Poll, Two items simular in features and construction, which would you buy?

[Glenn]

Poll, Two items similar in features and construction, US vs Pacific rim, which would you buy?
There were 53 votes on this poll.

I only buy US made goods if they are available.
16 votes or 30.2%

US made if it were the same price as foreign made
10 votes or 18.9%

I would pay $120 for US made instead of $100 foreign item
7 votes or 13.2%

I would pay $150 for US made instead of $100 foreign item
6 votes or 11.3%

I would pay $110 for US made instead of $100 foreign item
5 votes or 9.4%

I would pay $130 for US made instead of $100 foreign item
4 votes or 7.5%

Foreign made if it were the same price as US made
3 votes or 5.7%

Double the price and I would still go with US made
2 votes or 3.8%



I know that you can not find two items of similar features and construction one made in US and the other foreign made. The foreign made is usually of less quality and is designed to sell for less. But if we could find two similar items with similar features and construction, which would you choose?

[Bear]

Hi Sam and all,
I try to buy quality when it is something i will use alot- But then there is a lot of brands that used to be quality and now are nothing but crud. Most craftsman stuff has gone down the tubes. Most of their air tools are nothing but crud and not any better than HF air tools and they cost about 3 times as much so i have a bunch of hf air tools( because they get used but not nearly as much as other things we have). The reason pacific rim tools sell so well is not just the price but because unless you are buying snap-on or mac( there is a few others) you are not buying something that is much better than the cheap tools. Dewalt is starting to cheapen out since B&D bought them. that is why i'm looking for older wood and metal machinery to restore to use as it is much better quality than todays standards.


Sean

[RBrown]

Allot of it depends on what situation im in. When i was working on heavy trucks for a living i got snapon, cornwel, matco and other expensive tools to do my job to give you an exampe i payed i beleve about $400 for my 1/2 snapon impact gun did the job of a 3/4 gun. they held up better and did the job that needed to be done. I used those tools to make a living with so a payed the higer price for the best tools i could get. My blacksmith shop on the other hand is a hobby that only pays for its self some of the time. i have to take money out of my income to buy things for my shop instad of my shop paying for the tools. If my shop was full time and i had to rely on the tools to make a living with i would buy the best i could afford to buy to make my living with. cheep tools work but they dont always do the best job and they brake more offten. Having good quality tools will normaly mean you get the job done faster and better than with cheep tools.

[mcraigl]

That's a tough one Glenn. Japan turns out some fine tools. Mitutoyu calipers are as nice or very close to as nice as Starrett for instance. I'm using chinese angle grinders HF & Ryobi because I can afford to have 4 of them so I never have to change wheels unless they're worn out. All for the price of one US made one. My new Makita cordless drill will kick the pants off any made in america and it's made in Japan. 'Course it costs as much as any of the US ones too. Most of my handtools are US, and for those I'd pay quite a bit more. Be interesting to see what others think about this.

[Glenn]

My original thought was to follow up this poll with a duplicate poll only with the tool being from Europe, UK etc. It will be interesting to see how it develops.

[Bear]

i don't know about that craig. My DeWalt since i got the newer style of 18v batteries just keeps going, and going, and going- and i havent bogged it down yet.I 've had it nearly ten years and it was reconditioned to boot. I looked at the new dewalts and i am starting to see more plastic parts than before. Hitachi makes some decent lower priced cordless tools too.


Sean

[FredW]

I spent about 10 years as a union sheet metal worker and we thought there were no other tools than those made in the USA. I Remember bumper stickers that said You can't eat your import. We were always pro USA. Now if I want to buy an American car I buy a Toyota. We would only buy made in the USA sheets of steel at first then eventually buy Japanese because the quality was as good or better and at a much lower cost. We bought som Mexican steel once and it was the worst stuff we ever used. That was also the last time we bought it. Most of my fovorite tools are USA, but I have a lot of tools made all over the world. Very few Snap-on as I can only afford Craftsman some of the time (most are garage sale and auction tools). I have Hitachi, Dewalt, Black and Decker, Skil, Milwakee, and Makita power tools, oh, and some Chicago Electric (HF) and by far the best I have are the Hitachi, Milwakee, Makita followed closely by the Dewalt. Chicago Electric are pretty much throw aways.

