your thoughts on craftsman tools-socket sets

[hemi1300]

picked up a new craftsman socket set (108 piece) today to keep in my truck tool box.  The old craftsman set i had, the case was huge and bulky, and all the sockets would fall all over the place when stored vertically, drove me nuts.  This new set is pretty nice, small and compact case that doesn't take up much room, and plenty of sockets.  My big issue-MADE IN CHINA!!  By no means am i a professional mechanic, really don't even wrench on the vehicles that much anymore, but i hate having cheap tools.  Your guys thought on craftsman?

[Team Adam's]

Ever since Craftsman moved production to China, I haven't looked at their tools anymore unfortunately.  Luckily I loaded up my box with quite a bit of CMAN stuff years ago when they were still made here.

[windycitylp]

craftsman still makes some tools here. my sockets were made in usa. love them. i bought magnetic holders for them so they fit in my gladiator tool chest. some of that gladiator stuff is made here too. when it comes to tools and my garage i do what i can for made in usa. its difficult and power tools well, youre not gonna find those made here. i keep looking. channel lock makes their pliers and wrenches here but their blue and red grip line is made in china. bosch is made in germany so there is that option for power tools. www.madeinusaforever.com try that out for starters. you just have to be diligent about finding out where the tools are made. i have found most of the products made here try to make a big deal out of "made in usa" so chances are if its not advertised on the packaging, its not. good luck

[LDM]

The last time I was in Sears I picked up some combination wrenches because I wanted to complete my metric collection in the larger sizes before the store was all out of the US made stock.  Once you see the US and Chinese made wrenches side-by-side it's impossible to confuse the two.  The open end of the Chinese version is like a huge lobster claw, presumably larger to make up for lower quality steel.  Here are someone else's pics from another forum that show this clearly:

 

 

 

My biggest concern is if my US made tools ever fail, now I'll probably get the Chinese junk as a warranty replacement.

 

I remember when Craftsman used to advertise this:

 

 

I suppose bigger profit margins are more important than pride nowadays.

[Team Adam's]

Yes, IF you can find the NOS stuff (typically still around at some smaller hardware stores) that was Made in the USA, grab it!!

[jbjones85]

to be honest i had no idea they stopped making then in the USA although I'm not surprised.  Several years back I worked for one of the suppliers who made the sockets (really cool process by the way)  here in NC but the writing was on the wall when I left the company.  Upper management was too much about double digit profit growth each year and not about preserving the quality and reputation of the product or the people who worked there.  Quite sad.   Great place to work when I started awful when I left.   

[blcksilv08]

I used to buy craftsman tools for home use. When they switched to a majority being made in China I started retiring some of my snap on from my box at work and using them at home, I also have always bought s&k which are still manufactured here.

[LFairbanks]

I know I won't buy them anymore.  neohio shared this place with us back in July in a thread that was pretty much this same subject.

 

http://store.harryepstein.com/c/Catalog.html

[windycitylp]

the problem is us. not those of us commenting here personally but us as a country. we are obsessed with falling prices.  i see the ads here in IL all the time from that big box nightmare. dont shop at the union grocery store, come here where we employ people who need public assistance to feed their families so you can have a can of soda for 14 cents cheaper than the place that pays its employees. there is a push to buy american and it appears to be gaining mainstream traction. but until we can convince others to pay a little more for a better product craftsman et al will continue to search for ways to make their product cheaper. on a side note, some american manufacturers cut some corners and made a crummy product and for some reason it has tainted alot of domestically produced items. everyone complains about cheap chinese crap but you dont see them buying the alternative. remember that 14 cents adds up. lol. i do my part, i buy american as much as i can even when it costs more and i also encourage others to do so.  rant over. ha....thanks to adams, my detailing product shopping got a whole lot easier.

[LFairbanks]

I delivered a box earlier in the week and I set it down next to the lady that signs for me.  She says "made in china?  That isn't mine"  Took me a minute to realize she was reading the side of the box.  She then proceeds to tell me that she really looks hard for products that are US made.  She mentioned that it is difficult at times, but she does her part.  

 

Your exactly right Adam.  The problem is everybody wants everything cheap and but also complain if their 401K isn't performing well.  And wonder why it is so hard to find a good paying job.  Anymore it is all about the dollar and profit.  The employee doesn't mean anything anymore.  The founder of the company that I work for once said "the most important asset is the one that comes thru those doors everyday".  Not anymore, it is all about the share holder.  I'am lucky though to where it is impossible for my job to be moved over seas.

[LDM]

 I'am lucky though to where it is impossible for my job to be moved over seas.

