Crapsman Tool Boxes

weirdjim

weirdjim

Ejection Handle Pulled
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weirdjim
I've just spent an interesting two hours rerailing four drawers on a Sears Crafts(Craps)man tool box.

Several young ladies of my acquaintance have told me in no uncertain terms that I'm going to hell, and if so, the first thing I am going to do is look up the son of a vitch that designed those slides and see if I can persuade Beelzebub to turn up the heat in his compartment.

Anybody got a fix? Seems that Sears must have carved those machine tools out of styrofoam for their ads, because if you put anything heavier than a sack of feathers in the damn drawer it pulls the slides off.

(No, repopulating the tool boxes isn't in the budget this year...or next.)

Bastads ...

Jim
 
I haven't had any issues with my HD craftsman tool box, my only complaint on craftsman are the ratchets and torque wrenches.

Just return it to sears, whole point of craftsman is the lifetime guarantee.
 
I prolly have the same box as one of my secondary tool boxes. Get a pair of these: http://www.ruralking.com/media/cata...eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/0/1/015241896.jpg and use them to pinch the C part of the slide outer just a tiny bit. It'll make the drawer a little harder to slide open but it'll keep it from falling off the slide bail. Don't pinch too much, and use a little silicone spray when you assemble.

YMMV, contents have settled, objects in mirror, etc.
 
New Craftman tools are crap.

I have a bunch of 1950s open and boxends they are the best in my box. I always watch the garage sales for any old craftman tools.

When I must buy new it's either Snapon, or Proto.
 
James331 said:
I haven't had any issues with my HD craftsman tool box, my only complaint on craftsman are the ratchets and torque wrenches.

Just return it to sears, whole point of craftsman is the lifetime guarantee.
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And when Sears went broke and closed most of their stores, what now ?
 
I looked closely at the boxes from Home Depot, Sears, and Harbor Freight.

The Harbor Freight line greatly exceeds the quality of all of them. That said the Husky line at Home Depot was a little better value and the quality met my expectations. The girlfriend was watching my toolbox hunt for the last year and probably came to the realization that I wasn't ever actually going to buy anything. So she bought me one of these for our anniversary and it works great:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-52...Black-HOTC5218B1QES/204825971?N=5yc1vZc2gkZrd

Somehow she managed to find the keys for my truck when I was at work, drive it to Home Depot, then convince two of the employees to load it up for her, ride back with her to the house, and unload it in my garage.

I have the above Husky home and could really use another one as I filled it in a hour of putting things away.

At the hangar I have a much smaller Craftsman that has everything you could likely need to work on a Flybaby in it. Quality is considerably worse though.
 
Tom-D said:
Yep, I'm going to drive 50 miles to exchange a tool.

The Snapon tool truck comes around every week.
Click to expand...

Depends on the tool, a big tool box, yeah I'll drive.

Price diff on snap tools covers a lot of gas
 
James331 said:
Depends on the tool, a big tool box, yeah I'll drive.

Price diff on snap tools covers a lot of gas
Click to expand...
Plus it's not like you can't order a replacement tool off the internet and have it shipped next day with about 5 seconds of your time and one or two clicks.

You pay a LOT for the SnapOn name that doesn't go towards the quality of the tool. When a "quality" tool costs three to ten times what it should the math doesn't add up even if I'm buying things with no warranty.

The number of tools I've broke that I was properly utilizing is quite low.
 
jesse said:
I looked closely at the boxes from Home Depot, Sears, and Harbor Freight.

The Harbor Freight line greatly exceeds the quality of all of them. That said the Husky line at Home Depot was a little better value and the quality met my expectations. The girlfriend was watching my toolbox hunt for the last year and probably came to the realization that I wasn't ever actually going to buy anything. So she bought me one of these for our anniversary and it works great:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-52...Black-HOTC5218B1QES/204825971?N=5yc1vZc2gkZrd

Somehow she managed to find the keys for my truck when I was at work, drive it to Home Depot, then convince two of the employees to load it up for her, ride back with her to the house, and unload it in my garage.

