This 1949 Craftsman catalog brings us back to the days of zoot suits, the jitterbug, explosive shop tools, guiltless gasoline consumption — and the good ole’ gasoline blowtorch.

Even before the modern technology of propane and butane cartridges, amateurs as well as professionals commonly used blowtorches for stubborn household problems like thawing frozen pipes, loosening jammed bolts, and even detecting freon leaks (due to the changing color of the flame). Plumbers used the torches to liquefy lead for sealing pipe joints, electricians used them for soldering wires, and painters for stripping paint from walls.

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Sears is ending their “We overstocked this stuff for Christmas and didn’t sell it” sale tomorrow, so if you’re jonesing for that gear your family didn’t manage to get you, now is the time. Specifically, the Craftsman 263 piece Mechanic’s Tool Sets, Craftsman 10-drawer, 27 in. combo toolboxes, and Craftsman 20 piece socket wrench sets are all 20 to 25 percent off, which might actually put some of them this side of “never gonna pay that.”

Sears is also giving away .5A, three-disc grinders with purchases over $75 dollars, while supplies last. We’re betting supplies are plentiful on the Norelco looking sanders, because we don’t know anyone who wanted or got one for Christmas.

Craftsman Sale [Sears]
Craftsman 263 pc. Mechanics Tool Set [Sears]
Craftsman 10 Drawer, 27 in. Combo [Sears]
Craftsman 20 pc. Socket Wrench Set [Sears]

In a promotion that ends tonight, Sears is selling its GearWrench 10-piece metric box end wrench set for just $30, half off the regular $60 price. With their thin heads and shanks, these wrenches excel in tight spots — the ratcheting mechanism requires only five degrees of movement instead of the usual 30 degrees needed by standard end wrenches.  The set includes sizes 6, 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18mm and comes with a lifetime guarantee.

For the same price Sears offers the SAE version of this set which includes sizes 1/4, 5/16, 11/32, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2, 9/16, 5/8, 11/16, and 3/4-inches.

GearWrench Metric Set [Sears]
GearWrench SAE Set [Sears]

Though we’re generally not fans of most Craftsman power tools, the C3 line has been a perennial best-bargain buy since its release, often selling for under $100 — with a free light. If you’re one of the many who invested in the 19.2V series to get started, you’ll be as pleased as I was to hear that Sears plans to offer a C3-compatible 19.2V lithium-ion pack for $70 starting in 2008.

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Sears is selling a five-piece slotted screwdriver set for half price at $5. The set includes the following sizes: 3/32 x 1-1/2 in., 3/16 x 1-1/2 in., 1/8 x 4 in., 3/16 x 4 in., and 1/4 x 4 in. Serrated tips provide better biting grip. And of course, they come with Craftsman’s lifetime warranty.

Craftman 5-Piece Screwdriver Set [Sears]

Can’t afford a new aluminum racing jack? Maybe you can swing Craftsman’s $25 miniature version. It’s only 8-1/4″ long, but it’s a fully-functional model of Craftsman’s full-size version. And although this mini jack is only intended for display, we’ve heard of it crazy people employing it to lift various light objects like toy carts and desks.

But whether you set this on display or play with it until it breaks, this “collectible” is sure to stand out at home or in the workplace. Sporting a $25 pricetag, this would make a great late holiday gift — for yourself. Don’t forget that Sears has posted a $5 coupon to make the price a bit sweeter.

Mini Model Racing Jack [Sears]

Between now and January 22nd, get $5 off any $5 tool or lawn and garden purchase at Sears. Sears outlet stores are excluded, as are clearance and closeout products. Don’t forget to read the fine print before you head out of the house.

A strong word of caution:  Grab the pdf from the site while you can, before it gets pulled by Sears. In case you’re not as computer savy as you are with tools, right-click the URL and select “save target as…”. 

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Ooooh, fancy! Sears is offering this 2007 Limited Edition Craftsman 8-piece socket set with cap wrench in a wooden display case list for $60 (regularly $140).  The 8-piece socket set is from Craftsmans “Titanium Blue” line of tools and includes a thin profile drive ratchet with quick-release button and reversing lever, six 3/8-inch drive sockets in sizes 9/16″, 5/8″, 11/16″, 3/4″, 13/16″, and 7/8″ and comes in a wooden display box.  Also included is a Titanium Blue bottle cap wrench.

8-Piece Socket Set and Cap Wrench [Sears]

As you can see from the screen cap above, Sears is advertising mechanic’s tools on sale this weekend. But we believe there’s more to this story than they’re telling you in the ad.

