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NO TIME FOR poor quality tools
animaux wrote in message ... On 26 Apr 2003 13:11:26 GMT, wrote: Am I the only one who buys better tools and doesn't have to return them at all? I just don't get this whole "They break alot, and this is a feature" sales thing. I'd rather have a tool that stands up to long work and won't break 6 times. I bought a yard broom way back in the sixties and apart from three new heads and two new handles it is as good as it was the day I bought it:-) |
NO TIME FOR poor quality tools
wrote: Am I the only one who buys better tools and doesn't have to return them In the last two years I've thinned 3 acres of woods, that eat up 4 pruners. I have added a weed whacker with a brush blame so I should slow down on breaking pruners. During the same two years I've dug, screened and move over 40cu yds of soil. This week I've moved over 8 tons of rock. The largest piece of equipment I have is a lawn tractor, w/trailer. It was all done by hand shovels break. I had an Asparagus Bed I HAD to dig up that ate two digging forks. That was when they were wooden handles. I turn my gardens by hand and I have so many rocks in my gardens the tines in my forks weaken after a few years of digging. That has eaten up four more. I did have a shovel fall out of my trailer and somehow got run over. Not quite sure how that happened. Like I said in a previous post my tools see a lot of work and I work them hard, they break, I replace them-for FREE. Sears is less than an hour away so I can replace them in a timely manner. Kevin Remove SNIP to reply |
poor quality tools
Pity no one has handles covered in "Scotchlite"(The stuff they use on road
signs and on trimming on things like fireman's coats) on their tools, then all you would need to do to find the lost tool is to go out at night with a good flash light, they would show up so easily. -- David Hill Abacus Nurseries www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk |
NO TIME FOR poor quality tools
On Sat, 26 Apr 2003 06:22:01 -0500, "DaveG"
wrote: (Partially snipped) Anyone who ever holds a Snap-On ratchet in their hot little hand will never buy another Craftsman ratchet, IMO. That's the key. Holding the ratchet. Where does the average joe six pack go to buy Snap-On? Gee, just a couple click away is: www.snapon.com or www.ebay.com I agree about the superior quality of these tools, though. My pal is a diesel mechanic, and uses this brand. There used to be a bigger difference between Snap On and other tools but not anymore. Snap On is excellent but S-K, ACE Professional, NAPA, Kobalt (Lowes) are equivalent quality in wrenches, ratchets, sockets, etc but not as wide a selection but much lower cost. Craftsman is a little lower in quality but not as much as you'd think. (a little hunkier form factor but probably about as strong as Snap On which is a tad more compact and can get into tighter spaces). A lot of mechanics are saying hell with Snap On and buying Crapsman. They are really a pleasure to use. But man do they cost! But he makes good money at his job, gets a tool allownace, and can depreciate the costs on his income taxes, not so for most of us. You're right. Snap On is double the market price for equivalent quality but that's based on: 1. The 1:1 service from a dealer. The dealer can't operate off retail margins. Mechanics hate to spend their weekends shopping for tools. That 2X price is worth it to them to get localized one stop shopping and credit and beside that, the dealers are usually good salesmen or they don't survive. Joe six pack doesn't get that service so why pay for it. 2. Snap On is a "cult". The "pecking order" of mechanics is often a function of who has the largest Snap On "hot dog stand' w/the most tools. Dave Jan |
NO TIME FOR poor quality tools
davefr wrote in
: On Sat, 26 Apr 2003 06:22:01 -0500, "DaveG" wrote: (Partially snipped) Anyone who ever holds a Snap-On ratchet in their hot little hand will never buy another Craftsman ratchet, IMO. That's the key. Holding the ratchet. Where does the average joe six pack go to buy Snap-On? Gee, just a couple click away is: www.snapon.com or www.ebay.com I agree about the superior quality of these tools, though. My pal is a diesel mechanic, and uses this brand. There used to be a bigger difference between Snap On and other tools but not anymore. Snap On is excellent but S-K, ACE Professional, NAPA, Kobalt (Lowes) are equivalent quality in wrenches, ratchets, sockets, etc but not as wide a selection but much lower cost. Craftsman is a little lower in quality but not as much as you'd think. (a little hunkier form factor but probably about as strong as