No More Free Craftsman Tool Replacement!

Sears Merged with K-mart. K-Mart RUNS sears. It is no longer Sears Roebuck,Co. it is now Sears Holdings. NONE of the Craftsmen Hand tools are made outside of the USA....NONE. The cheaper lines and various other Types of tools are made in other countries. But the handtools ARE NOT. The Warranty still stands and always will. Like i said before....the tools are Sears main source of Income. why the hell do you think there are separate branches of just Sears Hardware, yet none for clothes and goofy shit. The tools bring in the money.

As much as i hate working for Sears, i still buy my tools there. Becasue they work and theyre affordable

 

Think they'll exchange my "Barf" smelling nut drivers for a new set...??? Hahaha...

 

Yep, what he said.

 

Don't start on the Unions....if it wasn't for the Unions, all of America wouldn't be in the place they are today with Job Safety that is now Federal Law.

I'm a Retired UAW Journeyman Tool and Diemaker who grew up working in Non-Union Job Shops with little or nothing in the line of Job Safety....

 

2 things to point out here:

1. If you think unions don't drive up costs, you are probably in a union. Unions are thick here. And the results from them are TOTAL BS. Overpayed underworked crybabies. Like to see some of these fuckers make their own living like alot of us do. It'd be like me trying to tell the meat packing industry what they had to pay me for my cattle. "Yeah right little man, the market pays this, this is what you get" I don't get to go have a little powwow with the farmhand and decide I'm gonna strike until the packers pay me $7.00 a pound for cattle. That's not how it works in the real world.

If I'm owning a factory and I gotta give some guy 3 weeks vacation, paid holidays everytime some meaningless date rolls around, not work him more than 3 hours a week, and on top of all that pay him $27.43 an hour to sit on his thumb and bitch, you know what's gonna happen? I'm closing that factory the fuck down and going where people earn what they are paid. That's the American way, not this Godforsaken entitlement mentality 3/4's of the country has seemed to have adopted.

2. If you think Craftsman tools have the same quality or functionally equal to Snap-On I think you might want to have your head examined.

 

I use Craftsmen tools....99% of my stuff is Craftsman....

But back in the 80's, there was a period of time when the 3/4" drive stuff (of which I own nothing, as I own nothing that big....) was made in Taiwan....previous to this it was Made in the USA....

It was stamped "made in Taiwan" as well as Craftsman.....

I also remember when Sears REFUSED to waranty a customer with a socket that was busted with this logo....because they said "We never sold tools marked Craftsman "made in Taiwan"..."

This was at the Sears store in Kentwood , Michigan out on SE 28th street.....

Maybe others out there remember this trend to "off shore manufacturing" to remain "price competitive"....

 

Job safety is maybe the one good thing any union has ever done and I will hand you that one and not argue it. Still does me no good, I get kicked in the chest by a 900 lbs. heifer and break 3 ribs, I don't get paid but that's how it goes I guess.

 

When the tools were purchaced, there was a lifetime guarantee.
They can't change that without going bankrupt or completely going out of business.

If they want to introduce a new non-Craftsman line of tools, they can do that, but as far as changing an existing contract, there is no way. They are stuck with it.

 

Hmmm, does that mean that the Craftsman wrenches that I have are not REALLY stamped "Made In Japan"??
And I thought I could read....

BTW, those wrrenches are very high quality, the stampings are quite a bit crisper than the USA stuff, and the tolerances seems a trifle better, too.

You don't think the Japanese build those superior cars with inferior tools, do you??

Cosmo

 

shit I got 2 ratchets that keep falling apart but because they were bought before I think they have to honor the warranty but I'll sure as hell never buy Craftsman again

 

I priced a big order of new tools through Snap-on and then through Craftsman. Over a quarter of a million dollars worth of tools through Snap-on is the same as $40,000 worth of Craftsman tools. With the amount of money saved, I think I'd rather put up with a tool busting on me every now and then. Even if Craftsman won't replace it, I can buy a new one and still save money.

If Snap-on would lower their prices, they would dominate. Everyone agrees Snap-on sells quality tools but everyone also agrees the reason why Snap-on isn't stamped on every tool in their shop is because of the overwheming price.

