Crafstman tools

I have an odd request. I am getting a divorce and I have to prove that I had these tools before the marriage. If I can not prove that I had them, I have to pay the wife for half of their value. Mostly what I have is 2 large red tool boxes filled with Craftsman mechanic tools. Is there some kind of code anywhere that would state when these were made? There are codes on the ratchets. I ask a guy at Sears and he had no clue what they meant. The courts want me to produce a receipt from 20 years ago. I do not have it. Even if it was in the house, she is going through everything and getting rid of any proof. I do not have any pictures of my tools either. If anybody out there has a clue as to how I can prove my tools I would be very much appreciative. She is getting everything. Please help me.

Sorry to have to say this but I think that you are S.O.L.
Good luck, might be easier to just cut your losses.
Or you could try kissing her a$$ (you can attract more flies with honey than you can with vineger)

Anybody who could testify to your owneship from 20 years ago? Fellow worker, relatives, neighbor or friend who remembers you using them before the marriage? Check registers or cancelled checks? I wouldn't give up on date codes, either. Especially on the cabinets themselves- should be labels somewhere (probably hidden- take all the drawers out), and they often have a date.

yes you can tell by the design of the name ceaftsman on the tools.see someone else at sears or check the computer. it changes every few years

I had a 25 year old Craftsman ratchet fail on me. I went to get it replaced and the new one had warnings etched into it to appease the lawyers. The old one had no such thing.
I'm not exactly sure how this helps you with dating your tools, but if any of your tools has a warning on it, you might be out of luck.

(quoted from post at 12:52:19 04/19/10) yes you can tell by the design of the name ceaftsman on the tools.see someone else at sears or check the computer. it changes every few years

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That only helps if you haven't had any of the tools replaced under warranty, if any have been replaced then the design and serial number will show them as being new even if the original tool was 40 years old. Your best bet would be to find somebody to testify as to you owning the tools before the marriage.

No offense intended to John T or Mike or Screaming Hollow, but there are gonna be 2 winners here and you ain't one of 'em .......... just the attorneys; cut your losses and move on.

I do not understand something here. Who is
inventoring and putting a value on the tools.
Having spent quite a bit of time in court, I
find lawyers totally ignorant to anything unless
it is in print. They are usually ignorant to the
real world. What would happen if the tools were
"stolen" one night. In my case it was a total
loss for both parties(my case was an estate
problem).
I know I used the word ignorant twice.

Don't know if any of this will help but it can't hurt.

Alloy Artifacts Tool History Page -
http://home.comcast.net/~alloy-artifacts/index.html


Good luck! Divorces suck! The lawyers and the ex will make out like bandits and you're screwed! BTDT!

Don't know if this would work, but you could have a co worker "buy the tools" (or better yet, bartered for them a while back and is finally picking them up) for dirt cheap and pick them up. Then you are only out some money and you get to keep your tools. Just a thought.

Thank you for all your ideals. Can not do the selling of them. The judge put a stop on all accounts, selling or giving away items. Everything is at a stand still. The wife gets to do the inventory on the tools. Problem is, she knows what they are. She use to help me work on the cars and mowers. I would teach her what they are and would make comments about don;t drop that torgue wrench it's worth 120 dollars. So she is off to a good start in knowing what I have. You guys are right about one thing. The layers are getting the best out of all of this. It turns out that divorces are a business's. The court makes money and the attonies make the money. The big losers are me and the wife. But she won't wake up and understand that she is losing more money every time we do not agree.

Thieves are everywhere and a busted lock will cost less than the tools.
I wasn't there when my X and I got divorced so she got everything. Had I have been there, everything would have been stolen and/or burned.....

Call up "the garagehangout.com" on the internet, go to the "all automotive tools" heading, a few lines down there is a heading for "dating craftsman tools". They have a list of manufacturers codes and dates.

If you have sockets with a double line interrupted by a "v" at the bottom of the socket they date from the 50s or 60s.

If you have metric sockets, there have been 3 or 4 different ways of identifying them. An early set purchased personally by me in the late 60s or early 70s after metrics started to become popular has a single line with a "v" at the bottom of the socket and the designation 19M/M engraved. I think a later metric set which didn't last long had short verticle lines at the top of the socket. A metric set I purchased in the early 80s has a single line with a "g" and short vertical lines at the bottom. A recent purchase (last month) has the manufacturers code "g2d" interrupting a single line and has the metric size both engraved and laser etched.

A set of standard deep sockets bought for me as a Christmas present by LOML in the 70s has the "v" code and a single line.

A 3/8 ratchet bought by me around 1970 used in a pawn shop has the single line with a "v" on the handle with US and Canadian patent numbers and the date 1967.

