Cheap chinese made tools

Woodhauler · April 28, 2014, 08:19:15 AM

Bought a 275$$$ porta power last spring, went to use it for the second time == no, work ! Its filled with oil but won't pump. Called dealer and said no return! I said no more junk shop tools for me ! Rather pay the lomg dollar and get a warrenty!It was less then a year old.

drobertson · April 28, 2014, 08:59:47 AM

Heard this once before on what might be the same unit, bad seals, only bad thing is you don't know till you need it, then its over, lots of crap coming from over there,

Chuck White · April 28, 2014, 09:04:13 AM

That is like a good majority of the stuff sold by the company we don't talk about here on the Forum!

Cheap Junk, and imitating a lot of the good stuff, made here!

sawguy21 · April 28, 2014, 09:52:54 AM

This is one of my biggest peeves. In many cases, good quality tools simply cannot be found, go cheap and take your chances or forget about it.

SPIKER · April 28, 2014, 11:51:42 AM

almost no working parts to these things (porta powers) so should be able to figure it out real easy. Most likely some rust on the ball seal. I've fixed a few myself they are like a bottle jack surprisingly simple.

I've had pretty good luck with cheap tools (with expectation of using it once or twice a year) vs something used daily. My compressor I bought a cheap one for portability little 3 or 5 gallon one for 69 bucks, works good but I dont expect to paint a car with it. I have a 5HP 175 80gal IR unit for that ;) Tools like the wrench ya have to cut in half and weld back together at 60 deg angle are great to have a good supply of these around for that need & for 15 or 20 bucks ya get full sets of them vs 60+ for part set of name brand. ;)

mark

hackberry jake · April 28, 2014, 07:10:11 PM

A couple years ago I decided to try to buy only American made tools for the shop. Sometimes you have to get 50 year old tools to find Made in America, but so far I am pleased with my old junk.

WmFritz · April 28, 2014, 10:53:37 PM

Quote from: hackberry jake on April 28, 2014, 07:10:11 PM
A couple years ago I decided to try to buy only American made tools for the shop. Sometimes you have to get 50 year old tools to find Made in America, but so far I am pleased with my old junk.

Hey now... I started "accumulating" my tools almost 50 years ago.
I think I just got called OLD. :D

hackberry jake · April 28, 2014, 11:45:12 PM

WmFritz, I meant no harm when I said my 50 year old tools were old... And I really don't want to be on your bad side if you started running tools when you were 5! :D Please don't hurt me smiley_carpenter_hit_thumb

justallan1 · April 29, 2014, 12:23:10 AM

I always take my best tools whenever I'm away from either my shop or the company shop working just so I know for sure they work. At either of the shops, worse case I have to go to the truck for what I need.
When it comes to power tools I try to get name brand stuff and have found that a lot of times 20 year old used tools from a yard sale are far better than brand new junk.

Allan

hackberry jake · April 29, 2014, 01:05:38 AM

Quote from: justallan1 on April 29, 2014, 12:23:10 AM
I always take my best tools whenever I'm away from either my shop or the company shop working just so I know for sure they work. At either of the shops, worse case I have to go to the truck for what I need.
When it comes to power tools I try to get name brand stuff and have found that a lot of times 20 year old used tools from a yard sale are far better than brand new junk.

Allan

That is what I have found as well. They could make em a lot heavier when they didn't have to send em over on a slowboat.

WmFritz · April 29, 2014, 01:58:54 AM

Quote from: hackberry jake on April 28, 2014, 11:45:12 PMI really don't want to be on your bad side if you started running tools when you were 5! :D

Just giving you a ribbing Jake. Sometimes I forget how old I am. The only tools I used @ 5 were clothes pins to clip bubblegum cards to my bicycle spokes. :D

Vicki and I were talking about tools yesterday. Somebody we know, who is an unemployed mechanic, is talking about selling his tools because he needs money. How do you sell something that you need to earn a living? I cannot imagine selling any of my tools and I don't use them to make a living. Someday, my tools will be handed down to my boys.

