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Craftsmen tools

WaterH

WaterH

Well-known member
Joined
May 20, 2020
Member Number
602
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North Florida
So I bought many Craftsmen tools over the years. Of course, Sears went out of business and Lowes has somewhat takin over Craftsmen. I had a swivel head ratchet for many years and it has worked fine. Recently, I was using it and it fell apart. I took it to Lowe’s and they said they didn’t have that tool and can’t fix or replace it. They told me I would have to deal with craftsmen directly. I can tell you I was kind of pissed off.

Anyways, I called their help line. It goes through a long bunch of machine answers that even gets you more pissed. But I noticed when calling in the very beginning of the call it says “dial 1 if you are a distributor and dial 2 if you are a end user”. Of course, if you dial 2, it is an endless bunch of nonsense and you never get to talk to a person. So what the hell, I dialed 1. Goes right to a live person. I explained my situation and she took my name and address.

In a week, I got a new ratchet and they didn’t even want the old one back. (I think it could be fixed)

The story doesn’t end there. The ratchet they sent me was 1/2” drive. I clearly told her it was 3/8” drive and even gave her the part number. It was a very nice tool and I’m sure it was more expensive than the 3/8, but I really don’t use 1/2” that often and preferred 3/8 for this particular tool. So I called again. I went through the same call line and got another person. I explained the issue and she said she would get back to me.

In a week, I got a new 3/8 drive ratchet and again, they didn’t want anything back. Damb! I’m not pissed any more.

C8EAAED9-6F33-4EA1-B32E-7BFFB0DAEF5A.jpeg
 
Phone number ?


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Number of Sears locations in the USA in 2022 | ScrapeHero

There are 179 Sears locations in the United States as of November 23, 2022. The state/territory with the most number of Sears locations in the US is California with 19 locations, which is 10% of all Sears locations in America.
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I have tons of craftsmen stuff figured they have been around for a hundred years, I should be good to go. But I was wrong

Lowes doesn't want any of that return nonsense

and my local Lowes needs to see the receipt in order to return, than cured me of my craftsman purchases
 
SomeGuyFromOlympia said:
I have tons of craftsmen stuff figured they have been around for a hundred years, I should be good to go. But I was wrong

Lowes doesn't want any of that return nonsense

and my local Lowes needs to see the receipt in order to return, than cured me of my craftsman purchases
Click to expand...
Interesting,

I have Craftsman ratcheting wrench set (metric and fractional) I got at Sears before they closed for good around here.

Had one of them come apart last year - took it to Lowes and they gave me a new one of the tool rack. Perhaps they changed their criteria?

More and more lately warranties are turning into BS, read about folks having issues with DeWalt/Ridgid/Gear Wrench and some others.

My mechanic friend has some broken Mac stuff collecting dust - tool truck never comes around.
 
Steve300xcw said:
Do the new craftsman ratchets still suck ass?
Click to expand...

When I was a teen I had a bunch of those ultra coarse crapsman ratchets and broke quite a few of them. I never was a big fan of them.

After the fire I got a few tool sets as gifts, one was crapsman. The ratchets felt much nicer, but I figured they were still weak. Long story short, I had some stubborn flywheel bolts and couldn't fit anything but a 3/8 ratchet. I figured id see what this thing was worth. With a ~2' cheater pipe, I still had to really crank on it, like foot on the pipe, bracing myself off something else.

Did that 6 or 8 times and the ratchet held. :laughing:

I still wouldn't spend my own money on thier junk. Their socket sets haven't changed. "300 pcs" when in reality is about 15 sockets you use and the rest is just duplicate in a flavor or just useless sizes. But then also like 4 wrenches that somehow skip the common sizes.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
I still wouldn't spend my own money on thier junk. Their socket sets haven't changed. "300 pcs" when in reality is about 15 sockets you use and the rest is just duplicate in a flavor or just useless sizes. But then also like 4 wrenches that somehow skip the common sizes.
Click to expand...
yeah, never saw the value in their sets. Maybe, but barely, if you had nothing it got you started.
 
Steve300xcw said:
Do the new craftsman ratchets still suck ass?
Click to expand...

That was my problem with them, and I was a high school kid working on my own junk. Spent quite a bit of money for a bunch of their tools, and would have to do something stupid occasionally like using a pile and a jack to break something free.

They would swap out the ratchets in the store with no issue, but the new one would explode with about the strength of my little sister yanking on it. Finally quit trying.
 
A large number of my hand tools are Craftsman stuff, as I collected it over the years when it was the easy to walk in and exchange, etc etc. There are some of their products that are now obsolete that I still look for. The cross-force wrenches in the professional USA series are pleasant to use, and I feel like the flex-head gear ratchets are still better than the Gear Wrench stuff that took over the market.
Now adays I buy most of my tools at auctions and yardsales / marketplace scores of people cleaning out grand-daddy's garage. PA-Bonney, older SK, vintage Mac, etc. Yea, you can't warranty it really but also... it doesn't let me down. I have enough boxes of mismatched stuff too that if something is going into a sacrificial situation, they get used first.
In Summary... it sucks that quality tools are just so damn hard to find anymore without paying out the ass. OR when something becomes popular, the thing gets copied and sold cheaper, then in order to maintain market share the original version undergoes "cost cutting" and it ends up declining to nothing better than its own clones. I feel like Knipex is starting to fall into this; its caught on and now theres stuff coming out that just doesn't seem to match their original quality.
 
Only ratchet I have ever broke is a 80 tooth snap on 3/8

I actually have never broke a craftsman ratchet. Got a couple that will change directions if your using them fast, and a had a couple that would jump a few teeth if you were leaning on them.
 