I hear Matco is cheaper. I've used a lot of Matco tools as well and find it hard to believe their the same tool as Craftsman like a fella said earlier. Sure doesn't feel like the same quality at all. Matco compares to Snap-on as far as quality.

Problem with all of them, especially the local Matco guy, is the pain in the ass it is to hunt that bastard down and make him swing by the shop in his truck. The only way to keep him coming around regularly is to buy something everytime.

Maybe Ryan can score a Snap-on 85% discount for members. Sweet!

 

Oh, and to all the people knocking lower priced tools, and praising Snap On, MAC and Matco....

"MAC Tools, Proto Tools (a very expensive industrial brand), Husky Tools, and, (prior to five or so years ago) Craftsman Tools are all made from the same forgings in the same plants.

Husky brand is made by Stanley Mechanics Tools, a division of the Stanley Works.

How do I know all of this? I work for Stanley Mechanics Tools, specifically with the Proto Industrial brand. I personally do not think that MAC, MatCo, or Snap-On branded tools are worth the extra markup since they use the same forgings and manufacturing processes that make Husky and Kobalt and pre-1994 Craftsman. Where you need to pay attention are things like ratchets and torque wrenches. There are different specifications of ratchets and you do pay for the difference. Some mechanics require a finer, more precise ratcheting mechanism than guys like me who just bang around in the garage on the weekends."

http://www.team.net/www/morgan/tech/whotools.html

Just a little primer on who owns who, and who makes what tools. Like I said before, tools are tools. Really, hand tools, when used right, should perform just fine and not have any regular breakage. YOU JUST NEED TO KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY USE THEM!!!

Now granted, yes, Snap-On wrenches may be built with closer tolerances, but really, it's a fact. If you use a craftsman wrench properly, you can use it for everything a Snap-On can be used for.

I'm buying a complete new tool set with everything from wrenches to air tools to compression testers this month.... know what brand I'm going with? I'll give you a hint.... I like my tools like I like my cars..... pure function, no fashion.

I'll be opting for the realistically priced FUNCTION of craftsmans over the "highly polished look at me I'm drooling cause of the name on the side of this wrench" Snap On's.

***Oh, and in response to the comment that no "professional builders" use Craftsmans, I think this guy needs to get out more. What a line of shit....

 

I could build an entire car for the difference in what my crappy tools and the name brand ones cost and I can't remember the last time I broke something - prolly when I used a ratchet on something that required a breaker bar. If you've got more money than space, it makes sense, but I can barely afford this hobby as is.

 

I'd be really surprised if they tried to do this, because Harbor Freight will replace broken hand tools now. In fact, when I busted a 3/8" breaker bar (tip twisted off), they didn't have any in stock, the girl gave me a 1/2" drive instead which cost about $4 more. Later on I bought another 3/8" because there is still a broken tip in my adapter I can't get out of it (wonder if Craftsman will replace it for that?). They replaced a ratchet tie down for chains, too, that I backed over and bent to shit - same deal, they didn't have the same one in stock, so they let me have the next one up -



I'd rather buy American, but when I have no $$$ and need a tool that I may use once and never again, I grab it up there. If I'm replacing something I lost, I go up and buy two or three cheap ones, so that I can lose a couple more and not be out much. The way I lose tools, forgotten in the junkyard or outright stolen or whatever, spending good money on good stuff would be a waste.


I've noticed a lot of the ratchet bodies look the same. In K-mart you have some Craftsman now, but they have a better selection of Stanley for some unknown reason. The stores here recently redid those aisles to display the stuff. It might be possible to compare the two side-by-side -

 

or s/k the local parts house has slip n kill and same story

sko

 

i know they have more limitations on some of the reasons to return. I had an old tape measure that the end rusted off. They had a list over by the the tape measures on what constitutes a replacement.

 

I have both in my toolbox, Craftsman and Snap-On. I use them both. Maybe they're made by the same company same plant yadda yadda. If I have a 9/16 Snap on laying next to a 9/16 Craftsman, I will use the Snap on every single time. Not because of what it says on the side and not because it costs more. They don't marr number one, they fit better number two, they're far more comfortable number three (barring the Craftsman pro wrenchs, they're pretty damn nice and slightly less costly than Snap-On)

I hate for this to turn into a tool vs. tool debate. That's as redundant as the Ford Chevy thing. But there is a painfully obvious difference in quality between these brands. Same plant or not.

