Craftsmen Craftsman Premium Grade 1/4 in. Drive Ratchet

[E.Marquez]

So some weeks back I bought a Craftsman Premium Grade 1/4 in. Drive Ratchet.

A new tool is never a bad idea.... unless it stops working the second time you use it

The lever locked in place and the drive head as well. I know I could have removed the two case screws and likely found the cause, and possible corrected it, but then maybe not,, and then it would have been opened.

Off to sears I went to get my replacement. 30 min in to the event, I finally convinced the clerk, then manager, the latrine cleaner... they did not have a repair kit on hand.. the ratchet needed to be replaced.. Another 10 minutes while they looked for a "rebuilt" one to replace it with.. Umm, no thank you..It was NEW two weeks ago, it has been used TWICE.. A: YOU DO NOT HAVE A REBUILT ONE.. B I DO NOT WANT A USED ratchet. , Thank you

20 min later.. after looking on the rack out front, being handed a thin line mdl..and told,, ow,, it's the same as yours.. just a new design .. Umm, no thanks... I'll take a replacement for this one please.....

15 min later, having done an exhaustive search in the back for a ratchet in there HUGE inventory (or so i was told) I had mentioned this new mdl was only being shipped a few at a time to each store last I heard.. Hmm, no dice, none on hand.

So, the clerk called and ordered me a replacment : Which at least will be delivered to me at the house

I thanked the clerk for assisting, and doing the on phone order for me And now I wait......... I dont like waiting

 

[GTO]

Sorry,I like Sears for some tools,but ever since I have purchased SO Dual 80 Ratchets,I have gotten rid of all my old Craftsman Ratchets and haven't looked back.

 

[Jimmyg]

I've got the 1/2 one, it's not bad, I like it. Too bad yours just gave out like that

 

[jjjrmx5]

Well, it is so new that only the most savvy of GJ members know to get them and how to navigate the Sears website to find the page to order from.

If the store does not have the new tool catalog and VERY likely does not have or has never seen the ratchet set themselves, I could understand their confusion and ignorance.

It's like trying to go into a dealership to purhase new or aftermarket parts for a new model car that's only been out for 30 days. Not enuff combined knowledge to fill in the gaps of questions or solutions.

Hell, I've not seen one nor touched one in person, so as far as i'm concerned they don't even exist. LOL.

 

[E.Marquez]

Well.. I went to reach for my 1/4 ratchet today,,,, and when my hand hit the empty spot.. I got pissed.... so I just called my local SO guy..... meeting him after lunch to pick up a , Standard Handle, 4 7/16", T72, Ratchet.

 

[amolaver]

sorry to hear about the ratchet. i really like the handle profile, so i got all 3 a few weeks back and have been using them pretty regularly w/o issue. unfortunately, yours is not the 1st person on GJ who has had the same issue. i really like mine so hope i don't have problems. i ended up ordering them sight unseen as the two sears stores near me had never heard of or seen them before either. i imagine getting them warrantied, if necessary, will not be a simple process at least they were able to get it shipped to your house - small consolation i know.

ahm

 

[LawnDart79]

Anymore, I don't even waste time buying any other ratchet than a Snap-On. I know the quality is going to be there and it'll last forever. I haven't regretted a purchase yet.

...just my personal opinion put together from past experiences with various tool brands.

 

[Kirbot]

Those new Craftsman ratchets might just be the greatest ratchets ever made for all I know. I've never used one....

But this is exactly the reason I would never even consider buying one.
I'f I'm going to spend that much money on a tool, I wan't a competent company to stand behind it.

 

[Theloniousmonk]

Have the 1/4 and 3/8... like em alot - had a similar experience w/ sears when exchanging the 3/8 due to major selector hopping/reversing... was cleared up in the end.

I recommend throwing a deep socket on these and free spinning them for a few minutes in both direction... seems to open them up a bit and solve the issues. Cleaning them and relubing w/ a light grade (3in1) oil after your break-in is beneficial too.

 

[porphyre]

Sears is such a weird company.

Around here, they don't rebuild ratchets and they don't have used tools for warranty replacements. If you have a problem tool, you get a new one off the shelf. If they don't have one on the shelf, you get a new one shipped to your doorstep. I didn't even know ratchets were rebuildable until I got on this board.

