I got them about 20 years ago. The company was called the Handyman Club of America and promised "free" tools for you to evaluate and keep. Last I heard, they just disappeared around 2007. I compared these plastic wonders to my old metal Craftsman drill gauge and these are junk. Might make good bookmarks though.
Anyone remember getting these things in the mail?
- Thread starter Stadger
- Start date
rlitman
Well-known member
LOL, yeah, I think I've got one of those around.
Empty Pockets
Well-known member
I have some that were freebies, but in plastic
rlitman
Well-known member
Yep, that's exactly it. Cheap black plastic freebies they'd send you in the mail. IIRC, there was also a custom sheet of return address labels they'd include.
gnpenning
Well-known member
Forgot all about it. I wonder if I have those in a book somewhere. ..
toolmiser
Well-known member
I collected a bunch an hung them on a peg hook. My daughter was working on fractions in math class, so I gave her one so she could visualize the different sizes. (I also am like that.) It was a help to her. I also have her teacher a real cheap set of combination wrenches (English and metric) for the same purpose.
They also make good spaghetti portion size regulators.
They also make good spaghetti portion size regulators.
wolf_from_wv
Well-known member
I have a couple of those... Somewhere, I have 3-4 razor blade knives they sent me.
cdeer001
Well-known member
Jeeze, was it that long ago? I’ve got one or two floating around in the tool totes.
B_Bimmer
Well-known member
Somewhere there are a few dozen of those... Did anyone join, and actually receive a "real" tool to evaluate?
Polski-Chevy
Well-known member
I never joined but use them a lot while drafting out electrical plans.
I was a Charter Member and I've got the sticker to prove it but am having trouble posting pictures. It was a hokey deal. I think I got a snap off utility knife and a set of cheap precision screwdrivers out of the deal. Plus whatever swag I got when I signed up. I dropped it after a couple years. That was along about the time they were swapping your sears credit card for a sears master card. I refused to do it maintaining I didn't want a master card just a sears card. I'd had a sears card since 1974 that was half the size of current credit cards and had no expiration date on it. They continued to except it till it literally fell apart and they wouldn't issue me a new one. That was the beginning of the end for sears and me.
wolf_from_wv
Well-known member
I joined, but only received a new razor blade knife each year. I used it to replace the one I couldn't find from the year before.
PugetDude
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Same for me, I lost all loyalty to Sears when the cancelled my 25 Year old Sears credit card and replaced it with a MasterCard. I cut it up and sent it to their CEO.
I've got at least 8 of those stacked in the shop, mostly white ones along with the foil stickers and notepads. never got a tool to test though...
I do like when the ad companies send me a pen with a made up name I used to use for surveys a long time ago. surprised that old marketing list is still around being used, but the pens are usually pretty nice.
occasionally I open a survey and find a crisp dollar bill before I throw it away.
I do like when the ad companies send me a pen with a made up name I used to use for surveys a long time ago. surprised that old marketing list is still around being used, but the pens are usually pretty nice.
occasionally I open a survey and find a crisp dollar bill before I throw it away.
CJ7VFR
Well-known member
Same thing with me.
I joined the Handyman Club years ago and the only thing I ever got were the plastic drill gauges in black and white plastic. I never received a tool to test.
I actually put the drill gauges with all of the different drills I have in the house and garage, as well as one with my drill press. They are good enough to help determine what size drill I need to make clearance holes for screws and other hardware.
I have also cut them up and used them for plastic spacers when I needed one, and they work great for that. I ended up making my wife sign up for the club so we could get a few more drill gauges just for that reason.
Well that, and so that my wife could have some stickers that said she was a Handyman too....she liked that.
Jim
Dave in Mass
Well-known member
Apparently my late Father in law was part of the club. He did actually have a handyman business as a part time job in the 60s and 70s too. Found a whole stack of them when cleaning up his garage after he passed. I gave a couple to each of my sons, left a few in his garage, and brought about 6 or 7 of them home.
They might be "junk" and might not be machine shop precision but I find myself using them pretty regularly as a quick reference when sizing bolts etc, for projects.
They might be "junk" and might not be machine shop precision but I find myself using them pretty regularly as a quick reference when sizing bolts etc, for projects.
HoosierBuddy
Well-known member
Maybe you guys are right...but I thought Sears replaced the Sears Card with the Discover Card...which Sears dreamed up in the mid-80's.
It was the original "Cash Back" card. They invented the idea and later sold off Discover when they needed cash to help the retail operation.
That's the way I remember it anyway. Back then you could get everything at Sears from a billiard table to homeowners' insurance. I think they even had a travel agent at ours for a while.
PHil
MarlynOC
Well-known member
Joined back in 1990's, received a leather bomber jacket and got a few small tools to try then delivered to front door was a 2000 watt Generac Generator. Free. Tried it and liked it for that price. Used it for a few overnight offshore fishing trips. Would not power up the AC unit on the Bertram but did well with the small microwave and the overhead lights.
JazzBlueRT
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2017
- Messages
- 1,215
When I first got my Sears MC, they were just phasing out the store cards. That was maybe 10-15 years ago. I had no interest in the store card because those are for people with bad credit.
IIRC, Sears sold off Discover to Dean Winter.
txvwnut
Well-known member
I joined, got the jacket and few of those hole size guides, tested a few tools until they said they sent one and didn’t and got pissy with me but put me back in the program. Did a few more test and tries until they started trying to charge me for the tools they were sending for the free tryouts.
HoosierBuddy
Well-known member
You are correct. I mis-remembered all that.
I asked my wife after posting and she remembers it exactly like you do.
Phil
I got one of those drill gauges... That was the biggest scam for your $$$... I don't remember receiving any tools to evaluate ever.
Basically, you pay the dues, the majority of the people gets these plastic gauges for pennies. and they kept about 90% of your membership fees. To satisfy the club rules, they'll send some cheaper than dirt rebrand tools to some people to evaluate and keep, while they'll make out about 80% of your club fees. It's the pyramid scheme but this one has some other names to it.....
Basically, you pay the dues, the majority of the people gets these plastic gauges for pennies. and they kept about 90% of your membership fees. To satisfy the club rules, they'll send some cheaper than dirt rebrand tools to some people to evaluate and keep, while they'll make out about 80% of your club fees. It's the pyramid scheme but this one has some other names to it.....
Last edited:
VTX1800
Member
I've got one laying by the drill press and one in the roll around cart next to the car I am fabbing patch panels for, it is much easier to use even a somewhat inexact tool to determine drill bit size than none, my 73 year old eyes and ineptitude on identifying drill bits make those cheap little "Tools" really helpful
ChevyEFI
Well-known member
I have a plastic one in my steel Milwaukee drill box.