Visual Craftsman vs Gearwrench sockets
- Thread starter bimmerZ5
- Start date
george4
Well-known member
Not normally a fan of Gearwrench but I do like the deeper knurling on the Gearwrench socket.
cecgm389
Member
My Dad was a huge Craftsman fan. So I've tried to buy all the USA dual-marked Craftsman I could find for my sockets.
http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb473/cecgm389/photo-1_zps497d7d7a.jpg
http://i1207.photobucket.com/albums/bb473/cecgm389/photo-1_zps497d7d7a.jpg
The knurling is a identification feature for metric sockets and not necessarily for functional use.
That being said, the Gearwrench does look like a quality piece.
so far, i've been very impressed with Gearwrench stuff.... i like their ratcheting wrenches, ratchets, pry bars, sockets, socket accessories, screw drivers, scrapers, non-ratcheting wrenches, non-ratcheting stubby wrenches, hammers, click-type torque wrenches, electronic torque wrenches, etc... their screwdrivers are top-notch!... i'm surprised no one ever talks about them....
montanafordman
Well-known member
It would be really interesting to see some sort of relativly controlled experiment comparing craftsman (inexpensive USA), Craftsman (china), gear wrench (arguably higher quality import) and Pittsburg (HF cheap import) where the sockets are torqued to destruction on a machine both in a gradually increasing load and with an impact where you could see what torque value they fail at. Throw in a comparison to some truck brands too. Use several samples of each and get some averages. I'd be really curious to see the results! Also show some sort of comparison to flexing, deformation, how well it fits the nuts/bolts etc.
TheGrooveking
Well-known member
I have a Gearwrench 3/8" drive master set and a Gearwrench 1/4" drive master impact socket set I impressed with both are very high quality
TheGrooveking
TheGrooveking
Steevo
Well-known member
How about measuring some things like depth of broaching, thickness/depth of drive end, and whether all four sides of square drive have detents for ratchet ball.
montanafordman
Well-known member
larry4406
Well-known member
The deepwell gearwrench socket does not appear to let the nut go any deeper than about the nut height while the craftsman appears to let it go the full length. That is probably where the extra metal went for the gearwrench.
MN Falcon
Well-known member
True. I would also like to see a length and a diam measurement. Its hard to see from the picts but the GW looks like it is thicker as well. But almost 20% heavier is scary, that suggests that a 150 pound portable box full of Craftsman USA would be a 180 pound GW box.
Dieselbutterfly
Well-known member
i hate deepwell sockets with that feature,shallow recess,is there any upside to it
dirtydogintex
Well-known member
Agreed.
Good numbers and facts would be much more insightful/helpful than the adverts/propaganda aired by some of the vocal fanboys!!
I'm tired of cracking 3/8 drv deep sockets using more or less proper tool usage/techniques (primarily CM but also some 'names')
and sure would like to upgrade to something USA more 'me' proof.
If Williams USA is basically rebranded SO that's no good
so perhaps Wright.... Proto.... SK ( once they prove they have their act together).
Ideally we're talking much less $$$$ than the cost of several complete CM replacements (50% off CM retail), otherwise I'll continue down the CM USA road w/100% spare replacements.
mrjaw14
Well-known member
I if you were taking the nut off, the shallow recess of the GW socket would **** because the whole ratchet/socket assembly would move away from the fastener as the nut did. Not good in tight quarters. However when putting the nut on, it would keep the nut at the front of the socket and not let it fall inside making it easier to thread the nut on the bolt. If you can get a hand on the fastener to start the nut by hand, that's not a big deal. but if you can't get a hand on it to start the nut, then the shallow recess becomes a plus.
I've been wanting to get more deep sockets and have been considering a lot of brands, lets hear from some mechanics on if a shallow recess of the gearwrench style socket is a plus or a minus
dirtydogintex
Well-known member
One can add paper towels/whatever a whole lot easier to 'hold' a nut at the socket's end
than extend the broaching/forging so a nut can travel down within the socket.
Less than full depth broached/forged deep sockets must be cheaper to mfg....
I prefer the shallow recess. If I run into a situation where access is that big of an issue, I probably will not be using a deepwell socket. Sure, you can stuff sockets with papertowels, but they do give, and they don't always hold the nut square. You also can not put a lot of pressure on that (installing adel clamps is the best situation I can come up with to exemplify that).
dirtydogintex
Well-known member
Good points!
Appears there's a case for buying two sets of deep sockets - one deep, the other shallow!! *L*
and your reasoning for this statement is?
Ok, so several people asked for more detailed comparison... wasn't intending for this to be a full on comparison, but ask and you shall receive....
here's the square end of each socket, left is Craftsman, right is Gearwrench. The craftsman has a notch to make it easier for the retaining ball to slip into the socket. In this close up though, you can kind of see that the finish quality of the Gearwrench is better.