 

[Damian]

While my local Sears never gives me any hesitation to replace a broken tool, I do not buy Craftsman ratchets/sockets anymore. Their ratchets are junk, and the sockets feel like the cheap Taiwan **** I keep in the bottom of my box to use for welding/making tools out of.

I did get a Craftsman 26" Pry bar on sale the other day, and a new set of Craftsman hose clamp pliers that I like a lot. I'm enjoying those 2 purchases.

 

[Sterff]

Since they no longer sell the Craftsman Pro pliers the only good buy, in my mind, are the screwdrivers.

 

[CLee0507]

20 min later.. after looking on the rack out front, being handed a thin line mdl..and told,, ow,, it's the same as yours.. just a new design .. Umm, no thanks... I'll take a replacement for this one please.....

I can't believe they would even try that ****. I would have been pissed at that offer and might have started cussing. My local Sears has those ratchets located in a weird place the over by the socket rails, not near all the other ratchets. They'd probably sell more if they moved them to the correct place.

 

[Skin]

Those new Craftsman ratchets might just be the greatest ratchets ever made for all I know. I've never used one....

But this is exactly the reason I would never even consider buying one.
I'f I'm going to spend that much money on a tool, I wan't a competent company to stand behind it.

Yep cause when one of mine got jammed and they did the swap in 2 minutes without asking one single question i was soooo frustrated at the terrible service and reminded myself sears is the devil.

 

[Kirbot]

Yep cause when one of mine got jammed and they did the swap in 2 minutes without asking one single question i was soooo frustrated at the terrible service and reminded myself sears is the devil.

Congratulations
Your a lucky man. (aside from needing it replaced in the first place )

I can't even get my old raised panel ratchet rebuilt. (there is no way I'm taking the garbage thats on the shelves now)


I can't imagine what it would be like trying to get one of these replaced.

I've been in about 5 or 6 sears since these ratchets came out, and I still haven't seen one yet.

 

[E.Marquez]

This store had 1/4 and 3/8 ratchet on the rack last week.. But out of stock the other day when I was in.. So they (at least someone) knew about the new ratchets.


All the clerks were pleasent, no hard feelings on my part. They were just confused a bit.
Hopefuly the new one will be here this week... it'll go in the toyhauler rollAway for use at the track.... The new SO ratchet is for use at the house.

Well, it is so new that only the most savvy of GJ members know to get them and how to navigate the Sears website to find the page to order from.

If the store does not have the new tool catalog and VERY likely does not have or has never seen the ratchet set themselves, I could understand their confusion and ignorance.

It's like trying to go into a dealership to purhase new or aftermarket parts for a new model car that's only been out for 30 days. Not enuff combined knowledge to fill in the gaps of questions or solutions.

Hell, I've not seen one nor touched one in person, so as far as i'm concerned they don't even exist. LOL.

 

[E.Marquez]

I can't believe they would even try that ****. I would have been pissed at that offer and might have started cussing. My local Sears has those ratchets located in a weird place the over by the socket rails, not near all the other ratchets. They'd probably sell more if they moved them to the correct place.

I don’t believe it was a malicious attempt to defraud me, just a mistake... Nothing to get upset about

 

[CLee0507]

I don’t believe it was a malicious attempt to defraud me, just a mistake... Nothing to get upset about

I came over a little harsh huh? What I meant was it would be upsetting to me to purchase a nice new 84 tooth premium ratchet and have to take it in for warranty and be offered the thin profile push button one and be told "they are the new model". If they had no stock, the clerk should have punched the number into the computer to pull it up and order, not offer another cheaper model first.

 

[pipsters]

Congratulations
Your a lucky man. (aside from needing it replaced in the first place )

I can't even get my old raised panel ratchet rebuilt. (there is no way I'm taking the garbage thats on the shelves now)

Well first let's take a look at the warranty, because you are being completely unreasonable.

"If this Craftsman hand tool ever fails to provide complete satisfaction, it will be repaired or replaced free of charge."

First, Sears will repair OR replace the product (their choice, not yours). So you refuse to let them honor their own warranty.

Second, you don't want to get the "garbage on the shelves now", you want a rebuild kit. Ironically, the rebuild kit contains the same parts as those ratchets on the shelf. In addition, I personally haven't ever even heard of someone breaking even a new RP ratchet, just the internals. They are of similar quality to the old style. Yes, I have an older ratchet (approx mid 90's date of manufacture), it was given to me when I warrantied a newer RP ratchet. The older "V" stamped ratchets denoted when Chrome Vanadium was first used to set them apart from imports, nowadays all hand tools for the are CR-V.