A 1/4 inch drive ratchet bought by me in the early 80s has the "v" with single line, no patent, no date. Sockets in that set have the "g" code.

If I were buying your craftsman set for 1/2 inch drive down I would figure roughly $1 per socket and $10 each for the ratchets. Combination wrenches $3-$5. Extensions $3-$5. If you have a good 3/4 inch drive set that would be a different story, they are worth a lot more. Point is, she's fooling herself if she thinks there is a fortune there. If you could get her testimonytie down as to how long ago she will swear that you had the tools, then present evidence that they are older, you might get some good out of it. What you have to look out for is her saying you bought the tools used during the marriage.

Hope this helps.

KEH

HEY, I'm a Jim K too!

Good advice though - gave my wife $5000 for our new house back in the late 70's as she wanted out and I stayed. Split personnal belongings according to purchase/ownership.

Might not work that well these days!

Like it or not, you're going to have to cough up something if you want to keep your tools. I wouldn't be surprised if your wife harbors a bit of a grudge over the money you've spent on tools, and it's now payback time.

OK, some free advice from a guy who has never been divorced and is not a lawyer. Worth exactly what you've paid, but I have watched a few of these deals go down.

First, if your lawyer is clueless as how to handle this situation, fire him. You cannot afford to have a lawyer who is dumber than your wife's lawyer.

Second, what's good for the gander is good for the goose: No doubt your wife has something to which you have a claim which is just as valuable to her as your tools are to you. You're probably entitled to a share of property she acquired while you were married. Figure out what it is that is near and dear to her, that's what you go for.

Next time around, don't be so proud of your tools. Your wife really doesn't need to know what they're worth!

The best thing is to forget about all of that stuff.You are going to loose a lot more than tools.The best answer was that if your lawyer wasnt smarter than your wifes lawyer to fire him.If you are paying for a lawyer he ought to make it just as hard on her as she is on you.

Duh - their worth $1000s, let her have them and buy you out. As the others have said your lawyer should be experienced in this kind of barterng, get it done as fast as you can and move on. I have seen a lot of separations and the best ones happen real fast.

Shouldn't common sense indicate the tools are yours? How come she doesn't have to prove she bought them? How come she can go through and get rid of any proof? Maybe you can just take a few tools with you every time you leave the house and not let her know. Get the best lawyer you can. It can make a huge difference. Dave

Go rent you a motorcycle with a nice side car and take her for a ride..............

Have a relative on your side sign a paper stating that 90 percent of the tools were owned by you before the marriage. If that fails, invite her to go quail hunting with you and Dick Chaney. Tom

There is a website called alloy artifacts that might
help you. I have many Craftsman tools, my Father
bought the first set in 1940, I bought my first set
in 1969, and many in between and since. The older
ones all have numbers on them that might indicate
age, someone at sears should be able to tell you.
Good luck!

Most US made tools have a letter code on them.The guy at Sears may be a dummy.Example,A friend who was on miltary disability had a jeep pickup.A friend gave him a 4wd jeep wagon that needed a lot of work.He was on food stamps and a jerk at the food stamp office told him he couldnt own 2 cars and still get food stamps.He sold the pick up for little money.Insurance on a second car wasnt that much money.The jeeps were 89 and 90 years, no too valuable.The jerk at the stamp office gave him the wrong info.

Sounds like an ugly situation. I recommend taking your tools to a friends house for a while.

Tools get stolen often.

Just us different lawyers for starts. Thinking several shined the light under basket on the tools with legs.

Seems it would be easy to amortize the cost to todays value. That way you would only owe her half of the reduced value of these worn out old tools.

You are right about divorce being a big business. Why do you think divorce lawyers are in favor of gay marriages? Because they know that a gay marriage will fail just as easy and they will cash in on it.

Wasn't all of her jewelry puchased after you got married?

Screw that. Have your relative sign a paper that the tools are his and you only borrowed them.

A couple thousand dollars worth of tools is just an aggravation that's not worth your time, or having a stroke over. Dump her, and go buy yourself some more tools when you can. The only ones laughing over this are the lawyers. She just wants to hurt you, and you're letting her get away with it.

I went through the same thing several years ago and as we were splitting things up I couldn't help but notice which of us was getting the gold and which was getting the shaft.
I let things slide noticing that my items were all new price where as her antique jewelry etc was junk price. After was just about over and we were in court I asked the judge if he thought it was a fair split. Yes was his answer so I said OK she can have all the tools my pickup and the rest. I will take the cash she is getting and the antique jewelry. There was no way anyone could argue my point so life went on with one surprised female and her lawyer who ended up with the tools as payment for his fees.
There also was the guns item which she claimed I had purchased during the time we were together but in fact she was lying as I proved by finding bills of sale and giving to the judge. Her lawyer was a crooked snake.