Craftsman News Roundup

[Moparman390]

With the SBD Craftsman launch event coming up later this week there's already new Craftsman news coming in so I started this thread to discuss it all. Here's two articles that are up first, one is from someone you might know here at GJ, Stuey:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fo...avvy-acquisitions-and-longshot-tech-bets/amp/

https://toolguyd.com/craftsman-20v-cordless-power-tools-brushless-made-in-usa/

 

[Michael_in_DE]

Nice. I am eager to see what they do with warranties and see some in-depth reviews. I am very happy to see an american based company trying to make at least some of their stuff here, not an easy feat in this day and age.

 

[WittHay]

Interesting Forbes business article on Stanley Black and Decker. It mentions Stanleys main rival is Techtronics Industries and the way they market Milwaukee.

Contrary to what a lot of people on here say. The average homeowner does not need a made in China Milwaukee power tool and a assembled in the US Craftsman should work.

Hopefully, the US economy is good enough in the future that people do not have to buy all their cheap tools from HF, they can afford a little higher priced made in the USA hand tools and consumables like saw blades from Craftsman

 

[Andres26tnt]

well like i predicted the power tools are basically dewalt clones, i'm hoping the hand tools will be MAC and Proto based as well.

 

[dogdog]

well like i predicted the power tools are basically dewalt clones, i'm hoping the hand tools will be MAC and Proto based as well.

It looked exactly like the clone of the Dewalt xp series to me.... just different color. Price point is also the same...

 

[lafester]

So HD can carry dewalt and lowes can carry Craftsman and they won't have to price match each other. I suppose the batteries will be slightly different as well.

 

[fowldarr]

Look like a competitive drill in the market. When I'm in the market (which will be soon) they will be on my list. I've always liked the way that my dewalt fit my hand, and the balance it had, so the similar design is a bonus to me. I'll have to go check them out.

 

[Moparman390]

For those that didn't read the article, there are brushless and brushed models of the drill and impact driver. The brushless ones are not the ones in the big combo kits and only the brushless ones carry the made in USA logo.

 

[Y00PER]

Speaking of cordless drills/tools. How do they (batteries in particular) handle being in sub freezing temps for months on end? I'd love to have cordless stuff, especially a drill, but for 6+ months out of the year they would sit in my garage while I battle 300"+ of snow instead of making anything. I really don't have room in my house to be storing all kinds of batteries/chargers.

 

[barev]

Speaking of cordless drills/tools. How do they (batteries in particular) handle being in sub freezing temps for months on end? I'd love to have cordless stuff, especially a drill, but for 6+ months out of the year they would sit in my garage while I battle 300"+ of snow instead of making anything. I really don't have room in my house to be storing all kinds of batteries/chargers.

Different brands can't help you there since they all use lithium ion batteries which do not perform well or even degrade when too hot or too cold.

 

[bctexas]

So, what exactly does this mean:

"Made in the USA with global materials."

Does that mean that all the parts are manufactured in China and shipped here, and are just screwed together here? If so, is that really "Made in the USA"?

Ya never know - my wife's 2017 Subaru Outback was assembled in Lafayette, IN. My 2005 Ford Crown Victoria was assembled in Ontario, Canada. Does that mean that the Subaru was "made in the USA" and the Ford is an import?

I'm so confused......

 

[L.Cheapo]

So, what exactly does this mean:

"Made in the USA with global materials."

In order to be "Made in USA" without qualification, there can be no or only negligible foreign parts/processing content.

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/complying-made-usa-standard

They give some good examples in the shaded areas.

 

[xin]

Made in U S A - sounds GREAT!

 

[zendriver]

Interesting Forbes business article on Stanley Black and Decker. It mentions Stanleys main rival is Techtronics Industries and the way they market Milwaukee.

Contrary to what a lot of people on here say. The average homeowner does not need a made in China Milwaukee power tool and a assembled in the US Craftsman should work.

