Craftsman Sockets - Chrome Inconsistent

[Dtools]

I just purchased the 299 pc. set of craftsman sockets and am somewhat disappointed although considering the price I paid I guess I can't complain. Below are some photos I have taken of the 6 point sockets and appears sockets 15/16" and above have been chromed differently and are inconsistent with the other sockets in the set. The metric sockets all appear to have chrome that is consistent with the rest of the set (pretty nice!). The manufacturer used a different kind of chrome (color) on the 15/16" sockets and above and did not run the chrome on the top and inside of the socket. I believe the 12 points are the same way.

I did speak to a 15 year veteran at Sears and he told me that due to EPA standards in the United States, the manufacturer is restricted in the chroming process for the larger sizes. Not sure if this is true or not?

The sockets are stamped ("made in USA") and the size double stamped with the laser etching. Overall I am somewhat satisfied, though I wish the chroming was consistent.

What do you guys think? Thoughts??

 

[D9H 90V]

Looks like they were painted silver instead of chromed

 

[billymade]

The QC has definitely gone down over the years; if you are really concerned, take them to your local Sears and see if you can find some that are to your satisfaction! They should swap them out for you; just realize, that you may not find any that are any better then the ones you already have. Go to your local Sears and check them out..... worth a try! The finish on allot of the currently shipping sockets; is just not up the level of yesteryear... EPA standards, new Danaher facilities and a million other reasons, seem to be the typical "excuses" for this trend.... its a shame but there it is!

 

[Givl Reggin]

The manufacturer used a different kind of chrome (color) on the 15/16" sockets and above and did not run the chrome on the top and inside of the socket.

Wipe them down with lacquer thinner and you'll see bright chrome under that dull silver coating - whatever they're using at the factory is not removing all the residue from the chroming process.

 

[Skin]

1. They're Nickel plated, not Chrome.
2. The plating stops inside the broach on many sockets. Its not just the larger sizes. Look into the deep sockets and you'll see what i mean.
3. They are painted or dipped [not sure which but it looks like a galvanization coating] to cover any remaining exposed metal in the drive end and the broached surfaces. They arent plated in the normal sense though i can tell you that much. And no its not some residue that just wipes off. Both the dual marked and regular stamped sockets are the same so there is no escaping this.

But as you said, they're cheap. Its very very easy to pay ~$1 a socket at sears when purchasing sets so you cant realistically expect the $8-$10 a socket quality. Does the quality pale compared to the Craftsman of the past? Certainly. Do they still work? Absolutely. Will your fasteners tell the difference? No

This is how they've been making their sockets for the better part of 10 years now.

Like i said in another thread most of my sockets end up looking like a mess anyway from the combination of extreme rust and penetrating oil so i could care less about cosmetics.

Someone could argue that the cheaper plating process is going to mean premature rust and flaking. Well i've been using the same set for 8 years and havent had an issue so i think they're holding up fine. Once you get over the wtf quality and realize the price paid and put them to use i think you'll forget about it. If you're one of those **** tool polishers who demands a higher standard well then all i can say is stay away from Craftsman . Its one of Americas last bargain brand domestic products and they dont stay that way by selling products made to a higher standard.

 

[Dtools]

Yes, I took the sockets to my local Sears and wanted to swap the bad ones out only to find out they were exactly the same as mine.

I think I will call the customer service number and at least let them know of the situation...I'm sure Sears is aware of this. They may have an explanation. I will update the thread with any information I can gather.

 

[stopdroplol]

It's not an accident. If you look you will see both 15/16 and both 1" are like that. The odds would be pretty small that the only mistakes would happen on the same sockets.

They're still Nickel-Chrome plated according the website. Not sure why they don't plate the inside, probably because the Chrome would be to brittle and would just crack and flake. Considering how difficult it is to paint over chrome I wouldn't assume they simply painted over it either.

 

[oldtools]

I bought the complete socket set from Sears (only laser etching) and the majority of the sockets are un-chromed on the inside. HF socket has better quality.