A couple years ago, I inherited Vicki's Dads tools. I keep them in a 30 x 30 shed next to my mill. His hand tools are so old that the Craftsman name is almost worn off the handles. Sometimes when I'm working on something and grab a wrench, I find myself rubbing my fingers on it and picture Don's hand gripping it. He owned a semi-tractor/trailer and hauled grain most of his life. I asked Vicki if her Dad could've ever sold his tools. She said absolutely not!

You cant beat quality and you cant pass down cheap tools.

Woodhauler · April 29, 2014, 04:54:19 AM

Picked up a 3/4 drive snap on tourqe wrench yesturday. They maybe made over somewhere else but they stand behind them! ;D

SwampDonkey · April 29, 2014, 05:30:36 AM

For woodworking tools I have to buy old name brands from and other EU/US/CA made. Chinese stuff is for the fellow using it about 5 times in 10 years. ;) Then again it's hard to get Table saws, band saws, drill presses, jointers that are not made in Taiwan.

Hey, the last couple Makita tools I bought are made in USA. ;D I had a small 3.5 amp Makita drill I burnt up on dowels, but had it over 20 years. I can't find a new model anything like it. You can get reverse and hammer mode, but no trigger dial to adjust speed or trigger lock all integrated like the old drill. Many small ones have no chuck, just one of them hand tighten chucks. No good, junk. You can not put much torque against plastic. :

scgargoyle · April 29, 2014, 06:48:07 AM

Pretty hard to find 50 year old cordless tools! :D

I have a lot of old stuff, and they just keep on running, but I've used about 90% cordless building my new house, and my Milwaukee (made overseas) has been bullet proof. I try to buy professional grade tools, especially power tools, but sometimes pick up a cheapie for a one-shot job.

I bought a really cheap SDS hammer drill, and it died on the 4th hole. I got a free replacement, and it has drilled many holes and is still working. Once the house is done, I won't really need it, so I got my money's worth versus buying a very expensive drill that I no longer need.

r.man · April 29, 2014, 07:53:14 AM

I just picked up an older circular saw for my daughter from the yard sale of a retired tradesman. He is probably just trimming down to two of everything. This saw is old enough that it doesn't have the safety thumb button trigger lock. I find that handy because if I am finishing a cut in a sheet that I also have to support, I am at the other side of the saw and I have to use my thumb for the trigger.

Thehardway · April 29, 2014, 08:59:09 AM

Chinese/taiwan/india/pakistan tools can be great or really bad. Have had it go both ways. I used to buy all Craftsman hand tools. Then I had a few bad experiences. My torque wrench had the handle fall off. Took it back and they said it wasn't covered under warranty or repairable. Want me to buy a new one. then a 3/8" ratchet went bad and they gave me a non-US made one as replacement. Still says craftsman but not US made. Bought some S/K socket sets here at work a few years back. Now they are out of business.

Bought some drop forged combi-wrenches about 20 years ago made in India. they have held up to pipe handle extension use and hammering. They were 3.00 for the set at big lots. They have become some of my favorite wrenches.

Still like my Channellock and some Stanley tools. I see some stanley are now made in england.

Got a cheap chinese electric impact wrench to run SIP screws for the house with some chinese torx drivers. didn't expect it to last but it has held up quite well. Better than the dewalt drill I bought.

Can't complain about my Makita cordless tools too much, and like my corded Makita's pretty well.

I think sometimes we blame the wrong people for junk tools. I had a chinese guy interning with me a few years back. I complained about a cheap chinese tool and he said it was because it was cheap not because it was chinese. He said they build to american importers specification. If they spec it cheap, they build it cheap but they also will build really good chinese tools. I suppose he is right. We should be complaining about the unscrupulous importers that buy the stuff for cheap and then sell it at a midway price point. (like Sears is now doing) It's a shame people no longer take pride in their work and standing behind a product without trying to sell you a stupid extended warranty. That really irks me.

isawlogs · April 29, 2014, 09:23:56 AM

On one of my latest buys is a sticker, made in USA, with world wide components.... May as well put made in China. :

pineywoods · April 29, 2014, 09:46:45 AM

Yeah on the old stuff. I still use a set of craftsman wrenches I bought with my mustering out pay when I exited the army in 1958. Some of the chinese stuff is ok, but a lot of the good stuff comes from Tiawan, not china. I have a vertical milling machine and a shaper that have been excellent. One sore point is electrical switches. Nine out of 10 times, that's what fails on most chinese tools.

