# Craftsman bolt on vs black and decker matrix



## Tecwritr

Does anyone know if the Craftsman bolt on and black and decker matrix are interchangeable.


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## GeorgeC

Maybe someone else on here understands what you are asking, but I have no clue.

George


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## DaveTTC

Some pics of what you are talking about might help. In Australia we have many equivalents by other names.

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## woodnthings

*me also????*



Tecwritr said:


> Does anyone know if the Craftsman bolt on and black and decker matrix are interchangeable.





GeorgeC said:


> Maybe someone else on here understands what you are asking, but I have no clue.
> 
> George


matrix? :blink:


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## Tecwritr

http://www.craftsman.com/bolt-on/dap-120000000297215

http://blackanddecker.com/matrix


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## wericha

It's possible, Sears don't make squat. All their tools are built by others and branded.


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## rrbrown

They look very, very similar but all it takes is one little thing different to stop them from interchanging. In this case it may be the same.


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## ryan50hrl

I highly doubt they're interchangeable. Sears is good at requiring a small difference so you have to buy the craftsman stuff.


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## Tecwritr

My wife gave me the craftsman bolt-on drill driver kit for Christmas but everybody is sold out of the attachments. I've seen photos of the sanding attachment for both brands and they look like the same photo. I've order the B&D matrix sander from Amazon. I'll let you know if they're compatible.


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## vinnypatternmaker

Hi!
Learned a new definition for the word "matrix" today :huh:!
Best,
Marena and Vinny


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## jschaben

I learned a couple of things today too, I had no idea what either was. 
Now that I know though, I'm with Ryan, Sears has a history of specing tools from vendors just enough different that nothing works with it that doesn't have the Craftsman brand. One reason I have only Craftsman hand tools in the stable and not many of them. 
Looking at the selection of add ons, I would bet the circ saw and the router option would be pretty worthless. The rest I would give a resounding maybe. :smile:


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## rrich

jschaben said:


> ... Sears has a history of specing tools from vendors just enough different that nothing works with it that doesn't have the Craftsman brand.


+1 here!

I had a Craftsman rotary mower that needed an engine rebuild. The piston and therefore the rings were slightly larger, gaskets slightly different, mounting holes just a bit off of the norm. Part costs were three to five times more expensive.

The lawnmower shop said that that it would be cheaper to install a new "standard" engine but the mounting holes were just a bit out of alignment. The guy advised that I buy a new mower and NOT FROM SEARS. BTW - This shop didn't sell mowers.


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## Tecwritr

I received the black and decker matrix sander attachment from Amazon and it is compatible with my Craftsman Bolt-on system.


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## DaveTTC

Tecwritr said:


> I received the black and decker matrix sander attachment from Amazon and it is compatible with my Craftsman Bolt-on system.


Cool, glad or works. Tried looking at your links earlier but they would not load for me, might be my wireless broadband. I have difficulty with many websites from this app

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## mkasprz

this makes no sense. engines for all mower brands come from just a few of the same manufacturers. Sears wouldn't have the expertise to tell an engine manufacturer to use different gaskets and rings. I have friends that work at Sears corporate engineering and i also know key engineers at Honda and briggs and stratton. Sears would not be getting an engine with different internal components.


rrich said:


> +1 here!
> 
> I had a Craftsman rotary mower that needed an engine rebuild. The piston and therefore the rings were slightly larger, gaskets slightly different, mounting holes just a bit off of the norm. Part costs were three to five times more expensive.
> 
> The lawnmower shop said that that it would be cheaper to install a new "standard" engine but the mounting holes were just a bit out of alignment. The guy advised that I buy a new mower and NOT FROM SEARS. BTW - This shop didn't sell mowers.


