Craftsman Hand Tool Manufacturers & Date Ranges

[radrush]

The Tool Manufacturers & Date Ranges list in post 1 of this thread was updated 11-13-15.

The list at Garage Gazette was updated 10 days later on 11-23-15 and appears to have better info.

http://www.thegaragegazette.com/index.php?topic=867.0

This is one of my favorite threads. Why can't GJ get the same info???


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[jakemac]

Why can't GJ get the same info???

Time.
Both threads are maintained by the same member. The GG thread is the original, and the GJ thread is a duplicate. Lauver updates the original more often, and gets to this one when he has the chance (or remembers). I ususally check the GG one first when I'm looking something up.

 

[radrush]

The GG http://www.thegaragegazette.com/index.php?topic=867.0 which is only a few more updated than this list, gives this info on E/EE:

E/EE = National Hand Tools/later Stanley Works-NHT division, some USA made, most Taiwanese made, ca. 1982 - 1991

I've seen a number of EE sockets stamped USA, but never seen a EE ratchet stamped USA.

 

[four.cycle]

^ some of the stuff I am seeing lately on Ebay doesn't appear on Mr. Lauver's list.
in the hope he might catch this one:

Details about item: ### sent a message about Craftsman Socket Set of 2 (short and deep) – 1/4” Drive SAE #221984951353

New message from: ***
"Deep are marked "8-AD". Short are marked "19". Both codes are directly above the model number."

 

[FordTruckWench]

Ebay #221984951353

"Deep are marked "8-AD". Short are marked "19". Both codes are directly above the model number."

The deep's in that auction are S-AD. Those are Chinese with a plant code of "S" and a year code of "AD".

The regular depth are probably upside down G1. (And yes, it is possible for G1 sockets to have the new style detent typically seen on G2 sockets.)

 

[four.cycle]

ahh... makes sense...
thanks!

 

[FordTruckWench]

Those are Chinese with a plant code of "S" and a year code of "AD".

A ratchet rebuild document posted in a different thread now confirms that a year code of AA means 2011. "AD" thus is 2014.

 

[winlinmac]

Anyone knows who's the manufacturer under the abbreviation A-AE? Recently purchased a wedge bar (2016) and DooHickey referred me to this thread. Thanks!

 

[Spn1025]

Chinese plant code A and year 2015 I guess

 

[winlinmac]

What really ironic is that my Craftsman Adjustable Wrenches are marked AE, but on the back of the packaging states Made in USA. Are they really being made by Western Forge as we speak, or did Sears intentionally forgot to update the COO? I thought AE was imported.

Chinese plant code A and year 2015 I guess

 

[radrush]

Check out this 3/4" drive ratchet handle.

I'm familiar with the -V- makers mark on the right, but what's the significance of that D (underlined D) on the left.

 

[jakemac]

If it wasn't underlined, I'd be inclined to believe it was a clever owners mark. But since it's so clean and looks like a manufactured stamp, ....................... I got nuthin'.

 

[radrush]

BM = S-K, ca. 1939 - 1951

Doesn't BM actually stand for Brazil Manufacturing, a subsidiary of SK?

The Brazil Stamping Company was a subsidiary of SK in Chicago.



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[Stevenn1]

What really ironic is that my Craftsman Adjustable Wrenches are marked AE, but on the back of the packaging states Made in USA. Are they really being made by Western Forge as we speak, or did Sears intentionally forgot to update the COO? I thought AE was imported.

This might have something to do with the lawsuit against Sears claiming that Craftsman Tools were advertised as 'Made in USA' when there is "....metal parts from Austria, Denmark, China, India and Mexico..." If the lawsuit is true, I guess the tool could technically be stamped with two different COO if you think about it.

 

[radrush]

This might have something to do with the lawsuit against Sears claiming that Craftsman Tools were advertised as 'Made in USA' when there is "....metal parts from Austria, Denmark, China, India and Mexico..." If the lawsuit is true, I guess the tool could technically be stamped with two different COO if you think about it.

