Guess it is too hard to complain about China work.

the tip broke the first time I used it. So much for that reputation of high quality.

Last edited Wed Sep 19, 2012, 08:26 PM - Edit history (1)

Is craftsman still made in the US?

I have craftsman hand tools that are more than 25 years old and they work great, including the screwdrivers.

It was just one wrench also...not as expensive as a Snap-on but not cheap either.
I don't know what-the-hell was going one...

I've had a four foot breaker bar on a 9/16" open-end changing the ball joints on my truck and no problem what so ever. And this is a from a set from bought about three years ago...

That's almost inconceivable.

Sorry!



Bake

its a phillips p2 x 1.5 in. Says "Made in USA". Never had this happen with even cheap screwdrivers. All of the 'wings' are missing chunks. One use, now its useless. Mr. bunnies has lots of old craftsman tools that are great. I dont get it either.

Their wrenches are made in the US by Matco Tools.(Home Depot wrenches are Stanley. Lowe's wrenches are Snap-On.) The cheap crap like screwdrivers is Chinese from any store.

Power tools from Craftsman used to be Ryobi, at least until HD bought Ryobi. No idea where they buy them from now.

I started buying their stuff because it was american made but then a couple years ago they gave up and started selling chinese shit under the husky brand.

Vise grip also switched to chinese and the last channel lock adj wrench I bought was made in spain (I really needed it).

It was cheaper for Stanley to make it in China, and cheaper is better when selling to Home Depot.

I lived across the street from Moore Drop Forge in Springfield's North End. Moore Drop Forge had 5 factory buildings there that produced open, box end wrenches, sockets and ratchets. We would sometimes see the scrap iron being loaded on railroad cars and afterwards there would be raw unfinished sockets and wrenches left on the ground. My uncle worked in the polishing room on Birnie Ave. The stuff they sell at Sears is made in China. The industrial line is made here by the Apex Tool Group.

life on their tools. Call 1-877-425-8279.

What size?

That "broke" but it was due imo to a bad design. They used a threaded insert on the handle where the adjustment knob is, when I went to clamp down whatever I was working with the insert came free.

I also broke an easy-out but that was mostly my fault.

Both times I was reimbursed.

I can get a whole set LOL, For example-

Lifetime Warranty

Craftsman 8-piece Inch Flat, Full-Polish Ratcheting Wrench Set
Reg Price: $79.99
Savings: $20.00
$59.99
Now $50.99 Savings applied in cart

Specifications & Dimensions
Product Overview:
General Warranty: Guaranteed forever
Item Weight (lbs.): 3.9 lbs.
Warranty Detail: craftsman warranty
Wrench Sizing: Standard

Here's one for a hundred bucks. http://www.sears.com/craftsman-24-in-adjustable-wrench/p-00944608000P
One for $70: http://community.craftsman.com/Craftsman-18-in-Adjustable-Wrench-reviews
Both the same brand and the kind of wrench he's talking about.

What you're linking to are known as "knuckle busters". The first time you use the ratchet it strips out and you start bleeding. The box end does the same thing. I know, I've broken about a two dozen of them.

What he's talking about are adjustable crescent wrenches, which vary wildly in price depending on brand, type, and size. I've seen them get into the $300 range for things like spud crescents, and that's before you hit the absurdly large ones: Here's one for $330 http://www.toolsource.com/adjustable-wrench-p-124208.html?gclid=CJK8oe3NwrICFQWCQgodyEMA-w&sourceid=googleps and That isn't even a spud, just a plain crescent, and they get a lot bigger than that.

Just because someone says they paid $25,000 for a used Mustang and you link to someone selling a Pinto for fifty bucks doesn't mean they're lying. Even if they're both made by Ford and they're both cars.

...stick it up your fucking ass until you choke on it, you rude mother-fucker.

On edit: I forgot to add "Dickhead and Asshole"

I love you too

Coming over for dinner? The stuffng is almost ready!

.

In my experience, Sears has always honored its lifetime hand tool guarantee.

..firm ?

..going on..
somebody was not doing their job. (from the posts on this thread)

As for Craftsman, I can't believe they're selling them with no guarantee at all. One week?

