Craftsman tool quality?

[sret43]

I just had to post this. Over the weekend I broke my 18" Craftsman breaker bar on my '58 W100 lug nuts. So I grabbed my old Plumb breaker bar and completed the task without any problems. Went into Sears for the lifetime replacement and got a breaker bar with no hanger hole drilled in the handle and the 1/2" drive bit looking like something from a Cracker Jack Box.
Today I purchased a 7/8" deep socket to remove the leaf springs. Guess what? The socket is stamped 7/8" but its a 13/16" socket.
Where's the quality control in this product? I've seen box end wrenches and sockets with deformed teeth from bad casting.
Just had to vent.
Steve

[Cheyenne Dave]

I just had to post this. Over the weekend I broke my 18" Craftsman breaker bar on my '58 W100 lug nuts. So I grabbed my old Plumb breaker bar and completed the task without any problems. Went into Sears for the lifetime replacement and got a breaker bar with no hanger hole drilled in the handle and the 1/2" drive bit looking like something from a Cracker Jack Box.
Today I purchased a 7/8" deep socket to remove the leaf springs. Guess what? The socket is stamped 7/8" but its a 13/16" socket.
Where's the quality control in this product? I've seen box end wrenches and sockets with deformed teeth from bad casting.
Just had to vent.
Steve

I recently purchased a set of wrenches, sockets etc. from Sears, for my home shop. I have an older 1/2" drive torque wrench that's been pretty good, so I bought a 3/8" drive foot/pound and 3/8" drive inch/pound wrench. Neither of the these wrenches zero with the handle incriments. That is to say, you never really know what the wrench is set at. I pointed this out to the salesteen and was told that wasn't grounds for exchange.

Every so often I swear off Sears...the years go by and I forget why. Now I remember. BTW, torque wrenches are not covered under the Sears lifetime guarantee...

C.D.

[sret43]

Torque wrenches

And I just spent a small fortune on two Sears torque wrenches. Figures.

[Cheyenne Dave]

And I just spent a small fortune on two Sears torque wrenches. Figures.

Well, if the markings on the handle shaft, clock with the graduations on the handle, you should be okay. I have found a way that seems to work for testing their accuracy, and you need two wrenches.

Set both wrenches to the same torque value. Then close-couple the two wrenches with a socket. They should reach the "click" point almost simultaniously.

C.D.

[Clint Dixon]

Well, if the markings on the handle shaft, clock with the graduations on the handle, you should be okay. I have found a way that seems to work for testing their accuracy, and you need two wrenches.

Set both wrenches to the same torque value. Then close-couple the two wrenches with a socket. They should reach the "click" point almost simultaniously.

C.D.

So now you have two wrenches that you can reasonably be sure are calibrated alike. However, are they both accurate or inaccurate?

[712edf]

torque wrenches

Yep, broke my fancy craftsman Digi-torque wrench, they woundn't replace it. So I welded it up and made a break-over bar out of it. Wonder what craftman spokesperson A.J. Foyt would have done ? Wrapped it around some poor sears salesclerk's neck?

[Cheyenne Dave]

So now you have two wrenches that you can reasonably be sure are calibrated alike. However, are they both accurate or inaccurate?

Therein lies the rub.

I guess you could check them both against a third. The odds are that any two would be accurate accurate enough for the girls I hang with...

I'm be comin through in a few days...call you before I head out...and from the road.

C.D.

[Cheyenne Dave]

Yep, broke my fancy craftsman Digi-torque wrench, they woundn't replace it. So I welded it up and made a break-over bar out of it. Wonder what craftman spokesperson A.J. Foyt would have done ? Wrapped it around some poor sears salesclerk's neck?

Woulda worked for me...oh, the temptation...

C.D.

[sret43]

Went back to Orchard tonight and traded back the 13/16" marked 7/8". Three out of four sockets were miss marked.

