Likes/Dislikes

[ultrarunner]

I have some older Craftsman tools that I've picked up over the years and they have served me well... mostly hand and power tools dating from 1970 and older...

Table saw is simple and rugged... neighbor bought it in 1960 and gave it to me when they moved...

Chain saw I bought in 1970 with Powersharp that has done a lot of work and still has good compression.

I also have a 12 year old Craftsman ride on mower that was in exchange for helping someone move... it too has been very dependable and now mows a lot out my brother's ranch... still remember the first time I took it out there and grass was almost waist high... just made narrow cuts about a third of a swath all day long and it never missed a beat.

That said I rarely go to Sears for anything these days except I still buy my heavy duty garden hoses there... that's about it.

Wondering what other TBN members buy from Sears?

 

[k0ua]

I have some older Craftsman tools that I've picked up over the years and they have served me well... mostly hand and power tools dating from 1970 and older...

Table saw is simple and rugged... neighbor bought it in 1960 and gave it to me when they moved...

Chain saw I bought in 1970 with Powersharp that has done a lot of work and still has good compression.

I also have a 12 year old Craftsman ride on mower that was in exchange for helping someone move... it too has been very dependable and now mows a lot out my brother's ranch... still remember the first time I took it out there and grass was almost waist high... just made narrow cuts about a third of a swath all day long and it never missed a beat.

That said I rarely go to Sears for anything these days except I still buy my heavy duty garden hoses there... that's about it.

Wondering what other TBN members buy from Sears?

Like you, nothing anymore. I used to buy many tools from them and was satisfied with the quality and longevity. I still have some of them.

 

[davesl708]

I pretty much stopped buying power tools from Sears around 2003. The quality just was not there. There lawn and garden machines are not worth what they charge.

Sad that they are going cheap even on their hand tools.

 

[ultrarunner]

A big change for me was when they sent me a new Credit Card and then cancelled it as I was checking out with appliances for a rental...

The clerk was very nice and said I could apply on the spot and most people are approved... said I have carried my Sears card since college and called in to activate the night before.

I did write to Sears and never a response.

It wasn't so much a case of me leaving Sears as Sears leaving me.

I will still pick up vintage handtools as I come across them.

The set of wrenches I use for my vehicles are all mix matched... just ones people gave me as a kid... sure, I have matching sets in the service truck and a Craftsman Box I bought in 1985... the ones from my childhood are still the ones I go to at home... Craftsman, Thorsen, Snap On, Mac, etc...

 

[ultrarunner]

PS... the Washer/Dryer pair I have is Kenmore from the 1960's in Avocado... also a hand-me-down... some things were simply built to last AND service.

When I was designing apartments and kitchen remodels the Sears Catalog was my go to source because everything listed came with dimensions...

I put a sump pump from Sears at a rental in 1985... it was Sears Best and cost $60... it is still working and I checked it yesterday...

 

[davesl708]

I have 40yr old hand tools and 20+yr old skill saw.
My son bought a second set of Craftsman sockets for work. Broke three 1/2" drives in two years. At first they wanted to give him rebuildt ratchets to replace them. His original set is from the early nineties. None of them have broken.

Had a Kenmore washer for fourteen years. The replacement lasted five. Now have Maytag.

 

[Industrial Toys]

My Ex used to work there in the eye department, and I enjoyed a discount as well as always finding about really incredible bargains as far as clearance items go. I miss that. Her . . . not so much.

 

[downsizingnow48]

I bought Craftsman hand tools for decades until they turned to crap. Haven't been in a Sears store for probably 12 years.

I get tons of use out of old Craftsman machine tools that are still a good deal (price vs service). The drill press ($250) has the hard-to-find intermediate pulley that allows slow rpm for drilling steel. Had to replace the chuck. The lathe was $900 with lots of tooling. I had to replace a broken cross-feed, and get a modern quick change tool post. Both machines are 60-65 years old and still in weekly service. I also have a couple old Craftsman drill press vises that are excellent. I use them for everything.

 

[DFB]

2hp 2.5 gallon Craftsman portable shop vac was the last thing I bought at Sears store probably about 18-24 months ago and some soft sided tool bags, a 2 pc set maybe 3-4 years ago at Christmas time and were like $10 on a sale

The vac was also on a sale plus they gave me some club discount on top of it so that was only like $20 plus tax out the door. I haven't even used it since I got a Milwaukee cordless.

Still have 3 Craftsman power tools that date from the late 80's or very early 90's...an older 1HP Craftsman belt sander I most often use, plus a 1 1/2 HP router and 1/3 pad sander. Dumped a pos router table and big circular saw ages ago and replaced the circ saw with a Makita which is still my main saw today. I have 10" craftsman portable aluminum top table saw that's only just being used a table now. :laughing: I replaced it with a similar RYOBI for my job. I'm betting I couldn't get $50 for it at the flea mkt either so I'll just keep it.

And there also is a huge 16 gal shop vac I didn't really even want. Because the slightly smaller one I wanted was out of stock they gave it to me for the same price. Can't exactly remember when I got that but it had to be around the time I was building my house, '99?

Most all my yard tools shovels, rakes etc. are still Craftsman. I heard they wont warranty wood handles anymore just the ones with fiberglass handles. Any tool I had ever made a claim on was replaced with a Fiberglass handle model.

I'm doing a little resto on my 1976 FXE so I was just recently taking a good look at my old Craftsman sockets sets, ratchets, breaker bars and wrenches most of the ones I bought in the very early 80's right after I got the HD. They have "VV" and "V" stamps and comparing them to some later sockets which have a "G" stamp and some a double V but the second v is upside down. A few have VL and one has an H. I have not bought any Craftsman hand tool since at least 1999.

An old 3/8" slide bar I found at the flea mkt has a circle H, and = New Britain, ca. 1931 - 1947 according to one reference chart online

 

[Weedy Fields]

I bought Craftsman hand tools for decades until they turned to crap. Haven't been in a Sears store for probably 12 years.

I get tons of use out of old Craftsman machine tools that are still a good deal (price vs service). The drill press ($250) has the hard-to-find intermediate pulley that allows slow rpm for drilling steel. Had to replace the chuck. The lathe was $900 with lots of tooling. I had to replace a broken cross-feed, and get a modern quick change tool post. Both machines are 60-65 years old and still in weekly service. I also have a couple old Craftsman drill press vises that are excellent. I use them for everything.

that lathe looks like a South Bend.
I've got some crapsman tools from the '70's.
Their ratchets are junk.
Last time I was in Sears was to replace a "lifetime" tool I was told they no longer offer a lifetime warranty for that tool.
Told them I don't care what they do now, this tool is lifetime warranty. So they gave me a replacement tool with no warranty and basically screwed me out of my warranty.
Sears is only a shadow of its once great self. I remember going to the Sears store when I was a kid in '60s. nothing like it is today sadly.