USA craftsman sets for the kids?

[BLJ]

i know that the usa stuff is slowly going by the wayside, but i have had very good luck with them in the past. i was at sears today and they had a 182 piece mechanic tool set with the plastic 3 tray box on sale for $150. usa tools but a mexico box. life is full of trade offs. i was thinkiong of purchasing this set for my future son, as they were all usa tools, but i don't want him to be swapping out for china stuff one of these days. woudl it be wrth the money spent to but him a set now so he could some day have good usa set?

flea markets, craigs list, used classifieds are very slim picking around here for good stuff.

i know i started out with alot of craftsman stuff and it has served me well. i just thought it would be a good way to get him started. any thoughts? thanks.

 

[mrjaw14]

I still have all of my craftsman stuff from a similar kit I got in my teens. It's been great. I say get it while you can get it USA made. If he has to warranty it, get the china **** for free, then buy that one size from a better brand. Except for the ratchet, chances are he won't have to warranty anything unless he's a pro mechanic, and even then that craftsman kit might be a home kit that's not used as hard

 

[blackz26]

Wish you lived in northern wv i have some stuff for sale..

Any ways id say ya, if you can keep them nice. Even if they was chinese, depending how long itll be till he gets them, inflation makes up the difference

 

[Joe B.]

I have two kids under 5. I have thought about doing the same thing. I have a tool box for each of them with tools I toss in if I can pick up a deal through Garage Journal or on my own. The Craftsman sets are good but if you are buying for their whole life, I would look at a larger set so they don't get older and have to start filling in sockets. (I know the Craftsman set I bought years ago did not have much metric in 1/2" drive so I have had to fill those in.)

 

[firebox40dash5]

Wish you lived in northern wv i have some stuff for sale..

Any ways id say ya, if you can keep them nice. Even if they was chinese, depending how long itll be till he gets them, inflation makes up the difference

If they're young enough, probably won't have to worry about getting Chinese warranty replacements... or any at all.

If they can keep track of them, I'd say why not. But, I'm on probably my 4th or 5th socket wrench set since I was a kid. I lost most of my original CM kit... bought a Husky set, got that stolen out of my truck, replaced with another, lost most of that... and there's probably another in there I forgot.

I would say, though, to start out with a better kit. So that when/if they want to use it seriously, they're not going "WTF? Why does it skip 4 common sizes? Why is half of this 12 point?" I got the all-6-point socket set, and I think it's the best bang for the buck going. I bought one of the plastic-box sets and was seriously disappointed with the quality of the sockets, not to mention the random redundant 12-points to pad the part count. All you're missing out on is a flimsy blow-molded plastic box, some nutdrivers, and loose hex keys. (Well, and a complete wrench set, speaking of stocking up while you can.)

 

[usmc_noma]

As mentioned I'd get a complete set without all the fillers if you can find it USA made. Another option is to buy the diffrent drives separate for one large set.

 

[BLJ]

any one have a recomendation on a good starter set, craftsman or other, in the $150-$200 max range? i just ran across these today at sears and it got the wheels turning. i have a place pretty local that used to warranty wright stuff. would i be better off buying a smaller set of a better brand or getting a little lesser quality for more tools for the same money? i dont even knwo if wright has sets like craftsman does.

 

[str8axle55]

I have two kids under 5. I have thought about doing the same thing. I have a tool box for each of them with tools I toss in if I can pick up a deal through Garage Journal or on my own. The Craftsman sets are good but if you are buying for their whole life, I would look at a larger set so they don't get older and have to start filling in sockets. (I know the Craftsman set I bought years ago did not have much metric in 1/2" drive so I have had to fill those in.)

I see I am not the only one, I have 3 boys under 6. I try to explain to my wife why I need 5 of everything. I`ve also been thinking about stocking up on some C-man stuff.

 

[byoungblood]

My son isn't even 2 years old yet, and I already have a pretty good starter set of US made tools for him. Most of them are my old tools, it has given me a convenient excuse to buy new tools.

Most of those are Craftsman tools my father and grandfathers bought for me when I was in my teens. Like everyone, I've misplaced or broken some stuff here and there, but most of the core set is still in tact.

 

[d_rock]

Teach him how to properly use the tools and they will last a lifetime....

 

[hgmjbkfm]

I still have all of my craftsman stuff from a similar kit I got in my teens.

