The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Sears and Made in the USA tools.

My much loved SEARS Made in the USA 1/2" ratchet gave up the ghost last night. So wifey takes it into SEARS today and no parts are available to fix it. They offered a made in China one in exchange.

What a drag. It was ag reat ratchet and well made - never let me down. It was model 44975 - an old but a goody.

I'm keeping it rather than exchanging it. If anyone ever runs into parts for it let me know. I'll send ya a lobster.

If you have a Western Auto store in your area try them. They use to keep "rebuild" parts handy inside the store.

I know many of the W.A stores were bought out but there are still some around I think? Worth a try.

thanks Alvin but I never heard of them

I guess I'll consign this one to my "made in the USA" heap

too bad quality meant something years ago

Try a sears in the USA.....They have rebuild parts that you can't get in canada...

Sears bought Western Auto about 20 years and sold what was left of it to Advance auto parts. They had a large distribution center in Temple TX and almost every town had an associate store about 50 years ago.

Look for 'made in Canada' tools

I shop for old Craftsman tools at swap meets. The mechanism that holds the socket on my old 1/2" torque wrench broke. Rather than trade it in on a new one I bought a used 1/2" ratchet and swapped parts.

It is a shame that the quality brand and image that was Craftsman is going by the wayside. Yes, I know they still have their replacement policy, but the tool they give you is not even close quality wise to tools they made in the past. I think they really started the downslide just before and after Sears was purchased by Kmart. Craftsman could still equal quality if they would make some changes.

Hank

Sears,Craftsman tools sold in the US are made in the USA,and tools sold in Canada are made off shore.By the way Sears is just a retailer and they make nothing.The deal a few years back with Kmart was a merger and not a buyout by KMart.The only difference I have noticed is that Craftsman tools are now being sold in KMart stores.

Welll, not exactly. While true that K-Mart didn't "buy out' Sears, it wasn't exactly a "merger" either. When K-Mart sold off stores and properties to make the company solvent, Sears, along with Home Depot, were the main buyers of the properties. As part of the deal, the majority shareholder of K-Mart also got stock in Sears. So he basically became majority shareholder of both companies.

Dale, took a 1/2 ratchet back to them three weeks ago that I bought in 1981. The one they gave me from under the counter was according to them a rebuilt replacement. They would not exchange for one off the shelf or display case. The new one is not up to par with the 80's version in appearance or in functionality it turns a little rough. For these reasons, I disagree, there is a difference between their older product and the new one. My experience and .02.

Hank

it is sad when we contribute to our own downfall. buy american when you can. i also have found sears not to be near the same quality as they used to be. i guess i am just an old fart that misses that good american quality i grew up on. god bless america . rar

Try looking up Western Forge tool in Colorado Springs Co.at one time they made Craftsman tools,they might have repair parts or know where to get them.

Sears is K-Mart now in the tool department. If anyone doubts that, try finding "High Speed Steel" drills at Sears now.

They have them, plus TiN coated and cobalt bits at the Sears here.

I have always purchased sears tools, but I had a ratchet break...yes they replaced it but with a ratchet that was repaired.
We have Menard stores here in Minnesota...They have brought in a new line of tools called MasterForce...all made in America..I have purchased this brand for the last 6 months and I am so impressed with the quality..If you have a Menards in your area go look at this product line

To me it doesn't matter who bought who, Sears tools are not the same quality. I will not buy Craftsman anymore. (Unless I find old Craftsman tools in good shape at a garage sale). Just the fact that when one breaks and they replace it with a rebuilt tool is enough for me to buy elsewhere.

Longbox, is HSS actually stamped on the drills? I went into my local Sears store in December 2009 shopping for a set of HSS drills for my son. Sears had none, so I got a set for next to nothing on ebay.

I can repoint them freehand so that worked out. Now I'm looking for a set of letter drills for him onn ebay.

I'm afraid I do have to correct myself. I could have sworn I saw HSS drill bits. I rechecked when I was up there for the Freinds and Family sale getting a spare battery for my 20v drill, they only have Black Oxide, TiN, and cobalt bits, plus masonry and augers. No HSS. But to be honest, I haven't seen much HSS anywhere locally, TiN seems to be more popular. Letter and wire gauge drill bits seem to be hard to get, too.

Cleveland still makes HSS bits. I don't fool with trying to find stuff like that locally. I find the best deal on the internet and order them.

That's what I thought Longbox. Sears uses some tricky language on the drill bit packages to create confusion. I actually asked for HSS drill bits last December wheh I was shopping for stuff for my sons. The Sears guy looked at the boxes the drills are in, obviously not knowing (or caring) himself what was inside. The stuff they are selling now is obviously junk from China.

If you search "Drill index" on ebay you'll find the good stuff available. I don't mind used HSS drills unless they are short from repeated regrinding.

It is definitely worth learning to sharpen them.

Sorta like a merger huh?

More like a shotgun wedding

I have a Lisle grinder http://www1.shopping.com/xPO-Lisle-91000-LISLE-DRILL-GRINDER-U-S-A#keyFeaturesArea I don't see them for sale anywhere any more. Maybe Lisle quit making them. I have had guys working for me that can sharpen a bit on a grinder. If I try it, I get it off centered and wind up with holes too big.