Snap On which is a tad more compact and can get into tighter spaces). A lot of mechanics are saying hell with Snap On and buying Crapsman. They are really a pleasure to use. But man do they cost! But he makes good money at his job, gets a tool allownace, and can depreciate the costs on his income taxes, not so for most of us. You're right. Snap On is double the market price for equivalent quality but that's based on: 1. The 1:1 service from a dealer. The dealer can't operate off retail margins. Mechanics hate to spend their weekends shopping for tools. That 2X price is worth it to them to get localized one stop shopping and credit and beside that, the dealers are usually good salesmen or they don't survive. Joe six pack doesn't get that service so why pay for it. 2. Snap On is a "cult". The "pecking order" of mechanics is often a function of who has the largest Snap On "hot dog stand' w/the most tools. As a female that bought many tools (company paid for) Snap-on tools are weighted well and feel good in your hand. I also ike Proto tools. I buy Snap-on for my personal use. I call them on the phone and a truck shows up with my tools. |
NO TIME FOR poor quality tools
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NO TIME FOR poor quality tools
On Sat, 26 Apr 2003 19:02:15 GMT, animaux wrote:
everything from Elliott Coleman designed tools, Smith and Hawkins, and up. I've paid 45 dollars on shovels and 10 dollars. Both wore out or got chipped. I have black soil, Texas T...ya'll come back now. Ewww...gumbo. I hate that sticky black dirt. It's like shoveling un-chewed bubble gum. I think you could make armor-piercing tank shells out of it when dried in the sun. Bob |
poor quality tools
The message
from "david" contains these words: Pity no one has handles covered in "Scotchlite"(The stuff they use on road signs and on trimming on things like fireman's coats) on their tools, then all you would need to do to find the lost tool is to go out at night with a good flash light, they would show up so easily. Funnily enough, I've got a forester's treeplanting spade made by Chieftain Forge (Scotland, possibly Grangemouth) which has a something very like that on the shaft; about the only tool that never got lost in our last (very large) garden. It has a narrow blade infinitely useful for all sorts of other jobs. Janet. |
NO TIME FOR poor quality tools
On Sun, 27 Apr 2003 07:56:08 -0500, Bob Adkins wrote:
Ewww...gumbo. I hate that sticky black dirt. It's like shoveling un-chewed bubble gum. I think you could make armor-piercing tank shells out of it when dried in the sun. Bob Yeah, well! It's also loaded with minerals and life now that I put a few dozen yards of compost on it and I do work it all by hand at the proper time. No tillers for me. Not to change the subject, but finally this will be the first year in this garden where plants are maturing in their places and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel of constantly planting and honing. Trees are growing, shrubs are growing, things are flowering and are mature. Perennials look great. Strawberries have fruits the size of a half dollar coin. I love my garden now. It's really getting there. V |
NO TIME FOR poor quality tools
In misc.rural Warren wrote:
wrote: Am I the only one who buys better tools and doesn't have to return them at all? I just don't get this whole "They break alot, and this is a feature" sales thing. Well, you probably are one of the few who use a tool the way it's designed. Most of us not only don't own more than one general use hammer (as opposed to the correct hammer for various jobs), and a lot of the time we don't bother getting the hammer out. We use whatever solid object is handy as a hammer. I'm not sure about that. Yes, I have an awful lot of tools, and almost always try to use the appropriate tool for a job; breaker bar for stuck bolts, the correct hammer, and so on. But, I'm pretty sure I'm not alone here - I'd suspect that the majority of folks who have tools that they rely on, will have and use them properly? Also, with many tools, there are parts that are meant to wear-out, or even break under stress. Wooden handles come to mind. It's simply easier, and not much more expensive, to replace the whole tool than it is to buy a new handle, and repair the tool. It is? When I need a new handle, I go down to Farm & Fleet, pick one up, drill/drive the old one out, and install the new handle. 