No, Real Mechanics break a tool on Tuesday and have to wait until the following Monday for "The Truck" to make it's weekly stop.
You real mechanics make me giggle ... but only a little.
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Looking for a good alternative to Craftsman tools
- Thread starter cloper91
- Start date
No, Real Mechanics break a tool on Tuesday and have to wait until the following Monday for "The Truck" to make it's weekly stop.
You real mechanics make me giggle ... but only a little.
.mulepackin
Well-known member
No, Real Mechanics break a tool on Tuesday and have to wait until the following Monday for "The Truck" to make it's weekly stop.
You real mechanics make me giggle ... but only a little.
I thought they borowwed from the guy in the next bay until the truck comes back around
.chicane
Well-known member
No, Real Mechanics break a tool on Tuesday and have to wait until the following Monday for "The Truck" to make it's weekly stop.
You real mechanics make me giggle ... but only a little.
LOL
Yeah, I guess it's to hard to make a run up to Sears on your lunch break. Better wait a week for the truck.
eschoendorff
Well-known member
Well...I'm not about to run out and buy a bench vise because it says "Martha Stewart" on it. Even if that's a well-known brand, I am going to be looking at other aspects, such as "is this Chinese POS going to break the first time I use it?" and stuff like that.
I'm not trying to be difficult...but I think you know where I am coming from.
As far as Consumer Reports is concerned, I have looked at some of their articles that "compare" products that are identical except for the brand name that is stuck on them. Even though the products are obviously the same, they manage to find strengths and weaknesses among them...
I just don't buy into that kind of ignorance.
You're not. I understand and agree with you COMPLETELY.
Tim G
Well-known member
LOL
Yeah, I guess it's to hard to make a run up to Sears on your lunch break. Better wait a week for the truck.
If you're a good customer{never stiffed the guy,been around a while,etc} you call and HE comes to YOU!
I fix cars for a living,my work box is stocked with truck brands,and I'm fourtunate to have an SK guy,BEST bang for the buck!
In my home garage I have mostly Craftsman,OK for playing around,without anyone breathing down my neck to get it done,but if I know I'm going to work with rusted or stuck fastners,I'll bring the "Good Stuff" home from work!
chicane
Well-known member
You do know that SK makes a lot of Craftsman stuff now right? You also know that this is not a Crafstman vs. the World thread right?
SK does NOT make a lot of Craftsman stuff. Danaher is the primary contractor for mechanics hand tools. SK previously made their pro wrenches for a couple/few years but no longer do so. I can't think of anything in the standard hand tool line that SK does make for Sears. Also, Sears actually gives SK their own page or two in the Catalog usually for tools that Sears doesn't produce.
As for an alternative then there isn't much. Sears has the best selection. It's hard to find a good selection of SK at a brick & mortar and when you do many times their price is insane compared to buying online. Napa downgraded after New Britain went under. You also had places like Western Auto and Montgomery Wards that carried decent stuff. Even JCPenney at one time carried decent USA made wrenches (Penncraft branded). You also had auto parts stores that in the past carried decent tools now carry junk.
As for an alternative then there isn't much. Sears has the best selection. It's hard to find a good selection of SK at a brick & mortar and when you do many times their price is insane compared to buying online. Napa downgraded after New Britain went under. You also had places like Western Auto and Montgomery Wards that carried decent stuff. Even JCPenney at one time carried decent USA made wrenches (Penncraft branded). You also had auto parts stores that in the past carried decent tools now carry junk.
MAD
Well-known member
S-K has on occasion made a few tools under contract for Craftsman.The only currently offered ones I know of are the polished flair nut wrenches(look for the K to identify the S-K ones) and the Facom made remote hose clamp pliers. The hose clamp pliers will probably change soon since Facom is now owned by Stanley. S-K along with several other companies such as Klein, Knipex, Mayhew,and others have interesting an relationship with Sears/Craftsman. These companies make a few premium quality tools branded with the craftsman name. These tools are a great value if you look out for them. Sears also sells these manufacturer's tool lines through their online store at near list price. I am not certain if sears sells a lot of these tools but as the largest tool retailer in the country it is quite valuable to these tool companies to have the exposure on the sears site. Having S-K side by side with Craftsman on the online site helps Craftsman by reinforcing its position as the value leader and helps S-K by featuring them as a premium brand (which they are IMHO).
