Rotten Chuck

So I'm doing some work where a cordless drill would be handy, I inherited one from my dad but never needed it before.

Stuck a drillbit in it, tightened the chuck as far as it would go, and started drilling.

Bango, the drill came loose.

Tightened again, tried again, bango again.

This is a nice 19.2v Craftsman cordless drill, why would they RUIN it with a piece-of-shit chuck?  It only works on hex-shank tools.  It's one of those hand tighten jobs that do not take a key.

Severely limits its usability.  I wonder if the chuck is replaceable?

NoCoPilot wrote:

This is a nice 19.2v --->>>> Craftsman <<<<--- cordless drill, why would they RUIN it with a piece-of-shit chuck?

You answered your own question.

I usually like their tools. Maybe they've sunk, like Sears itself.

Craftsman has always made shitty tools.

You say.

Yeah, just ignore it. I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Why hasn't Sears gone out of business? Haven't they been, like, insolvent for twenty years?

I bought a bunch of Craftsman wrenches when I was a kid. Later, and for many years, I made a living as a mechanic. The Craftsman wrenches failed often. The jaws on open end wrenches would spread. The points on box end wrenches would wear off. The mechanism on ratchet wrenches wore out. Sockets wore out the points and often split down the side. I never - not once - had a high-quality wrench fail. Never. None of the mechanics I worked with ever bought Craftsman tools. None of them.

At home one Sunday, I decided I needed a belt sander to finish some work. The only place open was Sears, so I went down there and bought a four-inch belt sander. Mechanically it seemed  okay, but the belts were crap. They wore out quickly and several of them came apart at the joint. Some time later, I went to the hardware store to buy some belts and it turns out that the Craftsman sander was a non-standard size. The only place to get belts that fit was at Sears. Hello trash can.

I recently heard a guy complain that a Craftsman drill motor he had would not hold drills because the chuck was junk.

Yes, "So I say."

Well I'll tell you what is even worse, at 62 I cannot work scrunched up inside a cabinet on a concrete floor as long as I used to.  Fix that why doncha.

I have a workshop full of tools, some of them purchased in the past twenty years but most older.  Some were my dad's tools.  Some were my granddad's tools (who died in '58).  

Most of these are Craftsman.  I never had a failure until a few years ago -- when Sears started having their tools made in China.

I've gotten some crap tools yes, yes I have.  Especially newer electric tools made in China.  Like belt sanders.  (Proprietary belt sizes, really?  That's inexcusable.)

But my old wrenches and sockets are just dandy thank you.

Quote :

Most Craftsman hand tools are advertised as having an unlimited lifetime warranty.[23] This lifetime warranty program was instituted by Sears when they began selling the Craftsman line in 1927.[24] This warranty program requires no receipt or dated proof of purchase. If the owner takes the item into a local retail store, it may be replaced or repaired free of charge.[25] In some cases, such as ratchets, the customer may be offered a repair kit with which to repair the item or an already refurbished item.

Craftsman tools are made for the occasional puttering around the house. They are probably fine for that. If you are using them to make a living, you will be disappointed.

By the way, the incident with the belt sander was about 25 or 30 years ago.

I like Mac and Husqvarna when available. Anything hawked by Bob Villa is suspect by association, lol.

Husqvarna makes some good power tools. They made some pretty good dirt bikes many years ago, as well.

For hand tools, Mac and Snap-on can't be beat, although they are very expensive. Craftsman makes a big deal out of their free replacement guarantee, but every professional tool I ever bought had the same guarantee. I just seldom needed it with the professional tools. I think I replaced one Snap-on swivel socket for an impact wrench. And I hadn't even bought it; I traded an electric fuel pump for a few of them.