Went to Sears last night..

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the rust don't hurt it, it will wear off. I wire brush mine every once in a while to make it pretty but the nails don't seem to notice...
Oh I know the rust won't hurt, seen a lot worse on axes I've restored. It'll get rehung on a nice piece of hickory, rust removed and a nice coat of hoppes no. 9 on the head (like putting a coat of gun oil on axes, hammers etc. and I love the smell of hoppes 9) and boiled linseed oil on the handle, might even octagonalize the handle like I've done to a few of my axes
 
Some of the old gas engine type swap meets will have a vendor or two with buckets of sockets or wrenches for a nickle. You won't find a set, but you will find good old American stuff if you take the time to sort it out. I look for Williams stuff and my buddy goes for P & C tools. You can usually get a set of American wrenches or sockets for under $10, however they will be different makes.
 
Sad about Sears. I've always trusted Craftsman tools.

When I was 16, 30 years ago, I found a Sears torque wrench under a puddle in my grandmothers basement. "Craftsman" was the only thing legible on it. I walked in to a Sears with it and the guy handed me a new one. No questions asked.

A few real sad ones recently for me, unrelated to Sears.

First and the worst was when I joined the NRA and got the red white and blue USA knife as a gift. I opened it up and the blade said "China" on it. I couldn't believe my eyes.

The other was buying a hand cultivator. It said "AMES Our Tools Built America". The metal part said China on it.

It's a global economy, but I'm not liking what I'm seeing.
 
Napa hand tools are not made in the USA anymore. All of the old professional line were US made. I had bought a Carlyle wrench from Napa and was thinking it was US made. The Carlyle line is made in Taiwan I was let down thinking I was still buying a US made tool. I will stick with Snap On despite the price until the day they sell out and go to China , Taiwan ,ETC.
 
How about Proto, anyone know if they are US made?
Today, Proto offers a complete line of more than 5,000 tools and sets that are manufactured to the highest standards in the USA. Proto tools exceed ASME specifications, feature TorquePlus™ drive configuration on sockets and wrenches, and carry a limited lifetime warranty. As a result, Proto is the most recognized brand and the most often used hand tool in the industry.
 
Depot's Husky brand is made by Stanley Mechanics Tools, a division of the Stanley Works. Husky are also good tools and have a good lifetime warranty (they'll even replace your broken Craftsman with an equivalent Husky).
Until 1994 or so, Stanley also made Sears Craftsman tools. Sears Craftsman is now made by Danaher Tools. They beat out Stanley on the contract over price. Danaher also manufactures MatCo Tools, the third largest player in the Mobile Automotive industry (behind MAC and Snap-On). Odds are, if you own any Craftsman tools that are older than about five years ago, they were made by Stanley in plants in Dallas, Texas, Witchita Falls, Texas, and Sabina, Ohio.

Stanley also owns MAC Tools and manufactures MAC tools in the same plants. Now here's the kicker: MAC Tools, Proto Tools (a very expensive industrial brand), Husky Tools, and, (prior to five or so years ago) Craftsman Tools are all made from the same forgings in the same plants. Proto is unique because it goes through addtional testing and certification because it is used by NASA, the military, and industrial customers (including General Motors).

There are three MAJOR players in the USA mechanics tool business: Stanley, Danaher, and Snap-On. Stanley and Danaher (almost identical in sales revenue at about $28 billion each) are the biggest followed by Snap-On. Each of these three manufacture and sell tools under a variety of brands (there are many other brands that Stanley makes that I haven't even named). The quality between these three manufacturers is roughly the same. I know its a bit of a let-down to hear that, but its a simple fact.

There are a hand full of other minor players (Vermont American, etc) and an endless list of Taiwanese import tool companies (some of which Stanley own as well as Danaher to serve the lower end consumer import brands at WalMart, etc). How do I know all of this? I work for Stanley Mechanics Tools, specifically with the Proto Industrial brand. I personally do not think that MAC, MatCo, or Snap-On branded tools are worth the extra markup since they use the same forgings and manufacturing processes that make Husky and Kobalt and pre-1994 Craftsman. Where you need to pay attention are things like ratchets and torque wrenches. There are different specifications of ratchets and you do pay for the difference. Some mechanics require a finer, more precise ratcheting mechanism than guys like me who just bang around in the garage on the weekends.

