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USENET READER wrote:
I am starting a DYI home-improvement project and I notice that few power or hand tools are made in the USA. Even most of the Craftsman brand tools are made in the USA. Some are made in Taiwan (a democracy I have no problem doing business with) and Red China (perhaps I should call them Fascist China, a country where the factories are owned by the state and staffed with slave labor). Are you stuck in the '80s? Most Chinese companies have been privatized. Almost everything in Harbor Freight (except for the reconditioned DeWalt tools) is from China. The stuff is garbage and usually dies after a short period of time. Grinders and drills come with extra electric motor brushes which almost always get lost by the time you need them - and you will. HF always tries to sell you an extended warranty program, and most people I know don't buy them - even though for all intents and purposes, if you buy the EW, you can bring back the tool and swap it for a new one anytime the older one doesn't work. So other than the time you lose always gong to HF to exchange tools, that does seem like a good deal. How can American companies compete with that? They can't as long as American consumers puy the cheapest product they can find. IMO, Harbor Freight should not even be in business, but as long as people keep buying the junk, they'll survive. But I was talking to two buddies of mine and then mentioned something about the construction trades which made me wonder if any more tools are going to be made in the USA? There are some, but do you and your friends try to find them? Are you willing to pay a higher price to buy them? One guy works as a stone mason and he is finding it harder and harder to find American made tools of his trade in the stores. The Chinese-made crap (his words) are cheaply made, don't hold up to continued professional work, rivets pop, everything rusts unless you soak it in oil (which is not good for the mortar or cement, mason's hoes break after one use, etc. That's what happens when you buy the lowest cost tool. The other guy runs a catering truck that runs around to construction sites. He says that, except for the licensed trades (electricians and who are mostly younger white guys), the plumber (who are mostly older white guys) and the bricklayers (who are mostly African American) - everybody else is Mexican and they almost only speak Spanish and need a bi-lingual supervisor on the job. This supervisor - who is not dressed out for work - usually stands around talking on his cell phone, looking at his steel and gold Rolex watch - is a white guy. That's different than the crews I've seen. And the Mexican laborers I've seen are usually working their asses off. Can't say the same about some of the "American" crews I've seen. Well - the real question is - are any of the largely illegal immigrant construction workers buying quality American-made tools, or are they spending as little money as possible on tools as they might either get them stolen from a job site, or because they might get deported at any time and don't want to have any more money invested in tools than absolutely necessary? They probably represent a small total of the tool buyers. Don't try turn this into someone else's fault. The American consumer is choosing the cheapest product, which is not going to be made in the US. |
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