I have the above Husky home and could really use another one as I filled it in a hour of putting things away.

At the hangar I have a much smaller Craftsman that has everything you could likely need to work on a Flybaby in it. Quality is considerably worse though.
Click to expand...


I have my dads that's 40 years old. Not sure what brand it is but it survived 40 years in a commercial shop with zero maintenance. I have a craftsman tool cabinet and it's just fine.
 
bartmc said:
In his defense, that's a "hometown store" which is typically as trip mall version of Sears that carry very few tools. I was in one last week and they didn't have enough tools for me to purchase to change a VHF antenna on my boat (channel locks and and adjustable wrench would have worked) wound up buying a plied set and borrowing some tools from the marine shop
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If you take a broke tool into one they will order your replacement and have it in a few days.
 
jesse said:
That said the Husky line at Home Depot was a little better value and the quality met my expectations.
Click to expand...

I bought Husky wrenches and socket sets in the mid-'90s when they were still US-made. Been good tools and I've used them every day in my work for nearly 20 years. Husky is now Chinese but is still pretty good, far better value than Snap-On. I could use up ten sets of Husky tools for the price of one Snap-on set. Would take me 200 years.

I bought a Chinese tool box from Peavy Mart in Alberta. Not a store you'll find apart from the Canadian prairies, but that box has roller glides on the drawers and is way better than anything I see at Sears. Any tool place sells better stuff than Sears, except maybe a dollar store.

Dan
 
jesse said:
The girlfriend was watching my toolbox hunt for the last year and probably came to the realization that I wasn't ever actually going to buy anything. So she bought me one of these for our anniversary and it works great:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-52...Black-HOTC5218B1QES/204825971?N=5yc1vZc2gkZrd

Somehow she managed to find the keys for my truck when I was at work, drive it to Home Depot, then convince two of the employees to load it up for her, ride back with her to the house, and unload it in my garage.
Click to expand...
You better keep track of that one!:yes:
 
RotorAndWing said:
If you take a broke tool into one they will order your replacement and have it in a few days.
Click to expand...

Nope, not that one, they are an appliance store, they tell ya go home and do it on line.

Sears, Craftman tools, and their guarantee, suck.
 
Never had a problem their there guarantee. The newer tools do suck thou.
 
I got a sweet deal on a triple craftsman chest about a year ago. Can't say I've had any problems, but I haven't ever tried to remove the drawers.
 
I went with viper boxes, bought at Sears on sale and even got the display discount. I can say that for the money they are great.
 
Try this-

When you buy Craftsman tools and tool boxes, realize that they offer more than one grade under the same name. Do not buy the cheapest ones and you will likely be satisfied. This means you may have to order (either in store, or online) and pay more for the good stuff. Go for the cheapest price point in the Craftsman line and you are likely better off at Harbor Freight.

I have mid grade Craftsman tool boxes and they are made in USA and I have zero issues with them. BTW, I also have a Kennedy box that I've had since the the 1980s and it sucks in comparison. I always believed that Kennedy boxes were as good as it got for decades. In all fairness, I have no idea what they make now and maybe they are unbelievable for all I know, (Are they still in business?:dunno:) but the box I have from about 1980 sucks ass compared to the Craftsman boxes I bought in 2013.

I agree with others that the Craftsman tool products have slipped in quality since the old days, but not all that far and they still represent a great value compared to Snap On or Mac for basic tools. If you need specialty tools, Craftsman probably can't serve you as well. If you have all the money in the world, buy Snap On or Mac everything, but if you want tools you can effectively use the rest of your life on a realistic budget, choose Craftsman for your basics and Snap Ons and Macs for your specialties IMO.
 
Yeah, it all boils down to if you buy on a name without checking the quality, you accept what you get. Like Honda small engines went downhill in quality some years ago, to me. Husqvuarna as a brand name in my opinion is lesser in quality than they used to be.
Caveat emptor.
The key is for each of us to know his value point - how much money for how much quality. It seems to be shifting ground that requires irksome research on each choice. Can't assume a name always says it all.
 