BTW I have a Stanley Vidmar toolbox and it is possibly the nicest box I've ever had so kudos to you buddy. Nice boxes...

 

[quote='29MurrayTub]If they want to introduce a new non-Craftsman line of tools, they can do that...[/quote]

They already did - and they are called SEARS tools. They DO NOT have the same warranty as Craftsman tools.

I believe that if Craftsman tools ever somehow got out of their lifetime warranty (if even possible), their sales would drop to the point that it hurts Sears bad. Everyone that purchases Craftsman tools did so because of their price AND their warranty.

I also saw it's only another rumor unless someone can show proof otherwise.

 

I gotta call you on that one. I have a 16mm combo wrench that is a Craftsman, in every way shape and form. But, on the back side, it says "Made in Japan." It's in my work toolbox, otherwise I'd take a digi of it to post. It's the first time I've seen an actual Craftsman tool not made in the US. I've had plenty of Chinese made Sears tools, you know the ones in the bin marked a quarter apiece, but never a wrench that said that.

I do know that I'd much sooner use my Craftsman combo wrenches than the Snap On set I bought fresh outta college, when Snap On was cool... the Snappies are too thin, and if you try to pull too hard it hurts the palms, well at least my girlish palms anyway. The Craftsman's are thicker and don't flex near as much.

And, BTW, it seems Snap On is getting selective about what they'll return and what they won't. I traded in a 15" adjustable because it wouldn't close (chrome) and got a black oxide one in return. Thanks. But my Matco guy will even return non Matco things (I had a set of Thomas and Bett's crimpers that looked like they were on the losing end of a war) and he traded em for brand new Matco ones.

Tool trucks are expensive, yes, but if you're a mechanic by trade, they are sometimes a nessasary evil.

Jay

 

The unions have done good and bad.

Without unions we'd still be doing 16 hour workdays. They pioneered child labor laws. They help represent the interests of the employees when it comes to health benefits. They are very important when it comes to safety at the workplace. Which may not seem important and even petty, that is until you get hurt. Without unions companies could fire you at a moments notice for no reason at all, they still can, but it is a lot more difficult.

And yes.

This does drive up the cost of the final product. Union members can work the system to their advantage and take it easy at work. Its true.

Without the unions you'd be overworked, underpayed, unappreciated, disposable, without vacation and at the mercy of the employer. If that's what you want for the sake of saving a few bucks and transferring all of your money to a foreign land or non-union company. Then by all means do it. Continue to turn america into a consumer economy - dependent on all of the manufacturing countries. Sounds like a good idea to me.

I am a younger guy and used to be anti-union too. Now I've got a college degree. Yet, I'm working in a factory because of the great benefits, decent pay, and insurance. Oh, and we are on the edge of a strike because we are barely getting enough of a pay raise to keep up with inflation. Actually it is below the rate of inflation. While the corporation is netting a confirmed 40% profit margin on. Consider this when a company is considered successful and profitable making 5%.

My point is don't bash the unions. Yeah, they have their downfalls. They have a lot of good effects too. You may want to redirect your anger towards the cling-ons in the upper ranks of the company making more money than they can spend in two lifetimes while, maybe it is those millions of dollars that drive up the final cost of the product and not the skilled and unskilled laborers at the bottom struggling to make 40k a year.

And about the tools...

If I could afford snap-on I would by them.

 

I have thought for years that if Craftsman were to start up having tool trucks they would make a ton-o-money. The main reason there are not more pros using Craftsman is that you have to go to the store to get them & I know many pro mechanics that feel the same way.

 

Not to start a war, but:

Does anybody else remember those "Union, Yes!" commercials that showed a couple of smiling Harley-Davidson assembly line workers as they proudly bolted on Asian-made parts?

Dave Mann
Author, Harley-Davidson Performance Parts Directory, 1992
http://www.roadsters.com/

 

Ya know if worse comes to worse then Home Depot has a line of tolls that are lifetime, in fact a sales rep for them offer me trade in money for all my craftsmans tools in exchange for buying new ones with them. I've had Craftsman for 25 years and hope this is just a rumor.

 

First off, I'd like to thank SFC Daniel Marshall for his service. (see earlier post)

This rumor has been circulating ever since the Kmart/Sears marriage - whoever is running the show has to realize the main reason that most of us buy Craftsman tools is because we use the dickens out of them, and we LIKE the "no questions asked" free replacement.

