Such a bummer: Chinese-built Craftsman tools.

[southpier]

postage stamps used to be five cents, too.

just like REI, I think Sears figured out a lot of people were abusing the return policy.

[Ace-Garageguy]

It doesn't matter where a tool is made.

What DOES matter is how it's made, out of what kind of steel, how the steel is processed, and how tightly the dimensions are controlled on the parts that contact the fasteners.

In general, so far, cheap Chinese tools are made from nasty steel that splits and spreads and buggers bolts and nuts and screws that are the least bit stubborn.

I have older SK, Craftsman and Husky sets that are just fine. I never replaced my SnapOn stuff after the first time all my tools were stolen in '77 because of the prices...but the old SnapOn stuff was built correctly and built to last. Their Flank-Drive design worked well preventing rounded fasteners, though several manufacturers use it now that the original patents have run out.

If you make your living with tools, or trust your life to the results, buy good ones.

[Greg Myers]

Molson merged with Coors. It really is a global market!

Why can't you buy Lowenbrau any more ?

[FASTBACK340]

I've stopped buying "Tool Truck" stuff years ago. Sears is now my go-to source if for nothing else, I have a well stocked Sears Hardware in my neighborhood. Replacements are easily gotten.

Although I did buy something nice last week from Mac. It's a lithium battery booster pack the fits in your pocket and will start a car that has NO BATTERY. Works like a dream, I can power a laptop with it, and charge my phone/electronics too. I don't care if it's made on Mars, it's a nice, well made tool. And it was comparably priced to old-school jumper boxed that were huge and heavy….

[dieseldawg142]

.....

Edited May 11, 2018 by dieseldawg142

[Modelmartin]

The thing is that the foreign made stuff has gotten so much better over the years. I don't frankly see the difference between the Chinese made tools I bought last year from my Craftsmen I bought in 1975. They all work just fine for me. maybe I don't try to force things as much as I possibly can. I haven't split a socket in 20 years or better. Perhaps I should get out the BFH and do some destruction testing!

[mnwildpunk]

In my opinion craftsman went downhill when K-MART bought sears holding. I grab from the tool trucks that come around from time to time if I am. In a pinch but I try to stay with S-K. I did get a huge surprise around tax time because being new to the actual service industry I thought I could write off the tools I bought but no I forgot about depreciation. But that is off subject.

[Ace-Garageguy]

... maybe I don't try to force things as much as I possibly can. I haven't split a socket in 20 years or better. Perhaps I should get out the BFH and do some destruction testing!

No, the BFH isn't necessary. Try dis-assembling old stuff that hasn't been touched for 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 or 70 years. Or stuff that's been way over-tightened by the previous "mechanic". You'll see.

[Tom Geiger]

Here's the perfect use for a cheap Chinese socket. A few years ago my cheap plastic lawn cart kept spitting those press fit end of axle caps that holds the wheel on. It happened one day and out of frustration I hammered a cheap socket onto the axle. No more problem!

[dieseldawg142]

..........

Edited May 11, 2018 by dieseldawg142

[highway]

I have Craftsman tools I have had for about 20 years and are like new. I want American tools when I need something. I believe that Cornwell and Kobalt tools are made in America still...

I have some almost that old too from when I worked driving a heavy duty wrecker back in 2000 and they still work like day one, and that has been after working under tractor trailers and commonly the ratchets doubling as sledge hammers! I was born and raised on Craftsman tools, my dad worked for Sears for 25 years and had doubles and triples of almost every hand tool made in the 70s, but through the years, I have been still loyal to family tradition, but also finding more and more Kobalt tools slipping into my Craftsman box, just because sometimes it's easier for me to get to Lowe's than it is the nearest Sears store.

Oh, and by the way, Kobalt IS made in China.

[Modelmartin]

No, the BFH isn't necessary. Try dis-assembling old stuff that hasn't been touched for 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 or 70 years. Or stuff that's been way over-tightened by the previous "mechanic". You'll see.

I have seen it. I prefer to go with applications of rust solvents or heat before torquing on something. I am not a professional mechanic but have had plenty of opportunities to take apart old cars and over-torqued bolts. I find that bolts break off or heads round off before a socket snaps in most cases. As a machinist I am always finding the one vice in the shop where some gorilla tightened the jaws to one gazillion ft/lbs! I have to loosen those with an allen wrench!

[Ace-Garageguy]

I have seen it. I prefer to go with applications of rust solvents or heat before torquing on something. I am not a professional mechanic but have had plenty of opportunities to take apart old cars and over-torqued bolts. I find that bolts break off or heads round off before a socket snaps in most cases. As a machinist I am always finding the one vice in the shop where some gorilla tightened the jaws to one gazillion ft/lbs! I have to loosen those with an allen wrench!

As I a ham-handed moron, I need the strongest tools I can get to make up for my total lack of finesse, intelligence, knowledge and technique while working on anything. I routinely use a 12 pound hammer on my Chinese-copy Bridgeport mill, too. Do you think that could have anything to do with its accuracy?