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chicane
Well-known member
SK still makes some wrenches for Craftsman.
Beside the aforementioned line wrenches please inform us of other wrenches being currently supplied by SK.
My statement of "SK does NOT make a lot of Craftsman stuff" is still correct. In my original post I was only trying to correct a statement which I knew to be false.
I appreciate the information that MAD added. I forgot about the line wrenches and I wasn't thinking of the specialty tools.
My statement of "SK does NOT make a lot of Craftsman stuff" is still correct. In my original post I was only trying to correct a statement which I knew to be false.
I appreciate the information that MAD added. I forgot about the line wrenches and I wasn't thinking of the specialty tools.
No, Real Mechanics break a tool on Tuesday and have to wait until the following Monday for "The Truck" to make it's weekly stop.
You real mechanics make me giggle ... but only a little.
In many ways, I am glad I'm not a real mechanic anymore.When something breaks now, I can wait years before replacing it.
(Or until I need it again...)
kartracer55
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jun 21, 2005
- Messages
- 5,317
Local auto-parts stores sometimes carry good tools. The place across from where I work has tons of N.O.S. made in USA blackhawk.
SK is a great brand, holds up very well, no complaints. I prefer thier ratchets to Snap On for most jobs as well. Sockets are great, My 1/4 stuff is almost entirely SK with the exception of a couple tools. IF you buy thier wrenches get the long ones because the standard ones are far shorter than other full polish brands. Im USUALLY very happy with my SK stuff.
SK is a great brand, holds up very well, no complaints. I prefer thier ratchets to Snap On for most jobs as well. Sockets are great, My 1/4 stuff is almost entirely SK with the exception of a couple tools. IF you buy thier wrenches get the long ones because the standard ones are far shorter than other full polish brands. Im USUALLY very happy with my SK stuff.
WOW. I let this thread go for a day or two and I come back to this!!! Just kidding.
The basic point of my post was to find a good quality alternative to the Craftsman brand. Mainly because of service and availablilty. The service has sucked at my local store as well as their national customer service. The selection has gone downhill fast at my local store in the past couple years. There is a large mall based Sears about 30-35 miles north of me that has a LARGE tool selection. I may end up staying with Craftsman and just traveling further to get them.
I don't really car about county of origin. Everybody, and I mean everybody is going to china, taiwan, etc. I just want a quality tool that I can find semi-local. My favorite set of combination wrenches are a set of Blue-Point ratcheting combo wrenches. When I need a wrench that is what I grab. I love them. Well worth the money I paid. Now that I have used them I would have paid 3 times as much. That is how much I like them. They say made in Taiwan right on the wrench. I don't care. They are a great set of wrenches and that is what matters to me.
I don't really give a damn what CR says about anything much less tools. I will make my own mind up there with experience.
It would appear as if some of you have confirmed what I thought. That being Craftsman is pretty much the choice in the market that I am looking. Decent quality and fairly available. SK sounds like a good option to explore also. I think I pretty much have what I need to know. Thanks to all who have voiced their opinion and or experience.
The basic point of my post was to find a good quality alternative to the Craftsman brand. Mainly because of service and availablilty. The service has sucked at my local store as well as their national customer service. The selection has gone downhill fast at my local store in the past couple years. There is a large mall based Sears about 30-35 miles north of me that has a LARGE tool selection. I may end up staying with Craftsman and just traveling further to get them.
I don't really car about county of origin. Everybody, and I mean everybody is going to china, taiwan, etc. I just want a quality tool that I can find semi-local. My favorite set of combination wrenches are a set of Blue-Point ratcheting combo wrenches. When I need a wrench that is what I grab. I love them. Well worth the money I paid. Now that I have used them I would have paid 3 times as much. That is how much I like them. They say made in Taiwan right on the wrench. I don't care. They are a great set of wrenches and that is what matters to me.
I don't really give a damn what CR says about anything much less tools. I will make my own mind up there with experience.
