2018 I believe for the A-AG. Not much info on the China Craftsman codes. If I remember correctly A is China, L is Taiwan for the Sears Craftsman. The 15mm China wrench in the first picture is A-AD and some of the set was A-AC so I think it is 2013-14 since I got the set in 2014.Now we need to see what year of production AAD is.
At least you got it warrantied at Lowe’s my Lowe’s neither one will warranty stuff. I went thru Craftsman directly for mine. Luckily when you do that you don’t have to return the old ones so I fixed them and have more tools. Just I can’t stand the new ratchets or screwdrivers nothing like the old ones for sure. The new ratchets are rough on the edges well the raised panel ones. The Gunmetal chrome are really nice but they are sealed and no longer rebuildable.
The CMMT is supposed to be the latest owner which is Black and Decker. The were claiming to make a facility to manufacture in the USA, and maybe they did or will. Taiwan is a lot better than PRC in my book. That’s good customer service.
Yes it is. They are building a factory in Texas to make their tools there and Virginia where I live also according to the website. They were going to have it open by the end of 2020 but everything going on put a delay on that so now they are saying end of 2021 so hopefully that will be right. They are currently making a few things in the US like the tape measures and lawn equipment.
You rebuild these ratchets? IMO it is worth disassembling and lubing but full rebuild isn't worth the time/effort given the relatively low price of a new mid level ratchet. $25-30 for a new one vs $xxx for the parts and xxx time to rebuild...I'm buying new! With a more spendy model this decision could change...
Yep I rebuild when I can just hard to find internals for these nowadays. Also grease them up nicely too. But hey they replaced it free didn’t turn the old one in two new ratchets and a new screwdriver and the new sockets last time too. I couldn’t be happier.
I’d just email they will send you one and don’t require the old one back. Heck free is free you paid for the warranty when you bought it anyway. I have to email or call because Lowe’s or Ace won’t warranty them for me so I don’t even have to worry about turning them in.
Agreed. I have found lots of NOS Craftsman at Ace Hardware recently. I like Snap-on but that stuff is expensive and Craftsman and many other brands have worked fine for me.
Really, I will have to stop by my local ACE hardware and see if they have any.
Yes, sockets and screwdrivers mostly. All the sockets have been G2D codes if that is ones you are looking for. Also Ollies I have found pliers and extensions at. The stuff is still out there just have to find it. I’ve managed to find a lot of new ones at the pawn shop too still with the hangers on them.
That’s not a good experience. Do you have any of their Canadian made stuff? I’ve heard it was pretty good. I haven’t had bad luck with the USA stuff it’s actually one of my go to brands.
Yep. Quality was long gone before going to China. I used to love having the little 1/4” drive sets that came in their own case. The last ones I bought about 2007 came with the lovely auto reversing ratchets. Their pear head ratchets they put in all the sets have sucked for a while but these were horrible.
