Just browsing my local rural Minnesota ACE Hardware stores Craftsman Tool section. While looking at 1" and above combination wrenches I found 1 1/16" through 1 5/16" stamped forged in the USA!! Scooped the four of them up. Anyone else having success finding Made In USA Craftsman tools while browsing ACE Hardware Stores?
Craftsman Made in USA Tools
- Thread starter Gvos
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btbsandman
Well-known member
Yes but I will not pay full price for a discontinued USA wrench. I rather have SK or Wright in my hand.
anndel
Well-known member
I tried getting warranty on a broken Made in USA CM adjustable wrench and they (the local Sears store) tried to replace it with a china made version. I said forget it. I'll look at other brands like SK, Armstrong, Williams or Snap On made in USA replacements.
thegroundpounder99
Well-known member
I have a lot of USA Craftsman and have seen some still left, but I agree there's no point in buying because there's nothing to replace it with. I was online looking at some wrenches on EBay and the USA Craftsman was $20 more then Snap On lol. If it was selling I was listing what I have.
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Here2Learn
Well-known member
I was in the Albertville, AL Ace yesterday. They had a few Craftsman items, but not as much as what I had thought they would. I didn't see anything on a discount. They had a few 9-piece raised panel wrench sets that were made in the USA, priced at $32 each.
About all the wrenches, screwdrivers and sockets were ACE brand.
I have been looking for made in the USA Craftsman tools recently. I am not too rough on them, so I almost never break tools. I just wish I had the chance to buy more made in the USA Craftsman tools.
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mjoekingz28
Well-known member
Poor Sears doesn't even own the Sears Tower anymore.
bob15
Well-known member
And how often do people break 1 1/16 & 1 5/16 wrenches (let alone any wrenches) when not abusing them by adding cheater pipes or double wrenching them? I am still using 25 year old Bonney wrenches and have yet to break one. Should I stop using my Bonney tools because they might break if I abuse them?
The paranoia on GJ over warranties is amazing. God forbid i use my 1950's Billings Life-Time model wrenches, i just might break one.......
OP use the wrenches and enjoy them.
This^^^
Everytime i read one of these craftsman bashing threads i think the same thing
I ve used my craftsman tools professionally for 15+ years and have never broken a wrench .maybe a half a dozen sockets or so.even if sears closed
Tommorow there is a 40 year supply of craftsman tools at the flea markets
For ten times less than you would pay for a tool truck wrench.gimme a break
drink
Well-known member
Yep, I have found a few made in USA Craftsman tools at Ace Hardware also. Some can be found at Sears also. So far I have not had a Craftsman wrench to break but I did read another thread the other day about a Craftsman flare nut wrench breaking. Another thread mentioned how the USA wrenches are not the same as the made in China versions. I like my tools to match so the set has a nice appearance. Sears said they if your wrench breaks they will replace it with a Chinese version if that is all they have available to replace it with.
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My local Sears still has some USA open stock on the shelf, but you have to look for it.
+2. You will just never convince some people otherwise, and that's the way it goes. More for the rest of us that know better.
drink
Well-known member
Yep, I was at Sears yesterday and I was able to find some made in USA Craftsman tools. The open stock socket display was really difficult to find stuff and they were about out of stock. You just have to take the time to find them. Sears Outlet also had some made in USA Craftsman tools.
Last time I went (maybe September), I had to really comb through the racks, but I found every one I was looking except one.
drink
Well-known member
The guy stocking the socket racks said they changed the racks in a way that he was having a hard time figuring out where to put them.
drink
Well-known member
If you want to buy made in USA you can buy some Craftsman Industrial tools.
Ace hardware stores can have different inventories. Some stores have more Craftsman tools than others.
Ace hardware stores can have different inventories. Some stores have more Craftsman tools than others.
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finn
Well-known member
Consumers won't pay full price for any USA made wrench.
That's the crux of the problem and why production of low i.p products like hand tools has moved offshore.
Despite the babbling about USA made, the public votes on the importance of domestically made products with their pocketbooks.
Imported won.
drink
Well-known member
I just purchased some made in USA Craftsman tools yesterday. They had a really good deal on them. I chose to buy made in USA. Why would you say imported won?
mercman86
Well-known member
I've got 2 ace hardwares by me and the small mom and pop one still has a large selection of us a tools. A huge selection of USA impact sockets too.
finn
Well-known member
In the grand scheme of things yes they have won, not in your instance.
His are probably old stock.
Agreed what he said!! I have never broken a Craftsman wrench.
PelicanPines
ALLIANCE MEMBER
My local hardware store used to be an ace... they have several nos Usa stuff.
For those that worry about warranty ... you're kidding right ... bet you warranty rusty tools instead of taking proper care of them.
