Tool Quality Declining?

[cianh91]

ìts purely down too how much your willing to pay me and another welder i know have bosch 36v sds drills his new with batterys and all was less than mine for just the body mine outperforms his in everyway even how long batterys last and theyve the exact same battery

regarding grinders iv had cheap and expensive its a lot down to how you treat them in our workshop iv the same 4 1/2 grinder since i started there 4years ago and it wasnt new where as the rest of the lads are killing grinders for sport same grinders just mines kept right

as already stated most companys have different levels of tools and its down to you to decide how good a one you need all tools i buy for my work are as good as i can afford without compromise where as iv tools i maybe use once a year which are cheap and cheerful

higher quality = higher price
so called good value = low standard of tool

 

[anto44]

its down to you to decide how good a one you need

I need a really really really good grinder or welding lessons ha ha

 

[zzr1200]

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.

Can't remember the price, I brought it brand new from "Southern Discount Stores" in Ilford Essex, the shop's building has been knocked down for at least 30 years and many beer tokens have been enjoyed since the day of purchase.......

 

[zzr1200]

I need a really really really good grinder

http://www.metabo.com/Product-catalogue-handheld-powertools.24048+M540727f41fb.0.html

 

[Keith 66]

I have a Bosch jigsaw that i bought in 1983, it has done an awful lot of work & is still going strong. It cost £127 back then, using a Historical inflation calculator i see that in todays money that comes to £391.62 Ouch. Trouble is our wages have not really increased to the same level & for many will be going backwards.
Quality costs but people always want something for nothing.

 

[Kent]

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?

Quality of almost everything is declining. A big part of it is internet shopping- people know only compare the cost and compare the list of useless gimmicks built in to the stuff. Manufacturers I feel are also tending towards hit the market hard for a few years and shut down, fanatically not a bad plan but those who can sit on old fashioned values will come out on top in the end.
I now tell anyone who wants a std item making that I cant do it for anything approaching the money it can be bought for as its basically true. If they want it to last a lifetime or want something they cant buy as std then fair do- other than that not worth quoting.
Got a guy here presently fixing my £4k cooker 4 th time in its 4 years and we hardly use that particular one now. If he says it wants another expensive part its going in a skip and I am fitting another oil AGA

 

[Rocketman]

Rose tinted glasses are getting a hold here.

It's ok saying stuff was great but some of the cheap old power tools back in the day were barely worth using by todays standards.

Anyone remember those sanders that you put a bit of pressure on and you could stop them? Better off using your hands.

 

[DanielW]

Rose tinted glasses are getting a hold here.

It's ok saying stuff was great but some of the cheap old power tools back in the day were barely worth using by todays standards.

Anyone remember those sanders that you put a bit of pressure on and you could stop them? Better off using your hands.

Yeah B&D was and still is rubbish,regards to sanders...palm sanders are meant to do the job and they do, that is you only apply minimum pressure too much pressure and they will shatter.
The worst sanders are those oblong pad(what your refering too?) sanders totally useless.

Have not had a problem with the Aldi palm sanders and at £12 a go I bought three.

 

[Rocketman]

Yeah B&D was and still is rubbish,regards to sanders...palm sanders are meant to do the job and they do, that is you only apply minimum pressure too much pressure and they will shatter.
The worst sanders are those oblong pad(what your refering too?) sanders totally useless.

Have not had a problem with the Aldi palm sanders and at £12 a go I bought three.

Yeah those oblong B&D sanders back in the 70's / 80's. Waste of cardboard they put them in.

 

[Cobbler]

Yeah those oblong B&D sanders back in the 70's / 80's. Waste of cardboard they put them in.

Even worse, the B & D sander attachments for their electric drill

 

[Welderpaul]

Yeah those oblong B&D sanders back in the 70's / 80's. Waste of cardboard they put them in.

My dad has one, couple of spring clips either end to hold the paper, 30 seconds sanding and the sandpaper slid off sideways...every single time without fail. Rubbish.

 

[Rocketman]

Oh yeah they did have those spring clip each end. My day had one too, probably half the peoples dads on here got conned into buying one back in the day.

The old B&D jig saws were no better. Trying to even set the blade up straight was a problem.