SwampDonkey · April 29, 2014, 11:36:11 AM

I find that dust or sawdust gets on the contacts of a Craftsman belt sander table I have. Got to clean them once in awhile to work again.

boardmaker · April 29, 2014, 02:11:16 PM

Quote from: Woodhauler on April 29, 2014, 04:54:19 AM
Picked up a 3/4 drive snap on tourqe wrench yesturday. They maybe made over somewhere else but they stand behind them! ;D

Not always. My brother had an older model (about 10 yrs old) that he wanted calibrated. They said it was too old to service and only offered a small percentage off a new one as a trade in.

At that point, both him and I started purchasing Matco instead of SnapOn.

Don_Papenburg · April 29, 2014, 08:43:10 PM

Hey Scgargoyle, All of my grandfathers and most of my uncles tools were cordless . Infact I have many of their saws, drills,and planes. I even have a cordless router. Look for the
Stanley ,Diston and a few other brands.

I did buy a Milwaulkee 1/2" drill on an auction a year ago for $5.00 . It is very old all metal construction with the underline coming out of the M instead of the last E. It needed a new cord and I had to clean up the switch inerds ,works like a champ now.

jargo432 · April 29, 2014, 08:48:49 PM

If you know what your doing the best place to buy tools is the pawn shop. I bought an SK ratchet that was locked up for $3. Drove 3 miles down the road to an SK dealer at an auto parts dealer and swapped it for a new one for free. 8)

scgargoyle · April 30, 2014, 06:48:03 AM

That's true about some Chinese tools being well made. I am a tool maker by trade, and I've seen Chinese injection molds that were made to the exact same specs as US made. They're not cheap, though! I've also seen some that would have needed some work to function as boat anchors. :D

I learned something about Chinese machine tools when I had my own shop. Take a standard milling machine. All of the Chinese ones look identical except the colors and labels. Most of them are made in the same plant. As they are machined, they are graded 'A' through 'E'. The ones that come out the best are A grade, and get fitted with better bearings and lead screws. The worst ones get junk bearings and other components. An A grade mill costs more than twice what an E does, but they look identical.

petefrom bearswamp · April 30, 2014, 07:27:47 AM

Still have 80 percent of the Craftsman set my dad gave me for my 16th birthday.
Had both 1/2 and 3/8 ratchet replaced once and the screwdrivers are all gone having been used for chiseling etc over the years.
A few sockets were replaced after abuse.
Have some cheaper (read imported) tools at my mill site which do the job for me.
I have had no problems with imported the stuff but they are only used occasionally.
I have a friend that worked for IBM who told me a story that they met with Chinese reps for a component and said that they required 95 percent excellent parts.
They were told by the Chinese gent that that was un acceptable to them that they would require 99 percent from their facility.
Look at the quality of some American goods in the past, the Harley made by AMF comes to mind.
A story was that the oil leak would stop but only after the oil was all gone.

Ianab · April 30, 2014, 07:53:44 AM

QuoteA story was that the oil leak would stop but only after the oil was all gone.

That's the usual story about anything English, it will leak fluid. :D

Here in NZ pretty much all machinery is imported. Where from does make a difference. US isn't so high on the list. Chinese stuff? Depends who it's made for. What their QC is like? Chinese factories can make quality products, but it costs a similar amount to a Japanese or German factory. They will also produce absolute junk for a budget price, and that's what has given them the bad name.

My good tools are Japanese, German, Swiss etc. Bought a nice Makita electric hedge trimmer. Closer inspection, made in England ??? It's been OK, no fluids to leak out :D

Ian