By the way, Metwrench is basically considered a "gimick" infomercial tool brand that is not considered as a serious competitor to Danaher, Snap-On, or Stanley. Then again, IBM once didn't see Microsoft as a serious force in the personal computer business. Hmmm
 
I've got more tools that Guido has chainsaws. Most were purchased used although I've purchased lots of new ones too. I have about any brand imaginable and have thousands of sockets. I have an inventory of tools that are on my shop mezzanine that is just spares. I help out young guys with tool sets when they volunteer here at our ministry. My sons have tool sets that I didn't have until I was in my 40's and collecting them for 25 years...
I use tools appropriate to the job so sometimes it has to be Snap On and sometimes Harbor Freight will do. Craftsman/SK are sort of the median of my assortment. I use Milwaukee for electric power tools (sorry, not impressed with Dewalt). Prefer Ingersoll Rand for air tools, like Estwing hammers, Milton tire gauges and so forth. I have used most brands of tools so know which ones are decent. For instance, I don't buy Vice Grips unless they say Vice Grip on them. Same with Channellocks. Good tools are important if everything else is going down the toilet.
:clap::clap:
 
Dad bought a Sears Craftsman 3/4" Socket Set in 1961. Sometime in the 70's he broke the Ratchet Drive. I took it to Sears Customer Service for the 'Lifetime Guarantee', and the elderly lady snapped back at me, that they didn't replace that tool, but repaired it, and took it into the back. She returned, and laid it on the counter, and said, they don't have kits to repair it.
Fortunately, another clerk walked up, and said: "Yes, we replace those ratchets ", and took it out the doors, and returned with a brand spanking new one. The old lady snorted, and walked off.
ran into the same thing, as I had a 1/4 ratchet that kept taking out the gears..something inside was messed up.. now don't take this wrong people,,ok??? the guy in there was a Jew,,and talked as such..jews are known to be??? right, skinflint...must have thought he owned sears!! and accused me of using a pipe on it!!! I told him I own up to and including some 1 inch stuff!!sooooo, was there three times,,over a three week period,,as its 40 miles away...after the third time,,i caught the lady,,that had been there for years,,,,,she gave me a new ratchet..and the jew was pissed!!!
 
I worked for Sears in Division 9 (tools) back in the 90s and I bought a bunch of tools at the time. They were a quality product and Sears stood behind their tools. There was a big banner above the door that said something to the effect of "Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back".

These days, when I do break a Craftsman hand tool, the clerks usually want to argue and the replacement is often not in stock. When the replacement is on the shelf it's always a Chinese product of lower quality than what I bought.

At this point I buy hand tools at Harbor Freight. If I'm going to buy Chinese junk, it's going to be cheap. Harbor Freight stands behind the garbage they sell, believe it or not.

Last week my made-in-China DeWalt 4.5" grinder bit the dust. It was only a few years old and hadn't been used all that much and I was disgusted. I replaced it with another crappy Chinese grinder, this one from Harbor Freight. The DeWalt was $120 if memory serves while the Harbor Freight was $14 and the Harbor Freight included an extra set of brushes.
 
I worked for Sears in Division 9 (tools) back in the 90s and I bought a bunch of tools at the time. They were a quality product and Sears stood behind their tools. There was a big banner above the door that said something to the effect of "Satisfaction guaranteed or your money back".

These days, when I do break a Craftsman hand tool, the clerks usually want to argue and the replacement is often not in stock. When the replacement is on the shelf it's always a Chinese product of lower quality than what I bought.

At this point I buy hand tools at Harbor Freight. If I'm going to buy Chinese junk, it's going to be cheap. Harbor Freight stands behind the garbage they sell, believe it or not.

