Repairing Craftsman rachet

[Tom M King]

While the old Craftsman ratchets did indeed work reliably for decades, even the newer cheaper lines that I linked to earlier work nicer. I even like the cheaper Sunex wrenches better than I do the old USA made craftsman wrenches.

[George Yetka]

If you have no luck in repairing, Harbor Freights new ICON series are some very nice ratchets. I have a few snap-ons in the garage but go to my Icons just as often

[Brian Elfert]

The old Craftsman ratchets are so coarse that I gave up on mine. I replaced my 3/8" and 1/2" ratchets with made in the USA fine tooth models from SK. I have two of the old 3/8" ratchets and the selector broke on one within the past year. I haven't even bothered to try to get a replacement although it doesn't hurt to have an extra ratchet as a spare.

You may be able to find Craftsman ratchet rebuild kits on Ebay, but they might not be cheap due to supply and demand. I don't know that any warranty rebuild kits are still available. All of the Sears stores used to have them and if you got lucky they would put one in while you waited. Otherwise, they would have a stack of already rebuilt ratchets and hand you a rebuilt one and some kid in the back room would rebuild yours for the next exchange.

[Curt Harms]

If what Tom recommends doesn't work, you might take it to your local ACE hardware store. Mine handles craftsman tools and they may honor the warrantee. I don't know if they do but I have a boat load of Craftsman hand tools I used professionally prior to my retirement.

Our local Ace has a sign saying "sorry we don't honor lifetime warranties on Craftsman hand tools"

[Rick Potter]

I remember years ago ordering a set of SAE and Metric combo wrenches from the mail order Christmas sale catalog, for my new pickup. When it arrived, I was very unhappy because they looked like my old ones, but were marked 'Made in Japan'.

I also remember following the Sears mailers every week for tool sales for over a year amassing a complete hand tool set, all on sale, to give to my son on his 13th birthday. He still has most of them at age 52. The hardest part was engraving his initials on hundreds of tools and sockets with one of those little vibrating engravers.

[Brian Elfert]

Our local Ace has a sign saying "sorry we don't honor lifetime warranties on Craftsman hand tools"

Now that Sears stores are basically gone they probably don't want a constant stream of people trying to exchange the hundreds millions of Craftsman tools out in the wild. I doubt Stanley pays anything for exchanging a tool under warranty other than shipping a replacement tool to them.

[Pat Germain]

Now that Sears stores are basically gone they probably don't want a constant stream of people trying to exchange the hundreds millions of Craftsman tools out in the wild. I doubt Stanley pays anything for exchanging a tool under warranty other than shipping a replacement tool to them.

Exactamundo.

Sears as we knew it is gone.

Craftsman tools as we knew them are gone. Sears sold the Craftsman name to Stanley who quickly stuck the Craftsman name onto low quality tools from China. Stanley built a factory in Fort Worth where they planned to Reshore Craftsman tools. As is typical, there were delays and quality issues. Last Spring they shut is all down.

If you have older Craftsman tools, hang onto them and repair them whenever possible. These days exchanging them is difficult, if not impossible. If you can exchange it, most likely you'll get an inferior product made in China.

As mentioned, there are many other options for hand tools with a lifetime warranty. Harbor Freight has a lot of good hand tools warranted for life. I personally like the Husky tools from Home Despot; lots of variety and I can exchange any of them at any Home Despot. Kobalt tools from Lowes are OK, but I haven't seen the variety.

[Jim Koepke]

He did not toss my vintage classic in the cabinet with the other returned ratchets, he discretely put it in his apron pocket.

I had a Snap-On 1/4" ratchet from ~1940s. The ratchet would slip at times. The guy with the Snap-On truck that serviced the shop I worked in said the replacement ratchet was no longer available and wouldn't do anything. At one time there was a Snap-On store locally but they had closed down. So one time when the whole fam damily was going to a state fair up in Sacramento, I brought the ratchet with me and made a quick stop at the Snap-On warehouse. The guy was a little hesitant at first, but finally decided to exchange the whole tool. When he did, he held up the old one and said, "but I'm going to keep this one." Fine by me, it was a knuckle buster at times. Later I got the feeling he may of wanted it for his own collection.

One thing I did learn on that trip is some Snap-On tools have a "G" at the start of the tool number. That signifies they were sold on a government contract and not subject to their replacement policy.

jtk

[Lee Schierer]

My "Made in USA" Craftsman ratchets have a snap ring that is accessible on the under side of the handle near the ratchet that allows you to remove the ratchet parts for cleaning and lubrication.

[Bill Dufour]

It is questionable that someone bought the rights to the craftsman name and was not stuck honoring the warrantees. They paid good money for the "goodwill" and name recognition.
Bill D

[Jim Becker]

It is questionable that someone bought the rights to the craftsman name and was not stuck honoring the warrantees. They paid good money for the "goodwill" and name recognition.
Bill D

Happens all the time...

[Tom M King]

A few decades ago Craftsman ratchets and wrenches were considered plenty good enough, and some pro mechanics even used them. A big part of that was the lifetime guarantee.

These days, even the cheaper ones have finer ratchets, easier to clean surfaces, and are more comfortable to handle, including wrenches, so I think any advantage that these hand tools used to have no longer exists. I stopped buying them long ago.

[Rick Potter]

Never understood the appeal of those polished ratchets. They just slip out of my cold oily hands.

[Chris Parks]

Never understood the appeal of those polished ratchets. They just slip out of my cold oily hands.

I must agree, I have the lucky choice of using either SnapOn or Stahlwille tools and I always prefer the Stahlwille for the same reason.

[Patty Hann]

A few decades ago Craftsman ratchets and wrenches were considered plenty good enough, and some pro mechanics even used them. A big part of that was the lifetime guarantee.

These days, even the cheaper ones have finer ratchets, easier to clean surfaces, and are more comfortable to handle, including wrenches, so I think any advantage that these hand tools used to have no longer exists. I stopped buying them long ago.

The folks that were fighting over my 1970s and 80s Craftsman said the liked the beefier construction especially in the "grip" (middle) part.
They said the newer stuff is so thin that it cuts into their hands...not literally, of course, but that it digs into their hands when they have to really crank on a wrench.
And the older ones are not shiny smooth at all (except on the "label" part and the open end or box end )... they are kind of rough textured.