Henry Rifle Forums

I've bought many of my Craftsman tools at the Flea Market. The nice thing is that they "were" guaranteed for life. Since Sears has gone out, I don't believe they are guaranteed anymore. Even though many places are still selling them.

I have mostly Craftsman tools from the 90's until they started to not be made in the US of A. I found the guarantee almost unneccessary as they have lasted very well. I can count on one hand how many Craftsman tool exchanges I had to make (when you could).
I have also purchased some tools at Harbor Freight. They are the secondary tools for things like camp and barn. I have since re-thought that strategy because when I needed to use them in a difficult application, I have found some of them coming up a little short.
My new thought process is USA made John Deere tools. They get pricey.

dave77 wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 24, 2023 11:50 pm

Do you ever watch the Woodwright's Shop? Amazing how many different tools they used to use. Here's a whole episode on beading planes.

https://www.pbs.org/video/the-venerable-bead-rvo9nq/

Yes, I am quite familiar with "Saint Roy". He is both entertaining and educational. I don't have any beading planes, despite the fact that wooden beading and moulding planes were common and often inexpensive items at a lot of the fleas. I really never had a use for them, and was a little intimidated at sharpening them. I do have a (hand) router plane that does a good job with some applications.

daytime dave wrote: ↑

Fri Aug 25, 2023 9:30 am

I have mostly Craftsman tools from the 90's until they started to not be made in the US of A. I found the guarantee almost unneccessary as they have lasted very well. I can count on one hand how many Craftsman tool exchanges I had to make (when you could).

Same here Dave. In over 50 years of collecting tools, mostly Craftsman, I have returned very few all through the years. But a few are showing their wear now and I asked at Lowes, who now sell them too, and was told no more guarantee. But I'm going to give it another try somewhere just to verify that.

I got an older craftsman socket wrench replaced at Lowes a couple of months ago. Maybe they won't replace the new tools.

I bought a 1/2 in drive Craftsman socket set when I was in high school, probably 1971. At some point the ratchet stopped working properly. I quit using it for a while and then one day decided to see if I could get it repaired. I went to a local Sears, they were still open at that time, and they wanted to exchange it for a rebuilt one. I said, "No, it's got sentimental value since I'd had it so long.". He said they had some repair kits for the ratchet mechanism. He found one that fit that model, and I said I could install it myself. Got it back up and running.

I thought this lawsuit about Craftsman fraud might interest people.

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/ ... tsman.html

Yesterday I needed to pull the water heater anode rod out to drain the tank in the rv. I grabbed the 1/2” ratchet I always use which is a craftsman and yep, made in the USA. I have lots of craftsman tools and have had them for many years so I expect they are all USA made. I have a small 4” bench vise from craftsman and it too says made in the USA.

This website will tell you when and where your Craftsman tool was made. Fascinating reading if you like Craftsman.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/thr ... ges.84807/

I bought a few Craftsman V,VV, and G code 1/2” drive sockets and ratchet/breaker/spinner tools. The sockets go up to 1-1/2” and 32mm. The Channels locks and other tools I’ve had. These weren’t a super bargain but still a good deal.