I used to work for a company that would ship us Jensen 1/4 socket sets when ever the ratchet broke (even if it was short a few sockets sizes). The extra extensions come in handy these days. Even had a giant Stanley case with 6 and 12 point 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 sockets.

Personally, I buy Craftsman, and Gearwrench. I typically need only a few select tools most of the time. Tools I keep in my pockets.

Quote from: Sick Of Silence on December 20, 2019, 04:56:11 PM
I used to work for a company that would ship us Jensen 1/4 socket sets when ever the ratchet broke (even if it was short a few sockets sizes). The extra extensions come in handy these days. Even had a giant Stanley case with 6 and 12 point 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 sockets.

Personally, I buy Craftsman, and Gearwrench. I typically need only a few select tools most of the time. Tools I keep in my pockets.

Yeah, I gave up working on stuff. I don't know when it happened, but I just lost interest, and it's sad, because I used to love fixing anything and everything.
Now I hate it and just hire someone else to get dirty.

Quote from: Solar on December 20, 2019, 04:39:03 PM
I still have my Craftsman set from 50 years ago. Though in a pinch once, I bought some crap at an auto parts store, every socket was misprinted. The 9mm was actually a 10mm etc, but it didn't matter because the ratchet fell apart in my hands.
I returned it and the chick at the counter said it was the third return that week. I said why are they still on the shelf? She shrugged...

That's the nice thing about being old.  I had to buy 3 of every thing as I have a boy.  The girls always put thing back.  LOL

Quote from: walkstall on December 20, 2019, 06:03:19 PM

That's the nice thing about being old.  I had to buy 3 of every thing as I have a boy.  The girls always put thing back.  LOL

My dad was always asking where his God Damned tools are.

For years I thought my full name was God Dammit Tommy!!!

Quote from: Solar on December 20, 2019, 06:23:34 PM

My dad was always asking where his God Damned tools are.

For years I thought my full name was God Dammit Tommy!!!

Your Dad was not the only one.   

I could ask my son to clean out the two flower beds.  He just did not have the time.  But he could find the time to dig a 10' hole in the middle of the back yard for a skate board ramp.  After all these years I have been thinking of go over and dig a 10' hole in his back yard now that he has a house and back yard.  When he ask me what I did that for I will tell him it's for his dog for a swimming pool.   

Quote from: walkstall on December 20, 2019, 06:35:24 PM

Your Dad was not the only one.   

I could ask my son to clean out the two flower beds.  He just did not have the time.  But he could find the time to dig a 10' hole in the middle of the back yard for a skate board ramp.  After all these years I have been thinking of go over and dig a 10' hole in his back yard now that he has a house and back yard.  When he ask me what I did that for I will tell him it's for his dog for a swimming pool.   

In 1958 I tore a hole in the garage roof so I could have a look out tower. I'd have gotten away with it for awhile, but dad wanted his "God Damned" and I panicked and dropped it. He was not happy...

Quote from: Solar on December 20, 2019, 04:39:03 PM
I still have my Craftsman set from 50 years ago. Though in a pinch once, I bought some crap at an auto parts store, every socket was misprinted. The 9mm was actually a 10mm etc, but it didn't matter because the ratchet fell apart in my hands.
I returned it and the chick at the counter said it was the third return that week. I said why are they still on the shelf? She shrugged...

Still have mine too. Since Stanley bought craftman a few years back, and they are made in the U.S. again, (?)I have picked up a few craftman tools again, I always was a big fan of theirs. (or they'res? I know its not theres). Actually, I have found stanley to be much better than I remember growing up. When Dad passed away, I found quite a few of his old broken craftman wrenches and ratchets, took them in and told them they were dads, thinking if they did not want to exchange them it was no big deal, I would just keep the them, well they exchanged them all, made my day.

Quote from: s3779m on December 21, 2019, 03:21:54 AM
Still have mine too. Since Stanley bought craftman a few years back, and they are made in the U.S. again, (?)I have picked up a few craftman tools again, I always was a big fan of theirs. (or they'res? I know its not theres). Actually, I have found stanley to be much better than I remember growing up. When Dad passed away, I found quite a few of his old broken craftman wrenches and ratchets, took them in and told them they were dads, thinking if they did not want to exchange them it was no big deal, I would just keep the them, well they exchanged them all, made my day.

OMG!!! They exchanged them?  I remember when Sears was making serious changes in the early 70s, and they had a news release to bring in your broken tools for a last chance exchange because they were canceling their exchange policy.
Dad and I gathered all the ones we had and took them to the only Sears for miles around, all the tools were gone. It was a first come, first serve.
I'm going to have to look and see if I kept them all these years.

Quote from: Solar on December 21, 2019, 05:42:10 AM
OMG!!! They exchanged them?  I remember when Sears was making serious changes in the early 70s, and they had a news release to bring in your broken tools for a last chance exchange because they were canceling their exchange policy.
Dad and I gathered all the ones we had and took them to the only Sears for miles around, all the tools were gone. It was a first come, first serve.
I'm going to have to look and see if I kept them all these years.

