Beware when buying Craftsman tools

Country Gent and Oldsmobum are 100% correct.

I worked at Sears in mangement back when it was Sears but trying to become Kmart which was their downfall....

I took an impact wrench back that was used one time....it would not remove lug nuts on my car....lug nuts!!!! I had the receipt but it was 1 yr and 1 day old....no refund...I threated to return it one way or the other....ended up selling it for 20.00 on craigslist.

I have not stepped back into a sears store since....just not the quality it was years ago.

 

I am 72 years old and still have most of my Sears "Craftsman" tools. My father left me his collection which I still use everyday.The Global economy has caused many companies to seek less expensive manufacturing process's overseas but the fact remains when a company like Sears is purchased by a bankrupt company like K-Mart the company is doomed. Let's put this one in the vault.

 

LOL but now Sears is selling Harbor Freight quality tools at Craftsman prices

 

Is the main barrier to keeping production in the usa labor costs?

If so, and this is a bit of a rhetorical question, If a company were to offer $7 per hour, no overtime, and no benefits to produce, for example tools, are they saying they wouldn't be able to fill the positions?

And if they do manage to fill the positions, are they saying they can't make a) profit, b) decent profit?

 

I'm in Canada and it's the same story here. Seems like all manufacturing is going offshore. I try to find stuff made in North America and it's not easy. I had to change the pitman arm on my kids Jeep this week and I didn't own a pitman arm puller. Bought a Chinese puller (only one I could find) and it was in two pieces in five minutes flat, pitman arm still securely attached to Jeep. Rented a puller that didn't have a name on it but store owner said it was US made. Looked way better than the Chinese crap and had the arm off in no time and that tool was likely abused by a hundred different guys. All is not lost yet, Gray Tools has been manufacturing quality tools in Canada for over 100 years. Their plant is not far from Toronto. They make all kinds of tools. I have a couple of Gray's (can't afford full sets of the good stuff) and they are sweet. Gray tools did start peddling a line of tools called Dyanmic which are made in Taiwan. At least they market it under a different name and if you want the made in Canada stuff you know you aren't being swindled like the Craftsman deal. www.graytools.com for some tool porn. It's a sad story, both the US and Canada have given way the entire manufacturing sectors of their economies along with all of the jobs and skills that go with it. I'm no genius but it would seem short sighted greed from corporations and a large collection of assholes at all levels of government are to blame. Just my two cents.

 

in our area (dayton-springfield ohio) there is a booth at a local antique mall that has only hand tools, real tools made in usa, i buy from that guy, decent prices and huge selection. you might check out some antique stores in your area, who knows

 

You must be "Bleach"

 

This isn't new. This has been going on for some time. In order for Sears (and craftsman) to stay competitive, they continue to outsource to overseas. Everyone is doing it, so its a me too type scenerio. Be careful with Snap on also...much of their new stuff is in fact made in some unknown country...ratchets lack the "Made in USA" marking on it. So imagine the profit: paying USA-made price for Chinese-made product. Like others have said, I'm actually surprised Sears is still around. The store near me is almost always dead except for Xmas time. Any other time during the year they are stone quiet. I have a whole toolbox full of vintage snap on and craftsman tools and they all work great. If you take care of the old stuff it should last generations! I will pass my stuff on to my son someday when I'm too old to wrench on my junk. Another great tip is to hit the swap meets and look for older tools....while looking for car parts, keep your eyes open for USA-made tools. Chances are you will pay LESS than for the new junk sold at the store and its better quality!

 

I was also disheartened at my last trip to Sears to swap out a busted ratchet and noticed the Chinese stuff. I have spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on Craftsman stuff. ALL my wrenches, sockets, screw drivers, and ratchets are Craftsman. I bought at the local Sears store for years. I won't be back except to exchange stuff out now. I'll buy any new stuff I need from the MAC or Snap-On man. Sure that stuff is over-priced as you have to pay for the name, but I'd rather pay too much for a US product than save some cash on Chinese junk.

 

All of my Craftsman wrenches and ratchets are US made. Hope to god they never break or wear out...

What a shame. I used to love to peruse Sears' tool section. Now I might as well go to Harbor Freight.

 

I scour yard sales and flea markets for old craftsman tools, the older the better. The fine tooth rachets, rachets with silver levers and rachets w/o a quick release button. These are back when Craftsman was US made and Sears was king.

 

After breaking craftsman tools in the early 80s, I never bought another wrench/socket/ratchet from them...but I made my living from my hand tools. I bought only Snap-on and Mac tools from then-on and was never sorry for it. I have better things to do than spend my Saturday mornings arguing with the Sears guy.

 

my work supplies craftsman boxes to all the mechanics, just put mine together..ick rolls on three wheels terrible welds. my snap-on guy has a display of cut away ratchets and it's funny how much the internals are the same. I stopped buying mac when stanley bought them.

