Craftsman 1/4 Drive Ratchet Set Horrible

peteco · Sep 14, 2015

I needed a set of 1/4 drive SAE 6 point short sockets. I am a light duty DIY guy and have mainly Craftsman tools that I started buying in 1975. Never had any problems. I had not needed or bought any Craftsman sockets in about 10 years. I knew that much Craftsman production had gone to China but figured something this simple should be OK.

I bought a set with 10 sockets, a ratchet and a short extension for about $9 on sale. The fit of the sockets to the extension or the ratchet is terrible. The socket wobbles around and back and forth. The reason for the poor fit: 1. there is a slot instead of a shallow divot inside the square female end of the socket and extension, so the socket and extension slide back and forth. 2. The drive square head is smaller on the new ratchet. 3. the extension does not have a hole in the square female end for the ratchet ball to seat in. All these differences add up to make a wobbly mess.

Picked up a set of Kobalt sockets on sale at Lowes for $5. These are similar to the older Craftsman and fit well. So I'm done with Craftsman, at least the China junk. I have a stockpile of older Craftsman I have been buying over the years to give my children. Now I will be looking for older used USA Craftsman or Kobalt tools on sale to give my grandchildren.

B17E1943 · Sep 14, 2015

And you expected better, because? :evil:

Fedwrench · Sep 14, 2015

I think it might be hit or miss with the new Craftsman stuff as far fit, finish, & feel goes. Unfortunately Craftsman has the age old problem, still selling stuff for pennies on the piece. You got a 12 piece set for less than a dollar a piece. What can you expect for that much of an investment. :dunno:

You do realize that the Kobalt socket set is either PRC or Taiwan made don't you? The drawback to the Kobalt set is that the sizes aren't stamped into the sockets. Kobalt relies on laser etching only which fades with use, exposure to chemicals, and age. Hopefully, your grandchildren are teenagers at least. :lol:

Pay a lot more and get better tools from Proto or SK. Pay a little more and get great tools from Gearwrench, Tekton, or Carlyle. :beer:

BMack37 · Sep 14, 2015

Man, I wish I had stocked up on Kobalt tools back in high school. I still have my 69-piece 3/8" set, it was made by Williams and is the best damn ratchet set I've ever used. I had a friend that worked there and you don't even want to know how little it would have cost me to have added the 1/4" and 1/2" sets. Damned hindsight.

peteco · Sep 14, 2015

B17E1943 said:
And you expected better, because?

I just couldn't believe the quality had stooped so low until I saw it for myself, though it had been mentioned here many times.

peteco · Sep 14, 2015

Fedwrench said:
You do realize that the Kobalt socket set is either PRC or Taiwan made don't you?

The Cobalt set is from Taiwan. I would not have bought if it was China.

reivertom · Sep 14, 2015

I can't say the new ones are worse by my experience.. I bought a set in the early '80s and the 1/4" ratchet was defective. I took it back and they just threw me a "rebuild kit" and said there you go. It never has worked very well and tends to jump out of gear in a bind. In the 60s and 70s they would rebuild it for you while you waited and if it wasn't right they would hand you a new one no matter how old it was. I shouldn't have had to rebuild a brand new ratchet in the first place. So my point is there was defective stuff 30 years ago , too. I hate commie China **** also....don't get me wrong. It is sad when "made in Taiwan" is a good thing.

1950mercury · Sep 14, 2015

Kobalt is all going to China too. So I'd skip then as well.....

lightning02 · Sep 14, 2015

new cman stuff is junk no matter if its USA or china made nowadays.... unless its something made by a diff company and they just put there name on it like pry bars and such.

i both some (Taiwan) kobalt sockets about a year ago at lowes and it had the sizes stamped on the sockets if im not mistaken. ill have to look tomm but i swear its stamped and not etched. maybe they changed.

shoggoth80 · Sep 14, 2015

I've got a 1/4" set. The sockets are pretty nice in it for COO. The ratchet doesn't stand up to the older stuff. It works for light duty, but it's nothing to rave about. My 3/8" set had a poorly stamped out 1/2" socket in it. The rest were fine. I rarely use SAE, so didn't sweat it.

