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.

 

[ultrarunner]

I think Atlas made some lathes for Sears... not certain.

 

[DT86]

Wondering what other TBN members buy from Sears?

Not a thing, ever.

Sears is a "has been", they aren't relevant anymore.

 

[davesl708]

Not a thing, ever.

Sears is a "has been", they aren't relevant anymore.

Sear's seems to go through cycles on quality. Over the last 60 years seems during economic downturns the quality goes down. As in the 70's and then late 90's and now. It is like they build up a reputation for good tools at reasonable prices then switch to junk at the same price.

I even stopped buying tires from them after they shorted me on the rotate/balance service.
The store here in my area seems to be liquidating it's inventory.

 

[k0ua]

Yeah, I think Sears is about done. I haven't been in one of their stores in years. We used to buy a whole lot of their stuff.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Yeah, I think Sears is about done. I haven't been in one of their stores in years. We used to buy a whole lot of their stuff.

Same here, stocked the whole house with Kenmore appliances 6 years ago. Sears parking lot is nearly bare except during Black Friday sales. I don't know how they are staying in business. I read recently that Penney's is going to start selling appliances in an effort to take more of Sears business. I cant say that I have been in either store enough to find my way around.

 

[treefarmerguy]

I have used Craftsman tools for around 50 years and still occasionally buy something there. I agree that the quality isn't the same. I found a discarded 20 gallon Craftsman vac. at the dump when I use to pick there. Brought it home and reassembled everything and am still using it. I worked at a new Sears when in college and enjoyed a 10% discount on everything which is why I have many of their tools. My dad built our house in the 50s and still has the table saw he bought back then. Weighs a ton but still works well.

I few weeks ago my Craftsman 10 ft tape measure bought around 30 years ago refused to lock when extended. Whet to Sears and asked for a new one. They said they don't guarantee them for life any more. I responded that when purchased it was guaranteed for life! I was finally given a new one of a different brand that is guaranteed for a year!

To bad to see companies slowly putting themselves out of business for lack of foresight and the almighty bottom line.

 

[ultrarunner]

Does it still say "Satisfaction Guaranteed" above the doors coming in?

 

[KevinP65]

I still use some Craftsman wrenches from the 70's and some other tools that still work but stopped going there when the quality seemed to change and the return/replacement policy, too. One thing to consider is that Sears puts their 'brand name', Kenmore for example, on goods made by mfgs to their specifications. Sears is responsible for the quality of the product they have made and retail. I worked in a Norge tool room in the late 70's and I think they used to do a Kenmore run but could be mistaken--Norge long gone. Last time I had to buy Craftsman parts they sure seemed high cost, but I could get them. When I bought a new lawn tractor this winter, I looked at Craftsman and the newer model seemed to get good reviews in the area of features, performance and cost, but not by users that had problems and tried to get them resolved in enough cases (yeah, I know the Internet, but not everyone is a liar) that I bought a different brand. I think that this perception has hurt Sears more than they realize. In this short thread previous customers and relatively long time ones seem to be saying this sort of thing often enough to be noticeable

 

[dragoneggs]

I have many Craftsman hand tools that date mostly 25 years or older. Very happy with them. I have my dad's Radial Arm Saw from 1963 and can't bring myself to part with it even though I haven't use it in at least 8 years. I sold my 10in cast iron table saw after 25years that built my first house only because I upgraded to 220 3hp Delta. It was a solid tool. Last tool purchased, I think, was a shop vac on a great sale at least 5 years ago. It is sad walking through Sears tool/garden department and seeing lots of tools but not getting excited about them any more.

 

[mapper]

Craftsman and Kenmore have been split off from Sears and are now an independent company. Friend of mines daughter works for them, says they are trying to get back to the quality everyone remembers. That's also why you are starting to see craftsmen tools in stores other than Sears now.