Sears parts source to check

Tom, I've tried that site several times in the past and they were of no help. I even had a "chat" with one of their reps on-line to no avail. Unfortunately, many or their tools were discontinued by the manufacturers with no long term parts support. I've quit looking for parts on-line other than trying to find someone with a busted tool that has a different problem that I can rob parts from.
With Craftsman being sold to B & D Stanley, I would hope that they would address this issue, but don't hold your breath. That's why I haven't bought Craftsman in quite a while. I hope the best for the company, but with the stigma that they have had over the last few decades with parts and service, they are going to have a tough time I'm afraid.

@Knot2square Not having purchased any of Sears stuff, I couldn't really check this out, but hope springs eternal. Thanks for the heads up.

Knot2square said:

I've quit looking for parts on-line other than trying to find someone with a busted tool that has a different problem that I can rob parts from.
With Craftsman being sold to B & D Stanley, I would hope that they would address this issue, but don't hold your breath. That's why I haven't bought Craftsman in quite a while. I hope the best for the company, but with the stigma that they have had over the last few decades with parts and service, they are going to have a tough time I'm afraid.

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My routers are all Ryobi, sold under the Craftsman name. Newest is somewhere over 10 years, and except for a wire that needs to be resoldered in one, they all work fine. I think I've got five now. No parts worries, if one dies, it will get tossed. I think that is the solution, buy a few routers all the same, and just use one, until it dies, then swap out. You could keep the dead one for parts if you wanted. The best part is, I was GIVEN three of them, because they were too old. Hehehe

Knot2square said:

Tom, I've tried that site several times in the past and they were of no help.

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we tried to use that site to help some of the members that come in looking for help w/ their craftsman and it always seems to fall on it's face...

Stanley is only making some Craftsman tools, not everything. I have several friends that have Craftsman tools and they all love them. The only 2 things I had from Sears were a Kenmore refrigerator and my Craftsman garden tractor. This past summer I bought a new LG fridge and sold the Kenmore. Parts are still available for both. The fridge was made by Whirlpool and the tractor by MTD with a Briggs & Stratton motor.

People that have General International tools are also not too happy. Since they closed, Steel City bought the rights to produce certain tools but not all. Luckily my air cleaner is still sold under the Steel City name so filters are not a problem, and my drill press is working well.

I also quit buying Sears tools quite a few years ago because of planned obsolescence and lack of parts. That was a seriously flawed business plan on Sears part, i.e. make a tool that is designed not to last and not fixable and then expect people to buy another one when that one fails.

I see that Ace Hardware and Rona up here are stocking some of the new Sears tools since B & D took over. Ironically, I just read a tool test on ROS sanders in FWW and the Craftsman came in as best value and did really well in the test. However, it cost $5 more than the Bosch which did only slightly worse. Because of the ill feelings that Sears left me with in the past it is going to be hard for them to convince me to start buying their product again when I can get something like a Bosch for about the same money.

The biggest problem with Craftsman/Sears tools they are designed for a limited lifetime. If you can't buy parts then they think you will buy a new tool.

Lowes bought Rona (Quebec) and kept the name on it's stores. Rona, or Lowes depending on how you look at it, took over the Craftsman tools when Sears folded here. Sears has been long gone from here for a while. Word on the street is Crispy Cream is moving to take over Jiffy Lube. They say the products are interchangeable. It's just what they say. No foundation. Unless they're stale.

Thomas,

Lowes, Rona, Réno-Depot are only the distributors for the ''new'' Craftsman tools. Stanley Tools is the manufacturer and also own DeWalt, Black & Decker and some others !

Dan

Ratched quality down, exploit the brand name, maximize profit, minimize costs, run the stock up, shareholder value comes first.

I never paid much attention to Craftsman tools. Did Stanley always produce theirs or is that a recent move too. General, Steel City, Lowes, Craftsman, B&D etc. I need a programme. I did like and most always use their house paint. Exterior and Interior. It was at one time produced by Sico in Quebec, I understand. Danman, you'd likely know more about this than I do. All I know is I liked it.

Knot2square said:

Tom, I've tried that site several times in the past and they were of no help. I even had a "chat" with one of their reps on-line to no avail. Unfortunately, many or their tools were discontinued by the manufacturers with no long term parts support. I've quit looking for parts on-line other than trying to find someone with a busted tool that has a different problem that I can rob parts from.
With Craftsman being sold to B & D Stanley, I would hope that they would address this issue, but don't hold your breath. That's why I haven't bought Craftsman in quite a while. I hope the best for the company, but with the stigma that they have had over the last few decades with parts and service, they are going to have a tough time I'm afraid.

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I wouldn't hold my breath. SB&D bought the Craftsman name, which they are using to market tools supplied from the numerous companies they own. They did not take over the Sears Craftsman line. Aside from a few common links like Waterloo that made Sears tool cabinets for years and is now owned by SB&D and a few tools that SB&D supplied to Sears there really is no connection. The fate of various divisions like Sears Parts Direct will be decided in the next few days. Eddie Lampert will be allowed to try and run a much reduced Sears or it will all be liquidated. Lampert is just fighting the obvious, Sears is gone in a couple of days or drags on for maybe a year or so. He bled it dry for years why would anybody think he can or even cares about running a retail business.

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"People that have General International tools are also not too happy. Since they closed, Steel City bought the rights to produce certain tools but not all. Luckily my air cleaner is still sold under the Steel City name so filters are not a problem, and my drill press is working well."
- Montreal Dan
?... I thought Steel City packed it in?? Summit Tools used to carry their stuff and now nothing to replace that line.
Mind you, I never actually bought any Steel City products; I've sort of been eyeballing the King Canada stuff and Charles's review of their CS gave me a bit more confidence.
https://www.woodtalkonline.com/topic/18228-steel-city-closed-down/

At one time, Craftsman lawn tractors were made by Murray-Ohio in their Lawrenceburg plant. I saw the red M-O tractors were followed by Craftsman grey. My experience with Sears/Craftsman, was told this by a S/C contract manufacturer, that they change a few parts so all parts will not interchange with the OEM part. I saw a lady almost tear the door of the Sears parts department off the hinges when she was told the part that she ordered was no longer available- one bolt for a lawn tractor. I tried to catch her and tell her to go to a hardware store or fastener distributor. Too late!