Comments on Future Craftsman

[TwoInch]

yes they do, i own them but of course they offer other wrenches that don't have them. craftsman does't just get Chinese tools, they also buy Taiwanese tools. We have a large treads on here that chronicles the interchangeability between some CF, GW and other ratchets. Also Gearwrench also makes Chinese sockets, some people have also complained about it on here. Who makes Sears craftman and gearwrench? Apex a company that does a lot of platform sharing with other brands.

Apex owns many brands. And manufactures tools in different countries and locations. The fact that apex makes both means nothing.

APEX was still supplying menards with USA made sockets and wrenches up until just a couple months ago.. Obviously not the same. The fact GW and CM are both APEX and both Asian is not evidence they are the same...

Chinese gearwrench sockets are not the same as craftsman sockets. The wrenches are clearly not the same wrenches. What ratchets are the same? USA CM apex ratchets were very similar to the China and Taiwan CM ratchets.... Not the same obviously.

Are there a couple crossovers... Probably.

But your claim that the Gearwrench line is the same as the craftsman line or vice versa is just wrong.

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[TwoInch]

and only a portion of craftsman is made by Apex for Sears...

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[TwoInch]

. We have a large treads on here that chronicles the interchangeability between some CF, GW and other ratchets. .

I've been on here for quite a while. Since CM was still USA...

I probably partook in some of those threads you speak of..



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[Andres26tnt]

Apex owns many brands. And manufactures tools in different countries and locations. The fact that apex makes both means nothing.

APEX was still supplying menards with USA made sockets and wrenches up until just a couple months ago.. Obviously not the same. The fact GW and CM are both APEX and both Asian is not evidence they are the same...

Chinese gearwrench sockets are not the same as craftsman sockets. The wrenches are clearly not the same wrenches. What ratchets are the same? USA CM apex ratchets were very similar to the China and Taiwan CM ratchets.... Not the same obviously.

Are there a couple crossovers... Probably.

But your claim that the Gearwrench line is the same as the craftsman line or vice versa is just wrong.

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here you go, its called platform sharing something that the Car industry uses intensely. the major components or design are the same but the "look" of the tool changes. Sometimes they don't change anything other then branding, which is why you see other brands with the same tool. Alot of what GW offers, CF has an equivalent, i own several of them.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=187396

 

[WittHay]

SBD has already said they will warranty older Craftsman...

And how the hell did you come up with danaher craftsman tools should be warrantied with gearwrench replacements???

Danaher(later Apex) made tools for Sears...

Danaher(manufacturer) had a tool division, joined with cooper tools and created Apex tool group, but not affiliated with gearwrench.

Gearwrench(brand) is an Apex brand.

Sears(retailer) IS NOT an Apex company... No affiliation with gearwrench.

Somehow gearwrench tools should be warranty replacements for Sears (Danaher made only) tools... On what planet?

Two totally different manufacturer/companies, totally different retailers. All Apex sockets are not made in the same factory, or by the same company. Apex is a group of brands, and different manufacturing locations.

That's like me claiming you should give me your tools whenever I break mine...

SBD knows they will severely tarnish the brand name they just spent a bazillion bucks on, if they don't warranty the older tools. Even the people who don't give a **** about COO still know and care that they CAN warranty their tools bearing the CRAFTSMAN name.. SBD know they would lose huge numbers of potential buyers if they refuse to warranty..



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its the same logic Amazon uses when they sell stuff, customer has warranty problems a year later. Nothing to do with us, we just take your money and sell stuff. Go see the manufacturer if you have problems.

The majority of sockets and wrenches that Sears sold in recent years were made by Danaher and Apex subsidiarys in China. Apex bought out Danaher. The magor brand for Apex is GearWrench.

So Apex/GearWrench should be responsible for Sears warranty on sockets and wrenches in the US as they are the ones that made them. But you are right fat chance that will ever happen

Different story in Canada, Stanley supplied most of Sears stuff for years. So yeah if you go to the DeWalt service centre up here they will give you a new Craftsman or Proto for warranty

 

[reader2580]

Apex owns many brands. And manufactures tools in different countries and locations. The fact that apex makes both means nothing.

APEX was still supplying menards with USA made sockets and wrenches up until just a couple months ago.. Obviously not the same. The fact GW and CM are both APEX and both Asian is not evidence they are the same...

It doesn’t appear that Menards had gotten any new stock of USA Masterforce for quite some time. Menards replaced Masterforce USA sockets with Gearwrench sockets on the display in the stores as Masterforce USA went out of stock.

