Vintage craftsman parts?

[buck91]

Was rebuilding a "vintage" (made in USA, probably late 90s) 1/4" Craftsman ratchet and like an idiot snapped the little toggle switch. Dont know why I did that, rebuilt plenty of ratchets before. Anyways, is there any replacements out there? Not seeing anything on ebay and not keen on swapping for a chinese replacement.

 

[wavinwayne]

Not sure but I hope you find a replacement. I have the 3/8" equivalent of what is probably the same ratchet. Bought at Sears in 1997 (I think). I never use this ratchet anymore, but I will never part with it. It has been with me through thick and thin and never failed me.

 

[Chris142]

Might be able to find parts on eBay. Now they just swap the whole tool instead of repairing it. But if the # has changed they won't swap it.

 

[Donald]

When I worked at a Sears store they guy in the backroom would rebuild rachets. They had a kit they would use. You would get one that had been rebuilt. They would not rebuild yours while you waited. Some would bring in an older made in USA ratchet that was broken and walk away with a rebuilt Chinese ratchet.

One guy brought in a bucket of broken rusty Craftsman hand tools. Probably got the bucket at a yard sale for $1. Walked away with a lot of new tools and a few rebuilt ratchets.

 

[Fordiesel69]

I have the same 1/4" rachet that just broke. When you say the # changed they wont replace it? I dont understand what you mean. It has a lifetime warranty so they have to do somthing. I have no love for it personally, the ratchet teeth are wide compared to newer ones. Very hard to use when that 1/16" of a turn is needed.

 

[drtyler]

Was rebuilding a "vintage" (made in USA, probably late 90s) 1/4" Craftsman ratchet and like an idiot snapped the little toggle switch. Dont know why I did that, rebuilt plenty of ratchets before. Anyways, is there any replacements out there? Not seeing anything on ebay and not keen on swapping for a chinese replacement.

What is the ratchet model number on the handle?

 

[wavinwayne]

deleted. Duplicate question

 

[buck91]

What is the ratchet model number on the handle?

44807. Looks like the NOS repair kits command a down right silly premium on ebay. Found one in stock at a small online retailer for an appropriate price. Used paypal, so hopefully I dont need to invoke the buyer protection.

 

[y_p_w]

Can’t find my 1/4” drive that was part of a kit. I have basically the same 3/8” metric kit shown by wavinwayne, other than the box was gray. The 1/4” drive kit had metric and SAE in a black box, with a drive handle. Can’t find the 1/4” ratchet or drive handle. I got the 3/8” kit on sale for maybe $19.99.

But I was thinking of this today when I found another Craftsman 44811 3/8” ratchet. I bought another one as a backup. My other one I wrapped the handle in medical grip tape. Ight have been $9.99 when I got it on sale. Or it could be the one from the kit.

I remember seeing the repair kits at Sears. They were on hang tags with a price of one cent. I don’t think they actually charged anything for them, but it was some sort of inventory control.

 

[y_p_w]

Might be able to find parts on eBay. Now they just swap the whole tool instead of repairing it. But if the # has changed they won't swap it.

The number is actually the same even though the design has changed. Not sure about the 1/4”, but I remember the 3/8”. Way back when I had a few damaged Craftsman screwdrivers, I got them replaced even though there was no equivalent part number. I got a bunch of Craftsman screwdrivers from a 99 cent bargain bin. They were of equivalent quality compared to the standard ones other than opaque handles in red or orange. I took them to Sears or (then Sears owned) Orchard Supply Hardware and they just gave the same type from the standard series.

Available but wow! Some of the newer repair kits have Chinese parts. The tool needed to remove the clip is a spanner.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=Craftsman+Ratchet+Repair+Kit+44811

 

[GaryMX5]

I have the same 1/4" rachet that just broke. When you say the # changed they wont replace it? I dont understand what you mean. It has a lifetime warranty so they have to do somthing. I have no love for it personally, the ratchet teeth are wide compared to newer ones. Very hard to use when that 1/16" of a turn is needed.

As I understand it, when Sears died so did the warranties on tools purchased from them. Stanley Black and Decker essentially bought the Craftsman brand name and manufacturers the current tools. They are under no obligation to honor the warranties on older tools bought from Sears. The serial/part numbers are used to differentiate the old from the new. In general, the older the Craftsman tool is, the better it's quality is as well. I have wrench sets, sockets, ratchets, pliers and many screwdrivers I got in the 70's and early 80's that are still going strong. Some Lowes and Ace hardware stores are said to honor warranties on some tools, usually simply ones like screwdrivers etc., if they have the exact same item.

 

[y_p_w]

As I understand it, when Sears died so did the warranties on tools purchased from them. Stanley Black and Decker essentially bought the Craftsman brand name and manufacturers the current tools. They are under no obligation to honor the warranties on older tools bought from Sears. The serial/part numbers are used to differentiate the old from the new. In general, the older the Craftsman tool is, the better it's quality is as well. I have wrench sets, sockets, ratchets, pliers and many screwdrivers I got in the 70's and early 80's that are still going strong. Some Lowes and Ace hardware stores are said to honor warranties on some tools, usually simply ones like screwdrivers etc., if they have the exact same item.

