Wright makes excellent tools. Much of the Williams line is made in the USA, though some product lines are made in Taiwan. The Taiwanese Williams tools are also excellent.
Recently made SK tools - Quality?
- Thread starter wavinwayne
- Start date
I believe my line wrenches are made by them, and my first locking extension (purchased individually) as well. My dad always liked their stuff when I was a kid. Oh just realized my SAE full polish wrenches are also SK, from about 20 years ago (my metric are Craftsman from maybe 13 years ago).
It is just sad to see the decline in quality. I have plenty of vintage USA SK tools, all purchased new from the best mom n pop hardware store around (my late father in law's store). All have been superb. I still remember the excitement of getting a new, high quality SK socket set, or ratchet. I guess that excitement was justified. These little guys were really good!
Forgot about Williams. Maker of the Superrench. Great tools as well.
An update. Got an email from SK this morning, with a promised improvement in warranty.
Introducing Our Improved Warranty & Exchange Process |
We've revamped our warranty process to match the grit and tenacity you bring to the job.
Your tools are built tough, and now our warranty's got the muscle to match. |
What seems misleading is the inexpensive set on Amazon uses the SuperKrome name….implies (to me at least) they are tied to previous lines of products…names have brand images which they convey. Kohler, Lutron, Moen, these are no questions asked companies who replace items free of charge even out of warranty (from past experience)…
Another update.
I get frustrated with things that don’t work properly. See some of my firearms threads, for example.
So, I decided to see what I could do with the LP90 3/8” flex head ratchet. It had already been oiled. I took a 3/8 in. square socket, put it on my 18v driver, and ran the ratchet for a couple of minutes in each direction at a few hundred RPM. A several thousand ratchet ”clicks” in each direction.
And then disassembled it, cleaned it with brake cleaner, put it back together with a little bit of Remoil gun oil. I keep it in the shop for wiping down tools. When it runs out, I will start using my stash of CorrosionX. Any way…
I then disassembled the handle. It turns out not only was there Loctite on the torque screw, so it couldn’t be tightened down properly, there was a lot of oil in there. I cleaned up the torque screw so that it could be fully tightened, and I cleaned up the oil so that the flex head didn’t move as easily.
I used the LP90 today.
After all this “break in” work. It actually works pretty well!
Fairly fine tooth, with low back drag, and the head isn’t flopping around anymore.
Now, I’m still a bit frustrated because it should’ve worked right out of the box. However, I am pleased to have a functioning tool.
I get frustrated with things that don’t work properly. See some of my firearms threads, for example.
So, I decided to see what I could do with the LP90 3/8” flex head ratchet. It had already been oiled. I took a 3/8 in. square socket, put it on my 18v driver, and ran the ratchet for a couple of minutes in each direction at a few hundred RPM. A several thousand ratchet ”clicks” in each direction.
And then disassembled it, cleaned it with brake cleaner, put it back together with a little bit of Remoil gun oil. I keep it in the shop for wiping down tools. When it runs out, I will start using my stash of CorrosionX. Any way…
I then disassembled the handle. It turns out not only was there Loctite on the torque screw, so it couldn’t be tightened down properly, there was a lot of oil in there. I cleaned up the torque screw so that it could be fully tightened, and I cleaned up the oil so that the flex head didn’t move as easily.
I used the LP90 today.
After all this “break in” work. It actually works pretty well!
Fairly fine tooth, with low back drag, and the head isn’t flopping around anymore.
Now, I’m still a bit frustrated because it should’ve worked right out of the box. However, I am pleased to have a functioning tool.
I`m a big SK fan.. was just wondering what the problem with your 3/8 ratchet .
Don’t know. I replaced the guts with a kit that SK provided. No difference.
I got it to work a LOT better after a clean & lube, then running it for five minutes in each direction with an electric drill. I described that above. Those thousands of cycles on the ratchet smoothed something out, and it’s OK now. Used it two days ago for a job and it was fine.
My frustration is that the tool took fitting and fiddling to get it to work right. That said, my Colt .38 Super competition pistol wasn’t right out of the box and I had to stone the safety to get it right, so, SK isn’t alone, but still…
My Ko-Ken and Nepros (both recent purchases) were wonderful right out of the box. My collection of ancient Craftsman ratchets, purchased over 30 years ago, were great right out of the box.
The problem with the LP90 stuff seems to be sheer stupidity. I couldn't tell you exactly what they screwed up....it could be the spacing of the teeth, depth or angle of teeth, the location of the pivot/fulcrum for the pawl, or just horrendous machining tolerances....but they're junk.
Meanwhile Taiwan can crank out 90T ratcheting mechanisms that are smooth as butter and take a beating.
It's so frustrating because this isn't new tech. I want to like SK, but they simply won't let me. (Also I know I'm just repeating my rants...but maybe it'll help me feel better)
My most recent purchase was their metric flare wrench set. I had to warranty one out because it was defective out of the box. The lady handled the issue for me, but told me to buy direct next time. I’m not even sure what that means..
I have a 1/4” socket set I bought in 2017 that has been awesome though.
I have a 1/4” socket set I bought in 2017 that has been awesome though.
