CRAFTSMAN tools new home...LOWE'S!!

[intimdatr]

2 hours ago, ToadalyCrazyCanadian said:

I have never had a home owner grade saw, but are they really that bad? I would have thought even the 100$ special poulan pro from tsc would be good for the average home owner.

My first saw was a pioneer farmsaw 2 and my second was a husqvarna 365 special. Both I got needing some repairs and both I still have to this day running great. I'm still bias towards the pioneer, but getting parts from OMC for it is getting tough.

At work, we use older stihl 025 saws. Just easier to keep repairing and they are as reliable as the day is long and lightweight for what they are.

 

We've got an older 025 for persona/home use. Dang good saw for pretty much anything I can imagine in a non commercial setting. Carb is a little finicky IMO, but all of those Walbro pop-off carbs are. 

[ToadalyCrazyCanadian]

We've got an older 025 for persona/home use. Dang good saw for pretty much anything I can imagine in a non commercial setting. Carb is a little finicky IMO, but all of those Walbro pop-off carbs are. 

We have 9 of them at work. Certainly a commercial environment. They all run an average of 3-4 hours a day and rarely skip a beat. All run 18" Oregon bars and can't think of a failure that wasn't abuse related.

[Doug Fugly]

On 11/12/2018 at 1:13 PM, ToadalyCrazyCanadian said:

I have never had a home owner grade saw, but are they really that bad? I would have thought even the 100$ special poulan pro from tsc would be good for the average home owner.

My first saw was a pioneer farmsaw 2 and my second was a husqvarna 365 special. Both I got needing some repairs and both I still have to this day running great. I'm still bias towards the pioneer, but getting parts from OMC for it is getting tough.

At work, we use older stihl 025 saws. Just easier to keep repairing and they are as reliable as the day is long and lightweight for what they are.

Pics all from Google for reference.

 

[RawbW]

On 11/12/2018 at 10:50 AM, The Spanky said:

Stanley bought the rights to the Craftsman name. 

Weird. Doesn’t stanley also own rights to HD’s husky hand tool lineup? So they basically have every big box store hand tools brand owned? I wonder why they keep husky brand higher quality than crapsman lol.

[MotoX178]

12 hours ago, RawbW said:

Weird. Doesn’t stanley also own rights to HD’s husky hand tool lineup? So they basically have every big box store hand tools brand owned? I wonder why they keep husky brand higher quality than crapsman lol.

No, Husky is The Home Depot's brand and Stanley has nothing to do with it.

 

[intimdatr]

[LRB]

I bought a Craftsman snow thrower a while back. 

What a pain. Literally. My back hurts from having to bend down so low to push it. 

 

Mustve been designed for hobbits. 

[ellicottandrew]

16 minutes ago, LRB said:

I bought a Craftsman snow thrower a while back. 

What a pain. Literally. My back hurts from having to bend down so low to push it. 

 

Mustve been designed for hobbits. 

I feel your pain. Literally. I am 6' 9" and I believe EVERYTHING was designed for hobbits.

[Doug Fugly]

When it comes to power tools, Milwaukee or Makita. I have Makita everything. [emoji106]

[RawbW]

2 hours ago, MotoX178 said:

No, Husky is The Home Depot's brand and Stanley has nothing to do with it.

 

On wiki it says they are manufactured by multiple tool brands for the husky name including Stanley/black and decker. Of course, you know what they say about Wikipedia...

[MotoX178]

40 minutes ago, RawbW said:

On wiki it says they are manufactured by multiple tool brands for the husky name including Stanley/black and decker. Of course, you know what they say about Wikipedia...

A lot of what you see is the big brands buying from the same suppliers.  It is also not uncommon for competitors to purchase product from each other to fill their ranges.  Examples, the old Sears Craftsman pipe wrenches were RIDGID pipe wrenches and Stanley used to make the screwdrivers for Klein.

Definitely a messy industry with every brand pretty much having some sort of relationship behind the scenes.

[LRB]

6 hours ago, ellicottandrew said:

I feel your pain. Literally. I am 6' 9" and I believe EVERYTHING was designed for hobbits.

You’ve got it harder than me. I’m 6’4” and feel like I have to stoop down a lot as is!

The good news is, we rarely need a ladder!

Bad news- im traveling for work and am about to fly home. I hate leg room for planes!!!

[kingkabong]

Just tried to get a couple Craftsman ratchets replaced, my local Lowe's doesn't have any useful Craftsman tools in stock yet... so not very helpful. I went to Ace and managed to get 2 of the 3 tools I needed, which were also the last on the shelf.  Kinda sucks, I've been using Craftsman for 20+ years, but if I can't get warranty replacements, then I guess I better find an alternative.  Snap-On is just so damn expensive.  $150 for a 1/2" ratchet?  ouch. 

