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WTF happened to Craftsman tools!?!?!

Subsailor said:
I busted a 1/2 to 3/8 adapter that i've had for a long time, I go into Sears and the first thing I noticed is a set of regular combination wrenches that just look different, the open end was forged differently than the ones I have, I turn it around and WTF! "Made in China"

I haven't needed to buy any hand tools for a long time, and this was a shock. Some of the stuff was made in USA but most seemed to be from either China or Taiwan, in fact I couldn't find a new American made adapter, I had to settle for Taiwan made.

I also hear they give you "ratchet rebuild kits" now instead of handing you a new ratchet. Is there any truth to that? I also noticed many tools had "limited" warranties now. If i wanted Chinese junk i'd just go to Harbor Freight.

When and why did Sears decide to do this? I would gladly pay a little more if they kept the same quality as their old tools and kept all the manufacturing in this country.
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Oh man! The last time you went to sears where they selling guns and had the live vacuum demo !
Sears tools been off shore a long time as have a lot of brands. Its hard to find USA made tools. Meaning parts made and assembled here. Mayhew tools Pro line is made in USA here in MA. Look carefully with any tools you buy.
Snap on has taken a nose dive also.
Warranty on tools is becoming a royal pita for any tool now days. If your not spending HUgE money try keeping a tool truck coming around.
Been wrenching 30plus years. last 5 years or so everything seems to suck now. Maybe im getting old. I have snap on and sunex sockets 30 years p!us. Most started failing in the past few years. so far the replacement 15mm deep impact snappy has split 2 times. The new sunex 18mm deep impact swivel went 3 years.
i have been using a lot of gear wrench stuff. My pay has fallen well short of the cost increases of life so my tool money is not what it used to be.
 
Woodstock said:
I took back a broken 1/4" ratchet and he handed me a rebuilt, not a new one. He said that's all they do now. When I got home and took it out of the bag I notice it has somebody's initials engraved in it. Cheap ****'s. Those ratchets used to be made in Springfield MA.
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The kits and rebuilds been going on a long time. Trick they learned from snap on. you have to break the ratchet body to get a new one.
 
I started buying Proto hand tools from Grainger. Made in the USA. Started with a few impact sockets and then a couple of odd large size chrome sockets. Fit and finish seem good.
 
Husky tools from the depot ? Lifetime warranty on those also. Built my GTO with them over the last ten years , nothing broke yet. ( gto is for sale )
 
Sears... Well I bought this 10" saw 12 years ago and its seen some hard use and care. Plastic housing has become brittle. I was going to try and make a new base but I need a table saw:confused:
pgAZ12Im.jpg

My Craftman vacuum burnout also after 10 plus years.... Some ask why craftsman. Well that table saw was a whopping $149 back then the Vacuum was on sale for $39 who else has prices like that for tools that will get some work done.
Now im on the hunt for a new Vacuum and table saw. I will probably go craftsman again
 
I’ve had good luck with MATCO socket sets and ratchets, and use FACOM wrenches. FACOM is owned by SB&D and I believe my wrenches are made in Taiwan, but they’re better than anything made by SB&D when I needed a new set.

I wish I would’ve looked at Porto more closely. I believe it’s all made here and there are good reviews of their stuff on Garage Journal.
 
I'm a Libertarian and free market advocate however,it is interesting to note that the only tax the founding fathers generally agreed upon were duties and tariffs. (They were also the taxes that prompted the revolution when arbitrarily levied). The idea of an income tax was completely foreign and as it stands today doesn't pass Constitutional muster. I try and buy US made as much as possible including harder to find things like clothing, tools, vehicles, and firearms.

Guns are actually one of the easiest things to buy that are American made as there has been a tremendous consolidation within the industry in the past decade. Import laws and streamlined manufacturing have given us US made Sigs, Glocks, HKs, and soon enough CZs...I can't wait for my USA CZ 75...
 
Stanley Black and Decker bought the Craftsman brand from sears. Sears should just be put out of it's misery already - kind of sad.
Stanley B&D makes a ton of tools. A few posts above someone mentioned Proto and Husky. Pretty sure Stanley makes them all. DeWalt, Bostitch, etc.
 
Jeez , I just googled “where are husky tools made “ and the answer was , they used to be made in the USA but are now made in China. Hopefully mine are American made considering how old the set is now
 
Wright Tools are made in USA and very good quality (mostly an industrial brand). I've bought some of their wrenches, sockets, and ratchets on Amazon. Quality seems excellent. F*** Sears and the Chinese Crapsman.
 
Junior314 said:
Stanley just announced they are moving production of their Craftsman hand tools back to the US.

Stanley Black & Decker is Reshoring More Production of Craftsman Tools
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This is great news. 500 new jobs. I hope more companies do the same. You have to invest in plant and equipment to beat the Chinese, it's pretty much the opposite of the Mitt Romney-pioneered buyout vulture culture of the 1980s.

"About 500 people will be employed at the new $90 million facility, which will utilize robots and fast-forging presses to boost output compared to the older forging machinery now used in China. This will keep production costs in-line with those in China, according to the Wall Street Journal."
 
I am sooooo glad most of my tools were bought 30 to 40 years ago.

I am buying specialty tools I need for newer cars off the tool truck ( MAC) and I have been buying Milwaukee M12 and M18 electric stuff online in preparation for setting up the upgraded garage in Florida.

The only thing I will buy buying Craftsman anytime soon is a center chest... I have run out of room in my boxes here in NH, but I am trying to avoid spending a lot of money as it will all going south in the next year or two, and I already have tool boxes there
 
mibro said:
I've been loading up on Armstrong tools bought on eBay.
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I went thru my tools last year and had a few small things missing.

I looked on EBAY ad bought "vintage" replacements to match the sets I had, and they were "the good stuff", not the crap they are selling today
 

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