lightning02 · Sep 14, 2015

reivertom said:
I can't say the new ones are worse by my experience.. I bought a set in the early '80s and the 1/4" ratchet was defective. I took it back and they just threw me a "rebuild kit" and said there you go. It never has worked very well and tends to jump out of gear in a bind. In the 60s and 70s they would rebuild it for you while you waited and if it wasn't right they would hand you a new one no matter how old it was. I shouldn't have had to rebuild a brand new ratchet in the first place. So my point is there was defective stuff 30 years ago , too. I hate commie China **** also....don't get me wrong. It is sad when "made in Taiwan" is a good thing.

when i used to use only cman tools and broke a ratchet they always rebuilt mine. i was never handed a kit. 99% of the time it was always the 1/4 drive ratchet for some reason.

1950mercury · Sep 15, 2015

lightning02 said:
new cman stuff is junk no matter if its USA or china made nowadays.... unless its something made by a diff company and they just put there name on it like pry bars and such.

i both some (Taiwan) kobalt sockets about a year ago at lowes and it had the sizes stamped on the sockets if im not mistaken. ill have to look tomm but i swear its stamped and not etched. maybe they changed.

Craftsman doesn't make anything.. They just put there name on everything they sell.

softailgarage · Sep 15, 2015

When it comes to Craftsman, I use or buy only vintage -v- =v=

mrvm · Sep 15, 2015

peteco said:
I bought a set with 10 sockets, a ratchet and a short extension for about $9 on sale. The fit of the sockets to the extension or the ratchet is terrible. The socket wobbles around and back and forth

RP CM has never had good reviews so at that $9 price point plus sockets, imported or not, one has to reach a bit higher to get better ones. Move up to the premium or thin-profile CM NOS

AmateurMechanic · Sep 15, 2015

reivertom said:
It is sad when "made in Taiwan" is a good thing.

Why? Many people have the misconception that Taiwan is the same as China. That's not the case at all. Taiwan has been a US ally for a long time and has a per capita GDP that's higher than Canada, Japan, or the UK. Why would it be a surprise that they're capable of making high quality tools?

Don't get me wrong, I too prefer USA-made tools, but the Taiwan-made sockets I have are comparable in quality and finish to the USA-made Craftsman ones I own.

In my mind, "Made in Taiwan" isn't really worse than made in _____ (insert the name of any highly developed first world country here)

reivertom · Sep 15, 2015

AmateurMechanic said:
Why? Many people have the misconception that Taiwan is the same as China. That's not the case at all. Taiwan has been a US ally for a long time and has a per capita GDP that's higher than Canada, Japan, or the UK. Why would it be a surprise that they're capable of making high quality tools?

Don't get me wrong, I too prefer USA-made tools, but the Taiwan-made sockets I have are comparable in quality and finish to the USA-made Craftsman ones I own.

In my mind, "Made in Taiwan" isn't really worse than made in _____ (insert the name of any highly developed first world country here)

Because "made in America" is going the way of the dinosaur. In the 1970's "made in Taiwan" meant cheap ****, now that cheap **** is better than what is offered these days.

bobdell · Sep 15, 2015

reivertom said:
Because "made in America" is going the way of the dinosaur. In the 1970's "made in Taiwan" meant cheap ****, now that cheap **** is better than what is offered these days.

Before that "made in Japan" was ****.

Times change.

Is "made in USA" approaching ****?

finn · Sep 15, 2015

reivertom said:
Because "made in America" is going the way of the dinosaur. In the 1970's "made in Taiwan" meant cheap ****, now that cheap **** is better than what is offered these days.

And before that "Made in Japan" meant cheap ****.

I expect China will evolve in the same manner. Look at their electronics now. Nobody looks down at an iPhone because it is made in China.

Zeroek · Sep 15, 2015

I can live with the USA made Craftsman sockets. I have Multiple sets at home but the sockets I use most at home are my gearwrench sockets. If I paid $9 for a 1/4" socket ratchet set from craftsman it would probably just sit in my car for an emergency set.

Ike4160 · Sep 15, 2015

I work with a guy who has been a millwright for 30 years and is a ********* mechanic. I see him with his tools scattered all over and they are all older Craftsman.

