US Craftsman re emerges with CM Industrial Catalog

DEMAYO · Apr 26, 2012

Evening all,

It looks as if the US Craftsman line has migrated to the new industrial catalog. It says only available through industrial suppliers, but it's the basic stuff and has "Made in USA" plastered all over the catalog and tool rolls, etc.

vga · Apr 26, 2012

Thats good news. Thats great news as I hapen to like Craftsman with the exception of the RP ratchets and wrenches!!! Does industrial suppliers mean the likes of Grainger, ect, ect as retail outlets??

pipsters · Apr 26, 2012

I'm a huge US Craftsman fan. At the Industrial pricing level, there are other US made options that are better IMO.

powertrip · Apr 26, 2012

How can someone get this catalog

RangerDaleXp · Apr 26, 2012

So I guess that means that If I broke a CM tool, they will not warranty it in store or will not have replacements available either?

Titanium Steel · Apr 26, 2012

If anyone is looking for industrial grade Craftsman items (mostly wrenches and sockets though). Here is the link. http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/wwg/search.shtml?op=search&N=4293888665&in_dim_search=1

These sockets, socket sets, hand ratchets, wrenches, wrench sets are all made in USA though and the starting price is $2.46 for a Socket 1/4 Dr, 12 Pt, 9/32 In, Chrome Grainger Item # 6ECT5 and Mfr. Model # 9-22055.

The ending price is $1,945.00 Grainger Item # 16W235 and Mfr. Model # 9-32781 Tool Set, Mechanics, 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 In, 300 Pc set.

All these tools have a true lifetime warranty though and are made out of industrial grade metal though.

Rogue1987 · Apr 26, 2012

So now is Craftsman Industrial going to one day take the place of Armstrong? Seems they would be competing against themselves with this.

Titanium Steel · Apr 26, 2012

Rougue1987: Personally, I would rather buy any product from Armstrong than Craftsman Industrial as with Armstrong those products are much easier to find and man are they a giant step less expensive as well. Not everything, but there several items that are.

vga · Apr 27, 2012

I found out tday at Grainger that they will warranty Craftsman BUT the defective tool must have been bought there AND you MUST present the Grainger invoice for that tool.

shoturtle · Apr 27, 2012

You will most like not get any of the sears store stuff warranty at grainger The industrial line has industrial stamp on them. None of the sears craftsman or craftsman pro has that stamped.

Think armstrong are for the auto pro guys, the industrial is for job site contractors. And industrial grade is like proto and wright's high end. Big heavy for real abuse.

Titanium Steel · Apr 27, 2012

Vga: Geez, all that work just for warranty work? But I'd see why they would do that, as anyone can say they bought the item there and without a invoice, they would have to let just anyone trade in the tool.

I've only bought hand tools there, but I've never had to do any warranty work. Then again, I am really gentle with my tools, or at least I try to be.

SMKS · Apr 27, 2012

This isn't a new development. Sears relaunched the Craftsman Industrial line about a year ago.
http://www.inddist.com/articles/2011/04/craftsman-launches-industrial-line

You can find the tools on the Sears website, Grainger and probably other places.

I haven't seen any of the tools in person, but they appear to mostly be similar or identical to the outgoing USA-made CM tools. The RP industrial wrenches may be longer than regular RP wrenches, but I've never seen them in person.

BajaBound · Apr 27, 2012

It burns my *** that cman industrial could have really stepped up their game especially in the ratchet line but they seem to be the same plastic selector. I do how ever love my 1/2 drive long handle flex head ratchet as it get's used really hard but why did they ever think the plastic selector?

shoturtle · Apr 27, 2012

You will not find craftsman industrial tools at sears online or the stores. It is only available at grangers.

Titanium Steel · Apr 27, 2012

Shoturtle: Exactly. Used to be you could find them at Amazon, but not so much anymore. I once actually asked a guy at Sears about the industrial line and all I got was a specialty shop from him.

shoturtle · Apr 27, 2012

The industrial stuff is pretty rugged, it is nicer then the grainger westward line. And a bit less expensive then the proto stuff. We have a grainger account at work, and have some of the cmans industrial stuff. It is not sears store rp wrenches. Not sure about the ratchet, as we always buy proto.

