Going tool shopping.

[sscotsman 186]

Chuck,

I get what you are saying..

and I agree that its ridiculous to OVER pay for something..

but..Im not talking about $75 more for a wrench set..

im talking $5 more..

and yet most people wont even pay $5 more to buy a made in the USA set versus made in China..whatever is the absolute cheapest, thats what (most) people will buy..even it saves literally one or two bucks..(and puts American workers out of jobs.)

And probably 90% of the time (especially these days) the Made in the USA stuff really is of much higher quality..not always, but usually..

I like to save money too..but within reason..

"saving money" isnt automatically my number 1 concern when making a purchase..

if it was, I would be driving a Kia rather than a Ford, because its cheaper..

but often its very much a false savings..

Over on one of the snowblower forums I frequent, a guy was bragging that he gladly buys the "low-end cheap" snowblowers for $500..as opposed to the "suckers" who buy $1,000 American made snowblowers..

when pressed, he admitted he has purchased three $500 snowblowers in the past 10-15 years!! (and will likely buy his fourth soon) while the guys who bought the $1,000 snowblowers will use them for 40 years without needing to buy another..

so the savings arent always as great at the seem when you are actually in the store..

often it "pays" to pay more up front..

I would place my purchasing criteria in this order.

1. Quality first (I will pass over the US-made product if its lower quality)

2. Made in the USA vs. foreign made.

3. Price

People who place price at #1 usually end up paying a lot more in the long run..

they usually dont realize it though..

like the guy who will pay $2,000 for four snowblowers over 20 years rather than $1,000 for just one..and he will think he is saving money because he only pays $500 at a time..

Im sure you tractor guys run into this too..there are a lot of low-end cheap tractors out there in the stores..people buy them because they are cheap..then buy another 5 years later because its cheap..then buy another 5 years later because its cheap...

yep..those cheap Chinese made tractors and engines are really saving people money..

Scot

[Ken B 3,189]

I'm with you Chuck. Working as a mechanic for many yrs I've amassed all different brand names of tools. One of the tools I have that I dislike the most is a Snap On half inch drive long handle swivel head ratchet that I paid big bucks for. I hate the ratchet mechanism it has, its junk in my opinion and I barely ever use it, and its Made in the USA. Just the ratchet was 200 bucks.

While nosing around the Depot and TSC the other day I was looking at the tools. I'm always looking for extra sets of wrenches, sockets, etc to keep on the boat or use in my home garage. I DO buy Made in China tools. The quality on most of these tools are much better than just adequate and they won't drain The Wheel Horse funds. I can remember way back in the 70's, if a tool said Made in China, you ran for the hills! The quality was terrible back then and they would break if you looked at them wrong. I'm one of the last guys that wants to support China but if you are on a tight budget (I am) and you want new Made in USA tools it'll cost ya. I was at Sears a month ago and I saw a bunch of Craftsman tools that said made in China on them as well. The quality looked to be pretty good. With a hobby, in my opinion, its all about the most bang for your buck and any buck I can save is a buck earned. Cheaper isn't always better and vice versa. I always look to buy made in USA first but I'll buy whichever makes the most sense.

As always, your mileage may vary, what works for one may not work for another, do what works best for you, tail light guarantee only, and last but not least, the beat goes on. B)

[Sarge 3,465]

Not even gonna take any sides with import tools, I work in the Trades so that's an easy answer.

However, as far as overall quality, durability and price given vs payback- there are a lot of variables out there.

If you want a good, high quality, built like a battleship angle grinder- look at the Metabo. I've burnt up 2 Dewalt's and repaired several others, they just can't compete are were nearly the same price as the Metabo. German made probably the most durable power tool I own.

I too own some import junk name hand tools, only when I know they are something that will work and if they fail-off to the scrap pile they go. Most of my stuff is US made and cost quite a lot , but I've also gotten 25+yrs out of those items. It's also very true that even US made stuff is getting cheaper built to compete, not always a good thing either.

'nuff said !

Sarge

[dadstractor1 5]

i am a mechanic and love craftsman tools, do break sometimes ,but free replacement,buy very few imported tools, dadstractor . B)

[tophatbufflo 2]

You had the right idea with flea markets. I set up at one once a month in the summer and aquire alot of tools there so I don't know what to suggest for your HD card. My budget doesn't allow me to shop much at most tool stores. Good luck

[Save Old Iron 1,571]

I would place my purchasing criteria in this order.

