Tool Quality Declining?

[blenkie1]

thats easy rectified ,take of flex and cut it off either side of the flex protector pull the cores out and clean it out with a drill bit and fit and glue in in new flex with superglue i do it all the time .ive just done one today on an industrial floor polisher

Yes possible brightspark but a lot faster and easier with 2 screws even I could do it!

 

[daleyd]

There's a good reason for that: if you halve the voltage you double the current required to flow through the windings in order to produce a motor as powerful. So a 110V motor is wound with thicker copper than a 240V one and will cope with the thermal cycles as well as the impact of being dropped when hot, far better than a 240V equivalent.

Good point, Id never thought of it like that. One thing which did cross my mind though is that in general 110 volt tools will be produced for the professional market, DIY stuff is almost always (I'm sure there are exceptions) 240 volt.

 

[mr migwire]

there also seems to be several models in manufactures ranges now for example bosch, there are the green pws which are aimed at hobbiest users then there are the blue gws which seem to be pro units, most of the big manufacturers seem to do this, i tend to spend a bit more on dewalt stuff as it seems to last, that being said i have an old 110v metabo 115mm grinder which still does a turn and an old perfomance power (B+Q) 9" grinder which does still work but is kept as a backup, the old addage still seems to apply...buy cheap - buy twice.

 

[clift_d]

You can still get good quality stuff which will last for years, and which is repairable, but most people aren't prepared to pay for it because they're so used these days to getting bargains. Since most of the market is aimed at cut price offerings, the manufacturers generally have reduced the cost of the things they produce, and quality is one of the big things that have let go to make those savings.

As above - buy cheap buy twice (or more)

 

[julianf]

Were the older tools, proportionately, more expensive?

Ie if an older grinder was [x] percentage of an average weeks wages, is the new grinder the same percentage?
And, if its not, if you were to spend the same percentage as the older grinder would have taken, would you get the same quality?



Also -

You have to remember the statistics are skewed - people talk about the grinder that theyve had for 30 years, but not the grinder that they purchased 30yrs ago, and only lasted 2 years. That one is long forgotten. So the only 'old' tools that get compared are the ones still in service, not the ones that died years ago!

 

[normspanners]

I have a 9 inch makita angle grinder that i inherited from my father thats nearly 20 years old thats still in perfect condition despite having a very hard life.

Only 20yrs HA That a new one!! I bet its got spindle lock on it and everything.

I bought 6 makita 9" 110 and 240 maybe 35 yrs ago second hand from a fab shop and have used and used them,I've changed the brushes etc a few times, and the odd switch i even converted one to a 12" hand held cut off.
The prices are not much difference now than then I am sure new ones where £150 -£170 then (weeks wage then just a little more?) so could be a LOT cheaper now.
I bought an ALDI one coz it was £19 a few years ago, I was out doing a job and was told just turn up we have everything needed, the bosch one They had, that I was using vibrated like mad (even with new discs) and was hurting my white finger, so bought this to try and I still have it, and use it at home, I dont pick it by choice coz it has soft start, I just like it to start and get on grinding not have to wait for it to prepair itself, I'm so used to the makita as soon as the switch is hit your grinding.

 

[brightspark]

years ago tools were expensive and labour was cheap now its the opposite expensive labour and cheaper tools .production runs are many times faster now so costs are down

 

[brightspark]

The crap thats for sale everywhere dilutes the price of quality goods. People see these "tools" and think I could get 3 of them for the price of one good one. They dont seem to care that they dont work as well. The quality manufacturers are forced to cut costs or close down.

Ive had the same issues for the past few years with welding wire. Eventually many of those tempted by chinese / indian prices have come to their senses, realised they were buying crap and that quality products arent that much more expensive. Weve had to hold our nerves. How many times have I been told "we would love to buy British if you could supply at Chinese / Indian prices"...............Would they tell Mercedes that they would love to buy one of their cars if only they were the same price as a Daewoo..........

that will be the daewoo

 

[Rocketman]

Electric tool can be insane cheap now days I really think that is the main issue people see with tools lasting. It's a miracle some things are made for the price when you consider the shipping and costs involved by the time the third party is selling it.

 

[zzr1200]

My Black & Decker grinder bought second hand in about 1980 is still going strong, so that's 34 years of use and it had a years use before I bought it.

I also have a 7" B&D angle grinder, I brought it when I was 17, I was 59 last month its had a few new mains power cables fitted to it and hundreds of grinding disc's....

The old stuff was built to last, the new stuff is throw away....

AEG always used to be the best years ago...

And the best drill I own is an old Blue & Grey Wolf 5/8" gut buster drill...

 

[ukracer]

Electric tool can be insane cheap now days I really think that is the main issue people see with tools lasting. It's a miracle some things are made for the price when you consider the shipping and costs involved by the time the third party is selling it.

shipping is a joke compared to the price of some items.

 

[premmington]

Power tools are cheap now!

We buy Dewalt 115mm and 125mm grinders. They seem to last longer than Makita and Hitachi ones. Last two Dewalt 125mm grinders I bought had huge 1400w motors.

Only electrical power tool I think are expensive which we buy are long nosed electric die grinders.

I do think, extra thin cutting discs now make my grinders last longer..

 

[mechman]

What about silverline then

 

[Maker]

Only electrical power tool I think are expensive which we buy are long nosed electric die grinders.

It's strange how they're so expensive when you consider they're just angle grinders without the gearbox on the front and really just the same thing as a wood router.

Maybe, not being aimed at a DIY market, die grinders are made for pro's and the quality (and price) reflects that, i.e: they're the only decent tool produced now.

 

[cumbriasteve]

I also have a 7" B&D angle grinder, I brought it when I was 17, I was 59 last month ...

Can you remember what you paid?

I paid £25 for mine second hand and £25 was a hell of a lot of money then, I know I was a bit short with the truth when the wife asked how much it cost.

 

[brightspark]

It's strange how they're so expensive when you consider they're just angle grinders without the gearbox on the front and really just the same thing as a wood router.

Maybe, not being aimed at a DIY market, die grinders are made for pro's and the quality (and price) reflects that, i.e: they're the only decent tool produced now.

its down to numbers . the more they produce the cheaper the price so to get tooled up for one offs is going to cost more

 

[Big Pete]

tools are pretty cheap nowdays, my first (B&D) angle grinder was ~£60 which was a pile of cash at the time, now you can pick up a 4.5" grinder for £20, so I have 4 or 5 of them, each fitted with a different sort of wheel. If one dies on me I can live with the minor PITA of changing wheels occassionally until I get a replacement.

 

[DanielW]

What are peoples opinions on the quality of tools? In particular power tools, angle grinders,drills etc.
I set up a thread looking for suggestions on what grinder to buy and most people seem to agree that the older models seem to be better quality and more reliable than new models from the same manufacturer.
What do people think about this, are the older ones really better or are we just imagining it?

You will get a whole lot more life out of any power tool if you use it in a manner it has time to cool down,that is a lot of people use the tool till its got really hot and this not good for the motor.

And inspecting the brushes once a year.

 

[Maker]

The only power tools I've ever had die were my Dremel in which a brush shattered and damaged the armature beyond repair and an old blue Bosch sander which does still work but the switch is locked permanently on. All my other new stuff is holding up... so far.

 

[anto44]

Only 20yrs HA That a new one!! I bet its got spindle lock on it and everything.

Yeah has a spindle lock that still works perfect, the only thing thats not original are the brushes. This grinder done 10 years of heavy construction use before i got it.