2021: .. Tool reviews & suggestions

[Crosley.In.AZ]

You can have the batteries rebuilt with new cells by Battery Wholesale. I have had several done on obsolete tools and they hold up well as new ones, and in most cases they can rebuild with more powerful cells that last much longer than what was available when the tool was new.

I can still buy the C3 lith-ion battery for less money than the battery rebuilder wants $$$  to rebuild them. That is why I was messing with the #18650 lithium batterys off eBay.  I rebuilt one battery, it was working .  Then it quit charging via the OE Craftsman charger. The circuit board in these batterys have many electronic gizmos on them.

I can still charge my rebuilt battery with a generic charger... the Craftsman charger will not charge it.  SOmething on the circuit board will not trigger the Craftsman charger to work.

I may change my cordless tool platform....  Looking at Ryobi and Kobalt brushless tools.  Kolbalt batterys are priced very reasonable. Durability may be an issue with them?  I dont know.

Ryobi has many battery powered tools, same battery.  I would not need 90% of the Ryobi tools for home use.

[Rochie]

You guys should stock up on Sear's stuff if you want it.  They just closed all their stores here in Canada

[Charlie Chops 1940]

You guys should stock up on Sear's stuff if you want it.  They just closed all their stores here in Canada

I went in our local store the other day to get some sanding belts....didn't have the size I needed. What I did notice that the tool and hardware area didn't have a sales person anywhere in sight and it had, and I'm being generous here, about a third of the goods it had around Christmas. The whole place was a shadow of its former appearance.

It looks like Sears has lost the script for successful business....just a matter of time before the US stores go belly-up it would seem.

[idrivejunk]

The plastic bodied DA sander from HF that I mentioned on page two... bought in July of '16, replaced under warranty when it fell apart in September of that year... has served me well since then. I use it with no mercy and never oil it and nothing has changed since it was new other than some finish wearing off of the cover. It's light weight and ability to function smoothly at very low or high speed has kept me in the game. I've dropped it and sat on it and she still runs true. They seem to have a sturdy hub but the pad does suck. For fifty bucks sans coupon, I say its a solid buy as a general purpose DA );b(

If I have a complaint it would be the lever type inlet air adjustment which works great but often gets bumped by the hand. Looking to see the current offering at this link, I see the lever adjustment has been changed to a knob which probably still allows one-handed speed control but with less unintended speed changes. The fact that its light enough for hands that hurt while being sturdy enough to endure an IDJ year and more speaks well of this product. If you are used to a Hutchins pattern... well it ain't that but its no IR-311 hog either. And your arm will thank you clear up to your shoulder.

https://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-random-orbit-air-sander-63178.html

[Crosley.In.AZ]

I would agree:  you can stick a fork in Sears.  They are done,  they just do not know it yet.  

Since Sears sold off the Craftsman tool bizness to Stanley Black n Decker... the Craftsman brand tool is appearing every where it seems.  OVer saturate the market and kill that product off too.

Many of the olde big names are gone or in trouble. As a young kid, when I was in J C Penny with my mother.  I knew school was starting since I was gettin new clothes.  J C Penny is right behind Sears with problems.  Montgomery Wards disappeared years ago.  I still have and use some PowR Kraft tools

[58 Yeoman]

I sold off my remaining Penncraft sockets/ratchet this year on ebay.

[chimp koose]

Sears shipped out of town a year ago here . My first socket set purchase was sears craftsman 100 piece set, bought in 1980 . Still have most of it , broke a few 3/8 ratchets , the 1/2 ratchet is like an old friend .

[Crosley.In.AZ]

Comment on Snap On tools and dealers .  In the past 3 years at work.  There have seen 4 changes on the dealers that run the route we are in.

After a few months , each one has a story on how they are treated poorly by Snap On and customers. Then they are gone. Poof!  Each one claims they had to take on previous debt from former route dealers and customers.

I am 3 weeks into a warranty socket with the current dealer. A 3/8 inch , deep, 12 point , 3/8 drive , chrome socket.  It broke last year , when the at the time current dealer was telling us he was leaving.  So:  at that time I did not bother trying to get the socket warrantied.  The current dealer keeps asking me if I can take a 6 point socket in exchange.  I can not. The bolts I use this on are 12 point in a THM-400 transmission.

I currently use a Kobalt socket , 12 point  for the THM-400

[UGLY OLDS]

Comment on Snap On tools and dealers .  In the past 3 years at work.  There have seen 4 changes on the dealers that run the route we are in.

After a few months , each one has a story on how they are treated poorly by Snap On and customers. Then they are gone. Poof!  Each one claims they had to take on previous debt from former route dealers and customers.

I am 3 weeks into a warranty socket with the current dealer. A 3/8 inch , deep, 12 point , 3/8 drive , chrome socket.  It broke last year , when the at the time current dealer was telling us he was leaving.  So:  at that time I did not bother trying to get the socket warrantied.  The current dealer keeps asking me if I can take a 6 point socket in exchange.  I can not. The bolts I use this on are 12 point in a THM-400 transmission.

