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Screenshot from the Badger Workshop YouTube channel.
Welcome to The Splinter Report, where I gather the assorted interesting and amusing spooky things I’ve seen in the woodworking world. This week we’re looking at a zombified tool company, a finger-slasher, and a creepy workshop makeover.
Tool News Quick Vampire Bites
Milwaukee Chain Saw Recall: No Halloween joke for this one — Milwaukee is recalling select M18 FUEL™ 12” and 14” top handle chainsaws due to a potential chain brake issue. You can find out if your saw is affected here.
Scary Thought: Is Craftsman Just A Zombie?
Stuart over at ToolGuyd had a very interesting take this week, that Craftsman had lost the entry-level tool battle to Harbor Freight, and I think he may be right. I remember growing up that my Dad, forever frugal, had a variety of Craftsman tools. They were reasonably priced, but still of high enough quality that I ended up with a handful myself that I uh, liberated while in college. I even spent my own hard-earned money on a huge Craftsman socket set that I still use on a regular basis. As Sears sank into nothingness, it seemed like Craftsman would follow suit, until Stanley Black and Decker (SBD) purchased the brand in 2017. As Stuart points out, though, they really haven’t done anything notable with the brand since then. They’ve discontinued their best tools, bailed on their American manufacturing plans, and have seemingly sat on their hands.
At the same time as Craftman faltered, Harbor Freight has made dramatic jumps in quality and offerings. I purchased a small Quinn socket set for my car a few years ago, and the quality is a noticeable step up from even my American-made Craftsman one. It even has the same lifetime guarantee. There doesn’t seem to be any sort of similar set available from Craftsman from a caliber or price standpoint that I can find, though.
In hindsight, it’s maybe not surprising that the company that let Porter Cable rot on the vine wouldn’t know what to do with Craftsman. There seems to be a large space between Black+Decker (another brand that cheapened itself out of relevance) and DeWalt, but SBD doesn’t know how to capitalize on it in a meaningful way. The silver lining on all of this is that Craftman does still manufacture many quality products, and there’s no reason that they can’t bounce back with the right investment and marketing.
As Seen on Instagram: Fingers Beware
Earlier this week, we shared plans for miniature hand tools, but what about miniature woodworking machines? Instagram user @xr_creation_2.0 has created just that, with this very impressive jointer. As soon as the initial novelty wore off though, I began to think about what would happen if you ran your fingers into the machine by accident and… yeah, no thanks. Still, I recommend checking out the other amazing tiny creations on his page, like this cool circular saw.
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Out of Context Christopher Schwarz Quote
“So now my house is filled with three half-finished coffins”
Video of the Week: Haunted Workshop
This week’s video is a bit light on woodworking content, but it’s very on theme. Matt of Badger Workshop has started a tradition of making Halloween displays, and this year he chose dolls as his theme. It’s definitely inspired me to step up my Halloween game for the trick-or-treaters next year.
Here are some supplies and tools we find essential in our everyday work around the shop. We may receive a commission from sales referred by our links; however, we have carefully selected these products for their usefulness and quality.