I doubt any Masterforce USA tools have been made since the Armstrong plant closed.

 

[rijndael]

So Apex/GearWrench should be responsible for Sears warranty on sockets and wrenches in the US as they are the ones that made them. But you are right fat chance that will ever happen

IMO, OEMs should not be responsible for warranty issues, at least not as it relates to the end user. That's the whole point of producing something at a discount and branding it for a middle man; the middle man gets all customer facing issues.

 

[finn]

It doesn’t appear that Menards had gotten any new stock of USA Masterforce for quite some time. Menards replaced Masterforce USA sockets with Gearwrench sockets on the display in the stores as Masterforce USA went out of stock.

I doubt any Masterforce USA tools have been made since the Armstrong plant closed.

Correct. Menards stocked Allen, then the exact same product was replaced with identical product with th Masterforce stamp.

When Armstrong et al were discontinued, the Masterforce stock that was already in the system remained on the shelves, but Gearwrench was temporary added, as no US made replacement stock was being made.

Eventually Masterforce returned to the shelf, but now it is made in China.

Gearwrench was put on clearance and has now disappeared.

The cycle took about two years, by my recollection.

 

[Here2Learn]

Some people just can't understand what is it about Craftsman that has so many of us up in arms. It's because that brand occupied the perfect middle ground for a LOT of people.

That is a great summary for me. I wanted the middle ground, and Sears Craftsman was it for me. I didn't trust Harbor Freight and could not afford Snap-on.

When I bought a Sears Craftsman tool ten years or so ago, what benefited me was some group of people that worked at Sears that came up with all the characteristics of what I was buying. I trusted Sears to sell me tools that would work for me. I bought a torque wrench one time that had a broken lock / unlock knob from the start. They exchanged it. Otherwise, I never had a Craftsman tool issue from actual use. I am the gentle weekend guy.

To get back on topic:

As far as future Craftsman, I was looking into the SBD Craftsman cordless power tools at Lowe's. I assume they are a little bit better than my current C3 tools. I will have to jump ship at some point in time for cordless tools. SBD Craftsman looks like a good option for me in the future, especially if they come out with a portable fan.

I already own way too many ratchets, sockets, extensions, bits, pliers, screwdrivers, toolboxes, workbenches, etc. to need to take a serious look at their offerings.

SBD Craftsman has come on strong with a variety of tools at Lowe's.

The local Sears closed yesterday, so SBD Craftsman might be an option for something I need faster than eBay Sears Craftsman or sears.com online ordering.

 

[Skeptic68W]

I trusted Sears to sell me tools that would work for me.

This. This right here is what I was trying to say, but you summarized it far more succinctly.

I don't trust ANY brand the way I trusted Craftsman for a long time, and don't expect to ever trust a brand in the same way again. I have some of that trust with Carlyle for my mechanics tools, but they don't make woodworking, metalworking, construction tools that I also need.

 

[WittHay]

IMO, OEMs should not be responsible for warranty issues, at least not as it relates to the end user. That's the whole point of producing something at a discount and branding it for a middle man; the middle man gets all customer facing issues.

I know that, but this whole thing with Sears being the middle man and SBD being the new manufacturer but not sold through Sears is strange.

The majority of responses to the new Craftsman is will they warranty my old **** not pictures of new screwdrivers or ratchets they purchased from Lowes.

My stand is still if SBD did not make your broken, worn out old Craftsman, contact the people that sold and made it. Go email or drive 2 hours to the closet Sears with your cracked socket. Contact Apex or Ideal or whoever made it.

Its just a big catch 22 for Lowes selling mechanics tools, Dont wont to carry open stock because all people want to do warranty items and cant sell new stuff because they dont have open stock in the store.

 

[Here2Learn]

"The majority of responses to the new Craftsman is will they warranty my old **** not pictures of new screwdrivers or ratchets they purchased from Lowes. "

I think most people on this website already own a fair amount of what are the major push items from SBD Craftsman; sockets, ratchets and tool boxes. I walk by most of it and say, "Eh, I already have all that".

I would feel weird going to Lowe's to warranty something I bought from Sears.

 

[PugetDude]

Harbor Freight should jump into the Sears Warranty business as a marketing ploy- exchange broken Craftsman sockets/screwdrivers, etc with HF brands for a flat $1. Wrenches, etc. for a flat $2. Ratchets/pliers, etc for a flat $3 fee- which would more than cover their cost of production, drive store traffic, and build brand loyalty.

