Craftsman 299pc socket set? What to you guys think?

[LS3]

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-299-...p-00935299000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

the catch is that i can get this set at 50% off so $177.58 after tax. Thats 0.60 per socket!

The positives
*0.60 cents per socket
*has every chrome socket Cman makes up to 1/2 drive
*standard and metric
*6pt and 12pt
*cheap enough that if a socket was to get lost or stolen at a job sight i wouldn't cry like if it was one of my snappys.
*Convenience of buying pretty much every socket i would need all at once in one set.
*lifetime warranty

The negatives
*Chinese...
*It seems like the easy read would wear off after a while
*unknown tolerances
*fit and Finnish not as good as older U.S. made so i have heard

If switching COO has affected the Quality as much as it has affected their ratchets then i will likely stay away from them. I have a 3/8 offset flex head that has had to be replaced at least 4 times... and not from abuse. Next time it will be going in the trash.

The reason i am looking at this set is i need a full set of SAE sockets for work. I already have a pretty much full set of Snap On in metric. But for the price i wouldn't mind having that extra metric set too keep at home and to lend those out to my friends instead.

So what do you guys think? Should i go with this set or should i just spend my money elsewhere? Any suggestion are appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[ADSR]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=239439


welcome to the board!

 

[Askme42]

For that price you can get the 204 piece dewalt set that's all 6 point. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=251395

 

[stage20]

double check your sears outlet store. they had a 255 piece that looked decent and still usa made.
think it was 149

 

[Brownsfan]

Most have reported getting USA made sets. I dont think anyone has got a china set yet. I suspect since these are not sold in the stores they still have old USA made stock in the warehouse. Its a good set. My craftsman USA sockets have never let me down. Only had to replace lost ones none broke since 1997 when I got them.

 

[stage20]

ive got an old 263pc???? set years ago and they have suited me well. ive piled up so many craftsman ratchets from needing another socket set, ive actually got a guy comming over now to buy 2 sets of rasied panel ratchets. lol

 

[rednotch]

How can you get it 1/2 off?


Its the socket only set, Good chance its still old stock USA if your getting it shipped to you, if not return it. for that price I'd jump on it.

 

[LS3]

Thanks for the Quick responses guys! lorddiesel thanks for the link to that thread i don't know how i missed that. It seems like despite the horrible packaging, missing sockets, crappy chrome and etching people are happy with what they are getting for the price. Also as long as sears is taking care of those problems, which it seem like they are, that doesn't bother me. USA made too!!! It seems like too good of a deal!!!

 

[LS3]

For that price you can get the 204 piece dewalt set that's all 6 point. http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=251395

That looks like a nice set but i need the set to go to at least 1 1/4

How can you get it 1/2 off?


Its the socket only set, Good chance its still old stock USA if your getting it shipped to you, if not return it. for that price I'd jump on it.

i just go to my local store tell them i am a student, show them my I.D. and i get 50% off on just about everything tool wise. It only works at that sears i have asked about it at other stores and they just look at me funny. I can do the same thing at NAPA for their Carlyle tools, actually there i have gotten more than 50% off no B.S.

 

[Parrothead]

I got mine not all that long ago, and for the price I paid they were well worth it. For $0.60 are you really worried about it? Buy, use, enjoy!

 

[ADSR]

I got mine not all that long ago, and for the price I paid they were well worth it. For $0.60 are you really worried about it? Buy, use, enjoy!

Agreed!

 

[LS3]

I got mine not all that long ago, and for the price I paid they were well worth it. For $0.60 are you really worried about it? Buy, use, enjoy!

lol yes! I think I'm am just going to go ahead and buy them. i had no idea that they were the USA made ones at the time of posting.

 

[alinc100]

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-299-...p-00935299000P?prdNo=1&blockNo=1&blockType=G1

the catch is that i can get this set at 50% off so $177.58 after tax. Thats 0.60 per socket!

