I had a snap on long handle 3/8 ratchet with the black plastic handle i bought in the 80s. I realy liked t but lost it on a job . When i got payed for the job i was at the bank and there was a snap on truck there . I wanted to replace the ratchet and did but all he had was the regular handle. It was new and i was careful with it but it striped out i had it fixed and it did it agin. It has wear from riding around in my pickup thinking i would see a truck. I got it fixed but havent used it much. If i have any luck getting my breaker bar fixed i will start using it and see what happens of i will sell it to some one that wants to take a chance . I have had good luck with other snap on stuff .
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Craftsman Ratchets
- Thread starter Old Doug
- Start date
barrelroll
Well-Known Member
Those of you without snapon reps there is a way to get stuff warrantied through corporate, I believe it involves calling a 800 number and mailing it in.
I'm lucky to have a rep who will meet me at my convenience even though my actual work is a boat ride away. It took a bit for him to offer me a truck account, he just keeps my card on file and dings it weekly.
I don't have much Tekton stuff though their warranty process involves sending them a picture with an address to send the replacement. I'm going to give some of their impact sockets and big metric wrenches a try.
I'm lucky to have a rep who will meet me at my convenience even though my actual work is a boat ride away. It took a bit for him to offer me a truck account, he just keeps my card on file and dings it weekly.
I don't have much Tekton stuff though their warranty process involves sending them a picture with an address to send the replacement. I'm going to give some of their impact sockets and big metric wrenches a try.
TomA
Well-Known Member
Some the of the Craftsman tools I have are from a set my father bought for me in the late fifties.
I have a couple of quick release 1/2 " drive ratchets, I don't think these came out until the sixties. I have never broken one.
Recently my shop burned to the ground in the Oak Wildffire. The ratchets are toast but I have been able to salvage a lot of sockets and open ends. I will clean them up and keep them for old time sake and memories but they may have lost temper.
I bought the big set from HF to replace them. They seem like good quality unlike the new Crapsman stuff. The sockets are all 6 point. I wish I had ordered the smaller set, there is too many tools and I am NOT getting a tool cabinet. The case is crap. I believe the small set comes in a case that you can keep them organized and use them out of. I may order one for this reason, they are certainly reasonable. The small set was not available the day I ordered.
I have a couple of quick release 1/2 " drive ratchets, I don't think these came out until the sixties. I have never broken one.
Recently my shop burned to the ground in the Oak Wildffire. The ratchets are toast but I have been able to salvage a lot of sockets and open ends. I will clean them up and keep them for old time sake and memories but they may have lost temper.
I bought the big set from HF to replace them. They seem like good quality unlike the new Crapsman stuff. The sockets are all 6 point. I wish I had ordered the smaller set, there is too many tools and I am NOT getting a tool cabinet. The case is crap. I believe the small set comes in a case that you can keep them organized and use them out of. I may order one for this reason, they are certainly reasonable. The small set was not available the day I ordered.
treemuncher
Senior Member
I have not read of anyone on here having to deal with rebuilding Craftsman ratchets. Back in the early 80's when I was doing the auto mechanic thing, Sears was notorious for only handing out ratchet rebuild kits and you would have to rebuild the body yourself. It was a fight to get a new, complete ratchet no matter how many times it was rebuilt. Split sockets were always questioned and accused of being worked with an impact gun which, supposedly, voided the warranty. I was also normally questioned about using the tools professionally as, according to the sales Nazi, the tools were only warrantied for homeowner usage. I certainly don't miss those Massholes where I used to live.
Best story about dealing with Sears tool department: I was with a friend who was also a mechanic. He tried to get an electric drill warrantied and replaced. The sales Nazi refused to replace it. John said. "I'm not satisfied with this tool. I want my money back." Sears satisfaction guarantee was 100% satisfaction for the customer. She had to refund him his money at the current sale price without a receipt in hand. He took the money, grabbed a replacement drill off of the shelf and handed the money back over. The sales Nazi was not happy but then again, she never was. It was a great come back on John's part.
Personally, I'm too cheap to pay for SnapOn tools. The best and most favored kit that I own is a Kobalt 1/2" drive set that I purchased at least 20 years ago. I finally broke my first socket this year trying to tighten a 7/8" head track bolt. I've been pissed that Lowes is trying to push Craftsman junk of the quality of the Kobalt stuff although the newer Kobalt is no where near as good as it used to be. 20 years of hard abuse and that 1/2" Kobalt ratchet is still working fine. I would have trashed 10 of the Sears units by now with the abuse that I dish out to ratchets.
I also have good things to say about the Tekton stuff that I have purchased in the past 10 years. Much of the HF stuff is also getting better every year - it's not as crappy as it used to be in some cases. Not all cases, but some.
Best story about dealing with Sears tool department: I was with a friend who was also a mechanic. He tried to get an electric drill warrantied and replaced. The sales Nazi refused to replace it. John said. "I'm not satisfied with this tool. I want my money back." Sears satisfaction guarantee was 100% satisfaction for the customer. She had to refund him his money at the current sale price without a receipt in hand. He took the money, grabbed a replacement drill off of the shelf and handed the money back over. The sales Nazi was not happy but then again, she never was. It was a great come back on John's part.
Personally, I'm too cheap to pay for SnapOn tools. The best and most favored kit that I own is a Kobalt 1/2" drive set that I purchased at least 20 years ago. I finally broke my first socket this year trying to tighten a 7/8" head track bolt. I've been pissed that Lowes is trying to push Craftsman junk of the quality of the Kobalt stuff although the newer Kobalt is no where near as good as it used to be. 20 years of hard abuse and that 1/2" Kobalt ratchet is still working fine. I would have trashed 10 of the Sears units by now with the abuse that I dish out to ratchets.
I also have good things to say about the Tekton stuff that I have purchased in the past 10 years. Much of the HF stuff is also getting better every year - it's not as crappy as it used to be in some cases. Not all cases, but some.
I was at a farmers shop working on a skylift yesterday i saw he had 3 CM ratchets on his laying on a table that were broken. In the past the Sears stores were great about warrentying tools i have no complaints but those days are over. I havent had any luck with getting a replacement on the breaker bar yet.