Opinions/Flamecatcher - Craftsman Power Tools

IMHO, you not only get what you pay for, but research is important, as we all see here with folks asking opinions here before buying.. This has ALWAYS been a key to buying Craftsman power tools, appliances, etc... (been buying there since they came out with ergonomic rocks to pound sticks with) Since they have never (afaik) made their own products, you have to know who makes each one for them.. I have a Craftsman biscuit joiner... go to sears.com and look at the picture... hmm... rack & pinion fence... I thought only Dewalt had that.... OH!

I just got a sears 1/2" cordless drill.. might be skill, might be dewalt... no idea, since it was a present and I didn't shop for it, but the one I was going to get (3/8" at lower volts) was a Skill, not my favorite drill maker..

OTHO, my Orbital 1/3 sheet sander from sears is a skill, and I like it...

I still have my over-worked sears router that either wife #1 or 2 gave me a LOT of years ago... don't know who made that, but it's still on it's original bushes and runs great..

As others have said, Sears and maybe Monkey Ward were the choices for most folks before Harbor Freight, Home Depot, etc., etc. changed the way people bought tools and hardware..

Maybe the bottom line is that a lot of the folks in the wreck are used to high end tools and you don't go to sears for high end..

Reply to
mac davis
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One of my advertising professors in the 60s described Sears as America's leading source of second-rate goods, including tools. And he was right -- in the 60s. Sears brands were never best quality, but they were adequate for the average woodworker.

Back in the 50s my father bought a Craftsman table saw and that's what we used for years. Not spectacular, not super-accurate, but good, solid performance.

By the time I started buying my own tools in the early 1970s this had changed significantly. I still bought a lot of Sears stuff (because I was stuck in the middle of 200 miles of stinking desert with a Sears store in town), but the quality had definitely deteriorated.

By the 80s and 90s, fagetaboutit!

One of the reasons for the outrage at Sears is that the company has been living off its reputation for the last 20 years. There are still a lot of people who think Sears is a good place to buy power tools because of word of mouth based on its old reputation. Consequently Sears still sucks in many of the ignorant.

--RC

That which does not kill us makes us stronger. --Friedrich Nietzsche Never get your philosophy from some guy who ended up in the looney bin. -- Wiz Zumwalt

Reply to
rcook5

Yes but there are other hand tools out there that duplicate the Craftsman life time warranty and 1/2 the price - example is Master Mechanic.

Reply to
RonB

Eugene wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@wideopenwest.com:

I have a spare truck. That doesn't make me any happier when something breaks, even if it were under warranty.

Reply to
patriarch

Years ago a local ford dealer was giving away a festiva when you bought a new f150. I suppose you could load up the festiva in the bed and have it for a spare to drive to the parts store if you ever had a breakdown. I have rarely had a craftsman took break, and then its usually a gimmick tool like the extension bar with a plastic quick release button and the plastic button broke so I traded it for normal one, or when I use a screwdriver as a prybar, but I usually don't have any problems with them otherwise.

Reply to
Eugene

The lifetime warranty isn't about quality; it's about actuary.

- - LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

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Reply to
LRod

Craftsman biscuit jointer - $169.99 at Sears DeWalt biscuit joiner - $149.00 at Coastal Tools

I'd would have bought the DeWalt.

-- Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

Reply to
Nova

Maybe the machine wasn't set up properly, but one thing I noticed on this saw is that the left wheel seemed to be too far in from the front edge of the table.

Reply to
GregP

These were the worst and the best points of my Craftsman power tool experiences. That damn router destroyed many hours of work when it randomly decided to push the bit out a little further. But I still miss the built in light when doing handheld work with one of my Bosch or Porter Cable routers. And every time I change a bit, I wish they had a spindle lock that LOCKED and did not have to be held in while bracing the router against the torque of the wrench and keeping the bit at just the right position - I mean, I only have three hands!

Reply to
Larry Kraus

I hate spindle locks. I have upgraded every router I own that has them to a two wrench system.

If you have three hands you are perfect for a spindle lock. Otherwise, as far as I'm concerned, I think they are the work of the devil.

- - LRod

Master Woodbutcher and seasoned termite

Shamelessly whoring my website since 1999

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Reply to
LRod

you being the authority, I'll have my wife take back her present and get me the dewalt.. this of course has a lot of bearing on the topic, right?

Reply to
mac davis

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============== I already posted my comments on Craftsman power tools...

BUT I also restore, drive, and repair old cars as a hobby... I have roll around tool boxes in both of my garages so I too have duplicate wrenches,sockets etc ...and 90 percent of my hand tools are Craftsman...

However every single one of my sockets and swivels etc that I use with my air tools are Snap On.... learned long ago that Craftsman Impact sockets just do not hold up...even with their free replacement warranty you will no longer find any in my tool chests...

A few weeks ago I could not find my 3/8 inch "pair" of line wrenches when I was installing brake calibers on one of my cars and had to run into Sears . needed 2 and paid $18.95 EACH double ouch!..was expecting $ 5.99.... shows you how much I know about tool costs today...

Anyway Son Number two had both of my 3/8 inch line wrenches in his garage ...told me he was sorry that he did not return them LAST YEAR after he borrowed them... Guess what I plan on letting him keep for Christmas this year...

Bob Griffiths

Reply to
Bob G.

======================== I am in my 60's so I guess I am qualified as an older guy.... I ahev also NOT read a single reply to your post...(yet)

I would NOT under any circumstances open my wallet for any Craftsman power tool manufactured after 1975 ....PERIOD !

Having said that I equipted my shop in the mid to late 60's and almost every tool I bought was Craftsman.... (sears Credit what can I say)

Anyway I still have my original floor model drill press and it has absolutely been a workhorse ...replaced the belt once in all that time and more then a few light bulbs...but nothing else...

I still have my original Radial Arm Saw that I now use only as a cut off saw... but its fine ...have not moved it off 90 degress in 25 years or so....

My 6" belt/disk sander still works just fine...although I have had to play with the tracking mechanism more times then I care to admit and I can not remember the last time I even had a disk on the the thing...little or no need for it for my projects...

I also still use my 12 inch Band Saw too....BUT I am not about to claim that it is anything more then marginal at best... does what I want but does need to be replaced with something larger and more powerful...timberwolf blades make it marginal...

Gone FOR years are my original Lathe, Table saw, & Jointer All were marginal at best... (this was 60's equiptment BTW )

I do not feel I was betrayed by Sears....(well it would be nice if they still had repair departments in their stores or would sell you a

3 dollar belt without charging you 15 bucks to ship it... )...

Just my opinion...

Bob Griffiths

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Reply to
Bob G.

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