....

[ike]

....

 

[Wamsutta]

I can see the poor finish of it, but which part of it is poor fit?

 

[97tbird]

Strange. All of my Matco (armstrong rebrands) were gorgeous when I first got em. They hold up pretty well too imo

 

[ike]

I can see the poor finish of it, but which part of it is poor fit?

sorry, i just tend to use the phrase "fit and finish" in reference to the overall detail of the final product.

 

[Askme42]

My armstrongs all look great as far as I know. Admittedly I'd never look a tool over that close to catch those little nicks.

 

[SASORacing]

It is common actually, there is some variance on HOW MUCH imperfections there are on any given ratchet though.

The 2nd time you drop your ratchet on the ground you will forget about it.

 

[JDon99]

You have to look at how they are made, after the pieces are forged, they most likey fall into a bin with thousands of the same parts. That is where these dings come from, there is only so much that the final finishing can clean up.

 

[mrjaw14]

I have all 3 drive sizes of the Armstrong maxx series locking flex and I didn't have any issues like that

 

[bcradio]

Yes.

 

[Wamsutta]

sorry, i just tend to use the phrase "fit and finish" in reference to the overall detail of the final product.

Those nicks are there because they throw the ratchets on a huge pile of other ratchets before they're heat treated. The steel is still in its soft state and easily nicked. Some of my Snap-on ratchets have nicks in them too.

 

[sparky5982]

I have both the 1/2" and 3/8" locking flex ratchets, and they both came flawless and they are excellent.

On the other hand, I got an armstrong 5mm hex bit socket from Mcmaster awhile back. It wouldn't fit onto my ratchet - had push pretty hard to get it on. While using it, I noticed it fit fasteners like **** and was especially damaging to buttonheads. I put my caliper on it - exactly 3/16". Cheap. WTF, Armstrong?

 

[Wamsutta]

At 01:35 of this video you'll see the ratchets falling on a stack:

 

[ike]

I figured i would get flamed for even asking. This is my first Armstrong purchase, and it is the worst condition new tool I've ever bought. I have 60 tooth Gearwrench ratchets, which are about the same as these, all of which were flawless new. It threw me to spend the extra and buy a USA made version and it showed up looking like a dog had gnawed on it.

 

[lotsoftools]

Not the best picture, but this is the end of an Armstrong 1-1/4" long pattern combo wrench I got a couple weeks ago. It came out of the package looking like this.

 

[treblarefils]

My 120xp Gearwrench flex heads were horrible. I got turned off instantly just based off condition when i opened the box. I wish i had never bought them. I guess its a roll of the dice when you order tools from online retailers unfortunatly.

 

[Askme42]

I figured i would get flamed for even asking. This is my first Armstrong purchase, and it is the worst condition new tool I've ever bought. I have 60 tooth Gearwrench ratchets, which are about the same as these, all of which were flawless new. It threw me to spend the extra and buy a USA made version and it showed up looking like a dog had gnawed on it.

What's in your pic is very minor. If tool manufacturers threw out all those for imperfections. We'd pay snap on prices for gearwrench.

 

[Jswain]

Better call the president of Armstrong direct!!!

Seriously if this bothers you, you need to wrench more and polish less. And I am all for cleaning my tools/keeping them in great shape for many many years...but calling that poor fit/finish is a shot in the wind. I am sure all ratchet assembly lines are very similar where they would land in a pile of.....other ratchets. Unless somebody here shows us a video of their Snap on's landing in a pile of rainbows and lollipops then you will probably find this in 97% of all ratchets ever made.

 

[kythri]

I figured i would get flamed for even asking.

You got flamed?

 

[franzdom]

Don't order open stock Snap-On online, they basically put everything in one baggie and throw it in an otherwise empty box. They get all tossed around and a couple scratches but it is what it is.

 

[jim1987]

You got flamed?

He means he is surprised he didn't.

 

[davethorik]

I have the Armstrong 1/4 locking flex. It came out of that plastic baggie looking like jewelry. Seriously, it appears flawless, my only complaint it has a very light oil inside and it continuously seeps out of the ratchet in my tool box drawer. but oil is better than none right?

