When did craftsman tool boxes start to ****?

[bagsanthony]

i don't kno how much more thinner they can possibly go in their metal selection lol... but roughly when did they start to **** the bed?

 

[Stuey]

Which ones are you talking about?

 

[NJHandyGuy]

1983

 

[bagsanthony]

lol all of them, but notably ur everyday 26 in. and 40 in. top and bottom combos

 

[jjjrmx5]

Last new Craftsman box I bought was 4 years ago. 26" bottm box with quite glide slides.

If drawers get loaded heavily or with a bunch of sockets, the slide do bind or get very hard to move, even with lube.

Front lock bar binds in the bottom of the storage slot on both sides.

Far from great but useable, but sadly I find that HF has trumped their low end box quality. And that makes me sad.

If not use professionally or daily tho, they are acceptable but not great and really not the best tool for the job out there.
My 2 pennies.

 

[Steven67fr]

1983

Yep, right at the beginning of the 80's.

 

[DanCo]

Mid 80's, all downhill from there

 

[PSYKO_Inc]

I've got a top box with an '81 date stamp that's way more solid than anything on the shelves at Sears these days. I've also got a 4 drawer mid box, no date stamp but I'm guessing early 90s, not as solid. So sometime after '81...

 

[FergusonTO35]

Seems to be dependent on which box you're talking about. The really lowball ones that require a bar to be manually placed in front of the drawers to lock up are pretty junky. Those that are a step or two above that are decent for the price as long as you don't really load them down. They have pretty much no resale value, meaning you can get them on the cheap in really good condition. I bought a Quiet Glide 7 drawer 26" chest to put on top of my small Mac bottom box for $50.00 in a pawn shop, all that was wrong was the lid had a dent in it. The Industrial boxes of the 90's were really well made, I've worked with alot of guys that had them over the years.

 

[bobcatdan]

From what I have seen and used. Red with black drawers made before quiet glide slides seem to still be ok, I knew they were cheaping then when the caster went from 5x2 to 4 1/2x 1 1/2 in the late 90's. Now if they made them like my Grandpa's from the 60's, that baby is built as good as an SO!

 

[Givl Reggin]

Anything with roller bearings will likely outlive you.

 

[Craftsman_88]

From the best I can tell the "home owner" boxes, the ones with the lock bar in front of the drawers, have always been cheap. My dad has a 70's era box that is pretty sturdy. He also has a early 80's that is still pretty stout, but clearly it lacks some quality in comparison to his other box. I have 26" and 40" combo's. The 26" combo is maybe 8-10 years old and I would say its the same quality as the 40" that is a year old/ just bought. However I have my drawers loaded down pretty well and dont struggle at all. I do keep my boxes clean and maintained. Just depends on who you are and what your doing with it.

 

[caseyjw]

Just depends on who you are and what your doing with it.

I couldn't agree more with this statement. If you hardly ever use tools, don't have a lot, and don't care to pay much for a toolbox... then craftsman is the way to go.

 

[SpiderGearsMan]

they always sucked ..mine are 1982

 

[Larwyn]

Not sure when mine was made, had to be the early 80's when I bought it, but I have no complaints about my old Craftsman roll around and chest. The drawers are heavily loaded used often and never fail. The slides have no rollers but I do oil them ever 2 or 3 years with 3 in 1 which I am sure is no more popular here than Craftsman boxes.....

 

[Jeeper]

I think everything else got better.

 

[SweetD]

Not sure when mine was made, had to be the early 80's when I bought it, but I have no complaints about my old Craftsman roll around and chest. The drawers are heavily loaded used often and never fail. The slides have no rollers but I do oil them ever 2 or 3 years with 3 in 1 which I am sure is no more popular here than Craftsman boxes.....

I love 3-in-1 oil!

 

[AZ_Catskinner]

+1 on 3-in-1 oil!! I always keep 3 or 4 bottles around the house.

 

[porphyre]

Maaaaaaaaan, dag gum SEARS CRAFTSMAN has always sucked, except when my daddy used to drive me into town in the Chevelle SS and we'd look at 'em back in 1965!

Maaaaaaan, I war in that local store of mine three days ago and I had to let out a mighty big sneeze. I dun took out THREE of them new tin-foil CHINEE boxes. Manager wanted me to pay for 'im but I ditched him behind a fat lady lookin' at thar electric sucker cleaners. If'n I wanted some tin-foil, I kin buy it at thar yonder Wally World. They got good Beef Jerky there too.

 

[Coach James]

I have several C-man boxes that are a mix of 2 roll arounds, some intermediate chests and 2 or 3 top chests. One roll around/top chest is a homeowner line that is not for holding 100's of pounds but none of then ****. Their purpose is to hold tools and they do that.

Coach

 

[steelespeed]

yeah, i don't really see what the problem is with the craftsman boxes. sure, the absolute bottom of the line models are a bit flimsy, but shouldn't you expect that for the price they are sold at? the ball-bearing and grip-latch combos seem pretty darn sturdy to me and i am sure they would hold up just fine in 99% of the places they are used.

sure, they aren't a 10k, 5k, or 2k dollar box, but damn, let's get real. even if you bought a box (any brand, not just craftsman) for a few hundred bucks, used it for 5 years and then trashed it and bought another, you're still ahead of the curve with money in your pockets.

besides, the craftsman stuff is still mostly made by waterloo and the industrial boxes are still available.

that being said, i'll prolly get a set of craftsman grip-latch boxes.

 

[pipsters]

The way I saw it, when I was shopping a year ago, is Craftsman is imported as well and their prices are inflated. HF is imported but quality is better and prices are lower.

Comparing apples to apples HF is clearly better. If you just want a "Craftsman" name brand tool box knock yourself out, but personally I haven't been impressed. The Griplatch boxes are a great idea and better quality than their standard ones but no where near the quality of the Harbor Freight stuff for less money. No brainer IMO.

In Canada, the Craftsman branded boxes are "Made in Canada" and the Whirlpool Gladiator stuff is made in the USA and imported. In the US, the Gladiators are made in China. WTF?

 

[Super Sport]

I have the ~$300 set of quiet glide chests. Bought them maybe 5 years ago and I have been happy with them. I don't use them daily but I am in them quite a bit, and the slides have worked fine for me. I wish I had bought the ball bearing ones but not because I really need them, I would just prefer them.

The Cman basic chests really ****, I'd rather have nothing than use those. But once you get into spending a few hundred or more they seem like decent quality to me, albeit maybe not the best deal out there.

 

[TireTracks]

I've got a $99 Homeowners top box. Yes it's flimsy, and I have the deep drawer loaded down so it doesnt open easy, but it works.

 

[Notwerk]

Maaaaaaaaan, dag gum SEARS CRAFTSMAN has always sucked, except when my daddy used to drive me into town in the Chevelle SS and we'd look at 'em back in 1965!

Maaaaaaan, I war in that local store of mine three days ago and I had to let out a mighty big sneeze. I dun took out THREE of them new tin-foil CHINEE boxes. Manager wanted me to pay for 'im but I ditched him behind a fat lady lookin' at thar electric sucker cleaners. If'n I wanted some tin-foil, I kin buy it at thar yonder Wally World. They got good Beef Jerky there too.

Porphyre: Bringing cheer to every "Craftsman *****" thread since 2009.