Doesn't snap-on sell hss bits ? I know they have a few different kinds, but can't remember what they are.

At the local Sears store about 3 miles from where I live,they employ a guy who repairs the tools brought in by customers,mainly ratchets,and he does a darn good job on them.A lot of the tools,end wreches,etc. are not repairable and they go in the scrap bin.So if you turn in a ratchet you will recieve a rebuilt one,course on the other hand if you turn in an end wrench you will recieve a brand new one. I still have the basic set of Craftsman tools I bought in 1957,I have used and abused them,to the extent of using a cheater on the ratchets,and they are still going strong.Course I take good care of my tools and I know where they are at at all times.When I first bought that set in 1957 a freind wanted to borrow them to work on his car. I let him use them and that was the first and last time I loaned them out.I have no idea,how he broke 3 or 4 pieces,but he did,and thank God for the replacement policy at Sears.By the way that original set was on sale for $39.95

Wish he could rebuild the rplacement ratchet they gave me Might come closer to my oldie.

Craftsman is crap. I broke a half inch drive ratchet by hand. Hell, I'm only 125lbs. I have 4 broken 3/8 and 2 broken 1/4. It would be nice to get something good when I exchange them but I'll just get more junk. Craftsman used to mean something. Sad!

Canadian Sears Craftsman and Mastercraft which are a Canadian Tire house brand are made off-shore by a company called Fuller. I bought a set of Craftsman sockets and there was a Mastercraft socket among them.
At one time Fuller offered no lifetime warranty and their prices were one-third that of Craftsman or Mastercraft. Now Fuller is offering a lifetime warranty.
I also have a set of 1/2" drive sockets proudly made in the USA by Husky. They are 30 years old and all the Husky brands are made off-shore now.

I was working on one of my Indian Chief bikes yesterday (the 2002, not the 1947) and broke an allen socket. I brought it to Sears and they did not have that size allen in stock except in a set. They told me to come back next week. I asked why I could not have one out of the set, and they replace it to their set when they come in and save me the trip back. Nope,can't break up the set. I have some Craftsman's that were my Grandpa's he used on the farm, big open ends like 1 1/2 that are heavy and much better made than the current ones. Was not Sears called Simpson/Sears in Canada back in the day? I'm thinking the 1970's at least in Ontario I saw signs reading as such.

Yes. Sears bought out the last bit of Simpsons a while back, and phased out the name.

Simpsons-Sears was the original joint venture between the CDN dept store chain and Sears-Roebuck .... was bought up by somebody about 1980 and changed to Sears Canada, but still about 3/4 owned by Sears USA

the Husky name now belongs to Stanley Black & Decker [just merged last month!!], as well as Mac, Proto and Bostitch ... and actually nowadays Fuller is a Canadian company based in Montreal

Bill

"Canadian Sears Craftsman and Mastercraft which are a Canadian Tire house brand are made off-shore by a company called Fuller."

So does that mean that the Husky, Mac, Proto and Bostich tools are going to hell soon??

eventually they'll be makin those other brands for ya Dave

I'm not condoning any company that takes jobs out of North America, it's a major irritation to me that even traditionaly American brands are outsourcing. From a point I can understand why they do it, but doesn't mean I like it.

However, I still have to buy tools from time to time and I am giving Craftsman a shot again. I bought a set of Metric & SAE universal wrenches. I'm not a fan of the fact they are made in China, but they are real solid tools, heavy on the open end and can fit a 12-pt, hex, worn hex, square, Torx & 12-spline items. these wrenches are MUCH heftier than the last set I bought.

Something to note, a company I have been looking at for engine parts on my car went to Chinese made steel some time back. What they did was send thier engineers over there to live and work to ensure the metalurgy was correct, the castings & forgings were done right, all the important parts are dead on, just cheaper labor & process costs. You can buy parts that are machined in China, or for a little more they ship the forgings to the US and finish them here for people that are paranoid and willing to pay a little more for essentialy the same product. Through their testing and real world usage the company has confirmd that the parts are just as durable and relaible as anything they ever made in the US, they just cost less.
Now if EVERY company manufaturing things in China were as vigilant, maybe it would give Chinese products a better reputation.

But still, I would rather see people at work in North America.

Think anybody in the US is gonna remember how to make quality tools when China attacks Taiwan? We're going to be paying dearly for all that cheap stuff for a very long time I'm afraid.

Here's some interesting info. Read the notes by "Da Bull" it's a brief history of tool companies in the US.

Good info. there Jim Bow, thanks for the link!

My tool chest in the shop is crammed full of mostly Craftsman hand tools,wrenches,sockets screwdrivers,etc.Whether or not I buy any more tools in this lifetime remains to be seen. At 72 years old I wont be buying many more.My Craftsman hand tools have been used and abused for many years,and I could never see paying more for them be they SnapOn or whatever.And oh yeah they have sure been used.And any one that ever broke or mal functioned was replaced at Sears with no questions asked.Cant ask for much more than that.

I am with you. Most of my hand tools are Craftsman. I use them and some break. I take them to Sears and they are replaced. I have only had one bad experience. One guy wanted a receipt. I asked him to turn around to read the guarantee then ask me again. He replaced my broken hand tool.

Craftsman is good enough for me.