Fewer craftsman tools made in us as of 6/13?

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SpikeWills69

SpikeWills69

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It looks like even fewer Craftsman Tools will be made in the U.S. after June of this year. This plant is closing and the story says operations will be moved to Texas and China. Does that mean warehoused in Texas and made in China? Here's the link anyway.

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/2013/01/11/3267570/closure-of-gastonia-plant-will.html

BTW, I thought this wasn't supposed to happen under the current administration... Oh, Sure...
 
The quality has already gone down hill on the American made Craftsman tools. I have been collecting all my broken tools and getting them exchanged while the American made stuff is still around because I figure when it goes to China it will be the end of all the quality.
 
Oklacarcollecto said:
The quality has already gone down hill on the American made Craftsman tools. I have been collecting all my broken tools and getting them exchanged while the American made stuff is still around because I figure when it goes to China it will be the end of all the quality.
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Great idea, I need to go through mine and see what I need to get replaced. I did that with a few a while back, but probably wouldn't hurt to do another check.

It is sad. When I first discovered Harbor Freight a few years ago, bought some hand tools, what junk they turned out to be (from China). There are a few things that are ok from there, but a lot of junk too.
 
I bought an anvil and a B.F.H. at HF - no problems!
The air tools seem pretty much OK for my light duty needs.
The battery charger broke down the second time I used it.

I just hate that so much of the stuff we buy from China is crap, but finding an alternative is darn near impossible.

ATB

BC
 
I have some old craftsman ratchets that bitthe biscuit and I refuse to take them in and exchange it for the new stuff. I'll buy rebuild kits before taking new stuff in trade.

Knock HF all you want, the hand tools now are lifetime warranty... AS a hobbyist, since one is close, I'll buy that stuff, beat the snot out of it and take it back.

If I made a living using my tools, I'd buy something like Mac or Snap On, etc.
 
64ragtop said:
The battery charger broke down the second time I used it.

I just hate that so much of the stuff we buy from China is crap, but finding an alternative is darn near impossible.

ATB

BC
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X2
A couple of years ago I bought a jumper box with an air compressor built in. After charging it according to instructions, I decided to see how well the air compressor part worked. As soon as I started it, it made an ugly rattling noise and started to smoke!

A 4 wheel engine stand I bought had the main post welded backwards, so the engine was slightly tilted forward rather than back. But I didn't realize it till I had used it for a while and double-checked other engine stands.

They sell 4-socket tire irons, which are the same ones found in most other stores. Theirs is the least expensive so that's where I went (with coupon) when the last one broke in the shank after several years of tightening the lugs on my race car by hand! (I swap rear tires and adjust the brakes after every weekend of racing.)
 
crackedback said:
I have some old craftsman ratchets that bitthe biscuit and I refuse to take them in and exchange it for the new stuff. I'll buy rebuild kits before taking new stuff in trade.

Knock HF all you want, the hand tools now are lifetime warranty... AS a hobbyist, since one is close, I'll buy that stuff, beat the snot out of it and take it back.

If I made a living using my tools, I'd buy something like Mac or Snap On, etc.
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Didn't really mean to bash HF, but rather cheap junk from China. I have some good stuff from HF and from China too. But have had my share of junk (made in China). I agree that HF can be a great source, you just have to shop with your eyes wide open. Got my Hobart Mig from HF at a super price a few years back, also got a sheet metal break, at a ridiculous discount and the think is built like a tank.

And, I could kick myself for buying my son-in-law a great heavy duty floor jack at HF for $50 several years ago and didn't get myself one. Went back and they were off sale.

Come to think of it, I believe my droid is made in China, thing is Crazy Good.
 
I just exchanged a long handle 3/8 ratchet at Sears. First time i went to use it, it slipped and never has held. What a POS
 
crackedback said:
I have some old craftsman ratchets that bitthe biscuit and I refuse to take them in and exchange it for the new stuff. I'll buy rebuild kits before taking new stuff in trade.

Knock HF all you want, the hand tools now are lifetime warranty... AS a hobbyist, since one is close, I'll buy that stuff, beat the snot out of it and take it back.

If I made a living using my tools, I'd buy something like Mac or Snap On, etc.
Click to expand...

We have a Hometown Sears Store and I took my ratchet in and they fixed it while I waited.
 
SGBARRACUDA said:
I just exchanged a long handle 3/8 ratchet at Sears. First time i went to use it, it slipped and never has held. What a POS
Click to expand...

I haven't liked craftsman ratchets since the early 80's when they started building them off shore.

I took 3 3/8 ratchets in to exchange them and the store manager argued that I must be miss-using them. I took him out the the parking lot and stripped two of the new ones he just replaced on an intake manifold bolt. He insisted that I should have used a 1/2" drive ratchet on it and refused to replace them a second time.

I have also had a love/hate relationship with snap-on ratchets as well. Had had to replace a number of them more often than I think I should have. I do like SK ratchets. I have several that are over30 years old and have been trouble free. I recent bought several of them for my son and found that they are still high quality.