The poster needs to share the chronic


"If for any reason your Craftsman hand tool ever fails to provide complete satisfaction, return it to any Sears store or other Craftsman outlet in the United States for free repair or replacement. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state."


Note, router bits aren't covered , I tried that once

And, KMart and Sears will both give rain checks. It isn't their fault if someone bought all of their inventory of an item. They didn't bait and switch you.

Sears pays the wage difference for all NG and Reserve employees called up, btw, and guarantees their jobs.

I really liked that tool and used it a lot. When the batteries finally died for good (after many recharges) I went to Sears expecting to buy a couple of new batteries.

It turned out that the replaceable batteries had been upgraded with a different kind of connector, so they would no longer fit on my drill. The people at Sears just shrugged.

After a lot of research on the internet I found a place out in California or somewhere that would rehabilitate old batteries, but the cost in postage to mail them and have them returned was prohibitive (those suckers are heavy).

So I junked the whole system and bought a Ryobi system at Home Depot. Recently my Ryobi batteries have given up the ghost, too. So I went back to Home Depot and found that I can replace the old ones (NiCad?) or get Lithium ones that will still fit in my old charger (so they tell me), thus eliminating the need to replace the charger, too. How convenient!

So sad that Craftsman, a once worthy name, has gone to pot.

I never liked their drivers, looked heavy and bulky.

I recently bought a hitachi driver, 12v lithium, came with case, two batteries and a smart charger. Cost 90 bucks. Its very small and lightweight and has really good torque.

were/are both big and bulky. Was never a real problem, but I notice that a lot of the newer drivers are really tiny. I looked at the voltage of the drivers themselves and I think they're not as powerful, but for home use maybe it doesn't matter.

the craftsman 19.2 cordless set. I have beat the everloving shit out of my drills, my brother did the same -dropped from ladders onto concrete, etc--awesome tools. The batteries are good, too--way outlasted my Dewalt set. I am not sure about charging Lithium on older chargers, though.

Lampert's investment style can best be described as "concentrated value", often focusing on the retail sector. Lampert typically holds his investments for several years and usually has between three and fifteen stocks in his portfolio. His investment style has drawn comparisons to the financier Warren Buffett.[2] Lampert is credited with forming and merging Kmart and Sears into Sears Holdings.

Lampert's earnings in 2004 were estimated to be $1.02 billion, making him the first Wall Street financial manager to exceed an income of $1 billion in a single year.[10] In 2006, Lampert was the richest person in Connecticut with a net worth of $3.8 billion.[11]

Lampert's earnings in 2006 were estimated to be from $1.0 billion to $1.5 billion.

In March 2012, Lampert came in at No. 367 on the Forbes world wealthiest people list with a net worth of $3.1 billion. [12]

In a May 2012 Forbes magazine article, contributor Adam Hartung described Lampert as the second worst CEO/Chairman of a large publicly traded American company, saying he "has destroyed Sears" after taking over "once the most critical force in retailing" when "same-store-sales kept declining, and the stock fell out of bed dropping into the $30s in 2009 and again in 2012."

I'm sure they're underpaid and overworked.

My favorite Craftsman story: I was about 17, my Dad broke a screwdriver and told me to take it to Sears and they'll replace it, free. "Dad, this thing looks like it came over on the Mayflower, they're not going to give me a new one." "Just do it." So I go to Sears and walk up to the salesperson and sheepishly say "My Dad said you would replace this free." He said "Go pick one out." I was floored.

The last bench grinder I bought from Sears that was a real honest USA high quality item was in 1984. Shortly thereafter all they offered was Chinese junk.

It happened a long long time ago for those paying close attention. I'll admit I was a machinist, and paying very close attention to the Chinese flood into this country.

if you want the Craftsman guarantee, you have to be certain that you buy the Craftsman brand.

That was actually made in the USA. Bought it in 1980 or so. Battery lasted about 10 years.

My Craftsman hand tools (typical socket set, Allan wrenches, etc) bought in 1977 are still perfectly fine. I hope one of them breaks before Sears does so I can test their lifetime replacement guarantee.

