Mark Doiron

Strange. I've owned Craftsman ratchets for over 40 years and never had one fail. I probably own at least a dozen different sizes (1/4"-3/4") and styles right now. Not certain why you had any problems. The only Craftsman tool I've ever had fail was a large C-clamp. I tried to use it with a pair of Vice Grips to force down a piston when rebuilding the brakes on my Trans Am. The screw shaft on the C-clamp bent and Craftsman replaced it immediately when presented to them. My only complaint might be that the color didn't match the rest of the set. LOL. I have a LOT of Craftsman tools, BTW.

JayRud

Ive heard many times that craftsman tools arent what they used to be. I think this has been the case for about 10-11 years. Older than that and craftsman tools are top end.

Mark Doiron

And it appears you've just perpetuated that a little bit more without any substance to your assertion. Research who actually makes all of the popular brands we use (hint: none of the brands cited in this thread owns tool foundries), and you'll wonder about people who profess one brand is better than another. You'll read more stories of Craftsman tools failing because they are so much more widely used. I'm not knocking the other brands, BTW. Buy them if you want. But, ignoring Sears' propensity to offer silly variants of basic tools, no one short of Snap-on (made in the same foundries as Craftsman) has such a wide variety of useful tools sold as open stock.

SWRUBI

Danaher makes Craftsman, Snap-On, Gear Wrench, Matco and a bunch of other major manufactures. Harbor Freight, and other retailer tools are mainly manufactured off shores (not that any of the aforementioned don't have some some of their line made overseas -- IE Sears Evolve).

Whatever you buy, spend the few extra dollars and buy the American build names (regardless of what brand you purchase). The metallurgic content of the American made tools is much better IMO and less prone to breakage. Lifetime warranty doesn't mean sh1t if your tool breaks on the trail so don't go for the Harbor Freight lifetime warranty junk that WILL break on you.....

Of the majors, they engineer their tools and leave the manufacturing to Danaher. There is a difference in one ratchets mechanism vs. the others so don't fall into the trap of thinking that since they are all made at the same plant that they are all the same.....

I have stuck with Craftsman over the years and still prefer them. Quality has gone down though. Not the mindset is "how many times can this tool break and Sears still maintain profitability?" I like the old school mindset of make it to last a lifetime.......those days seem to be for the ages....

skeeta76

I went to Sears and bought the 154pc mechanic`s tool set you`re talking about and added some tools to it such as combonation wrench set 3/8"-1" sae & 10mm-20mm, 8pc screw driver set, 4pc plier set, 3/8" torx bit set (socket style), 16" rolling wedge bar, ball pein hammer, a 8 & 10 inch adjustable wrenches, a pair of vise grips, a box cutter, 1/4 & 3/8 universal joints, some punches, and some extra extensions. I bought some socket rails and threw it all in a 3 drawer Craftsman tool box. It has served me well with NO problems. It`s all Craftsman except for a fram oil filter wrench i got from WalMart.

LARK

What ever you get I'd steer your way to something that is guaranteed for life. Most Craftsman hand tools are. So are many others. It's nice to be able to walk into the store and slap the broken pieces on the counter without a receipt and get a new tool. I'm not trying to steer you to Craftsman, heck Sears may not even exist 5 years from now but the concept is sound. I've had 25 year old sockets replaced at my local Sears. Guess I'm lucky, I actually have a Sears 9 miles away!

RedJK2

I just wanted to reiterate what has already been said about the missing sizes in the Craftsman tool sets. You'll need to supplement the set with additional sockets and wrenches to make it complete.

Also, there are a couple things I don't like about my Craftsman set (192 piece):
1.) The wrenches always fall out of their respective storage slots in the trifold case. This is not easily realized in the pictures, nor in the store since you cannot open the case.
2.) It includes two bags of Allen wrenches, one each for SAE and metric (40 total). This makes it very difficult to find a wrench of specific size.

Otherwise, it's a nice tool set!

SilverBolt

Watch you local Craig's list for great deals as well. Craftsman did change the internals on their ratchets several years ago. They are using plastic on the direction lever as well as inside. Old Craftsman ratchets were a good quality piece. The new stuff is junk. The Craftsman "Profesional" line is not bad. Never been a fan of their screwdrivers. Felo & Wiha make some very high quality products. Hazet makes some fantastic tools but they are expensive.

I was shocked recently when I bought some new Vise Grip brand locking pliers that they are now made in China. Looks like Irwin finally sold out as well.

Dynomax

Don't forget the socket for the nut on the stub shaft as well.

36MM socket
12 point 13mm socket or gear wrench.