 

[norlander]

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)

Have to agree there, I have some top end tools from Festool,blokes are often aghast at the price,but when they see them in action they see their value-in a similar vein we have Kemppi, Lorch etc.
To an extent, we may be victims of our enthusiasm for bargain price tools, for most of us on here I expect, like me, that enthusiasm waned after using the kit for a bit.
There are exceptions to be found of course, and the quality has improved in some brand ranges-possibly the DIY shed own brands maybe?.
And I do think; like yourself, that some of the top brands have struggled to maintain quality and compete with the onslaught of the cutprice kit.

 

[Kent]

Have to agree there, I have some top end tools from Festool,blokes are often aghast at the price,but when they see them in action they see their value-in a similar vein we have Kemppi, Lorch etc.
To an extent, we may be victims of our enthusiasm for bargain price tools, for most of us on here I expect, like me, that enthusiasm waned after using the kit for a bit.
There are exceptions to be found of course, and the quality has improved in some brand ranges-possibly the DIY shed own brands maybe?.
And I do think; like yourself, that some of the top brands have struggled to maintain quality and compete with the onslaught of the cutprice kit.

The term the marketing people use is "Differentiate". that's hard when your product OR just the competitors product is on the net. I think firms that want to sell good kit need to allow for more hands on Demonstration to the customer. Some thinking outside the box is certainly required.
The original Festool plunge saw is great, now copied but ever so handy and certainly well made- ask how they might hold onto market share against cheaper competition with large marketing budgets. Don't Laugh but the likes of Ryobi could out market them no problem but out engineer them? Need to get the stuff in the hands of the potential buyer to my mind before they buy and "sell the difference"

 

[lexi]

Thing with the cheap stuff is, it is generally poor. However you will get one or two cheap grinders say. that will refuse to die.
This is poor quality control. Making something that is wayyyyy beyond spec

 

[Kent]

Thing with the cheap stuff is, it is generally poor. However you will get one or two cheap grinders say. that will refuse to die.
This is poor quality control. Making something that is wayyyyy beyond spec

I could certainly kill them for you if you want

 

[Maker]

The term the marketing people use is "Differentiate". that's hard when your product OR just the competitors product is on the net. I think firms that want to sell good kit need to allow for more hands on Demonstration to the customer. Some thinking outside the box is certainly required.
The original Festool plunge saw is great, now copied but ever so handy and certainly well made- ask how they might hold onto market share against cheaper competition with large marketing budgets. Don't Laugh but the likes of Ryobi could out market them no problem but out engineer them? Need to get the stuff in the hands of the potential buyer to my mind before they buy and "sell the difference"

That's a good idea about trying it first, it would be cool if you could pay a returnable deposit to borrow tools to try them for a few days/weeks and make up your mind, then go back and buy the brand you preferred.
Is that Festool plunge saw AKA a track saw, DeWalt's track saw is very similar to Festool's.

 

[clift_d]

The other way to differentiate is customer service which is where brands like Hilti come into their own. My Hilti plunge saw got knocked off a workbench on a job and the cast baseplate cracked so I took it to the local branch to get it fixed. They sent it up to Manchester, replaced the baseplate and gave it a once over for basically the cost of the parts, and had it back in store in three or four days ready to collect. In the meantime they loaned me a new circular saw from the showroom to use while mine was being fixed. The tools are a bit more expensive than other brands, but much better made, and you see if you can get that sort of service from other brands.

 

[Maker]

The other way to differentiate is customer service which is where brands like Hilti come into their own. My Hilti plunge saw got knocked off a workbench on a job and the cast baseplate cracked so I took it to the local branch to get it fixed. They sent it up to Manchester, replaced the baseplate and gave it a once over for basically the cost of the parts, and had it back in store in three or four days ready to collect. In the meantime they loaned me a new circular saw from the showroom to use while mine was being fixed. The tools are a bit more expensive than other brands, but much better made, and you see if you can get that sort of service from other brands.

Now that's customer service. Hilti are a very expensive, top range brand though, probably how they can afford such good service.

 

[DanielW]

Weld it is for the construction industry,always has been since as far back as I recollect 1960's?