 

[Givl Reggin]

the majority of the sockets are un-chromed on the inside.

As I stated earlier, this is not true - there is some kind of coating on the insides leftover from the plating process, if you wipe them out with a solvent you'll see the insides look the same as the outside surface.

 

[pipsters]

Here is an SK socket that isn't chromed on the inside, I think it is a more durable feature to not chrome the inside. I have no idea how chroming is applied but I would think it would be easier to just dip the whole socket in and do the whole thing. That's probably what is done but my guess is Craftsman then sprays that rough coating on the inside to further reduce wear? I dunno.

 

[mrholeshot]

The quality of the Chrome went south because of bottom line and Not the EPA.

 

[stopdroplol]

As I stated earlier, this is not true - there is some kind of coating on the insides leftover from the plating process, if you wipe them out with a solvent you'll see the insides look the same as the outside surface.

I just tried it on mine and it did nothing. Though I had a black coating inside my craftsman sockets.

But I think the poster you quoted is right, almost all of my older sockets appear to be un-chromed on the inside. Hard to tell due to wear, i'll clean some up later and check.

Chrome is brittle and I imagine it would chip and peel off the inside of a socket pretty quickly. The chrome on my brand new craftsman extension is already peeling after 1 day of use because of it.

 

[sparky7]

I bought that same exact set and after a quick inventory i quickly returned it for a full refund. Absolute garbage. Not only was the chrome inconsistent but numerous deep sockets, mostly the larger ones, were incorrectly machined on the inside.

I went to sears to see what they wold say about it and they replaced the sockets that were incorrectly machined.. but the funny thing was they had to open 3 different sets up to find one that was correctly made. VERY VERY poor quality control. I returned the whole set anyway after they warrantied those defective sockets.

Look.. bottom line is these sockets are junk. If i were you i would do the same as i did and return them. I have used a few craftsman sockets out of a coworkers toolbox at work (aircraft maintenance) and trust me these are not worth the hassle, i was attempting to do a compression check and just grabbed a 7/8 deep because my coworkers box was closer than mine and when i went to remove the sparkplugs half of them wouldnt pop out of the socket and had to be tapped out from the back. I then went to my box and grabbed my 7/8 snap on and the problem was gone. The tolerances for sizing is obviously poor as well, that socket i used was clearly oversized thats why the plug was sticking in it as the socket actually rounded the corners of the plug and caused it to stick in the socket.

Get some bluepoint sockets or something of that caliber.. sunex, silver eagle from matco, gearwrench... these are all decent and not to pricey. Honestly it is sad to say but i use harborfreight wrenches and sockets at home and they are higher quality than craftsman, and much cheaper.

 

[Steve_P]

it's been said many times that the cman sockets made in the last ~10 yrs are only nickel plated... and it's true. It is not directly EPA related; chromium plating has not been outlawed, etc; it's directly $ related (indirectly EPA as a result of cost of chromium and disposal of waste). I can still get cadmium and gorgeous nickel+chrome plating done; it's just a matter of $ and wanting to pay for it. For $2 a socket you are not going to get a US made gorgeous, show-quality socket. you can spend 50 cents a socket for china and taiwan and get pretty plating as they do not dispose of waste properly.

 

[trout]

I have the same set, purchased Jan 2010. Mine are the same way, never realized it till this thread though. I'm noticing that the sockets w/o the chrome on the inside are also designed different on the inside. They are definitely made differently.

I notice it on the metrics starting at 23mm as well.


edit: I agree with the above, the "it's because of regulations" story is BS. They chrome much bigger things in the USA (Think Harleys,) it's just a cost issue.

 

[Bran Diezel]

just by snap on and pay 20x as much but you will be happy in a few years when they are paid off. lol

 

[AZ_Catskinner]

Might be a Danaher thing - my 1-½" 12 point Napa socket has a similar vapor blasted looking finish on the inside.

 

[Skin]

Again Craftsman Sockets are no longer chromed! Nor have they been for quite some time.

