Craftsman at Lowes-Father's Day

Status
Not open for further replies.

pagrunt

Geezer
Sep 14, 2014
9,127
15,257
113
Elderton, Pa
Was in the Indiana Pa Lowes today & saw a kinda surprise, a couple of carts on the sales floor with Craftsman stuff on them. Mostly noticed storage items & bigger tool boxes in shipping boxes. Couldn't tell if there was any hand tools, didn't see any floor space for what they had. Did asked when they'll be putting everything on the floor & was told they target Father's Day. They did seem to put alot more Kolbalt out.
 

pagrunt

Geezer
Sep 14, 2014
9,127
15,257
113
Elderton, Pa
I was in Lowes tonight & saw they have tool boxes, flash lights, some of the novelty stuff, & seme tool sets. The sets were combo wrenches & socket sets. I do notice some Kolbalt tools with reduced prices (maybe cause Craftsman is to be the premium line?)
 

DRIVEN

Geezer
Apr 25, 2009
8,062
14,479
113
*CENSORED*
If Craftsman is going to be the premium line they'd better up the quality.
 
  • Agree
  • Like
Reactions: 4 users

ck80

Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Feb 18, 2014
5,742
9,114
113
If Craftsman is going to be the premium line they'd better up the quality.
Agreed.

Someone put mismatched lugs on a parts truck. Needed a 13/16 socket size, my 4way lug wrench didn't have one.

Old standby, pulled a year old craftsman ratchet with deep socket and extension out, put it on, slipped a breaker bar over the ratchet, went to work... except the ratchet mechanism inside busted.

Pulled out a 30 year old master mechanic ratchet, tried to repeat... the craftsman 3" extension broke off, sheared clean off inside the socket head.

Gave up before the socket split down the side too.

Craftsman was good for the older stuff. These days the steel seems inferior.
 
  • Agree
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users

superbon54

G-Body Guru
Apr 15, 2014
755
2,439
93
Wisco
So your ratchet broke when you put a cheater bar on it?

You must have gotten a good one because all my craftsman ratchets broke from light duty use. The 3/8 drive seemed exceptionally fragile for whatever reason.

EDIT: Ahhhh wrong extension, haven’t had my caffeine fix yet. Was a little jealous, thought you got a ringer.

Agreed.

Someone put mismatched lugs on a parts truck. Needed a 13/16 socket size, my 4way lug wrench didn't have one.

Old standby, pulled a year old craftsman ratchet with deep socket and extension out, put it on, slipped a breaker bar over the ratchet, went to work... except the ratchet mechanism inside busted.

Pulled out a 30 year old master mechanic ratchet, tried to repeat... the craftsman 3" extension broke off, sheared clean off inside the socket head.

Gave up before the socket split down the side too.

Craftsman was good for the older stuff. These days the steel seems inferior.
 

My86R3gal

Greasemonkey
Jan 12, 2015
187
335
63
South of Chicago
Afew years ago the old “Made in America” Craftsman stopped making in America and moved production to China or Taiwan. So that’s why the quality has dropped!
 
Last edited:
  • Agree
Reactions: 1 users

Zeus785

Greasemonkey
Apr 30, 2018
129
191
43
The Kobalt stuff @ Lowes is pretty good, i have never had an issue with any of it. IDK why they would carry direct competition for their in house products. Unless Craftsman is taking over for the cheaper stuff.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user

pagrunt

Geezer
Sep 14, 2014
9,127
15,257
113
Elderton, Pa
The Kobalt stuff @ Lowes is pretty good, i have never had an issue with any of it. IDK why they would carry direct competition for their in house products. Unless Craftsman is taking over for the cheaper stuff.
Maybe Stanley-Black & Decker are the ones that make Kolbalt for Lowes.
 

street sweeper

Greasemonkey
Jun 12, 2017
204
264
63
Central Indiana
Honestly Ive been pleased with my Pittsburgh pro stuff from Harbor Freight, sockets at least. The fit/tolerances is not exactly the best but on par with any other consumer grade tool.

I have intentionally tried to destroy a chrome 1/2" drive socket, wrong tool for the job but at that point the only thing that was the right tool was a blue tip wrench. Socket handled me smacking with a lead hammer as hard as i could numerous times and showed no signs of wear some how. After that my mind was made up on the PRO line of Pittsburgh stuff, at least sockets anyways.
 

Zeus785

Greasemonkey
Apr 30, 2018
129
191
43
I am also a big harbor freight fan......3/4 s of my garage is harbor freight...never broke a hand tool yet....did some damage to a ball joint press but I was in my 30 day window so no biggy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Status
Not open for further replies.

GBodyForum is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com. Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.

Please support GBodyForum Sponsors

Classic Truck Consoles Dixie Restoration Depot UMI Performance

Contact [email protected] for info on becoming a sponsor