Craftsman router

My 38 year old Craftsman router (sometimes referred to as Crapsman on this newsgroup) fail yesterday. When I used it last week and it worked fine. Yesterday when I turned it on it did not work. I thought of looking for some one to fix it, but then I say my volt/ohm meter on the shelf. What would it hurt. One thing lead to another, and by the time it was in pieces I found the switch was the culprit. A trip to Lowes, a $5 switch, and now the router will last another 38 years. At least it will be working when my grandson inherits it.

Reply to
keith_nuttle
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I'm sorry. You'd have been better off going to the tool department and buying a Makita, Bosch or Porter-Cable router to replace it.

I have a Craftsman router too. It makes a nice paperweight. Self adjusting collet and all. And the infamous fly apart fan. It's a hunk of junk. It'll probably last 100 years at it's present rate of use.

I just have no respect whatsoever for Craftsman hand held electric tools. I owned quite a few and to a one, they all performed poorly and they've all died. 'Cept that router. It's not dead, but it performs poorly.

Reply to
George Max

Some of the older Craftsman tools were pretty good. 38 years should put the router in that range. Somewhere along the line, Sears decided to change quality (make cheap junk), I assume for the same reason B&D decided to do so. I have a 3/8 drill and a 7 1/4 saw that are about 30 years old and have had no problems (except brushes). An even older (50s vintage) saw that I inherited needs a new power cord but worked fine the last time I used it. OTOH, the router I bought about 25 years ago is a piece of junk.

Jess.S

Reply to
Jesse R Strawbridge

Not likely. 38 years ago, Craftsman stuff was quite good. Chances are, his router is a Rockwell.

When did you buy it? Think about it.

Reply to
CW

Reply to
Wilson

Right

My TS is pretty good (with the help of Biesemeyer fence.) So was the jointer, but I sold it 'cause it was too short.

Flip that coin over that think about the number of people who only know Craftsman as a junk brand. To some degree, the same can be said of the Kenmore appliance brand for a period of time.

Time was, the wife and I always thought to go to Sears first for

*anything*. Nowadays we don't think of them at all. For anything.
Reply to
George Max

Amen!! I have a 3x18" belt sander and a 1/4 sheet orbital sander, bought about '74. Both going strong,

Reply to
Rick Samuel

I had a Craftsman Commercial router that I bought in the early 70's. Very good tool, performed well. When it was stolen, I replaced it with another Craftsman, but the Craftsman Commercial product line was not longer available in the mid 80's. This one was total crap--plastic motor housing, self-dismantling fan, way too much vibration. And the chuck had a way of losing its grip on bits.

I recently replaced that one with a Craftsman that was actually made by Bosch. The kit that came with plunge and fixed bases. Excellent tool, plenty of power, smooth, vibration-free operation. Hopefully Sears/K-Mart has gotten the message recently that their power-tool reputation had taken a nose-dive in recent years?

BTW, in the early 70's at least, the hand-held power tools were made by Singer, and the stationary ones by Emerson Electric.

--Steve

Reply to
Steve

Craftsman of the 70s was good stuff. I bought one of their "Commercial" routers in 1976 - has the ergo handles with finger trigger. It is light, and well-balanced. Still works well after 30 years. I've got a bigger router in a ruoter table that has both 1/4" and 1/2" collets, but it stays in the table -- does not have the great feel of that old Craftsman.

I also just refurbished my 30 year old Craftsman radial arm saw. Its particle board top was sagging a bit, so I made a new top with 1" MDF, topped with replaceable white Melamine hardboard. Edged it with oak. Kind of overkill, but this saw has served me well over the years, so I decided it needed a nice upgrade. When this one was built, it came with a cast iron one-piece column, milled to accept the arm. And adjustments to allow it to be easily trued. After 30 years, it needed little truing. They definitely do not build them like this (at least from Sears), these days.

Lee

Reply to
LRR

A friend who worked (very briefly) for Sears Hardware told me that the training tapes for new employees mention that Sears holds its cost on power tools down by using all recycled metals, plastics, etc. That would appear to explain some of the low-quality issues.

--Jim

Reply to
KENDALL SEYBERT

I don't believe that. Did he happen to say where the Sears factory is?

Reply to
CW

training tapes for new employees mention that Sears holds its cost on power tools down by using all recycled metals, plastics, etc. That would appear to explain some of the low-quality issues.

Reply to
Rob Mills

Yup, that's the one I bought 2 years ago. Excellent machine.

--Steve

Reply to
Steve

I have a Craftsman radial arm saw that is 34 years old. It looks and works like new. I don't like Craftsman power tools but I stand by this one. Even a blind pig finds a Truffle now and then.

Reply to
pumis

And selling for a higher price than the Bosch version, which is discounted all over the internet.

Reply to
B A R R Y

My 6" disk sander - purchased around 40 years ago - is still just fine and has been used a *LOT* both as intended and with a chuck making it into a 1/2" drill.

Reply to
dadiOH

Even if true, what difference would it make? Once melted and impurities are removed, old iron is no different from new iron. Ditto plastics.

Reply to
dadiOH

I HAD one of these...scared the crap out of me...once the motor stopped, I removed the bit, and chucked it in the trash can and never looked back or forward to another Crapsman power tool, that's been 20 years now and I've purchased many tools...just couldn't bring myself to it. Man, that was scary....

Reply to
DAC

"dadiOH" wrote in news:P_7Ug.13794$3T2.8095 @trnddc06:

Chemically, perhaps. Physically, no. Woodworkers are "physicalists" in that we don't care so much about the chemical changes in our woods and metals as the physical ones.

Puckdropper

Reply to
Puckdropper

...

That generalization is as over-generalized as the previous one (which also caught my eye)... :)

It all depends on how they're reprocessed and into what--in general plastics can't be reprocessed (economically) back into the same or similar plastics as the were originally as they are complex hydrocarbons that tend to break down.

Metals, otoh, while in general much simpler to return to a similar state, are also subject to the economic constraints of reprocessing in which they tend to be mixed up into various combinations from the collection process, but carbon steels can and are returned to forms that are essentially indistinguishable for practical purposes of functional strength, etc.

I would attribute any differences in quality of an end product not to reprocessing per se, but to a lessening of product specifications in response to target market niche. So, while there may be some truth in the original claim (which I don't know, but tend to doubt as stated), the net effect isn't so much owing directly to recycling but a combination of decisions of which recycled materials are at best only a part.

How's that for obfuscation? :)

Reply to
dpb

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