I asked him if he ever broke a Craftsman socket and he said no. I asked him why he never changed or upgraded his stuff over the years and he just smiled and said his stuff gets the job done.

The funny thing is where I work, the company will buy him what ever he wants and he just keeps the Craftsman stuff.

Sam'sAutoParts · Sep 15, 2015

I'm getting an odd feeling of Déjà vu reading this thread.

FWIW is still enjoy using the remaining craftsman USA sockets I have. I have not used a RP ratchet in ages. Although before I lubricated my Dad's SK ratchet I used them all the time for years, and just accepted the fact that they had to be repaired every six months.

ravenzfusion · Sep 15, 2015

My craftsman sockets and wrenches are fine. Refuse to use the RP ratchets. My 1/4 " broke twice, I didn't even take it back to sears this time, I just threw it away. Many better ratchets out there that are much better

peteco · Sep 15, 2015

I have never had a RP Craftsman ratchet fail or slip since I got my first set in 1975. If something is very tight I will use a breaker bar, but I have pushed the ratchets hard at times. I also have a few high quality SK and Mac ratchets and yes, they are better. But the RP have worked for me.

Lowes has some of their Kobalt tools on sale for 50% or more off. Most are made in Taiwan, so maybe they are clearing them out for China made.

Loscaldazar · Sep 15, 2015

bobdell said:
Before that "made in Japan" was ****.

Times change.

Is "made in USA" approaching ****?

If you go back far enough, the US was the world's producer of cheap **** for a while too. That was a LONG time ago, but we had are turn as the China of the world too.

ATK305 · Sep 15, 2015

I still use my US Craftsman RP ratchets and they work OK. I finally broke a 1/2" ratchet several years ago. It was the first one I had broken, ever and that thing was purchased in '89. It was replaced without question at Sears. However, I noticed that the replacement, although a US made piece was not as nice. Finish quality wasn't as good. It was obvious Craftsman started cutting corners years ago. This year I had also purchased some US made Craftsman 3/8" deep sockets sets (SAE. & Metric ) that I needed to co!mplete my tool box. The chrome, and finish quality of those is iffy as well. The Gearwrench (Taiwan) stuff they had looked better but I want to buy US made stuff. I will still look for US made Craftsman and buy what I need if its a US made tool but I have moved on. I will buy Gearwrench now before Craftsman.

It's a shame. My dad swore by Craftsman back in the day. He always told me " you can't buy US made tools at this quality and price, with aa lifetime warranty anywhere"
He used mostly Proto and SK at work but he had a toolbox full of Craftsman at home. My brother has the majority of those tools now.

peteco · Sep 15, 2015

Loscaldazar said:
If you go back far enough, the US was the world's producer of cheap **** for a while too. That was a LONG time ago, but we had are turn as the China of the world too.

But what was the general quality of the US products? back in those days?

90zcar · Sep 15, 2015

finn said:
And before that "Made in Japan" meant cheap ****.

I expect China will evolve in the same manner. Look at their electronics now. Nobody looks down at an iPhone because it is made in China.

Yes exactly.....an iPhone is one of the most advanced inventions in history and it's made in China sadly

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

M6erfan · Sep 15, 2015

Sorry if this sound harsh but $9 for sockets, ratchet & ext. I'm not sure i would expect more, from any manufacturer...

softailgarage · Sep 15, 2015

Loscaldazar said:
If you go back far enough, the US was the world's producer of cheap **** for a while too. That was a LONG time ago, but we had are turn as the China of the world too.

Oh really? And when exactly was this? I've been on this planet for 54 years and don't remember anything like that until recently :headscrat

M6erfan said:
Sorry if this sound harsh but $9 for sockets, ratchet & ext. I'm not sure i would expect more, from any manufacturer...

Exactly....I don't think I would trust a $9.00 socket much less a set.

BDT/NWMN · Sep 15, 2015

Being it is 2015, if you are looking for a new 1/4" drive socket set

and your decision is between Craftsman and Kobalt

I would rate that choice equal to deciding between **** and a turd..

