New Craftsman Tools - Opinions?

[jmark]

Kind of far afield from hunting, but, well, one has to maintain his hunting vehicle, no?  

I hadn't been in a Lowes lately, but my son and I stopped in one this weekend.  Big Craftsman display.  My son (15 yo) immediately honed in on the poor quality of the tool chests.  He noted that the joints and general finish on the Kobalt chests was much better.  

I have a fair amount of old Craftsman tools (and chests).  I always thought of them as sort of the minimum quality one would want for mechanics tools, but fine for a weekend warrior.  The old wrenches are like new still, the chests still solid.  I looked at the new wrenches - made in China.  I'll reserve comment for now, would like to hear opinions, and this is about the only place I knew where people have any sense.... 

jmark

[moog5050]

I liked craftsman when sears was around because there was a no questions asked break and exchange it policy.  Still the case?  If there is one, will craftsman survive to stand behind it.

Edited October 2, 2019 by moog5050

[Jeremy K]

Best tool box for the money without a doubt is the boxes that harbour freight sells .

[NFA-ADK]

I was in automotive industry for 13 years, craftsman was not the choice for us as we need tools that did not brake unless excessive force is used.  Ok for basic purposes but they are the cheapest of tools for a reason!  Simply put you get what you paid for in tools. 

[Jeremy K]

1 minute ago, NFA-ADK said:

I was in automotive industry for 13 years, craftsman was not the choice for us as we need tools that did not brake unless excessive force is used.  Ok for basic purposes but they are the cheapest of tools for a reason!  Simply put you get what you paid for in 

I would imagine most professionals wouldn't choose craftsman tools for everyday use.

[Jeremy K]

I have a kobalt stainless box at work ,it's a piece of crap.  All the drawers have to be pulled out carefully or one side will drop. Definitely not made for everyday use.

[WNYBuckHunter]

11 minutes ago, Jeremy K said:

Best tool box for the money without a doubt is the boxes that harbour freight sells .

Absolutely. I have 2 US General boxes, and a Craftsman box set thats about 15-18 years old. The US General boxes are way nicer than the Craftsman box is. Back in the day I had a Snap-On box, and it was the cats ass, but for home use, the Harbor Freight ones are hands down the best bang for the buck.

[Five Seasons]

just fine for weekend warriors. Heck even some of the HF junk gets the job done when not heavily used. 

I've had good luck with their power tools and gas lawn and garden stuff as well. 

Edited October 2, 2019 by Belo

[Jeremy K]

5 minutes ago, Belo said:

just fine for weekend warriors. Heck even some of the HF junk gets the job done when not heavily used. 

I've had good luck with their power tools and gas lawn and garden stuff as well. 

HF will exchange broken tools for tools that haven't broken yet.

[Core]

My opinion is they started making everything in China and Sears sold it off and Lowes is not going to be successful with it. They aren't the craftsman from yesteryear.

I did buy a couple of craftsman boxes from a local sears maybe 2 years ago or 3 years ago and I'm happy with them.

As for harbor Freight wouldn't consider them for any battery device. I made do with an HF compound sliding miter saw for years. Got the job done but when I spent the money on Dewalt's flagship miter saw last year I immediately realized what I had been missing. Quite, smooth, tight. 

HF should be shut down over their clamps. They are, absolutely the worst thing I've ever bought. Total trash, particularly their knock-off irwins, which even a baby could overpower. I've gone through a box of pliers before looking for one that was aligned. Their predator motors are well rated and I've had a decade of use out of a compressor from there now as well.

Edited October 2, 2019 by Core

[Nytracker]

I have been using craftsman tools daily as an industrial mechanic  for 22 years now .  Yup they aren't snap on  or mack . But then again my  tools are payed for . I dont have half my pay check going to the truck.

[sbuff]

I have older craftsmen tools that have been beaten to hell and back and still perform as needed . I have noted too that the craftsman at lowes sold today don't fit, feel or look as good as yesteryear. 