The positives
*0.60 cents per socket
*has every chrome socket Cman makes up to 1/2 drive
*standard and metric
*6pt and 12pt
*cheap enough that if a socket was to get lost or stolen at a job sight i wouldn't cry like if it was one of my snappys.
*Convenience of buying pretty much every socket i would need all at once in one set.
*lifetime warranty

The negatives
*Chinese...
*It seems like the easy read would wear off after a while
*unknown tolerances
*fit and Finnish not as good as older U.S. made so i have heard

If switching COO has affected the Quality as much as it has affected their ratchets then i will likely stay away from them. I have a 3/8 offset flex head that has had to be replaced at least 4 times... and not from abuse. Next time it will be going in the trash.

The reason i am looking at this set is i need a full set of SAE sockets for work. I already have a pretty much full set of Snap On in metric. But for the price i wouldn't mind having that extra metric set too keep at home and to lend those out to my friends instead.

So what do you guys think? Should i go with this set or should i just spend my money elsewhere? Any suggestion are appreciated! Thanks in advance!

I liked the set so much I bought two sets: )

Actually one set is in a box I assembled to flip on Craigslist,I'm not really keeping them(yet)But be warned they don't include all the chrome sockets Craftsman has to offer. If you have OCD you'll end up buying the spark plug socket set:http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-7-pc-easy-to-read-spark-plug/p-00946944000P

and then you'll want the swivels:http://www.sears.com/craftsman-42-pc-flex-socket-set-6-and/p-00935750000P?prdNo=6&blockNo=6&blockType=G6
Note: I am unsure the COO on these and they were recently on sale fairly cheap.

Also Armstong makes a lot of filler sockets that match pretty darn well(Same parent Co. made the USA craftsman and Armstrong) that covers MOST of the fillers/missing on the socket peg racks. Best place I found to order the Armstrongs was Sears Marketplace on lineYMMV

 

[Notorious BRT]

I hate the easy read. If they live on a truck like my set does, they will eventually get a little rust on them, and when you clean them up a time or two they will become impossible to read. If you're lucky they'll be like the recent open stock replacements I have picked up which have both stamping and laser etching.

 

[LS3]

I liked the set so much I bought two sets: )

Actually one set is in a box I assembled to flip on Craigslist,I'm not really keeping them(yet)But be warned they don't include all the chrome sockets Craftsman has to offer. If you have OCD you'll end up buying the spark plug socket set:http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-7-pc-easy-to-read-spark-plug/p-00946944000P

and then you'll want the swivels:http://www.sears.com/craftsman-42-pc-flex-socket-set-6-and/p-00935750000P?prdNo=6&blockNo=6&blockType=G6
Note: I am unsure the COO on these and they were recently on sale fairly cheap.

Also Armstrong makes a lot of filler sockets that match pretty darn well(Same parent Co. made the USA craftsman and Armstrong) that covers MOST of the fillers/missing on the socket peg racks. Best place I found to order the Armstrong's was Sears Marketplace on lineYMMV

Great I'm glad to hear that they are working well for you. So if the Armstrong and Craftsman come from the same parent Co. are they more or less the same thing?

Also what have you noticed that is missing from the line up in the different drive sizes?

 

[LB-1911]

PARTS LIST FOR 299 PIECE SOCKET ACCESSORY SET #35299
http://download.sears.com/misc/IL35299.pdf

 

[LS3]

I hate the easy read. If they live on a truck like my set does, they will eventually get a little rust on them, and when you clean them up a time or two they will become impossible to read. If you're lucky they'll be like the recent open stock replacements I have picked up which have both stamping and laser etching.

That is a big issue that i worry about with these sockets. Every time i put my tools back in the box i give them a quick wipe down. I will be working a lot outside with these in the cold and snowy MN winters going from job sight to job sight as well as in the rain during the spring, summer and fall. So i guess rust at some point, or to some extent is inevitable with any brand i would go with. But at least with the Craftsman it won't break my heart.

