Dave_In_Philly
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- Aug 18, 2011
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To the extent I can, I maintain and repair my own vehicles. I'm not rebuilding tranys, but I am relatively competent. My grandfather owned a garage in Manhattan until the day he died. My uncle was a mechanic and owned a service station on Long Island before he went into teaching, and taught auto shop for 30 years. My dad didn't have formal automotive training, but was, understandably, a very capable mechanic.
My uncle always had box truck tools. My dad was a life long proponent of Craftsman. I always thought of Craftsman as the ideal tool for a guy like me. Better than the cheap Chinese imports, but not as good as the box truck stuff. The fact that they were American made and came with an outstanding warranty made them well worth the money in my mind.
The other day I needed a part for an old tool chest and I needed a new 1/2" ratchet so I stopped into Sears while the wife was doing her shopping. My earth was shattered when I learned that even the actual Craftsman line of tools are now being made in China. I knew the cheaper Evolv tools were, but I always assumed the regular full warranty tools were American made. Apparently within the past 10 years they have been moving more and more of their manufacturing overseas. The regular stuff still has the good warranty, but its not made here. Only the Professional Line and the Industrial Line (which can only be bought from a dealer) are still made in the US.
So what's a guy to do? I can't justify Snap-on or Matco for my needs. I guess I'll stick with the better imported stuff, with lifetime warranties. I don't think I can justify paying the premium Sears gets for Craftsman anymore. Who knows how long they will be around to honor the warranty, and if the tools aren't American made, what makes them worth any more than the other guys?
What do you guys use in the garage?
My uncle always had box truck tools. My dad was a life long proponent of Craftsman. I always thought of Craftsman as the ideal tool for a guy like me. Better than the cheap Chinese imports, but not as good as the box truck stuff. The fact that they were American made and came with an outstanding warranty made them well worth the money in my mind.
The other day I needed a part for an old tool chest and I needed a new 1/2" ratchet so I stopped into Sears while the wife was doing her shopping. My earth was shattered when I learned that even the actual Craftsman line of tools are now being made in China. I knew the cheaper Evolv tools were, but I always assumed the regular full warranty tools were American made. Apparently within the past 10 years they have been moving more and more of their manufacturing overseas. The regular stuff still has the good warranty, but its not made here. Only the Professional Line and the Industrial Line (which can only be bought from a dealer) are still made in the US.
So what's a guy to do? I can't justify Snap-on or Matco for my needs. I guess I'll stick with the better imported stuff, with lifetime warranties. I don't think I can justify paying the premium Sears gets for Craftsman anymore. Who knows how long they will be around to honor the warranty, and if the tools aren't American made, what makes them worth any more than the other guys?
What do you guys use in the garage?