Sears has gone to crap in a basket since they found their "softer side". I don't know about ALL the locations but around here you have to walk through all the "crap" to get the tools. Usually get fed up and walk out before I even make it there.

Have been a craftsman man since I was a toddler, just can't afford as many as I'd like. Some day I expect to get dads set and I'll have enough to build my own space shuttle.

Nice points on the use of the wrench.

You could always "loan-a-tool" at one of the parts shops....then you don't have to buy one....unless you wanted to, sometimes you just have to.

 

The loan a tool around here sucks, they have very few places that do it and the places that do it dont hardly have anything to choose from. IE i needed a 1' 11/16 socket to do my wheelbearings, took me 8 hours to find the right size, autozone/checkers/oreilys none of them had them in a loan a tool so basicly i bought a 3/4 breaker bar and a socket and took them back when i was done.

 

I dont know about now but about the same time my dad bought my truck he bought a craftsman riding mower so thats around a 96 or 97 he used it until 3 years ago when the fuel lines started to crack and he decided to get a new mower instead of fixing it, sold it for 200 bucks, the guy lives in the neighborhood and still uses it all he did since then is fix the fuel lines.

The piece of sh*t John deere riding lawn mower my dad got to replace it sucks takes close to 5 minutes just to get it to start, the bag system always gets clogged, and is already showing age, its kept in a f'ing shed.

All my tools are craftsman and never had a problem that walking in the back door of sears couldnt fix(back door is tools entrance), Only hand tools are covered with lifetime warrenty and its no questions asked sometimes a nice long talk with the manager can extend the warranty on other items.

 

Sears was at their peak with their "sears hardware" outlets, I loved that place.
Was a very sad day a few years back when the closed them all down. I could browse for hours in a place like that, and I had a 15% union discount on anything in the store.

Their selection is decent and I still shop there when I have a few $$ to burn.
I have all the Craftsman 19.5 V power tools, and quite a few ratcheting wrench sets.
Home Depot is the place, just about the only place, if you're looking for high end name brands like Dewalt, Porter-Cable, Makita ect. which we use on all union jobs, you never see any Craftsman power tools, I haven't seee 1 in over a decade out in the field on 100's of different jobs. [Company supplies them by the way, we aren't allowed to bring our own power tools on the job, which is just fine with me 90% of the time].
They'll cost you an arm and a leg, but are some outstanding products.

 

Power tools i use nothing but dewalt, 100bucks for a complete rebuild no matter how damaged it is, and they have it done in 5 hours and back to you at the end of the day.

 

Dewalt triggers are crap and cost 80 bucks for a replacement.They might ok for a homeowner but as far everyday work,they are junk.

 

lol dude i use mine none stop every day, im a wire puller and a directtv installer, the triggers are **** yea but the motors are awesome along with the hammer chucks

 

They dont hold a candle to Makita.Lighter weight,faster recharge,plastic is stronger,and never had a trigger fail.I have had at least 5 Dewalt triggers go bad in drills and sawzalls.I would take craftsmen professional series over Dewalt.

 

Makita are junk, they were awesome back in the day and the impacts are great but the drills are junk. My fav drill of all time was my 21v panasonic. ****in thing was bullet proof and it cost me 500 bucks, i had the motor smoking so many times and it never kicked off.

Some one stole it out of the back of my van along with my whole tool chest.

 

I've never had a problem with any of the high end tools in 1,000's of hours of some of the roughest field use imaginable - Which is why companies engaged in heavy construction don't cut corners on power tools.
Some of course end up failing, I'm usually amazed that they lasted as long as they did.
Only complaint I have about Dewalt is the batteries seems to run down & eventually die a bit faster than other high end brands.
I have a Makita lithium-ion impact wrench, this thing is amazing for its size, and a couple Dewalt 18V drills ,, But because of the high cost, I tend to stay away from high end brands for home use, but occasionally I run in deals I just can't refuse.