It would appear as if some of you have confirmed what I thought. That being Craftsman is pretty much the choice in the market that I am looking. Decent quality and fairly available. SK sounds like a good option to explore also. I think I pretty much have what I need to know. Thanks to all who have voiced their opinion and or experience.
For job related reasons I have had to move quite often throughout the Midwest. That is the one good thing about Sears and Snap-On. Regardless of where I have lived from the plains of North Dakota, through Illinios, Missouri, Kansas, Kentucky, etc those are the only two tool providers I have always had at least semi-local if not local service for.
If you can find service for it where we have been, you can get it taken care of anywhere. John Deere, Mac and welding suppliers selling Wright have been in the next level. After that it has been hit and miss. The average elcheapo imports are considered disposable since getting them covered locally has been terrible. Most of those are purchased to do one job when we have nothing else available then are thrown into a machine toolbox until they rust so bad you cannot read the size anymore, which happens surprisingly fast.
So some more food for thoughts in the tool purchase chase.
If you can find service for it where we have been, you can get it taken care of anywhere. John Deere, Mac and welding suppliers selling Wright have been in the next level. After that it has been hit and miss. The average elcheapo imports are considered disposable since getting them covered locally has been terrible. Most of those are purchased to do one job when we have nothing else available then are thrown into a machine toolbox until they rust so bad you cannot read the size anymore, which happens surprisingly fast.
So some more food for thoughts in the tool purchase chase.
I guess I'm lucky. I have a Sears Hardware store about 4 miles from me that has
a very large selection of Craftsman tools. If they don't have something I can go to Harbor freight across the street. And then there's the Lowes and Home Depot that are about 6 miles away and across the street from each other. I also have NAPA about 4 miles in the other direction and if it really gets bad I know a Matco tool guy and I can either call him on the cell phone and meet him on his route or just go by his house in the evening.
Steve
a very large selection of Craftsman tools. If they don't have something I can go to Harbor freight across the street. And then there's the Lowes and Home Depot that are about 6 miles away and across the street from each other. I also have NAPA about 4 miles in the other direction and if it really gets bad I know a Matco tool guy and I can either call him on the cell phone and meet him on his route or just go by his house in the evening.
Steve
comp
Well-known member
i may have missed it but there is also Grainger Supply,, not sure if the are nation wide but there may be one near you
danski0224
Well-known member
Ok sears has pissed me off for the last time. First it was a problem with my floor jack. They would not do anything for me at all. And this "National Customer Service" **** they have going is a total joke. Now I can't even find hardly any tools at my local Sears store anymore. They used to have about
6-7 isles of tools on both left and right sides. Now they are down to about 3. It is a joke. I don't know if all Sears stores are this way but mine seems to be.
Anyway I am now looking for a good alternative to Craftsman for tools. I thought maybe Lowe's with there Kobalt brand. I went there today. They have half a isle. Not kidding here. I was lucky to find a 3/8 drive ratchet. HomeDepot is not much better with there Husky brand.
I guess I am going to have to go with Snap-on, Matco, or Mac but I am just a garage enthusiast and not a professional mechanic so it is not like they stop by every week and they have not stores so I have to have my buddy buy the tools from me as he is a tech at a dealership. but when I need a tool I need a tool. I can't wait a week or more to get it. I need it now. The price doesn't bother me that much. I will pay more for a quality tool but it had better be quality if I am dropping that kind of cash for a tool.
Who is out there that I can go to
I don't think you can beat Sears Craftsman for on hand selection and availability. I think the quality is ok in the hand tools department, but Sears is doing what everyone else is.... Consumers talk, but do not actually want to open their wallets for quality, so they must find ways to bring down the wholesale cost while keeping retail prices the same.
In my area, Lowes usually has more in stock than Home Depot, but Menards has them both beat in terms of sheer selection (and most of it is made in China junk).
If you "need it now" and don't want to deal with Sears, there is always the internet and next day air freight.... or the tool truck guy in the phone book- if your calls are returned.
Regarding the floor jack, I bet it isn't classified as a "hand tool", and has either a 90 day or 1 year warranty.