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## mkasprz

Its not comparing apples to apples. I've worked for key electronic, cellular manufaturers, and even for Sears Holdings for awhile. Odds are you are correct as far as interchangability and it's even possible that black and decker makes the craftsman. But after looking deeper for a few minutes Sears uses different batteries, charger solution, and chuck which appear to be much better than the B&D. the sears is a quick boost 30 minute charge and B&D is overnight. Sears has a huge product quality team and i guarantee the Sears brand has much strickter quality standards than what B&D shipped out. Sears fixes the gaps to give you the best total experience. Fixing the lame battery and charging solution that B&D has. And i know for a fact quality standards are much better on Craftsman. I would buy the Craftsman.


ryan50hrl said:


> I highly doubt they're interchangeable. Sears is good at requiring a small difference so you have to buy the craftsman stuff.


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## DaveTTC

Not unusual in Australia for a larger chain store to get something made specific for them so that 'price matching' cannot come into play because there product is unique

Dave The Turning Cowboy


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## cm2658

They're exactly the same, just took my craftsman bolt on into Walmart and all the black & decker matrix attachments fit, the only difference I could find between them (other than the price) is the craftsman 20v battery is 26Wh and the B&D battery is 22Wh


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## ryan50hrl

Just because they fit doesn't make them the same, there could (I don't know this for a fact) be internal quality differences. It's like comparing the rigid an craftsman table saws, they are similar, but not the same.


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## cm2658

ryan50hrl said:


> Just because they fit doesn't make them the same, there could (I don't know this for a fact) be differences. It's like comparing the rigid an craftsman table saws, they are similar, but not the same.


No, they're exactly the same except for price, color, and the battery capacity. Even the model numbers on the bolt-on and matrix units themselves are identical after the first two characters. The regular drill/driver accessory that comes with the craftsman unit is CMCMTDD, the black and decker drill/driver accessory that comes in the box is BDCMTDD (feel free to Google it to verify, I did before typing this just to make sure). The drills look exactly the same except for the color scheme, the batteries are interchangeable and are a perfect fit, and I'd be willing to bet all the other interchangeable accessories all have the same model number beyond the first two characters just like they are on the standard drill/driver accessory. The only difference between the two that I could find other than the price and color scheme is that the Craftsman unit comes with a Die Hard battery ( I spent a while comparing the two at Walmart because I was kind of disappointed to learn they're the same). With that said I'd still prefer to have the Craftsman over the Black & Decker just because of principle/reputation/past experience, but it is nice to know that I can get the accessory units from Walmart a lot easier and cheaper than it would be to get the comparable craftsman accessory, and the same goes for the batteries. 

If I'm not mistaken the standard Black & Decker Matrix unit was $79.99+tax at Walmart, and I got my Craftsman Bolt-On unit new in box for $60 after shipping from eBay, so I am not complaining in any way. I had just tried to look up whether these two units were the same or not earlier today before taking my drill into Walmart to find out and didn't find a definite answer anywhere so after realizing they're the same I joined this forum just to share what I learned today in hope that this helps somebody else on down the road so they don't have to do what I did and get strange looks from people and crap from the Walmart associate when I was leaving until their manager came and told them the drill I had wasn't from there because they don't sell Craftsman tools.


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## Atrain

*A real answer*

Hey I found this in an amazon review hope it helps and here is a link to the page
24 of 27 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Drill., February 28, 2013
By Kevin Jones (New York, New York United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Craftsman -16496 - Bolt-On 20 Volt MAX Lithium Ion Drill/Driver Kit (Misc.)
Great drill for the price (80 dollars) and for all you owners out there, the Black & Decker "Matrix" attachments work on this drill as well. I called B&D and they confirmed and I have bought several "Matrix" attachments and have had no problems whatsoever. So if Bolt-on attachments continue to be sold out you can always get "Matrix". Hope this helps!
Amazon.com: Customer Reviews: Craftsman -16496 - Bolt-On 20 Volt MAX Lithium Ion Drill/Driver Kit


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## Vern Too

Tecwritr said:


> Does anyone know if the Craftsman bolt on and black and decker matrix are interchangeable.


Yes 100% I have 2 bolt on's and 4 Matrix handsets and all attachments with 6 batteries and chargers everything works together


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## TimPa

Funny, the new forum format apparently shows old posts of interest, and then someone brings them back to life!!

i do enjoy seeing some posts from the ol' timers though!


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