Remember that not every tool Sears sells is Craftsman anymore, and their lesser lines are inferior. (edited: I see Hedgehog made this point one minute before me just above

Oh, it was my fathers for 25 years, and I have had it for 10 or so years. Rebuilt a lot of motors using that wrench. Everything from a motorbike 2cylinder to the V8 Packards from a Sherman tank.

My wife recently took an OLD (at least 8 or 10 years old - it was her father's and he died 6 or 7 years ago) cordless drill back to Sears because it wouldn't hold a charge at all. The clerk patiently (and politely - not all sarcastically like some clerks can get) explained that he was sorry but the Craftsman guarantee only applied to non-power tools.

THEN he took the time to look at the drill and he called some places to find out if we could get a new battery and/or charger but it was too old.

SO THEN he went and found a comparably sized new drill and offered that to her and knocked off a couple bucks from the listed price just for her trouble and for not being able to replace the battery.

He didn't have to do all that but he did it anyway and I betcha a dollar I look at his store first for all my future tool needs.

Unfortunately, they caved to market pressure some years back and brought in cheap Chinese crap to compete price wise. I've always said that I'd rather buy a $10 hammer once than 10 $1 hammers. I'm still using Craftsman and Snap-On tools that belonged to my grandfathers and are at least 50 years old.

As for KMart - that's a local manager's fuck up. The fliers always state (in the fine print) that quantities are limited, purchase quantities may be restricted, and no rain checks will be offered for deals like that. I'm not just talking KMart - they all have that in the fine print.

i would follow it up with a letter. i think you can get satisfaction for that. with K-mart were you offered a rain check? shoulda been. i'm sorry you went 0 for 2 today but i think you can still get at least one happy ending out of it.

if you buy directly from the manufacturer, you get the good stuff

Sears has reduced the warranty in effect on many Craftsman non-powered lawn and garden products including rakes, shovels, clippers, brooms, trowels, pruners, hoses, sprinklers, hose nozzles, and other small gardening hand tools. Previously it was a lifetime warranty which on August 2nd, 2012, was reduced to 25 years with receipt required.[31] The lifetime warranty does not include precision hand tools, such as calipers and torque wrenches,[32] with the exception of beam-style torque wrenches.

Power tools have a one-year warranty.[31]

After the merger, Kmart began selling Craftsman products and honoring the hand tool lifetime warranty...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craftsman_%28tools%29


if it was warrantied, go back & make a stink.

But my local one is in a dead mall with a Scum-Mart at the other end. Scum Mart parking lot is always overflowing while KMart has just a handful of cars at any time. The place is always empty, and it's hard to find help.

My recent trip to Sears, the place was messy.

The bi-partisan Race-to-the-Bottom scam called "Free Trade".



...and then there was one.

Sorry, Virginia,
but there is no Giant Invisible Hand.
The RICH Corporate Owners made that shit up to increase their profits,
and used smooth talking politicians to sell their SCAM to a gullible America.



You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their rhetoric, promises, or excuses.
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I know the Sears place died here in San Francisco, and there is some other business there now. Also there used to be in California the Robinson-May stores, those are all gone. I seem to recall the Kmart that I used to go to, while living in Santa Barbara closed down. I guess many of them died out. Its nice to know you still have those.

...warranty was no problem.

yesterday. Why? They sent me a new credit card to replace my old one. That meant I had to call their #, input all 16 digits of the card, my SS# (4 digits), etc, only for the registration not to work.

Then when I finally talk to someone, I ask why they are sending me a new card. He told me that since I hadn't used my card in awhile, they figured I had lost it. I told him we used it in early July for a major purchase. Apparently, if you go 60 days without using it, they reissue it. (WTF?)

I blew a gasket. I told him I didn't appreciate them wasting my time on the phone and putting me through this hassle of digging up my old card (I had it locked away with another card I never use) so I could shred it. I told him that this kind of customer service is one reason why people don't want to do business with them.

Then I told him also that they never have items in stock -- everything has to be ordered, and that pisses me off too.

As far as the other...get a rain check.

I do agree...there should be limits on some items. Some stores do that. I would also write an email to corporate about that guy buying all those trashcans. That's nothing more than hoarding. You might still get at least a coupon for that.

eom

tools!!

It didn't work so I returned it. The salesman put it right back on the clearance table after I told him it didn't work.