 

aaaah, the good old days,

 

It reminds me of the good old days when “pops” only earned $4,250.00 per year, the was the US wage index back in 1963, that’s about $2.50 per hour, last year the wage index is almost $43,000.00 per year and the hourly wage index is about $22.00 per hour, that will barely get you into the middle class nowadays,

Now imagine all manufacturing being pulled from overseas and returning to the US so all American workers can go back to work, every call center that has been outsourced also comes back to the states, wouldn’t you think way more than two thirds of them wouldn’t be able to produce a product that they could sell in the US or even worse couldn’t afford to export? That cheap little wrench set wouldn’t cost $30.00 but more than $300.00. as the cost of living raises in the US the cost of manufacturing and distribution would also gets hit hard then guess what, retail stores and outlets will all have to close, which would mean more job losses, then those products would disappear for good,

Remember back in the day when everything was made in Japan? Nobody wanted it, because it was so cheap. Their cost of living went up, so did their wages and now you’d be hard pressed to find product made in Japan and when you do, you can afford it, same thing happened to Brazil, Taiwan, Turkey and now Mexico (in some places) as an automotive parts importer we can buy genuine MBZ, VW, PORSCHE AND BMW product in factory OE boxes and a good portion of it is O.E China. All this is on the import side, trust me the Germans don’t give it up that easy, I could just imagine what’s happening on the domestic side where everything is in a “branded” box in local auto part stores.
so tools are now just like “new cars” once they break you throw them away.

Please don’t get me wrong here, I am no more in favor of product now being made overseas, yes cheap product is being brought in to the US but you still need to look at it this way, the product is being sold in stores here in America, most through American owned companies, employing American workers (mostly) and still putting food on American tables in American households. And that’s what counts in the long run.

BTW I still have some of mine and my dad’s old tools like Craftsman, Crescent and Channel Lock, those will last for ever. When I break a “new” tool, it goes to the recycler

Thanks for listening!

 

Saw a nice Craftsman tool set at Costco the other day for $69.95, on sale at a 30% discount. Next time I am back there I will check out the wrenches and country of manufacture.

Along the same lines, many of the high end golf club companies are having their clubs forged in China...seems like there should be some American companies that COULD make a profit manufacturing their products on their home soil.

 

Snap On has a plant in Korea

 

FWIW:

When I worked at Sears in '77, they'd honor warr ok, but some things weren't worth it. I bought a HD (?) body grinder, went through 3 of them in 2 weeks, Sears told me not to exchange for another one, but refunded my $$ for it. Got a Black & Decker - it's still working fine. (Couldn't afford the Milwaukee I really wanted). The small ox/act torch set from them, I *really* liked due to it's size & balance, but it kept going through seals/etc & burning back into the hoses. Same deal as the grinder. Got a small Victor from the local welding supply place. Happy about that, still working well. I did add a Henrob a few years later, love that. I think because I worked there, they replaced it more often than they would've for someone not working there, but I still had to go to the overall-store mgr, to get what I should've w/o the hassle. I learned quickly that Sears wasn't the best place to get things that lasted. At that time, hand tools & kitchen appliances were about it.

My 1st set of Craftsman tools (all I could afford) from late 60's ->mid 70's, were stolen in ~ '82. Don't remember them having "pro-level" tool line then, replacement set was the same std (only thing offered). Don't remember seeing made in China/etc on any of those. & not to mention, unavailability of Sears location(s) to exchange - *if* they will, those tools. Has become unworthy of the effort expended, for no good results.

Note: not a political rant, just facts: Personally, I prefer not to aquire *anything* made in ROC, due to the political situation, including - but not limited to, political prison labor, & at least partial business ownership of everything, by the Red Chinese Army. Taiwan being a Republic, I'm ok with, same for Japan. A lot of German & Scandinavian stuff I like, just can't afford it. As always, gotta look at the quality level & decide if it's affordable. Amusingly enough, Vietnam, Thailand, & a number of other countries are doing to China, what China did to the US. &, Happily, things are starting to come back here, due to the length of travel time, costs involved, quality issues & resolving them, etc. It's taking longer than I'd like to see, but I can't change that. Yet. I have looked into a specialty ("exotic" {super light weight, super strong, non-sparking/etc.} materials) tool line, but it'd have to be made overseas (eastern Europe), & the cost(s) would be prohibitive for me, & most likely anyone else that wanted to buy them. Not to mention trying to knock Snap-on & Mac, et-al, off of their self-appointed pedestal(s). Esp in this crummy economy. My pockets aren't deep enough to start that war.