I wish I could find a simple shop stool for sitting at my workbench cleaning guns or whatever. All I've seen is the cheap Lowe's POS Kobalt brand stool.

Otherwise I'm playing internet roulette by hoping to find one that I like.
 
Checkout_my_Six said:
well then....I guess you paid extra for delivery. :rofl:
Click to expand...

For sure, Snapon tools are not cheap. But I'd rather pay the extra money and not have to bother with warrantee's taking time to run around finding a store to make the change, hassle with a store clerk that does not know tools or the policies are on tools.

You are going to pay for tools. It's simply a matter which way you'd rather do it.
 
As they have sunk deeper and deeper into financial quicksand, Sears has reacted in desperation by whoring out the Craftsman brand.

Where they used to carry no junk at all and their second-tier brand was "Companion" so everyone knew what they were getting, it is now to the point where they will mark a used box of kitty litter with the Craftsman brand if they think it will make them a dime.

The good stuff used to be made in USA mostly by Waterloo, with Kennedy doing the machinist chests. I haven't shopped boxes for two or three years but that was still the case then.

The Chinese junk can be identified by unrolled edges sharp enough to amputate your finger and by slides and rails little thicker than aluminum foil. I knowingly bought one of these a couple of years ago for very light duty (sewing stuff, actually) use and was amazed to find that just the normal shipping handling had caused the drawers to come off their slides. It took me 1/2 hour just to bend everything back so the drawers could be installed and operated smoothly. But to be fair, I paid junk prices and I expected junk. It was just junkier beyond my low expectations. Caveat emptor.
 
My son inherited a cache of tools from his FIL and a bunch of them are labeled "Industro"

Never heard of them .... but son says they're heavy good looking tools ... :dunno:
 
nddons said:
I wish I could find a simple shop stool for sitting at my workbench cleaning guns or whatever. All I've seen is the cheap Lowe's POS Kobalt brand stool.

Otherwise I'm playing internet roulette by hoping to find one that I like.
Click to expand...

I have this one sold by Snap On. I really like it. It swivels and is adjustable for hight just like an office chair. Zero problems with it so far, but in fairness I've only had it about two years now. It's not crazy Snap On expensive, but not Harbor Freight cheap either. It's made in China just like every other shop stool out there I think.

Main.jpg
 
airdale said:
As they have sunk deeper and deeper into financial quicksand, Sears has reacted in desperation by whoring out the Craftsman brand.

The Chinese junk can be identified by unrolled edges sharp enough to amputate your finger and by slides and rails little thicker than aluminum foil. I knowingly bought one of these a couple of years ago for very light duty (sewing stuff, actually) use and was amazed to find that just the normal shipping handling had caused the drawers to come off their slides. It took me 1/2 hour just to bend everything back so the drawers could be installed and operated smoothly. But to be fair, I paid junk prices and I expected junk. It was just junkier beyond my low expectations. Caveat emptor.
Click to expand...

There's Chinese stuff and then there's Chinese stuff. Some is super cheap and some is avaerage and some is actually really good. I strongly suspect that considerable Snap-On stuff is Chinese-made.

Sears is mostly a store for women now. Clothing, cosmetics, kitchen stuff. The "tool" department is, I think, to keep the non-discriminating husbands busy while their wives shop. I can't see any experienced guy paying those prices for that junk.

Dan
 
Have three rolling toolboxes from Harbor Freight. Two were mine, one was dads. All identical.

Have beat the holy hell out of all three of them and nothing has broken or fallen off.

Total investment when purchased on sale? $350.
 
denverpilot said:
Have three rolling toolboxes from Harbor Freight. Two were mine, one was dads. All identical.

Have beat the holy hell out of all three of them and nothing has broken or fallen off.

Total investment when purchased on sale? $350.
Click to expand...