It all depends on your Lowe's when you go to return stuff. Mines great, swap anything out no questions asked. If they don't have a straight match just take what you think is closest.

OP those look like the new v-series ratchets, supposed to be a higher end line
 
I've got a few of broken craftsman ratchets, and even more broken craftsman ratcheting wrenches. Some are locked solid, others free spin and the switch doesn't do anything. Some work well for 1/2 turn then nothing. Won't be buying them anymore.
 
Steve300xcw said:
Only ratchet I have ever broke is a 80 tooth snap on 3/8

I actually have never broke a craftsman ratchet. Got a couple that will change directions if your using them fast, and a had a couple that would jump a few teeth if you were leaning on them.
Click to expand...

Probably my favorite ratchet is a stubby Snapon. It’s been broke for a couple years now. I never see a snapon truck. If I do, I don’t have it with me. I need to send it in I guess.
 
Hooligan said:
yeah, never saw the value in their sets. Maybe, but barely, if you had nothing it got you started.
Click to expand...
I got a 600 something set when Sears was going tips up for a good price for at the shop. Got tired of running home to get tools, or having shit at the shop when I needed it at home.

It's come in handy having "oddball" stuff more times than I'd have figured.
 
WaterH said:
Probably my favorite ratchet is a stubby Snapon. It’s been broke for a couple years now. I never see a snapon truck. If I do, I don’t have it with me. I need to send it in I guess.
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Have a few of the snapon ratchets. But my favorite by far is a 3/8" Wright. Honestly as far as tools above the homeowner grade, are concerned. I look at Wright tools first.
 
I have Snap-on, Matco, and Craftsman ratchets. I will take the old fine tooth Craftsman over any other that I have ever used. Too bad they don't make them anymore. I bought them 42 years ago when I started as a Chevy dealer mechanic.
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I miss the old days when you could buy a rusted old Craftsman box end wrench at the swap meet for $.50, take it to Sears and get handed a brand new replacement. Best one I ever got was a 1-1/8" wrench for $2.00, Sears gave me a new one because the plating was flaking off.

I knew the times were changing when I took in a busted 3/8 ratchet and they handed me a rebuilt replacement that looked worse than the broken one. I told them to try again. They gave me a better looking rebuilt.

I used to buy Craftsman tools exclusively just because it's what my Dad used.
 
I have a ton of Matco stuff I bought 40 years ago, I've saved a bunch of ratchets that broke, Sockets that the chrome had flaked, and some other shit.

Our shop has a Matco truck that has started coming by again, so I hit him up.

Basically told me to pound sand, if your not a regular with an account beat it, I'm not swapping out your 40 year old crap.

I'm not a regular customer, But I did buy the tools at list price, and have used them for 40 years.

And people question buying HF Icon shit.
I'll be honest, Husky, Kobalt, and The Icon line make any new Carftsman tool look second rate, the ergonomics and finish on the last Craftsman set I bought looked like they were all seconds and returns, rough edges, tools not finished well,

They are not the "Made In America" tools that were handed down from my Dad.
 
I tried calling and got a request to choose a number, but nothing was said after that.

I then filed an email through craftsman with PN# and a pic of all the pos’s.

This morning they sent me an email requesting a phone number and shipping address so we will see if they step up to the plate and send new tools out.
 
Stingray said:
I have a ton of Matco stuff I bought 40 years ago, I've saved a bunch of ratchets that broke, Sockets that the chrome had flaked, and some other shit.

Our shop has a Matco truck that has started coming by again, so I hit him up.

Basically told me to pound sand, if your not a regular with an account beat it, I'm not swapping out your 40 year old crap.

I'm not a regular customer, But I did buy the tools at list price, and have used them for 40 years.

And people question buying HF Icon shit.
I'll be honest, Husky, Kobalt, and The Icon line make any new Carftsman tool look second rate, the ergonomics and finish on the last Craftsman set I bought looked like they were all seconds and returns, rough edges, tools not finished well,

They are not the "Made In America" tools that were handed down from my Dad.
Click to expand...

That happened to me with Snap-on. I had plastic handles that turned to powder and he wouldn't warranty it and said they didn't have handles to sell for them. I have never had a Matco, S-K, or Craftsman handle that fell apart.

Most of my tools are over 40 years old also and I agree that the new Chinese Craftsman tools are not very good. I have a few of them.
 
Steve300xcw said:
Do the new craftsman ratchets still suck ass?
Click to expand...
Ive broke craftsman, snapon and Marco. Honestly, I don’t see a difference In their quality. They each have good points as far as use. Craftsman were nice because of ease of replacement. Can’t say Ive really “professionally” wrenched, but I’ve seriously wrenched my whole life.
 
Gtrplyr78 said:
Interesting,

I have Craftsman ratcheting wrench set (metric and fractional) I got at Sears before they closed for good around here.

Had one of them come apart last year - took it to Lowes and they gave me a new one of the tool rack. Perhaps they changed their criteria?

More and more lately warranties are turning into BS, read about folks having issues with DeWalt/Ridgid/Gear Wrench and some others.

My mechanic friend has some broken Mac stuff collecting dust - tool truck never comes around.
Click to expand...
could be that it is the individual store, or the lady behind the counter
I did get another breaker bar that day after she went on about 'got to have the receipt' speach
so I took the bar home and promptly broke it
put the plastic hanger thingy back on it
put it back in the bag
and handed it right back to the same lady with a big :grinpimp:
and pointed out there it is even in the original packaging

she was not amused

I originally went with Sears in the first place, because I don't have to drive around and chase a Sears store down to get my tool fixed like you do the tool trucks
that back fired :laughing:
 
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Just got the last one. Thank you WaterH for posting the info.
inefficient though that all 3 shipments were sent out of the same warehouse over the last week.
 
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