aemeijers wrote:

Tony Hwang wrote:
AZ Nomad wrote:
On Sat, 26 Sep 2009 23:20:46 -0400, aemeijers wrote:

I'll pay some extra for quality, but I won't pay 2x or 3x or more.
Not being a wrench-turner in my day job, plain old Craftsman is 'good
enough' for me. (actually, all my tool boxes at the moment are
plastic, living in a damp world like I do...) Not that I have room or
need for a roll-around anyway.

My experience with craftman is that they are worse of a ripoff than
any brand in
existance. I've had more craftsman tools break than the cheapest crap
I've
bought at k-mart. For the price of a single craftsman socket, I can
buy a whole
set at k-mart and they won't crack or fly part under 50 ft-lbs like the
craftsman sockets will.

Hi,
Craftsman was good when it was made by Singer. FWIW, they still honor
life time warranty after your knuckle get hurts, LOL!

I'll note in passing, that for the last several years, Kmart also sells
Craftsman.

Yes, they aren't as good as they used to be, but the walk in and walk
out replacement guarantee (which still applies to the non-powered tools)
is worth something. You do need to buy them in sets, on sale, though.
Their regular set prices, and their single-tool prices, are not good.
There are other good 'house' brands out there, like the Kobalt line at
Lowes (which I understand is made by one of the companies that make or
used to make tools for Sears). Some of the Stanley-branded wrench sets
also seem to be from the same OEM foundries.

But I still say that for the home DIY user, who can't chase all over
town for prestige brands at industrial suppliers, or chase down a roving
truck, Craftsman is still a good compromise solution, and the best way
to start building up a tool library. Just watch the sale flyers, and
when one of the larger sets is on sale for a price you can stand, go for
it. 80-20 rule applies- 80% of your tasks will use the same 20% of the
tools over and over again. If you do have an unusual project that calls
for a special tool, that is when you start searching around.

Now as to the boxes themselves, which started this thread- sure, go look
at the $400 Snap-on. See what shape it is in, and if all the parts are
there, and if all the drawers work smoothly. Make sure all the pieces
are in fact Snap-on. Lots of mechanics have mixed sets, since the sizes
are pretty standard. For people who just need a small box for at home,
use your eyes, hands, and common sense. Does it have sharp edges that
will surprise you, and is the metal stiff enough to not flex fully
loaded? Press down on an open drawer as you slide it closed, and see if
it binds or closes smoothly. Quality versus Junk should be almost
self-evident, just like any other cabinetry or furniture you are buying.

--
aem sends...

Despite all the rabid Craftsman bashing around here, the Craftsman hand
tools do just fine. A good portion of my hand tools are Craftsman and
they have held up just fine for a long time in my relatively heavy duty
home shop environment (full machine shop really). I've not broken any
Craftsman items other then chewing up phillips screwdriver tips and the
occasional regular screwdriver when wrench assisted.