But you do not need a receipt to warranty the industrial at the grangers really. Only 1 set of craftsman industrial wrenches are sold else where like amazon. But that is the black coated one. All the silver chrome are a grainger exclusive. The Cman deal made almost the whole brand exclusive to grainger.

1982fxr · Apr 27, 2012

Is it made by apex?

cbracer · Apr 27, 2012

Yes they are made by Apex, which owns Armstrong and Danahar is a part owner of Apex. The industrial line looks and costs very much similar to the normal CM line. There is no difference at least in sockets or ratchets or probably any of it.

DEMAYO · Apr 27, 2012

Yeah, I don't know why they want to compete on this level, but there they are. The catalog is a new addition on the website.

I fear the days of US made CM at half price from Sears are coming to an end.

Solo · Apr 27, 2012

Here's the catalog. http://www.craftsman.com/ue/home/Mechanics_Tool_Sets_ProductGuide_Form_No_10420412_v2.pdf

Solo

beerdog · Apr 27, 2012

I guess a big question would e is how easy will it be to get a replacement.

jeffmoss26 · Apr 27, 2012

Thanks for sharing the catalog!

byoungblood · Apr 27, 2012

vga said:
I found out tday at Grainger that they will warranty Craftsman BUT the defective tool must have been bought there AND you MUST present the Grainger invoice for that tool.

Is that Craftsman's or Grainger's policy? I'm thinking the former because I warrantied a Proto ratchet with Grainger and they had no problems swapping it out for me.

My only guess as why Grainger would put such a policy in place is to keep someone with a bucket full of yard sale or flea market tools from showing up and depleting their inventory swapping them out.

byoungblood · Apr 27, 2012

DEMAYO said:
Yeah, I don't know why they want to compete on this level, but there they are. The catalog is a new addition on the website.

I think the appearance of the all US made industrial line more or less confirms that the normal retail CM is going overseas entirely. They would be giving away a large amount of business in the form of US government contracts by offshoring completely, as it is my understanding that the Feds won't buy imports unless there is no other alternative.

DEMAYO · Apr 27, 2012

byoungblood said:
I think the appearance of the all US made industrial line more or less confirms that the normal retail CM is going overseas entirely. They would be giving away a large amount of business in the form of US government contracts by offshoring completely, as it is my understanding that the Feds won't buy imports unless there is no other alternative.

I agree the store bought line will soon be imported, but why make the same thing domestically and call it industrial without changing the line or innovating? What's to make someone buy this over Armstrong or Proto on the industrial level?

byoungblood · Apr 27, 2012

DEMAYO said:
I agree the store bought line will soon be imported, but why make the same thing domestically and call it industrial without changing the line or innovating? What's to make someone buy this over Armstrong or Proto on the industrial level?

Look no further at who owns them and who makes a large bulk of Craftsman tools for your answer.

At the same time, Proto has been running with a ratchet design that dates back to at least the 1940s, and works quite well. Remember that industrial users don't really need anything fancy, it just needs to get the job done.

vga · Apr 27, 2012

byoungblood said:
Is that Craftsman's or Grainger's policy? I'm thinking the former because I warrantied a Proto ratchet with Grainger and they had no problems swapping it out for me.

My only guess as why Grainger would put such a policy in place is to keep someone with a bucket full of yard sale or flea market tools from showing up and depleting their inventory swapping them out.

This as explained to me as being an internal Grainger policy.

shoturtle · Apr 27, 2012

As long as it is stamped craftsman industrial you will have no problem warranty it. None of the store stuff was ever stamped industrial. So it is senseless to try to bring in a RP wrench and ratchet to graingers. As they are not stamped industrial.

astrodoggie3000 · Apr 27, 2012

Let me guess... the industrial line will be priced much higher? Why didn't they just keep the entire C-man line made in the USA and adjust the price a little higher! This is why everybody is just ditching them, bad corporate decisions.

shoturtle · Apr 27, 2012

The industrial is not the all the same craftsman stuff, the rp wrenches are longer and are made of stronger tool steel. It is not just a little more expensive, it is allot more expensive. Industrial tools take way more then allot of pro lines tools see. I seen people put 4ft cheaters on industrial wrenches for fitting requiring a super amount of torque.