I realize telling the difference between nickel and chrome plating may be hard if you dont know what you're looking for so heres a comparison. 3 new dual stamp sockets, a ~15YO Craftsman, and an Import socket. Notice the 3 dual stamps are darker and have a warm hue? Nickel.



Again, a dual stamp flanked by the older craftsman and a chrome import. Notice how it sticks out, as in it has the darkest glow of the 3? Nickel.

They're still Nickel-Chrome plated according the website.

Actually you'll have to hunt to find a socket set that advertises "Nickel Chrome" on the site. So far as i can tell only the sockets [including spark plug] and extensions have switched to nickel plating only. Other tools like ratchets and full polished wrenches are still copper nickel chrome.

 

[johnsdeere850j]

just by snap on and pay 20x as much but you will be happy in a few years when they are paid off. lol

Hahaha yeah for sure on that one

 

[jkeyser14]

I bought that set last year and mine is consistent looking and I've had no issues at all with the sockets.

 

[Hammer1963]

I wouldn't complain to much about it for what you paid for them. It's not a flaw in the manufactutering process, that is just the way they are made. There are people who just say it's a Danaher thing and that all products made by them would be the same. Anything but true. Check out a Matco socket and they bear NO resemblance to the Craftsman sockets at all. Totally different product. Same for the extension and ratchets. It comes down this, you get what you pay for.

 

[DieselSmokinYall]

I have the same set. Looking back at my pics... mine are like that to

They have worked just fine though so far, I got them on super sale so its not a big deal I guess.

 

[Damian]

As I've said many times, any Craftsman sockets made in the last 8-10 years are JUNK. Completely JUNK JUNK JUNK. I've got some 15-20yr old Craftsman stuff, and whenever I've had to go replace something under warranty the new designed socket they gave me as replacement wouldn't last 1 year before breaking again. As compared to before when the socket I broke last 15-20 years.

Craftsman still makes some nice stuff, but it's obvious that their sockets are now manufactured by some 13 yr old Taiwanese kid.

 

[Skin]

what are you doing to your sockets that you're breaking them? I would not suggest them for a pro environment, except for filling a size you'd need rarely, but for home use they're fine. And lets re-establish the price thing again since you said "junk" 4 times.

At full LIST they're $1.61 per socket. During sales they can be had for $1.05. What do you, or anyone else expect for that kind of money? Price out some truck brand sockets or Wright or Proto or any other domestic brand. You'll be lucky to spend $900 on a great day just to get a basic set of 6pt 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 in SAE & Metric. This doesnt include the 12pt or 8pt sockets that are also in the Cman set.

Quantity over quality, function over form. Thats all it is. There are plenty of other avenues to spend $6-$10 a socket so anyone can have a ball. Personally i like top value. To each their own.

 

[MrMark]

Again Craftsman Sockets are no longer chromed! Nor have they been for quite some time.

I realize telling the difference between nickel and chrome plating may be hard if you dont know what you're looking for so heres a comparison. 3 new dual stamp sockets, a ~15YO Craftsman, and an Import socket. Notice the 3 dual stamps are darker and have a warm hue? Nickel.



Again, a dual stamp flanked by the older craftsman and a chrome import. Notice how it sticks out, as in it has the darkest glow of the 3? Nickel.





Actually you'll have to hunt to find a socket set that advertises "Nickel Chrome" on the site. So far as i can tell only the sockets [including spark plug] and extensions have switched to nickel plating only. Other tools like ratchets and full polished wrenches are still copper nickel chrome.

Awesome post!@ I never knew any of this. That explains why the new Craftsman look so different next to my V series. I have always wondered why the difference in look. I think the new ones are so blingy cheesy looking. Do you know what series this switch over was made at? And Skin, I never break any Craftsman. These people breaking sockets are abusing them. Some people could break a bowling ball. I never have and never will buy this flat rate stuff about abusing tools.

