Hidden gift inside Craftsman flashlight

[jimreed2160]

I forget the purchase details of this Craftsman flashlight but I probably bought it sometime in the early 1990s when I moved into a new house. My rule about handyman jobs is that I can buy tools up to the cost of hiring out the repair. It takes the sting and guilt out of buying more tools and has helped me equip my shop with nice stuff over the years.

Anyway, I found this light during my last cleanup. It is a weird design but has been so handy in many cases because of its long articulated neck and its alternate bulb feature. I thought I would tear into it and replace the bulb with a spare LED bulb. Well, that was a bust because the bulb did not work but I got a happy surprise during the effort.

Apparently the engineer ate extra Wheaties the day he designed this light. It was designed to be USER SERVICED. Unlike other items that completely fall apart when opened, this light had cleverly designed rests that held components in place and yet left them open to replacement and service. It was easy to take apart and get back together. The bonus was thoughtfulness--there was a SPARE BULB inside. Now of the millions of lights that were sold to users, I doubt many of them ever discovered the spare bulb. It took a special small Torx just to get into the case.

My hat is off to the design team that included this little surprise. Finding it twenty years later put a smile on my face.

 

[Richard Cranium]

that is because they were a much better store in the 90s, Plus the world had not gotten to be as much of a throw away world.

 

[dogdog]

Most flashlight used to include extra bulbs then.... even your cheap army angled camo flashlight.... or that mag light...

 

[Mechanical Noise]

That was also sold as the Black & Decker snake light back in the 90s. I don't know if Sears gets any credit for the design.

 

[davewo]

I recently learned that the flexible arm on those is actually made from "modular hose."

http://www.modularhose.com


As a kid I had a lot of (wrong) ideas on how they made it flexible.

 

[potato]

led bulbs are reverse polarity

 

[Firebrick43]

Coworker was pissed a couple weeks ago cause his old mag light stopped working. Told him I had one and took his flashlight to my locker out of sight. Pulled the cap, got the spare bulb (from his light) installed it and gave it back to him. I was his hero that night. Didn't tell him it was his bulb

 

[kythri]

That was also sold as the Black & Decker snake light back in the 90s. I don't know if Sears gets any credit for the design.

+1 - My dad still has a couple of these (of the Black & Decker variety) floating around his shop.

 

[ChevyEFI]

That was also sold as the Black & Decker snake light back in the 90s. I don't know if Sears gets any credit for the design.

Sears always credits themselves by putting their name on someone else's design.

 

[dutchgray]

I think there was a Dewalt version in the Ni-cad battery era, at least I seem to remember using one.

 

[finn]

Sears always credits themselves by putting their name on someone else's design.

Sears doesn’t design things, and never has.

They are a retailer, not a manufacturer.

Just like Home Depot, Lowe’s, Target, Macy’s, Walgreens, and Harbor Freight.

 

[bonneyman]

That was also sold as the Black & Decker snake light back in the 90s. I don't know if Sears gets any credit for the design.

The misses bought me a B&D in the 90's. Nice idea but just too flimsy.
Though one winter I used to hang it around my neck with the light pointing forward. Left both hands free to work inside tight furnaces and I could "adjust" where the light went by moving my shoulders. Neat while it lasted.

Whenever I replace a flashlight bulb I buy two and put the spare into the flashlight at that time. Then if I'm on the job and the bulb burns out I'm not SOL.

 

[Moparman390]

Yes, it's the CM rebrand of B&D Snake Light from back in the 90's. Very popular back then, they ran commercials and everything, we got my dad the B&D version with the round rechargeable batteries one Christmas.

 

[PugetDude]

Sears always credits themselves by putting their name on someone else's design.

Sears has the products built to their specifications and branding. The manufacturer (in this case B&D) is compensated per the supply contract, which may or not include redesign of an existing product.

But, the Sears haters gotta hate...

 

[Roberts210]

led bulbs are reverse polarity

I'm not sure this is correct.
I swapped an led bulb into my old Maglite and it worked just fine without making any changes.
Here's a good read on the subject:

https://blog.birddogdistributing.com/led-polarity-understanding-and-troubleshooting/

 

[Spiffers]

Most flashlight used to include extra bulbs then.... even your cheap army angled camo flashlight.... or that mag light...

Mag Lite was under the spring. When they went to led bulbs I really missed seeing the bulb in it's foam padding when I changed batteries.

 

[dogdog]

Sears has the products built to their specifications and branding. The manufacturer (in this case B&D) is compensated per the supply contract, which may or not include redesign of an existing product.

But, the Sears haters gotta hate...

Not sure if this is a credit to sears though..... but this flashlight including spare bulb thinggy have been around in all variant of incandescent bulbs flashlights ... for a while... might be a surprise to the new generations that only have seen LED flashlight that doesn't include spare bulbs...