About 1982 I bought a 1958 Craftman 9 drawer roll cab, with 9 drawer top box at a garage sale, for 25 bucks, It has been my home shop box all this time, and it still works as good as the day it was made. When I move it to the new shop, I'll clean the box and oil the slides the first time it has been done.
 
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airdale said:
As they have sunk deeper and deeper into financial quicksand, Sears has reacted in desperation by whoring out the Craftsman brand.

Where they used to carry no junk at all and their second-tier brand was "Companion" so everyone knew what they were getting, it is now to the point where they will mark a used box of kitty litter with the Craftsman brand if they think it will make them a dime.

The good stuff used to be made in USA mostly by Waterloo, with Kennedy doing the machinist chests. I haven't shopped boxes for two or three years but that was still the case then.

The Chinese junk can be identified by unrolled edges sharp enough to amputate your finger and by slides and rails little thicker than aluminum foil. I knowingly bought one of these a couple of years ago for very light duty (sewing stuff, actually) use and was amazed to find that just the normal shipping handling had caused the drawers to come off their slides. It took me 1/2 hour just to bend everything back so the drawers could be installed and operated smoothly. But to be fair, I paid junk prices and I expected junk. It was just junkier beyond my low expectations. Caveat emptor.
Click to expand...

Ah, the tragedy.

Sears was fine, financially, before Kmart bought them. Kmart had no decent business plan, had just emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the only *really* valuable thing that they had was a bunch of tax-loss carry-forwards? What to do with those when your business plan is grunt and you don't have any prospects for operating profits against which to apply the carry-forwards?

You use junk, short-term debt to buy Sears, which owned nearly all of its real estate, debt free and (in general) had a very clean balance sheet, and you sell all the real estate, using the carry-forwards to offset the gains, then start dumbing-down what had been one of America's best, enduring quality retailers.

That's why you see some Craftsman tools made in China, now, and why you see the Craftsman brand sold in Kmart.
 
I've always had Snap-on boxes and tools. For me it's their support. I don't have to go anywhere, they fix it or replace it at the next visit. Snap-on doesn't always make the perfect tool for the job. Most of my guys in the shop bought from the truck. This made it easy if we had a job go very well I could go out and put money on their account. I have supplemented my tool supply with many other off brands that do the job better, particularly when I have to modify them.
 
weirdjim said:
I've just spent an interesting two hours rerailing four drawers on a Sears Crafts(Craps)man tool box.

Several young ladies of my acquaintance have told me in no uncertain terms that I'm going to hell, and if so, the first thing I am going to do is look up the son of a vitch that designed those slides and see if I can persuade Beelzebub to turn up the heat in his compartment.

Anybody got a fix? Seems that Sears must have carved those machine tools out of styrofoam for their ads, because if you put anything heavier than a sack of feathers in the damn drawer it pulls the slides off.

(No, repopulating the tool boxes isn't in the budget this year...or next.)

Bastads ...

Jim
Click to expand...


You talking steel on steel? Weld them suckers.
 
kmead said:
I've always had Snap-on boxes and tools. For me it's their support. I don't have to go anywhere, they fix it or replace it at the next visit. Snap-on doesn't always make the perfect tool for the job. Most of my guys in the shop bought from the truck. This made it easy if we had a job go very well I could go out and put money on their account. I have supplemented my tool supply with many other off brands that do the job better, particularly when I have to modify them.
Click to expand...

I've been buying off the Snap On truck since I was 11. They've always made so I could rock up in town and get a decent job regardless how much money I had in my pocket because they would always front me whatever tools I needed to get to work. If I need a new or replacement tool to finish a job, I keep working until it shows up. For a working mechanic, that's a big value.
 
SCCutler said:
That's why you see some Craftsman tools made in China, now, and why you see the Craftsman brand sold in Kmart.
Click to expand...

And recently ACE Hardware. and made in China, have the feel of a heavily built wrench that will warp when used.
 
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