Use synthetic grease instead of white lithium -- the lithium will dry
out in a few years and the synthetic won't.
Sears is going down hill fast (just like everyone else with a
physical store) because most economic activity is on the internet.
This is quite stupid, as I can remember when Sears and "Monkey Wards"
along with JC Penny were the kings of ship to your door
merchandizing. Corporate memory these days seems to be a few
seconds, if they'd just thought a bit, all they needed to do was add
a computer interface (to the information system they already had) and
Amazon would never have gotten into the merchandizing business.
Sad.
The other problem is that all the merchandizers are run by
accountants, and they think minimum wage is pretty pricey for
customer service. Once the commission system is gone, there is no
incentive for the sales people to know anything, so they don't. In
the old days, the guys at the tool section in Sears earned a
commission on sales, and repeat business meant money in your
pocket. You don't get repeat business when you give bad advice, or
sell crappy tools.
The quality of their stuff went down the toilet when Snap-On moved
their factory to China from the town up the road here. Snap-on
prices went through the roof, I would assume because they had to
replace a huge amount of defective merchandise from the low grade
manufacturing. Sears bought Snap-On without the polish, that's why
their tools were so good, but now it's all Indian or Chinese (or
Vietnamese or Indonesian) stuff, which is usually crap.
I'll check out Harbor Freight, I really need a 1/2" drive set since
my brother re-possessed the set he "gave" me a few years ago. I know
some of their stuff is junk, but at least some of their power
equipment is the same stuff as the big guys (band saws, lathes, etc)
since there is only one outfit doing the castings and machining.
Trim level is lower, it's more likely they need some finishing work
(alignment of wheels on the bandsaws, for instance) and they don't
come with all the bells and whistles, but a 14" bandsaw is a 14"
bandsaw these days, and the Taiwanese do a great job with the
castings and machining. Throw the supplied blade away -- this is
also true of every bandsaw on the marked. Why does everyone package
a junk blade with an $800 saw? A decent one only costs maybe $10.
Peter
On Apr 22, 2012, at 8:43 AM, Curt Raymond wrote:
Ahhh Jerry, I won't mention where Craftsman are made...
I've given up on Sears entirely which probably helps to explain
their troubles. The staff is what really gets me, they're idiots.
For tools that don't have moving parts I've switched entirely to
Harbor Freight. Their wrenches and sockets are excellent. The only
downside as Jim Cathy pointed out is they laser etch their sockets
and if they get rusty you'll lose the etching. I'm planning to buy
a punch kit if that happens. They're good sockets and come in a
good carrier.
For ratchets I've bought SK from Amazon and they PHENOMENAL. I've
bought Kobalt from Lowes and they're good too. None of my Craftsman
ratchets would ratchet anymore so on a hunch I bought snap ring
pliers from HF and opened one up, no lubricant inside. I put in
some white lithium grease and the ratchet action returned. Too bad
I'd waited so long, one had quite a worn gear from years with no
lubrication but its much better now than it was.
-Curt
Date: Sat, 21 Apr 2012 16:05:00 -0700
From: "Jerry Herrman" <jer...@san.rr.com>
To: <mercedes@okiebenz.com>
Subject: [MBZ] Craftsman Tools
Message-ID: <86EA15007479495CB1D5F47B6F1DEC04@JerryPC>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
A. With rumors that Sears will be going into bankruptcy, what will
become of the opportunity to return "broken" hand tools to Sears
for an even exchange?
B. I had a Craftsman good quality offset screwdriver (slotted, not
philips), just like this one on Ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Craftsman-Crown-Series-94110-
Double-Offset-Screwdriver-CLEAN-/400292779011?
pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&hash=item5d334f1403&vxp=mtr
One of the four tips broke off while using it. When I brought it
back to the store, all I was offered was one with one tip on each
end, something that looked like it was worth about 50 cents.
I decided to hold out for an identical one, but I do not know if
Craftsman still makes them. Can I make Sears buy me the one on Ebay?
C. One day about five years ago, I was examining a 7/16 wrench in
my tool box. It surprised me to see "Craftsman" printed on one side
and "Made in Japan" written on the other side. When I asked
the guy at Sears, he merely shrugged. Incidentally, its been my
experience at the Sears store I frequent that most of the employees
know next to nothing about tools, and those who know something have
a limited knowledge, though they do have a good grasp of their
inventory. As a kid, when my father shopped at Sears, I would
spend as much time as I could in the tool section drooling over
the choices.
D. I suppose it only fair to point out that Sears probably gets
ripped off by those of us who, for example, use a normal socket in
an impact wrench, knowing that if it cracks it can be exchanged for
a new one.
E. Did you notice that Ace hardware now carries Craftsman tools? I
thought they were exclusive to Sears. I understand Ace will not
exchange a tool.
F. Please don't anybody ruin my day by telling me Craftsman tools
are now made in China. They aren't are they?
G. I still have the 1/2" Craftsman socket handle my father used
when I was growing up. That and a three-foot section of pipe made a
fine breaker bar. It never broke or bent.
Jerry
1982 240D
won't mention the other one
_______________________________________
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_______________________________________
http://www.okiebenz.com
For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com
To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/
To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