This hw store has great coupons from time to time. I snag all the big wrenches for 1/2 retail. Cant beat that.
For those that worry about warranty ... you're kidding right ... bet you warranty rusty tools instead of taking proper care of them.
This hw store has great coupons from time to time. I snag all the big wrenches for 1/2 retail. Cant beat that.
reader2580
Well-known member
I will look for USA made tools before imports. I was looking for a 1-1/16" impact socket yesterday. Menards carries USA made sockets, but the 1-1/16" impact socket has apparently been out of stock for several months. I couldn't find a 1-1/16" impact socket anywhere in town so I just bought an import chrome socket at Home Depot. I figure if I cracked a $3 socket I could just recycle it as scrap. I didn't feel like going back to Menards for a USA made chrome socket.
I didn't end up cracking any sockets even though I also had to use a Craftsman USA 1" socket with the impact. The nut and bolt have different head sizes and the nut was out on one and the bolt was out on the other. (Supposed to be nut out on both per factory specs, not that it matters.)
drink
Well-known member
Some of the Craftsman USA tools I purchased were sold in new condition. They might have been some of the last USA sockets left, and they might have been from the Craftsman Professional Use side of Sears inventory. I don't think many, if any, of my USA tools will break. The main tools I am concerned about are the ratchets and they will likely be repaired as needed.
A few days ago I purchased some made in USA Craftsman Industrial hand tools. These tools are supposed to be better than the regular Craftsman. Also Sears is still selling made in USA tools like hammers, punches, chisels, and pliers. Why bother with the offshore tools when you can buy the USA tools? There are several other brands of tools that are still being made in the USA. Lots of people buy them.
Why don't you give some of the made in USA tools a try? Then you might not be so critical of things that are made in the USA.
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Agreed. But lots of sockets, ratchets, and hex driver bits.
drink
Well-known member
What do you guys think about Craftsman Industrial tools? Would you be willing to pay for these tools, or would you buy the offshore version?
http://www.toolbarn.com/craftsman-009-24777.html
http://www.toolbarn.com/craftsman-009-24781.html
http://www.toolbarn.com/craftsman-009-24853.html
http://www.toolbarn.com/craftsman-009-24906.html
http://www.toolbarn.com/craftsman-009-24859.html
http://www.toolbarn.com/hand/pliers-sockets-wrenches/sockets/socket-sets.html?manufacturer=3511&p=2
http://www.toolbarn.com/craftsman-009-24777.html
http://www.toolbarn.com/craftsman-009-24781.html
http://www.toolbarn.com/craftsman-009-24853.html
http://www.toolbarn.com/craftsman-009-24906.html
http://www.toolbarn.com/craftsman-009-24859.html
http://www.toolbarn.com/hand/pliers-sockets-wrenches/sockets/socket-sets.html?manufacturer=3511&p=2
drink
Well-known member
btbsandman
Well-known member
This is a nice blanket statement.
I am a consumer in the minority that desires USA options. I purchased some SK SAE open end wrenches. I agree that that the average consumer buys cheap. However the informed consumers make better decisions. I consider myself an informed consumer.
four.cycle
Well-known member
bob15 said:
Bdgjr215 said:
To be candid, I find the obsessiveness about "warranty" on hand tools kind of amusing.
I have owned my tools for over 40 years and have managed so far to break one 1/4" drive 4" flex extension. One piece out of several hundred over the course of over four decades.
And no, they haven't been all sitting in a box collecting dust all that time.
Of all the currently active discussion threads about one tool vs. another, I think this is one of the more salient points raised:
byoungblood said:
(emphasis added)
Certainly personal preference is a major factor in tool-buying choices; how the tool looks, its finish, how it feels in the hand - all of which are credible and legitimate "reasons" for choosing one particular brand/model over another.
The argument about "warranty" however, rings hollow when in fact a warranty replacement from a truck dealer depends upon the relationship one has with that particular dealer, or how often he stops by. Or, arguing one tool brand is superior to Craftsman because of "warranty", when in fact Craftsman hand tools are covered by a lifetime warranty.
It's not difficult to understand why someone might be apprehensive about a warranty where the originally purchased US-made product ultimately would be replaced with an offshore-sourced product, but that's an "if and when" question, unless (as mentioned by byoungblood in his cited post above) you're one of those using the wrong tool for the job or abusing the tool, and continually and repeatedly breaking simple hand tools.
If "warranty" were a factor in my tool-buying decisions, I wouldn't be buying tools made by manufacturers who have been out of business for decades. I know they're of excellent quality (having sold them for a couple decades), so I don't feel I need to worry about "warranty" as long as I don't abuse them.
