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[funkyfullwidth]

I know this site is for vintage blue point and snap on tools. And i am in no way saying how the site should be run, but has it ever been considered to open it up to new snap on tools as well. After all, i'm sure there's a good few of us that have decent collections of new snap on tools as well. I think it'd be neat for us to share what type of work we do, professional or hobbyist, and what kind of box(s) we have, how they're arranged, how they're cleaned. I'm not sure if there's really enough that can be spoken about for new tools to warrant a forum dedicated to it.

for example: i have a classic 78 snapon box, less then a year old. In the bottom left hand drawer, it's really deep. I cleaned it out and filled up my smaller snap on box. Now the drawers empty... i haven't the foggiest of what to put in it that would make any sense. I know there's other boards out there where it could be posted, but where better then a site dedicated to snap on aficionado's of old as well as new, i'm sure. May be a trivial question, but neverless, i didn't feel it appropriate to be in "questions about snap on."

Anyway... thoughts, ideas?

[snapmom]

I like the dual 80 rats, I have some. Also some of the old rats too. Most all collectors are users. Welcome to the boards.

[Frank Murch]

Great idea.

The site started as a couple of pages of tools given to me by my Grandfather. Those tools sat for 30 years before I opened them up and started wondering "what are these?". That was (and still is to some degree) the site. It was a call into the dark asking – "look at these – what is the story behind them?"

So the site grew with people like you who ask about a topic. It grew with each catalog that I found and it grew with that anonymous individual who contributes what he knows. So send me what you know and maybe we can start a page.

The site is a hobby, and it is limited by a number of factors:

- It is limited my time and technical ability. At the moment, I have a guy to help me with the technical side; the forum was set up by this guy – a great resource (Ken Miller). The forum moderation is presumably done by me, but actually I have a tremendously valuable resource that does most of the work (Snapmom). Without this guy, the forum would be full of junk about drugs, sex and Russians. Add to that a deep knowledge about Snap On and a keen eye – I have learned a lot from Snapmom and the site is better because of this guy’s efforts. The site’s size and scope are getting too big. Expanding means more complexity and more issues. These two guys (Ken and Ken actually) have allowed the site to grow - I am already over my head.

- In a short period of time (weeks) the catalog section is going to be improved dramatically. At the moment it stops at 1970. The next improvement will push it to 1980. It is basically done, and the bugs are being worked out now (Ken Miller)

- If you look at the catalogs over time it becomes obvious pretty quickly that a full listing of tools from an early period is only a faction of the effort of a full listing in the 1980s. In other words, Snap on has expanded the tool offering year over year. It would be a huge task to catalog the newer tools. It is bigger than my abilities. This is one of the reasons for the cut off at 1970. I think we are on the way to sorting through the 1970s (to 1980) with the catalog index.

- It is always interesting that people think of me as an expert. I am always amused by this because the only "qualification" I have is an interest and a couple of years asking the sorts of questions you just asked. Hey, I am luck to get 2 socks on my feet with the same color. So if you think about "you" doing the task: - you can quickly understand the limitations I have doing the same task: time, knowledge, technical ability and an idea of what the finished product looks like. It is a hobby (there is no funding to support anything) so you start to get an idea of "why not"

So those are my thoughts as to why the site does cover certain things. If you are offering help, some of these limitations can be overcome. Want to collect the information??

[funkyfullwidth]

I will certainly help in any way that I can. I don't have very much knowledge about programming, or setting up a website but I can gather information. If you're looking to expand I suppose a few questions have to be asked. Like what other types of forums would serve the most useful to us. If your working on the 70's-80's were you considering the 90's as well and then later on moving forward? I realize that there are far more tools and products being offered now and to try and display everything would take a huge effort. For expansion so far I see this...

Catalogs and listings for
1970-1980
1980-1990
1990-2000
2000-2010.

Right there is a huge amount of work. for Different forum Ideas i see this.

-Keep questions about snap on tools how it is. Maybe have it be questions about vintage snap on tools only.
-Have a seperate forum for newer snapon tools, 90's and above.
-Have a forum for restoration of snap on tool boxes, tips for cleaning old tools. Have a faq with paint codes perhaps both old and new... (for example, i have a newer electric green tool box, I would like to have an older top box painted to match it. since the newer boxes are powder coated, would an automotive paint code work, would the color and the shine look the same.)
tips for taking drawers apart, Maybe different techniques that people have for restoring an old box.

Basically, If you need help, i will offer it in anyway i can. If you need someone to collect catalogs and scan them, i can do that. If you need someone to collect paint codes or something else, it's up to you. Which ever direction you and Ken feel like going in, i will lend any help that i can. I would like to see this site grow and would love to be a part of it.

And on a side note, I've noticed that under with the catalogs are several real pictures of different things. I find myself heavily relying on pictures to try and figure out what i have or what i've seen sometimes. I've also noticed that there are alot of posts that have different pictures of different boxes. It would be nice to see those Images linked to the catalog pictures somehow so you can get a real idea of what it is your looking at. So Another thing i could do, is save all those pictures from different threads, create another photo hosting account that way they don't have to be hosted on this site, or if the person that posted it deletes it on their hosting account, it isn't lost forever. Just some food for though.

[davewho1]

This all sounds great - I'm looking forward to the additions.

My burning question is - Snapmom is a man?!

[snapmom]

Both I and hubby have been long time collectors.
Roseanna.
PS: He does the heavy lifting, and I have the brains.

[Frank Murch]

How incredibly funny

In Snapmom a man?

Yes, and no. Ken and Roseanna and two of the best people you will ever meet. Ken is most certainly NOT a woman. (He is a man’s man in the same sense of a Marine’s Marine) and Roseanna is a kind soul.

I will be more careful with my writing. My fault (sorry Roseanna)

[davewho1]

Both I and hubby have been long time collectors.
Roseanna.
PS: He does the heavy lifting, and I have the brains.

I see.