 

[Brownsfan]

USA made craftsman yes. Same as Armstrong pretty much. I bought the 3 build a set add on modules when they went on sale for 50% off a few years ago. Got the last USA made sets. Came with the thin profile ratchets and some extensions. Didn't need them because I had a prety complete set I bought years earlier. I use the newer ones more now because they are easier to find in the tray they came in. I say buy the set it will serve you just fine. Well thats if the set is complete and comes un damaged. Thats a different story when it comes to sears.

 

[sberry]

Those are a bargain, its .60 a socket. How hard is it to figure out no one is robbing you at that rate. They work well.

 

[Loscaldazar]

That is a big issue that i worry about with these sockets. Every time i put my tools back in the box i give them a quick wipe down. I will be working a lot outside with these in the cold and snowy MN winters going from job sight to job sight as well as in the rain during the spring, summer and fall. So i guess rust at some point, or to some extent is inevitable with any brand i would go with. But at least with the Craftsman it won't break my heart.

They WILL rust quickly up in MN. I had mine for about a year before they started to develop rust. They were stored in the garage in a box for about a year. They were used through one winter, and I wiped them down and cleaned them after use to remove salt off of them (as salt is quite hard on metal, even chromed metal).

I warrantied the bad ones and sold the sets (most of them at this point). They won't be a socket set that lasts you even ten years of use, but for $170..... you won't get a better set for the price.

The detents are funky too, but again, at that price I wouldn't care too much.

Other than that, they were strong and I never broke one. They were put through some pretty hairy situations. They just aren't sockets that are going to last a long time- the rust gets bad quickly.

 

[ecotec]

More than a few of my Craftsman sockets are rusted on the inside (not the outside). Most of my chrome sockets are Craftsman. My Wright chrome sockets still look nice, inside and out.

I wish that, during the '90s, when you could order these sets with personalization, that I had bought This set.

 

[sberry]

I left some sockets in the tool box of my truck that didn't get used and rusted but in my shop its not an issue and if a guy thinks to shoot them with a little spray.

 

[sberry]

That is a big issue that i worry about with these sockets. Every time i put my tools back in the box i give them a quick wipe down. I will be working a lot outside with these in the cold and snowy MN winters going from job sight to job sight as well as in the rain during the spring, summer and fall. So i guess rust at some point, or to some extent is inevitable with any brand i would go with. But at least with the Craftsman it won't break my heart.

Here is the thing. They work today why have an issue to worry about???? . If they cost 1400 it would be a different matter how good they were or how long it will all last but at 140 its a bargain. By the time they don't work for a guy they will probably be worth that in scrap.. Hahaha

Sears tools are a super bargain for the customer, some of the individual pieces are so so but these sets are insane cheap. Its bad for Sears to be priced so low but great for someone wants a heck of a useful socket set. I would have no problem getting a start right there if I had to do it again tomorrow.
The Sears of the 80's were nothing to write home about, broke a couple out of my 3/4 right out the bat and probably a couple dozen since and had a few with pitiful fit.
The set of today is better, I don't hear of anyone having brakes but they don't have much saturation and use, however,,
You wont use every socket every day and there is no sense having big money sidelinedriding the box. That's what makes them a super deal, you need the whole set on occasion and you got without eating your lunch daily.

 

[bob15]

I think it's a waste of money. You are getting the same sockets in both 6 point and 12 point. To me, I think you can spend your money much better and wisely.

98.643% of all jobs can be done with a 6 point socket. If you encounter a need for a 12 pt socket, buy that single socket, but not umpteen sets. I have survived for too many years to think with 6 point 3/8 drive sockets without the need for 12 points (and yes I do have a 12 point set of NOS Bonney's, but the price was right....free and I never use them).

Lastly, I would pass on Craftsman in general, and especially their "super-sized" sets.

 

[sberry]

I think it's a waste of money.

At high dollar it would be a waste but at that price its great. Big difference between .60 and 6.00 I like a couple in the common sizes, its a little cheap insurance against lost or misplaced or even untimely failure.