They sold sets of sockets and ratchets. The sockets in these sets had a makers-mark "EE" and were stamped USA. The ratchets in these sets had a makers-mark "EE" but had no COO stamp. The sockets were in fact USA made but the ratchets (tri-wing) were made in Taiwan.

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[jakemac]

(reposted from the GG site's copy of this thread)

I just picked up a pair of elusive breaker bar t-handles at the flea market.
One is for the 1/2dr breaker and has the model number 44205 stamped on it.
The other is for the 3/8dr breaker and has the model number 44365 stamped on it.

Here's the bit that twists the brain - both are marked with the double line V code. By the time that the model numbers were stamped on the tools, the =V= code was replaced with the -V- code.

There has been talk that the =V= code may have made a brief re-appearance after 1974 when the model numbers showed up, so these must have been from that fleeting moment. This revelation now steps on the question of "When did Craftsman stop putting the t-bar hole on their breaker bars ?".

Is your scalp bleeding from all the head scratching yet ?

(apologies for the crappy picture, it's the best my tablet could do)

 

[rjvjeepster]

I have a 1/2" drive breaker bar that's a VVQ. I didn't see that on the original list. Any ideas?

If a VVL is 2000s then I would think this is after that, but it's from my grandpa and my dad says he stopped getting stuff in the 80s he thinks.

 

[drink]

What about the craftsman sockets with the upside down "G"? I got some "E" craftsman sockets that are identical to the Easco sockets.

I have some SAE Craftsman sockets with an upside down G on them. They do not have double detents and they have a nice chrome finish. When were they made? Does the G mean what factory made them? A small set of these upside down G sockets are shown in the pictures. One thing to point out is this set has a 7/8" SAE socket and these sockets are 3/8" drive.

When I was younger I bought a set of Craftsman metric sockets in the mid 1970's and the sockets in the set were stamped with a v, vv, or G. The G sockets have been around a while.

 

[drink]

I have some SAE Craftsman sockets with an upside down G on them. They do not have double detents and they have a nice chrome finish. When were they made? Does the G mean what factory made them? A small set of these upside down G sockets are shown in the pictures.

When I was younger I bought a set of Craftsman metric sockets in the mid 1970's and the sockets in the set were stamped with a v, vv, or G. The G sockets have been around a while.

Now I want to show pictures of my metric socket set I purchased from Sears back in the mid 1970's.

 

[Super Sport]

What really ironic is that my Craftsman Adjustable Wrenches are marked AE, but on the back of the packaging states Made in USA. Are they really being made by Western Forge as we speak, or did Sears intentionally forgot to update the COO? I thought AE was imported.

AE (and any of these two letter codes, AA, AB, AC, etc.) are date codes and do not have anything to do with COO, although they began when Sears started offshoring production.

They sold sets of sockets and ratchets. The sockets in these sets had a makers-mark "EE" and were stamped USA. The ratchets in these sets had a makers-mark "EE" but had no COO stamp. The sockets were in fact USA made but the ratchets (tri-wing) were made in Taiwan.

Some of these EE sockets do not have USA stamped in them, presumably because they were also made in Taiwan (by Stanley). I have a small set that came with a ratchet, and no COO on any of them. I believe this was in the 80s, around the time they made combination wrenches in Japan.

 

[drink]

The only USA-made Craftsman series I would say avoid is the G series, a lot of chrome cracking and peeling plaques this series.

I purchased a Craftsman metric socket set back in the mid 1970's and it has either v, vv, or G sockets in it. Non of these sockets have ever had a problem. The 19mm 3/8" drive socket has a G stamped on it and I have used it the most compared to others in the set. My G socket has no problem with the chrome finish and it still works really good.

 

[drink]

I have another set of made in USA 3/8" drive Craftsman SAE sockets I purchased sometime around 2006. The set appeared in the 2006 Craftsman tool catalog that was marketed to industrial suppliers. These socket sets were not sold at Sears stores to my knowledge. The item number is 9-1587 and the 13 sockets range in size from 1/4" thru 1".

