Craftsman thin profile ratchet...

[carterbeauford]

I don't know if it was mentioed in this particular thread, but Ace Hardware is a great place to find USA Craftsman. My particular store is all USA on the items I checked and they have the thin profiles in stock.

they have been hanging on the shelf probably since they came out with them, or in my case, since the store opened last year. buy one and it will be replaced with one made in "Asia" as Craftsman likes to call it. if you like the ratchets do yourself a favor and buy two of each.

in my case my USA 3/8 thin profile came with one free USA warranty replacement. I will be ditching all my Craftsman ratchets and going with Dual 80s.

 

[03protege]

they have been hanging on the shelf probably since they came out with them, or in my case, since the store opened last year. buy one and it will be replaced with one made in "Asia" as Craftsman likes to call it. if you like the ratchets do yourself a favor and buy two of each.

in my case my USA 3/8 thin profile came with one free USA warranty replacement. I will be ditching all my Craftsman ratchets and going with Dual 80s.

I prefer my 1/4" Cman thin profile over my 1/4" Dual 80. The 3/8" rats are a completely different story.

 

[carterbeauford]

I prefer my 1/4" Cman thin profile over my 1/4" Dual 80. The 3/8" rats are a completely different story.

decision was based purely on warranty support, unless someone knows otherwise, any USA thin profile hanging on a shelf is new old stock and not being made anymore.

 

[03protege]

decision was based purely on warranty support, unless someone knows otherwise, any USA thin profile hanging on a shelf is new old stock and not being made anymore.

I gotcha, I have been planning on trying to find a few rebuild kits to store away. I am mainly concerned about the 1/4", the other two I don't think I will break as I don't use them too frequently.

 

[Fastbird]

If anyone is looking, the Sears at the Moorestown Mall in Moorestown NJ has a few sets of these ratchets hanging on it's shelf. I post this because the sets were all USA made and stamped ratchets, not the imports. Just an FYI. I saw these yesterday with my own eyes.

 

[FiendFX]

I prefer my 1/4" Cman thin profile over my 1/4" Dual 80. The 3/8" rats are a completely different story.

i think i know what you mean. just witnessed and experienced the feeling myself on the thin 1/4" ones. they are hella smooth!

 

[SigElite]

I suppose its worth mentioning that the set with all three of these rachets. Is on close out special on craftsman.com

 

[Brownsfan]

Will they match the online price in store? I have a set of the premiums and my local store has a few USA made of the sets hanging on the hooks. I may go check tomorrow

 

[allinon72]

Will they match the online price in store? I have a set of the premiums and my local store has a few USA made of the sets hanging on the hooks. I may go check tomorrow

Buy online and pick up in store. That's the easiest. You don't want to have to interact with a Sears employee.

 

[bimmerZ5]

what price are you seeing for the closeout? I'm only seeing $144, which isn't that great. Plus, it's completely out of stock online. as far as i know, the 3pc set has been out of stock across the US for several months now... i'm almost afraid to speculate they will discontinue this... which is sad since it was probably the best ratchets to ever have the craftsman name on it.

 

[kythri]

what price are you seeing for the closeout? I'm only seeing $144, which isn't that great. Plus, it's completely out of stock online. as far as i know, the 3pc set has been out of stock across the US for several months now... i'm almost afraid to speculate they will discontinue this... which is sad since it was probably the best ratchets to ever have the craftsman name on it.

http://www.craftsman.com/craftsman-...ame=Hand+Tools&prdNo=2&blockNo=2&blockType=L2

$69.99

 

[tater]

Buy online and pick up in store. That's the easiest. You don't want to have to interact with a Sears employee.

Hey I take offense to that
lol jk

We will match online prices even they are online only

 

[kythri]

We will match online prices even they are online only

But only if they're the same SKU/part number (at least, in my experience).

These ratchet sets traditionally have two SKUs for the same set of ratchets, and the in-store sets are usually not the SKU that's being cleared out as an "online only" kind of thing.

 

[dirtydogintex]

But only if they're the same SKU/part number (at least, in my experience).

These ratchet sets traditionally have two SKUs for the same set of ratchets, and the in-store sets are usually not the SKU that's being cleared out as an "online only" kind of thing.

sears.com was showing 2 different SKUs for the thin profile ratchet set (3 pc).
One was $69.99 the other $99.99.
Both SKUs appeared to be identical, haven't a clue to CoO, don't remember if online only.
Last I saw them/was on sears.com was a week ago....