[Disturbeds10]

The quality sure is going away. I have come across miss marked sockets. I break the 3/8 and 1/2 in breaker bars everytime I touch a truck. I also used to break the regular old style 1/4 and 3/8 ratchets every couple of days....sometimes less with heavy usage. The reverse pawl always breaks off on me. I have had good luck so far with the newer and alot more costly full polished ratchets. Bought a new 540 something piece set and it had them. The ratchets are about 40 or 50 a piece if you buy em seperate. To me its worth it not having to stop and waste an hour swapping out tools. I also have never heard any good things about their tq wrenches. I bought a Husky pro series from Home Depot. So far it has served me well.

[oldmopar]

Sears was purchased by Kmart a few years ago so that should answer most of the poor quality questions. My son worked there for about 5 years and to steal a line from a oldsmobile.
"Its not your fathers sears anymore"
Best bet is to buy old craftsman tools at yard sales most of the new stuff is junk especially after the Kmart take over.

[712edf]

Sears & Roebuck

Decades ago Sears & Roebuck was a mail order merchandiser (Roebuck was a watchmaker I think). You could even order a pre-fab 2-story house from them (several models to pick from). They evolved into a department store, carrying some of the finest goods avaliable (tools too). A Christmas present from Sears once meant the farm had a prosperous year....Today Sears sells CREDIT! The merchandise is just to get you in the door to get you in DEBT! The financial dealings of Sears (remember Allstate, Discover Card) as a creditor proved to be more lucrative than the retailing..In other words more money is made off of the interest on the stuff they sale (or finance) than is made off of the profit margins of the merchandise...If the people of this nation would pay CASH ONLY for stuff for 1 or 2 months there would be a whole lotta white collars getting nervous in this ol' world....Craftsman has just followed suit with most of the other manufacturers in today's economy.Less bang for more buck.

[Disturbeds10]

Sears was purchased by Kmart a few years ago so that should answer most of the poor quality questions. My son worked there for about 5 years and to steal a line from a oldsmobile.
"Its not your fathers sears anymore"
Best bet is to buy old craftsman tools at yard sales most of the new stuff is junk especially after the Kmart take over.

What is really sad is after Kmart bought them out, you can now get Snap~On online almost as cheap as sears since the prices have went up sooo much at Sears now.

[MasterYota]

I've noticted that Craftsman dosen't really offer a life time warranty anymore, at least not in the sense that matters. They offer a lifetime of the "tool" warranty. If the tool breaks while still in almost new condtion, they will replace it. If the tools shows signs of wear, and then breaks, they consider the tool to be at the end of its usefull life, and will not replace it. (I think most of the tool manufacturers have gone this route as well).

They have managed to put a finite time limit of warranty on a tool that is advertised as warranteed for life. Warranteed for life to me means warranteed forever...

I walked into the sears tool department with a broken ratchet several months ago, and to my surprise, the lad behind the counter wouldn't exchange the tool. He offered to give me a rebuild kit for the broken mechanism, but that an exchange was out of the question. After a rather loud debate at the counter the dept. manager showed up and with a little a little customer service promptly escorted me over to the racks and told me to pick a new ratchet, and to have a nice day. Then she told me to keep the rebuild kit, and my old ratchet as a goodwill gesture. I guess that good service depends more on who you talk to, rather than who is available at the time.

Sears dosen't offer anything that I can't get anywhere else. The only thing that keeps me going back (as well as most other people) is the tool department. Snap on might be as cheap down there, but it sure isn't up here in Canada.

[greg rider]

I have a LOT of Craftsman tools. Most are over 15 years old. If I have to buy a new tool I go for the Professional line of stuff and yes I check the thing over before walking out. As far as replacement, I look for a guy about my age (mid 40's) or older and ask them. Main reason I have Craftsman is if I need something on a Sunday it is handy. Snap-On is a little tough to track down on Sunday. I do have Snap-On and other well known Made In The USA tools. If I happen to find a tool on the side of the road that is foreign, it stays there to die a slow death! PS: Only buy 6 point unless you really need a 12 point, more contact area.