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The Early Company History That Created Vintage Snap-on Tools

Author: SaraBondia
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It's hard to imagine that it's only been a little over 100 years since the first cars rolled off the assembly line at the Ford Motor Company. As we look around today at the dealerships, used car lots, gas stations, highways and automotive repair shops, it's not easy to imagine a time when the automobile was a novelty. In today's world should your car or break down it might be an expensive inconvenience but you would not have a problem finding a mechanic with the right tools to fix it. It has not always been that way.

In the year 1910 there were only about 450,000 car owners in the United States. A small toolkit may have been included with your car purchase. But unless you were a mechanic yourself finding someone to fix a problem with your car might have been a challenge. And the tools that were available to the mechanic were by and large very simple. Tools were not the main focus, selling automobiles was. Sometimes a different sized ranch was required for nearly every nut and bolt on an automobile. This was an expensive way to assemble a toolkit.

Because of the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit of two young men there is now an active market and interest in antique Snap-on tools. It's a fascinating and interesting story about the development of this company.

"There must be a better way" Joseph Johnson must have been thinking to himself in 1919. He was employed with the American Grinder Manufacturing Co. having risen to the position of the manager of the wrench and tool division, and he was only 25 years old. By this time there were over 8 million cars in the United States. Johnson was not necessarily trained in wrenches and tools, having a background as a cost clerk and expediter. But he was smart and felt like there would be a more efficient way for the mechanics to buy and work with tools. After all, every time they bought a wrench, they were buying another handle.

Another young man by the name of William Seidemann, who was also in management at American Grinder, was friends with Joe Johnson. They talked often and debated how best to develop a new tool concept. The most reasonable way, they decided, was to offer the mechanics five different handles which could each accept 10 different sizes of sockets. This would give the mechanic a choice of 50 unique wrenches.

American Grinder was already set up and tooled to make individual wrenches. When Johnson and Seidemann talked to management about the idea of interchangeable sockets they were met with a negative reception. The managers felt like interchangeable sockets would actually decrease their profit, so they turn down the opportunity to manufacture the new line. This has to rank as one of the most costly business decisions they could have made. Johnson and Seidemann were now free to pursue this business idea on their own.

After working for several weeks, evenings and weekends, Johnson fabricated the first group of five handles. He showed them to Seidemann who said he would help create the sockets to fit the handles. They designed and then fabricated the sockets so they could be "snapped on". Want to guess how the company name was decided on? They also created the first company motto, which was "Five can do the work of 50".

For several weeks Johnson and Seidemann milled the new sockets out of a bar steel. Everything was done by hand, including the drilling and the stamping of the stock numbers. Their biggest problem now was that they had no money to invest in their new company. They spent the last few dollars that they had printing 2,000 brochures advertising the new tool idea.

For their sales force, Johnson and Seidemann found a lone tire salesman who traveled throughout the state of Wisconsin. They sent him off with the one and only set of tools they had fabricated and started to work on a second set. The tactic used by the salesman was to show the set of tools to the mechanics, and give them a brochure. Because there was no physical product to sell, he collected COD orders. Johnson and Seidemann surely must have been shocked and surprised when the salesman returned with 500 orders for toolsets that did not yet exist.

Johnson and Seidemann found another salesman who would also be willing to represent their new tool line, and he was sent out with the #2 set that had been completed. The second salesman was similarly and enthusiastically received by the mechanics he met with, and came back with more COD orders. Now Johnson and Seidemann had a real problem - a great concept and a huge demand, but no products to sell. And they had no money.

Johnson and Seidemann were able to find a lawyer who had contacts in the community and could find some men who would be willing to invest in the business. It was officially incorporated as the Snap-on Wrench Company on the 10th of April in 1920. They did not have any cash with which they could invest in their own enterprise, so Johnson and Seidemann had to borrow funds in order to purchase stock. They bought the raw materials necessary to start production, leased machinery, and rented a 2,500 sq. ft. shop. From that first manufacturing facility came some of the early vintage Snap-on tools that today are avidly sought after by collectors.

About the Author

Sara Bondia has fun researching details on vintage Snap-on Tools and she loves finding bargains and selling on eBay. Get more details on collecting antique Snap-on Tools and see some great deals at her Vintage Snap-on Tools website. Click over now and see what she has!

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