It's really not the old Craftsman stuff that's breaking- it's the new Chinesium ****, anyway. Properly advertised and marketed, it could be a public relations windfall. Why beat your head against the wall at Lowes/Ace/ Sears trying to obtain Chinese replacements for broken USA Craftsman, when HF will exchange them painlessly?

"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
~ Emma Lazarus

 

[WittHay]

I think most people on this website already own a fair amount of what are the major push items from SBD Craftsman; sockets, ratchets and tool boxes. I walk by most of it and say, "Eh, I already have all that".

I have bought a bunch of the new SBD Craftsman and so far I am pleased. The 15" handsaw is made in Denmark. The tape measures made in Thailand have some features not available on other tapes. That 51 piece 3/8 drive gun metal set was on sale. The case is awesome and fits well under the seat of the truck. Made in Taiwan screwdrivers in sizes that i have not seen before. Its not the common mechanics tools, its all the other stuff thats available that interest me.

Harbor Freight should jump into the Sears Warranty business as a marketing ploy- exchange broken Craftsman sockets/screwdrivers, etc with HF brands for a flat $1. Wrenches, etc. for a flat $2. Ratchets/pliers, etc for a flat $3 fee- which would more than cover their cost of production, drive store traffic, and build brand loyalty.

I have never been to a Harbor Freight store but i think its a great idea if they would exchange broken Craftsman tools for their house brand of the month. Especially if no questions asked. Way easier for guys to exchange their garage sale and flea market finds than Lowes.

 

[Andres26tnt]

It's really not the old Craftsman stuff that's breaking- it's the new Chinesium ****, anyway. Properly advertised and marketed, it could be a public relations windfall. Why beat your head against the wall at Lowes/Ace/ Sears trying to obtain Chinese replacements for broken USA Craftsman, when HF will exchange them painlessly?
~ Emma Lazarus

Are you sure its only Chinese CF that's breaking? because all i hear in GJ is " i Went to sears/lowes to exchange X tool and they wanted to give me a Chinese version" and proceed to rant about how everything is made in china.

i have yet to break a Chinese craftsman tool, surprisingly i broke a 1/4 USA made RP ratchet. HF does't need to do anything as they already took over sears spot in the market.

 

[6PTsocket]

So we know Stanley B&D bought Craftsman a while back and now some of their hand tools and power tools are showing up at Lowes via B&D - got me to thinking about some questions but can mostly just speculate on specifics...



I'm assuming B&D now owns craftsman.com website and it's largely separate from sears.com.



Looking at craftsman.com I'm not seeing certain tools anymore (some still show on sears.com but local store pickup only if avail - no shipping). That would suggest that B&D has started to cull thru and drop certain items is my guess. (example would the Craftsman compression tester)



For a good while now many Craftsman electric power tools were made by Ryobi (among others). I'm assuming that going forward - that might change w/ B&D sourcing their own power tools within their channels (& I think Ryobi is avail directly from competitor HD). My guess is future Craftsman power tools will no longer be Ryobi or other - but rather B&D - just a guess.



Sears used to identify parts in their manuals and up to a point - you could buy individual parts for say Craftsman power tools. I've no idea if that would continue or not.



Craftsman isn't just tools - it's people. Sure they didn't make the tools themselves. But I have to believe there were knowledgeable people working for Sears' Craftsman division probably in Illinois who knew a lot about tools, supplier relations, quality control, failure rates, parts supply chain, could (re)write proper owners manuals, etc. I've no idea what's going on in this area but wonder how many (if any) staff came over to B&D to continue helping w/ the brand. B&D probably has good folks too capable of this but the breadth and variety of Craftsman branded tools is or was pretty big.



What's your $0.02?

Aside from what B&D was already supplying Sears and the fact that B&D recently bought Waterloo I don't think there is any direct connection between the two Craftsman brands. B&D bought the name, not Sears' tool operation. Sears had the right to continue sourcing tools for their stores and Sears.com for 15 years but anything sold elsewhere comes from B&D. Unless the bankruptcy judge accepts Lambert's latest offer to run a much scaled down Sears, they will be gone in a few days. and that should end the confusion. When Sears had a tool made, the contract would include spare parts for so many years. Their "experts" were mostly concerned with how cheap the supplier could deliver. My wife knew somebody that designed clothes for Sears and it was always what trim or feature could be eliminated to cut cost.

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