 

[SASORacing]

Yes I would rather have an oil mess than brown surface rust on my 1/4 drive and possibly even the gears inside.

 

[Wamsutta]

I figured i would get flamed for even asking. This is my first Armstrong purchase, and it is the worst condition new tool I've ever bought. I have 60 tooth Gearwrench ratchets, which are about the same as these, all of which were flawless new. It threw me to spend the extra and buy a USA made version and it showed up looking like a dog had gnawed on it.

Where did you get the ratchet? eBay?

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

My only Armstrong tools are misc sockets, and I wouldn't say they are finished any nicer than Craftsman sockets. Honestly, by the look of the sockets, I'm not eager to go buy more Armstrong.

 

[SMKS]

My only Armstrong tools are misc sockets, and I wouldn't say they are finished any nicer than Craftsman sockets. Honestly, by the look of the sockets, I'm not eager to go buy more Armstrong.

It's been well published here that Armstrong and Craftsman USA sockets are the same. Armstrong sockets are not a good value to me. But they have some other tools that are very nice and a good value. The locking flex ratchets are a good example.

As far as the OP's ratchet:
The chrome smudges appear to just be grease. Some people in this thread seem not to be realizing that.

The chrome on my Armstrong Maxx locking flex is really good and is better than Craftsman USA sockets.

If the small marks I indicated in this pic are what the OP is referencing, then I think he's looking too hard for defects.

Some people's official motto seems to be:
"If you aren't finding cosmetic defects on your tools to complain about, then you aren't looking hard enough."

You have to remember that when you buy this ratchet you're getting basically the best locking flex design for a big discount over the Matco version. I've been really happy with it for the price I paid. I'm actually in the middle of a brake job on my truck tonight and I've been using it. It's working great, as always.

 

[JasonTX]

Probably fine, but I always thought Armstong tools looked cheaper than they cost.

 

[Brownsfan]

I just heard a bunch of comercials for Armstrong tools on Opie and Anthony this week. I have never heard any other industrial USA made tool company advertise anywhere on tv or radio. I know this has nothing to do with the finish of the tool but seeing this thread reminded me of it. They actually promote the MADE IN USA fact in the comercial.

 

[Spyder1gdsm]

I own the new 1/4 and 1/2 locking flex ratchets and purchased them earlier this year from advance auto when they were running that huge online sale. The ratchets showed up flawless and are much nicer overall than my Kobalt and Cornwell ratchets. Those "flaws" are purely cosmetic and don't affect the intended purpose of the tool whatsoever.

 

[ibedayank]

APEX TOOL GROUP... contracted to make crapsman.... OWNS Gear Wrench and Armstrong and yet people wionder why the tools look alike and compared to 30 years ago the quality has gone to ****!!

 

[yowzer]

I have no complaints about my 3/8 Armstrong ratchet. It became my favorite one the first time I used it, and fit and finish is fine. Not counting dings from dropping it and hitting it against things, of course. Those are beauty marks.

Some of my Armstrong made Craftsman sockets, on the other hand... they have issues beyond the purely cosmetic.

 

[Fedwrench]

I can understand the OCD kicking in and the desire to have new tools resembling jewelry but, it is a tool after all.

How does the rest of the ratchet look? Perhaps the QC people felt you wouldn't notice it in normal use.

Honestly, aside from the Maxx series ratchets, there isn't much in the Armstrong line that interests me. Now PROTO is a completely different story, I like their tool line up.

 

[J.A.Varela]

It's reaching a point again. Remember the seventies song a dance about "Jap ****" ?
Much like that the Taiwanese are going to kickazz in the tool game pretty soon just like Japan did with cars, bikes and electronics. In a way they already are.
http://www.hanstool.com/product/list/?11.html
http://www.jonnesway.com.tw/

 

[Cab037]

I've got the 1/2" flex ratchet and the finish on it is fine.

 

[OutsideMachinist]

Their sockets are average. The armstrong ratchets are awesome though. I dont care about fashion over function. They perform well.