CRAFTSMAN

The Best Wet/Dry Shop Vacuums for Garages: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

CRAFTSMAN 16 Gallon 6.5 Peak HP Corded Wet/Dry Shop VacRunner-up

A big, widely available tank that undercuts the top pick on capacity and price.

Best for: Shoppers who want maximum capacity and easy parts availability at a fair price.

$$ · mid-range

The Best Brad Nailers: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

CRAFTSMAN CMPBN18K 18 Gauge Pneumatic Brad Nailer

Ships with a sequential trigger rather than a selector, which removes the trigger choice in the safer direction.

Best for: Anyone who already owns a compressor and would rather the tool make the safe choice for them.

$ · budget

The Best Rotary Hammers: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

CRAFTSMAN CMCH234B V20 Brushless RP SDS-Plus Cordless Rotary Hammer

Two joules without a cord, which is the whole argument, and enough for anchors if not for volume.

Best for: Anchor setting and occasional concrete work away from power, where mobility is worth more than energy per blow.

$$ · mid-range

The Best Utility Knives: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Craftsman CMHT10353 Folding Utility Knife with 3-Blade Storage

An all-metal folder with spare blades stored inside it, which neither DeWalt manages, on a listing that will not tell you exactly what arrives.

Best for: People who want a pocket folder that carries its own spare blades, and who are willing to find out what is in the box when it arrives.

$ · budget

The Best Air Compressors: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

CRAFTSMAN CMEC6150K 6 Gallon 150 PSI Pancake Compressor

Matches the DeWalt on airflow while being louder with less pressure, and its own horsepower figure cannot be pinned down.

Why we skip it: 78.5 dB against the DeWalt's 75.5, for the same air.

$ · budget

The Best Belt Sanders: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Craftsman CMEW213 3 in. x 21 in. Belt Sander

The cheapest way into the category, running at roughly half the Makita 9903's top speed with no way to change it.

Why we skip it: 800 fpm with no variable speed, against 690 to 1,440 ft/min on the Makita 9903.

$ · budget

The Best Benchtop Planers: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

CRAFTSMAN CMEW320 12 in. 15 Amp Benchtop Thickness Planer

Leads on sixteen thousand cuts per minute, which is its own two knives times its own RPM and predicts nothing about finish.

Why we skip it: Quotes 16,000 cuts per minute, which is simply two knives multiplied by 8,000 RPM and omits the feed rate that determines cuts per inch.

$$ · mid-range

The Best Caulk Guns: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Craftsman CMCE600B V20 Cordless Caulk Gun

Publishes 550 lbs of force but no rate, and lists no work light, which the other three have.

Why we skip it: Publishes 550 lbs of dispensing force, about half the Makita's 1,100 lbs.

$ · budget

The Best Circular Saws: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

CRAFTSMAN CMES510 15 Amp 7-1/4 in. Electric Circular Saw

Quotes a capacity for 2x material and never publishes a 45 degree depth, which is the figure bevel work actually needs.

Why we skip it: No 45 degree depth of cut figure is published, so the specification that governs bevelled cuts cannot be checked before buying.

$ · budget

The Best Cordless Ratchets: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Craftsman CMCF930B V20 Cordless 3/8 in. Drive Ratchet

Its published torque trails the DeWalts, and it loses on the two things that actually decide a ratchet.

Why we skip it: Craftsman's spec table lists a brushed motor, the only one in this comparison.

$ · budget

The Best Drill and Driver Bit Sets: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Craftsman Drill/Drive Bit Set (140-Piece)

A classic count trap: 140 pieces that look like value, with black-oxide coated HSS and a count padded by filler sizes.

Why we skip it: Craftsman lists the material as black oxide coated HSS, the most basic drill-bit finish

$ · budget

The Best Impact Drivers: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

CRAFTSMAN CMCF813B V20 BRUSHLESS RP 1/4 in. Impact Driver

Behind all three on every published figure, with the thinnest specification sheet of the group.

