Problem with New Craftsman Ratchet

[haneyrm]

I decided to give Craftsman one last chance and am regretting that decision. I was born and raised on Craftsman and still have a ton of their tools.

I bought one of their Versastack kits which comes with a basic 3/8” ratchet. I pulled the ratchet out of the box, spun it a few times by hand and this happened.



Not looking to debate whether Craftsman is garbage or whatnot. Just wondering why this happens. Made in Taiwan per the package and I expected it to at least function.

Is this a manufacturing tolerance issue, QC issue, etc.?

The kit also included a socket that was not chromed and there was no 5mm socket included. Instead, there was a second 7mm in its place.

I bought this kit around 2 months ago while I was out of town so now I’m dealing with the online warranty process.

 

[rust in the eye]

Looks like you are the new QC department as it seems clear the factory hasn't one.
Hoping that you may get your $$ back then spend it elsewhere. Plenty of very good Taiwan tools without the inflated still milking a once respected brand price. Better yet seek out some of the old Craftsman you were raised with.

 

[ecotec]

Looks like you are the new QC department as it seems clear the factory hasn't one.
Hoping that you may get your $$ back then spend it elsewhere. Plenty of very good Taiwan tools without the inflated still milking a once respected brand price. Better yet seek out some of the old Craftsman you were raised with.

I broke vintage raised panel Craftsman ratchets more than any other tool. Mostly twisting the anvil right off of the ratchet (occasionally breaking them internally)… and, not one of those times did I have a cheater bar on the ratchet.

They were a good enough (but not particularly good) tool for very little money. This is one tool that I, definitely, do not see the nostalgia for.

When I changed out my work ratchet for an SK 45170 (and then a Wright 3490), I never broke another ratchet.

I would rather use a Pittsburgh Pro ratchet than a 1980’s-1990’s raised panel Craftsman ratchet.

I used these Craftsman ratchets 8-12 hours a day running cable tray, trapeze… for weeks at a time. I was young and didn’t know that there was better yet. These Craftsman ratchets were the most common ratchets among electricians at that time. This was also long before anything was tightened with an impact driver… this was tightened and loosening 9/16” and 3/4” bolts on 3/8” and 1/2” hardware.

I probably broke 40 Craftsman ratchets and 20 Craftsman ratcheting tap handles in my youth. Probably another 20 Craftsman tape measures on top of that. I never cracked a single socket in those days… that never happened until impact drivers came into play, and that only happened when the driver was set on the wrong setting.

 

[Andres26tnt]

What you pay for the verstack kit? It a cheap kit almost always on sale for 100$. With that come a lot of compromises, like a lack of quality. Also there might not be anything wrong with the ratchet just a QC issue, when assembled.

Reassemble it and try again, if it happened again warranty. If those are the fat head ones, they have been discontinued. You will get a thin profile version of you warranty it.

 

[rust in the eye]

The Craftsman (hollow) anvils are necessarily weaker due to the quick release. That is the tradeoff. I think I've broken one anvil in my time. Had I broken 40 ratchets I might consider a breaker bar or larger drive size. Curious to know if these were warranty exchanged or not.
OP says he likes the old Cman, that's why I suggested vintage ones. Me? I'm agnostic. One old CMan ratchet still lives in my toolbox, a long flex head 1/2" drive that has served me well for a very long time. If it were to break I'd probably warranty it for whatever the current replacement is, sell that then move to a "better" one. Meanwhile it still serves me just fine and I deal with lots of old crusty ****. Breaker bars also live in my tool box.

 

[AEAdam]

My guess is there is absolutely no oversight at the manufacturer. The manufacturer is looking to maximize profits and there’s no one to tell them to stop.

And the manufacturer was probably the lowest bidder. So while you don’t want to start a craftsman bashing thread, my belief is that’s exactly the answer to your question.

Let’s look at this another way. Every leader in Harbor Freight Tools wants us to believe they can find and maintain good sources of tools in the same places that produce really bad tools. These leaders want us to believe it’s them, and not the COO, that determines the quality of the end product. They also want us to believe their $20 ratchet from Chiwan is better than someone else’s $20 ratchet. I think there’s anecdotal evidence their ascertain is accurate.

For tools stamped with someone else’s name on it (other than the manufacturer’s), it’s probably a mistake to put too much faith in the COO determining quality.

 

[Wamsutta]

The cure for a Taiwan quality issue is to replace with an F80, FL80, FLF80 or FLLF80 from eBay or the S-O website.

Made in Tennessee.

 

[woody 73]

Strange as a general rule tools coming from Taiwan have served me well with not many problems, oh sure it happens to all tool companies even the best of them that things escape from the factory with problems and defects. I know I had a lot of raised panel ratchets that would change directions if you looked at them funny.

I picked up an old style 1/2 drive round head proto ratchet just this week for $20.00 dollars, I could not pass up on that nice condition ratchet, I know it will give me many years of use and should be for the most part problem free.

 

[KnurledNut]

Looks like you over-reved that poor ratchet and jumped timing!

 

[WWheeler]

Can you not just push the pin back in the selector and move it to the center of the pawl? Maybe give it a shot of lube while you are in there?

 

[haneyrm]

I filed for the online Craftsman warranty deal for the ratchet and bad socket. The replacement parts showed up today. Here’s what they sent. Craftsman warranty for the win this time. I did have to provide proof of purchase which the warranty says you do not have to provide but I was surprised that this showed up.

 

[KnurledNut]

I filed for the online Craftsman warranty deal for the ratchet and bad socket. The replacement parts showed up today. Here’s what they sent. Craftsman warranty for the win this time. I did have to provide proof of purchase which the warranty says you do not have to provide but I was surprised that this showed up.

I’d consider that a win.