 

Nope, just replaced by drones.

[LFairbanks]

Nope, just replaced by drones.

 

That isn't going to happen either.  Can't see a drone doing 300+ stops and 500 pieces like I'am seeing this Christmas.  The off season I do between 200 and 260 by myself and 350 pieces.

[Marylander]

As for craftsman tools... It's sad and stupid what they've done. Growing up my dad always swore by Craftsman tools. Good quality, good value, lifetime guarantee. Good tools that would last a man a lifetime and he'd be able to hand them down to his kids. So growing up I assumed that attitude about Craftsman tools. If I ever needed a socket, or a set, a c-clamp, or a wrench, or a pair of pliers, I'd always go to sears and get craftsman, no second thoughts, no shopping around. I knew there were cheaper tools out there, but that's just what they were... Cheaper in price and cheaper in quality.

 

The past few years, though, "Made in China" has been appearing more and more on Craftsman's stuff -- almost all of it now, in fact. And it's plain to see that the quality isn't as good, either. So Sears has lost my unquestioned shopping loyalty. I won't automatically go in there for a tool, and that means I probably won't be in their store and when I need a new dishwasher, car battery, drill, tv, grille, pair of jeans, etc. it's incredibly short-sighted of them. I mean really, Craftsman owned the market for regular joes that wanted good tools. Customers sought them out and willingly paid more for quality products. Not sears is just turning into a Harbor Freight with higher overhead costs, and will likely continue to struggle.

[blcksilv08]

That isn't going to happen either. Can't see a drone doing 300+ stops and 500 pieces like I'am seeing this Christmas. The off season I do between 200 and 260 by myself and 350 pieces.

I agree, not going to happen at least not in any of our life times. I'm a heavy truck and Mercedes van tech and we get so many delivery vans and trucks from all the big companies this time of year trying to keep them running it's unreal.

[LDM]

That isn't going to happen either.  Can't see a drone doing 300+ stops and 500 pieces like I'am seeing this Christmas.  The off season I do between 200 and 260 by myself and 350 pieces.

 

Oh I agree with you, I probably should've added a sarcasm smiley to my post.    I think Amazon is being a little too ambitious with that project and hasn't thought of the many common sense real-world problems that will arise with delivery drones.

 

But back on topic, I agree with Rich.  My dad is a truck mechanic and uses Snap-on and other "truck brands" at work, but he always swore by Craftsman for a home set of tools.  I always loved going to Sears just to browse the tool section.  I usually still do whenever I'm there, but now it's just sad seeing all the imported tools.  Now I've started looking to other brands whenever I need a new tool.

[Golf for Life]

Have a tool box full of American Made Craftsman tools. The only reason that I ever went to sears was for tools.

So now have no reason to even go into the sears store.

[LFairbanks]

http://money.msn.com/now/post.aspx?post=d1491582-bb9b-455f-ac22-66f8bd566117

 

I guess they don't get it.  I'am sure there are a lot of others like Mark and myself that won't go to Sears anymore for tools.  And in the article they mention they did it to compete.  I'am sure there decision isn't helping them any.  Thats upper management for you.

[Redbeard]

That really is short-sighted of Sears since the Craftsman tools got people like me in the store for other products as well. But it's not just them, Kobalt (Lowe's) and Husky (Home Depot) have gone the same route, too, though I've read some Husky is still USA. It's frustrating because I can't justify Mac and Snap-On for my use, but I hate to waste money on cheap tools.

[Team Adam's]

 It's frustrating because I can't justify Mac and Snap-On for my use, but I hate to waste money on cheap tools.

 

This is the exact position I find myself in.  I do a fair amount of wrenching in my garage so I see the value in high quality tools, but I don't do it for a living.  That's the only way I could justify buying the truck brands.

Edited December 17, 2013 by Nick@Adams

[LDM]

This is the exact position I find myself in.  I do a fair amount of wrenching in my garage so I see the value in high quality tools, but I don't do it for a living.  That's the only way I could justify buying the truck brands.

 

I've bought a lot of used Snap-on off of eBay.  You have to look around and often have to play the bidding game but sometimes you can find great deals.  Of course this doesn't help when you need a tool for the project you're working on.  That's where Sears used to be great because you could just walk in and buy it off the shelf.

[thealien]

I've bought a lot of used Snap-on off of eBay.  You have to look around and often have to play the bidding game but sometimes you can find great deals.  Of course this doesn't help when you need a tool for the project you're working on.  That's where Sears used to be great because you could just walk in and buy it off the shelf.

used is my first choice also.