Why we skip it: 1,500 in-lb is the lowest published torque here, behind even the Makita.

$ · budget

The Best Impact Wrenches: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Craftsman CMCF900B V20 1/2 in. Impact Wrench

The cheapest way onto a half-inch anvil, and the only one here that will not tell you which torque figure it is quoting.

Why we skip it: One torque figure, 350 ft-lbs, labeled Maximum Torque with no indication of whether that is fastening or breakaway.

$ · budget

The Best Jigsaws: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

CRAFTSMAN CMES612 6 Amp Corded Variable Speed Jig Saw

A quarter less stroke than everything else here, and the only saw locked to the shrinking half of the blade market.

Why we skip it: A 3/4 inch stroke length, 25 percent shorter than the other three, so each stroke removes less and the saw cuts slower despite the high SPM figure.

$ · budget

The Best Miter Saws: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

CRAFTSMAN CMCS714M1 V20 7-1/4 in. Cordless Sliding Miter Saw Kit

A slider whose 8 inch crosscut will not reach across a 2x10, which is the board most people buy a miter saw for.

Why we skip it: An 8 in. crosscut at 90 degrees and 5-1/2 at 45, so it cannot cross-cut a 2x10 and is well short of the 2x12 the two bigger sliders manage.

$$ · mid-range

The Best Oscillating Multi-Tools: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

CRAFTSMAN CMCE500B V20 Cordless Oscillating Tool

The lowest published top speed here and, by retail listings, the narrowest angle, which likely means it cuts slower on both of the terms that matter.

Why we skip it: The 2.8 degree angle seen in retail listings would be the narrowest in this comparison, and Craftsman does not confirm it on its own page.

$ · budget

The Best Random Orbital Sanders: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

CRAFTSMAN CMEW231 5 in. Corded Random Orbit Sander, 3 amp

Publishes amps, speed and weight, and leaves out the orbit diameter that decides what kind of sander it is.

Why we skip it: No sanding orbit diameter is published on the product page, so the single most defining specification of the tool is unknown before purchase.

$ · budget

The Best Reciprocating Saws: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

CRAFTSMAN CMCS300B V20 Cordless Reciprocating Saw

Quotes a competitive 3,000 strokes per minute on the shortest stroke here, which nets out to the slowest cut of the four.

Why we skip it: A 1 in. stroke, the shortest here, so it removes the least material per stroke.

$ · budget

The Best Socket Sets: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

CRAFTSMAN CMMT12024 135-Piece SAE and Metric Mechanics Tool Set with Case

A big number on the box, three drive sizes, and a standards claim that never names a standard.

Why we skip it: States that it meets or exceeds ASME specifications without naming which, so the claim cannot be checked against anything.

$$ · mid-range

The Best Table Saws: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

CRAFTSMAN CMXETAX69434502 10 in. 15 Amp Corded Jobsite Table Saw with Folding Stand

Twelve inches of rip capacity, which cannot reach the middle of a 4 foot sheet, on the job most people buy a table saw for.

Why we skip it: 12 in. of rip capacity to the right, so ripping a 4 foot sheet down the middle, which needs 24 in., is impossible.

$ · budget

The Best Utility Knives: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Craftsman CMHT10588 Quick Change Utility Knife, 2 Pack

A retractable with three cut depths, sold in a two-pack, on a spec sheet that does not describe the object in the photo.

Why we skip it: The spec table lists Assembled Product Height as 10.0 in. and Length as 0.81 in., which are transposed.

$ · budget

The Best Work Lights: 4 Compared (and One to Skip) · Tools & DIY

Craftsman CMCL020B V20 Cordless Work Light

140 lumens, which is headlamp territory being sold as a work light.

Why we skip it: 140 lumens, roughly a tenth of the DeWalt DCL043 and about a thirty-fifth of the DCL074.

$ · budget