A different kind of Sears/Craftsman thread

[MikeF2316]

I was going through a pile of magazines that had been hanging around and getting taller over the years, and found this:

A (Canadian) Craftsman tool catalog from 2001!
Researching toolboxes to get more space was why I joined GJ, if they would have had items 16 & 17 back then, I wouldn't have needed to join. Look at all the thin drawers!! Note a few of them have ball bearing slides!

And the midnight blue. That didn't really catch on.

I'm not going to scan the whole thing, but if anybody wants to see anything specific, let me know and I'll post it up.

 

[ARFLY]

That is awesome. Those are some nice looking tool boxes.

 

[Richard Cranium]

Thank you for a not ******* on Sears thread.

 

[jd_1138]

I had that exact 2001 Craftsman catalog. I had just gotten married and moved into our house that year, and I bought a lot of their tools. Happy memories.

 

[Bryanthegreat]

Used to like flipping through those catalogs. I’m sure someone will show up and piss on Sears

 

[James-W]

I have seen some of the really old Sears tool boxes. They were very well put together. I have no idea what one of those old boxes would be worth if it were in excellent condition.

 

[dwasifar]

I'd have bought the blue.

 

[LXCam]

I have seen some of the really old Sears tool boxes. They were very well put together. I have no idea what one of those old boxes would be worth if it were in excellent condition.

Oohhhhh about this much

 

[ssdave]

I have seen some of the really old Sears tool boxes. They were very well put together. I have no idea what one of those old boxes would be worth if it were in excellent condition.

I sold a set similar to 14/15 this week for $90. Good condition, all drawers worked fine, just old and dirty.

 

[lilcraigford]

Cool find! I love to flipping through things like that. Its fun to check out products of yesteryear. About the closest I've got is a PDF of the 2003 Craftsman catalog, courtesy of BT Industrial. For anyone interested, that catalog can still be downloaded here: BT Industrial - Craftsman 2003 Catalog

As an aside, I've always thought that those blue boxes were sharp.

 

[Sco Deac]

Hang on to that. I was looking at a 1990s era catalog I found online. Looking at these and you can understand how the race to offer inexpensive tools squeezed Craftsman. Those 2001 prices might be considered “high” by some today. Adjust for seventeen years inflation on many of the items and you approach today’s SK or Wright prices. Tough market to be in.

Out of curiosity, what was the price of a basic screwdriver set and wrench set in 2001?

 

[DFB]

I have the standard 12 drawer top in red similar to #12 in the attached picture and my 41" top unit has a slightly different configuration. I opted for less but deeper drawers on that because the heights on those Craftsman 2" deep drawers don't allow storage for much else except for single layer of wrenches or screwdrivers

Sears Tool catalogs were the best

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I'd have bought the blue.

I did. Can't say more.

 

[PJNJ]

I bought the 26 inch blue set with extra middle drawer set. Still have it sitting in a family members garage. Still like the color but outgrew it.

 

[DEMAYO]

I really like the drawer configuration on those red/black units on the second page. It seems like all of the recent Craftsman boxes (Waterloo?) have fewer, deeper drawers that make the overall boxes less useful.

Even the newer ones previewed (USA Waterloo?) to arrive at Lowe's over the year suffer from the same problem. I'm hoping for a better mix of drawer depths in the future.

 

[yaidunno]

I had the #3 and 4 setup in blue as my first box. Nice setup if you didn't need loads of room. Dad has it now.

 

[mowkep]

Lol. I have the 2005/06 through 2011 and the 2013/14 craftsman tool catalogs.

 

[BMack37]

I've seen several of those boxes with the odd sized top middle drawer, I can't believe they cost that much back then. They are not nice compared to modern slides(not that Craftsman was alone in this regard), the build quality is decent.

The drawers are also super shallow. Tool boxes look mostly similar to the ones that were around 20+ years ago but smooth, ball bearing slides, deeper and wider drawers and the recent change in the top to eliminate the lip...all make newer boxes nicer. The bearing slides on these were like half the size of the slides on on big box stores' boxes now. Also a lot of these boxes were friction slides. Though it's definitely nice to tap lightly on the side and not have it dent or flex a half inch.

 

[MikeF2316]

Hang on to that. I was looking at a 1990s era catalog I found online. Looking at these and you can understand how the race to offer inexpensive tools squeezed Craftsman. Those 2001 prices might be considered “high” by some today. Adjust for seventeen years inflation on many of the items and you approach today’s SK or Wright prices. Tough market to be in.

Out of curiosity, what was the price of a basic screwdriver set and wrench set in 2001?

Yup, I'm not getting rid of it. I grabbed the screwdriver and wrench set page for you, and as a bonus, the socket page too!

 

[Sco Deac]

Yup, I'm not getting rid of it. I grabbed the screwdriver and wrench set page for you, and as a bonus, the socket page too!

Thanks. It dawned on me after posting this morning, that these prices may not be as high as they appear, undermining my observation. I wasn't considering that these prices are probably in Canadian dollars. In Jan. 2001, the exchange rate of Canadian dollar to USD was about 1.5 Can to 1 US. Inflation calculators say that 2018 prices are 40.6% higher than 2001 prices. So to illustrate an example let's look at chest 17 on page 4.

2001 catalog cost: $649.99 Canadian.
equivalent to approximately $433 USD in 2001.
equivalent to approximately $609.29 in 2018 USD.