[Modelmartin]

I routinely use a 12 pound hammer on my Chinese-copy Bridgeport mill, too. Do you think that could have anything to do with its accuracy?

No.

[Fabrux]

My dad and I use Mastercraft tools almost exclusively and don't usually have many problems with them. I've had two ratchets replaced in my socket set due to broken mechanisms and between the two of us I've lost count how many torx bits we've broken. But, every time Canadian Tire replaces them no questions asked.

[uncle potts]

Everybody wants a .98 wrench, made in USA, by workers that earn 25.00 per hour. It doesn't add up. You can't have both. I agree with most of you, that the Craftsman tools we all bought 25-30 years ago are much better than what's on the shelf today. Harbor Freight is not the answer IMHO. And its not going to get better, its just going to get worse. So hang on to grandpas tools, they are worth more than you think.

[Freeman Cars]

Oh boy, tools. My favorite subject. I could go on for hours, but I'll keep this short.

Sears, Craftsman tools used to be made by 3 companies up until about 8-10 yrs ago. KD and Esco and S-K. If you remember when Sears first came out with their line of polished wrenches those were S-K. As a matter of fact, in the first sets out, they all said Craftsman except for the 9/16 which said S-K. They are now some cheep Chinese wrenches that spred and bend easily.

Esco made (and may still make some of) their sockets and man were they tough! I'd use them with air tools all the time and never broke one once. I'm talking about the chrome ones, not the black impact sockets. You could pound them over mag wheels locks to get them off and never have them crack, and still use them repeatedly.

In the early '80's Craftsman did a run of special priced Craftsman wrenches from a company in Japan called KAL tools.

I'm mainly an S-K and SnapOn user myself. My brother-in-law works in the SnapOn main warehouse in Carson City but I don't get any good deals. Family, go figure.

Harbor Freight corporate offices are about 45 minutes south of where I live. A good friend of mine in our local model club used to work there. He said lawsuits come in daily from people getting hurt from the cheap tools.

American Racing Products had a special day for customers to bring in their torque wrenches to be tested for accuracy. A friend of mine who is another tool junkie and I took our stuff to have them checked out. All 5 of my SnapOn torque wrenches checked out perfectly. For what they cost; they should. What was really amazing though is my friend brought in an old Craftsman beam bar torque wrench. The kind that has a rod that moves when you use it to see how many foot pounds are being applied. The pride of workmanship was evident from the fact that it had it serial number on it. It was very old. It's accuracy was within 2%! It cost $5 at the local swap meet. On the other end of the spectrum was a cheap Chinese torque wrench my friend's son bought new. It's accuracy was off by over 20%! Don't use cheap Chinese torques wrenches.

S-K tools are still made in USA. They are owned by a French comapny called Facom

. At one time Facom made all of Ferrari's factory tools.

Armstrong tools is another made in USA tool company. They supply the US military.

I have had issues with SnapOn sockets cracking on me, but they are so thin to get into such tight place I am not surprised. If you want absolute, bullet proof sockets that won't crack get Hazet. They are German tools. Not very pretty but Godzilla couldn't even break them.

I could go on a lot longer but I'm going to leave now.

Good night,

Sam

Edited April 24, 2014 by Freeman Cars

[Pete J.]

I worked for Sears for almost 15 year and the decline in the tool department was depressing. Just to set the record straight. For the 15 years I worked there, the wrenches, sockets and screwdrivers were all sourced from Danaher tools. They were US based and had a lot of company names under them, such as S&K, Matco, Lufkin and many others. I remember the Danaher rep coming to the annual tool rally for the employees to see the tools. The power tools were made by Emerson electic for many years. The Emerson was the parent company of Skil, DeWalt, Porter Cable and many others. the electric tools did have a life time warrantee but that ended in the early 60's. Only the power tools with the polished aluminum housings had that warrantee. If you want to know who made your sears tool and you have a model off the ID plate the first three digits of the model number, before the decimal point are the source code. Google Craftsman source codes and a list will come up that tells who made it.

That all started to change about 10 years ago when Eddy took over and the bottom line became the most important thing. Sad day. I loves selling Craftsman tools. Great tools at a great price. Unfortunately, society kind of took over. I say that because in when I first started, we got a very few returns every week. After a while people got greedy. When I left we were filling a 50 gallon drum every month with returns. People were scavenging through junk yards for tools to return for new tools and selling them at the swap meets. When we had the bad fires here 7 or 8 years ago, people were brining in buckets of burnt tools to exchange after they had been paid off on their insurance claims, so they got the money from the insurance company and then exchanged their tools for free. Where is the honor in that.

I have had craftsman tools for 50 years and have never exchanged one. I had people bring in tools for exchange because they had not taken care of them and they were just rusty. It use to be that you could judge a tradesman by how well he respected his tools. Apparently not any more.