Here's a little something which might shed some light on the underlying reasons for some of the points raised in these discussions:
http://io9.gizmodo.com/5974468/the-most-common-cognitive-biases-that-prevent-you-from-being-rational
four.cycle
Well-known member
If that were in fact true, S-K, Proto, Klein, Wilde, Proamerica, and a few others would be out of business.
There are all kinds of people out there who are willing to pony up the bucks to buy a better product that's manufactured domestically.
reader2580
Well-known member
I bet the imports sell more than all of them combined.
The only tool I ever had to warranty was a Craftsman 1/4" ratchet that never worked right from day one. Nothing else has broken yet, but I am just a homeowner who uses tools on an infrequent basis. From this forum, it seems the most warranted Craftsman tool is ratchets. A lot of other warranty stuff is from misuse or rust that Sears should not be replacing. (I used a Craftsman chrome socket on an impact yesterday and would have just bought a new one if I cracked it.)
I dunno I use a breaker bar first like i was taught and I've never broken a
Ratchet . I can understand a ratchet wearing out and breaking but Id throw
A little money down that most broken ratchets have cheaters on them when
They break
four.cycle
Well-known member
I don't believe there's any way to quantify the sales volume of domestic or imported tools, unless you can cite some numbers.
On the ratchets: I finally wore out my little #2875 Indestro round-head fine-tooth ratchet about 20 years ago (after using it for over 20 years.) I installed a repair kit in it, but that only fixed the problem for a short time; I literally wore out the splines in the ratchet body. I do not count that as "breakage" or consider it something that should have been a "warranty" issue (which is actually a moot issue since Indestro went out of business in 1990.)
I see mentions of "breaking" ratchets or ratchet "failure" in many posts here and I have to wonder if a breaker bar would have been a more appropriate choice of tool. I've managed to remove a lot of rusted, frozen fasteners and have never "broken" or "stripped" any ratchets; my 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" breaker bars all have a lot of miles on them.
Let me toss this out there regarding "warranty":
As the buyer for a wholesale warehouse distributor supplying a small chain of auto parts stores (and dozens of other accounts), I handled all of the warranty items that were returned and dealt with the vendors' representatives getting credits for those items.
We kept all of the warranty returns in cardboard boxes, arranged alphabetically by manufacturer's name, and once or twice a year we'd write it all up on a return goods request, or the sales representative would come in and write it up and we'd get a credit for it.
The box which held the Indestro warranty returns was about the size of a toaster. Guy Wheaton, the rep, would come up maybe once a year and write the stuff up. Never had any problem, even with the stuff stamped "Not guaranteed" (little hex-drive or clutch-drive attachments.) Over the course of a year, we'd have maybe 15-20 pieces in that box, most of which (as i recall) were 1/2" drive deep-wells that chuckleheads put on impact guns. All that from no fewer than nine stores (all of which had full boards behind the counter) and a mess of other accounts that picked onesie-twosies from us.
Uncle Harold thought we should have short blocks and heads ready to go on the sales floor, but didn't want to tie up a bunch of money in engine cores, so he cut a deal with a local wrecking yard and had them deliver four complete small-block Chev engines to one of our stores. All still had manifolds and tin bolted on - carburetors, starters, alternators, and power steering pumps had been removed.
I disassembled all four of those engines one night in the back room of the Tillicum store with a 40-piece Wilmar socket set. My tools were at home, and I wasn't about to get grease all over nice new tools off the Indestro boards.
The arguments about "warranty" are completely blown out of all proportion.
It ain't the wrench - it's the guy turning it.
On the ratchets: I finally wore out my little #2875 Indestro round-head fine-tooth ratchet about 20 years ago (after using it for over 20 years.) I installed a repair kit in it, but that only fixed the problem for a short time; I literally wore out the splines in the ratchet body. I do not count that as "breakage" or consider it something that should have been a "warranty" issue (which is actually a moot issue since Indestro went out of business in 1990.)
I see mentions of "breaking" ratchets or ratchet "failure" in many posts here and I have to wonder if a breaker bar would have been a more appropriate choice of tool. I've managed to remove a lot of rusted, frozen fasteners and have never "broken" or "stripped" any ratchets; my 1/4", 3/8", and 1/2" breaker bars all have a lot of miles on them.
Let me toss this out there regarding "warranty":
As the buyer for a wholesale warehouse distributor supplying a small chain of auto parts stores (and dozens of other accounts), I handled all of the warranty items that were returned and dealt with the vendors' representatives getting credits for those items.
We kept all of the warranty returns in cardboard boxes, arranged alphabetically by manufacturer's name, and once or twice a year we'd write it all up on a return goods request, or the sales representative would come in and write it up and we'd get a credit for it.