 

[kythri]

Yup.

They've done that for years, even prior to the COO fiasco, so it's not a US-made SKU and an import SKU.

When I bought my 84T set whenever it was that they came out, there was a similar situation -the store had a few 84T sets in stock, but the SKU of the set in the store was different than the online deal, and the store price was significantly higher.

The store wouldn't price match because of that SKU difference.

I've seen it a number of times.

 

[csmitty]

I know a store around me has one set of US ones left. and the item number is 44992, won't bite for over 50-60 though. Have had a 1/4dr one for quite some time and its a great little ratchet.

 

[Chadwilliam1]

I sold all three of mine usa thin profile ratchets with spare rebuild kits for each one for $80 on ebay. I realized I was not using them so I decided to sell them.

 

[carterbeauford]

I lubed all my thin profiles with my own proprietary blend of red lube of love and air tool oil. they work beautifully but my newly replaced USA 3/8" has a ton of play, like if I attach a 6" extension I can wobble it up and down a few degrees in relation to the ratchet body. never noticed this before, what could I have possibly screwed up disassembling and reassembling it? I have a rebuild kit but I haven't used this ratchet on 6 bolts since the last one broke and was replaced.

 

[carterbeauford]

I lubed all my thin profiles with my own proprietary blend of red lube of love and air tool oil. they work beautifully but my newly replaced USA 3/8" has a ton of play, like if I attach a 6" extension I can wobble it up and down a few degrees in relation to the ratchet body. never noticed this before, what could I have possibly screwed up disassembling and reassembling it? I have a rebuild kit but I haven't used this ratchet on 6 bolts since the last one broke and was replaced.

anyone else have this problem? I played with an Asian made 3/8 thin profile in the store and it didn't have any play. My new 3/8 USA is almost unusable.

 

[Chadwilliam1]

I sold my thin profile ratchets and put sk in their place. I don't miss them one bit. I have begun to dislike the quick release.

 

[dirtydogintex]

huhh?
quick release ratchets are the best things since thick sliced bread!

 

[71goldss]

huhh?
quick release ratchets are the best things since thick sliced bread!

Agreed!!! I have all sizes in the Craftsman USA raised panel and thin profile ratchets and love the quick release. I recently bought a new Gearwrench stubby ratchet and really like the feel of it, but I keep trying to press the release button that isn't there! It drives me nuts, and I really have to tug on the socket to remove it. A little grease on the fingers or socket makes it even more difficult to remove. Probably the first and last non-quick release ratchet I'll ever own.

 

[byoungblood]

Agreed!!! I have all sizes in the Craftsman USA raised panel and thin profile ratchets and love the quick release. I recently bought a new Gearwrench stubby ratchet and really like the feel of it, but I keep trying to press the release button that isn't there! It drives me nuts, and I really have to tug on the socket to remove it. A little grease on the fingers or socket makes it even more difficult to remove. Probably the first and last non-quick release ratchet I'll ever own.

With sockets larger than 1/2", or deep sockets of almost any size, the need for quick release diminishes quickly. After a while, you just find yourself not really missing it. When I'm dealing with smaller sockets, I'll just keep a screwdriver around to pop them off if one gets stubborn.

All in all, not a big deal. I only own 3 ratchets that have it, and they are seldom used.

 

[carterbeauford]

I like the quick release, what I don't like is that I can attach a wobble extension and a socket and with the amount of play in the ratchet I can swing the whole thing around like a pair of nunchaku.

 

[6-Speed]

I prefer the QR as well. I bought a set of CM pro ratchets without the QR and find myself going back to the thin profile ratchets because of the QR feature.

 

[Chadwilliam1]

to each their own. I don't miss them one bit.

 

[71goldss]

When I'm dealing with smaller sockets, I'll just keep a screwdriver around to pop them off if one gets stubborn.

Avoiding this ^^ is why I like the quick release.

I just had a inspiring thought. For those that don't like the quick release, maybe I could invent and patent an ergonomic tool designed specifically for prying sockets off of ratchets! It could come in an inexpensive base model or a Snap On worthy pro model. I'll be rich!!!

 

[netcaretaker]

Don't care where they are made, for the money I like mine a lot. The 1/2 is a bit clunky as people have said, but I got mine on sale and I would buy them again, which I think is a good endorsement.

 

[dirtydogintex]

The 1/2 being the one w/the handle inner core of lead.... or depleted uranium depending on CoO?

