Sears tools--color coordinated, wow :)

[Kistler]

Mayhaps, I should redecorate my tool situation; Sears sent me a tools catalog along with my two new 19.2V batteries.

You can get titanium blue or gold with personalized embossing or of course the old tired stuff.

Any of you people changed the decor in your garage? The tool boxes also come in colors--not just red anymore.

Kistler

[Foiled Again]

Gimmicks instead of quality. K-Mart sells junk, so I guess I've bought my last Craftsman Tools. Let's see if I can flag down the Snap-On man.

Paula

[Kistler]

Snap0n tools are not cheap but they are quality, I suppose. The local Snap-On dealer/roving sales person parks his utility van--big diesel very, very, nice at the same covered storage we keep our trailer.

He parks his Porsche 911 or his big Ford F-350 each day and takes out his van.... wow, I do like his toys.

In my case, I feel, as did my father-in-law, you are not a true crafts person IF you have the tools for the job.

I have pliers and screwdriver here or I can rob my wife's stash from the kitchen.

Kistler

[Aerowood]

I gave up on Craftsman tools years ago. The fit is just not there anymore. I now use mostly Snap-On. I do still have some 70's Craftsman tools that I use at home and they are a much higher quailty then the stuff they sale now. Sears is into alot of gadget tools now that are worthless. All that aside I do use my tools professionally. as my livelyhood relies on them.

[Streamin 65]

Has anyone noticed what Hitachi is offering these days? Their tools look more like they were designed by Nike. Maybe Sears bought into that "look" as well. In any case, Bosch blue seems to be the color in my shop....--dave

[Jim & Susan]

When did Craftsman stop being a quality tool? I completely agree that Kmart=Junk, but has the Craftsman line gone down that far? I recently bought a 100 plus piece tool set for a freind from Sears as a gift. That set came with a lifetime warranty. Those seemed fine to me. I also recently bought a Craftsman tourqe wrench rated to 150# because I had to put a new engine in one of my pick-ups. No problem there either. Mind you, I've got my own problems with Sears, but the tool line still seems to be strong.

For the money, the Craftsman line is a dang good tool (much cheaper than the professional brands and most come with a lifetime warranty). And yes, If I relied on my tools to earn a living, Craftsman would not be my first choice.

Did I miss something?

Jim

[wkerfoot]

Originally Posted by Foiled Again

Gimmicks instead of quality. K-Mart sells junk, so I guess I've bought my last Craftsman Tools. Let's see if I can flag down the Snap-On man.

Paula

Paula,

Maybe so, but as long as they have the unlimited warranty on hand tools and are open on Saturday and Sunday so that I can replace the screwdriver which I used as a lever, I will stay with Craftsman. If they drop the unlimited warranty, I will consider Snap on or Proto to go with the 3/4" drive set I inherited from my father. They were made in the 1940's or earlier.

Bill

[uwe]

Originally Posted by Jim & Susan

When did Craftsman stop being a quality tool? I completely agree that Kmart=Junk, but has the Craftsman line gone down that far? I recently bought a 100 plus piece tool set for a freind from Sears as a gift. That set came with a lifetime warranty. Those seemed fine to me. I also recently bought a Craftsman tourqe wrench rated to 150# because I had to put a new engine in one of my pick-ups. No problem there either. Mind you, I've got my own problems with Sears, but the tool line still seems to be strong.

For the money, the Craftsman line is a dang good tool (much cheaper than the professional brands and most come with a lifetime warranty). And yes, If I relied on my tools to earn a living, Craftsman would not be my first choice.

Did I miss something?

Jim

Jim,

The bummer is that you really need to read the fine print before buying Sears/Craftsman tools. Their Sears branded tools are junk made in India or Taiwan. No warranty.
The Craftsman brand is better, but their warranty only covers the tools without any mechanisms. Ratchets or torque wrenches are definitely not covered. ( Even though, I did had a fresh employee there replace a defective ratchet once)
Craftsman wrenches ( at least teh nes I have) havea clumsy feel to them ,and are very thick, making them useless for many applications. I find them uncomfortable to work with.
I have been buying Snap On or lately Zebra tools to replace lost or broken Craftsman stuff.
http://www.wurthusa.com/project/en/l...ds/Brands.html

[klattu]

Sears bought K-mart, not the other way around.

As tools go...still like my Craftsman.
I also tried the Husky from Home Depot or Lowes, don't remember.
They offered a trade in for your worn Craftsman tools, and they are holding up very well.
I got lots of brands that are good,
Stanley from Wal-Mart, Goodwrench, and TSC.
If they are on clearance, I will give them a try

[redeagle313]

I have no complaints on Craftsman tools, as Sears still stands behind them. I have used them for 30+ years and have had no issues. Some of their non-tool items, like their garage cabinets, are not up to the quality level of some of their competitors.

[wkerfoot]

Originally Posted by klattu

Sears bought K-mart, not the other way around.