The main things to point out are the sockets have double detents. The 15/16" and 1" sockets are stamped with GK on them. The remaining sockets are stamped with an inverted G2 on them. The ratchet is a long handle version with T2V stamped on it. The extensions have a G and an H stamped on them. These sockets have been used very frequently since purchased new and non of them including the ratchet have broken so far.

 

[Derek420]

I got these and the date code is not on your list. They are a lot different than my other craftsman sockets look where it says craftsman it has a rough finish on it kinda like a satin look oh and they're 1/4 sockets. Let me know thanks.

 

[lilcraigford]

I got these and the date code is not on your list. They are a lot different than my other craftsman sockets look where it says craftsman it has a rough finish on it kinda like a satin look oh and they're 1/4 sockets. Let me know thanks.

Is that stamping S-AE? That is probably a more recent import (China). There is more information in this thread here.

 

[pescados666]

Just stumbled across one that isn't on the list.

GK-B and GK-Z, the garage gazette list has GK-Z on it "GK-Z = Danaher/Kingsley Tools Division, ca. 2010" and -KZ- places it 2010-2011 as well. I don't have a garagegazette account (and probably shouldn't after how much this site has lead me to spend) but I figured I'd point it out.
If anyone is interested and sees this within the next 15 hrs, here's the original listing. http://www.ebay.com/itm/U-S-A-MADE-...TCHETING-COMBINATION-WRENCH-SET-/122369721751
Sorry to those that see this after the ebay images and listings expire!

 

[dimwittedmoose51]

Gary: Haven't posted much here in a while, but did run across an unusual manufacture code on a 1/2" long handle flex head that looks like an Easco teardrop, but not sure. The Part # is 44984 and the mystery Date Code is VVG. You listed a VVH in your update, but although I didn't surf all 14 pages of this thread, I'll apologize if I am repeating info. No oil hole.

On another subject, from what I've read tonight, you're saying that the Easco RHFTs can run as late as 1986? I also have a V series set of 3/4" drive stuff that came with a few Gs in it and pretty sure they came that way from the store. The 1986 date might help explain that. A couple of photos and then back to working on the car!1 Thanks again for all the BS &T in compiling all this info, and to all that have helped you!!

DM&FS

 

[red-ryder]

i have a ratchet i would like to post a picture of, can anyone 'instruct' me as tohow to post pictures


the list on 'page one' details it as a NEW BRITAIN product circa 1931--1947

thanx red

would someone PLZ....PM me as to the process of getting pictures from my Iphone onto a post......

 

[red-ryder]

PLZ forgive me.......i am trying to upload pictures of this 3/8 ratchet
for an estimate of value and closer date....list on 'page one' sez NEW BRITAIN product circa 1931--1947.

thanx red

my preview suggests SUCCESS!

 

[drink]

PLZ forgive me.......i am trying to upload pictures of this 3/8 ratchet
for an estimate of value and closer date....list on 'page one' sez NEW BRITAIN product circa 1931--1947.

thanx red

my preview suggests SUCCESS!

I don't know a lot about the really old stuff but I was able to find some helpful information. Some people say they are worth what somebody is willing to pay. You might try eBay to compare anything like what you have. Then you can try to figure out how many have actually sold and at what price(s).

H-Circle "H" in a Circle New Britain Machine 1933 to 1940s Used on sockets and drive tools similar to "BE" series.

http://alloy-artifacts.org/craftsman-early-tools.html

 

[Outlawmws]

Red, your best shot is to look at completed, sold, listings in Ebay as a rough guide. Just remember those are Eprey prices and other venues like Craigs List and yard sales will not get you top dollar. Sometimes Eprey won't...

 

[Vargasone]

I do appreciate the work you have and continue to do!