[BOAB]

2 hours ago, kingkabong said:

Just tried to get a couple Craftsman ratchets replaced, my local Lowe's doesn't have any useful Craftsman tools in stock yet... so not very helpful. I went to Ace and managed to get 2 of the 3 tools I needed, which were also the last on the shelf.  Kinda sucks, I've been using Craftsman for 20+ years, but if I can't get warranty replacements, then I guess I better find an alternative.  Snap-On is just so damn expensive.  $150 for a 1/2" ratchet?  ouch. 

No one seems to consider SK Tools when they are looking for good tools.  I have a bunch of SK sockets and wrenches and an SK 3/8" ratchet that I bought in 1974.  Not one tool has broken or underperformed.  The ratchet is still my go to 3/8", it has never been serviced and still works like new.

[Ud_Luz]

3 minutes ago, cjjeepercreeper said:

No one seems to consider SK Tools when they are looking for good tools.  I have a bunch of SK sockets and wrenches and an SK 3/8" ratchet that I bought in 1974.  Not one tool has broken or underperformed.  The ratchet is still my go to 3/8", it has never been serviced and still works like new.

I have a number of SK tools but they've become quite proud of them lately.

[William1]

7 minutes ago, cjjeepercreeper said:

No one seems to consider SK Tools when they are looking for good tools.  I have a bunch of SK sockets and wrenches and an SK 3/8" ratchet that I bought in 1974.  Not one tool has broken or underperformed.  The ratchet is still my go to 3/8", it has never been serviced and still works like new.

As a little kid, I only bought SK. Still have some left I have not lost. Still have a few of the green metal boxes (I use some for jets) and socket trays (with a flip over bar so they stay put). A few drivers, sockets and wrenches. I did break a few ratchets (cracks or wore out the ratchet pawls). I still have a 1/2" drive that never saw a lot of use so it is still in service. I'm not sure if I have any 3/8's around anymore.

[wielywilly-g]

On 11/15/2018 at 11:26 AM, MotoX178 said:

A lot of what you see is the big brands buying from the same suppliers.  It is also not uncommon for competitors to purchase product from each other to fill their ranges.  Examples, the old Sears Craftsman pipe wrenches were RIDGID pipe wrenches and Stanley used to make the screwdrivers for Klein.

Definitely a messy industry with every brand pretty much having some sort of relationship behind the scenes.

Ridgid..Now there is a brand I like, I have the Ridgid 2" pipe cutter, strap wrench, double flare kit, and a couple cordless drills and they are great.

I went to Lowes the day after this thread started and they had all kinds of craftsman tool boxes stashed all over the store, but on the top fork lift shelves.  Took about an hour but finally got them to pull down a 997950 and 997951 tool box.  Very happy with the quality/price ratio.

 

[Motox367]

On 11/12/2018 at 2:13 PM, ToadalyCrazyCanadian said:

I have never had a home owner grade saw, but are they really that bad? I would have thought even the 100$ special poulan pro from tsc would be good for the average home owner.

My first saw was a pioneer farmsaw 2 and my second was a husqvarna 365 special. Both I got needing some repairs and both I still have to this day running great. I'm still bias towards the pioneer, but getting parts from OMC for it is getting tough.

At work, we use older stihl 025 saws. Just easier to keep repairing and they are as reliable as the day is long and lightweight for what they are.

Pics all from Google for reference.

Me and my 372xp in action ?

[dmac1]

On 11/16/2018 at 11:57 AM, cjjeepercreeper said:

No one seems to consider SK Tools when they are looking for good tools.  I have a bunch of SK sockets and wrenches and an SK 3/8" ratchet that I bought in 1974.  Not one tool has broken or underperformed.  The ratchet is still my go to 3/8", it has never been serviced and still works like new.

I've got an old 3/8" SAE set from waay back, but I rarely use em. Like UDLuz, mine are in a metal box where they all fit perfectly. Deep sockets, regular, nice extensions (which I do use). I've never looked to see where to get em, but haven't ever seen em locally.

[Fitz235]

On 11/16/2018 at 1:57 PM, cjjeepercreeper said:

No one seems to consider SK Tools when they are looking for good tools.  I have a bunch of SK sockets and wrenches and an SK 3/8" ratchet that I bought in 1974.  Not one tool has broken or underperformed.  The ratchet is still my go to 3/8", it has never been serviced and still works like new.

Agree. I have an SK swivel head 3/8" ratchet that is my go to. Pretty sure it's one of my oldest tools. It's got to be over 30 years old, and works as well as new.