Legally they bought the warranty obligations and not just the brand. But Lowe’s and Ace are only authorized retailers and their agreement to handle warranty replacement is limited. But obviously getting a no questions asked replacement at Sears was a strong selling point.

Their warranty terms say to return to the place of purchase. Later it says any “stocking retail partners. But otherwise they have a phone number to call, or an online form to fill out.

https://www.craftsman.com/en-us/support/customer-support/warranty

 

[GaryMX5]

Legally they bought the warranty obligations and not just the brand. But Lowe’s and Ace are only authorized retailers and their agreement to handle warranty replacement is limited. But obviously getting a no questions asked replacement at Sears was a strong selling point.

Their warranty terms say to return to the place of purchase. Later it says any “stocking retail partners. But otherwise they have a phone number to call, or an online form to fill out.

https://www.craftsman.com/en-us/support/customer-support/warranty

It can be close to impossible to get warranty coverage on most older craftsman tools. I still have several several craftsman corded tools (circular saw, jig saw, 2 drills and a sawzall from the late 80's that had lifetime warranties (gone with the dinosaurs now-a-days). You may recall that craftsman tools from that era had a no questions asked warranty replacement. I worked in customer service at a sears store during college. The beat on, abused, mis-used damaged tools that were returned would make you cry, but they all walked out with a new tool. If you are fortunate to have one of those tools today and need coverage they now ask for proof of purchase when you inquire about coverage. Who's lucky enough to have that after all these years? I've accepted that lifetime warranties of a product is generally meaningless and the lifetime of the company who sells and warranties them is probably more realistic.

 

[y_p_w]

It can be close to impossible to get warranty coverage on most older craftsman tools. I still have several several craftsman corded tools (circular saw, jig saw, 2 drills and a sawzall from the late 80's that had lifetime warranties (gone with the dinosaurs now-a-days). You may recall that craftsman tools from that era had a no questions asked warranty replacement. I worked in customer service at a sears store during college. The beat on, abused, mis-used damaged tools that were returned would make you cry, but they all walked out with a new tool. If you are fortunate to have one of those tools today and need coverage they now ask for proof of purchase when you inquire about coverage. Who's lucky enough to have that after all these years? I've accepted that lifetime warranties of a product is generally meaningless and the lifetime of the company who sells and warranties them is probably more realistic.

Oh yeah. I heard of how abused the policy was. In the 80s, Sears had a commercial of a couple of old geezer buddies bringing back a hammer at Sears to get a replacement. When they finally get to the tool section, the employee asks when he remembers it was purchased (1940s), and he comes out with a new, modern hammer. I think it also ended up with one buddy asking why he smelled like perfume, and he said "It's called cologne."

A former coworker said that he found a busted up Craftsman hand tool on the side of the road and got a replacement. I had a few Phillips head Craftsman screwdrivers that were stripped, and those got replaced under warranty. By any stretch, those were abused although a higher grade tool might have lasted while stripping screw heads instead.

Stanley says that Craftsman hand tool warranty replacement doesn't require a receipt. But it's a lot harder to get it. I think Lowe's and Ace might help, but otherwise you need to call them or fill out a form. Not sure if they need to be sent in or maybe a photo sent (I've gotten warranty replacements from different companies just based on submitted photos).

 

[RyanY]

Complete the Craftsman warrsnty form at the website. When they respond they will likely ask for pics of the broken ratchet. They will likely just send you a new version.

I had a 1/2 drive replaced because the teeth had worn down on my Carter-era ratchet. The new one works fine but is not the same as an old one.

 

[Tempest1]

I found an old 1/4" Craftsman at my parent's house that had a fubar'd mechanism and the local Lowe's replaced it with a quite nice 72 tooth model.

 

[Mekks]

Sold all my early 2000s Craftsman stuff on eBay during covid for a premium. I was able to replace with Tekton/Vessle/Snapon/NWS for about what I sold the Craftsman for. The years of craftsman I had where USA made but right before the switch to China and had questionable reliability.

 

[jhellwig]

Sold all my early 2000s Craftsman stuff on eBay during covid for a premium. I was able to replace with Tekton/Vessle/Snapon/NWS for about what I sold the Craftsman for. The years of craftsman I had where USA made but right before the switch to China and had questionable reliability.

You couldn't pay me to take one of those pear headed ratchets from the 2000s. Utter Garbage even if it was made in the US.

 

[wavinwayne]

One thing from my post above; if any of you wonder what ever happened to your lost 10mm socket, that's it laying horizontally amongst all my SAE sockets in the kit. I'm sneaky that way. In all honesty, I keep it in that box so I always know exactly where it is when I need to remove a battery, since the nuts/bolts almost always take a 10mm. If I kept it anywhere else, I'd lose it.

 

[Lenny5160]

Back when Sears was still alive, I returned a '90s era 1/4" drive ratchet just like in the OP and received a rebuilt copy that didn't function any better than the one I returned. I just wrote it off and bought a new ratchet elsewhere.