1/4 and 3/8 are just fine.... two of the, if not the, biggest bangs for the buck....

 

[ganymede]

Avoiding this ^^ is why I like the quick release.

I just had a inspiring thought. For those that don't like the quick release, maybe I could invent and patent an ergonomic tool designed specifically for prying sockets off of ratchets! It could come in an inexpensive base model or a Snap On worthy pro model. I'll be rich!!!

Years ago, Blackhawk had a line of sockets with a small button on the side. You pushed the button in and it would compress the detent ball on the drive plug of the ratchet . I had a couple and they worked good as long as the ball spring wasn't too heavy.

 

[kythri]

Years ago, Blackhawk had a line of sockets with a small button on the side. You pushed the button in and it would compress the detent ball on the drive plug of the ratchet . I had a couple and they worked good as long as the ball spring wasn't too heavy.

I've seen that on a line of Williams 3/4" drive sockets, too.

 

[skruft]

I do not like 1/4 or 3/8 Craftsman ratchets because they break. Their other tools seem to work all right.

Last year though, I bought a box of old stuff including broken 1/4" and 1/2" Craftsman ratchets. When I took them to Sears they handed me "rebuilt" ones, no questions asked.

 

[carterbeauford]

The 1/2 being the one w/the handle inner core of lead.... or depleted uranium depending on CoO?

the flip side to that is that the 1/2" is nearly indestructible, the ratchet body, at least. I had a 19MM socket on my 1/2" and left it on the bolt holding magnetic PTO on my John Deere garden tractor, started it, engaged the clutch, the ratchet slammed into the frame of the tractor and not hardly a scratch on it. the chrome is excellent too compared to the Asian ratchets, which rust in a toolbox drawer.

 

[carterbeauford]

yeah so my 1/4" thin profile exploded while working on farm equipment out in the field. found all the pieces except the selector and the 7/16" socket that was on it. should I even bother taking it into Sears?

my 3/8" wobbles badly too. 1/2" is still going strong. I hate these ******* ratchets. time to dump them for 120XPs. either your farm equipment breaks or your tools break, can't have both.

 

[CNGsaves]

^ ^ ^ Right tool for the job ??

What kind of torque you putting on little 1/4" drive ratchet on farm equipment with 7/16" socket ?? Why weren't you using 3/8" drive ratchet or even breaker bar if you "exploded thin profile 1/4" drive Craftsman ratchet" . . . any pictures??

yeah so my 1/4" thin profile exploded while working on farm equipment out in the field. found all the pieces except the selector and the 7/16" socket that was on it. should I even bother taking it into Sears?

 

[TwoInch]

^ ^ ^ Right tool for the job ??

What kind of torque you putting on little 1/4" drive ratchet on farm equipment with 7/16" socket ?? Why weren't you using 3/8" drive ratchet or even breaker bar if you "exploded thin profile 1/4" drive Craftsman ratchet" . . . any pictures??

agreed. they are a damn strong design, and the 84t design is actually stronger than the 120xp he is "upgrading" to... same mechanism.

 

[kythri]

agreed. they are a damn strong design, and the 84t design is actually stronger than the 120xp he is "upgrading" to... same mechanism.

The thin profile ratchet is not the same thing as the 84T ratchet, and are not the same mechanism.

Thin Profile (60T):

84T:

That said, regardless of ratchet, 7/16" seems a bit big for a 1/4" job if any appreciable amount of torque is involved.

 

[Chadwilliam1]

define exploded.

 

[03protege]

agreed. they are a damn strong design, and the 84t design is actually stronger than the 120xp he is "upgrading" to... same mechanism.

If anything he should go to the sealed head premiums, that would prevent the explosions

The thin profile ratchet is not the same thing as the 84T ratchet, and are not the same mechanism.

The 120xp uses a 60t gear that is slightly wider than a regular 60t (found in Cman TP and GW) and has alternating pawls that are SLIMMER than the 60t pawl. The 84t design is basically the same strength and dimensions as the 60t IIRC.

 

[kythri]

The 120xp uses a 60t gear that is slightly wider than a regular 60t (found in Cman TP and GW) and has alternating pawls that are SLIMMER than the 60t pawl. The 84t design is basically the same strength and dimensions as the 60t IIRC.

Are they the same, though? Because the GW 60t is still a sealed-head design with no quick-release, right?

I was under the assumption that the thin profile was not a GW design.