Mekhanic1 · Apr 27, 2012

shoturtle said:
The industrial is not the all the same craftsman stuff, the rp wrenches are longer and are made of stronger tool steel. It is not just a little more expensive, it is allot more expensive. Industrial tools take way more then allot of pro lines tools see. I seen people put 4ft cheaters on industrial wrenches for fitting requiring a super amount of torque.

Whoa there are $$$$$$$

astrodoggie3000 · Apr 28, 2012

Why not sell this line at alot more places than Graingers? Really out of the way for me. Anyone have any prices or pics of any of the tools?

shoturtle · Apr 28, 2012

They sell at graingers as it is where construction goes to get tools for heavy duty work. And most will not pay the cost of the cmans industrial price tag. And there are not to many industrial supply chains out there.

Titanium Steel · Apr 28, 2012

Astro: For a very short period of time, Amazon did carry the occasional Craftsman Industrial tools, but that is very rare to see these days.

Just the other day I found the industrial grade bit holder from the Craftsman Industrial line (I actually one of these these, but I bought this at Grainger.) Here is the link to Amazon, but they have been out for a long time it seems.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002KE5DNI/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Now this was last year, but I only paid $6 dollars for that Grainger though. Here is that link. https://www.google.com/url?q=http:/...pYA&ei=f3SbT4DSEeL6sQer1vmMCw&ved=0CA4QqxIwAA

I've looked for other places to buy this Craftsman Industrial item, but without paying much, much more, Grainger is the only place to get these items for a reasonable price.

I think the finish (not always though!) that is same for some of their other industrial items (sockets/wrenches) so I'll post so pictures just so everyone has a decent enough idea.

This is a simple magnetized bit holder, so if your looking for looking for special features or something really flashy, your likely not going to want this product right away I suppose. I like it because it's simple, but that is just me.

littletoes · Apr 28, 2012

As long as PROTO is available at Grainger, I won't be spending my money on CM. I work in the industrial field, and need my tools to last and take the abuse.

Having a shutdown because of a broken tool is a total waste of energy and time. If its expected, have a backup.

shoturtle · Apr 28, 2012

If you shut down because of a broken tool, you also waste money in manpower standing around.

BajaBound · Apr 28, 2012

That bit holder looks just like my non industrial use made cm bit driver.

shoturtle · Apr 28, 2012

is it the same model number. Never looked at the bit drivers. They are not marked industrial.

Titanium Steel · Apr 28, 2012

BajaBound: I know what you know likely. I am not kidding when I am saying there is little information about this product. When I bought this last year, all I could get out the Grainger people is that this was made by Craftsman Industrial, the price and that this item is 1/4" and made in USA.

I think the person said this is industrial grade, but I could have just heard that. The Mfr. Model is #9-43373 and the Grainger Item is # 6GAX4.

The finish is 247-Chrome and the Overall Length 7-1/4 inches. The drive size is 1/4" as well.

Grainger lists this item as Magnetic Bit Handle, Drive Size (In.) 1/4, Overall Length (In.) 7-1/4, 247-Chrome Finish as the brand name being Craftsman Industrial. The Ship Weight (lbs.) 0.2 and solely going off Grainger's website information Catalog Page No. N/A.

But I did notice this item is This item is restricted for international sale. Other than that, I don't know what more I can provide (information wise) with this item.

MajorWood · Oct 3, 2012

FWIW, I just bought the 300 piece Industrial set (#32781) for $250 at a Sears Outlet store in Portland, OR. They had one left as of a week ago. I'll likely never need a 1-5/16 combo wrench but it is cool to look at and impresses the girls.

US Craftsman re emerges with CM Industrial Catalog

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