I currently use a Kobalt socket , 12 point  for the THM-400

 Tony ...Just call Snap-On customer  service 877-762-7664, Monday - Friday, 6:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Central Time..

 They will send you a replacement & most times do not want the broken socket returned ....They have been VERY helpful with my replacements & my tools are OLD.....

 ( In some cases older than the customer service people ..... :oops:   )

Bob...

[Crosley.In.AZ]

 Tony ...Just call Snap-On customer  service 877-762-7664, Monday - Friday, 6:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Central Time..

 They will send you a replacement & most times do not want the broken socket returned ....They have been VERY helpful with my replacements & my tools are OLD.....

 ( In some cases older than the customer service people ..... :oops:   )

Bob...

I have not heard of this with Snap On...  Guess I will try that , since the Snap On dealer did not show up friday like he suppose to

Several years ago when Sears sold their Sears Parts dept offf.  I had a drawer slide fall apart on my Professional series roll cab.  THe local Sears Parts dept here tried selling me a new slide as I stood there with warranty paperwork in hand. I got a bit snotty:  asking the guy if he understood English as he was not listening to my words "warranty"  and I was not paying 35 dollars for a part that is under warranty per Sears paperwork.  At the time it was not known widely... that Sears had sold off their Parts Service of the company.

I called the Sears 800 number.  THe drawer rail  was shipped  to me no charge.

[Crosley.In.AZ]

I read that Harbor Frieght has released  another  3/8 inch cordless drill.  

18v Lithium powered, Warrior single speed drill at 900 RPM.  For my use, that RPM is too low.

Current price I see listed on their website is $27.99 with a coupon.

I released some smoke from my Craftsman cordless drill last week. It still functions:  I am waiting for the drill to slow down or quit.  Looking at various brands of  "Brushless" drills on the market now.

[58 Yeoman]

Last year or so, I bought a Cman 19.2V cordless at a garage sale for cheap. Case, 2 batteries and charger for ~$25. One battery is getting weak. I took it apart yesterday and cleaned up some contacts and recharged it. Will see if that helps or not. Has anyone rebuilt their own batteries?

[Crosley.In.AZ]

Last year or so, I bought a Cman 19.2V cordless at a garage sale for cheap. Case, 2 batteries and charger for ~$25. One battery is getting weak. I took it apart yesterday and cleaned up some contacts and recharged it. Will see if that helps or not. Has anyone rebuilt their own batteries?

Phil: For me It is a crap shoot.  I replaced bad 1 battery in a pack.  It charged on the OE charger for a while, then stopped. Something in the circuit board inside , triggers the charger to function or not.  I have not gotten back to this project.  Need to buy 4 more 18650 Panasonic  batterys. There are a lot of counterfeit batterys on the market.  Photo is the battery pack I tore apart. LOL

A Local Battery Plus or Batterys R  Us place wanted 65 bucks, plus tax to rebuild a C3 19.2volt battery pack.  I can buy them for less, if you watch eBay for new ones.

Sears.com has a deal on a Drill kit. 2 batterys, 1/2 inch , 2 speed  Drill, carry bag, charger ... for $105.99 plus tax,   right now. You can sell the bag or charger on eBay , maybe recover some money.  I did that last year. Ended up with new drill and 2 new batterys for about 50 dollars spent

the latest C3 Craftsman Drill (only, no battery)  is on eBay for 30 bucks , shipped. It shows the guy has sold like 1500 of the drills. He must have a direct line or something. I sold all my old C3  ni-cad battery packs and drills on eBay a year ago... Sold them cheap , but they sold.

I am still looking at Brushless drills.  Home Depot: Roybi, Lowes: Kobalt  for the budget drills.  Ryobi brand has a bunch of different tools on 1 battery platform if a person needs that for home use.

[WZ JUNK]

I bought a Ryobi set from Home Depot years ago.  I replaced the ni cad batteries a few times but now I use the Lithium batteries and there is no comparison.  The Ryobi tools have never failed me and I have used and abused them a lot.  It has been money well spent.  Often you can purchase an addition tool with a charger and two lithium batteries for less than the cost of batteries alone.  I do not understand the marketing strategy but that's how they sell them.  My most recent purchase was a hex drive impact driver and it is amazing.  


John

[58 Yeoman]

That's what I did with my first DeWalt 12V drill. It came with a charger and two batteries, which eventually died. I replaced the batteries with generic off ebay which worked well for quite a while. When those started dying, I bought a 20V DeWalt to replace the whole shebang and sold the other as-is on ebay.

If the drill has nicad and you replace with lithium, will the charger still work right?

The C'man drill battery I took apart yesterday has about 14 smaller batteries in the pack.