craftsman sockets

T in NE

Well-known Member
Got a set of SAE 6 point USA-stamped sockets recently. Used the 11/16 the other day changing a bearing on a hopper trap. Wouldn't you know, that socket got stuck on the nut? Had to switch the ratchet and bump it backwards, then wiggle it to get it off the nut. No, it didn't stick when I test-fit it. It only stuck after applying torque.

Yes, the nut has some surface rust, but really? And yes, it was an SAE 7/16 nut/bolt, used my 5/8 MAC swivel-socket combination wrench on the other end. 12 point, probably 20+ years old, and IT DIDN'T STICK!!!!
 
I have sockets of all different brands.Not uncommon to have to use a punch and hammer to tap a rusty nut out of a socket.problem is worse if the nut screws off hard. A brand new socket I think is worse than an old one for having nuts stick.

Nuts are also thicker than the head of a bolt. If the corners of the nut are dinged up the nut won't come out.
 
Old junk I work on, it would probably be easier to count the ones that don't stick. Big grunt deforms the nut.
A big screwdriver is usually sticking out of my pocket.
Blade in the square hole of the socket, drop it handle down from head high.
usually pops them out without a trip to the vise.
Big ones, SOP, have to thread them back on and lever or beat that socket off.
 
Threw the years I have bought Craftsmen sockets because they had a life time guarantee. Just a couple months ago I had to replace one and found out they no longer do have it. I had a 30 year old socket and wrench that was snap on broke them but snap on replaced them with no charge and no questions asked. In my tool box there is Snap on, Matco, protec, Craftsmen. I just do not like those sloppy made tools. My hand are tired of meeting the fenders.
 
Use a 6 point socket, even with moderate torque a 12 pt will slip,or pinch on a fastener. The only 12 pt sockets I have are for specialized fasteners or 12 pt bolts, everything else is 6 point including most of my box wrenches.
 
I'd like to go with snap-on or mac, but cost is a factor. And the boss has a large set of SK stuff on order since our mechanic left, so these would be my own for carrying while planting or working on my own stuff. I figured I probably should start collecting some decent tools of my own.

Haven't been turning wrenches full time but I started when I was about old enough to read the size while helping my uncle.

I've had nasty looking bolts/nuts stick in 6 point sockets, and ones that took a lot of hammering from an impact, but never just with a little surface rust and all the more torque these needed to bust them loose.
 
When I was old enough to buy my own tools I was buying mostly SK brand. They worked fine for me until I started to work on tractors professionally. I had trouble with a few wrenches bending and had to borrow what I needed from another mechanic. I started buying Snap-On since that was the tool vender that came to the shop. They were expensive but I figured I would be using them for the rest of my life. They have been giving me good service for the last nearly forty years.

I also have some Craftsman deep style sockets that I use regularly because unlike the Snap-On ones, Craftsman sockets are machined nearly all the way. Some things like glow plugs just were not removable with a Snap-On socket. After Gm and Ford started selling diesels that used the same type of glow plugs, Snap-On came out with a special socket that would work just like the Craftsman I had been using for years.
 
For years I had nothing but SK. never did bend
a wrench. broke a few sockets. The local
hardware store carried SK. made warrenty easy.
Now No one carries SK here. Not even the auto
parts store. I have to mail my SK tools to
Omaha and pay a service fee to have the tool
approved for warrenty.

Snap on on longer comes down here as there is
only a Chevy dealer in the county. All other
dealerships and most independent shops have
closed.
I have bought a few individual Craftsman
sockets off ebay. They are only $2-3 and have
free shipping. I've never tried to warrenty
them. I'd have to drive 60-80 miles to find a
sears store.

NAPA sockets are a joke. Now, I buy Carquest
tools. They treat me real good.
 
"Lifetime warranty" is an unsustainable business model, and someone should have realized that from the get-go.

At one time Sears was really the only place the average Joe could get decent affordable tools. They had a captive audience. Everything else was "professional grade" and 2-3 times more expensive.

Now you can go any number of places and get usable tools with the same kind of lifetime warranty for a fraction of what Sears charges. Sears management stubbornly refused to compete, believing that people would be "loyal" and spend more money for essentially the same thing. People stopped buying tools from Sears, yet people did NOT stop bringing abused/broken/worn-out tools back for the "lifetime" replacement, even if it's the tool's second, third, or fourth "lifetime."

You can't run a business where your only activity is giving out "free" tools in exchange for scrap metal.
 
Except that Carquest has been bought out by AAP and within a couple of years, there probably won't be any more Carquest stores left.
Will AAP honor the Carquest warranty? Maybe. But I will say that Autozone used to sell Great Neck tools (have since switched to Duralast or Durabrand or some other name) and they really gave me a hard time when I had to get warranty work on a Great Neck ratchet.
Why is it that I always run into the Barney Fife employees?
 
Lord's Hardware carries SK, and they are right about 15 miles from the shop door to their door. Looked at their ratchets on evilpay, everyone else has the teardrops with their socket sets, they are still using the old round ones that you turn the entire back of the head to reverse, instead of flipping the little lever.

We have to drive 25 miles and time it right to see the snap-on man. Or the Case dealer will hold onto a broken tool til he gets there and swap it out for you.

No Mac trucks around here. They go to the Case dealer in Milford, but that's 4 hours away almost. And I tried finding info on their truck on their website. What a joke. You only sell your tools off a truck, but don't provide potential customers with contact info for the guy running the truck? Really?
 
Socket may have been mismarked. Sometimes that happens. Wrong size stamped on it. Are you sure you were not dealing with a metric fastener?

Charles
 
I have some experiences that both impressed me and irritated as well.

I got a kick out of Klein Tools warranty statement. At one time it stated that "Klein Tools are warranted for the normal life of the tool, not that of the owner..." What is the "normal life of a tool"? Depends on who the owner is!

I sell Klein tools at the store I work, and our rep tells me to "take care of the customer". If I think it's reasonable to replace a tool, regardless of what Klein says, replace it and he will cover it. In the last ten years he has done exactly that.

As far as sockets go, about the most durable six point sockets I have came from Harbor Freight. I bought a set of the impact sockets and use them for most everything. Don't know how the regular ones would fare. I have Craftsman as well, but the 12 points are kinda weak, as I have split several over the years. Never tried to get them warranted though. I know when I have overloaded something.

The most interesting warranty I have seen is the one that was on a Pelican flashlight: "This flashlight has a lifetime warranty with the exception of damage caused by shark bite, bear attack, and five year old children." I have one of the packages I saved just for that statement. I know what they are saying and it made the point.

My experience with taking something back to Sears seems to be directly proportional to who is working behind the counter. I had a couple of ratchets that were acting up and after getting a negative reaction from the young man working there, I took them back to my truck and did a little shopping and watched until someone else was working there. They all seem to be part timers so it wasn't very long. I went back and got a different reaction and got my ratchets replaced (with refurbished ones). I don't know that this store will replace worn out screwdrivers any more. They used to. Back to the normal life of a tool thing I guess.

I know this is long but as a dealer of several brands, I size up the customer too. The guy who brings in something he found on the roadway that has obvious damage done that didn't happen in the workplace does not get his tool replaced. On the other hand, the guy who presents a tool he wore out working for a living with gets what he needs to keep going.
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top