Last week my made-in-China DeWalt 4.5" grinder bit the dust. It was only a few years old and hadn't been used all that much and I was disgusted. I replaced it with another crappy Chinese grinder, this one from Harbor Freight. The DeWalt was $120 if memory serves while the Harbor Freight was $14 and the Harbor Freight included an extra set of brushes.
its sad,,but its also a fact of life now...I bought the 12 inch sliding compound miter saw.. on one forum I frequent,,the guy said to buy the Chicago Electric brand there..said they were better quality....works great.....after rebates,,it ws 91 smackers...
 
its sad,,but its also a fact of life now...I bought the 12 inch sliding compound miter saw.. on one forum I frequent,,the guy said to buy the Chicago Electric brand there..said they were better quality....works great.....after rebates,,it ws 91 smackers...
Around 2003 I needed a chop saw for a project and didn't have a lot of money so I got the $50 14" Harbor Freight unit. It was a total POS but it worked. Since then it's been through a dozen blades and countless projects and it's still the same POS it was on day one.
 
Around 2003 I needed a chop saw for a project and didn't have a lot of money so I got the $50 14" Harbor Freight unit. It was a total POS but it worked. Since then it's been through a dozen blades and countless projects and it's still the same POS it was on day one.
that's why I said Chicago electric............
 
I don't think that it is 'either or' situation. There are a lot of choices in between some of the crap that HF sells and an industrial grade tool. If you appreciate or depend on good quality tools, it is still worth your while to look around.

Philbert
 
I agree american made tools are great but are now extremely expensive. Im a mechanic for a living and i have a hard time buying on the snap-On / mac tools trucks. I spend about 4grand a year on these trucks and its well spent. But a lot of stuff especially on the mac truck is just rebranded.....snap on too but not as much.

I buy hand tools like husky/craftsman/mastercraft for the home and they work well

Power tools i buy dewalt.

Do i know where this stuff is made? No.

Usually it says assembled in usa with global components.
in Canada you cant get a craftsman crescent wrench replaced on warantee
not available The best were made stateside for sure! I have pullers made by OTC usa and they cant be beat
but now they have a china line ,what a shame
 
I like craftsman tools, I have quite a few plus a some older sk sets, Mac and snap on too.
I know that craftsman has the evolv china line, I can't remember when they made an electric tool in the US.
But the good socket sets have always been USA. Well, it looks like sears finally sold out. Every set I found was Chinese. The loose sockets still said USA but I'd guess that's only till they've been sold off. I left kinda bummed out.

We have a used tool shop local that has all sorts of stuff. I will go there and buy a USED craftsman USA set before I buy a NEW CHI-COM set.
 
that's why I said Chicago electric............
I believe this is a Chicago Electric but it might not be. The point is it's a cheap tool that has far exceeded the price paid for it. Honestly I hate the thing and would love for it to die, but it won't. Same thing happened with a Harbor Freight oil-free compressor my dad gave me. After abusing it for years, at times running it all day for months at a time, it simply would not die. I hated that thing! I eventually admitted defeat and gave it away. It's still going, LOUD and strong.

I strongly prefer quality tools but when the big name, expensive tools are made in China junk I can't justify paying 4-10x the price of generic Chinese junk..
 
Up until some 40 years ago my wife and I frequented Sears as they had a nice store. Then I got to complaining that they would not still be in business the next week.

They are still in business but are a long way from what they were 40 years ago.

I have Sears (American Yard Products) lawn mowers (7 yrs & 2 yrs) and they have actually been trouble free. But the current ones don't have the made in USA B&S engines that mine have. Even many B&S models are now made in China.
 
I believe this is a Chicago Electric but it might not be. The point is it's a cheap tool that has far exceeded the price paid for it. Honestly I hate the thing and would love for it to die, but it won't. Same thing happened with a Harbor Freight oil-free compressor my dad gave me. After abusing it for years, at times running it all day for months at a time, it simply would not die. I hated that thing! I eventually admitted defeat and gave it away. It's still going, LOUD and strong.

I strongly prefer quality tools but when the big name, expensive tools are made in China junk I can't justify paying 4-10x the price of generic Chinese junk..
I feel the same. At least harbor freight has always been what it is and is priced accordingly.
Made in China means just that. The name on it means squat to me.
 
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