Trying to finish the shop roof and my Craftsman saw quit. Searched for com parison studies and found this:
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The Craftsman, they noted, is what I have, 1 yr old. I assume, either the switch quit or the brushes are bad. Can't remove the brushes without lots of other disassembly. Took the switch apart and parts flew all over.... d on't know how to replace them. I hate when a tool quits in the middle of a job, especially one that is not very old. I'm pissed, having spent an hou r+ troubleshooting it, when I could have bought a new one and be back worki ng within that wasted time. *And, as they noted, this Craftsman is heavy, making it very uncomfortable.
The Bosch CS20 was Pop. Mechanics top choice. Sears has them on sale for $99. They are regularly $150. I hope it's as good as they say, I'm going get one. At that price, I might get two.
e switch quit or the brushes are bad. Can't remove the brushes without lot s of other disassembly. Took the switch apart and parts flew all over.... don't know how to replace them. I hate when a tool quits in the middle of a job, especially one that is not very old. I'm pissed, having spent an h our+ troubleshooting it, when I could have bought a new one and be back wor king within that wasted time. *And, as they noted, this Craftsman is heav y, making it very uncomfortable.
r $99. They are regularly $150. I hope it's as good as they say, I'm goin g get one. At that price, I might get two.
You can't go wrong with DeWalt or Milwaukee, but that Bosch sounds like a v ery good deal. I have a Milwaukee and it really plows the kerf without comp laint.
e switch quit or the brushes are bad. Can't remove the brushes without lot s of other disassembly. Took the switch apart and parts flew all over.... don't know how to replace them. I hate when a tool quits in the middle of a job, especially one that is not very old. I'm pissed, having spent an h our+ troubleshooting it, when I could have bought a new one and be back wor king within that wasted time. *And, as they noted, this Craftsman is heav y, making it very uncomfortable.
r $99. They are regularly $150. I hope it's as good as they say, I'm goin g get one. At that price, I might get two.
I "ashamedly" have a Craftsman 12" SCMS and broke it bad by running into th e locking handle and snapping stuff inside. Sears fixed it in about two wee ks as it was less than a year old.
Is it still under warranty? If so they fix it all free. Not sure how they f eel about prior disassembly by the consumer though.
Know what you mean about Craftsman tools. My wife insists on giving me craftsman gift cards for my birthday and Christmas. I suppose this is an improvement. She used to go out and buy crap for me that I would never use. After most tools she bought me were returned, except for one, she figured out that I should just buy the tools myself. And that one exception is something she lost the receipt for. And it was something I saw on TV and laughed at making it clear that I would never buy something like that. So, what does she do. She ran out and bought it for me! (A battery operated tape measure.)
I have tried on numerous occasions to come up with an alternative approach, but she grew up with craftsman and she wants to stick to that. Which is ironic. She grew up with Singer sewing machines. Back in the day, they were good quality. Now she won't go near a Singer. But Craftsman is still OK in her book.
As for their tools, I have actually done Ok with them. Except for a drill I got recently. I had to do some fence repairs and this drill lost several driver bits (lousy chuck) and the driver did not work at all. I took it back and they gave me a new one. It has worked just fine, a remarkable improvement over the last one.
A couple days ago, I had to rip some old boards. I wanted to adjust the base of my Craftsman circular saw to make it safer. I could not get the lever free to adjust the saw. So I did a work around to get the job done before dark. After getting the job done, I looked at it closely. I tried a number of times to free up that little adjustment lever. Finally, I got a giant screwdriver and inserted it underneath the lever. I then gave it a big push and it broke free. Apparently it got all gummed up and it did not move well. So I sprayed it with wd-40 and worked it until it moved freely. I wiped it all down and took some fine oil and rubbed and dripped it into anything that could possible freeze up.
I love my honey. I just wish she did not have a Craftsman tool fetish. I get by. Most of the tools do just fine. I would never want to make my living with these tools though.
An oversight: That Sears sale is for online ordering, but it's still a good price and the shipping is only $7.
I went to Sears and discovered it's not an in-store sale item. I should be able to get by with my other non-portable saws. Ordering the saw will take 7 days to get here. By then, I better be finished with the roof.
I'll have to look for warranty info on the Craftsman.
I bought the Bosch a number of years ago, I like it especially no tail attached. So I can have a 25 foot tail or a 50 foot one but I have a nice 4 foot one usually attached.
Same goes for Black and Decker, Skill, and virtually every other manufacturer/brand. Even the Milwaukee isn't what it used to be - or the DeWalt (owned by B&D) - and even the Bosch isn't the quality it used to be. Hitachi either.(More than one Hitachi company making tools, too)
Because I'm a lefty I got tired of not being able to grab the saw where I wanted and also the sawdust in the face.
I found that porter cable made one of the only powered sidewinders around. It's a nice saw weight wise. Magnesium base... but I think power wise it is not what I would have thought from porter cable (20+ years ago). They used to make good tools, but that must have been when they started to turn.. I still like it. if I had to do one again, it would be a track saw... not sure who's... But I think this will be passed onto my son, not that he'll ever use it.
SKIL saw is a universal contractor model. They have light weight plates also. john
Trying to finish the shop roof and my Craftsman saw quit. Searched for comparison studies and found this:
formatting link
The Craftsman, they noted, is what I have, 1 yr old. I assume, either the switch quit or the brushes are bad. Can't remove the brushes without lots of other disassembly. Took the switch apart and parts flew all over.... don't know how to replace them. I hate when a tool quits in the middle of a job, especially one that is not very old. I'm pissed, having spent an hour+ troubleshooting it, when I could have bought a new one and be back working within that wasted time. *And, as they noted, this Craftsman is heavy, making it very uncomfortable.
The Bosch CS20 was Pop. Mechanics top choice. Sears has them on sale for $99. They are regularly $150. I hope it's as good as they say, I'm going get one. At that price, I might get two.
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