1. Quality first (I will pass over the US-made product if its lower quality)

2. Made in the USA vs. foreign made.

3. Price

Maybe I misunderstood your original question but you said you had 50$ to spend on tools. If that is your weekly tool budget vs your yearly budget, my mistake.

And remember my qualifying statement - Don't read my post if you make a living with your tools - that's a whole nuther story.

Define for me what a "quality tool" is.

Lets pretend you have a half dozen bench grinders in front of you - no colors - no labels or price tags - no previous experience with them.

Tell me how you choose the highest quality tool.

[sscotsman 186]

My original comment about $50 was based on a $50 Home Depot gift card I recently recieved..

it really has nothing at all to do with a "tool budget"..

I really dont have any kind of "set" budget right now, for anything..

but then this thread kind of switched to a discussion about tools in general, (which is fine) and the $50 is basically irrelevant now..

Thanks to this thread, I think I now know the next few things I should get first for my future workbench/workshop.

A work bench.

angle grinder

bench grinder

bench vice.

(I also already have a drill press, forgot to mention that..

I use it for projects like this:

webpage about building the locomotive:

http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/scottychaos/steam.html

the drill press will also get mounted to the bench)

Those will be the next things I look for..

Maybe I will just use the $50 gift card to buy lumber, build my own work bench!

As for how to tell the quality of a row of bench grinders?

test them all out..look at the materials they are made of..all metal? some plastic?

try actually grinding something like an old lawnmower blade, check the torque,

see how smoothly they run..(I read a review on one of the HD grinders where several people said they vibrated very badly when new..thats not good..)

anything else specific to look for? I dont know how you could determine the quality of the motor..but better performance and more robust exterior would probably imply a better quality motor inside..thoughts?

thanks,

Scot

[CasualObserver 3,410]

Maybe I will just use the $50 gift card to buy lumber, build my own work bench!

Here, here! Now that's a fine idea! I would definitely suggest building your own to suit your needs rather than buying any prefabricated ones. One thing I would suggest considering is whether you want it to be movable... you can put it on some locking swivel wheels. That's what I did with my tractor table.... my main bench is mounted solid to the wall.

[linen beige 15]

anything else specific to look for?

Beuatiful locomotive!

The most important part of any bench grinder set up is the wheels mounted on the grinder. Look for the highest RPM rating you can find. The higher speed wheels are of much higher quality and last longer. It's also important to have one coarse and one fine wheel. A wire wheel is nice for cleaning, but they wear fast and are cheap enough to keep one on hand so you can mount it up when needed. VERY important to make sure it is rated ABOVE the RPMs of the grinder motor!

I agree 100% about building your own bench. I don't think I've ever seen a pre-fab bench that was built at a comfortable height. Jason's idea of including locking casters is very good. You may also want to include an electrical outlet box (or two). Wire it so the box can be plugged in to your shop and tools can be powered from the outlet box. That way you only have one cord going from the bench to the wall (less trip hazard).

On the made in China tools subject...Y'all remember all the Wheel Horses that got melted for scrap last year? Maybe some of them are coming home reincarnated as wrenches. B)

[Save Old Iron 1,571]

Scot,

A quick idea for a bench TOP - lay a stack of (16) 2x3's on their side to form a 24 x 8 ft surface similar to a cutting board.

Snap a chalk line across 4 points perpendicular to the length of the 8 ft. Drill 5/8 holes thru each of the boards on the 2 inch face at thy snap lines . Drill pocket holes on the front face 2x3 and the rearmost 2x3. You end up with 16 2x3's, each with four aligned holes thru the 3 inch face.

Lay all 16 2x3's side by side - edge down - on a flat surface - all the holes should align to allow a threaded rod to be inserted from front to back of this "stack".

Tighten the nuts which will draw all the 2x3's into a rock solid 24 x 98 workbench. Cut off the remaining threaded rod so it does not extend beyond the face of the 2x3's.

Place this bench top on a stand of your own choice or making. I use 4x4 lumber for the legs - cross braced by 2x6 lumber.

Absolutely rock solid - no deflection what so ever and a solid foundation for vices and bench grinders of any vintage or origin.

p.s you can place a layer of tempered hardboard down on the surface to finish it off - but if your doing any e tank work with wet pieces - the hardboard is about as water resistant as a graham cracker!!

You will definitely spend your $50 at home depot on this project.

I'm pretty sure the lumber will be made in America - but I'm not sure if the gift card your buying it with was printed in America. That would be a dilemma for you, yes ??

Enjoy the hobby.