Craftsman : series time frame ?

[lauver]

eschoendorff,

That's a 10-4 on the impact sockets, and 3/8" drive hex bit sets, and bit driver sets. Also RBE combo wrench sets. All GK. There are other RBE combo wrenches with GK-G codes as well. I'm wondering if the G, GK, and GK-G are all Danaher? Anybody got a any thoughts on the subject?

 

[wrenchr]

Got a new one!!!
This was my Dad's Ratchet that he bought in the early 90's I think.
No code other than the part# He marked his tools like this!! The proverbial apple does not fall far from the tree!!!

 

[lauver]

philw and interested parties,

As most of you know, Danaher has been a principal supplier to Sears/Craftsman tools since the early 1990's. I was rereading a PM philw sent me regarding Moore Drop Forge/Easco/Danaher. Lots of good thought and research in that PM. Since Danaher is the reighning Big Dog supplier now, I thought I would construct a time line on Danaher and see if the known facts fit with everybodies recollections and sense of the OEM situation. Maybe this will stir some thought on the subject and our quest.

I did my research on the internet. I checked Danaher Annual Reports, SEC filings, and news (PR) releases. I also checked newspaper clips, wire service clips, and business reports. I tracked down info on Danaher's subsidiary companies (acquisitions) where possible. Here's what I found:

Danaher Time Line​

1969 DMG, Inc REIT is established.

1978 DMG changes name to DMI (Diversified Mortgage Investors, Inc).

1980 New holding company is formed under DMG name.

1984 DMG holding company is renamed Danaher Corporation.

1969 -1984 During this period DMG/DMI/Danaher is simply a real estate holding company.

1984 - 1986 Matco acquired (1st tool manufacturing capacity).

1986 Danaher is reorganized as a Deleware Corporation.

1986 Chicago Pneumatics acquired (more tool manufacturing capacity).

1987 Ammco Tools acquired.

1988 Allen Tool and Jacobs acquired.

1989 George Sherman, formerly of Black & Decker became Pres & CEO.

1990 Easco Hand Tools and K-D Tool acquired (more tool manufacturing capacity; Easco had 4 facilities including Gastonia at the time). Danaher assumes Easco's contract with Sears as principal OEM of Craftsman tools.

1991 Danaher awarded sole manufacturer for Sears/Craftsman (tools made up 49% of Danahers sales that year; main customers were Sears & NAPA).

1995 Armstrong acquired (more tool manufacturing capacity).

1997 GearWrench acquired and is combined with Easco to form Danaher Tool Group (DTG).

1998 Fluke Corp. acquired. SATA Hand Tool launched, as a brand, in China and other parts of Asia.

2001 Danaher attempted to acquire Cooper Industries but failed.

2003 Danaher launches 2 new products, thin profile ratchets & Hi-Vis sockets.

2005 Danaher closes Springfield facility. GearWrench expands tool line moderatly (XL GearWrench line)

2006 GearWrench expands and extends tool line substantially (X-Beam wrenches, QuadBox wrenches, Locking Head Pass Thru Ratchets, and Ratcheting Taps & Dies).

2007 Danaher claims, in their annual report, to have been the principal manufacturer of Sears/Craftsman line of mechanics hand tools for over 65 years (i.e. back to 1942). I'm sure they are including the Moore Drop Forge/Easco/Danaher family tree, but that would put Moore Drop Forge in the mix before modern series tools were thought to have been introduced).



Philw--Does this square with your thoughts on the evolving tool manufacturing situation at Sears/Craftsman? Does it clear things up or does it muddy things up? I'm sure there are some holes/gaps (i.e. Allen tool acquisition) in the time line; if you can supply anything I missed let me know.

 

[lauver]

wrencher,

Your dads ratchet looks an awful lot like a ratchet I have. The PN on my ratchet (standard length, no flex) is 43797, and has no series code or country of origin. I believe both ratchets were supplied by Stanley and made in Taiwan.

 

[MAD]

eschoendorff,

That's a 10-4 on the impact sockets, and 3/8" drive hex bit sets, and bit driver sets. Also RBE combo wrench sets. All GK. There are other RBE combo wrenches with GK-G codes as well. I'm wondering if the G, GK, and GK-G are all Danaher? Anybody got a any thoughts on the subject?

Danaher operates a big plant in Garland Texas. I believe this is where most of the production that was done in the Springfield, MA More drop forge plant was moved to. G could = Garland

The Garland plant shares the same address as Kingsley tools.
K could = Kingsley.

