Haven't seen this posted (should have done so earlier, but):

K-mart has 2 tool sets on sale until end of week (but going fast).

$18.88 for 115 piece and $29.99 for 140+ piece, both have sae and metric. I suppose not top of the line but pretty adequate for those who may need something to work on the house/car with, but can't afford a lot of money or time to collect your own.

Pamida (don't know which states have one) also has a good one for 29.99.

-- Jon Johnson (narnia4@usa.net), June 17, 1999

Answers

Too bad I'm boycotting Kmart because of their anti-gun spokesperson, Rosie O'Donnell.

Jolly

-- Jollyprez (jolly@prez.com), June 17, 1999.

Boycotting? NOW?

Why not put that sort of thing on hold, just for awhile... You can always start up again in, say, 197 days or so.

By then, no one will even know who Rosie is.

-- table (that@for.now), June 17, 1999.

Kmart with an ANTI-GUN spokesman, for crying out loud?!?!?! I just recently bought a Remminton 870 12guage shotgun there, and am considering their 30-06 rifle - only $500. They have reasonable prices on ammo.

Anti-gun?? Since when?

-- Bill (chicago519@aol.com), June 17, 1999.

Bill,

Haven't you been following the Rosie saga? She said that ALL gunowners should be in jail. No ifs, ands, or butts. [sic] Only the police and government should have guns.

Not only anti-gun, but make felons out of ALL gun owners. I'd say that warrants a boycott of her sponsors.

Besides, I'm sure I can get crappy tools for nearly the same price at half a dozen other places.

I think I'll stick with Craftsman.

Jolly has principles.

-- Jollyprez (jolly@prez.com), June 17, 1999.

Oh, Bill, you've missed all the fun! Ms. O'Donnell went so far as to essentially blind-side gun owner Tom Selleck on her show a few weeks ago and has since been roundly criticized for it. Mr. Selleck, by the bye, was a model of decorum. Ms. O'Donnell has since apologized for her attack on Mr. Selleck, but remains unapologetic about her stance re firearms. She has tried to rationalize her spokesperson role for Kmart by essentially saying that they sell only hunting rifles. Yeah, that Mossburg is just the ticket for going after pheasant, isn't it? 8-}]

-- Mac (sneak@lurk.hid), June 17, 1999.

Would someone who knows what he is talking about please rate the quality of the various tool brands.

My father always bought Craftsman. Since Sears decided to have the Craftsman line made in China, the comapny that had made Craftsman for many years signed up with Home Depot to make the Ridgid line.

Are the K-Mart and Walmart lines poor values?

I don't want to throw away money, but for $18.99 I don't need the world's best.

Recommendations, please.

-- GA Russell (ga.russell@usa.net), June 17, 1999.

Ahhh....GA are you suggesting that Ridge Tools made Craftsman tools??? Are you SURE??

Chuck

PS Back when their callendar was a true subscription item, with only about 3,000 made I had a friend who was on their mailing list. Now ANYBODY can get one with the requisite 8 bucks.

-- Chuck, a night driver (rienzoo@en.com), June 18, 1999.

Hi Chuck!

I forget the name of the company. The article I read was in the paper (the Atlanta Journal & Constitution) maybe three months ago. This was the company which for decades had made the Craftsman Tools for Sears.

Sears decided to discontinue the relationship and buy tools made in China for their Craftsman brand.

So the company promptly did a deal with Home Depot. Home Depot in the announcement said that the company's tools would be sold under their Ridgid brand name.

The article was not precise regarding the date these products would be in the stores. I think by this time the Craftsman-type tools that you find at Home Depot under the Ridgid name ought to be the products of the company that made the Craftsman tools for Sears.

Although the Home Depot spokesman did not state, "Buy your Craftsman tools at Home Depot", that was clearly the gist of the Home Depot announcement, in addition to the Made in America sales pitch.

So Chuck, what do you think of Walmart and K-Mart tools? What about Ace and True Value Hardware tools?

-- GA Russell (ga.russell@usa.net), June 19, 1999.

Just bought the two sets. One for each truck.

These are what we used to call 'get-homes'. Not good enough for everyday hard use but excellent on the side of the road in a rainstorm with the cell phone not working. The wrenches have a tendency to widen the set when you apply too much pressure and you CAN wring off the hub of the rachet. However, the same thing in Ridgid quality is about 145.00. Too much money to sit in the truck box and maybe et ripped off.

According to the manager at Home Depot here in SC, the tools now in Home Depot are made by the same ones that made Crafsman....same guarantee, too.

-- Lobo (atthelair@yahoo.com), June 19, 1999.