Eastwood? Quality?

[vavet]

Where is Eastwood in the tool spectrum? Is it decent quality? Is it ****? Somewhere in between?
I’ve never been a customer. It seems they cater to DIYers and the tools and materials are already “pre-matched” so rookies aren’t overwhelmed. Curated if you will?

 

[^&right]

My experience - their tools are on par with old harbor freight ****. Hand tools anyway. Had a digital air pressure regulator that was absolute JUNK. Posted a review twice and they deleted it - twice. Trim removal tools were pressed sheet metal. Did the job but you had to be careful with them. A pneumatic flange/punch tool worked great for about an hour then began loosing steam and effectiveness. Harbor freight sells this same exact tool for about $50 less. Their powder for powder coating is overpriced. I do have 2 paint guns from them that look nice but I've never used them. They were expensive for Eastwood and just handling them I'd expect them to do a decent job. Their stuff usually works, but there is a reason you won't see it in professional shops or even with people who do this on a semi regular basis.

I haven't bought from them in years. Just not impressed with them. Kind of like Gander Mountain. A huge selection of products, but you can get better for less elsewhere if you do a little homework. Its fun looking through their catalogs, but I've given up on them.

 

[Fedwrench]

I think you have to judge each tool on a case by case basis. Are you talking hand tools, fabrication tools, welders?

 

[DFB]

I bought two full sets of Cro-Mo 3/8" impact sockets both shallow/deep combo's the packaging sleeves though carrying Eastwood labels were Apex.

Overall the sets were generally very decent with good storage case.

I was especially satisfied with the smaller SAE set (which was my first purchase) to use with my 2 3/8" drive Milwaukee impact wrenches both M12 and M18 on my job. Worked it hard so I bought the larger metric set for almost double the price.

My only beef is/was their Customer Service. I had one loose fitting 18mm deep socket would actually fall off the wrench with a good shake so I asked for a replacement they sent me a 11/16 deep socket which was obviously wrong but subsequent correspondence with CS told me they met the warranty by supplying me "a replacement"

Though they have some unique things for like restoration purposes I don't do business with them anymore.

I also notice they seem to be carrying less and less handtools

 

[impactims]

The mig welders are mediocre at best. The price of admission is low and the quality is proportionally low. Definitely not professional grade.

 

[ZRX61]

A lot of their **** is EXACTLY the same as Horrible Fright.. with a 400+% mark up.

 

[Gammz]

I bought their 175 amp mig welder about 4 years ago. Worked good for a while. However it seemed like I had to have the Gas really cranked up to get good flow and nice welds. Well.... as it turns out the drive roller assembly is made of plastic. It was cracked. So gas was leaking when welding. Now it’s broken completely. So it don’t work at all. I may have a source for a replacement thru Miller. Like 60-80 bucks. If it will bolt on. The other issue is you can’t change the drive roller from .030 to .025. It has the provisions to do so on the roller but it’s not held on by a set screw it’s with a snap ring on the back side of the damn roller. Ugh. I’d hate to junk my welder for a lame *** less than a 100.00 part.


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[mike1956]

I owned the Mig 175 and have to say it was a pretty good machine. Definitely better than HF stuff. It came with a spool gun to weld aluminum which I never used. I currently run a Lincoln which is twice the price but never had a problem with the Eastwood

 

[dnschmidt]

I see little future for Eastwood. The reason: Most of their customer base is dying off. Young people don't give a **** about restoring cars as cars aren't important to them. They look at them the way I do a refrigerator, as an appliance. I have one of the SCT machines and that's the bomb for stripping paint off a car. But I bought one of their file belt sanders and it was worthless right out of the box as you could not lock the arm into position. So I'm not super impressed.

 

[2oolhound]

I found out about them when researching buffing supplies and learning about buffing. They offer a lot of downloadable info on buffing on their web site. I ordered the big kit and a bunch of wheels which was very competitively priced for me in my area. They have a lot of painting and metal finishing chemical kits etc but mostly I like the info they provide on these subjects. I'm afraid they are like Jet Tools however, they find manufacturers and often sell their products under their own name like so many suppliers do. Do your homework and pick and choose what makes sense to you.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Anything I've bought from Eastwood I was satisfied with. Look through their catalog, they have a lot of stuff you didn't know you needed.

 

[gte718p]

I have there little high frequency tig. It is not a bad little machine. I got it on sale and for the price I can't complain. Of course a Tig is not exactly a complicated machine. It is standard generic Chinese.

 

[Showkey]

The mig welders are mediocre at best. The price of admission is low and the quality is proportionally low. Definitely not professional grade.

Totally disagree..........great price, warranty and performance on par with all the other Lincoln or Hobart.


As for other tools it’s case by case..........example: their flare tool is perfection, paint products are very good to excellent.