On Sun, 25 Nov 2007 09:15:14 -0500, "J. Clarke"
wrote:

Huh? Was in there a couple of days ago, they still have the Bosch
jigsaws and the Orion hybrid saws and the polished wrenches and so on
that they had a year ago.

Their reputation was made on hand tools, not power, and finish on
their hand tools is better than it was 20 years ago. They see Snap-on
as their competitor in that market and it shows. But even in that
market Craftsman was never "the best", they were what you got if you
couldn't afford Snap-On.

Their Craftsman Professional power tools have always been decent,
seldom the best in the industry but one could count on them to do what
they were supposed to do and still can. One example is their jigsaw,
which is clearly a relabelled Bosch (and jigsaws don't _come_ better
than Bosch) but not the latest and greatest model. I've seen
accusations that the Craftsman Professional tools are cheapened
versions, but I've never seen anyone post side-by-side photos of their
innards that demonstrates this, it's always been vague assertions.

Their bench tools have always been a mixed bag--some have been decent,
some crap. Right now their Orion table saws are probably the best
table saw they've ever sold under their own brand. Their radial arm
saws are mechanically pretty much like they were 30 years ago, they've
just changed the trim and added a few bells and whistles over the
years. Their new band saws are quite good--they cut corners on
features, not on cutting ability.

I go to Sears about once in a blue moon... was there the day after
Thanksgiving actually. I think we are perceiving things differently.

I'm not talking about Sears selling Bosch or Makita. I'm talking
specifically about Craftsman.

Do you know the "Harbor Freight Smell"? That's the smell of lead
paint mixed with cheap plasticizers, or something. Anyhow, it's very
distinctive, and Sears didn't have it until a couple of years ago.
The HF power tools have this cheap plastic housing that is usually
orange or something. It actually has a bit of an oily film on it when
you first take the tool out of the box. It might be mold release, or
it might be plasticizer oozing out of the plastic, I don't know. And
they *always* have that strong smell. Then you have the cardboard
box. I keep the old boxes from my purchases. That way I can locate
by Craftsman jigsaw from 1985 quickly, and keep all the accessories
and the manual together with it. Those cardboard boxes are sturdy and
have a real solid feel about them. The new ones feel like a wet
cereal box. I don't know how to describe it, they just do.

The stationary power tools that you mentioned: I just have to rebut
that. I mean this in all good humor, what drugs are you on? The
table saws are just garbage. The radial arm saws are better, but they
are a pale shadow of where they were 10 years ago. You can't cut
corners on a radial arm saw or it will cut corners on you!! The
benchtop saws are pure junk. I have a 3 wheel bandsaw from a while
back that has a metal case, with a metal door, and metal wheels, and a
nice quiet motor. Granted, it still has that *annoying* slotted
aluminum top, but as you say, it does the job. The new ones are
almost all plastic and they are getting more flimsy every single time
I see them. The accessories to all of the stationary and bench top
tools are very poor, unless you are doing something like upselling a
TS with a Bessemier fence. (But then again, Craftsman branded
tablesaws have had very poor factory fences for 20 years). I had my
dad's old craftsman TS, again with the *annoying* slotted aluminum
top, and the old fence. I put an Incra fence on it, and it improved
100%. Then after I used it for a while, I really decided I needed
something better, so I moved up to a real cabinet saw. However the
new TS in the same class as the my old one is half the saw, with
cheaper accessories. My point is that you need to take a look at
those $500 table saws compared to anyone else, and compared to where
they used to be. They are flimsy, compared to say a Jet 10"
contractor saw at the same price at HD. The $200-$500 ones don't even
classify as a joke. They've been going downhill at quite a steep
angle. I don't think they can go much lower.

Wrenches, screwdrivers? Sure, they are still good but they sure are
expensive compared to yesteryear (individual, not in the million piece
tool set). What's interesting is to go to HF and compare the HF set
of combination wrenches, in full polished chrome, with a lifetime
warranty, on sale at $8 a set, to the exact same Craftsman set (with
the name) at the old price. Fit and finish are identical (actually
the chinese set may be slightly superior). I do buy Craftsman
wrenches and screwdrivers when I can get a real deal. Usually I won't
buy 1-2 missing sockets though (that's how they make their money). I
found that some local secondhand stores may have one or two mixed in,
and you might luck out and get them for 50 cents.

I have to say I don't have any experience with their Professional
series power tools, so I bow to your wisdom there.