RonB wrote:

Let me start by saying I am not trolling - I am curious. I am looking for
opinions and if the subject bothers you, move on.

We see lots of opinions regarding tool brands here and Craftsman sticks
out. It appears as though our opinions on Craftsman power tools run from
very
supportive to downright venomous. Personally, as I read some of these
posts I try to imagine who sent them - particularly in terms of experience
and age.

I am beginning to think some of the more disrespectful comments are coming
from the older crowd who remember the power equipment Craftsman offered up
until the early 80's. In fact some of us older geezers might still have
70's vintage routers, circular saws, sanders or other machines that are
still serving us well. A lot of the maintenance on these old machines
amounted to replacing power cords and brushes. We also remember when it
took three guys to move their cast-iron winged table saws, drill presses
or old jointers.

My theory - Much of the venom is coming from older folks who feel betrayed
by Sears and are just ****ed. Any truth to this?

(BTW - this is aimed at power tools, not hand tools, sockets, etc.)
I'm not old enough to know about the old stuff but have purchased a few new
craftsman tools. I have bought my father 3 craftsman cordless drills in
the last 10 years and still use my Makita purchased in 1995. I finally had
to buy a new battery for it last year and when the third Craftsman drill
dad was using died I wised up and bought a Makita like mine (got it from
sears even). My Craftsman Professional router bought a couple years ago
was anything but professional and caused much frustration and made me
wonder what I was doing wrong when nothing would work right. When I went
out and bought a PC router and pulled the bit out of the craftsman and
placed it in the PC and it cut so much easier and smoother I was blown
away, same exact bit just a different motor made a huge difference.