 

[Skin]

The switch was made around 01-03 when the G1/G2 code came out. Older "G" sockets from the 90s should be the last time chrome was used on sockets. To my knowledge any socket stamped with the code G1, G2, or G2D is Nickel plated only.

 

[MrMark]

Thanks! Is there a chart somewhere on this? I was wondering about G and GK? I'll check stickies.

I just purchased some deep metric 1/2 G2D and I have a set of imperial deep 3/8 "G". Wow! The G are chrome and duller compared to the "nickle plated" G2D. Both are really nice. I don't know why people bag on Craftsman. That deep set of G2D I have is nice.

It works "just fine" as everyone on GJ says.

 

[Skin]

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=84807

 

[MrMark]

 

[stricht8]

They are a great deal. They work just fine. They have an incredible warranty. They are US made. Enough said.

 

[stopdroplol]

Again Craftsman Sockets are no longer chromed! Nor have they been for quite some time.

I realize telling the difference between nickel and chrome plating may be hard if you dont know what you're looking for so heres a comparison. 3 new dual stamp sockets, a ~15YO Craftsman, and an Import socket. Notice the 3 dual stamps are darker and have a warm hue? Nickel.

Again, a dual stamp flanked by the older craftsman and a chrome import. Notice how it sticks out, as in it has the darkest glow of the 3? Nickel.

Actually you'll have to hunt to find a socket set that advertises "Nickel Chrome" on the site. So far as i can tell only the sockets [including spark plug] and extensions have switched to nickel plating only. Other tools like ratchets and full polished wrenches are still copper nickel chrome.

I found examples of chromed sockets, extensions and spark plug sockets within 3 pages on the sears website socket category. The easy to read sockets, like were the op posted are nickel-chromed according to sears website.

Craftsman (Danahar), like every other tool manufacturer uses different plating techniques for different tools. I have SK, and Cornwell tools which are Nickel plated as well, and if I owned much of anything else i'd probably have some of their nickel plated stuff as well.

Now what I'm curious about is just what they do to the inside of the sockets since they're obviously not plated the same.

Edit: I just looked at my Chrome plated Matco extensions (for sale in the classified) and they are exactly like the sockets in the OP's pictures. The 1/4" square drive head is silver coated with something. I'll take pictures tomorrow when there is light.

 

[Skin]

I found examples of chromed sockets, extensions and spark plug sockets within 3 pages on the sears website socket category. The easy to read sockets, like were the op posted are nickel-chromed according to sears website.

like i said you have to hunt. Many of the sets say nothing about "chrome" in the description including the 299pc set the OP purchased.

The silver "paint" is some sort of galv. coating, of that i'm quite confident.

I have sent Sears an email with photos describing the problem of the inconsistent plating

Unfortunetly there is no "problem". This is how your sockets are suppose to look and how everyone elses look. You can use them, or return them.

What i'd like to perhaps see at some point is a premium grade socket line-up but people really need to understand they need to pay more [in this case a lot more] to get more. Would people pay $1500 for the same 299pc set with excellent physical qualities? I doubt it. But thats what you'd essentially be asking for. And thats at $5 a socket, still cheap compared to truck brands. Perhaps some smaller more basic sets of a higher quality wouldnt be out of order.

 

[Dtools]

I have sent Sears an email with photos describing the problem of the inconsistent plating of the larger sockets. They are having there research team investigate the issue and will get back to me. I will update the thread as soon as I find out.

 

[mrholeshot]

I have sent Sears an email with photos describing the problem of the inconsistent plating of the larger sockets. They are having there research team investigate the issue and will get back to me. I will update the thread as soon as I find out.

Sears Investigating team

 

[kc-steve]

1. They're Nickel plated, not Chrome.
2. The plating stops inside the broach on many sockets. Its not just the larger sizes. Look into the deep sockets and you'll see what i mean.
3. They are painted or dipped [not sure which but it looks like a galvanization coating] to cover any remaining exposed metal in the drive end and the broached surfaces. They arent plated in the normal sense though i can tell you that much. And no its not some residue that just wipes off. Both the dual marked and regular stamped sockets are the same so there is no escaping this.