As tools go...still like my Craftsman.
I also tried the Husky from Home Depot or Lowes, don't remember.
They offered a trade in for your worn Craftsman tools, and they are holding up very well.
I got lots of brands that are good,
Stanley from Wal-Mart, Goodwrench, and TSC.
If they are on clearance, I will give them a try

Nope,

Kmart went BK, an investor purchased enough debt to control the BK and brought Kmart out of BK. Then Kmart purchased Sears and changed the Kmart name to Sears.

Back to your regularly scheduled thread.

Bill

[klattu]

Kmart and Sears mergerIn November 17, 2004, Kmart stores announced its intention to purchase Sears Stores, both divisions of their respective parent organizations. It is mistakenly believed that Sears as a whole was purchased by Kmart; however, this is not true, as after Kmart Stores completed the purchase of Sears Stores, Sears Holdings Corporation purchased Kmart Holdings Corporation. The new corporation announced that it would continue to operate stores under both the Sears and Kmart brands.

Sears Holdings Corporation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shoot...I'll just go eat worms

[overlander63]

Originally Posted by Streamin 65

In any case, Bosch blue seems to be the color in my shop....--dave

And for a nominal $6,000 or so, you too can own a tool box like this:

[lewster]

As a professional type of tool oriented guy, I rely on my tools to earn my living. I have some craftsmen wrenches.....they're OK, but not great!

The Husky brand from Home Depot is a private label made by Stanley...probably in China. they have some good designs, but they are disposeable.

I buy a lot of my specialty stuff from Germany....Willie Hahn Corp sold in the US as WIHA TOOLS. The quality is top shelf, and their prices are not bad for a german made tool. I will probably go to Snap-On or Matco when the Craftsman wrenches start to die. You get what you pay for!

[Jim & Susan]

Originally Posted by uwe

Jim,

The bummer is that you really need to read the fine print before buying Sears/Craftsman tools. Their Sears branded tools are junk made in India or Taiwan. No warranty........
ww.wurthusa.com/project/en/leftnavi/products/brands/Brands.html

Uwe, the last two sets I bought (listed above) were American made. The "gift" set I bought were warranteed for life (and were purchased in the last year or so). The torque wrench was only warranteed for 90 days. That is sort of understandable, drop a torque wrench and that can throw off the calibration; drop a ratchet, nothing much should happen.

As stated previously, you'll get no arguement from me that Sears is no longer a great American company, and what a shame that is. But, in my experience, they still do some stuff right.

And a DYI kind of guy simply can't afford professional tools. No offense anybody, just my 2 cents.

Jim

[clancy_boy]

About three years after Hurricane Andrew hit the southern Florida area, I pulled into Ft Lauderdale on a ship. Made a run to the local store one morning with my crew and while they shopped I went into a pawn shop. This place was packed from wall to wall with tools. The guy was a dead beat and really had a attitude. Well long story short he told me to load up and he would price the stuff (all Craftsman hand tools - sockets, ratchets, wrenches, etc) CHEAP. In the end, I could hardly walk out with the loot. 1/2 inch drive sockets 50 cents each, deep sockets 50 cents, wrenches $1, ratchets $2.50, and so on. He even let me have 12 cracked and chipped sockets free - "get em' outta here". He knew what they were he was just over loaded with the stuff. Seems that the fly-by-nights and other construction crews sell their tools for a song, and pawn them off for gas money. I replaced the cracked stuff at Sears which were valued for far more than I spent. Now waiting for that to happen here after Katrina - the swap meets are full of tools that people looted from destroyed homes - the law is there every weekend looking for id marks on stuff.

[davidz71]

Originally Posted by uwe

Jim,

The bummer is that you really need to read the fine print before buying Sears/Craftsman tools. Their Sears branded tools are junk made in India or Taiwan. No warranty.
The Craftsman brand is better, but their warranty only covers the tools without any mechanisms. Ratchets or torque wrenches are definitely not covered. ( Even though, I did had a fresh employee there replace a defective ratchet once)
Craftsman wrenches ( at least teh nes I have) havea clumsy feel to them ,and are very thick, making them useless for many applications. I find them uncomfortable to work with.
I have been buying Snap On or lately Zebra tools to replace lost or broken Craftsman stuff.
WURTH USA Inc. - WURTH Brands

Funny, I had a 3/8" ratchet go bad a couple years ago and rather than replace the entire thing, they gave me the inner parts to fix it. It is still working fine. Screwdrivers I purchased years ago show no rust at all yet those purchased in kits over the last 3 years are rusting at the drop of a hat.

[PWRSTRK]

I need a torque wrench to fix my Hensley -- this week. What do you all recommend? I've looked at a bunch this week and none of them impresses me.


Tom

[thecatsandi]

Whatever you get. get a click style. Having to read a dial while tightening can be difficult.

[thecatsandi]

Here is what mine looks like...