Sears Craftsman 102pc Tool Set $49.99 11/20-11/22

[Evadman]

I counted my sockets last weekend when I was cleaning up all my crap. I ahve over 700 sockets and 27 ratchets. All Craftsman

<--- owns 1/4 of the entire craftsman catalog.

 

[Cheese78CA]

Believe it or not, I've bent a 11mm open wrench (stamped Drop Forge on it) on the hexagonal end while trying to losen the hydraulic line on the wheel cylinder. All by hand too, I must have some supernatural powers I'm not aware of. Speaking of an 11mm wrench; why doesn't the 150 pc. Stanley set at Costco have an 11mm wrench? Isn't 11mm one of most widely used nut size?

Originally posted by: fzj80<brHowever, most tools don't break, there are certain tools that are prone to have problems, screwdrivers, small sockets, things like that. A normal wrench won't break, they just don't, no matter who you buy it from....

 

[spinn]

for you "toolmen" out there...FYI.

Craftsman made by makers of Matco tools
Kobalt @ Lowes made by makers of Snap-On
Husky @ Home Depot made by makers of Stanley and I believe MAC.

Read the article...it's good reading.

For the DIYer at home, Craftsman tools get the job done just fine.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: mdetz
How's this compare to the stanley $38.99 150 pc mechanics set at Costco?

Stanley > Sears for general HOME use. They are about 1/2 the price on sets.

Sears > Stanley for auto or farm use. High torque applications.

Stanley has let me down a few times on sockets (cracked), rachets (stripped), and screwdrivers (breaking).

I have only broke on craftsman socket (a deep one which are fragile by design) after using a 10lb sledgehammer to free an exhaust nut when I didn't have a saw available.

I have only broke one tooth a a craftsman rachet (3/8") after doing a suspension on an older car and using a hammer with my rachet (a no-no) since we couldn't find a large enough pipe and my breaker bar got left at home.

&Aring;

 

[hytek369]

you get what you pay for

craftsman pretty lasts for life

 

[NeuralChaos]

Uh, Costco has an unconditional return policy. I've already bought the costco kit. Shouldn't I in theory be able to return the kit at any time and just buy a new one? Granted they might not have the same one, but I should at least get my money back.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: NeuralChaos
Uh, Costco has an unconditional return policy. I've already bought the costco kit. Shouldn't I in theory be able to return the kit at any time and just buy a new one? Granted they might not have the same one, but I should at least get my money back.

lifetime warranty does you no good if the tool is alway broken.

lifetime warranty only works well if the store replaces on site and the same day and is also easy to get to.

Like I said above Stanley (and the other types also that usually carry a lifetime warranty) are fine for a homeowner not doing auto/farm repair. High torques are what breaks tools. As long as they are accurate (a 1/2" wrench is 1/2") you should have no problems with many much cheaper than Craftsman tools. However Craftsman has killer sales and ebay is a great source for them.

 

[BTSocket]

hey i have this craftsman set, it does the job but i must say the quality isnt excatly great. a few wrenches stopped working and the case it somes in just sucks. tools never stay put in their designated spots. so everytime u move it around, they all just fall to the bottom.. sucks, but for 50 bucks its a good deal

its not like we have money for SNAP-ONs !

 

[EF9]

Keep in mind that to "pad" the number of tools in this set, there are 24 allen keys. I figure that these are pretty much useless and your set really only has 74 pieces. There are other comparable Craftsman sets to this when on sale that are a better deal.

you just dont know...............................

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: BTSocket
hey i have this craftsman set, it does the job but i must say the quality isnt excatly great. a few wrenches stopped working and the case it somes in just sucks. tools never stay put in their designated spots. so everytime u move it around, they all just fall to the bottom.. sucks, but for 50 bucks its a good deal

its not like we have money for SNAP-ONs !

You are faulting the *case*?!!....then bring up snap-on? whoa!

what wrenches just stop working?

I think someone missed the short bus this morning.

 

[BTSocket]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: BTSocket
hey i have this craftsman set, it does the job but i must say the quality isnt excatly great. a few wrenches stopped working and the case it somes in just sucks. tools never stay put in their designated spots. so everytime u move it around, they all just fall to the bottom.. sucks, but for 50 bucks its a good deal

its not like we have money for SNAP-ONs !

You are faulting the *case*?!!....then bring up snap-on? whoa!

what wrenches just stop working?