I got a really crappy Craftsman 3/8" dr ratchet with a KR series code around the time when production would have been shifting away from the More plant to the new facility.

 

[lbgradwell]

...but that would put Moore Drop Forge in the mix before modern tools were thought to have been introduced).

I don't understand what you mean by this, Gary. What are "modern tools"?

Alloy Artifacts claims MDF was the principal contract supplier to Craftsman since 1938...

 

[lbgradwell]

Your dads ratchet looks an awful lot like a ratchet I have. The PN on my ratchet (standard length, no flex) is 43797, and has no series code or country of origin. I believe both ratchets were supplied by Stanley and made in Taiwan.

I agree completely.

 

[lauver]

LG,

I was unaware of the MDF 1938 date on Alloy Artifacts, and that date may be correct. Do you have an MDF series code dating to 1938? I don't. MDF was presumed to be series code V, the begining of modern series, circa 1946.

So maybe you and Alloy artifacts are correct. Let's look at the possibilities from what we have so far:

In the early series we have N-square with no known manufacturer or production dates...I guess this could be MDF, but I don't think so.

We also have S-circle, a ratchet with no known manufacturer or production dates (currently listed in modern series)...this could be a possibility; it has characteristics of both early and modern series, but no one has made the attribution to MDF or any other company.

You may have thoughts on S-circle or other possible MDF series codes. If so, please share your thoughts. I'm open to any discussion on this subject.

 

[lauver]

Gang,

Does anyone have any of the Next Generation/Thin Profile ratchets? If so, can you post PN(s) and series code(s).

Also, does anyone have any of the Laser-Etched socket sets? If so, can you post PN(s) and series code(s). Note--I've seen lots of these sockets in the store, but none of them had a series code. I'm hoping the older ones from 2003-2006 have series codes.

Thanks for any help.

 

[wrenchr]

I have a 1/2.....Pics to come!!

 

[wrenchr]

This is for sale, $20.00 + shipping. New!!!

 

[MAD]

Gang,

Does anyone have any of the Next Generation/Thin Profile ratchets? If so, can you post PN(s) and series code(s).

Also, does anyone have any of the Laser-Etched socket sets? If so, can you post PN(s) and series code(s). Note--I've seen lots of these in the store, but none of them had a series code. I'm hoping the older ones from 2003-2006 have series codes.

Thanks for any help.

I have a set of the thin profile ratchets. All of them from an "80 years" special edition set.

1/2"- VW-44996

3/8"- VW-4495

1/4"- VW- 4494

The few laser etched sockets that I have no marking except for a few impact sockets that have laser etching as well as engraved markings. These impact sockets are marked GK.

 

[philw]

The timeline looks good. The hard part will be trying to figure out when companies like Stanley supplied ratchets and etc. It helps when wrenchr posts the pic and has a rough idea of a date. I have always heard that it was in the late 80's/early 90's period that the Stanley tools were present. Most people can't remember (me included) exactly what year they purchased a tool if it's been over 15 years ago. Late 80's/early 90's catalogs would help but even they may not give all the answers.
I wouldn't be surprised if Sears themselves do not know all the manufacturing information anymore. I would guess they probably file the info away after a number of years. Indiana Jones probably couldn't find it.

 

[lauver]

philw,

Regarding the Taiwanese made Stanley ratchets. Now you have two points in time: wrencher in early 90's and me in 1986 (documented, no guesswork). You should be able to find others with this ratchet that can remember the date. A few more observations and you should have it knocked. For now it's about 1986 - 1991 or maybe 1992.

Back to the time line--do you have any idea when Danaher acquired Allen tools?

 

[wrenchr]

The tool unit was greatly expanded by Danaher's 1989 merger with Easco Hand Tools, Inc., and by 1991 tools made up 49 percent of Danaher's sales.

 

[wrenchr]

http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/Danaher-Corporation-Company-History.html

 

[wrenchr]

Danaher's reorganization and streamlining contributed to its continued record sales, growth, and development of new products. In 1991 Sears, Roebuck & Co. selected Danaher as its only source for the manufacture of Sears mechanics' hand tools. Danaher was already marketing the Jacob Engine Brake diesel engine retarders

 

[wrenchr]

There's some reading material!!!

 

[lauver]

wrenchr,

You're right, that is pretty interesting reading. In fact, I read that same report about 5 days ago. I also read about 30 others like it. I'm curious though, have you read post #243 (Danaher Timeline) yet? There's a few more items summerized there that may interest you. The time line helped me to close in on the Thin-Profile ratchets and Laser Etched sockets. You and MAD nailed down 3 related series codes in 2 posts (see post #69, page 7, series codes KX, VW, and GK). I was able to verify production dates by using Craftsman catalogs.

