Craftsman Professional Socket Wrench Sets: 27-pc 6-pt 1/4" Drive Set w/ Case $18, 20-pc 12-pt 3/8" Drive Set w/ Case $22.50, 11-pc 6-pt 3/8" Drive Set w/ Case $9 & More + Free

Sears now has a Midnight Madness sale happening (Live now) that offers another 5%-15% off until 7 AM CT tomorrow.

I picked up the GearWrench 20PC Combination Ratcheting Wrench Set, SAE/MM, great reviews and normally $99.
The sale price was $59, then the Midnight Madness sale brought it down to $50.99.
The 5000 points they sent to use by tomorrow took another $5 off.

Here's a link for the sale: http://www.sears.com/?i_cntr=1361749240785

Good luck everyone.

Quote from anvilsvs : The two larger sets are 12 pt, not exactly "professional".

that's what i was thinking - i hate these 12pt socket sets. what are they thinking???



in their defense though, in many applications that require a 1/2" drive ratchet it is actually a 12pt bolt. example - the transmission of my Jeep is mounted with 12pt bolts.

Thanks again fellas! The advice here is invaluable.

So far I am thinking about the 154 pc set for 89 : http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_1015...830x000545

A HF Torque wrench for $20 : http://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-...h-807.html

You guys are right about the jack...but is it safe and fairly easy to use? I was thinking ramps b/c they are foolproof but with a ramp and my luck....

FWIW, Costco has a killer Crecent brand tool set for ~$78.
Bought one for work. 1/4, 3/8, 1/2" drive. Very nice quality too. Case is a bit large but after 2 years, and at work even, we have yet to lose any of the pieces.

No lifetime warranty, but again a very nice set.

the 82 pc set ....OOS!

I'll again throw this up for consideration:

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-29...ockType=G2

29PC Professional(says 'Industrial' though) Use METRIC SOCKET WRENCH SET 3/8-IN DRIVE

wow a lot of this stuff is already unavailable


could this be the end of USA-Made Craftsman Industrial socket sets???

now i am thinking i should hold onto the 65pc and 82pc sets that i was thinking of returning since i bought the 154pc set.

this could make for a great story for the grand kids...

me: "back in the day...our products especially tools were made in the USA. see the name of this brand? Craftsman made some great tools"
them: "what's Craftsman, pop pop?"

that's what it will be like

Quote from kcsierradad : I'll again throw this up for consideration: http://www.sears.com/craftsman-29...ockType=G2 29PC Professional(says 'Industrial' though) Use METRIC SOCKET WRENCH SET 3/8-IN DRIVE

Honestly I think the better deal is the 65. About the only thing different the 29 pc has is a breaker bar. Besides that and a few sockets in the 3/8 versus the 1/4 size.

Quote from Medic311 : wow a lot of this stuff is already unavailable could this be the end of USA-Made Craftsman Industrial socket sets??? now i am thinking i should hold onto the 65pc and 82pc sets that i was thinking of returning since i bought the 154pc set. hmm

Yeah, it looks like they're cleaning the stuff out of the warehouse pretty good. Maybe you should hold onto those sets, they could become collector's items.

Quote from solara689 : the 82 pc set ....OOS!

there are still a few in some outlet stores...check to see if one is near you. http://www.searsoutlet.com/d/inve...&zip=92104

Quote from Corwin76 : Yeah, it looks like they're cleaning the stuff out of the warehouse pretty good. Maybe you should hold onto those sets, they could become collector's items.

EXACTLY!

now i am thankful that the store wouldn't take them back b/c they aren't in-stock items. sears says they will email me shipping labels to return them. now i am thinking of calling them and telling them i've changed my mind and would like to keep everything.

seems like Craftsman will be sending everything to China or just completely discontinuing the professional/industrial socket sets all together in favor of the Evolv (crapvolv as i call it) or the bulk mechanic sets of which the quality is definitely inferior.

i compared the sockets of the industrial sets to the 154 set and the inside of the sockets are much different. the industrial sets the inside is very smooth and the 154 mechanics sets the socket inside is very rough and coarse. not sure if that will affect performance, but it's clear that extra effort was put into the industrial sets. the ratchets seem identical except for the "industrial" stamping though.

i made a neat little Excel sheet comparing:

192pc mechanics set
154pc mechanics set
82pc industrial socket set
65pc industrial socket set

feel free to add additional sets on for comparison. it's hard to compare them all since in many cases it's an apples to oranges comparison. i found that the 154pc set was the best overall, and it came with mostly 6pt sockets. as a FYI, these prices are from the other week, and don't reflect the current pricing (it's a moot point since they're sold out of the industrial ones anyways...)

enjoy: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/35995361...on.xlsx?dl

Quote from Tellingthem : Honestly I think the better deal is the 65. About the only thing different the 29 pc has is a breaker bar. Besides that and a few sockets in the 3/8 versus the 1/4 size.

Nice set but the deal breaker was that the metric sizes were 1/4" drive only...

Called and got an adjustment on the 26pc 1/2-inch set I got last week. It was quite a difference.

http://www.sears.com/tools-tool-s...ts_storage

FYI: I added these sets to the OP.

9PC Professional Use 12PT 3/8 IN Socket Set Metric $5.94 (reg. $19.99) [sears.com]

9PC Professional Use 6PT 3/8 IN Socket Set $5.94 (reg. $19.99) [sears.com]