But as you said, they're cheap. Its very very easy to pay ~$1 a socket at sears when purchasing sets so you cant realistically expect the $8-$10 a socket quality. Does the quality pale compared to the Craftsman of the past? Certainly. Do they still work? Absolutely. Will your fasteners tell the difference? No

This is how they've been making their sockets for the better part of 10 years now.

Like i said in another thread most of my sockets end up looking like a mess anyway from the combination of extreme rust and penetrating oil so i could care less about cosmetics.

Someone could argue that the cheaper plating process is going to mean premature rust and flaking. Well i've been using the same set for 8 years and havent had an issue so i think they're holding up fine. Once you get over the wtf quality and realize the price paid and put them to use i think you'll forget about it. If you're one of those **** tool polishers who demands a higher standard well then all i can say is stay away from Craftsman . Its one of Americas last bargain brand domestic products and they dont stay that way by selling products made to a higher standard.

I totally agree!

I purchased the 255pc mechanics set in Nov 2010 and didn't really notice a big problem with them, although they are not laser-etched. If I compare them to my =V= sockets from the 1980s, I can definitely tell a difference in look and feel. But they still work either way and average around $0.73 a piece in that 255pc set (sale priced). Lifetime guarantee still works for me too.

Steve

 

[kams1973]

I prefer the nickel look over the chrome. Just my preference. Also, I think the craftsman sockets are an excellent deal. Seems craftsman tools take more "heat" in this forum than any other tool brand.

 

[KU_MechE]

They are a great deal. They work just fine. They have an incredible warranty. They are US made. Enough said.

Exactly.

 

[Damian]

what are you doing to your sockets that you're breaking them? I would not suggest them for a pro environment, except for filling a size you'd need rarely, but for home use they're fine. And lets re-establish the price thing again since you said "junk" 4 times.

At full LIST they're $1.61 per socket. During sales they can be had for $1.05. What do you, or anyone else expect for that kind of money? Price out some truck brand sockets or Wright or Proto or any other domestic brand. You'll be lucky to spend $900 on a great day just to get a basic set of 6pt 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 in SAE & Metric. This doesnt include the 12pt or 8pt sockets that are also in the Cman set.

Quantity over quality, function over form. Thats all it is. There are plenty of other avenues to spend $6-$10 a socket so anyone can have a ball. Personally i like top value. To each their own.

You craftsman fan boys are all alike.

Some of the stuff Craftsman makes is still decent, their sockets on the other hand are not. Pick up a craftsman socket, then pick up a Taiwan socket. You can "feel" the cheapness in the newer gen Craftsman sockets. Also sit a new gen socket side by side with an 80's or 90's socket and compared wall thickness. Not even close. My old Craftsman sockets I bought back in 89 are nearly twice as thick as the replacements I get today.

What am I doing to break them? Working for a living. I rarely ever break sockets, only a few in my entire career but it does happen when you wrench 10-14 yrs 6 days a week. I've been VERY disappointed with anything that Craftsman has swapped out. I'd also rather have my old socket back and just weld the ******* back together.

I have sent Sears an email with photos describing the problem of the inconsistent plating of the larger sockets. They are having there research team investigate the issue and will get back to me. I will update the thread as soon as I find out.

I'm sure they'll get on the horn with China right away.

 

[trout]

I bought them, have them, never even noticed it and don't personally care, but I think it's good the OP is contacting Sears about it. Unless you let Sears know that consistent quality is important, they will send keep letting their standards slide.

 

[Damian]

Sears does know. The people who make the decisions for the Craftsman line are entirely aware that their **** is being made oversea's as cheap as possible because they're the ones who made that decision.

It's a sad but true fact. Most tool manufacturers will not stay afloat if they don't go overseas. 20 years ago if you told somebody that one day Snap on would eventually start making stuff overseas they'd cuss you out. Well guess what..........