Thanks for the Danaher and KX ratchet posts.

 

[MAD]

MAD,

Saw your post on another thread regarding SK-made sockets/torx bit drivers, ratcheting thumbwheels, and extensions. Good find!!! I looked for them in my independent Sears store but had no luck finding them. Were the tools you found marked "K" and/or "SK"?


QUOTE]

Those are Danaher ratchets.

The "K" mark on SK made Craftsman tools that I have seen has always been a small identification mark away from the part number rather than a prefix.

I think the SK made security TORX bit sockets I saw had a W series code but I will have to check again the next time I am there.

I stopped at Sears today to pick up the cheap T-handles I ordered and saw that I was right about the "W" on the SK made security Torx bit sockets. They also had thumb wheel ratchets and the long ball end hex bit sockets also with a "W" code. The wobble extensions had the same bright white looking chrome rather than the typical darker yellowish look of the recent Danaher tools but no letter code. They did have a little dot indentation mark that resembled the dot SK puts between the S and the K on their tools.

 

[lauver]

MAD,

Thanks for double checking. I'll update the series code list and with W=SK.

I'm curious why Sears is getting so complex with the series codes in the last few years (since about 2000). Why would they need a W when they already have a K for SK. There must be some subtle difference (facility, production run, new contract, or worse...foreign made). Have you got a theory on this yet?

 

[MAD]

MAD,

Thanks for double checking. I'll update the series code list and with W=SK.

I'm curious why Sears is getting so complex with the series codes in the last few years (since about 2000). Why would they need a W when they already have a K for SK. There must be some subtle difference (facility, production run, new contract, or worse...foreign made). Have you got a theory on this yet?

It may not be Sears making it complex. It may be that the various manufacturers are all just doing their own thing for their own purposes.

 

[lauver]

Gang,

I was reading a thread by PoorOwner regarding changes in the C-man Pro locking pliers. PoorOwner and MAD identified the manufacturer as Irwin/Vice-Grips. I've tracked down the production dates from catalogs, but I don't have a series code yet.

Does anyone own a 3-piece set of these pliers PN45713 or individual 10" PN 45715? Is there a series code on these tools? If so, please post the code or a photo of the tool with the code stamp/print visible. Thanks

 

[lauver]

Gang,

Does anyone have any of the professional next generation full polish thin profile ratchets (ca. 2005-2008)? If so, could you check the series code and post it?

Also, if you have any of the earlier satin finish non-pro thin profile ratchets (ca. 2002-2004), could you post the series code?

The reason I ask again is I believe these tools have had different series codes over the years. MAD posted VW codes on his 80th anniversery thin profile ratchets while wrencher posted a KX code on his thin profile ratchet. The other day I was looking in my catalogs and saw what I believe are KT codes on thin profile ratchets sold between 2005 and 2008; and VR codes on thin profile ratchets sold between 2002 and 2004. So, I'm trying to see if there are other codes we haven't seen on these thin profile ratchets that were purchased at various times by other individuals.

Thanks.

 

[lauver]

MAD,

I was reading through a Danaher Corp Annual Report for 2000 and ran across some interesting tidbits I thought you might be interested in. The 10K report listed listed principal subsidiaries (273) and principal tool facility locations (25).

Among the Danaher Corp subsidiaries, three caught my eye:
Kingsley Tools, Inc. (you mentioned this one before)
Mechanics Custom Tools Corp. (have you heard of them?)
Lea Way Hand Tool Corp. (have you heard of them?)


Among the tool related facility locations:

Tool Distribution centers (4):
U.S. 3
Canada 1

Among tool related manufacturing locations (21):
U.S. 16
China 2
Taiwan 1
England 1
Scotland 1

If you would like more detail on any of this stuff let me know.

 

[MAD]

Kingsley Tools, Inc. (you mentioned this one before)
Mechanics Custom Tools Corp. (have you heard of them?)
Lea Way Hand Tool Corp. (have you heard of them?)

I asked the customer service rep at Wright tools where their cheaper "Cougar" tool line came from and was told that they were out sourced and made by Kingsley tools in Texas.

Member and tool industry insider reversegear identified Lea Way tool as the company that makes the Gearwrench tools in another thread. The package of my first set of Gearwrenches that I bought in 1997 listed General Tech international as the manufacturer. The street address for General Tech International is the same as Kingsly tools.