Hopefully, the US economy is good enough in the future that people do not have to buy all their cheap tools from HF, they can afford a little higher priced made in the USA hand tools and consumables like saw blades from Craftsman

Sounds awfully easy, to spend someone else's money.


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[sevt_chevelle]

I called MAC several months ago about some warranty stuff, asked them about the made in USA with global parts cause am thinking about adding a top box. They said the casters are from offshore.

 

[Y00PER]

I called MAC several months ago about some warranty stuff, asked them about the made in USA with global parts cause am thinking about adding a top box. They said the casters are from offshore.

I asked Craftsman what does "made in the usa with global materials mean?" Is it 99% foreign, or 99% US, or some point in between. Here's what they responded:

We source raw materials and components from around the globe when they are either not available in the United States or not viable to purchase based on cost, quality or availability. Our global materials include the drawer slides/trim, casters, locks, & handles.

 

[dsaabm]

Interesting toolbox...

 

[bctexas]

Thanks L.cheapo, interesting read.

One example shown talks about a treadmill and it says, in part:

" All of the treadmill’s major parts, including the motor, frame, and electronic display, are imported. A few of its incidental parts, such as the handle bar covers, the plastic on/off power key, and the treadmill mat, are manufactured in the U.S."

Then it says:

"Because the value of the U.S.-made parts is negligible compared to the value of all the parts, a claim on the treadmill that it is "Made in USA of U.S. and Imported Parts" is deceptive. A claim like "Made in U.S. from Imported Parts" or "Assembled in U.S.A." would not be deceptive."

So it seems to me that the statement "Made in the USA with global materials" says that the majority parts are made in China, and are screwed together here. Hey it's great that this makes for jobs in the USA but I'm not sure how excited I get about "made in the USA" quality under these circumstances. The quality of the design and parts is the same no matter where they are screwed together.

 

[ihateminimumwage]

Speaking of cordless drills/tools. How do they (batteries in particular) handle being in sub freezing temps for months on end? I'd love to have cordless stuff, especially a drill, but for 6+ months out of the year they would sit in my garage while I battle 300"+ of snow instead of making anything. I really don't have room in my house to be storing all kinds of batteries/chargers.

If the warranty is good and they live at home, nothing to worry about.

I work as a diesel & gas generator mechanic throughout Idaho, Montana, Washington, Oregon, Utah and more, so around 95% of my power tools are cordless Milwaukee and live in the truck year round. Not one battery has failed in the last 6+ years of having them, ranging in temps between -20° to 108°, and not particularly treated or stored well. Best move I ever did was go to cordless from Air/corded tools.

 

[WWheeler]

With the SBD Craftsman launch event coming up later this week there's already new Craftsman news coming in so I started this thread to discuss it all. Here's two articles that are up first, one is from someone you might know here at GJ, Stuey:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.fo...avvy-acquisitions-and-longshot-tech-bets/amp/

https://toolguyd.com/craftsman-20v-cordless-power-tools-brushless-made-in-usa/

Hmmm, Craftsman power tools inspired by Dewalt. I saw that coming.

01-05-2017:

A lot of Stanley's Dewalt line of power tools are 'made in USA from global materials' and has been expanding in that area in recent years - and especially marketing it as such with the USA flag logo on products & packaging - after having been moving production away from the US for a decade or so.



So I'd add to that the possibility that Stanley's plans with this Craftsman purchase to "expand our manufacturing footprint in the U.S. This will add jobs in the U.S., where we have increased our manufacturing headcount by 40% in the past three years" may be more focused on their cordless and corded power tool lines, and less so if at all on the hand tools. I'm just sayin'

Just as I did when The Dewalt purchase of the Craftsman name was announced and they made promises for USA made products, I still doubt we're going to see much if any Craftsman ratchets and sockets and wrenches brought back to the US. I hope I'm wrong though, but I haven't seen any sign of it yet.