Fred

[Mark Parkinson]

for me made in U.S. is foreign made but I do understand the idea I buy Canadian whenever I can, but quailty wins out over price every time with me. I have found some Asain (mostly Japan) import tools of better quaility than both Canadian and U.S. manufacture and in some cases the bonus was that the import was cheaper....go figure

[jayco]

I buy U. S. made tools when I can....and expect to pay a little more. But, I do buy foreign made tools,also.

Somehow, this poll reminds me of the 'Buy American' campaign of a few years ago.I think that movement pretty much ended when it was discovered that very few items were 100% U. S. made.

I do try to buy good tools........whether U. S. or foreign made.
Economics and world trade are vast subjects which I understand little about.

I do believe this however......that we vote with our dollars when we buy things.
If we buy good tools we encourage the manufacture of more good tools.
Same thing happens when we buy the cheap stuff.

James

[Bjorn]

I really don't see the advantage of only buying US made things, I feel that the jobs of people in other nations are just as valuable as those of Americans, and If I support the trade between nations and the global economy, their relationships will become stronger and united under a common cause of capitalism, thus making the world a more peaceful place. befitting all. But when It gets down to selection I usually tend to stick with what I can afford and won't fall apart to quickly, these tend to be of foreign make so I buy them. Yep thats all

-Bjorn

[Blacksmith Jim]

Yesterday, before I read this thread, I was out looking for a few tools. I decided I would try to buy American instead of Chinese just to support the US economy. I quickly discovered that the problem was I couldn't find any US made tools. I did find a couple of tools made in Mexico.. A little closer then China, but still not US.. I went home empty handed..

[tbrforge]

I don't know of anything American made that has all American components. If the quality is the same the next consideration is customer care. Price is important and usually wins out. Its a world wide market place.

[Glenn]

Poll, Two items similar in features and construction, US vs Pacific rim, which would you buy?
There were 53 votes on this poll.

I only buy US made goods if they are available.
16 votes or 30.2%

US made if it were the same price as foreign made
10 votes or 18.9%

I would pay $120 for US made instead of $100 foreign item
7 votes or 13.2%

I would pay $150 for US made instead of $100 foreign item
6 votes or 11.3%

I would pay $110 for US made instead of $100 foreign item
5 votes or 9.4%

I would pay $130 for US made instead of $100 foreign item
4 votes or 7.5%

Foreign made if it were the same price as US made
3 votes or 5.7%

Double the price and I would still go with US made
2 votes or 3.8%

[evfreek]

I had an odd experience trying to decide whether to buy the US made or Chinese made tool. I was looking for an epoxy grout float. It is important that these floats be solid and stiff, else the grout will slough out of the gaps. Epoxy is thicker and less adhesive than mortar base. The made in US tool was decent, but a little flimsy. The China made tool was beefy, solid, and had a look of quality. It was also twice the price. Guess which one I bought?

After applying the grout, which the apparently superior China made tool seemed to do quite well, final inspection showed that the rubber pad had slightly dissolved in the chemical constituents of the epoxy. This would have been OK, but the pad was colored green, resulting in green streaks in my new epoxy grout job.

This experience is very typical. A high level of quality and engineering with one or more fatal flaws. Usually a stress riser, or an incorrectly spec'ed material, the weak link spells a short and unhappy life of the product. And I guess I have to admit it: not worth it at twice the price.

[Dan P.]

Im in the UK, and, like many in the US, it is not very often I have the option of buying a British made power tool, if ever. I have actually never bought a first-hand British made power tool. Now, as a blacksmith, I have the option of buying British made blacksmith tools, but I don't, because those I have come accross are rubbish (in my opinion). It's an example of a difficult position I find myself in, because it is obviously upsetting to see how the industry of production has been so utterly devastated in this country, but why should I buy a sub-standard tool?