The box which held the Indestro warranty returns was about the size of a toaster. Guy Wheaton, the rep, would come up maybe once a year and write the stuff up. Never had any problem, even with the stuff stamped "Not guaranteed" (little hex-drive or clutch-drive attachments.) Over the course of a year, we'd have maybe 15-20 pieces in that box, most of which (as i recall) were 1/2" drive deep-wells that chuckleheads put on impact guns. All that from no fewer than nine stores (all of which had full boards behind the counter) and a mess of other accounts that picked onesie-twosies from us.
Uncle Harold thought we should have short blocks and heads ready to go on the sales floor, but didn't want to tie up a bunch of money in engine cores, so he cut a deal with a local wrecking yard and had them deliver four complete small-block Chev engines to one of our stores. All still had manifolds and tin bolted on - carburetors, starters, alternators, and power steering pumps had been removed.
I disassembled all four of those engines one night in the back room of the Tillicum store with a 40-piece Wilmar socket set. My tools were at home, and I wasn't about to get grease all over nice new tools off the Indestro boards.
The arguments about "warranty" are completely blown out of all proportion.
It ain't the wrench - it's the guy turning it.
toolaholic
Well-known member
I got all my big USA craftsmans cheap. Some thought Sears local ad (example a 32mm for $8) and some 50% off ace Black Friday deals. I have a 27, 30, 32 and 1 1/4 and 1 5/16.
Here2Learn
Well-known member
They seem hard to find and are sometimes priced quite high when I think back to what the exact same tools I bought cost before they were stamped Industrial. I see very little as new, just an option to buy USA instead of non-USA.
I like dual-marked, not just stamped.
BDT/NWMN
Well-known member
I glanced at some of those and saw the same double detents that are on the numerous sets I bought on sale as "regular" USA Craftsman a few years back... These were bought to fill voids in several tool sets at a LOW cost averaging about a buck per socket. If Sears sells them for that price; that's what I figure they are worth.
I bought several sets of ProTo sockets at the same time; that bumped the 43 year old ProTo sets from my shop box to the Field service box..
My ProTo sockets bring a smile to my face.... Those Craftsman sockets bring a "oh ****" from my mouth whenever I look at them.... For me; the ProTo sockets are worth the extra cost.. I would rather smile than sound like a grumpy old fart..
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I ordered the 540 piece tool set and every piece in it was made in China except the 2 pliers and the screw driver sets. Maybe even the allen keys. Not sure about that though. I will have to check. To be honest with you the sockets look about the same quality as the USA ones that I bought years ago. The ratchets and the polished wrenches...the verdict is still out on those until I start to use them. I don't have high hopes for the ratchets. I would not have bought the set at full price but I really needed a set of tools rather quickly and I had a 50% off regular price coupon code. Overall I can't complain but I do see people's point about the pricing not going down since they were being made in China.
drink
Well-known member
So, it sounds like you are not a fan of the Craftsman Industrial line of tools, and you would rather stick with the regular line of Craftsman tools. If you compared the cost of the same regular Craftsman tools in a 9-24777 Craftsman Industrial socket set; how much would each of them cost? The Craftsman Industrial meet or exceed ANSI and ASME standards, and the regular Craftsman do not. Keep in mind how much a trip to Sears cost versus shipping cost and sales tax being added.
http://www.toolbarn.com/craftsman-009-24859.html?utm_source=PJ&utm_medium=Affiliate&pid=43737
http://www.toolbarn.com/craftsman-009-24777.html?utm_source=PJ&utm_medium=Affiliate&pid=43737
Now, here is a small set of Craftsman ETR sockets that are not available. The price is $29.99 discounted to $19.96 plus tax. A Craftsman ratchet is $13.99 marked down to $9.99 plus tax, and a 1/4" drive extension bar set is $21.99 plus tax. That comes to $51.94 plus tax without shipping and no storage case is included.
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-20-p...lerId=SEARS&prdNo=26&blockNo=26&blockType=G26
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-1-4-...sellerId=SEARS&prdNo=8&blockNo=8&blockType=G8
http://www.sears.com/craftsman-4-pc...sellerId=SEARS&prdNo=5&blockNo=5&blockType=G5
What is so wrong with the detents on the female side of the Craftsman sockets? I have used them for decades and have never had one to break so far.
drink
Well-known member
Personally I have always thought of the regular made in USA Craftsman tools as being a good value. I also have paid the price for more expensive higher quality tools. It sounds like you like Proto better than anything on the market and were willing to pay the price for Proto. If you shop you can find Proto tools at better prices than some places. Proto is one of the few USA tool companies left and I admit they have some nice stuff. I have a few Proto tools myself. I still like my Craftsman tools and don't think of them as being comparable to excrement.