Edit: I will say that their purchase of Waterloo and their Craftsman boxes made here in the US was a surprise to me. Too bad they didn't take over the old Armstrong facilities to do likewise with hand tools. Or did they? lol

 

[wyattstihl]

Hmmm, Craftsman power tools inspired by Dewalt. I saw that coming.

01-05-2017:

Just as I did when The Dewalt purchase of the Craftsman name was announced and they made promises for USA made products, I still doubt we're going to see much if any Craftsman ratchets and sockets and wrenches brought back to the US. I hope I'm wrong though, but I haven't seen any sign of it yet.

Edit: I will say that their purchase of Waterloo and their Craftsman boxes made here in the US was a surprise to me. Too bad they didn't take over the old Armstrong facilities to do likewise with hand tools. Or did they? lol

Armstrong is owned by Apex, and so were its facilities. Thats a nice thought and I would love to see it, but I dont think its an option.


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[WWheeler]

Armstrong was owned by Apex, and so were its facilities. Thats a nice thought and I would love to see it, but I dont think its an option.

Fixed it for you. I'm aware Apex used to own Armstrong, but AFAIK Apex shuttered their US facilities. Waterloo used to be owned by Fortune Brands iirc, and as of last year now Stanley owns it.

i was just saying. It's a shame all those people lost their jobs and who knows what happened to the assets. It would have been nice if Stanley snagged it up instead.

 

[Citation]

I asked Craftsman what does "made in the usa with global materials mean?" Is it 99% foreign, or 99% US, or some point in between. Here's what they responded:

We source raw materials and components from around the globe when they are either not available in the United States or not viable to purchase based on cost, quality or availability. Our global materials include the drawer slides/trim, casters, locks, & handles.

As the previous link showed it's complicated. Sometimes it also is a bit of a bummer for a mfr who want's to do things in the US. In the case of the drill you are going to be stuck with a number of Asian components even if you don't want to. The Li-ion cells are almost certainly made in Asia. The same is likely true of the electronics. In both cases US based sourcing would be quite difficult. That may also be true of the electric motor. Since the combination of motor, battery and electronics represent a significant portion of the total product cost SB&D are stuck having to say something other than full Made in USA. For the most part it wouldn't be remotely practical for the company to bring those components in house.

Maglite ran into something similar a while back. Older incandescent Maglites always said made in USA... because they were. I believe Maglite makes all of their lights in Ontario, CA. However, they basically have to go to Asia to source the LED modules in the LED Maglites. Those LED modules are quite expensive as compared to the old incandescent bulbs. When Maglite first changed to LED lights they used a drop in LED bulb that just replaced the incandescent bulb. Well the difference in cost between the incandescent and LED bulb was enough to push them out of the "Made in the USA" category. I recall people thinking they had shipped the entire light off to China. Not at all true, just one part was moved to Asia (the old bulbs might also have been out of Asia). So even though the parts and mfr steps that were always done in the US hadn't changed the new lights were just assembled in the USA. I understand why the rules are what they are. It's to stop companies that would do the barest minimum then claim "Made in USA". Sadly it also means companies that have a long history in the US can't claim Made in the USA due to honest sourcing issues beyond their control.

Looking forward to trying the new drills at some point. I really like my old 12V NiCad DeWalt. Traditionally I'm not a fan of the Sears/Ryobi drills. However, my Nextec stuff has been almost really good. It was purchased because I needed a cordless drill and the discount was great. I had low expectations but the price made that OK. The drill and other tools have been decent enough and at the price I've been really happy. I did just replace the drill since the motor started to act up. Something wrong with the brushes. For the price I can accept that.

 

[Rabid Badger]

The brushless tools are DeWalt clones, and should be decent quality, but the batteries aren't compatible and I doubt they're going to duplicate the entire tool line. So you're sacrificing flexibility for nostalgia.

The brushed tools, while more diverse, are rebadged Porter Cables (AKA garbage).