It was no problem to exchange them. Now I have heard that power tools have a warranty of a certain # of years, but I have never had problems exchanging sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers, ect. That sounds like I do it all the time which is not the case, I have probably only gone in four or five time to exchange anything, their tools are good. I just was really impressed they exchanged dads old tools after I told them I did not buy them. Something I was trying to remember with the brothers in laws, did monkey wards have a private label tool line?

Quote from: s3779m on December 21, 2019, 02:33:49 PM
It was no problem to exchange them. Now I have heard that power tools have a warranty of a certain # of years, but I have never had problems exchanging sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers, ect. That sounds like I do it all the time which is not the case, I have probably only gone in four or five time to exchange anything, their tools are good. I just was really impressed they exchanged dads old tools after I told them I did not buy them. Something I was trying to remember with the brothers in laws, did monkey wards have a private label tool line?

Yep, Wards had the same exact policy Sears had.
I still have a set of Wards, but they are nowhere near the quality Sears made with Craftsman. My Wards sockets and wrenches look like crap compared. They're stained beyond belief, almost blackened as if they had been gun blued, and the metal is pitted badly, and both were stored in the same tool box.
But to be fair, these were much newer than the Sears brand. I bought the Wards brand about a year before they folded, so they may have been cutting some serious corners.

I worked at Wards and the only reason I got the job was because they busted the Union. The pay was decent, even got an offer to buy their delivery truck with guaranteed work to pay it off in a year.
I turned it down because I got a much better job offer delivering propane.

Quote from: Solar on December 21, 2019, 02:57:57 PM
Yep, Wards had the same exact policy Sears had.
I still have a set of Wards, but they are nowhere near the quality Sears made with Craftsman. My Wards sockets and wrenches look like crap compared. They're stained beyond belief, almost blackened as if they had been gun blued, and the metal is pitted badly, and both were stored in the same tool box.
But to be fair, these were much newer than the Sears brand. I bought the Wards brand about a year before they folded, so they may have been cutting some serious corners.

I worked at Wards and the only reason I got the job was because they busted the Union. The pay was decent, even got an offer to buy their delivery truck with guaranteed work to pay it off in a year.
I turned it down because I got a much better job offer delivering propane.

I always like them. We had both and shopped both. I could not believe when wards closed, they were always busy! I would say pretty good products, but compared to walmart, wards had great products, better clothes, ect. The old sears store is still there, barely, the section of town changed and the store is now being shoplifted to death. (someone needs to tell them online shopping eliminates the shoplifting) We still have small sears stores in some of the small towns and I hope they can hang on, when I need items, I try to use them, if they don't have it I see if they can get it online. Well as they say, times change. We'll be moving to Lometa soon, or rather about twelve miles outside of it. Not much there, but there is still a small general (beer) store where people play dominoes. The school has a huge sign out front warning that all teachers are armed and trained to shoot. Kids are very well behaved there, I think they misunderstood what the sign meant.

Quote from: s3779m on December 21, 2019, 03:28:49 PM
I always like them. We had both and shopped both. I could not believe when wards closed, they were always busy! I would say pretty good products, but compared to walmart, wards had great products, better clothes, ect. The old sears store is still there, barely, the section of town changed and the store is now being shoplifted to death. (someone needs to tell them online shopping eliminates the shoplifting) We still have small sears stores in some of the small towns and I hope they can hang on, when I need items, I try to use them, if they don't have it I see if they can get it online. Well as they say, times change. We'll be moving to Lometa soon, or rather about twelve miles outside of it. Not much there, but there is still a small general (beer) store where people play dominoes. The school has a huge sign out front warning that all teachers are armed and trained to shoot. Kids are very well behaved there, I think they misunderstood what the sign meant.

Quote from: s3779m on December 21, 2019, 03:28:49 PM
I always like them. We had both and shopped both. I could not believe when wards closed, they were always busy! I would say pretty good products, but compared to walmart, wards had great products, better clothes, ect. The old sears store is still there, barely, the section of town changed and the store is now being shoplifted to death. (someone needs to tell them online shopping eliminates the shoplifting) We still have small sears stores in some of the small towns and I hope they can hang on, when I need items, I try to use them, if they don't have it I see if they can get it online. Well as they say, times change. We'll be moving to Lometa soon, or rather about twelve miles outside of it. Not much there, but there is still a small general (beer) store where people play dominoes. The school has a huge sign out front warning that all teachers are armed and trained to shoot. Kids are very well behaved there, I think they misunderstood what the sign meant.

Now that crack me up.   

Lowells hardware stores are selling Craftsmen tools, and they honor the life time warranty. If they don't have the tool in stock there is a number to call. Just took two wrenches back today.