Third, if you are that **** about keeping your old RP ratchet, just buy a new one off the shelf, swap the internals, then return the "new" ratchet with broken internals as DoA and get your money back for Christ's sake. This sidesteps the warranty but at least you can stop bitching about your experience at Sears and move on with your life and start using your ratchet again.

Also despite what some on here are thinking, I'm convinced Sears is selling boatloads of their best selling USA made tool lines. When I go to check something that I've ordered in the past they are now out of stock. Examples include: 299 piece socket set, 43 piece wrench set, 10 piece flare nut wrench set, 10 piece wobble set, 42 piece flex socket set, 17 and 18 piece flex socket sets, and those are just the ones off the top of my head. Most of those are pretty pricey sets.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I haven't seen any of these ratchets yet. I'll have to keep my eyes open on my next trip to Sears.

 

[Mr.I]

Wow, this almost sounds exactly what happened whith mee a month ago. I bought a new 1/4 drive premium ratchet. I drove about a mile away when I decided to spin it in my hand and see how it felt. I noticed that it was locked up. I turned around and went back to return it. The idiot teenager at the counter (the same one that checked me out) wanted to know what was wrong. I told him that it was jacked. He tried to give me a rebuilt one (that was the last new one) and told him that I bought this new five minutes earlier. I told him that I wanted my money back, he asked if I had the card I paid for it with..again I was just there five minutes ago. Long story short, I filled out a pretty hot survey on the sears website and got a call from the store manager at 8:00 in the morning. He tried to give me the rebuilt one for free to "test it out for feed back". I told him thanks but no thanks and that I was done with sears.

 

[Kirbot]

Well first let's take a look at the warranty, because you are being completely unreasonable.

"If this Craftsman hand tool ever fails to provide complete satisfaction, it will be repaired or replaced free of charge."

First, Sears will repair OR replace the product (their choice, not yours). So you refuse to let them honor their own warranty.

Second, you don't want to get the "garbage on the shelves now", you want a rebuild kit. Ironically, the rebuild kit contains the same parts as those ratchets on the shelf. In addition, I personally haven't ever even heard of someone breaking even a new RP ratchet, just the internals. They are of similar quality to the old style. Yes, I have an older ratchet (approx mid 90's date of manufacture), it was given to me when I warrantied a newer RP ratchet. The older "V" stamped ratchets denoted when Chrome Vanadium was first used to set them apart from imports, nowadays all hand tools for the are CR-V.

Third, if you are that **** about keeping your old RP ratchet, just buy a new one off the shelf, swap the internals, then return the "new" ratchet with broken internals as DoA and get your money back for Christ's sake. This sidesteps the warranty but at least you can stop bitching about your experience at Sears and move on with your life and start using your ratchet again.

Also despite what some on here are thinking, I'm convinced Sears is selling boatloads of their best selling USA made tool lines. When I go to check something that I've ordered in the past they are now out of stock. Examples include: 299 piece socket set, 43 piece wrench set, 10 piece flare nut wrench set, 10 piece wobble set, 42 piece flex socket set, 17 and 18 piece flex socket sets, and those are just the ones off the top of my head. Most of those are pretty pricey sets.

If your going to write up the longest post in this topic, just to tell me how wrong I am, at least get your facts straight.

NO, the internals are not the same.
When I said "older", believe it or not, I meant "older". Not from the "90s"

The direction lever is made of that wondrous material known as metal.
Not the plastic **** the new ones are made of.

I know all about the new craftsman ratchets, I own one.
The difference isn't just the internals, the new ones also look like the finish work was done by a wasted ape , and the square edges are sharper than a chinese pocket knife.

Supposedly, the rebuild kits are available for the old ones, they just refused to rebuild it for me.
They wanted to give me a new one off the shelf, and then have mine rebuilt for the next customer.
Why they would give another customer a ratchet with somebodies initials ground in it is beyond me.

Wasn't the warranty worded "replaced with an equal or better item" or something like that?
Or maybe thats just Snapon.

Because to compare the old raised panel ratchets with the new ones, and say that they are equal, is pure ********, plain and simple.