Between this and the socket set (with a ratchet that can't be disassembled for maintenance and sockets that are rusted out of the box) the soft spot in my heart for the Craftsman brand is all but gone.

At least I still have my late 90's USA made sockets to remember the old Craftsman by.

 

[Empty Pockets]

It's good to see some level of production coming back to the States. When I'm in the market for new tools, I'll consider SBD. Or I might just buy one or two to try them out

 

[Professional Tool User]

Made in USA with global materials is dishonest marketing. I've seen tools with dipped handles that say USA on the dipped material but say Made in USA with global materials on the packaging. As far as I am concerned, all you need to do is do one minor assembly step in the USA.

 

[JazzBlueRT]

The brushless tools are DeWalt clones, and should be decent quality, but the batteries aren't compatible and I doubt they're going to duplicate the entire tool line. So you're sacrificing flexibility for nostalgia.

The brushed tools, while more diverse, are rebadged Porter Cables (AKA garbage).

Between this and the socket set (with a ratchet that can't be disassembled for maintenance and sockets that are rusted out of the box) the soft spot in my heart for the Craftsman brand is all but gone.

At least I still have my late 90's USA made sockets to remember the old Craftsman by.

Where are reports of new SBD Craftsman coming rusted out of the box?

The overwhelming majority of people, even professionals, will never rebuild a ratchet nor have a need to. If the sealed mechanism improves the lifespan and durability of the product, then it is a beneficial feature.

 

[Moparman390]

Interesting toolbox...

That's what I thought too.

 

[Rabid Badger]

Where are reports of new SBD Craftsman coming rusted out of the box?

I can't post a link but look up Tool Teardowns on YouTube. He takes a look at the new Craftsman socket set.

The overwhelming majority of people, even professionals, will never rebuild a ratchet nor have a need to. If the sealed mechanism improves the lifespan and durability of the product, then it is a beneficial feature.

No way to clean out or lubricate the ratchet mechanism improves the lifespan and durability of the tool?

I picked up a 60 year old SK ratchet at a yard sale a couple weeks ago. It wouldn't turn. I opened it up, cleaned out the old grease, re-lubed it, and it works like new. That's improving the lifespan of a tool.

 

[finn]

Made in USA with global materials is dishonest marketing. I've seen tools with dipped handles that say USA on the dipped material but say Made in USA with global materials on the packaging. As far as I am concerned, all you need to do is do one minor assembly step in the USA.

Your interpretation is incorrect.

The FTC publishes guidelines as to what constitutes Made in USA, Made in USA with global components, and Assembled in USA claims.

Violating the FTC guidelines leaves the manufacturer subject to deceptive trade practice charges and penalties.

There is not much grey area here.

Do a search if you want to be an informed consumer.

 

[jkesselr]

Interesting toolbox...

Really!?! Who keeps a ******’ air cleaner in their toolbox!?! This is why Craftsman blows goats these days. I hate marketing pukes, who wouldn’t know a metric crescent wrench from a left handed screwdriver, trying to sell this **** to us.

 

[WittHay]

Marketing is everything, from color of the tool to where its made. You are looking for a new brushlees drill. Which one looks better? These drills are from the SBD family but if you compare the new Craftsman to a non Fuel Milwaukee, Rigid or Ryobi from Home Depot its competitive and looks good

 

[NUTTSGT]

I thought it was a surprisingly good article from Forbes. I'd like to think that SBD is trying to do the right thing, bring back jobs and manufacturing to the US. While I realize they may not choose to or be fiscally feasible to bring them as there are issues they have to contend with like emissions, I have to give them some credit.

It's not possible to make every tool appeal to everyone nor is it possible to fill every void. They bought and are trying to save the Cman name. That's more than Eddie ever did.