For the 17 piece SAE wrench set (item 1/page 20).
2001 catalog cost: $179.99 Canadian.
equivalent to approximately $120 USD in 2001.
equivalent to approximately $168.71 in 2018 USD.
A similar 18 piece set today is $58. http://www.sears.com/craftsman-18-p...lerId=Sears&prdNo=28&blockNo=28&blockType=G28

 

[DFB]

I think you guys are looking my tool drawers

Most of what I have over 4 decades has come from that book.

I cant recall the price on Flare nut line wrenches I ever paid but wow $29.99 for 3 does seem steep

Good or bad Craftsman USA was always there for many of us for years...long before any of today's currently perceived values on decent quality Taiwan imports.

 

[JazzBlueRT]

Thanks. It dawned on me after posting this morning, that these prices may not be as high as they appear, undermining my observation. I wasn't considering that these prices are probably in Canadian dollars. In Jan. 2001, the exchange rate of Canadian dollar to USD was about 1.5 Can to 1 US. Inflation calculators say that 2018 prices are 40.6% higher than 2001 prices. So to illustrate an example let's look at chest 17 on page 4.

2001 catalog cost: $649.99 Canadian.
equivalent to approximately $433 USD in 2001.
equivalent to approximately $609.29 in 2018 USD.

For the 17 piece SAE wrench set (item 1/page 20).
2001 catalog cost: $179.99 Canadian.
equivalent to approximately $120 USD in 2001.
equivalent to approximately $168.71 in 2018 USD.
A similar 18 piece set today is $58. http://www.sears.com/craftsman-18-p...lerId=Sears&prdNo=28&blockNo=28&blockType=G28

Something is not right

I bought this 26 wrench set

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-26-pc-standard-12-pt-combination-wrench/p-00946935000P?rrec=true

back in 2005-6 for $49 on sale, I was too cheap to pick up the metric version at the time (which in hindsight was stupid).

Is the the Craftsman professional catalog?

 

[KnurledNut]

Lol. I have the 2005/06 through 2011 and the 2013/14 craftsman tool catalogs.

Cool.
I have the 2012 Store Use Only catalog.

 

[Motorman55]

The Craftsman blue paint color was nice. Seen them back then but already had enough boxes myself.

 

[patchap]

Were Canadian Craftsman sockets and wrenchs all Stanley at that point? All mine are from 2005ish,all Stanley probably China. Holding up fine

 

[340wedge]

Try this link, you can find many years of Sears catalogs and scroll on through them.
http://www.wishbookweb.com/

 

[WittHay]

Were Canadian Craftsman sockets and wrenchs all Stanley at that point? All mine are from 2005ish,all Stanley probably China. Holding up fine

The Canadian Craftsman was made in Taiwan in the 90's already. The Stanley made EE sockets and wrenches were actually good quality. My father bought a set for the farm and still use a lot of them to this day.

The later ST series was not as good in the wrenches, they seemed to rust and chip faster. My guess is that the ST series was made in China by various manufacturers

The srewdrivers and nut drivers were made in Canada by Fuller Tools

The Craftsman boxes in Canada were made mainly by SPG International in Quebec and had a little maple leaf on the sticker in the upper right drawer. The drawer configurations were different than the US built Waterloos

 

[patchap]

The Canadian Craftsman was made in Taiwan in the 90's already. The Stanley made EE sockets and wrenches were actually good quality. My father bought a set for the farm and still use a lot of them to this day.

The later ST series was not as good in the wrenches, they seemed to rust and chip faster. My guess is that the ST series was made in China by various manufacturers

The srewdrivers and nut drivers were made in Canada by Fuller Tools

The Craftsman boxes in Canada were made mainly by SPG International in Quebec and had a little maple leaf on the sticker in the upper right drawer. The drawer configurations were different than the US built Waterloos

Oh, I assumed all the ST was Chinese Stanley production.
Interesting. The sockets I have are well used and holding up fine. Split a couple working on trucks years ago, but really just a couple and definitly not a manufacturer issue. More likely the 6' pipe issue was the reason they split.
I never used the wrenchs much, since I bought a mastercrap pro kit that has been perfect. Get way more than you pay for with those.

 

[MikeF2316]

The Canadian Craftsman was made in Taiwan in the 90's already. The Stanley made EE sockets and wrenches were actually good quality. My father bought a set for the farm and still use a lot of them to this day.

The later ST series was not as good in the wrenches, they seemed to rust and chip faster. My guess is that the ST series was made in China by various manufacturers

The srewdrivers and nut drivers were made in Canada by Fuller Tools

The Craftsman boxes in Canada were made mainly by SPG International in Quebec and had a little maple leaf on the sticker in the upper right drawer. The drawer configurations were different than the US built Waterloos

Earlier, back when I bought (or was given for birthday presents ) my 2 rollers and 2 top boxes, the toolboxes (at least mine were) made by Beach, out of Smith Falls. You can see these pictures above have the toolbox handle with 2 bolts per side below the handle holding them on, that's a sign of SPG. Beach boxes had a handle with one bolt through and a plastic spacer on each side.

And around this time, my ⅞" wrench grew legs and disappeared. I didn't notice until I got it home, but my new one didn't quite match all my others.

 

[lakeroadster]

Sears... used to be so cool... and not just due to Craftsman either:

 

[Farmall450]

Wow, impact sockets weren't any cheaper back then!