I have not heard of Mechanics Custom tools.

 

[eschoendorff]

MAD,

I was reading through a Danaher Corp Annual Report for 2000 and ran across some interesting tidbits I thought you might be interested in. The 10K report listed listed principal subsidiaries (273) and principal tool facility locations (25).

Among the Danaher Corp subsidiaries, three caught my eye:
Kingsley Tools, Inc. (you mentioned this one before)
Mechanics Custom Tools Corp. (have you heard of them?)
Lea Way Hand Tool Corp. (have you heard of them?)


Among the tool related facility locations:

Tool Distribution centers (4):
U.S. 3
Canada 1

Among tool related manufacturing locations (21):
U.S. 16
China 2
Taiwan 1
England 1
Scotland 1

If you would like more detail on any of this stuff let me know.

Lea Way makes some of the better Taiwanese import tools.... think GearWrench, et al...

http://kk0053.handtool.org.tw/T7002ShowAboutUs?y_SketchName=Sketch1-2_Hi178

 

[lauver]

Thanks eschoendorff! MAD said pretty much the same. And various documents I've found on the internet lead to the same conclusion. One document I found on Lea-Way Hand Tools indicated they also rebrand the Gearwrench tools for other companies. They sound like a money making machine, given the success of their GearWrench tools. I'm sure that's just what Danaher had in mind when they bought Lea-Way.

 

[billymade]

I ran across this today looking at wikipedia and they have a page about Danaher; interesting read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danaher_Corporation

Look how companies they own!!!! Holy **** BATMAN!
Danaher Corporation Divisions:

Accu-Sort Systems, Inc.
Allen
ALLTEC
American Sigma
Anatel
Anderson
Armstrong Tools
Artus
Aviation Services
Aviation Services Europe
Bindicator
Buhler Montec
Calzoni S.r.l.
Comark Ltd [6]
Craftsman Hand Tools
Danaher Motion
Danaher Tool Group
Delta Consolidated Industries
DEXIS
DH Instruments
Dover
Dynapar / Northstar
Eagle-Signal / Veeder-Root
ELE
Electro-Kinetics
Energetic Materials
Environmental Test Systems
Fisher Pierce
Fluke Corporation
Fluke Networks
Gems Sensors
Gendex
Gilbarco Veeder-Root
GLI
Guardian Voting Systems (Makers of the ELECTronic 1242 Machine)
G&L Motion Control, Inc
HACH:Ames [7]
HACH LANGE (Europe) [8]
Hach Ultra Analytics[9]
Harowe
Hart Scientific
HECON
Hengstler GmbH
Hennessy Industries
Holo-Krome
HTL/Kin-Tech
Hydrolab
Iseli
Imaging Sciences International
Jacobs Chuck Manufacturing
Jacobs Vehicle Systems
Joslyn Clark
KaVo Dental
K-D Tools
Kerr
Kistler Morse
Kollmorgen
Kollmorgen Electro-Optical
Lachat Instruments
Leica Microsystems
Linx Printing Technologies
Matco Tools
Marsh McBerney Industries
McCrometer
Namco / Dolan Jenner
Negele Industrieelektronik GmbH & Co. KG
Orbisphere (Jean-Jacques JOURDAN being the top salesperson in France)
Ormco
Pacific Scientific Instruments
Partlow
Pelton & Crane
PMA
Polymetron
Portescap
Qualitrol Company LLC
Radiometer
Radiometer Analytical
Raytek
Red Jacket
Robin Electronics
Sata
Securaplane Technologies
Setra
Spline Gauges
Sunbank
SybronEndo
Tektronix
Tektronix Communications
Thomson
Trojan Technologies Inc.
Veeder-Root
Videojet Technologies
Vision Systems Limited
West Instruments
Willett

 

[lauver]

BillyMade,

That's just the tip of the iceberg. An older annual report I read listed 273 subsidiaries.

 

[wrenchr]

I said I would get better pics of these tools.

See Lauver.

 

[old salvage]

Damn,
I didnt think the underline logo was used that late.
Anyway, that s a nice ratchet.

 

[lauver]

wrenchr,

I see; point taken. The thing is, I didn't know it was the same ratchet in both treads. That's why I kept asking for clarification. Thanks for clearing it up.

