Who remembers the Iconic Craftsman Brand?
For 90 years this esteemed brand name was synonymous with quality manufacturing, affordable pricing, and an almost legendary lifetime warranty. These three traits meant that it was nearly impossible to find an American garage or workshop that didn't have at least some Craftsman tools hanging on the walls.
First sold in 1927, Craftsman was the flagship brand in the Sears tool section. For xc years this esteemed make name was synonymous with quality manufacturing, affordable pricing, and an almost legendary lifetime warranty. These three traits meant that it was nearly incommunicable to find an American garage or workshop that didn't have at least some Craftsman tools hanging on the walls.
Today, with Sears is going through bankruptcy proceedings, many DIY enthusiasts consider this the cease of an era. But is information technology really? Allow's take a quick look at those iii key traits to see whether the make's legacy lives on.
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Lifetime Warranty
The famous lifetime warranty programme was launched along with the introduction of the tools themselves. The warranty program required no receipt or proof of purchase, and was honored anywhere Craftsman tools were sold. Over the years, there have been rumors that the program was nearly to be abandoned, simply those rumors have always proven unfounded. While power tools are treated slightly differently, and some tools that are no longer manufactured cannot be replaced on a one-to-one basis (such equally record measures), the majority of Craftsman hand tools are still fully warranted.
When the Craftsman brand name was licensed to Stanley Black & Decker in 2017, both they and Sears made a large show of ensuring customers that all warranties would be recognized. Now with Sears itself struggling, Craftsmen owners are actually in a better position than other Sears customers, since the warranty will be fully honored at retailers such as Lowe's.
Total warranty details tin can exist plant on the Craftsman site.
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Quality Manufacturing
Okay, the beginning thing we should note is that Sears itself has never manufactured Craftsman products. Instead, they outsourced the work to manufacturers in the US and abroad. What fix Craftsman apart was their insistence that manufacturers met stringent quality specifications. Much of this "quality first" mindset was driven past Tom Dunlap, who oversaw the make'due south development in its early on years, upgrading the quality and immovability of Craftsman tools. (Years later, the Sears Dunlap tool line was named in his honor. Though ironically, Dunlap tolls was in a lower-quality tier than Craftsman.)
As time went on, the Craftsman standards and specifications were modified to meet pressure from competitors and pricing needs. Sears insists these modifications were always for the better, while customers have had their doubts. The gold age of Craftsman tools is more often than not considered the 1950s through 70s.
If you take older Craftsman tools in your drove, you tin can discover the manufacturer by comparing the model number prefix to this chart from Vintage Machinery.
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Price
Although the Craftsman make may have had its ups and downs in terms of quality, toll is one area that has consistently improved over fourth dimension.
The Sears catalog from 1929 features a Craftsman i/4-inch drill for $21.xc. Adjusted for inflation, that corded drill would price $319.21 today. By contrast, a Craftsman drill at Lowe's currently retails for around $70, less than a quarter of the inflation-adjusted cost of that old schoolhouse unit. In add-on, the Lowe's model has a 1/2-inch keyless chuck and is cord-complimentary, with a rechargeable bombardment. In short, you get a lot more for significantly less today than in days gone by.
Now for a type of inflation nosotros practice like: How to cull a small air compressor.
Outlook
The future of the Craftsman make still looks strong. Stanley Black & Decker has moved Craftsman tools into new outlets such equally Lowe's, while Sears itself may yet emerge from Affiliate 11 bankruptcy stronger than before. (Which isn't that unlikely; Curiosity Comics entered Affiliate 11 defalcation in 1996, and if you've been to a movie theater in the final decade you know they're doing okay.)
And then long as the manufacturing tin can be held to standards as high or college than they are today, and the lifetime warranty continues to exist honored, then it won't be surprising to find Craftsman tools on the shelves of pros and DIYers for generations to come.
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Source: https://www.familyhandyman.com/article/who-remembers-this-iconic-tool-brand/
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