Craftsman... (mild rant)

My baby stihl has been gettin it done for the 100 bucks I paid for it
 
tknopp said:
I agree. The old school craftsman tools were and still hold up great. New stuff sucks. Probably when they went from american made to overseas made.
Now I spend the extra coin and buy snap on and cornwell tools.
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don't be so sure about snap-on anymore they are being made in China now

I have tons of ratchets and my favorite one is the composite ratchet that Harbor Freight sells. It has held up great to plenty of abuse and it has a real smooth action to it.
 
I bought a small craftsman air compressor about a 9 or 10 months ago.
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I picked it up the other week and the handle snapped right off. Pot metal made POS.
 
my friends dad has a craftsman tool set like one of the 100 some tool sets in the box. and it works great never had any problems out of anything in the box.

however ive got a few kobalt tools and they feel like they are well built and they've held up so far.

my best rachet and the one i use all the time is one from advance i found wedged in a coil of one of my parts trucks i bought.
 
I've always used lots of craftsman tools and never once had any issues with returning a broken anything. Just a few weeks ago I wne through all my tools and weeded out all the worn and broken craftsman tools and made a trip up there. Had quite a few standard sockets that had been blown apart by the impact and a few screwdrivers that I had beat on like a chisel and drove the shaft all the way through the handle. Not one question and I exchanged over $300 worth of tools. The guy at the counter has been with sears for over 15 years and some of the sockets, ratchets and screwdrivers were so old he had never seen any before. Some of my stuff was also upgraded to their professional series since they don't make the exact tool in their standard series anymore. I will agree that their tools aren't the quality of snap on, cornwell, mac, matco or s&k but look at what you're paying for them.
 
I will say that using the right tool for the job really helps. I ended up buying a 3/4" drive set and even using an extension on the breaker bar I have never had a problem. So I use that set now when I should vs 1/2 drive stuff I know I will break.
 
burrellsjeep said:
Doesn't Craftsman give you rebuilds for ratchets now instead of replacing them. I think they have been doing it for a while now. I broke two 1/2 breaker bars trying to break an axle nut loose. They replaced them and I upped to a 3/4 breaker bar, But I guess it depends on the tool. I agree I have heard there torques have issues.
Wonder if Snappy will chime in. :popcorn:
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The sears in Morganton just gives you a new ratchet or tool.
 
a lot of my craftsman tools came in a set i bought when i was 16 years old.that was 31 years ago and the ratchets are still going strong. bought a small set to have in the trail rig and the first time i used the 3/8 inch ratchet it stripped out. went to trade it and they said i had to take a rebuilt unit.after a lenghty disscusion i hauled ass before securty showed up.
 
84cucvk-5 said:
I've got the exact same compressor going on 2 years now. Use it pretty regularly with no problems.
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As far as the operation of the compressor goes I've had no problems. It just has no handle now, and a shard of metal sticking off the side waiting to jab me. I guess I should grind it off huh.
 
Most of my sockets and wrenches are Craftsman. I've had fairly good luck with the sockets, wrenches, and screw drivers, etc.

The ratchets, not so much. I have maybe 4 or 5 ratchets that are busted and have yet to take them in. Keep forgetting I guess.

However, I have 2 ratchets I absolutely LOVE and will never part with. 1 is a 1/2" driver PROTO I got maybe 10 years ago. I've had 6' long breaker bars on it pulling as hard as I can and I've yet to have any issues with it. The gears are pretty fine too, so it works well in tight spaces. The handle is knurled and is round, so it doesn't kill my fingers when I pull. The other ratched I love is my Klein 1/2" drive spudwrench/ratchet combo. Its super beefy and heavy. I use that for most of my heavy duty work. The handle is tapered so its good to align holes, etc. (mostly used in ironwork) but I've found it makes an awesome hammer, prybar, awl, line up pin, and many other things. It has yet to let me down after 12 years of HEAVY daily use. I have the same Klein spudwrench with an adjustible wrench on it and its also the only one I have yet to be able to break!
 
How the f do you guys keep breaking these things???:confused:

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More like this
 
My brother once had a Craftsman scrwdriver that quite randomly got all rusty... sitting on a pegboard beside the rest of the set that still looked new.
Pissed, he took it to the local store.
Salesman: "We don't warranty exchange for that. Technically it's still functional, it has to br broken." Sorry.
Brother (more pissed) "WTF? So it has to be broken eh?"
Salesman: "Yep. Come back when its broken."

Brother walks over to the tool section, picks up a pair of bolt cutters, and cuts the head right off the screwdriver.
Back to the saleesman: "Ooops, I broke it."
Salesman: "Ok, here's your new screwdriver."
 