 

[lauver]

The timeline looks good. The hard part will be trying to figure out when companies like Stanley supplied ratchets and etc. It helps when wrenchr posts the pic and has a rough idea of a date. I have always heard that it was in the late 80's/early 90's period that the Stanley tools were present. Most people can't remember (me included) exactly what year they purchased a tool if it's been over 15 years ago. Late 80's/early 90's catalogs would help but even they may not give all the answers.
I wouldn't be surprised if Sears themselves do not know all the manufacturing information anymore. I would guess they probably file the info away after a number of years. Indiana Jones probably couldn't find it.

philw,

This all seems to fit in my mind. Moore Drop Forge "dropped out of the picture" about 1986, and could never keep up with Sears tool demand in the first place. There was no one to step in (with both capacity and Sears pricing) until Danaher acquired Easco in 1990. Even Danaher didn't have the capacity for a few more years. So in between 1986 and 1992 (approximately) Sears had to fill in certain tools (i.e. ratchets) on a short term basis until Danaher was ready for the big contract with Sears. Our current best guess for the Stanley-Taiwanese ratchets falls right into the 1986-1992 gap. There are probably other short term manufacturers out there that we don't know about. I think Easco, before Danaher acquired them, fell into this category of short term producers. I know Easco provided sockets to Sears during this period. I'm not sure, however, if Easco ever supplied ratchets to Sears.

 

[lbgradwell]

philw,

This all seem to fit in my mind. Moore Drop Forge "dropped out of the picture" about 1986, and could never keep up with Sears tool demand in the first place. There was no one to step in (with both capacity and Sears pricing) until Danaher acquired Easco in 1990. Even Danaher didn't have the capacity for a few more years. So in between 1986 and 1992 (approximately) Sears had to fill in certain tools (i.e. ratchets) on a short term basis until Danaher was ready for the big contract with Sears. Our current best guess for the Stanley-Taiwanese ratchets falls right into the 1986-1992 gap. There are probably other short term manufacturers out there that we don't know about. I think Easco, before Danaher acquired them, fell into this category of short term producers. I know Easco provided sockets to Sears during this period. I'm not sure, however, if Easco ever supplied ratchets to Sears.

Sorry Gary, but some of this is not accurate...

It sounds like you're describing MDF, Easco, & Danaher as separate, concurrent companies rather than essentially a single, continuous entity. Now, obviously, they were 3 different companies, but for our purposes - trying to determine the manufacturers of Craftsman products - they are for all intents & purposes a single concern. At least, this is my understanding!

Easco Hand Tools purchased Moore Drop Forging in 1968, so I don't know how they "dropped out of the picture about 1986". The actual original MDF only closed its doors within the past 3-4 years, IIRC, but was still a part of Easco/Danaher.

I've also never encountered your lack-of-capacity theory to explain the Taiwanese Stanley ratchets before. Is that speculation or have you discovered something? I always assumed it was an attempt to reduce costs by producing in a lower-wage country rather than a capacity problem...

And Easco certainly produced ratchets for Sears. We've been discussing the fine-tooth, round-head Easco/Craftsman twins all day in the EASCO ratchet thread!

 

[Uncle Buck]

And Easco certainly produced ratchets for Sears. We've been discussing the fine-tooth, round-head Easco/Craftsman twins all day in the EASCO ratchet thread!

I wholly agree with this statement!

 

[old salvage]

Heres something interesting

http://cgi.ebay.com/1950-Vintage-Craftsman-1-2-Inch-Ratchet-6-Piece-Set_W0QQitemZ190225716539QQihZ009QQcategoryZ4122QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Notice its the type without the cutout in the neck and a 1950 dated receipt is included

 

[lbgradwell]

Heres something interesting

http://cgi.ebay.com/1950-Vintage-Craftsman-1-2-Inch-Ratchet-6-Piece-Set_W0QQitemZ190225716539QQihZ009QQcategoryZ4122QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Notice its the type without the cutout in the neck and a 1950 dated receipt is included

Good spot!

I emailed the Seller to ask if there's a "V" on that ratchet. I'm guessing there isn't, and we can move the dates to 1950 -1954 somewhere for the appearance of the indent (and probably the "V" code)...

 

[lbgradwell]

And here's something else:

It looks like the next model was introduced in 1958. I knew it existed by 1960 as I've seen it in that catalogue. I believe they later added the quick-release to the same model in 1965.

Interestingly, there must now have been some overlap in models since the model with the V-selector switch also appears in the 1960 catalogue...

 

[old salvage]

" Quick release ratchet/gear pawl mechanism withstands 50% more, torque ".

50% more torque eh ? Hmmmm