CollectingSnapOn.com

does anyone know how to read the serial numbers to tell what date or year they were made or how to decode the number to tell what plant it was made at?

I do not know that Snap-on has ever released how serial numbers on their toolboxes were used, but we do know for sure that up until 1959 when they started making their own toolboxes in Algona, Iowa all the boxes were purchased from other firms such as MBC (Master Box Company) most were probably in the Chicago to Milwaukee area. All of the early toolboxes that I have do not have serial numbers or model numbers stamped on them and I am not sure when that started but most likely after 1959. I do remember that the KRA59/KRA380 series started being made in Canada sometime in the late 80's or early 90's. The date of manufacture when stamped into the box is the two numbers to the right of the serial number (70 = 1970).

here are a couple of boxes made in Canada, you will notice that they do not show a date. The first one was made in the mid 90's and i cut the serial number off in the picture it is below the stamped info, the second one was made in the early 2000's

I was wondering more along the lines of serial numbers on air tools or torque wrenches or scanners?

in all my years with Snap-on I never saw anything that would tell when an item was made by the serial number, they did start with a low number when a new tool came out but I never saw any correlation as to the year it was made

I just find that odd since they stamp a date code symbol on hand tools but not on things like that? I've sat with alot of my tools too that I know when I bought them but can't make any sense of a serial number date?

sorry i am slow to respond to this - the big difference with the date codes on hand tools is that they have a lifetime warranty and all air tools and test equipment have a one year warranty so those serial numbers are recorded at the time of sale to start the warranty regardless of when they were made.