Rick Samuel wrote:
Some of the older Craftsman tools were pretty good. 38 years should put
the router in that range. Somewhere along the line, Sears decided to
change quality (make cheap junk), I assume for the same reason B&D decided
to do so. Jess.S

Amen!! I have a 3x18" belt sander and a 1/4 sheet orbital sander, bought
about '74. Both going strong,

Craftsman of the 70s was good stuff. I bought one of their "Commercial"
routers in 1976 - has the ergo handles with finger trigger. It is
light, and well-balanced. Still works well after 30 years. I've got a
bigger router in a ruoter table that has both 1/4" and 1/2" collets,
but it stays in the table -- does not have the great feel of that old
Craftsman.

I also just refurbished my 30 year old Craftsman radial arm saw. Its
particle board top was sagging a bit, so I made a new top with 1" MDF,
topped with replaceable white Melamine hardboard. Edged it with oak.
Kind of overkill, but this saw has served me well over the years, so I
decided it needed a nice upgrade. When this one was built, it came with
a cast iron one-piece column, milled to accept the arm. And adjustments
to allow it to be easily trued. After 30 years, it needed little
truing. They definitely do not build them like this (at least from
Sears), these days.

Lee