Remember when Stanley tools were decent

Gary O' said:
Y'know, back in the day, Harbor Freight sold pure crap
3/8 sockets sets for $10
Now
They upgraded to some halfway useable hand tools
(for the occasional user)
However
Their mechanical/electronic product remains lower than whale shit

I do buy their tarps.
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Yeah, I've bought quite a few hand tools and tarps as well. Funny story... I had a pair of Snap on snap ring pliers and since I couldn't afford the whole set, I bought a harbor freight set. Well, I broke one of the tips on the harbor set and noticed the rubber handles seemed to be the only difference. (one said snap on the other pittsburgh). I just changed the rubber handles and gave it to snap on and they replaced... no problem. :)
 

squatting dog said:
Funny story...
Click to expand...
That reminds me;
I my younger (starving) years, I bought this 1/2" Craftsman rachet at a garage sale for a buck
It was a real beater
Odd (ancient) thumb wheel
Started skipping
Took it to Sears ('lifetime guarantee'}
The salesman said 'we can fix this'
I said 'maybe so, but I'm taking this one on yer shelf'
He quibbled a bit, but gave it over

Heh, I managed to put together a whole combo box/open end set of good Craftsman wrenches one piece at a time
Still have 'em
 
Gary O' said:
That reminds me;
I my younger (starving) years, I bought this 1/2" Craftsman rachet at a garage sale for a buck
It was a real beater
Odd (ancient) thumb wheel
Started skipping
Took it to Sears ('lifetime guarantee'}
The salesman said 'we can fix this'
I said 'maybe so, but I'm taking this one on yer shelf'
He quibbled a bit, but gave it over

Heh, I managed to put together a whole combo box/open end set of good Craftsman wrenches one piece at a time
Still have 'em
Click to expand...
When I worked at this steel mill we got a lot of scrap tool shipments from Sears and Proto. We were able to retrieve a lot of tools before they went into the furnace, and put together good rackets and slip joints plier, adjustable end-wrenches and such.
 

Craftsman

Right before Sears closed their doors, I looked thru their special Craftsman tool section
The Craftsman name was faintly printed on the wrenches
Not the typical emblazoned logo I was used to

logo.jpg


End of an era
 
I use my Stanley measuring tool almost daily; it was bought in the 1950's or earlier, so I guess it's accurate? Still have dad's tools; old tool box recently replaced with plastic one, forgot what happened to old metal one or why I would part with it; has a smattering of ancient tools in them. Been dragging around these tools since I left home at around 17.
 
Initially I thought that it might be US against UK, but they are
the same, almost, according to the internet, the UK inch is a
tiny bit smaller, by a millionth of an inch.

Mike.
 
I have some Stanley jigs for furniture building, likely made in the 50's or 60's. Most of my hand tools are made in USA or Germany. Craftsman ratchets and screwdrivers are replaced with Kobalt from Lowes. Power tools are Milwauke, Metabo, DeWalt and Portercable from 2000 and earlier. I do keep a set of HF wrenches around, for when I need to make a custom wrench (I would hate to cut, weld or grind on a good wrench). Tape measures are Fastcap.
I would hate to try to replace all that with todays crap.
 
Balzac said:
Cheaper manufacturer cost = more payouts for shareholders. It's how good old capitalism works. Nobody seems to care about buyer's remorse..
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I worked in manufacturing my whole life! Your simple formula is not what most successful companies do. Competitive prices and quality products will win the day in most every market!
 
Bought some Swingline “heavy duty” staples rated for my staple gun online. They were a little more than half the depth. Like office staples, but sold for construction.
 

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