I've got that same craftsman piece of ****. I too fell for the $25 trick. After using it, I thought it was defective, so I exchanged it for another with the same disappointing results.
When your wood handle breaks and sends the head through the windshield of the backhoe, your going to lose alot more than $1000. Point is, wilton is so confident in their product, they are willing to bet you roughly 20:1 odds that you CAN'T break it.