http://www.wsj.com/articles/sears-sells-craftsman-brand-to-stanley-black-decker-1483623215

Edited December 8, 20178 yr by Ron Dudelston
tags added

You put it in a great spot Rich! Great to see ya ol pal! How's the weather up there?

There goes the neighborhood!

2 minutes ago, John Morris said:

You put it in a great spot Rich! Great to see ya ol pal! How's the weather up there?

Hi John,

It's 10 degrees this morning, lol a lot warmer than many places in the lower 48.

 

As a side note,  as of January 1 2017 I no longer have to go to work. Yes I'm now retired. Not that I really want to be retired but at age 73 physically the work was becoming a challenge.

 

Rich

4 minutes ago, lew said:

There goes the neighborhood!

Are you speaking of Sear's of me?

Just now, Richard McComas said:

but at age 73 physically the work was becoming a challenge.

Not that you want to retire! Rich, 73! You've earned it for sure.

Congratulations to your retirement! Hey, now that you are retired, we expect to see your expertise and commentary here more often! We miss ya.

i'm glad i didn't wait until 73 to retire.  45 sounded better.

3 minutes ago, John Morris said:

Not that you want to retire! Rich, 73! You've earned it for sure.

Congratulations to your retirement! Hey, now that you are retired, we expect to see your expertise and commentary here more often! We miss ya.

Thanks John, If you enjoy what you're doing it not work. That's the way it was at the School District. I'll miss it and the guys I worked. 

 

Rich

Edited January 5, 20179 yr by Richard McComas

3 minutes ago, Richard McComas said:

Are you speaking of Sear's of me?

 

Sears, of course!!

 

4 minutes ago, Richard McComas said:

If you enjoy what you're doing it not work. That the way it was at the School District

I always felt that way, too, when I was teaching. Had life opened a different door, I'd probably still be there. 

Edited January 5, 20179 yr by lew

3 minutes ago, Richard McComas said:

Thanks John, If you enjoy what you're doing it not work. That's the way it was at the School District. I'll miss it and the guys I worked. 

 

Rich

Rich, the job you had at the district was much like the job I had at Sea World of San Diego working in their maintenance carpenter shop. Not only did we perform maintenance on structures, but we built many of the furnishings and case work that each department needed. Display cases for gift shops, incubators for small animals, hanging doors and windows, and repairing this and that, is was such a fun job, and right on the bay! For lunch I'd jump in the electric cart and roll down to the bayside and sit in the cart and eat my sandwich while looking out over the water.

It was the best job I ever had, but the pay was horrible. I had to move on if I ever had any hope of supporting a family and owning our own home, I became a Land Surveyor.

 

I can fully relate to the job you had, it was hard for me to leave that one too.

7 minutes ago, lew said:

 

Sears, of course!!

 

I knew that

Maybe it's bittersweet for you, Richard...but congrats on the retirement. I'm also looking forward to seeing what great things come out of your personal shop.

Thanks Fred, everyone keeps telling I'll get use to it.

Edited January 5, 20179 yr by Richard McComas

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

It took me 10 minutes to get used to being retired. And I'm still used to it.

    Saw the SEAR's announcement this morning on FaceBook. Probably a good sign that the brick and mortar locations are soon to be history. I know when I was in the local store here in Cape before Christmas it was me and one other person in the tool dept. Back 19 years ago when I first started buying woodworking stuff I was there a lot and they had a good selection of stuff. Now it seems the prices are way too high and the selection is lacking.  The last few times I was in it seemed the department had been ransacked and never put back together.

    Maybe this will be an opportunity for some. A guy could run out and buy like all the Craftsman stuff he can afford. Hand tools and wrenches would probably be one's best bet here for longevity. Take the stash home leave it in the packaging and put it away and save it for 20 to 30 years. When the collectors market for pre Stanley tools breaks open you will be setting on a gold mine. Some of the weird stuff will probably be worth the most. Like one of the seasonal offerings this year was a hammer with an adjustable claw the other guys that looked that one over made the same comment I did when they picked that one up. Then there was an adjustable wrench that had a handle like a pair of vice grips. 

Richard, the link leads to a subscription-only website.  What did the article say? 

 

I note that many Craftsman tools are simply rebrands, identical to the original (I got a BS at Sears that started life as a Rikon).  Although you might have to dance for warranty, the parts will be as available as the OEM.

Congratulations on the retirement Rich. I think most of us when we retire miss the people and certain aspects of the job. I can say I have enjoyed my retirement. Look forward to seeing more of you and your expertise shared with us. 

 

 

I retired when I was 71. That was 14 years ago and can honestly say that I've never run out of things to do. I sometimes wonder how I ever had the time to go to work.  Enjoy your retirement.

On 1/5/2017 at 0:49 PM, Richard McComas said:

As a side note,  as of January 1 2017 I no longer have to go to work. Yes I'm now retired. Not that I really want to be retired but at age 73 physically the work was becoming a challenge.

Hey Richard, welcome back around to TPW. This is a great & fun place to spend some of your retirement time. Congratulations too on your Retirement...already been said so I'll phrase it a bit different...

Now you have time to do all the things you always wanted to do, but never had the time to do...of course that is after doing all the other things you'll find that keeps you busy.

 

One day, I hope to retire from retirement so I can do all those things I wanted to do when I retired...

 

Anyways, looking forward to you sharing projects, stories and the like. Hop in anytime you can.