Craftsman tools warranty and workmanship today

Bedlam · Dec 5, 2008

I had a 3/8 and a 1/4 inch fresh exchange from sears thats what went bad right off. and sure didnt abuse them at all.

Wayne County Hose · Dec 5, 2008

Bird said:
If you'd repaired as many of them as I did, you might have a different opinion. As with any tools, properly used and maintained, they're good tools; no better and no worse overall than MAC or Matco. But parts are much more expensive. I had one customer who had Snap-On's biggest, most expensive air ratchet they made, and I replaced the broken anvil in it 3 times in one year. It was a body shop and he hired kids to remove damaged parts such as bumpers and they'd pull hard enough on it to actually break the anvil. One time he got a new anvil from his Snap-On truck and put it in himself. Then when it didn't work, he sent it on to me to fix again.

I was thinking more on the line of hand tools than air. I really can't complain about my last 1/2" impact gun. The old IR-231. It was 15 years old and probably with a rebuild would be fine. But the Snap-on guy gave me one heck of a deal on a much more powerful one which I need so I bought it. I will probably have the old IR rebuilt and use it at home.

Our local K-mart now carries Craftsman. Have you guys tried there for exchanges? Maybe K-mart is a little more lax on this stuff. Maybe their tool department isn't as knowledgable as Sears.

gemini5362 · Dec 5, 2008

JoelD said:
Never had a problem with exchanges, but I've not had to return ratchets. Mine are from around 1984 or so, I bought then when in highschool.

I use breaker bar for all tough nuts, I've not broken a craftsman breaker bar and I've put 6 foot pipe on the end of my 18 incher on multiple occasions.

I'm a real Craftsman fan. But I've not owned snap on or other such brands. I understand they are excellent quality.

Go to another store so you can get first run as a trade.

I've never been questioned on any return and you should never be questioned, if the replacement they gave you fails to satisfy you for any reason, return that one imediately.

Joel

I worked at a job site once where money was no object and they bought a bunch of snap on mechanic tool sets. I loved working with them. I thought that the difference between them and craftsman (other than the price) was in the quality of the metal they used to make them. Craftsman tools could hold up to a lot of abuse but in comparison to the snap on tools they were a lot thicker and bulkier. Snap on tools seemed to be smaller and fit in your hands better or sockets had more clearance because it was thinner etc. I could be wrong but that was the impression I got.

weldingisfun · Dec 6, 2008

tallyho8 said:
Do you have a 3/4" or larger socket in 3/8 drive? If so, throw them away and use your 1/2" ratchet when working with these larger sizes.

No, 3/4" is the largest. Good advise though.

canoetrpr · Dec 6, 2008

Like the other Canucks here I shop at Canadian Tire - Mastercraft, and Sears for sockets, wrenches etc. They have been great for my use and I couldn't possibly justify spending any more.

There is stuff that I get from the Farm Store - TSC / Princess Auto. For example I bought a jumbo combination wrench set - 1 1/8" to 2" - 6 wrenches for $59. It's not the same quality as the Craftsman/Mastercraft but given that each wrench gets used maybe 1 to 2 times a year - its worthwhile for me.

I try to buy the middle of the road type stuff for power tools - Milwaukee sawzall etc. I've bought some of the Performax stuff from Lowes (bench grinder) that has worked out well.

WilliamBos · Dec 6, 2008

canoetrpr said:
Like the other Canucks here I shop at Canadian Tire - Mastercraft, and Sears for sockets, wrenches etc. They have been great for my use and I couldn't possibly justify spending any more.

There is stuff that I get from the Farm Store - TSC / Princess Auto. For example I bought a jumbo combination wrench set - 1 1/8" to 2" - 6 wrenches for $59. It's not the same quality as the Craftsman/Mastercraft but given that each wrench gets used maybe 1 to 2 times a year - its worthwhile for me.

I try to buy the middle of the road type stuff for power tools - Milwaukee sawzall etc. I've bought some of the Performax stuff from Lowes (bench grinder) that has worked out well.

I agree entirely. Canadian Tire has been great, seems they are getting better all the time. Thursday night is my favourite night, when the new sale flyer is in the paper. Never had a problem with the warranty or returns, and they do take a beating.

IXLR8 · Dec 7, 2008

I worked for Sears for a while, the older Craftsman stuff was very good. The new stuff is junk. Even if it does not break... the fit is poor and you end up mangling nuts and bolt heads. I have found that if salesman won't do an exchange, or gives you a hard time... just tell him "no problem... I will just make a quick call to corporate" At least that used to get QUICK results. Stores REALLY didn't want 'corporate' involved. Since I can't afford Snap-On, and the Sears stuff is junk now... I am looking for a good source of replacement tools. I guess I am hearing that the stuff at HD and Lowes is not too bad, will have to give them a try.

Hooked_on_HP · Dec 7, 2008

IXLR8 said:
Even if it does not break... the fit is poor and you end up mangling nuts and bolt heads.

A lot of the fit issue has to do with the quality of the bolt and or nut. I have run into the same problem, tried different sockets and they all fit loose. Or an sae is too small and metric is to big.

Danno1 · Dec 8, 2008

Hooked_on_HP said:
IXLR8 said:

Even if it does not break... the fit is poor and you end up mangling nuts and bolt heads.

A lot of the fit issue has to do with the quality of the bolt and or nut. I have run into the same problem, tried different sockets and they all fit loose. Or an sae is too small and metric is to big.

Click to expand...

I've had that happen too. Have to go to the 6 point in that case.

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