They do not make things like they did before

Back in the day Craftsman woodworking power tools where made my Emerson Electric. Witch sold there tools under the Ridged name. When Emerson contract to sale through Home Depot Sears drop them and went to Ryobi. And things went down hill. Now HD owns the Ridged brand
 
I frequent the flea market and garage sales so much, that I almost don’t even look at hand tools anymore, especially Crapsman. I will buy Snap On if priced right. And a newer Crapsman power tool, sorry, won’t look at that either. Back in the day yes, today no…Dave.
 
I try to avoid buying any new tools if I can too. Flea market and garage sale ones are built better and even if they are 50 years old they are in better condition then the new junk they sell these days.
 
It would appear that the consumer got what they asked for, namely very inexpensive tools. For every single manufacturer of high quality tools at a premium price there are dozens of other companies that will produce or market a similar product at consumer commodity prices. One will rarely find the quality products at the big box tool stores, this is not where industry buys such things.

This is a fascinating look into the past and economic globalization, a PDF scan of the 1972-1973 Sears tool catalog http://www.blackburntools.com/artic...s/pdfs/sears-craftsman-1972-73-power-hand.pdf If you were to do a web search today you would find the same products for prices similar to 1973, at far lower quality however. I do realize that manufacturing technological advancement has played a large part in this, there were poorly made inexpensive tools 40 years ago as well, they are mostly not around today for comparison.

1" tenth reading micrometer with carbide faces. $26.99 in 1973
Fowler 1" tenth reading mic without carbide faces, $24.93 in 2017 after 44 years of inflation.

Or better yet a set of 4 for $64.95 in 2017, the consumer got what they wanted which is the lowest possible price. Do not blame the manufacturers for poor quality hand tools they just produce what the market wants.

 
We picked up a Sioux 1/2 drill motor for 8 bucks at a yard sale.

Heavy rascal and may never use it but it is built well and has a lot of torque.

Our 5/8 portable from way back will throw you without hesitation.

Mag drills common now and very expensive but hard to find portable brute drills anymore.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk
 
I was 15 years old when the 1973 Sears power hand tool catalog came out. I drooled over getting a set of 0-4" mics out of that catalog back then. All I had to work with then was a 0-1" Army surplus mic and a pair of 0-6" Helios calipers! Never got those mics.
 
Time was, you could walk into a Sears tool area with a broken Craftsman tool and they'd give you a new one off the shelf. Now, well the last time I tired, you needed a receipt and if the tool is over 1 year old, forget it. Not only have the tools gone down hill so has their guarantee.
That's interesting because I have a toolbox full of Craftsman tools that came with a lifetime guarantee.

I gave up on Craftsman years ago. The last time that I had a guarantee problem, it was a 13mm socket that had split. They didn't have any replacement sockets so I walked out without a new socket. That was maybe twenty years ago. The time before was probably thirty years ago and I had an issue with 3" aluminum C clamps breaking. Some woman working in hardware ( I think that she transferred from lingerie because she didn't know anything about tools or hardware) balked at replacing the broken clamp, saying"if you keep bringing these clamps in for replacement, how are we supposed to make a profit?" I replied that "if you made them properly, I wouldn't keep bringing them in." I told her that I would take the cheaper 3" cast iron instead. I still have that cast iron clamp.

It is a huge fall from a company that was the mainstay of rural America a hundred plus years ago to the pitiful company it now is. IMO, the marketing strategy has been been to transform from a company that could meet virtually any conceivable need to a bunch of boutique departments with the slimmest of offerings. Small wonder that they are in the financial mess they're in
 
My wife was a sales rep for Black and Decker in the UK in the '90's. During her training, she was told that their line of power tools was intended for the occasional user and not expected to stand up to every day use.
 
We picked up a Sioux 1/2 drill motor for 8 bucks at a yard sale.

Heavy rascal and may never use it but it is built well and has a lot of torque.

Our 5/8 portable from way back will throw you without hesitation.

Mag drills common now and very expensive but hard to find portable brute drills anymore.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk

I still have an old Craftsman 1/2" single speed that I bought (reconditioned) in the 70s. I used it when I was installing locksets. If that 2-1/4 inch bit caught in the door, it could break your wrist.
 
That's interesting because I have a toolbox full of Craftsman tools that came with a lifetime guarantee.

I gave up on Craftsman years ago. The last time that I had a guarantee problem, it was a 13mm socket that had split. They didn't have any replacement sockets so I walked out without a new socket. That was maybe twenty years ago. The time before was probably thirty years ago and I had an issue with 3" aluminum C clamps breaking. Some woman working in hardware ( I think that she transferred from lingerie because she didn't know anything about tools or hardware) balked at replacing the broken clamp, saying"if you keep bringing these clamps in for replacement, how are we supposed to make a profit?" I replied that "if you made them properly, I wouldn't keep bringing them in." I told her that I would take the cheaper 3" cast iron instead. I still have that cast iron clamp.

It is a huge fall from a company that was the mainstay of rural America a hundred plus years ago to the pitiful company it now is. IMO, the marketing strategy has been been to transform from a company that could meet virtually any conceivable need to a bunch of boutique departments with the slimmest of offerings. Small wonder that they are in the financial mess they're in

I completely agree with your comments. We are of comparable age, I think. I started building my Craftsman collection in mid '60s. By the mid '70s the homeowner grade power tools had pretty much taken over and even the CRAFTSMAN COMMERCIAL (top of the line) power tools were very poor performers. The hand tool quality lasted a lot longer, IMO.

In the '70s and '80s Sears had a world class catalog order and fulfillment system in place. I used it plenty. How the company failed to convert the catalog order system into a leading internet order system is a world class booboo.
 
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