[Glenn]

Same questions but now the poll is Europe/ UK vs USA tools.

50 or so votes and we will then compare the two numbers.

[welder19]

When it comes to tools, I buy for quality, I will do with out before I buy cheap tools. If a tool costs $100 and a cheap imitation is $50 and I only have $60 then I'll be back when I have another $40.
This is from experience, I make my living with tools. I would rather improvise for a little while than spend hard earned money on something that will not stand up to the demand I put on it, cause now Your out $50 and still don't have a tool to do the job, so now you say, darnit now I have to go and buy that expensive one, so in the end it cost you $150 instead of the $100 in the first place. Or you go and buy another cheap one, then you spent $100 anyway.
How ever you do need to watch, the price does not always determine the quality, just most of the time.
I have started buying Rigid tools, they give life time warranty on there tools, even brushes and on their cordless tools they even give lifetime warranty on the battery's, and I have no complaints yet on anything I have bought.
I did have a battery that went bad, but they replaced it with no problem.
And they run the same price as the others except Hilti, but I don't make my living with those types of tools and they are just too much $ if your not using it everyday.

welder19

[jonathan king]

i would recomend supporting your countrys tool industry as it keeps people in jobs and the u.s tools are of a good standard.
Most of the tool production has gone to china ,and in the u.k all we can now get are cheaply made eastern imports which i refuse to buy as they are made of bendy steel.

[Glenn]

US vs Europe / UK, Two items similar in features and construction, which would you buy?
26 votes on this poll.

Foreign made if it were the same price as US made
6 votes or 23.1%

I would pay $110 for US made instead of $100 foreign item
5 votes or 9.2%

I would pay $120 for US made instead of $100 foreign item
4 votes or 15.4%

I only buy US made goods if they are available.
3 votes or 11.5%

US made if it were the same price as foreign made
3 votes or 11.5%

Double the price and I would still go with US made
2 votes or 7.7%

I would pay $130 for US made instead of $100 foreign item
2 votes or 7.7%

I would pay $150 for US made instead of $100 foreign item
1 votes or 3.8%

[forging1]

Imports whether tool, or cars are like cancer. Like most types of cancer you can survive for awhile but it’s going to consume you until all which is left is a lifeless shell.
Our forefathers understood that a healthy economy stood firm based on exporting more than you import. I believe its that simple.
Imports are getting better but when the sweat meets the steel and USA ((we)) put our minds to it our products far exceed lousy imported xxxx.
I know Im going to take a bashing for this next statement but so be it.....you import car drivers make me sick!!!
Why?? When you’re tooling along and pass a person of Asian descent 99% of the time they are driving an import. They have more loyalty to their own than we have right in our back yards! Sometimes there is no choice but come on struggle a little show some patriotism!

[jayco]

This poll really made me think about tools and quality. Thinking is a good thing.I found myself asking other questions, like.....Why does the quality of tools and other products made in different parts of the world vary so much?

I think the responsibility for quality rests on the shoulders of the company or manufacturer. The 'better' companies make 'better' tools........largely because they WANT to make 'better' tools.

If the company is proud of it's name and proud of it's products and the employees are valued for their skills and paid accordingly.....then everyone is part of the "team". Good work and good tools are the end result.

If, on the other hand.....the company merely exists to make a profit...then you find poorly equipped factories set up somewhere around the world where it is easy to exploit workers and skirt environmental laws(if they even have any there).....(i.e. sweatshops)

And because there is no "team" of people striving to produce a good product......you get instead,....cheap,shoddy,imported goods.

And finally,the company that cares about it's workers probably cares about it's customers as well.

The company that doesn't care about it's workers probably views it's customers as someone else to exploit.

Well,time to get off my soapbox.........James