15 minute job, tops. And finally, to many people, what the tool is used for is the activity they are focused on, not maintaining the tool. When I work in the garden, I tend to work until I'm ready to drop. I barely have the energy to collect the tools and put them away, let alone clean them and maintain them. On the other hand, you may fall into the category of people who love their tools, and the activity is just a way to show how you can use the tool. Hm. I was always taught that the job isn't over until the tools are put away. To each his own. Personally I'm glad that there are inexpensive tools that are never intended to be repaired that are sturdier than toys. It means I don't have to feel guilty when I replace my shovel instead of repairing it after I've used it to move a boulder instead of getting a bar that was designed for the job. I can pound that nail with the side of my ratchet wrench. I can open the paint can with the screwdriver, and I can use the tiny bypass trimmer to hack through a woody growth twice the size it was designed to snip. No way I could do this if my tools were expensive. And I don't have to set aside time for tool maintenance, either. Just because they're expensive doesn't mean they don't get used, and occasionally abused. I figure the difference is that the expensive one will take more use and more abuse. In my father's day, my attitude towards tools would have been in the minority. These days, thanks to those inexpensive tools, I may be in the majority. I don't know - how about it? Are these two ways of looking at tools a clean distinction, and who here falls into which category? I'll buy a cheap tool for a one-time job, sometimes, but usually prefer to "do it right". Dave Hinz |
NO TIME FOR poor quality tools
In misc.rural animaux wrote:
On 26 Apr 2003 13:11:26 GMT, wrote: I mean, 3rd replacement since December? How much do you garden? How big are your beds and how often do you work them, and move plants around and change things? The veggie garden is maybe 20x30 feet, there's about, er, 6 flower beds around the house & yard. The big work I do with a backhoe/loader, or one of the little tractors. The rest is by hand, mostly with tools which are older than I am. I am constantly honing my garden with transplanting and moving around. Making new beds. Running into major rockage. If you are a weekend gardener, good tools may last a lifetime and not break a lot, but I do not have that same experience. I think we're coming at this from two different perspectives. For me, the heavy work is done by hydraulics, so I think we're talking about two very different situations here. Dave Hinz |
NO TIME FOR poor quality tools
Jan Flora wrote:
Anyone who ever holds a Snap-On ratchet in their hot little hand will never buy another Craftsman ratchet, IMO. Absolutely! And its not just ratchets - all of their tools have a quality feel that's unmatched by any other brand. (except for the knuckle busters - why oh why did Snap-on stoop so low as to make a crescent wrench???) Many years ago I worked in a Snap-On plant - oh the sight of a tub full of sparkling chromed wrenches.... AL |
NO TIME FOR poor quality tools
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NO TIME FOR poor quality tools
AL wrote: Jan Flora wrote: Anyone who ever holds a Snap-On ratchet in their hot little hand will never buy another Craftsman ratchet, IMO. Absolutely! And its not just ratchets - all of their tools have a quality feel that's unmatched by any other brand. (except for the knuckle busters - why oh why did Snap-on stoop so low as to make a crescent wrench???) Many years ago I worked in a Snap-On plant - oh the sight of a tub full of sparkling chromed wrenches.... AL I worked in the auto repair biz for 20 years and would tend to agree....BUT..the cost is also something to consider. The feel and operation of a Snap-On combo wrench is beyond compare, but the prices are inflated. The same story goes with hand ratchets, versus other less-expensive brands. I have broken/worn out dozens of Craftsman ratchets, and although they were all repaired/replaced without question, the time wasted in returning them was not insignificant. On the other hand, I own lots of Craftsman wrenches and have never had to replace any of them due to defects. Granted, I will still reach for the Snap-On first. I have also been lured by the cheap prices of Chinese tools.....and been burned more than once on that stuff. The quality is SO poor that it probably would never make it past QC anywhere else. Had a vise I bought that had been filled and sanded before painting because the casting was so porous that no one would have bought it. Unfortunately, I found this out after it broke. I also have a Chinese grinder that has wheel shrouds and tool rests made out of sheet metal slightly thicker than a beer can. Gotta stay away from eBay, Will |
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