Craftsman?

[Pop]

I guess I'm getting old and need to get into the 21st century but I've always been a Craftsman tool fan. I've got some Craftsman tools from back inthe 40's that are still working like new. My wood lathe - 1940, my metal lathe - Craftsman?Dunlap 1945, my drill press - 1954 Craftsman (was my dad's), old Craftsman hand tools, etc. Many times over the years I've taken broken wrenches or ratchets with the Craftsman logo into the local Sears for repair or replacement and walked away with a new or repaired unit...super!

My 25 year old Craftsman router went to router heaven this past week. SO..as I would usually do, I went to Sears to get a new one (this time on-line so I could see if there was one in stock and to check feedback). Saw the one that has both bases (fixed and plunge). Good price - $119 for as much as I'll use it at this age. Bought it. Went to pick it up Tuesday at my local Sears. It wasn't till then I got the realization that even with the 'Craftsman' logo all over the box, the instructions and the casting of the router..it was made in China! No wonder they offered a service contract on the thing.

As disappointed as I am, I'll still keep the faith. My other Craftsman tools I hope have a nice long life left in them. At least as long as I can use them.

 

[Tarhead]

Well Mike,
As James McMurtry says "We can't make it here anymore." I only know of one brand of routers not being made in the far east and that's Festool. Craftsman, Rigid, Ryobi, Porter Cable, DeWalt, Bosch and Milwaukee are all outsourced because we expect to pay pennies and their stock holders expect a return on their investment.

 

[Glennbear]

I am definitely not brand loyal when it comes to machines but a lot of my machines are Craftsman. Some of these I purchased new in the past two years and others are "old 'arn". So far Craftsman has been a nice balance between price and quality and no major problems despite the long journey from Asia to my shop. :wsmile:

 

[James Anderson Jr]

The other day my wife and I were browsing around Sears; I picked up one of the new craftsman wrenches and noticed it was stamped made in china. Nearly brought a tear to my eye.

 

[cyclopentadiene]

Remember Sears and KMart have merged. Two losers have never merged and led to a winner on Wall Street. It is just a matter of when our Lifetime Warranties on Craftsman hand tools will be Sears lifetime, not the tool.
I have noticed in recent years, Lowes as the same warranty on Kobalt tools (hand tools) and Lowes is a stable company. These look good but I do not own any and cannot make a judgement.
In regards to Sears woodworking tools, it depends. Some vintages are made by the reputable manufacturers whereas others are made by the junk importers. I just recently lost mycraftsman belt sander purchased in the mid 70's. The only issue is the belt broke and I cannot find a replacement. Everything else still works.
Also note that Black and decker owns many of the tool companies including Delta and Dewalt and i believe Powermatic. B&D is all about profit margin, not quality and it can be seen even in the higher end line of Dewalt tools. If they last a lifetime, they are recycled, it they wear out in 5 years, then we buy a new one. We created the monster wanting lower prices, now we pay with poor quality.

 

[Tarhead]

Check with these folks for a replacement belt:
http://www.beltsforanything.com/site1.php
They're serious about belts.

 

[Pop]

Well Mike,
As James McMurtry says "We can't make it here anymore." I only know of one brand of routers not being made in the far east and that's Festool. Craftsman, Rigid, Ryobi, Porter Cable, DeWalt, Bosch and Milwaukee are all outsourced because we expect to pay pennies and their stock holders expect a return on their investment.

I had checked out Festool because my MCFeely catalog shows them and they looked impressive, nice features, etc. Every listing for them had "imported" somewhere in the description. Guess we're doomed no matter what we buy, that's why we have sites like this to share experiences and pitfalls. I'll give the Craftsman a good workout here shortly...

 

[Gotcha6]

R

e: Craftsman?
I am definitely not brand loyal when it comes to machines but a lot of my machines are Craftsman. Some of these I purchased new in the past two years and others are "old 'arn". So far Craftsman has been a nice balance between price and quality and no major problems despite the long journey from Asia to my shop. :wsmile:

+1
I tend to look for the older tools as well. Sears has a good support system for most of their older products, but I've had some problems in the past. Had a 10" TS that was direct drive. Motor burned out & it was gonna cost me more for the replacement motor than I paid for the saw. :icon_scra
Also have a Craftsman 1-1/2t. floor jack that leaks. It's kind of old, but it still gives good service. I tried to order a seal kit but was told online that the model number was 'not valid'. I copied it right off the nameplate. :icon_scra Go figure.......
But even with these problems I would still not discount them as a viable tool option should an item I [STRIKE]want[/STRIKE] need becomes available. Their reliability for the hobbyist is, I believe, within an acceptable limit. If I were using my power tools every day, then I'd expect to have more problems and need to go farther up the price range.
I guess it's the fact that they've sold so many tools that there are going to be more of them out there on the used market than the upper echelon brands.