Craftsman  1/2 in. Drive Quick Release Teardrop Ratchet

I GOT THIS ITEM ON A WARRANTY TRADE IN AS MY OLD ONE THAT I HAD FOR 20 OR SO YEARS THAT GEARS GOT TO WORN DOWN AND DIDN'T WORK NO MORE. THIS IS THE RACHET THAT I GOT IN EXCHANGE. IN THE SCRAP METAL BUSINESS THAT I DO AND WITH AUTOMOTIVE STUFF I NEED SOMETHING THAT WILL LAST. AND THIS IS NOT IT. ITS MADE VERY CHEAPLY AND LOOKS LIKE A ****** CUT IT OUT OF A PIECE OF STEEL! I DONT SEE IT LASTING NEARLY AS LONG AS MY OLD ONE. IT'S DEFINATLEY NOT ONE OF THE OLD CRAFTSMAN TOOLS I'VE HAD BEFORE.

It is a sad day when Craftsman tools are made in China.  I drove to sears to pick up a quality American made ratchet instead one of the "made in Taiwan or China" ratchets at most stores.  When I get there I see that craftsman ratchets are now made in China or Taiwan.  Only the thin profile/offset/professional ratchet (~$70) is made in the US.

As the Oldsmobile commercial use to say ?This is not your father?s Oldsmobile? well ?This is not your father?s Craftsman wrench?. The quality is suffering, you can tell by the feel and sound of it ratcheting, the quality and precision is no longer a priority with the manufacturing. All the metal is of sufficient strength but if you put apply pressure it has a tendency to slip, there is not a tight mesh between the gears so you have to turn the ratchet almost a ¼ turn to get the pawl to catch the next gear, it tight places this can be a problem. Very disappointed that Craftsman will produce something of this quality.

I have always thought Craftsman were good quality tools. But after working with other more expensive tools, I have given up on their ratchets. The only good thing I can say is that they are lifetime warantee, yet even now upon returning it for whatever reason, you are given a remanufactured one. As far as using this ratchet, I won't. There are too few teeth on the drive, the selector handle pops in and out, the mechanism locks up. When the bolt is too loose for the ratchet and too tight for finger loosening, these ratchets are horrendous. It takes so much torque to get the thing to click. And with 30 or so teeth, it has massive arc, so in tight spots it doesn't work at all. I finally was able to afford something better, and went with SK Tuff-1 ratchets. These are awesome.

I bought this as a replacement for 1 I lost. Just as good as the old one that was made years ago.

I'd used my dads one of these growing up, so when I finally needed a 1/2" ratchet for work on the truck I went down to Sears to get a Craftsman one. I was disappointed to find that they are now made in China, but did manage to find an older one at a different store that was US made. Both the US and Chinese versions seems to be pretty much the same tool though the socket release mechanism was different on them. The wrench has held up well, feels good in my hands, and for the jobs I use this 1/2 inch ratchet for the 45 teeth vs 60 teeth is not a big deal (different story for my 3/8 inch drive ratchets). Overall great tool, but took off a star as its yet one more Craftsman tool that is now made in the big C.

I needed to loosen up the wheel lug nuts on my truck and I used a lesser named wrench in combo with a breaker bar and the wrench bombed out an broke. I then picked up my craftsman 1/2 in ratchet and did the same thing. it worked great and continues to work great every time i do this while still performing all it's normal duties.

very good product

Craftsman ratchets are great. They get the job done, and the lifetime warranty means that you never have to pay to have a ratchet replaced in the unlikely event that one breaks... this is especially true if you're like me, and just use this for light duty home projects and minor mechanic work.

I've owned Craftsman products for over 30yrs. This wrench is just another fine example of Craftsman quality.