As to unions and the WalMart retort - only someone with NO skills has to work at WalMart - minimum wage is a crock - people should get paid what they're worth, not what some fatass union twit negotiates for them. Union fans need to wake up and realize why so much is being farmed out overseas - you've priced yourselves out of the market. Unions were necessary, but they've become the tail wagging the dog - some illiterate sweathog in Detroit getting paid $35/hr to screw on lug nuts? Give me a break - no wonder the unions are getting weaker every year. This is NOT what Samuel Gompers had in mind.

dj

 

I took a broken 3/8" rachet back for a new one and the guy behind the counter pulls out a box of used tools and hands me a used one with most of the finish off of it. I said, "what the hell is this?" He said, "Well, you brought in a used one didn't you?" He gives me this crap about the warranty says that they only have to replace the tool. It doesn't say that it has to be a new one. Can you believe that shit? That was the last time I went to Sears. The tools were the only thing they had going for them and now that's gone. By the way, Home Depot take them on exchange for their Husky brand which looks like a well made tool and has the lifetime warranty.

 

Is the Danaher shop a union shop? I'd be surprised. Not sure how the union vs non got started anyway on this thread.

But... I am not a union member, but work with the Millwrights, Carpenters, boilermakers, pipefitters, and other unions on industrial construction. I also live in New Mexico which is not only Right to Work but flooded with illegal Mexicans doing a lot of the carpentry, masonry, etc. The good thing about a union guy, even a carpenter, is that they (theoretically) have gotten union training in their trade. A union carpenter knows what kind of wood to use for a scaffold, what max span it can be, etc. The illegals working for $5/hr less don't know or care, and their scaffolding collapses pretty regularly. Who do you want building your scaffold when you're standing 2 stories up?

We had a job recently where there were both a union pipefitter/plumber outfit and a non-union shop building different parts of the same system (a large-diameter copper compressed air system). The joint failure rate on the non-union shop's portion was 75%, vs only one joint with a pinhole on the union system. Ever seen what happens when an elbow blows off a 3" line at 150 psi?! I won't even walk thru the part of the plant the non-union guys built.

Union/Non-union isn't all about money. Not all union guys are dedicated craftsmen. Not all non-union guys are worthless. I'd like to see SOMEONE in the USA recruiting young blood to get into all the trades (especially machinists, boilermakers, and tool & die) as a profession. Everybody I see is 50+ yrs old and ready to retire.

 

Sorry to burst your bubble.....But tools don't make a mechanic.
Working on HEAVY equipment in the rental industry I see it all the time. Young new hires with new toolbox full of every name brand (Snap-On, Mac, Matco, etc.) tool you can think of. Can't fix a thing properly but are always on the tool truck when it arrives weekly. The older guys have older tools and not as large of a 'collection', but they know 'how' to use 'em. Big difference.

 

I used to knock unions till I joined one. It affords my family the good life and I still bust my ass, just get compensated better for it. Sears is on it's last legs, Wal Mart has em whipped, How long can they pass out free replacements to people who bring used tools from the swap meet? Seriously, Do you think they are running a charity?

 

For The Rcord I Started The Union Bashing And For One Appreciate What The Union Has Done For The Workforce In America, But It's Time Has Come To Realize That Union Wages Are Over Rated And Maybe Some Union Rep Should Consider Giving Back To The Industry Here And Bring Back American Industry From Some Of Our Terriost Orginazations Countries And Give Some Of Our Country Men A Job Back. Again Union Is Good In Order To Keep The Greedy Co. Man In Check. And I Have Known A Many Skilled Craftsman That Are Union and Non-Union and They Are The Ones Who Make It Proud To Be American Made...I Have For One Seen How These Iraqi's Show No Skill In Rebuilding Their Country. Then Wonder Why A Building Falls Down When We Kick Down The Door In The Middle Of The Night. But I'll Stop Here And Get Back To Work My Friends, Both Union And Non-Union, God Bless Us All For Having The Ability And Fourtune To Write This Silly Shit.:d

 

there is always harbour freight they sell the crappy jap stuff that your going to buy at sears- mart but at least you can go and replace it for the price of one snap on or mac