Just my $.02...
 
Oklacarcollecto said:
We have a Hometown Sears Store and I took my ratchet in and they fixed it while I waited.
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Last time I was in a sears the guy said I couldn't have mine back as the policy was an exchange. So I left, bought a rebuild kit for $5 and did it myself.
 
jw133489 said:
I haven't liked craftsman ratchets since the early 80's when they started building them off shore.

I took 3 3/8 ratchets in to exchange them and the store manager argued that I must be miss-using them. I took him out the the parking lot and stripped two of the new ones he just replaced on an intake manifold bolt. He insisted that I should have used a 1/2" drive ratchet on it and refused to replace them a second time.

I have also had a love/hate relationship with snap-on ratchets as well. Had had to replace a number of them more often than I think I should have. I do like SK ratchets. I have several that are over30 years old and have been trouble free. I recent bought several of them for my son and found that they are still high quality.

Just my $.02...
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I've gone through 3 NEW 3/8 drive ratchets in 5-6months.... Snap on used to be great. What happened to them
 
Not directed at anyone specific, but if you repeatedly buy stuff that was made China, you have no right to whine about where stuff is made.
 
jos51700 said:
Not directed at anyone specific, but if you repeatedly buy stuff that was made China, you have no right to whine about where stuff is made.
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yes..so quit buying new phones...computers..laptops..tv ...radios..car radios...dvd players...and the list is probably a mile long...
 
crackedback said:
...
Knock HF all you want, the hand tools now are lifetime warranty... AS a hobbyist, since one is close, I'll buy that stuff, beat the snot out of it and take it back. If I made a living using my tools, I'd buy something like Mac or Snap On, etc.
Click to expand...

Word...All hand tools there are "exchange if broken, no receipts needed" I got one 3 miles away. Works for me....

Texas seems to be a favorite state for repair work too, they toss it over the fence to Matamoros or Nuevo Loredo to get it fixed for $2 an hour and then they hand it back to Texas address so it can be shipped to you.
 
The last Craftsman stuff I bought was junk. I got a set of impact sockets that had supet thick walls and they wouldn't even fit the area outside the socket. They weren't the elvove either but was made in China.
 
jos51700 said:
Not directed at anyone specific, but if you repeatedly buy stuff that was made China, you have no right to whine about where stuff is made.
Click to expand...

Oh yes... I had brand loyalty to craftsman stuff for many years only to see them move production to china... So whether I bought or not, they moved it anyways.
 
Nobody likes Chinese made garbage. Or American made garbage.

The problem is more complicated than is often presented. By mere virtue of being made in China doesn't make a widget lousy. It's a case of garbage in, garbage out. The Chinese ability to create high quality components is very real. The problem is that some cost-cutter took over from engineers and sends the cheapest possible plans and materials lists and that's exactly what Chinese factories will produce. They would also produce a perfect Rolex if they were so directed with the right tooling, training, and materials. Just look at the IT infrastructure of the planet. Designed here, but produced to exact specs in Guangdong Province. All of it comes down to cost cutting and a smooth, gradual acceptance of slave labor, which is my real complaint.

Apple boasts that their Foxconn assembly plant only had seven suicides last year. But nobody complains that their iMacs are cheap Chinese trash (unless you work in IT). And they're expensive.

Somehow cost became the only part of the equation that mattered to anyone, feverishly competing to make the lousiest possible product. It's a reverse Cold War where all major economic parties are in a race to the bottom. This is both true at Sears and among the American public. It's self-evident that nearly all of these Chinese made tools we always see are are trashy. But they wouldn't be if we didn't all file into HF with enough regularity until Craftsman and others soon followed suit in order to compete with the lowest common denominator.

I have no sympathy for people who constantly ***** about inferior tools yet still have a garage full of HF merchandise, but I can understand why if they couldn't find anything better.

The real problem here is that people like we gearheads now have few, if any, middle options. Craftsman was great because it occupied that venerable middle ground of good quality and great on-the-spot warranty for reasonable prices. There was a time where you gave Craftsman tools as a serious gift. So the option has now become HF or ultra expensive Mac or Snap-On? If someone knows a good replacement then let's find out about it, and vote with our wallets. And, you know, preferably without slave labor.

-marcus
 
well..you can not sell any of those tools made with slave labor in Kalifornia...

they have the CALIFORNIA TRANSPARENCY ACT DISCLOSURE

On January 1, 2012, the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 (SB 657) will go into effect in the State of California. As a result, many companies manufacturing or selling products in California will be required to disclose their efforts (if any) to address the issues of human trafficking and slavery, thereby allowing consumers to make better, more informed choices regarding the products they buy and the companies they choose to support.
 
Sears will be out of business by 2015. They are the worst for customer service and they treat their employees like dirt. it is only a matter of time.They are losing money and the longer they continue to bleed financially the sooner they will be gone. Good Riddance Sears. I for one will not miss your corrupt company and hope that you go belly up before the end of 2013. I will never spend a cent in one of their stores.
 
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