Another matco tool made in taiwan

[ChrisLS8]

It is like arguing with a rock, people will say how great CHINESE JUNK is yet spend $5 a piece of energy drinks, pay $6-7 for a Pack of CIGS and LIQUOR no problem. I have seen this time and time and time again, they are broke, but somehow by a MIRACLE they got money for CIGS/ALCOHOL...

I pay 1.33 for an energy drink, don't smoke and I have about 5-6k worth of wine and bottles sitting on shelves yet I don't mind buying select tools from harbor Freight. Your poorly thought out argument is getting used far too many times.

You equate Chinese tools to automatic junk when US tool makers pump out plenty of garbage as well.

 

[reader2580]

It is like arguing with a rock, people will say how great CHINESE JUNK is yet spend $5 a piece of energy drinks, pay $6-7 for a Pack of CIGS and LIQUOR no problem. I have seen this time and time and time again, they are broke, but somehow by a MIRACLE they got money for CIGS/ALCOHOL...

How does this have anything to do with my post? I don’t drink energy drinks nor do I smoke or drink alcohol.

I only bought some HF and Husky tools because I didn’t have time to order tools made in the USA. I ended up ordering of set of USA wrenches from Harry Epstein after returning the Husky wrench that was out of spec.

 

[Tonyuk]

It is like arguing with a rock, people will say how great CHINESE JUNK is yet spend $5 a piece of energy drinks, pay $6-7 for a Pack of CIGS and LIQUOR no problem. I have seen this time and time and time again, they are broke, but somehow by a MIRACLE they got money for CIGS/ALCOHOL...

Or maybe they're broke because they have a mortgage/rent, food, gas & electricity, car & fuel bills to pay then they get hit with a tool truck payment every month for overpriced tools?

 

[Wamsutta]

Or maybe they're broke because they have a mortgage/rent, food, gas & electricity, car & fuel bills to pay then they get hit with a tool truck payment every month for overpriced tools?

You've got it backwards. It's the mortgage/rent, food, gas & electricity, car & fuel bills that are overpriced.

 

[Tonyuk]

You've got it backwards. It's the mortgage/rent, food, gas & electricity, car & fuel bills that are overpriced.

And yet the US benefits from far cheaper bills for the above than the majority of other countries.

And cheaper + plentiful tools available out of a shop you can actually go to and see them face to face.

Yet they still get into massive debt by buying toolboxes worth £10k +, before they even buy a spanner to go in them.

The majority of tool truck brands are expensive because they're a known brand name, not because the tools are super high quality that cant be had anywhere else for a more reasonable price.

 

[Wamsutta]

The majority of tool truck brands are expensive because they're a known brand name, not because the tools are super high quality that cant be had anywhere else for a more reasonable price.

That there is a typical statement of someone who isn't able to recognize the difference in quality between different makes of tools. I can pick up one of your favored Taiwan made tools and immediately find problems with it. And I don't mean cosmetics either; I mean functional problems.

 

[manwithtools]

That there is a typical statement of someone who isn't able to recognize the difference in quality between different makes of tools. I can pick up one of your favored Taiwan made tools and immediately find problems with it. And I don't mean cosmetics either; I mean functional problems.

This is overtly condescending and not in the spirit of this forum. Furthermore, why wold you plainly challenge the mental abilities or opinions of a fellow forum member simply because his point of view differs from yours?

 

[Wamsutta]

This is overtly condescending and not in the spirit of this forum. Furthermore, why wold you plainly challenge the mental abilities or opinions of a fellow forum member simply because his point of view differs from yours?

That post was not meant to be condescending at all. I hate condescending people. That post was merely pointing out that some people don't have the necessary exposure to various makes of tools to know the difference in quality. Key word exposure. As a perfect example, I used to think Craftsman tools were just fine until I got exposed to Snap-on. I quickly learned how much more enjoyable the Snap-on tools were to use.

 

[ChrisLS8]

That there is a typical statement of someone who isn't able to recognize the difference in quality between different makes of tools. I can pick up one of your favored Taiwan made tools and immediately find problems with it. And I don't mean cosmetics either; I mean functional problems.

