Beware cheap tools....

Mark42 · Oct 16, 2010

When mounting the outboard on my boat, I had used two C clamps to hold the motor tight to the transom while marking for the bolt holes. Suddenly SNAP! and one C clamp comes flying off.

This one I had for a few years, used it mostly for gluing up wood. Tighten it up for a serious job and it broke. Yes, it does say "taiwan" on the side.

First time I ever broke a C clamp like that. It pays to buy good tools.

Summer Fun · Oct 16, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

What !!. Do you want a pity party over this ??.

marine4003 · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

the same can be said for anything..its false economy to buy cheap. Its a waste of time to do jobs half assed,and finally....never spit into the wind..OR pull on Supermans cape...i'm tellin ya..

Haffiman · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

That is simply a safety measure built in in case you accidentally had your thumb between when tightening.

Mark42 · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

Summer Fun said:
What !!. Do you want a pity party over this ??.

Of course. Glad to see you picked right up on it.

marine4003 said:
the same can be said for anything..its false economy to buy cheap. Its a waste of time to do jobs half assed,and finally....never spit into the wind..OR pull on Supermans cape...i'm tellin ya..

yep, I know it was cheap stuff. I have some magnesium alloy super light weight C clamps that have done serious work and never broke. Never found another set like that. But they were not cheap, either.

Haffiman said:
That is simply a safety measure built in in case you accidentally had your thumb between when tightening.

Hmmmm. Hadn't thought of that!

Limited-Time · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

Its obvious you exceeded the manufactures recommended amount of torque on the t-handle. To blame the Manufacture for your brazen carelessness is just wrong.

Vlad D Impeller · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

It's always a bit disappointing when a tool fails on the job, whether it is inexpensive or not. However by the looks of it, it seems that you did get your moneys worth out of it.

bruceb58 · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

Not sure you can blame a tool for breaking, no matter what the quality, when you are using it for a purpose it was never intended.

fishrdan · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

bruceb58 said:
Not sure you can blame a tool for breaking, no matter what the quality, when you are using it for a purpose it was never intended.

You mean clamping???? He wasn't using it as a sledge hammer, pry bar or gantry crane hook...

I've abused my fair share of clamps and never seen one fail like that. I agree about buying quality, even though I don't all the time. About 25% of my clamps are name brand, others are HF specials. I've never broken of maimed one of the name brand clamps, but have probably broken their number in cheap HF clamps. Though,,, if I I'm going to be abusing a clamp, I make sure it's a cheapie.

Mark42 · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

fishrdan said:
You mean clamping???? He wasn't using it as a sledge hammer, pry bar or gantry crane hook...

I've abused my fair share of clamps and never seen one fail like that. I agree about buying quality, even though I don't all the time. About 25% of my clamps are name brand, others are HF specials. I've never broken of maimed one of the name brand clamps, but have probably broken their number in cheap HF clamps. Though,,, if I I'm going to be abusing a clamp, I make sure it's a cheapie.

Yes, I was just tightening it up on the transom. When the broken ends were inspected, there were air pockets in the cast iron! Pretty low grade iron, I guess. And a very course grain.

dlngr · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

Reminds me of a real el-cheapo porta power[hydraulic jack for auto body work] I bought years ago. Broke every piece I looked at!! Talk about some cheap cast iron! The only "proper use" for the thing was to use it to hold down the box it was shipped in.
Oh BTW-Shame on you for using a c-clamp to clamp something!!

bruceb58 · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

fishrdan said:
You mean clamping???? He wasn't using it as a sledge hammer, pry bar or gantry crane hook...

Mark42 said:
When mounting the outboard on my boat, I had used two C clamps to hold the motor tight to the transom while marking for the bolt holes..

Using it to hold the motor onto the transom doesn't sound like clamping to me. Their purpose in life is to hold two pieces of metal or wood together temporarily while you work on them. Holding an outboard motor onto a transom isn't in their job description.

I have dozens of clamps I use for my welding. Not sure I would use any of them, including the good ones to hold up an outboard motor.

I don't know...maybe its just me. I wouldn't be betting my outboard motor to be held on for the work you described by a c-clamp such as this one, especially one that says Taiwan on the side of it.

dvandsm64 · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

hate to say this. i'm a union worker , but i've snapped a craftsmen rachet. of course i had a 3 ft. cheater and pushed it with my foot. we all learn our lessons.

Moody Blue · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for, in most cases. I won't get into the details of how I broke a 3/4"drive 36" Snap-On breaker bar

.

dwco5051 · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

Moody Blue said:
I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for, in most cases. I won't get into the details of how I broke a 3/4"drive 36" Snap-On breaker bar .

How about a hint such as how long the piece of pipe you slipped over the handle was.

As far as c-clamps go a drop forged one will bend before it will break but you won't find them in the any tool for a dollar display at your local discount store

mscher · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

Mark42 said:
This one I had for a few years, used it mostly for gluing up wood. Tighten it up for a serious job and it broke. Yes, it does say "taiwan" on the side.

First time I ever broke a C clamp like that. It pays to buy good tools.

"This one I had for a few years" is key point here.

20 years ago, China was still emerging from Communist darkenss, trying to join the real world, by mfg, in stone-age factories, cheap, poorly deisgned products, with minimal engineering and little or no quality control. That c-clamp may have been made from "mystery metal" mfg in what is the equivilent, of somebody's barn.

It a whole different game now. China's factories and steel mills are some of the most advanced in the world.

Instead of "make us some pliers and they should look like this..", if Irwin want pliers made there, they surely have design and quality assurance requirements, that the mfg vendor must meet and usually they will meet the requirements, daily.

It not the old China any more.

kenmyfam · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

mscher said:
It a whole different game now. China's factories and steel mills are some of the most advanced in the world.
It not the old China any more.

Have to disagree with this. Came back from China a few weeks ago and because of the standard of workmanship in their die shops I have to return in a couple of weeks to help them finish the job properly. Their brochures are glossy and they have a lot of state of the art equipment but the bottom line is they are still extremely inexperienced at using it and making quality tooling. The Japanese are very good and the Koreans are doing very well. China is still many years behind in my industry in my humble opinion.
Getting tooling at half price is a false economy when you have to bring it home to finish it properly. I hope my executive management have learned from this experience !!!!

NYBo · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

mscher said:
"This one I had for a few years" is key point here.

20 years ago, China was still emerging from Communist darkenss, trying to join the real world, by mfg, in stone-age factories, cheap, poorly deisgned products, with minimal engineering and little or no quality control. That c-clamp may have been made from "mystery metal" mfg in what is the equivilent, of somebody's barn.

It a whole different game now. China's factories and steel mills are some of the most advanced in the world.

Instead of "make us some pliers and they should look like this..", if Irwin want pliers made there, they surely have design and quality assurance requirements, that the mfg vendor must meet and usually they will meet the requirements, daily.

It not the old China any more.

And the C clamp in question wasn't made in mainland China. It was made in Taiwan.:redface:

srimes · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

bruceb58 said:
Using it to hold the motor onto the transom doesn't sound like clamping to me. Their purpose in life is to hold two pieces of metal or wood together temporarily while you work on them. Holding an outboard motor onto a transom isn't in their job description.

" I had used two C clamps to hold the motor tight to the transom while marking for the bolt holes. "

Sounds like clamping to me. He wasn't running the boat with it. You should be able to hand tighten as hard as you can without snapping them, as long as you don't add an extension for more leverage.

kenmyfam · Oct 17, 2010

Re: Beware cheap tools....

NYBo said:
And the C clamp in question wasn't made in mainland China. It was made in Taiwan.:redface:

Good point.

Beware cheap tools....

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