My biggest "issue" w/Craftsman was/is the fit of the tool on the item to be moved. What I discovered was, that at best, Craftsman wrenches/sockets grip on the corners of the nuts/bolt heads. Thus rounding off any which don't come off easily - or break quickly. Snapon & Mac work on the flats (& a very nice snug fit at that), & the item comes loose, or breaks. I have managed to spread open the jaws on a couple of open-end Craftsman wrenches. The Snapon/Mac then just removed the stubborn bolts/nuts w/o issue. I get real tired of using Craftsman stuff on the rusty/crusty nuts/bolts, rounding off corners, & having to bring my work tools home, just to dis-assemble stuff. Also, I've found out that Craftsman sockets, & the open/closed end wrenches are a little bit thicker than my Snapon & Mac tools, & have had to use those Snapon/Mac to even access tight areas. PITA. Also, the teeth in the ratchets seem both soft, & widely spaced, compared to Snapon/Mac. So, awhile ago, I started to slowly aquire enough used/closed-out Snapon & Mac tools to replace my Craftsman. My temper issue has gone down, due to not having to stop in the middle of a project to get my work tools, less banged-up knuckles & smashed fingers, not to mention much less damaged old bolts that I want re-use, if needed. Still don't have a full replacement set, 'cause even used stuff isn't usually cheap. Worth it, yes, especially used. New, they're priced to give three replacements on each tool, + commissions, & profit(s) to the company. I still gotta want/need it pretty bad to buy them now, due to the (my) economy. The feel is actually different, & more pleasing/comforting than Craftsman. I don't even like using Craftsman for junkyarding anymore, due to the fitment issue. When I get enough replacements, I'll offer up my like-new Craftsman stuff.

Marcus...

 

I have a few old Sears Crafstman tools that are ok but after 40 years of Snap-on, Mac, Williams, SK and Bonney tools, the Sears tools feel like a club to me.

 

gilby's garage
Grenade Inspector



Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: west hills ca.
Posts: 202


Re: Beware when buying Craftsman tools
<hr style="color:#e5e5e5; background-color:#e5e5e5" size="1"> It reminds me of the good old days when &#8220;pops&#8221; only earned $4,250.00 per year, the was the US wage index back in 1963, that&#8217;s about $2.50 per hour, last year the wage index is almost $43,000.00 per year and the hourly wage index is about $22.00 per hour, that will barely get you into the middle class nowadays,

Now imagine all manufacturing being pulled from overseas and returning to the US so all American workers can go back to work, every call center that has been outsourced also comes back to the states, wouldn&#8217;t you think way more than two thirds of them wouldn&#8217;t be able to produce a product that they could sell in the US or even worse couldn&#8217;t afford to export? That cheap little wrench set wouldn&#8217;t cost $30.00 but more than $300.00. as the cost of living raises in the US

Hey, Gilby;
What you're describing is "inflation". Expaination(s) would lead to a long diatribe, & possibly a political "rant". Probably get this thread closed down, too.

*Not Political*. Mods:not intended to be a rant, just an off-hand, although on-topic, comment, explaining.
Fact is: most of "*our* problems" stem from people not knowing what money is, & how we got to where we are. Inflation is the planned destruction of the purchasing medium, via the hidden tax that it is, usually for the issuers' benefit. Govt gets the 1st skim, bankers get the 2nd skim, but the end user(s) - you & me - get the loss of purchasing power, so it takes an ever increasing amount to aquire the same amount/quality of goods as time passes. Even "assuming" that there is no motive to cheapen the specific good(s) in question, in pursuit of profit(s), competition, greed, stupidity, govt regs, etc. Which is why people feel "richer" a number of years later as the price (not *value*) of their home has risen. & simultaneously, poorer as the cost(s) of living - health care, food, gas, rent, tools, everything else, goes up. Manufacturing efficiencies can affect that, as can breakthroughs in technology, but inflation still rears its' ugly presence, no matter what.

Mods wouldn't be happy if I post links, so I won't. Suffice it to say, that nothing is as it appears, especially on the surface.

Marcus...

 

Here in the UK If I see some old USA tools for sale you can bet they are good, I buy any I see, I got a big new Sears craftsman set when on vacation to Florida in 1989,the last time I was in Florida in 2005 nearly everything for sale in the Malls was made in china, not just the tools, everything!!! I was appalled all the Disney stuff was made in china too! I want to take home a bit of USA not Tawain.

 

From what I've heard, holding company that owns Sears has sold the rights to both Craftsman and Kenmore, which is why you can find those brands showing up all over the place.

 

When the (un-named) asshole that owned K-Mart bought Sears in 2005, he only bought Sears for the properties in strategic locations throughout the U.S. He had no intention of seeing Sears continue as a prosperous company. When the bottom fell out of the economy in 2006, he was forced to hang onto those properties until it turns around.
.

 

thats pretty interesting

 

WOW THAT IS BULL CRAP, WE AS AMERICANS MUST TAKE OUR TIME AND LOOK FOR THAT MADE IN AMERICA TAG WITH THE CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY UPON US IT IS OF THE MOST IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT IS MOSTLY WHEN PEOPLE BUY THE MOST. I HATE BUYING ELECTRONICS THERE ALL MADE IN CHINA, KOREA AND MEXICO. IF WE DEMAND USA MADE PRODUCTS WE WOULD ALL BE ABLE TO FIND JOBS HERE AGAIN. GUYS TAKE YOUR TIME LOOKING AT STUFF YOU BUY. LOOK FOR MADE IN AMERICA. YOUR FAMAILIES DEPEND ON IT. Knuck From Indiana.

 

Please close this thread and lets get back to traditional hot rods and customs.