made by:



JC Penneys. They are beautiful polished and chromed forgings shaped like Snap-ons. Anybody else have them??

 

I am a snap on dealer and all of our wrenches are made in kenosha wi and all that carry the snap on brand are made in the usa

 

here a right from snap on tools website http://www.snapon.com/faqs/answers.asp?question=23<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=10 width="95&#37;" border=0><TBODY><TR cl***=cl***List vAlign=top align=left><TD>FAQs Answer</TD></TR><TR cl***=cl***List2><TD>I would like to know if your tool products are made in the United States? Most Snap-on&#174; branded hand tools are made in the USA. Snap-on is on record as being a strong supporter of maintaining the integrity of the "Made in USA" label when the Federal Trade Commission was considering relaxing the standards.
</TD></TR><TR cl***=cl***List2><TD>Updated on: Wednesday, May 14, 2008</TD></TR><TR cl***=cl***List2><TD>Back to FAQs
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

 

My most favorite wrench set that I had when I was a youngster was branded - Globe. Cheap imports some 40 years ago. They worked okay, but looked funny.