I think someone missed the short bus this morning.

i meant ratchets and i never stated that craftsman and snap-on are in the same class.


hence 'its not like we have money for snap-ons'

 

[Salvador]

My favorite tools are Snap on, but I can't justify the price if I don't use them all the time (as if I were a mechanic). Sears tools are of good quality and you can't beat the lifetime replacement policy. The Lowe's brand tools interest me, but as luck would have it, I don't have any Lowe's in my area.

Important question that I'm trying to get answered about Sears. I have my eyes on a few things that will be on sale Friday. I was thinking about picking them up early at full price to make sure that I get them and then do a PM Friday. Has anyone here successfully price matched Sears Black Friday price if you purchased the item early at full price?

Sal

 

[gnawrot]

Lowes used to sell Snap On under Kobalt Tools name. Unfortunatelly, Kobalt tools sold these days are not Snap On. I got one 1/2 and 3/8 socket sets made by Snap On and I love it. What a quality and craftsmanship. These things don't brake. I used cheater bars sometimes. However, I use breaker bar from Harbor Freight most of the time, which work fine (mostly car suspension jobs). Since I started using Kobalt tools sockets, rounded off bolts problem is gone.

Lowes sells Kobalt tools, which are made by KD Tools I believe (Danaher tools or something). These tools are used by professionals but not definitely as great as Snap On.

I have some wrenches Kobalt Tools (Snap On) and they just rock. Also I have one 1/4 SK Tool metric socket set and I do with it all smaller jobs. GearWrenches are nice for some special jobs where space is very limited. Saved me many times. I have one made by KD Tools, made in Taiwan. 5 degrees required to make a click, which is nice where you cannot do a lot of movement.

So now, Craftsman is good bet I would say or other professional grade tools.

BTW, God knows how long Sears will exist and if it goes belly up, so will all warranties go.

50$ is a fair price for this set but nothing really impressive. Shallow sockets. Deep sockets are more expensive and more common (only 10 in this set). 102 pieces which includes hex key (usefull and cost 10$ for set) with two ratchets (1/4 and 3/8). High number of pieces but does it include 16 mm, 18 mm and 20 mm sockets? I doubt. Good set for amateurs but for hobbists, mechanics or people doing all car repair jobs (such as myself), this set is not worth the trouble.

 

[Salvador]

50$ is a fair price for this set but nothing really impressive. Shallow sockets. Deep sockets are more expensive and more common (only 10 in this set). 102 pieces which includes hex key (usefull and cost 10$ for set) with two ratchets (1/4 and 3/8). High number of pieces but does it include 16 mm, 18 mm and 20 mm sockets? I doubt. Good set for amateurs but for hobbists, mechanics or people doing all car repair jobs (such as myself), this set is not worth trouble.

I have my eye on the 248 piece set for $150 (usually $300). I have odds and ends of just about everything and I wanted to get a complete set of sockets.

Sal

 

[alkemyst]

Snap-on excels only because they offer in-house service. Many mechanics own SnapOn and Craftsman. They'd rather pay than shop on work time/their off time.

Also with a Snap-On tool, if you are not a shop good luck getting warranty service quickly.

Sears doesn't want to do the professional type service, despite offering professional grade tools.

Their Companion line looks ok for the homeowner too.

 

[Salvador]

Snap-on excels only because they offer in-house service.

I think it's a superior product also. When I used to turn wrenches on the side in high school, we'd get visited by the Snap-on and Mac truck. Both had excellent service to shops, but after using both sets of tools, I much prefer the Snap on to the Mac. I don't know what it is either. Just a feel. It's why someone would go with BMW over Mercedes I guess.

Sal

 

[gnawrot]

Snap on attention to detail is great. Those tools are better made and better designed (ergonomics). It is really remarkable - it must be for the price you pay. Kobalt tools were bargain at the time. Too bad, they are gone. Craftsman ratchet does not compare to Snap On ratchet in terms of ergonomics.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: gnawrot
Snap on attention to detail is great. Those tools are better made and better designed (ergonomics). It is really remarkable - it must be for the price you pay. Kobalt tools were bargain at the time. Too bad, they are gone. Craftsman ratchet does not compare to Snap On ratchet in terms of ergonomics.

Sears has I think 4 different types of rachets. The basic, the round and the pro as well as fine and course gears in the lines.

 

[Salvador]

F*cken Sears! They bait me in with their online sale for today, so I forego trying to buy it before hand and price matching Friday. I try to purchase what I wanted today and not all of it is on sale yet and to make things worse, it's only available online for delivery. I'm not paying their excessive delivery fee's. This is BS! I'm not going to play fair next year.

Sal