Anyone wanna help break down sockets/ratchets to m

[gedcruise]

I'm with you on this.
Weeks may pass where I don't touch a wrench, so really good tools with lifetime replacment would be wasted upon me.
Of course, this depends upon the relative reliability of whatever we are daily-driving at the moment. Right now, I am rarely fixing anything, although we are doing about 40K each year on our little fleet.
HF or equivalent work fine for me.
I even have an ancient K-Mart beam type torque wrench, which worked fine for a couple of heads as well as the complete engine of my Vanagon.

 

[Merkava_4]

May I politely and respectfully suggest that you guys support your American factory worker by buying tools made here? It's our responsibility the end user to walk in to the store and inspect the product's label for its country of origin.

If we completely lose our manufacturing base here in the USA, where are we going to work at? Would you guys like to move to China for employment?

The age old excuse of "I don't need to buy a quality tool because I don't use it that often" doesn't cut it with me. If your financial situation does not allow you to buy a quality made tool manufactured in the USA or from our friends in Europe, please don't buy anything.

 

[Donald]

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May I politely and respectfully suggest that you guys support your American factory worker by buying tools made here? It's our responsibility the end user to walk in to the store and inspect the product's label for its country of origin.

If we completely lose our manufacturing base here in the USA, where are we going to work at? Would you guys like to move to China for employment?

The age old excuse of "I don't need to buy a quality tool because I don't use it that often" doesn't cut it with me. If your financial situation does not allow you to buy a quality made tool manufactured in the USA or from our friends in Europe, please don't buy anything.

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Its a global economy and we have to live with that fact. America has to produce what it excels at. You will not solve out trade deficit by suggesting people buy American made. There are no fax machines made in America yet they were invented in America. However the largest business computers in the world are made in Poughkeepsie NY as we excel at that.

I am not sure its fair to ask people who are not in the trade to spend big $$ for tools made in the USA. Might be nice, but not reasonable. The tools they are interested in are not just a little more, but 2X or 5X more expensive. If I was a full time mechanic I would buy very high quality tools as its needed by the business, but for many others its not.

 

[Merkava_4]

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You will not solve out trade deficit by suggesting people buy American made.

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If we all pull together, we can force the American companies that use off shore labour to pull their production back to the states and build their products here; that's all I'm asking for.

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There are no fax machines made in America yet they were invented in America.

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I'm not that concerned about fax machines.

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I am not sure its fair to ask people who are not in the trade to spend big $$ for tools made in the USA.

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You don't have to spend big money for American or German made tools. Just go to your local industrial supply and buy WILLIAMS, PROTO, ARMSTRONG, or KNIPEX.

I bought a WILLIAMS 1/4 drive universal joint the other day and it was only $15.30 The same tool from SNAP-ON sells for $32.50

 

[XS650]

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I bought a WILLIAMS 1/4 drive universal joint the other day and it was only $15.30 The same tool from SNAP-ON sells for $32.50

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Therein lies the problem. You expect Joe Homewrencher to pay as much for one off brand American 1/4 drive u-joint as he could pay for an entire 1/4 drive socket set with ratchet wrench and u-joint for a perfectly serviceable imported set.

Can I have some of what you're smoking?

US industry can make competitive products when they try. Cars and aircraft are two examples. The US hand tool industry is so far out of line with the foreign competition that the problem is obviously the industry, not the US hobbyist customer.

 

[Master ACiD]

this is off topic of the original thread. i can see this is heading south and ask yall to keep it on track.

 

[Merkava_4]

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The US hand tool industry is so far out of line with the foreign competition that the problem is obviously the industry, not the US hobbyist customer.

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I disagree with you sir. There is no such thing as fair global trade as long as China continues to fix the value of their currency to our dollar. The Chinese government does not allow their currency to float to the world market value; they keep their yuan fixed so that the value of their products are artificially low.

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Can I have some of what you're smoking?

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I do not do illegal drugs and I think that it is unfair for you to suggest so.

 

[Merkava_4]

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this is off topic of the original thread. i can see this is heading south and ask yall to keep it on track.

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That's coming from a guy who buys his tools from Harbour Freight made by someone earning 50 cents an hour or less with no health benefits and no safety standards set in place for their protection.

 

[Merkava_4]

1 Chinese yuan = 0.132956 U.S. dollars

 

[Merkava_4]

Economic Policy Institute

 

[surfstar]

After 19 years, Wal-Mart tries a new Tagline: Save money. Live Better.

 

[alreadygone]

"I bought a WILLIAMS 1/4 drive universal joint the other day and it was only $15.30 The same tool from SNAP-ON sells for $32.50 "

Didn't know Williams was still available anywhere! Unless they've sold the name off sometime in the past,,,, WILLIAMS IS SNAPON!!!!!!

Bob

 

[cousincletus]

It's good to buy American made whenever possible. I don't think I have a single foreign made tool in my box and I didn't spend an unreasonable amount of money on my tools. We all have to look out for our fellow American workers. Canadian products I'll consider same as domestic as our Northern neighbors buy lots of American products and their standard of living is similar to ours. That's what I consider fair trade. In my ventures to Canada, I actually see a higher percentage of American cars there than some areas in the USA. Another thing before I end my rant is this "world economy" be-ess is not what it first appears. Our good paying jobs and industries are leaving our country and the consumer doesn't see a major difference in price when he buys foreign products. But there is a major difference in quality. American tools are far superior to foreign junk. I guess when we lose our good jobs we will all be forced to buy the cheapest junk available because our McJob paycheck won't allow us to buy the good stuff.

 

[Auto-Union]

Just to be short, I think bigger 1/2 sockets can be cheaper, like Stanley or HF if you are just using them for hand work. A 1/2 breaker-bar and cheap 1/2 sockets are a must. Mid-range sockets in 3/8" should be decent quality 6pt in order to not mar and for stripped drain bolts. Deep sockets should be gotten too. A really big adjustable is more valuable than peope think. Good for plumbing too. My one favourite tool is my Chain Vice-Grip. That thing is wicked. Skip cheap screwdrivers, get a nice $10 Phillips WELL WORTH IT and maybe a good LARGE flat one. Buy some anti-sieze for your took box too.