Has anyone here used the newer Craftsman stuff? I suppose it would work for me - I'm the "weekend warrior". Pretty handy, and pretty busy w/ projects, but definitely not a pro.
My last set of Craftsman cordless is still working, it's the batteries that are done. I wouldn't mind a little step up from it, the tools while lasting for me were pretty featureless.
Otherwise I've been looking at Dewalt, Ridgid and Ryobi. Seems I can't hardly go wrong with any of them for what I'd be doing.
I used to swear by Craftsman, I mean "Tim Allen"-esque loyalty...
But after several bad experiences, both with the quality decrease and complete lack of enthusiasm on warranty claims, I've now completely sworn off anything Sears. Here's a few over the last couple of years:
- Shop vac with the hose diameters just a hair different, so that ShopVac(TM) brand attachments won't work with it. Gotta' buy Craftsman(TM) attachments, donchaknow...
- Torque wrench locking plastic collar broke, wouldn't replace
- Workmate-clone, heavy, top table (particial board) broke in half after third use, won't replace and won't sell replacement boards at any price
- set of screw-out extractors broke on first use, was a "wear item" no replacement
- an so on...
I have several thousand dollars of Craftsman tools that I'm slowly replacing with other brands as they break/wear out. Most of my remaining are socket/screwdriver/toolbox type equipment.
Besides, I don't think Sears will be a going concern for very much longer, so that "lifetime" warranty won't be worth much when they go under.