By the way, Starrett is still made in the USA. They have a cheaper level that is not, but if you want the best you can still get it. While I am on the subject of Starrett, they still have the rebuilding program for their precision measuring tools. Send them a broken tool and they will refurbish it and bring it to new tool standard for accuracy for a fee. I just got a 120 dial caliper off eBay and it was damaged(a couple of the spur gear teeth were broken). $85 and I have a brand new $250 dial caliper. Money well spent and it is a great tool that will probably serve me for the rest of my life and maybe my sons.

Edited April 24, 2014 by Pete J.

[Freeman Cars]

I worked for Sears for almost 15 year and the decline in the tool department was depressing. Just to set the record straight. For the 15 years I worked there, the wrenches, sockets and screwdrivers were all sourced from Danaher tools. They were US based and had a lot of company names under them, such as S&K, Matco, Lufkin and many others. I remember the Danaher rep coming to the annual tool rally for the employees to see the tools. The power tools were made by Emerson electic for many years. The Emerson was the parent company of Skil, DeWalt, Porter Cable and many others. the electric tools did have a life time warrantee but that ended in the early 60's. Only the power tools with the polished aluminum housings had that warrantee. If you want to know who made your sears tool and you have a model off the ID plate the first three digits of the model number, before the decimal point are the source code. Google Craftsman source codes and a list will come up that tells who made it.

That all started to change about 10 years ago when Eddy took over and the bottom line became the most important thing. Sad day. I loves selling Craftsman tools. Great tools at a great price. Unfortunately, society kind of took over. I say that because in when I first started, we got a very few returns every week. After a while people got greedy. When I left we were filling a 50 gallon drum every month with returns. People were scavenging through junk yards for tools to return for new tools and selling them at the swap meets. When we had the bad fires here 7 or 8 years ago, people were brining in buckets of burnt tools to exchange after they had been paid off on their insurance claims, so they got the money from the insurance company and then exchanged their tools for free. Where is the honor in that.

I have had craftsman tools for 50 years and have never exchanged one. I had people bring in tools for exchange because they had not taken care of them and they were just rusty. It use to be that you could judge a tradesman by how well he respected his tools. Apparently not any more.

By the way, Starrett is still made in the USA. They have a cheaper level that is not, but if you want the best you can still get it. While I am on the subject of Starrett, they still have the rebuilding program for their precision measuring tools. Send them a broken tool and they will refurbish it and bring it to new tool standard for accuracy for a fee. I just got a 120 dial caliper off eBay and it was damaged(a couple of the spur gear teeth were broken). $85 and I have a brand new $250 dial caliper. Money well spent and it is a great tool that will probably serve me for the rest of my life and maybe my sons.

is esco under the danaher tools brand? about 12 years ago at the apex show esco was showing craftman sockets as one of there products. Do you know if sears will still warrantee power tools with polished aluminum housings? s-k is owned by facom. i think thay still sell s-k /facom tools in the sears tool catalog. maybe danaher owns facom? sam

Edited April 24, 2014 by Freeman Cars

[mikevillena]

When I was wrenching for Motodelta (not to be confused with AUTODELTA of Alfa fame) we had Hazet tools exclusively and I had a few of their hand tools. But I also enjoyed it whenever the Snap-On rep stopped by and I ultimately bought several of their wrench sets. Shopping around inside that cavernous Snap-On truck (air-conditioned in the summer) was like Christmas! Gosh, those were real susbstantial tools. You could tell just by holding them in your hand. The quality of the finish was superb and they weighed a ton. They also made a totally different noise when accidentally droppped on the ground which I always tried my best to avoid. They were SOLID and HARD. Properly set you could bear down with total confidence because they won't slip. Busted many a frozen and rusted bolts loose with them. I am so sad to hear that even Snap-On's quality has gone down....

[Pete J.]

is esco under the danaher tools brand? about 12 years ago at the apex show esco was showing craftman sockets as one of there products. Do you know if sears will still warrantee power tools with polished aluminum housings? s-k is owned by facom. i think thay still sell s-k /facom tools in the sears tool catalog. maybe danaher owns facom? sam

Sam, in the last few years Danaher has been has combined with Apex tool and was then bought by Bain Capital(Yes, Mitt Romney's Bain Capital) and has been in the process of being dismantled and sold off. For that reason it is almost impossible to track what they owned and where the tool names are still owned. I have been very upset by the destruction of one of the large US tool makers. It has done no good for any of us who work with hand tools.

[dieseldawg142]

.........

Edited May 11, 2018 by dieseldawg142

[mrindy77]

With the stuff I work on I only use King Dick tools... made in my motherland.

[dieseldawg142]

....

Edited May 11, 2018 by dieseldawg142

[Pete J.]

Heck, I've got some of my grandfathers tools that are well over a hundred years old and they have been cared for by three generations. They work just fine. First, because they were built by someone who care what people thought of his work and have been used by someone who cared about the tools. I have a simple philosophy. Buy the best you can get and take care of them like they were yours! A wrench is not a hammer. I don't use a wrench to wack something and I don't use a hammer on a bolt.