Three years ago, I bought a pile of the **** to fill in some extra tool sets...

I feel that I pissed money away on a pile of ****..

ProTo, Sk, and SnapOn have always dominated my 1/4" drive stuff.

Ya, I should have known better

peteco · Sep 15, 2015

M6erfan said:
Sorry if this sound harsh but $9 for sockets, ratchet & ext. I'm not sure i would expect more, from any manufacturer...

I guess I'm still living in a time warp. I have several sets of 1/4 drive craftsman deep sockets in a nice little plastic box. Has ratchet, a 3" extension and 10 sockets. I use them all the time. Got them 15 years ago during their Christmas sale for $10. I realized I needed a short set. So here it was for about the same price. What was I thinking. That $10 15 years ago is equivalent to $20-30 today. So yes, I shouldn't have been thinking I would get the same thing for the same dollar amount.

BDT/NWMN · Sep 15, 2015

Zeroek said:
I can live with the USA made Craftsman sockets. I have Multiple sets at home but the sockets I use most at home are my gearwrench sockets. If I paid $9 for a 1/4" socket ratchet set from craftsman it would probably just sit in my car for an emergency set.

food for thought:

That is the last place I want crappy tools, I want good tools that can be depended on in that vehicle box... The selection will be limited compared to the shop box, and I have cussed myself out more than once while working out of a vehicle box with crappy tools ,,,while Miles from the shop,,,,,,,,,,, while picturing my good stuff sitting in the shop...

Thursday evening, I bought a bunch of used USA SK, ProTo, Industrio, Williams. and vintage Craftsman hand tools.. A good share of this will end up in spare tool sets and vehicle boxes. Part of a never ending continuous upgrade

M6erfan · Sep 15, 2015

Yep, my Craftsman stuff is 15-20 years old also, I like it a lot, its all USA. Unfortunately since that time a lot has been outsourced to overseas and there have been quite a few quality complaints. I guess they ain't what they used to be, unfortunately.

I wish quality tools were priced like they were 15 years ago...

Sad as it is, in 2015 dollar terms, you got what you paid for.

hangfirew8 · Sep 15, 2015

We need a Sears Craftsman Disillusionment sub-forum under The Tools.

Every time someone comes here discovering the Craftsman tools have gone to ****, move that thread to that sub-forum. There, everyone who cares can pile-on, where have you been, they used to be good, my Dad had them, blah blah blah, and the rest of us can move on with life in the General Tool Discussion.

zakmartin · Sep 15, 2015

OP: I've made poos that cost more than $9. For you to expect anything beyond junk for that amount is just plain silly.

1950mercury · Sep 15, 2015

hangfirew8 said:
We need a Sears Craftsman Disillusionment sub-forum under The Tools.

Every time someone comes here discovering the Craftsman tools have gone to ****, move that thread to that sub-forum. There, everyone who cares can pile-on, where have you been, they used to be good, my Dad had them, blah blah blah, and the rest of us can move on with life in the General Tool Discussion.

Agreed

peteco · Sep 15, 2015

Quote:
Originally Posted by hangfirew8 View Post
We need a Sears Craftsman Disillusionment sub-forum under The Tools.

As the OP, that makes a lot of sense. No sense clogging up with Sears/Craftsman rants, and I am the guilty party here. :sad:

finn · Sep 15, 2015

12 piece tool set for $9.00.

That's $.75 per tool.

I'm sure Sears offers higher priced tools that will meet your expectations.

Sort of like complaining that the Whopper you bought at Burger King doesn't tast as good as the filet at Morton's.

Bagherra · Sep 15, 2015

Taiwan = China

--- · Sep 15, 2015

I mostly buy Taiwan made now, Dewalt, Tekton, Gearwrench, etc...
Unfortunalely I don't buy much Craftsman stuff anymore. I think the last items I bough where a USA made 17 peace screwdriver set (not that great, should have passed), and a USA made 4 pliers set (I like them better than Channellocks). Before that it was a 70 some peace mechanics tool set like 5 or 6 years ago. Recently replaced it with Tekton wrench and socket sets and I like the Tekton better.

Craftsman 1/4 Drive Ratchet Set Horrible

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