Vintage, unopened Craftsman Tool Set.. Opinions on age?

[captain14]

I see a 1/4" screwdriver style driver for the 1/4" sockets. It's a basic starter set, not an all inclusive master mechanic's set. It's also probably good marketing; you'll come back to Sears to fill the gaps in the tool selection.

That’s the 1/4” craftsman spinner handle. I bought a SAE set sometime around 76-77 and that was not included. I got the 3/8 to 1/4 adapter for the 3/8” ratchet. I’m sure that was cheaper than the spinner.

That was a time period that Sears had items at a “sale” price too weekly. Wait for your next check, cash it and see what was on sale to buy.

 

[lolaetype]

Does your 1/4" drive screwdriver have a 1/4" drive socket in the end of the handle,

Yes, it does. And it looks like the one in the OP's picture does as well. And I agree, it is really useful.

 

[Squankum]

I've got that toolbox and tray down in my underground lair right now. Gives me the warm fuzzies seeing it in mint condition. I think my father got his in late 60's/early 70's. I've also got that hacksaw but I think I got it at a yard sale.

 

[Ed in Virginia]

I bought this new sometime in the '70s (just the toolbox) and I'm still using it today:

 

[DAustin]

i am at a loss.

what good are the 1/4 sockets with no drive tools?

what good are the punches with no hammer?

more proof that sears always had problems with sets making sense i guess.

I bought a 61pc. metric set with 1/4" and 3/8" sockets and a 3/8" drive ratchet. It came with a 3/8 to 1/4 drive adapter so you could use the 1/4" sockets. With the 61pc set they counted everything + the box in the number, each hex key, each hacksaw blade, and I think even the 5 magnetic socket inserts. I built up my metric tools with it buying other sockets and wrenches off the sale table our Sears always had. That and asking for tools for birthdays and X-Mas.

 

[Alfred Amos]

My Mom gave me an unused Craftsman tool kit that my Dad had bought and stashed away in the attic several years ago. It still has the brown paper wrapping the tools and the packing list in the box. Also has a brochure for Craftsman torque wrenches. No bar code on the papers. It is a pretty basic set, and is all there. I plan to add more needed tools and use it as my carry around box in my vintage car when I'm going out cruising. I would like you guy's opinion on the age of this set. I am guessing probably made in the late 1970s or early 1980s. What do you think?

I have that same set. Purchased in the earlier 70's. Still using it today!

 

[DAustin]

Close as I can come is an 83 piece set in 1978. Part Nos slight different, but going through all catalogs 1959-1980 this was the closest match.

The $39.99 Metric set was the one I bought when I got my VW Bug, if not that one then the one I got was close.

 

[driftpin]

I'd say late '70's. I bought most of my Craftsman hand tools in the timeframe of '73-'79. I also bought a 12" RAS new about 1978, w/the cabinet/drawers, and a larger door below. That rusted apart here in So FL because I'm about a mile from the ocean, and a couple blocks from the Intracoastal Waterway. The RAS still works great.

I wouldn't put that set into a vehicle unless you were going to a car show, and you were going to open the trunk. I have a few of the crown Craftsman metal emblem boxes I've collected over the years.

That's a great set. I have a set of SAE tap & die pieces, in the gray blow-molded case, and it's still in the form-fitting cardboard shipping box I got it delivered to me, mail order. The shipping label has faded to oblivion. I still use all my Craftsman hand tools, and now being in my 70's, I expect my heirs will probably throw everything into dumpsters and lose tens of thousands of dollars because I haven't given them instructions on how to liquidate my estate should I die suddenly.

 

[mike5511]

I have one similar I'm trying to gather up now. I bought it between 1972 and 1974. I don't have any paper work with it though. Very similar to what you have listed if not exactly the same. I used your list to compare mine to. I have replaced both the 3/8" and 1/2" ratchets once during that time. It only came with a 1/4" breaker bar, no ratchet.

 

[turbowoodworker]

My Dad bought that exact set probably mid 70s. He died in 1978, and it was in use through my high school years (72-76). So I’m betting mid to earlier in 70s. Remember that the volume of sets from all the Sears stores may suggest that “date of production” and “date of purchase” could vary significantly.
I still have the set with the box.

 

[d42jeep]

I used the ‘67 catalog to complete the set I found at a garage sale in 2022, based on the tools it came with.
-Don

 

[wafrederick]

1970s, youtube subscriber Jesse's Garage would say that is cool. He is into that older stuff and I have been mentioned in a couple videos of his

 

[sp73]

Great post! I have most of this set… it was my Dads. I remember it from the late 70’s so I agree with the rest of the crowd on it‘s age.

 

[ecotec]

I was using the same crowntop box, for my work box, until a couple weeks ago.

 

[finn]

I bought a bare scratch and dent box like that from the Sears Oakbrook Illinois, probably in 1975.
I got my degree in mid 1974 and moved to the Chicago area at about that time. In 75 a garage opened up at my apartment complex so I had a place to work, and a cardboard box was no longer sufficient to hold my growing tool collection. I didn’t have the extra $20 I paid for that damaged box prior to 1975, either.

By 76 we had saved enough for a down payment on a small house and moved in two weeks before my son was born, so there wasn’t an extra $20 for such extravagant spending for a while after that, either.

 

[Wrench97]

I bought a bare scratch and dent box like that from the Sears Oakbrook Illinois, probably in 1975.
I got my degree in mid 1774 and moved to the Chicago area at about that time. In 75 a garage opened up at my apartment complex so I had a place to work, and a cardboard box was no longer sufficient to hold my growing tool collection. I didn’t have the extra $20 I paid for that damaged box prior to 1975, either.

By 76 we had saved enough for a down payment on a small house and moved in two weeks before my son was born, so there wasn’t an extra $20 for such extravagant spending for a while after that, either.

I hadn't realized Sears was that old let alone Chicago

 

[orangeblood]

pretty sure i bought that exact box set in 1976. maybe not the first year the set was offered or the last, but I'm just about positive you could get this set in 1976