Inferior imported tools

[jonesg]

Re: Inferior imported tools

I used to be a liberal, but I opened a business 20 yrs ago and got a reality check. Thinking back at the way I thought the world worked, it would take a heart of stone not to laugh at myself.

Bought a chinese air impact wrench, all it did was hiss, I took it apart and refitted it with plenty of lube and it works great. I'm very happy with it now, $24 can't be beat. If that puts some union laborer out of a job,,,I'm just heartbroken.
I don't mind having to bring certain cheaper tools into tolerance, but my lathe is American.

GM builds auto's but they spend more on health benefits than steel.
When assembly robots get sick they get melted down and recast into new machines.

I grew up in europe and America is still the place to be.
I ignore the socialists , I'm a capitalist and my job is to outsmart them.
America, at its heart, is free because Our Creator said so.
In the end thats what counts.
If I had stayed home , the idea of owning a boat would not be an option.
Its important to me to remain gratefull, lest I start thinking I know better how to run the world.

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: Inferior imported tools

Let's get off the political stuff fellows.

 

[Coors]

Re: Inferior imported tools

Great Neck was crap in the 60's.

 

[rocket1968]

Re: Inferior imported tools

The lady in the McDonalds drivethrough didnt get millions. (i worked in the corp offices,s he got like 89K, still a lot of money for a dumb old bag who spilled hot coffee on her box.) And the good rule I try to follow is find out how to pay the least amount of taxes and exploit it to the hilt.

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: Inferior imported tools

I have also said for a long time that if you don't like this country there are 360 degrees worth of exits, pick one and LEAVE!!!

...I don't quite get that statement. Why leave? Its not like the current system is locked down and has been frozen in time to now be untouched never to evolve...right? Why not stick around and help make it better...why quit? The future is what allows people to constantly improve something...which you will never do if you don't admit what isn't working...right? If people left everything they found that wasn't quite right....they would never succeed...anywhere. Silvertip makes some great points well worth reflecting on.
My two bits
All Good
BP

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Inferior imported tools

Unfortunately the people that do all the grumbling about how bad things are are those that stand around looking for a hand out. Those are the one's that should get off their behinds and get with the program. We are simply asking them to make themselves useful or get off the bus. Go anywhere else in the world and see what you get for free.

 

[flowjet_man]

Re: Inferior imported tools

Don't get me started on this subject....but...

We can all point the finger at many things....Labor unions not willing to make concessions during tough times. Companies looking to appease shareholders by cutting costs and move labor offshore. Lack of tort reform driving up legal and insurance costs for everyone. Regulations on businesses that other countries don't have. Companies moving too slow to embrace automation in an effort to compete better with cheap labor countries. The list goes on and on.

That being said, don't believe for a minute that it is a lack of trained, skilled labor or quality engineers in the US. I've been to China. I've seen metal products in China being stamped out there. In the US we would build a very complicated stamping die being run by one person on one machine that does everything. In China, they build 8 simple dies with 8 presses and 8 workers. They do one operation, hand it off, do the second, third, and so on. The labor is that cheap. I work for a machine tool manufacturer that builds in the USA. Our machine that COSTS 140K to build competes against Chinese built models that SELL for 60K. While there are significant differences, and we sell more machines, at what point are buyers unable to justify such a different in price? Technological advancments mean very little when patents aren't recignized by China. We've even found Chinese knock-offs that came with a photocopied version of our own maintenance manual! The vast majority of "Made in China" products are engineered in the US anyways with only the labor outsourced to China. China does not freely trade it's currency (The yuan). It is artificially devalued, making Chinese goods overly cheap in this country and our products overly expensive there. Most of the blame, however, lies with the American consumer. I am guilty at times too. They will brag to their neighbor how they bought that whole tool set at Harbor Freight for only $50. Two years later, that same guy will get laid off from the shoe factory and blame the government, the Chinese, the Unions, everyone but HIMSELF.

 

[Bigprairie1]

Re: Inferior imported tools

....ok, enough soap boxing...lets get back to tools. I don't particularly always care where the tools are made but they have to be reasonable quality. I have no call to financially spend the dough on buying Snap-on stuff....love it, but no need for that. Happy to browse the Snap-on truck tho'
Gray, Husky, Craftsman...generally all provide pretty good value. Its not just about 'getting the best'. If it was we would all be in the poor house after setting up 1/10 of our lives. I love the Dewalt stuff on the power tool side...but I have to budget up to it when I decide to buy. I'm a hobbyist and thus don't use hand/power tools for a living...so I try to buy reasonably responsibly within a budget....or heck, rent from time to time.
Not everyone can just afford to go out and completely maximize cost for quality for a relative short term minor job. Sometimes a cheaper, perhaps semi-disposable, tool is just what the doctor ordered.
That said, I never buy those super/ultra obvious cheap tools you see at flea markets.....those definitely are not worth even the trip home usually.
There is some great middle ground in tools...you just have to find it.
All Good.
BP