I should have argued to get the ratchet replaced with a thin profile.
At least they aren't made of plastic.
Although trying to reason with this numnut behind the counter any more would have just been a waste of time.

 

[King Bojack]

What I want to know about the Premium rats is why they've been out forever and neither of my local Sears has any or has staff that has even heard of them? Are these things being built by Apple now? Limited edition iRats or some ****?

 

[jjjrmx5]

What I want to know about the Premium rats is why they've been out forever and neither of my local Sears has any or has staff that has even heard of them? Are these things being built by Apple now? Limited edition iRats or some ****?

They're not constantly and forever out-of-stock, mainly because they've never been IN stock until just recently. Premiums were released for sale after the first of the year via on-line sales and they are now just beginning to trickle into the brick and mortar stores in the bigger cities.

They're not even listed in the current catalog that runs until April 30th, but are in the new catalogs.

I consider the first users early adopters, but yelling at Sears for "your" lack of patience when they are quite clearly available on-line is a little much in my eyes. If you're gonna do that, then you have to yell at Snap-On for only offering the new green handled ratcheting screwdrivers on the trucks until they put them on the site in the next few months so that "everyone" has the chance to purchase one.

 

[johnsdeere850j]

What I want to know about the Premium rats is why they've been out forever and neither of my local Sears has any or has staff that has even heard of them? Are these things being built by Apple now? Limited edition iRats or some ****?

hahaha good one... yeah i haven't seen them in my local sears either, when I asked about them the woman stared at me like I had bugs crawling out of my eyes.

 

[Danza]

my first 1/2" cman premium ratchet was delivered to me already locked up.

Went to the store as soon as they actually had some and swapped it out.

 

[King Bojack]

They're not even listed in the current catalog that runs until April 30th, but are in the new catalogs.

I have older catalogs from Sears itself that have Premium rats listed. They've also been on sale online since like last Halloween or Thanksgiving. They've had half a year to get these into stores or at the very least inform their employees about one of their nicest new products. They're too expensive for me to buy outright w/o seeing how I like them in the store. Especially with some people having factory defects and other issues.

I wouldn't buy a SO or Matco rat. at these prices w/o trying them out in the store or on a truck first.

This whole thread shows they've been in the works for a loooooong time.

 

[mrholeshot]

I had all three sizes. After the second 1/2 ratchet had a locked selector I just returned all three. Took several months to get the first ratchet replaced. I just wasn't ready for the hassle if the other two started giving me problems. My sears doesn't keep them in stock so getting it replaced can be a real hassle. Not worth it for the cost. I liked the 1/4 and 3/8

 

[Skin]

They've only been out 7 months....Yay for exagerations?

 

[willysrule]

If I have tools to exchange I go gather the replacements from the “new” stuff on the shelves…I then head for the register with the friendliest looking person…knock on wood I’ve never been told I wasn’t allowed to do this or been given a “rebuilt” one…

 

[jjjrmx5]

I have older catalogs from Sears itself that have Premium rats listed.

I've got the C'man catalogs going back more than 6 years.

Care to share a page # and a catalog date or issue for the premium ratchets?
No mention in anything printed I have had mailed to me nor picked up at the major Sears stores in a city of 1.5 mil + people. Hmmm...

 

[4x4gearhead]

I just buy some craftsman sockets for home but not ratchets, theyre a joke. I replaced them in my sets with used truck brands.

 

[CD1]

I've got the C'man catalogs going back more than 6 years.

Care to share a page # and a catalog date or issue for the premium ratchets?
No mention in anything printed I have had mailed to me nor picked up at the major Sears stores in a city of 1.5 mil + people. Hmmm...

At the top of page 11 in the Holiday 2010 catalog is the only one I have showing the new 84T craftsman premium ratchets.

I need to stop by my local Sears and see if they have the new 2011/2012 tool catalogs in stock.

On the Sears website, each of those premium ratchets has been on sale for $10 off for the last few weeks.

 

[JustBob]

I've got the C'man catalogs going back more than 6 years.

Care to share a page # and a catalog date or issue for the premium ratchets?
No mention in anything printed I have had mailed to me nor picked up at the major Sears stores in a city of 1.5 mil + people. Hmmm...

As stated by CD1, page 11 of the 2010 Holiday catalog. October 1st is the first post here about the premium ratchets in this thread...