For hand tools I prefer husky .

Good to hear about HF tool boxes as my current no name brand is way to small .

[jmark]

Thanks for the replies.  I had a feeling there might be some opinions here.  

I grew up in a racing family (Funny Cars).  We had a pretty big garage at our shop, and a 2-car garage at home, and there were always cars being worked on.  My dad had Craftsman tools almost exclusively.  Some Mac, no Snap-On that I recall, too expensive (although friends who were full time mechanics all seemed to at least have a Snap-On box).  I don't think I ever had a Craftsman tool fail.  I have HF ratchets that are absolute garbage.  Loose, slip if pushed hard, just junk.  The wrenches seem ok, although I have some that have developed a little rust over the years. 

All my boxes are Craftsman, some over 20 years old (one over 50), the others between 5-10 years old.  They made several different levels of boxes, some with roller bearings, some not, etc.  I have some of each (I have at least 6 boxes, some hold gun stuff).  I don't think I'll ever need to buy another box.  But I'm missing a few wrench sizes and some sockets, and it's disappointing that I now can't get replacements of equal quality.  I suspect the used market will skyrocket now.  

 

[Steve D]

8 hours ago, moog5050 said:

I liked craftsman when sears was around because there was a no questions asked break and exchange it policy.  Still the case?  If there is one, will craftsman survive to stand behind it. 

I replaced a broken craftsman socket adapter at Lowes with no questions asked. I had to wait for the correct one to be stocked and when it was I just took it to the service desk with the broken one and they made the exchange with no paperwork or anything.

[doebuck1234]

7 hours ago, Jeremy K said:

HF will exchange broken tools for tools that haven't broken yet.

X2.know this for a fact as i worked at the henrietta location as a supervisor before starting my career in the machining industry.have seen my fair share of their junk stuff but the hand tools were a hit for sure! X2 @WNYBuckHunter on the general boxes.sold a ton of em in my time there and not a single complaint that i recall,solid drawers and heavy as hell haha

[Bionic]

Not a fan of the Lowe’s Crapsman tools, my cheap boss buys them.  I don’t like the feel in my hand.  I liked the Kobalt tools though

[jmark]

2 minutes ago, Steve D said:

I replaced a broken craftsman socket adapter at Lowes with no questions asked. I had to wait for the correct one to be stocked and when it was I just took it to the service desk with the broken one and they made the exchange with no paperwork or anything.

Was it a new adapter, or one of the original ones (like from Sears)?  

[Steve D]

The one that broke was a craftsman from sears probably 15 or more years old. I just asked if they were covering the craftsman breakage guarantee since they took over craftsman and the girl said yes if they have the item in stock.

[jmark]

1 minute ago, Steve D said:

The one that broke was a craftsman from sears probably 15 or more years old. I just asked if they were covering the craftsman breakage guarantee since they took over craftsman and the girl said yes if they have the item in stock.

Interesting.  That must have been part of the acquisition - otherwise very bad PR.  

[airedale]

Like firearms acquiring tools seems to be a never ending thing. Quality tools are one of those items that the old saying "you get what you pay for" rings true for the most part. I own and use many mostly American made Craftsman tools that have been acquired through the years. They have served me well and I have only had to replace one of their tools ever, a "Robogrip plier" which I used for years and wore out attaching fencing to T posts. It was replaced under their lifetime guarantee no questions asked. As for the quality of todays Craftsman stuff it is up to Lowes to set those quality standards, I have no doubt the Chinese can make them great if Lowes pushes quality and does not cheap out.

I have an old American made National Auto socket set I purchased back in the sixties and they do their job today as well as the day they left the store.

Another good set of wrenches I have are the "Metrinch" ratchet-socket and box-open end wrench set. A novel design that can fit both metric and SAE.

Have a newer Kobalt set that are finished nicely but have not used them hard and long enough to give an honest review.

Al

 

 

Edited October 3, 2019 by airedale