 

[mrbillh]

General question, are -V- or =V= collectable? I got a bunch of these as replacements when they were stolen in 1980 (not that I will ditch them as I still use them). As a side to this all the screwdrivers are WF as are the pliers. I will continue to check the rest this weekend... not to mention checking my dad's old tool box

 

[jakemac]

While there may be some who collect -V- or =V= series, right now they're more desirable by people of a certain age (myself included) as users. Speaking for myself, I don't trust, or like the feel of the later series. Most of it is mostly in my head though.

 

[mrbillh]

Thanks Jake. Since I've never used anything else they are still desirable by me! This thread and others about CM tools are very enlightening and had me reading almost every post. Thanks everybody.

 

[mrbillh]

Additional replacements in 1980 were J circle vice grip pliers (small needle nose, small, medium, and large regular vice grip style), I circle ratching box wrench. I have my dad's old crafstman tool box that I will break into when it cools down a bit. His old pear head ratchet did have the oil port. More to come

 

[jywilli69]

Glad I found this thread again. It is very handy.

 

[DadsTools]

Here's a Λ symbol to make those easier to read. Just copy-paste.

Thanks for the symbol, AmateurMechanic! I was resigned to having to get a font editing program to modify an existing capital A. Good show!

 

[DadsTools]

CRAFTSMAN MYSTERY TOOL #1

Here's one that I hope the Craftsman experts out there in GJ land might have more info on. This is an Easy Action Lever Jaw locking pliers, about 9-1/2" long. There is no maker's code that I can find. There are several key features on this tool worth pointing out:

--Has post-WW2 =CRAFTSMAN= logo.
--Has a 'split' two-piece lever/handle hinged with a rivet--every example I've ever seen has a one-piece lever/handle riveted directly to the lower jaw without an intermediate joint.
--All other joints are held together with hollow slotted pins, not rivets (don't know the standard name for such pins).
--Has (or had) pretty lame finish.
--Has an adjusting screw accessed through the lever/handle.

I've been able to put together a likely dating based on the fragmentary catalog and other info I could find online.

--Did not find any reference to this tool in a 1941 catalog.
--Found first reference to this Easy Action Lever Jaw in an excerpt from a 1946 catalog--the reference was a text-only fragment with no available photo.
--Found the same kind of text fragment from a 1948 catalog but also describing 'improved design'.
--Found photo in IIRC 1949 catalog listing this improved version--the noticeable differences from the wrench in question is that the photo shows a normal one-piece handle/lever, all joints are now held together with rivets, has an overall skinnier profile, has a chrome finish, and there's no adjusting screw.

RECKONING: It has the post-war logo, which would go along with the 1946 catalog reference. The poor finish and split-pin joints seem like features relating to late WW2 era production when materials rationing and shortages left mfrs looking for ways to make product with less-than-ideal materials.

THEORY: This is the one first introduced in the 1946 catalog, based on a late-war (1944-45) design. Dating would be circa 1946-47.

Your thoughts?

 

[Kenneth Priddy]

Lauver,
I really appreciate the hard work and research that you put into this dating of Craftsman tools. I refer to it quite often with no challenges to the information. I just joined last month but I have been looking at GJ since 2011

 

[Codejack]

V^(2nd V inverted) = Danaher, Armstrong Division, ca. 1992 - 2012

So THAT's who made all of my **** tools.

Those were the worst wrenches, ever, and the socket set from the same era is in a landfill somewhere, I threw it away it was so ****.

I turned 15 in 1992, and everything I have bought from Craftsman since then has been complete and utter garbage:

-3/8" drive sockets broke under less than 100lb-ft of torque. I replaced one twice trying to break the same bolt, and gave up after the 3rd socket broke.

-Wrenches deformed, spread and broke the box end under moderate use.

-Gas leaf blower: Blown piston rings after one season.

-Gas weed trimmer: Went through driveshafts weekly until I tossed it.

-Portable tool case: Broke the first day under less than half its rated load.

-Gas pressure washer: Frame literally vibrated apart.

Needless to say, I actively try NOT to buy Craftsman.