Shopsmith Forums

RFGuy wrote: ↑Tue Oct 05, 2021 12:48 pm Thanks Ed. Very interesting. Yeah, I stumbled upon ToolNut the last 1-2 years buying some Festool products from them. Hadn't heard of them before. Interesting to know this history about that company.

They're mostly just another tools sales website now. They do still have a big retail store in NY but I don't know if they are still the kind of place that made them great locally to get started. Bobby didn't have much room for stock in his first little location but if a tool was available off the shelf anywhere in the area he'd promise to get it for you in 24 hours or less, at a lower price, and deliver it to you if you needed. I have first hand knowledge that he was willing to take a loss in order to deliver on that promise. It was a different world back then though, he was smart and figured out he needed to sell to the whole country online and not just the New York area.

Stopped by Lowes yesterday for a new door handle. Their V Tool display was enormous. Were I needing any more mechanics tools, I'd be tempted.

Gene Howe wrote: ↑Wed Oct 06, 2021 7:05 am Stopped by Lowes yesterday for a new door handle. Their V Tool display was enormous. Were I needing any more mechanics tools, I'd be tempted.

Thanks Gene. Good to know. I'll need to make a trip to my local Lowes to check them out.

This is all a great trip down Memory Lane, and more!

My Dad was a TV repairman, and once called on a customer in Mt. Carmel, IL (if I recall correctly), whose tasks at the Snap-On factory included burying defective tools under concrete.

Dad had also been a car mechanic, and proudly kept his USA-made SK Tools from the 1950s until he passed. I guess SK still exists but I never hear a lot about them, compared to Snap-On, Craftsman, or MAC.

Chris

In the mid-70s I worked at the only service station in my small town (Eureka, MO) and started my tool collection with Craftsman and Blackhawk, which I thought were a little better. The Snap-on truck would sometimes stop in and I picked up a few of those too, but they were mostly out of my price range. I unfortunately lost all those tools when my car was broken into in the late 80s.since then I’ve been buying tools as I need them, slowly building up my set with a mix of good and crap. It would be good to finally have a source for decent tools that are reasonably priced. Hope that is what happens with these new Craftsman series.

I have several of the 'older' Craftsman V series, but more VV series on the sockets, mostly of 70's vintage. One thing both have in common is they say "Forged in USA" on the larger tools.

Older socket sets frequently came with a breaker bar. Now, they rarely do. (Exception: 3/4" drive sets almost always do.) I think the breaker bar saves the ratchet from some serious abuse, from time to time, and extends its life. My suggestion is add this to whatever you buy.

- David