Black and Decker bought out another brand

[Ray Newman]

JPPierson: Agree with you about made-In-The-U-S-of-A.

 But -- and there always seems to be a "but" -- will consumers be willing to pay the price?

I think the key is going to be making a quality product that is affordable to buyers.  As Huxleywood and Fredhargis  "it's all consumer drive." Back in the 1980's when what seemed like a tidal wave of imported woodworking machinery reached US shores, I knew numerous woodworkers who out fitted their shops with the "quality imports" because "they look just like Delta/Powermatic/General."

[JGrout]

, I knew numerous woodworkers who out fitted their shops with the "quality imports" because "they look just like Delta/Powermatic/General."

I knew several myself and most of them only qualified as functional for a  period of time. one shop I worked in had a shaper that we destroyed in two years and no support parts to be had  

Now days the quality caught up with the looks about 75% 

I cringe when someone says I need a :widget: for  some imported machine 

It is a toss up as to whether you can or cannot get parts without giving up your first born in some cases. Even then you may never get what you are looking for and end up with a nice boat anchor

[Admiral]

We can only hope and pray that management takes the opportunity to implement real change.  Since they are going to tout "MADE IN THE USA" every effort must be made to ensure that their product meets or exceeds consumer expectation that goes along with the pronouncement.  It is management's responsibility to define engineering quality goals, identify and procure quality raw materials, and control quality of actual manufacturing processes.  My advice to B&D is "Don't you even think about cheapening the MADE IN USA brand!"  We want manufacturing to return to the USA, but we sure don't want to be associated with manufacturing junk.  By the way, it is my belief that if you do your jobs right, with the consumer in mind, high quality doesn't mean high price.  Consumers will respond to proven quality and that in-turn equates to better investor return.  

CHALLENGE:
B&D you have the opportunity to show the world what it means to be MADE IN THE USA --- don't foul it up.

Fact is, with globalization, USA made tools will cost more. Certain companies, like Lie Nielsen, produce a superior product that knowledgeable consumers will pay for because they are premium tools. I doubt B&D will invest in the premium category, they are after the mass market, or at least that is what they have telegraphed to me so far, so don't hold your breath.

[tnff]

Sears already trashed most of the line anyway, if anything I expect the quality to stay the same or maybe go up.  For the quality to go up people will have to pay more and the problem there is many refuse to and those that are willing to already have found better alternatives such as the German companies that make not only great quality but better ergonomics too.   The middle ground for tools is dying it is becoming Harbor Freight and Knipex/Wera/Snap On etc the same is happening to machines, in the end it is consumer driven no matter how much we want to blame the companies.

The problem is the consumer has been trained to believe they can have the same quality for a lower price.  Both by marketing folks and by various product reviews and consumer magazines.  Plus I think the electronics market has something to do with it.  The computer you buy today is immensely better, and much cheaper than one from 1990.  So people believe all other products should be the same way.  I can remember speeches at technical conferences about faster-better-cheaper where they used the computer industry as proof that the quality of everything should go up and price go down.

[JamesR]

Mac tools is also owned by Stanley so maybe they will sell the entire line via tool trucks for $20/week

[fredhargis]

Mac tools is also owned by Stanley

There's a tidbit I was not aware of, interesting.

[pprobus]

Mac tools is also owned by Stanley so maybe they will sell the entire line via tool trucks for $20/week

I think there's probably a better chance that some large retailer will buy the rights to sell them, Sears will maintain their right to sell for the next 5 years, but I would suspect some other large retailer will step up.  If I were a betting man, I'd bet heavily on Walmart stepping up, perhaps Lowes, which has been slowly killing the Kobalt line anyway.  Home Depot is less likely since they pretty much went all-in when they bought the Husky name from B&D/Stanley many years ago. 

Regardless, one of the most worthwhile Craftsman tools, IMHO are the 1" and below (and metric equivalents) 6 point combo wrenches.  LIFE savers when working in tight spaces and you need to loosen a nut or bolt that a normal 12 pt. combo wrench will strip out and you can't fit a socket in the space.  Outside of the truck guys, you can't buy them and certainly not at the cost of Craftsman. 

Paul

[Robert Adams]

I think there's probably a better chance that some large retailer will buy the rights to sell them, Sears will maintain their right to sell for the next 5 years, but I would suspect some other large retailer will step up.  If I were a betting man, I'd bet heavily on Walmart stepping up, perhaps Lowes, which has been slowly killing the Kobalt line anyway.  Home Depot is less likely since they pretty much went all-in when they bought the Husky name from B&D/Stanley many years ago. 

Regardless, one of the most worthwhile Craftsman tools, IMHO are the 1" and below (and metric equivalents) 6 point combo wrenches.  LIFE savers when working in tight spaces and you need to loosen a nut or bolt that a normal 12 pt. combo wrench will strip out and you can't fit a socket in the space.  Outside of the truck guys, you can't buy them and certainly not at the cost of Craftsman. 

Paul

           Walmart could be a possibility since they could compete with the few K marts as they sell craftsman or at least I'm told as all the kmarts in tx closed in the late 90s early 2000s. Especially since walmart has stopped carrying the bostitch line...
           Maybe this has been planned for a while and black and decker made a deal with walmart to switch from bostitch to craftsman.... Funny how they own them too. 

    
            I also have a couple sets of the 6 point wrenches. However I remember getting poed at the craftsman 3/8 open end when trying to remove header bolts as the wrenches would just roll around them because they were so soft. I would always have to go grab a Cornwell or snap on wrench for that. The craftsman sockets are fine for the most part but their rachet have never ever ever been any good no matter when it was made. Yes even the old us made ones would fail to rachet right or slip etc. But what is odd is that there are some very good rachet these days that you don't have to buy from a tool truck. I have some hf ones some northern tool ones and others and they work exceedingly well and a fraction of the cost. 
           All this hand tool talk reminds me of being an ase master tech and how much I hated working on cars... Was good at it but hated doing it..

[Downwindtracker2]

The compliant I had about Craftsman tools was their extensions, the ball spring was way too weak. You only had to climb down four floors, across the mill , then climb into a waste conveyer and look for the socket and extension to know they weren't a work tool. Not having a flare nut wrench ,I used a 3/8 Craftsman open end of a combo, the Proto opened. Proto is now owned by Stanley, too.

[Huxleywood]

 I doubt B&D will invest in the premium category, they are after the mass market, or at least that is what they have telegraphed to me so far, so don't hold your breath.

Considering they own Mac, Proto and Facom in the mechanics tool arena it is clear they are not just after the mass market, though I think Craftsman will likely be mass market for them because that has always been where Craftsman lived as they have never been a premium tool brand.