The real deal in our opinion? They produced a ton of special “80th Anniversary Craftsman” gear — everything from tools to toolboxes — and it didn’t sell for squat. (Who really cares that it’s Craftsman’s 80th?) Now they’re dumping it all to make way for the holiday stuff.

A friend of mine called last week and told me that he snagged an 80th-emblazed roll-away for under $100. If that’s not dumping, I don’t know what is.

Anyway, you might want to roll by your local Sears this weekend if you’ve got a few minutes to see if there’s any 80th gear left at good prices. Just a suggestions.

Tools On Sale [Sears]

Remember that free shipping on purchases over $49 deal at Sears? It looks like they’ve extended it. And Home Depot is jumping on the bandwagon, too. An added bonus: Home Depot will ship Christmas trees for free.

I’m not certain about the pre-holiday deals, but I’ve picked up Christmas trees at Home Depot after Christmas for diddly-squat. Like, for example, I snagged a 7′ with lights for $40. Really.

Home Depot [Corporate Site]
Sears [Corporate Site]

Sears is hosting their annual Veterans Day sale over this long (for some, though not us obviously) weekend, and most of their tools are on sale for this event.  There are also a couple of secondary promotions happening, too: Free shipping on orders over $49 and a free 11-inch tool bag (#00937533000) on tool purchases of $25 or more.

Some of the items that caught my eye — and will probably end up in my toolbox are:

• A 3 piece Screwdriver Pry Bar Set in tray for $19.99, containing a 12, 17, and 25 inch curved screwdriver pry bars.
• A Craftsman 2-1/4 ton Floor Jack for $19.99. The jack has a 2-1/4 ton/4,500 pound lift capacity and a lifting height from 5-1/2 to 15 inches.
• A 5 piece Wrench Set, Ratchet Box SAE for $19.99, including standard sizes: 1/4 x 5/16, 3/8 x 7/16, 1/2 x 9/16, 5/8 x 3/4 and 11/16 x 7/8 inches.

Veterans Day Sale [Sears]

Since previous Dealmonger feedback about these gloves has been generally positive, we thought you’d like to know that Sears is offering them on sale again. Through Veteran’s Day you can can pick up a pair of these Craftsman Mechanic’s gloves for $10. (They’re regularly $20.) Sears sells Mechanic’s gloves in sizes medium to extra large and in colors red and black.

Medium, Black [Sears]
Medium, Red [Sears]
Large, Black [Sears]
Large, Red [Sears]
XLarge, Black [Sears]
XLarge, Red [Sears]

In case you missed the heads-up from a few weeks ago, now is the perfect time to take a stroll down your local power tool aisle. Fall cleaning, holiday stock preparation, and a lull in sales are prompting some decent deals at the big boxes. The key to getting a great deal around this time of year, though, is visiting the hardware stores in person since they don’t advertise most discounts — and the discounts are probably unique to each particular store location. 

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Sears is offering a deal right now on this Craftsman digital multimeter with auto-ranging and non-contact voltage detector.  It’s listed at $40 but when you add it to your shopping cart the price drops to $25, a handsome $15 savings. Besides auto-ranging, the multimeter features non-contact voltage measurement from 100 to 600 VAC, AC/DC voltage measurement with a 0.5% accuracy, resistance measurement, diode and continuity testing, and a back-lit LCD screen. It also comes with test stand, rubber holster and test leads.

82314 Digital Multimeter [Sears]

Aptly named after American inventor Thomas Edison, the Edison Project is Craftsmans answer to other tool companies’ more active means of finding new ideas for hand tools, power tools or garden tools. They want you to bring your ideas right to them!

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Sears is holding a post-labor day tool sale.  The more you buy, the more you save:

• Spend $279 - $399 and receive 10% off
• Spend $400 - $499 and receive 15% off
• Spend over $500 and receive 20% off

And if you’re not looking to spend that much, maybe the 50% off deals will interest you”

• There’s a Companion 3.2A jigsaw for $12.49, and if you buy it online you’re entitled to a free 12 piece blade set that’s worth more than the saw itself.
• There’s also a 54 piece driving set for $12.49,
• an 8 LED worklight for $14.99,
• and a 20″ plastic toolbox for $9.99.

Note: The sale prices don’t appear until you get to the checkout page, so don’t be alarmed if at first you only see regular prices. 

Today’s Sale Flyer [Sears]

Admittedly, we’ve had poor results with Craftsman’s other 4.8V offerings.  But maybe the impact version overcomes the others’ puny torque output.  Regardless, you can try one out for just $20.  Craftsman claims that with impact action this one can deliver 175 in-lbs of torque at up to 1,800 rpm.  It’s got a two-position handle and quick connect bit holder.

Craftsman Impact Driver [Sears]