 

[STR1PES]

In my opinion Sears has unfortunately been on the way out and at the edge of bankruptcy for the last 3 years. You will be lucky to trade your USA Craftsman or Chinese Craftsman for that matter for anything later down the road. I think Sears has been on the way out.

I just wonder if anybody will pick up these warranties.

 

[nanofrog]

It would likely be hard to be Craftsman on price, but perhaps JH Williams' set or two, (particularly from their Taiwanese made products for price) and future warranty coverage over time?

Not sure how long you'd wait to give them to the kid/s, but I'd be concerned with loss more than warranty.

 

[Joe B.]

I see I am not the only one, I have 3 boys under 6. I try to explain to my wife why I need 5 of everything. I`ve also been thinking about stocking up on some C-man stuff.

I love the math. One for each boy and two for yourself.

The only thing I have found is that I should have started with larger tool boxes. My girl already has a better tool set than most adults even though she does not know it yet.

 

[cburnscrx]

In my opinion Sears has unfortunately been on the way out and at the edge of bankruptcy for the last 3 years. You will be lucky to trade your USA Craftsman or Chinese Craftsman for that matter for anything later down the road. I think Sears has been on the way out.

I just wonder if anybody will pick up these warranties.

Sears as we know it will die, however Craftsman will not. If they don't spin it off into it's own company, somebody will buy it and likely honor the warranty. When you're buying a brand like that, you want to keep the relationship going with your clients. just my .02

 

[sk farmer]

both of my sons have a 255 piece set that i picked up for them. it covers almost every possible shallow and deep socket, sae and metric in 1/4 and 3/8 drive along with shallow 1/2 in sae and metric. it also has a decent assortment of wrenches and allen wrenches. one set came in at less than 60 cents a piece and the other less than 70 cents. i have been adding bits and pieces to them as i go but when the day comes they will be set.

 

[Outlawmws]

I'd Vote yes get it. Maybe Sears will actually get their act together and bring it back home or at least out of China...

If not (or the finally go under) then the use market isn't likely to dry up if one breaks and needs replacement. Honestly I've NEVER broken a Craftsman RP wrench and I still double up on them... Most of what I had to replace were hex sockets, chisels and punches and one ignition wrench.

 

[Brownsfan]

Take this with a grain of salt but... I was at 2 different Sears Hardware stores last week and had 2 different general managers tell me something pretty interesting. They both said they were at a product training this month and they were told that there will be a BIG push in the near future for more USA made stuff in the stores. That includes lawn mowers, snow blowers etc. and tools. They both were told that when the current contract with their current supplier expires then there will be a shift. The only reason this even came up was because they had the torx and hex but socket sets locked up in a case. I asked if I could make sure they were USA before I bought them. Like I said take this with a grain of salt but I just thought it was interesting that 2 different managers told me this

 

[pfctblu]

I paid $149 several years ago for that very same set. It was to replace and fill in missing pieces of the very first smaller Craftsman set that I bought as a young teen. There is something kinda special about the first set for some people, myself included.
Like others have mentioned, I have never broken a Crafty socket but have trashed a ratchet or two. Well, I may have modified/fabbed up a couple franken-sockets once or twice as well.
I think your idea about picking up the 182pc set is a terrific one, especially for somebody young with very few other tools. Make sure you enter any codes when checking out (SEARSTOOLS or SEARS2013 - my cart shows $121 after SYWR credit). The only thing I would encourage you add is to order a set of the WF Craftsman screwdrivers from Epstein's to complement it (for $22, a bargain).

 

[turbowoodworker]

I bought the 110 piece set of Industrial when it was 70% off at the outlet. (I ran out of other good stuff to buy). I rationalized that, while my only son will get the ten tens of **** in my garage, when he is a teen he may appreciate having his own set as a birthday present (he is 3).
It might also be a sort of time capsule if Sears goes away. Kinda like the barn find where the old lady uncovers the58 vette that is in perfect condition. Sorry but I did not mean to compare a USA Craftsman ratchet to a classic vette. My bad.

 

[BLJ]

i'm going to go back up this week and check them out again. there just seesm like there is big draw for me to get a USA made craftsmans set for a kids first tools. i may be trying to hold on the the past but, who in this country doesn't have some craftsman tools?