CollectingSnapOn.com

Hi there Frank,
I recently discovered your website and would like to congratulate you on such a great resource you have provided for all the snap-on tool collectors out there. When going through my late Father's toolboxes yesterday, I came across this little fella. I reckon it's a 1/2 square drive sw180 9/16 (that's what it's marked anyway!), what I don't know is exactly how old it is. I've seen the dating chart on your site, but none of the symbols seem to match the mark on my socket. From the info you provided, I can see that these sockets date from 1931-48, but nothing in that range (or outside it) seem to match at all. I hope the image I have attached is detailed enough for you to help out with your opinion, but to me it looks like a lower case "e". Any ideas on what I have here? I am not a collector by any means, and this one will be looking for a new home in the near future, so any info you can give me would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance from "Down Under"

Australia

For the date stamp I think it is a mirror image 1939 or an incomplete 1940. Things ramped up for WWII and there are some corners cut in this period. I don't know why there exist some mirror image stamps, but they seem to exist.


It is an SW180. These were made is huge numbers and there are a few surface finish variations as well. The 1944 / 45 tools suffered from a lack of Nickel and Chrome - they have oil or zinc finishes. Yours seems older (better but not best finish). The 1946-1948 sockets seems to have a chrome flash on them while the earlier - pre war sockets did not seem to have the same quality in the finish (Mostly Nickel, the chrome was weaker and they tarnished more). I do not think yours in a 1946/47/48 socket. So from the stamp and the finish - I think 1939 or 1940

Nice tool - Probably came over with the yanks. I am not a WWII expert, but I think your neighbors to the North were getting a little grabby and you bought, borrowed, or were given ships and planes. My guess is there was a ship or plane involved. If the socket could only talk

Hope this helps

Frank

I think its a 1942. The center line has a curve to it, the 40 code is straight.