Craftsman Club

Wanting New Category January 6th, 2008 03:31 AM I have a great new "category" idea for this board.

The "Suggestion" topic.

Here one would find "constructive" Craftsman tool suggestions to imaginary corporate tool buyers and marketers.

Yes, I know there are real people doing these functions.

But, for the sake of having the posts read and answered - let's just stick with "imaginery".

Here goes:

A lot more plastic-cased Mechanics tool sets would STAY SOLD if there were no EMPTY holes in the case.

If there's an intentionally blank hole left in a set's case, perhaps a nice for insert saying "For future expansion" might be included.

Or... If there are 4 wrench slots in a lid...

Perhaps more than just TWO wrenches could be supplied?

Don't forget my old suggestion of a vinyl pouch set of Break-Loose-Bars, including the 1/4, 3/8 and 15 inch long - 1/2 inch drive size "Flex T handles".

It would save a whole-bunch of Craftsman ratchet warranty exchanges.

Suggestions January 6th, 2008 08:58 AM Great idea.

The most immediate suggestion I would make is to incorporate a ratchet mechanism similar to the established round head fine tooth ratchets into the 'professional' polished ratchet line. I have experienced 6, (that's right 6), failures with the model 44833 long handled polished professional ratchet. The ratchet is very strong and precise when on the loosening stroke (counter clockwise) however the mechanism does not engage immediately and completely on the tightening stroke (clockwise). This leads to premature wear on the pawl which leads to ratchet failure under load. I have retired the 'pros' and returned to the fine tooth round heads for every day use. Granted as a mechanic I use my tools much more than the weekend warrior, but I had expected more from this Craftsman line. The Craftsman professional polished wrenches have given outstanding service, I now use them almost exclusively, save for times when a size/type not offered by Craftsman is required.

I do like the new Next Generation thin profile ratchets, and have begun to introduce them, (slowly - I take lots of grief from the Snap-on guys about using Craftsman), into the daily use tool ranks. My living is made by turning wrenches, and I cannot afford the downtime caused by broken tools.

Tools January 6th, 2008 10:53 AM Timer:

What "flack" are you receiving?

I would remind those guys that you have money in YOUR pocket, not the Snap-On dealers.

I have yet to meet a Snap On tool that really couldn't be done with a Craftsman. My partner stated that he likes the Snap On flare wrenches exclusively as the Sears wrenches spread on him. He said, "I should throw those out, I never use them".

I told him to send them my way if he throws them out....I would probably wrangle a set of Craftsman professionals out of the deal ;).

As for the Craftsman line, I do not use my tools every day, but I have yet to break many Sears tools over the years...and my neighbor who used his tools every day in his shop 15+ years didn't either.

On the whole, I have found the Craftsman line to be an excellent value either professionally or personally.

Bargain Time January 6th, 2008 11:28 AM The Craftsman 80th Anniversary year is officially over.

So, look for all the cool logoed stuff to be going on various clearance sales.

Including that nice 3 piece set of Craftsman Thin Profile/Next Gen ratchets!

:)

RHFT ratchets January 6th, 2008 11:39 AM The Craftsman Round-head/ Fine-tooth ratchets are some excellent examples of ratchet engineering.

My suggestion for those products would be to bring them BACK into the Sears store Tool Departments.

Very few Customers know of those ratchets' existence, let alone that they can still be had "brand new" by remote ordering (Catalog or Internet) them.

More good news: the rebuild kits are still completely current and occasionally sent out to the stores.

Granted - not many associates can install them (there's a couple a tricks).

If the teardrop ratchet is not engaging well in one direction, it may have a slight burr - in need of tuning or exchange.

There IS a natural difference in ratcheting action of a teardrop ratchet.

I know not why.

Flak January 7th, 2008 08:53 AM Well the flak I get was no doubt helped by my own bragging about the ratchet to begin with. I compared it to their pricey ratchets and laughed at how much they spent compared to the Craftsman model. So naturally they were only too happy to return the favor when I experienced tool failure. Speaking of which, I have never experienced such an incident before, and it is possible that since all 6 ratchets were obtained/warranteed at the same store it is possible it was a fluke; bad production batch or something. The next gen low profile ratchets are performing like champs so far, but the guys are watching closely to see how they do in the long run. Yeah, we all check out each others tools and know who has what in their box and how they like them.

Rachets January 7th, 2008 09:04 AM I have multiple rachets, so to be honest, I would never be "out of commission" because of a broken tool.

Again, money is in your pocket versus theirs, I would remind them of that :).

Sounds like some good natured "shop ribbing" to me :)

Simple Test January 7th, 2008 02:31 PM I got to thinkin about the situation you described.

If you've got a left over ratchet, try removing the snap ring that secures the back cover shield.

If the mechanism immediately starts performing much more better, than you have a compromised production unit.

Sometimes a new rebuild kit clears the situation right up (tolerance stacking not part of the blank in this case).

These ratchets turn out to be very tolerance sensitive units and a number of things (or combinations) can contribute to a "sluggish" ratchet.

I haven't been able to narrow it down yet.

Also, new ratchets are lubricated very sparsely.

This too, can affect the ratchet's functioning and certainly its wear cycle.

First thing Adam does with returned MTS sets is crack open all the ratchets and 10 year magic grease them.

Rachets January 8th, 2008 09:09 AM I have yet to break a rachet...I've gotten them in poor condition (used) and returned them to Sears.