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=76831


Available online and from catalog in October by a Apex rep, post #97 here...

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=76831&page=5


Member wrenchr ordered his premium ratchets on Oct. 4th and recieved them on the 7th, seen here post #131...

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=76831&page=7


Several members purchased the premium ratchets in the store on Oct. 30th, page 13 posts 254, 255, and 257...

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=76831&page=13


2011-2012 catalog, page 115, sold individually and now in a set... I have had my catalog for almost a month now.


Sorry, I've had way to much free time today...

 

[jjjrmx5]

At the top of page 11 in the Holiday 2010 catalog is the only one I have showing the new 84T craftsman premium ratchets.

I need to stop by my local Sears and see if they have the new 2011/2012 tool catalogs in stock.

Hahaha.
Thanks guys.
Page 11, thus why I missed them. IIRC the first dozen or so pages were new or revamped items , a lot of it fluf, and I just assumed anything listed there would also be listed in the remainder of the catalog with its proper group and I never saw them in the several ratchet sections they had.

Just like the stores themselves, they put things in places you would never ever think to look for them or like the catalog and the "open stock" listings, just omit them and don't list them at all.

Guess I need to go thru the new catalog a little closer to see what I missed there.

As for physical representations, still no prescence and all the very big mall stores I've visited here but I assume it will come. Their roll-outs can be slow if the past has taught us anything.

Mea culpa.

 

[King Bojack]

Just like the stores themselves, they put things in places you would never ever think to look for them or like the catalog and the "open stock" listings, just omit them and don't list them at all.

I knew I saw them somewhere. Anyways, their catalogs have really bad lay outs for some reason. It's easy to miss a ton of items. There's even Snap On flashlights buried in one of the catalogs I have in the suuuuper upper right corner of the page.

As for physical representations, still no prescence and all the very big mall stores I've visited here but I assume it will come. Their roll-outs can be slow if the past has taught us anything.

Mea culpa.

Slow roll outs are dumb unless you have some kind of Apple style ultra marketing campaign IMO. Could be one of the reasons Sears stores are oft in trouble.

 

[E.Marquez]

So today i was in Sears, figured I'd ask them to check on my replacement ratchet.. Go figure they had one on the wall again.....

The Store clerk, said,,,"well the service center said it's not been shipped yet.... but, well we already took your broken one yes?" I replied that yes, it was taken when the new one was ordered...The clerk said.."well,, then why dont we just give you this one we have,,,and call it a day".. I said ok, thanks but I did not have the confirmation number for my order.. he said no matter, not needed.. you say you turned one in.. we have one in stock now.. it's yours. He did a exchange receipt and sent me on my way.

So I have my new SO T72 Dual 80 design 1/4 ratchet. a New Craftsman Premium Grade 1/4 in. Drive Ratchet in hand, and another on the way at some point.

I went in to buy a $2.00 are chuck, and check on my order... I walked out with a $2 air chuck and a new ratchet

 

[Fedwrench]

Mine locked up today. I removed the gear cover to see what happened. I discovered that the spring loaded pintle had moved to the outside of the pawl gear. I haven't determined if the cutout neeeds to be longer on the pawl gear or if the ratchet body needs to be machined slightly smaller, or if the pintle needs to be longer. However, when they lock up you have to remove the gear cover and main gear, realign everything and reassemble. No amount of beating the ratchet against something hard will right it. I don't know if this is s systemic problem with all of the ratchets or only a few. I like the ratchets and would hate to keep having this issue.

 

[powertrip]

Had the same problem with my 1/4 and 3/8. Fast, easy and friendly exchange from sears [I never have problems with the service]. The new ones seem to be fine. I think its a hit or miss right now with this being such a new design. I am confident it will be, if not already is being addressed by their quality and design department.

 

[Toolhorder]

Well.. I went to reach for my 1/4 ratchet today,,,, and when my hand hit the empty spot.. I got pissed.... so I just called my local SO guy..... meeting him after lunch to pick up a , Standard Handle, 4 7/16", T72, Ratchet.

So you "upgraded" to a 72 tooth ratchet after the 84 tooth?

And speaking of these "New" ratchets, WTF aren't they stocking these damn things? Come on Sears it's been at least 6 months and 1 3/8 drive and 1 1/2 drive at my local Sears...