Holy..... Well, at least it's Craftsman. :D

[x88x]

Right, so, the axle nut on my car is being a royal pain in the a**. Couldn't budge it without a breaker bar, so I went to Lowes and picked up a 7' section of blackpipe (hey, it was $2 more than the 4' pieces, ok?). That, plus my 1/2" Craftsman ratchet (yes, yes, I know...don't use a ratchet for that...well, as it turns out it wouldn't have mattered), I thought would be good to get it off. Well, I set it up, got the ratchet supported by the scissor jack, and heaved. ...and the wheel proceeded to spin, even though the car was in gear, sitting on the ground. Well, I tried again, and...POP! At first, I thought the nut had come loose, but nooooo....

It sheered off the freakin post!

...and this is one reason why I buy Craftsman. They're high quality (for non-professional grade), and when they do break, they replace it for free, no questions asked. I'll be swinging by Sears tomorrow and getting them to replace it. Also, I'll be picking up the proper tool to do this with.


Oh, and before anyone asks or recommends it, yes, the nut is now soaking in WD-40.

[mDust]

That's some pretty crazy torque! I've broken a few of those but never sheared the drive thingy (<--technical term) off. The ones I broke were all 1/4" and 3/8" drives too. Not a 1/2"!

[altec]

If you were at Home Depot why didn't you just get a breaker bar? A Husky one is $20. Would have been worth it when you count the cost of the pipe, with the fuel to go get the ratchet swapped seems like the breaker bar would have been about the same. Pretty sure a Craftsman one is under $30 as well.

Oh, get you some PB Blaster. I don't even have a can of WD40... Blaster is worth its weight in gold for all my rusty junk. I use that, and I have a couple cans of different ZEP lubes. I believe they are 45, and 2000. The 2000 is sweet because it goes on really thick, but when it sits it thickens into a grease. Makes it great for lubing parts you can't take apart.

[x88x]

why didn't you just get a breaker bar?

Honestly? Because I didn't think of it. That's how my dad always did it, so I figured, hey, if it works, why not? ...of course, the pipe he has for that is only about 3' long...but still. I'll probably still use the pipe with the breaker bar just because it makes it so damn easy. Leverage FTW. Oh, and there's a Sears on the way to work, so it won't be much extra driving.

[blaze15301]

id watch that lifetime warranty with craftsmen. i broke the lock on my torque wrench and they refused to replace it something about its not a hand tool or some bs.

[Oneslowz28]

I break several craftsman ratchets a year. Usually I strip the locking mechanism inside. I have bent the handle before, replaced one that had visually been beaten to hell with a hammer, and even returned one that was missing everything but the handle. Sears honors that warranty no matter what.

[mDust]

I break several craftsman ratchets a year. Usually I strip the locking mechanism inside. I have bent the handle before, replaced one that had visually been beaten to hell with a hammer, and even returned one that was missing everything but the handle. Sears honors that warranty no matter what.

This. You sound like my dad. He abuses the hell out of his tools (when he can find them). He usually only buys the Craftsman stuff because it tends not to break, but if it does there's never any cost to replace it. He's definitely gotten some strange looks from Sears staff before and I'm sure everything he's brought in was expedited to a secret Craftsman engineering lab to find out what happened to it and why it broke. I'll bet my dad has a mile long case file of unsolved mysteries.

[blueonblack]

When I was turning wrenches professionally I went through a lot of Craftsman ratchets also. I had one that I used a lot, always for the same job, and it always broke the same way, stripping the teeth, and my elbow always ended up slamming the floor when it did. What sensible engineer puts fine teeth on a ratchet with an eleven-inch handle??

Sears replaced three of them with brand new units, but the last two I broke they reached into a box under the register and tried to hand me a "refurbished" ratchet. Needless to say I wouldn't take it, but it took a lot of complaining those last two times. In fact, the only reason I got it was because I had one particular sales guy that I liked and I would wait until he was working to buy my tools (and my tool box) whenever I could. They worked on commission. Here's hoping you have better luck at your local Sears. That has been a long time ago, they may have given up the "refurbished replacement" policy.

The last one I got from them has never been used. I bought an eleven-inch Mac ratchet for $75 and it's been nothing but perfect for me. I've had a 3-foot cheater bar on it, and it's only 3/8" drive. That's a ludicrous price for a ratchet, but I know it will do anything I want it to do and not complain.

Edit: Let me add that since I'm not a professional mechanic any more you won't see me buying anything off the tool truck any more. Craftsman is fine for me now, didn't mean to make it sound otherwise. Honestly, Kobalt tools are my tool of choice now, sold at Lowes and they have the same warranty Craftsman does.

[Oneslowz28]

I forgot to mention that the only time I have had issues returning something, was when there was visible evidence that a non impact socket was used with an impact wrench. The square drive hole will have rounder than normal corners that come from the impact wrench pounding on them. Our local sears refused to take the cracked socket due to that visible damage on the drive hole. So I took it to another sears that was much larger, and they replaced it with no questions asked.

I am with BoB though, I use to have to replace the head gasket on one of my old eclipses every few months and the craftsman tq wrench I used kept breaking. I finally spent $180 on a Snapon from a tool truck I chased down and have not had a problem since. They even re calibrate it for me any time I think it needs it. But other than some stuff I bought off a Matco truck during a summer job one year, most of my tools are craftsman.

[altec]

Honestly? Because I didn't think of it. That's how my dad always did it, so I figured, hey, if it works, why not? ...of course, the pipe he has for that is only about 3' long...but still. I'll probably still use the pipe with the breaker bar just because it makes it so damn easy. Leverage FTW. Oh, and there's a Sears on the way to work, so it won't be much extra driving.

Haha, fair enough. Good news on the Sears as well. Should make things easier!


Over the years, I think I've gotten a good bead on where to spend, and where to save on tools. For example, I HATE using cheaper ratchets. For two main reasons. First being the fact that I find myself trying to hold the socket so I can get the ratchet to...ratchet properly since they aren't as smooth. Another random thought is, like blueonblack said, they'll try to stick you with a reburb. Like to see Sears give me a reburb socket that had the side wall blown out... Second simply being comfort. On the other hand as long as they have a warranty, and the size marks aren't going to wear off I have no problem with cheaper model sockets.