Welding Tips and Tricks

So I went to HF today to pick up the tig machine with the digital readout, part 98233. It lists for 399, but lo I had the "ol 20% coupon. So the nice sales lady rings me up for 429. Jump back Jack! What about my coupon says I? Oh they are not valid on welders, generators, and like six other things. Well spank my ass and call me Nancy. I was planning on buying the 50A plasma cutter next payday. Uhhhh, no, I'll order one from eBay. The good news is that my coupon was good for a 5.99 pack of wager disks.

That blows. You should have bought one of their magnifying glasses, so you can check out the microscopic print next time.

Something small printish happened to me once. You know that famous Sears tool, you break it, we'll replace it for free? Well, that's not quite as good as it sounds. One of their chisels snapped in two one time, so I took it back for a new one. it turns out that that guarantee doesn't cover any tool that cuts.

There is always some small print to stick it to the little guy.

I've also had Sears deny a warranty claim on tools because I walked in in my shop uniform. They said the tools are not geared towards the "professional". I took my shop shirt off in the parking lot and walked in and found a different counter person.

That's really strange...not geared for the professional??? What about all of those ads that show professionals using their tools? What about the name on their packaged tool sets... Craftsman Professional Tools???

Sears has really gone downhill in the last few years.

One time I bought a Craftsman electric planer, it worked really well but the blades got dull and I needed new ones. I went to Sears to get replacements but Sears doesn't sell replacement blades for their own planers. I had to buy them at Lowes.

Years ago, I bought the (supposedly the best) screwdriver set from Sears, chipped off the corner of one of the common ones. Well, I ground it square & kept using it. Next time at the mall I took it with me back to Sears, & they said sorry, if I had brought it back without 'fixing' it, then, they would have exchanged it. -c-

Sears isn't what it used to be. I have had much better luck with the Lowes and Home Depot brand tools. The tools seem to last and when they do break I have had no issues with returning them. I tend to gravitate towards the home depot brand just because the grips on a lot of the hand tools aren't as thick as all the new 'ergonomic' rubber/plastic handles on most tools. The new tooling handles take up a lot of room and just don't store as well in tool bags

I have to say lowes has been really good to me lately!

Blue Diver wrote:I tend to gravitate towards the home depot brand just because the grips on a lot of the hand tools aren't as thick as all the new 'ergonomic' rubber/plastic handles on most tools. The new tooling handles take up a lot of room and just don't store as well in tool bags

Plus, these plastic-handled tools aren't welding-friendly. I had to go out of my way recently to find a source for Vise-Grips without the over molding, so I wouldnt have to worry about a plastic handle melting off while I'm using it to hold something that's 600 degrees.
XO easy grips are great for my Mom's kitchen, but I don't want them in my shop.