Here's the fastener end of each socket, again, left is Craftsman, right is Gearwrench. In this case, it looks like the Craftsman is fully chromed polished inside as well. but i can tell you a lot of my Craftsman sockets, especially the larger sizes aren't this nice on the insides. This is just happens to be a good example. the Gearwrench has some sort of coating on the inside, but more of a sand blasted finish.
Ok, let's do some measurements. Here is length wise... Gearwrench is tiny bit longer:
Craftsman:
Gearwrench:
here's the square end of each socket, left is Craftsman, right is Gearwrench. The craftsman has a notch to make it easier for the retaining ball to slip into the socket. In this close up though, you can kind of see that the finish quality of the Gearwrench is better.
Here's the fastener end of each socket, again, left is Craftsman, right is Gearwrench. In this case, it looks like the Craftsman is fully chromed polished inside as well. but i can tell you a lot of my Craftsman sockets, especially the larger sizes aren't this nice on the insides. This is just happens to be a good example. the Gearwrench has some sort of coating on the inside, but more of a sand blasted finish.
Ok, let's do some measurements. Here is length wise... Gearwrench is tiny bit longer:
Craftsman:
Gearwrench:
more measurements, the diameter of the drive end of each socket. The Gearwrench design with the knurl at the drive end makes the diameter a little bit smaller:
Craftsman:
Gearwrench:
On the opposite fastener end of the socket, they are about the same. You can also see the difference in design.. where the craftsman has the square hole all way through the socket, the Gearwrench has a round all all the way through and then they probably stamped the square into it.:
Craftsman:
Gearwrench:
Craftsman:
Gearwrench:
On the opposite fastener end of the socket, they are about the same. You can also see the difference in design.. where the craftsman has the square hole all way through the socket, the Gearwrench has a round all all the way through and then they probably stamped the square into it.:
Craftsman:
Gearwrench:
more measurements... this time, the "thickness of the walls" ... I'll start with the flat side of the hexagon to the outer diameter. Gearwrench is tiny tiny bit thicker:
Craftsman:
Gearwrench:
Next, the thickness in the corners of the hexagon. Again, Gearwrench is tiny tiny bit thicker:
Craftsman:
Gearwrench:
Craftsman:
Gearwrench:
Next, the thickness in the corners of the hexagon. Again, Gearwrench is tiny tiny bit thicker:
Craftsman:
Gearwrench:
gsmornot
Well-known member
For me, the Craftsman is the better choice. I prefer the broaching compared to the Gearwrench. Both are good sockets it looks like.
MN Falcon
Well-known member
Thanks for the measurements. I have always used the craftsman with the longer broach. From the picts it was hard to tell if the diam of the socket was larger or not. I do like the way the GW has the easy read numbers stamped into the socket. It does look like the GW weight is only related to the broaching depth.
two comments:
1. the extra weight is "mostly" from the broaching depth. but the GW is longer, and slightly thicker in all dimensions.
2. I too like the stamped easy read numbers, but even better, it is actually stamped on both sides of the socket, where as the CM is stamped on one side and etched on one side only. I do like that CM decided to etch the easy-read number exactly on the side of the socket that aligns with the flat side of the square drive end. Meaning, if you put this on a rail, you can align the number to face exactly one side. I wish they had done that with their stamping too back in the days before they did the laser etching thing... my older CM sockets are sometimes hard to read when organized on a rail.
If anyone does want to do a destructive test i would recommend NOT using an impact. it will be far harder to measure the peak load. I think a good 1/2" breaker bar with a digital torque adapter and an impact 1/2 to 3/8 adapter would let you test (3/8") sockets fairly well. just ramp up slow on the bar till snap. (use a good grade 8 bolt)
I think another interesting test would be to use an aluminum bolt in the same setup and see the peak torque before it rounds the head off this would talk a lot to the design/manufacturing tolerances of the socket.
If somebody had access to a hardness tester it would also be nice to see how hard each socket is as well. I have wanted to put a test like this together for wrenches too as i think it would be quite telling. (and i really want to see how different china craftsman vs USA craftsman is.
The other interesting test may be to try and duplicate a salt/fog test to keep the sockets in a humid salty environment to see how good the finish is on them.
Hummm if i just had an impact 1/2 to 3/8 adapter and some more sockets... i might not be far off from being able to do this...
I think another interesting test would be to use an aluminum bolt in the same setup and see the peak torque before it rounds the head off this would talk a lot to the design/manufacturing tolerances of the socket.
If somebody had access to a hardness tester it would also be nice to see how hard each socket is as well. I have wanted to put a test like this together for wrenches too as i think it would be quite telling. (and i really want to see how different china craftsman vs USA craftsman is.
The other interesting test may be to try and duplicate a salt/fog test to keep the sockets in a humid salty environment to see how good the finish is on them.
Hummm if i just had an impact 1/2 to 3/8 adapter and some more sockets... i might not be far off from being able to do this...
Elvenhome21
Well-known member
dont bother with a bolt. use hex bar stock. It'll be stronger not having a step down and eliminate trying to secure the bolt and prevent it from twisting/snapping.