OT: where to buy American made tools, Sears is going bust! |
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OT: where to buy American made tools, Sears is going bust! |
914 RZ-1 |
Jan 5 2018, 08:20 PM
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#1
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Porsche Padawan Group: Members Posts: 683 Joined: 17-December 14 From: Santa Clarita, CA Member No.: 18,230 Region Association: Southern California |
So where are people buying American made tools now that Sears is going out of business? I realize they haven't made them in America for a few years, but they did. Most of my Craftsman tools are made in the US. If I ever have any warranty returns, I'm going to likely get made in China stuff.
Home Depot, harbor freight and Lowe's get most of their stuff from China. I suppose I could go to a swap meet, but those tools are pretty beat up. SK makes good stuff but it's expensive. I've bought a few Proto tools and they seem good. What does everyone else plan to do? |
914 RZ-1 |
Jan 7 2018, 03:53 PM
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#2
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Porsche Padawan Group: Members Posts: 683 Joined: 17-December 14 From: Santa Clarita, CA Member No.: 18,230 Region Association: Southern California |
Wow. I had no idea there's be this many replies!
It seems that Snap-On is the favorite, with older Craftsman coming in next. I just want to support American manufacturing and American companies. I get that we're in a global economy and that often we get "Made in USA out of global components." I can do a web search for "Made in USA tools", but I thought I'd see what everyone else thought/did. Out of curiosity I priced out a #2 Phillips screwdriver from various brands: Project Source (available at Lowes): $0.98 Harbor Freight: $1.69 Stanley $3.50 (made in USA) Husky: $4.22 Kobalt: $7.35 Craftsman: $6-7 Proto: $8-9 SK: $12 Snap-On: $24 I get paying for good tools, but it seems most of us don't need the high-end stuff, unless we are doing this for a living. Even then, it seems a steep price to pay. I'm all for supporting American companies, but at what point are we being ripped off? $24 for a screwdriver?! WTF!? How is it that much better? I've broken a Harbor Freight breaker bar, found a broken HF box wrench, stripped a few smaller Craftsman screwdrivers and broken a Kobalt screw extractor. I was not misusing any of them. All the stores gave me new ones/money back with no hassles. I couldn't find any site that reviewed tools the same way Consumer Reports reviews items. Toolguyd.com, Garage Journal and a few others have forums in which they discuss them and posters chime in, but there is no formal testing. Anybody know of any sites? I'd like to buy reasonably priced, American-made tools from a vendor that has easy, no-hassle returns. That used to be Sears. There's a Harbor Freight everywhere it seems, but I've broken more of their tools than any other. I could go with Husky or Kobalt, but they make most of their stuff in China. Stanley makes decent tools, but I want to see what happens with them "re-shoring" their manufacturing. They have many "Made in the USA" tools, but they don't seem to have too many tools for automotive use. Proto and SK can be bought online, but it seems like a hassle to return anything. I have to wait to send it there, then wait to get it back. If I need a tool now, I'm screwed. I live in LA and have hardly ever seen a Snap-On, Matco or other tool truck anywhere. I'm not so sure they'll come to my house so I can buy one tool, either. I'm not sure I want to go to them; for the prices they charge, they should come to me. Another option is to got to swap meets, but then I'm getting used/possibly abused tools. Sigh...I guess I will wait and see what happens in the tool manufacturing world and what else you people all chime in with! Happy New Year! |
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