RatLabGuy said:
My brother once had a Craftsman scrwdriver that quite randomly got all rusty... sitting on a pegboard beside the rest of the set that still looked new.
Pissed, he took it to the local store.
Salesman: "We don't warranty exchange for that. Technically it's still functional, it has to br broken." Sorry.
Brother (more pissed) "WTF? So it has to be broken eh?"
Salesman: "Yep. Come back when its broken."
Brother walks over to the tool section, picks up a pair of bolt cutters, and cuts the head right off the screwdriver.
Back to the saleesman: "Ooops, I broke it."
Salesman: "Ok, here's your new screwdriver."
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thats just funny:lol:
 
anyone else remember the old commercial where they used a screw driver through a pintle ring and bumper, and simply said guaranteed forever?

yeah not so much anymore.

Klein I have damn near everything they make, but the aggravating part is their lifetime guarantee is the lifetime of the tool, break it bring it in and "the lifetime of the tool is over"

as far as

scoutdawg said:
don't be so sure about snap-on anymore they are being made in China now
I have tons of ratchets and my favorite one is the composite ratchet that Harbor Freight sells. It has held up great to plenty of abuse and it has a real smooth action to it.
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I think their blue point, blue line , etc is their China product and the Snap-On brand is still pretty decent.

thing is none of us want to pay what our grandaprents and parents did for tools.

I remember a craftsman torque wrench my grandad had growing up that he would get pissed at me for using (I lazily used it when I could find a regular 1/2" ratchet in his messy ass shop LOL) and he always told me "That thing cost over $60, it aint no toy" Mind you that was bought in the late 70's...probably $100-150 in today's dollars


My all time best ratchet came from Napa and was a 1/2" drive fine gear extra long handle....it has seen cheater pipe over 8' long and been hammered with a 2lb'er before I knew better LOL......still going I'm sure....I cant know because some dickhead of a friend took it home and denies it (despite me seeing it in his toolbox) after I installed his CJ lift for him....
 
SkyHiK5 said:
....I cant know because some dickhead of a friend took it home and denies it (despite me seeing it in his toolbox) after I installed his CJ lift for him....
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that :poop: wouldnt fly...it would be gettin snatched back, friend or not....probably smack him in the head with it too
 
I'll try to expalin this and know that there will be some that know more than me on the subject. Most Snapon product is still made in the US, the Blue Point line is mostly made overseas to compete with the Crafstman line and such. Most of the tool companies are doing the same thing. Look at a new Mac socket and look for made in the Us, you won't find it and they now charge more for there's than we do.

Snapon has slowed down on the motorsports sponorships and developed a line of ligts and other product to get the name out there to people not in the field already. Alot of dealers aren't crazy about it beacuse people think we are going to start watering down our intire line. This is not the case.

For the weekend warrior Snapon is more than likely not for them, but the Bluepoint line is. They also have a lifetime warranty. For the guy that makes a living with tools then Snapon will pay for itself over and over. I tell my customers this and get alot of respect for it.
 
snappy said:
I'll try to expalin this and know that there will be some that know more than me on the subject. Most Snapon product is still made in the US, the Blue Point line is mostly made overseas to compete with the Crafstman line and such. Most of the tool companies are doing the same thing. Look at a new Mac socket and look for made in the Us, you won't find it and they now charge more for there's than we do.
Snapon has slowed down on the motorsports sponorships and developed a line of ligts and other product to get the name out there to people not in the field already. Alot of dealers aren't crazy about it beacuse people think we are going to start watering down our intire line. This is not the case.
For the weekend warrior Snapon is more than likely not for them, but the Bluepoint line is. They also have a lifetime warranty. For the guy that makes a living with tools then Snapon will pay for itself over and over. I tell my customers this and get alot of respect for it.
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True! I use Snap On Stuff to make a living, The biggest problem I have with it is replacing it after I lose it! I got the new fine tooth ratchet they hang one of their tool boxes from. I got it in the extended handle with a flex head. Hands down the best ratchet I've ever bought. I've TRIED to break that thing and it manages to break the bolt first.

I've also got that small air compressor that was pictured above, exact same thing, except I got mine at Big Lots. Heavy as hell for such a small thing, and doesn't like to restart when it's really cold, but I've made a ton of money with it. For my money, Snap On, Matco or Cornwell. HF tools in the truck to get lost on the trail though.
 
SkyHiK5 said:
....it has seen cheater pipe over 8' long ....
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Wow you must have alot more shop space than me to swin garound something like that, lol.
 
snappy said:
For the weekend warrior Snapon is more than likely not for them, but the Bluepoint line is. They also have a lifetime warranty. For the guy that makes a living with tools then Snapon will pay for itself over and over. I tell my customers this and get alot of respect for it.
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We had a Snap-On dealer come to our shop last summer, a few of the guys were pretty excited by this, but he wouldn't warranty anything. His response..." You didn't buy those tools from me....."

The next comment was, " Turn your shit around and hit the road, you won't warranty your product, we don't need ya."

We've been dealing with MATCO before and since.

I've asked other SO dealers about this, and none could give me a reasonable explanation. Our side of Raleigh (east side) seems to have been a revolving door of SO and MAC dealers for the last few years. not quite sure what the deal is there.

Being as I am mobile, I see a tool truck, I'll stop and deal with them as needed, easy for me. Not so much for the shop guys.
 
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