striker asks:


There has been a lot of discussion on this board about "Crapsman"
tools. Some
good some not-so-good. I happen to like their tools...most that is w/ a
few exceptions...
the router being one of them.

I'm wondering who makes Craftsman power tools? Is it a wholly owned
company or
an exsiting co. that makes tools under it's own name or different
comanies? I know the
Danaher tool co of Conn. (or is that Mass ?) makes their hand tools like
ratchet wrenches and sockets etc.
It's easy to see that their refridgerators are made by Whirlpool, but
who makes their power tools like cordless/
corded drills, saws etc?

Does anyone out there know?

There's a list of who has made their tools over the years. It may not be
totally up-to-date, and changes may occur even as someone tells you who makes
what. Most of the pneumatic tools (nailers, etc.) are from Colovos Co., while
Orion makes the new line of table saws. Colovos also provides the industrial
table saws, jointer, planers. I think, but won't swear to this, that Ryobi
makes many of the smaller power tools, the cordless drills, etc. There are
numerous others in the mix, too, and who makes what can change from year to
year, as contracts run out and new designs pop up. For example, Emerson made
the table saws for many years, with Ryobi taking over from them. That didn't
last too long as Orion brought on their new designs. As an incidental point,
the people running Orion are old Delta hands who weren't happy with the move
from Pittsburgh. There is constant competition, though. And the contract
details, of course, are not public, so you don't normally know what the terms
are. My bet is that very seldom is a term over three years. Short term lengths
tend to keep competition keen.

Charlie Self
"The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral
philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for
selfishness." John Kenneth Galbraith