WilliamT081423
Member
Hey everyone,
This is my second post on here. I've been lurking a bit, reading older posts, most of them dealing with US-made tools, Craftsman, and US-made Craftsman. It's almost like I just now learned about all of the V, VV, inverted G, EE, and all that fun stuff. And it really is kind of fun. Sears really created a marketing juggernaut when they developed the CM tools. It's like you now have at least three generations where grandad, dad, son, and further on all used CM tools. It's hard not to equate the CM name to tools in general. They were never meant to be pro-grade, but more than a few people used them that way over the years. You had to walk through the tool department at Sears whenever you went there. They had stuff to solve problems you didn't even know you had til you saw the tool. Seeing that store at the mall close was almost like losing a relative. 25 years ago, almost no one would have believed you if you said that would happen.
Anyhow, back around the time I turned 15 or 16, Dad gave me a 3/8" CM mechanic's set in a black zip-up pouch with elastic loops inside. This was late 80's/early 90's, so it's a US-made EE set. Came with an assortment of sockets, a 1/4" drive screwdriver handle, 3/8" ratchet and extender bar. Probably 50-some odd pieces in all. With that and the cordless drill set he gave me a few years later, I felt like I could take on anything. If I never told him that, I probably should. Unfortunately, several of the sockets and the 3/8" drive got away over the years. I remember that disheartening sound of a socket clattering around in the engine compartment, only to not hit the ground. If I could pick the car up and flip it upside down... Hope that a bump in the driveway might dislodge the missing piece... I've tracked down some of the missing sockets on eBay recently, all EE series. Some people think it's nuts to "need" a matched set of sockets, and are further more disparaging to the EE series whether it's US-made or not, but it's a sentimental thing. Those sockets served me well. I'm still trying to find the missing pieces with a metal detector, but that's a whole 'nother story. I also inherited a small set of CM inverted-G sockets that came in a black plastic blowmolded case with a V-stamped 3/8" drive, two dual-size open ended wrenches stamped VV, and a bunch of those annoying screwdriver bits that seem determined to escape from the set ASAP. A couple of those sockets have gotten away, but replacements seem easy to find. The set seems like decent quality.
My SO gave me a 150-piece Chinese CM tool set for Christmas a couple of years ago. Pretty sure she meant well and I do appreciate that kind of thing. The screwdrivers appear that their tips will wear faster than they should, and the needle-nose pliers aren't the best I've used, but the sockets and ratchets all seem "good enough." Doubt I'll ever push them to the limits or anything. She's also given me a nice Kimball-Midwest set that bears the brunt of most of my car projects these days.
I'm also thinking about saving up to get some of the stuff that S-K's making in the US these days. From some of your other threads, I've learned alot about who's making what, and that made in Taiwan doesn't automatically mean cheap and shoddy. But the look of those S-K's is hard to ignore...
Anyhow, if anyone has any stories similar to mine, I would appreciate hearing them.
This is my second post on here. I've been lurking a bit, reading older posts, most of them dealing with US-made tools, Craftsman, and US-made Craftsman. It's almost like I just now learned about all of the V, VV, inverted G, EE, and all that fun stuff. And it really is kind of fun. Sears really created a marketing juggernaut when they developed the CM tools. It's like you now have at least three generations where grandad, dad, son, and further on all used CM tools. It's hard not to equate the CM name to tools in general. They were never meant to be pro-grade, but more than a few people used them that way over the years. You had to walk through the tool department at Sears whenever you went there. They had stuff to solve problems you didn't even know you had til you saw the tool. Seeing that store at the mall close was almost like losing a relative. 25 years ago, almost no one would have believed you if you said that would happen.
Anyhow, back around the time I turned 15 or 16, Dad gave me a 3/8" CM mechanic's set in a black zip-up pouch with elastic loops inside. This was late 80's/early 90's, so it's a US-made EE set. Came with an assortment of sockets, a 1/4" drive screwdriver handle, 3/8" ratchet and extender bar. Probably 50-some odd pieces in all. With that and the cordless drill set he gave me a few years later, I felt like I could take on anything. If I never told him that, I probably should. Unfortunately, several of the sockets and the 3/8" drive got away over the years. I remember that disheartening sound of a socket clattering around in the engine compartment, only to not hit the ground. If I could pick the car up and flip it upside down... Hope that a bump in the driveway might dislodge the missing piece... I've tracked down some of the missing sockets on eBay recently, all EE series. Some people think it's nuts to "need" a matched set of sockets, and are further more disparaging to the EE series whether it's US-made or not, but it's a sentimental thing. Those sockets served me well. I'm still trying to find the missing pieces with a metal detector, but that's a whole 'nother story. I also inherited a small set of CM inverted-G sockets that came in a black plastic blowmolded case with a V-stamped 3/8" drive, two dual-size open ended wrenches stamped VV, and a bunch of those annoying screwdriver bits that seem determined to escape from the set ASAP. A couple of those sockets have gotten away, but replacements seem easy to find. The set seems like decent quality.
My SO gave me a 150-piece Chinese CM tool set for Christmas a couple of years ago. Pretty sure she meant well and I do appreciate that kind of thing. The screwdrivers appear that their tips will wear faster than they should, and the needle-nose pliers aren't the best I've used, but the sockets and ratchets all seem "good enough." Doubt I'll ever push them to the limits or anything. She's also given me a nice Kimball-Midwest set that bears the brunt of most of my car projects these days.
I'm also thinking about saving up to get some of the stuff that S-K's making in the US these days. From some of your other threads, I've learned alot about who's making what, and that made in Taiwan doesn't automatically mean cheap and shoddy. But the look of those S-K's is hard to ignore...
Anyhow, if anyone has any stories similar to mine, I would appreciate hearing them.