 

[kngelv]

I thought it was a surprisingly good article from Forbes. I'd like to think that SBD is trying to do the right thing, bring back jobs and manufacturing to the US. While I realize they may not choose to or be fiscally feasible to bring them as there are issues they have to contend with like emissions, I have to give them some credit.

It's not possible to make every tool appeal to everyone nor is it possible to fill every void. They bought and are trying to save the Cman name. That's more than Eddie ever did.

Agreed!

 

[Moparman390]

I thought it was a surprisingly good article from Forbes. I'd like to think that SBD is trying to do the right thing, bring back jobs and manufacturing to the US. While I realize they may not choose to or be fiscally feasible to bring them as there are issues they have to contend with like emissions, I have to give them some credit.

It's not possible to make every tool appeal to everyone nor is it possible to fill every void. They bought and are trying to save the Cman name. That's more than Eddie ever did.

^What he said^

 

[Moparman390]

Really!?! Who keeps a ******’ air cleaner in their toolbox!?! This is why Craftsman blows goats these days. I hate marketing pukes, who wouldn’t know a metric crescent wrench from a left handed screwdriver, trying to sell this **** to us.

Interesting new workbench that might appeal to some and is worth a review and you're going to write it off because of where the props the marketing team choose to use in the photoshoot are placed?

 

[Tallpilot]

Interesting new workbench that might appeal to some and is worth a review and you're going to write it off because of where the props the marketing team choose to use in the photoshoot are placed?

He may have engaged in some hyperbole but his general observation is correct. It isn’t just SBD or tool companies in general. The artistic people doing photo shoots, etc for marketing can’t ever seem to be bothered to ask someone who would know for a little advice to make things more realistic.

No different from Hollywood movie makers that can’t be bothered to do something as simple as get military uniforms correct. It’s just another form of poor craftsmanship. 5 minuets to do it fast vs 10 minuets to do it right. As I said in another thread if the excuse is that time is money so we have to cut corners that is just a manifestation of greed. Working efficiently is not the same as doing slipshod work.

 

[6PTsocket]

well like i predicted the power tools are basically dewalt clones, i'm hoping the hand tools will be MAC and Proto based as well.

That was the first thing that came to mind. How much different is this stuff from DeWalt? If you market the same stuff under several brand names do you sell more tools? Probably a little if you can hit different markets; DeWalt to the pros, Craftsman to DIYers that SB&D bought the name to attract.

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[6PTsocket]

The auto industry used to or still has a number on % of North American parts in the vehicle. That is a better indicator of how imported it is. Canadian built cars may end up as very much an import if the NAFTA and tarriff situation is not resolved. Canada has very high duties, fees, tarriffs, etc. to keep US goods out. We have never reciprocated but that may soon change if Canada does not rethink it's policies. I became aware of the situation on this forum. Our Canadian members pay horrendous fees and inflated prices for US goods. Some US companies will not take Canadian orders; too much grief.

So, what exactly does this mean:

"Made in the USA with global materials."

Does that mean that all the parts are manufactured in China and shipped here, and are just screwed together here? If so, is that really "Made in the USA"?

Ya never know - my wife's 2017 Subaru Outback was assembled in Lafayette, IN. My 2005 Ford Crown Victoria was assembled in Ontario, Canada. Does that mean that the Subaru was "made in the USA" and the Ford is an import?

I'm so confused......

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[WittHay]

Canada buys more US goods than any other country. There has always been trade deputes like softwood lumber but that has nothing to do with tools.

1 Canadian tool store sells more US tools than HF does nation wide. There are hundreds of brick and mortar Canadian stores that sell US made tools like Estwing, Stanley, Empire and now Craftsman at a reasonable price.

I bought a new Stanley Craftsman SAE wrench set at Ronas for $25 cad, I think Lowes sell it for $20 usd. Same as Snap-on when you consider the exchange rate, prices are cheaper in Canada than US for Snap-on.

Canada is not set up for do it your self tool importers, no free shipping, border delays and other hassles.