Yes yes the ever elusive detent issue. That Taiwan rat or socket will turn a bolt just as well as a SO ratchet for a fraction of the price. It's already been shown they can hold up just fine so let's see where the 10x price justification comes into play

 

[Wamsutta]

Yes yes the ever elusive detent issue. That Taiwan rat or socket will turn a bolt just as well as a SO ratchet for a fraction of the price. It's already been shown they can hold up just fine so let's see where the 10x price justification comes into play

But can that Taiwan ratchet or socket turn the bolt without aggravating me?

No.

 

[65k10]

Hope this isn't getting off topic too much, but it's been something I've been wondering about since I saw this thread.

Once the Armstrong plant was shut down and Matco couldn't source from them, was there really any US based company that could or would supply them? Wright doesn't have a big product line. Maybe SK, but Ideal seems busy enough trying to re-establish the SK name. The facilities that SBD uses to make Proto tools have a good variety, but would SBD supply a competitor to Mac? Same for Snap-On/Williams. Point being, while I'm sure profit margin played a role in switching to Taiwan based suppliers, I'm not really sure who in the US could have offered what they needed.

I guess I figure if it was all about profits margins, why did they go to the trouble to find someone in the US to produce their 88 tooth ratchets? Seems like they could have found someone in Taiwan to make those too.

 

[manwithtools]

That post was not meant to be condescending at all. I hate condescending people. That post was merely pointing out that some people don't have the necessary exposure to various makes of tools to know the difference in quality. Key word exposure. As a perfect example, I used to think Craftsman tools were just fine until I got exposed to Snap-on. I quickly learned how much more enjoyable the Snap-on tools were to use.

You are making a HUGE assumption that become's condescending. He might have more Exposure than you, you will never know if you don't ask first.

 

[Wamsutta]

You are making a HUGE assumption that become's condescending. He might have more Exposure than you, you will never know if you don't ask first.

I just noticed that you reside in Lebanon Tennessee.

Snap-on tools are made in your own back yard and you think they're overpriced. What a shame.

 

[manwithtools]

I just noticed that you reside in Lebanon Tennessee.

Snap-on tools are made in your own back yard and you think they're overpriced. What a shame.

I reside in a right to work state with a right to purchase attitude. Anyone who rests their future with a single company for a singular reason is bound to find themselves disappointed in the long run. There are immeasurable products made in my backyard, I'm not prejudiced against / for any of them. I think many things are overpriced, not just Snap-On.

 

[plinker]

Hope this isn't getting off topic too much, but it's been something I've been wondering about since I saw this thread.

Once the Armstrong plant was shut down and Matco couldn't source from them, was there really any US based company that could or would supply them? Wright doesn't have a big product line. Maybe SK, but Ideal seems busy enough trying to re-establish the SK name. The facilities that SBD uses to make Proto tools have a good variety, but would SBD supply a competitor to Mac? Same for Snap-On/Williams. Point being, while I'm sure profit margin played a role in switching to Taiwan based suppliers, I'm not really sure who in the US could have offered what they needed.

I guess I figure if it was all about profits margins, why did they go to the trouble to find someone in the US to produce their 88 tooth ratchets? Seems like they could have found someone in Taiwan to make those too.

They already were sourcing their ratcheting wrenches from Kabo, So having Kabo source the non ratcheting wrenches was easy.

As far as the ratchets are concerned, I'm sure they could have sourced them from Apex, but I assume they didnt want an exact Gearwrench clone (locking flex are a slightly different style GW vs Matco/Armstrong). USA made may have played some part there as well. Limited manufacturers in the US willing to work with Matco did play a part I would think, how could it not? I imagine the time frame they had to work with to find suppliers was likely limited, to some degree.

When Apex was moving the US plants around there was a ratchet shortage, a lot were on backorder (Armstrong and Matco) and it took a while to fix that (six months for my ratchet, IIRC). It wasnt long after that things got split up and shut down (Apex US production), IIRC, around a year and a half later.


I like my Matco stuff in general, pick and choose is the name of the game. That goes for any brand or anything you buy.

 

[toolenthusiast]

You do realize matco doesn't produce a single product except boxes right? All they are is a rebadging and marketing company

You do realize you’re replying to a comment from 2011, right?

 

[Wamsutta]

I reside in a right to work state with a right to purchase attitude. Anyone who rests their future with a single company for a singular reason is bound to find themselves disappointed in the long run. There are immeasurable products made in my backyard, I'm not prejudiced against / for any of them. I think many things are overpriced, not just Snap-On.

Think of all the stuff we're spending money on that's completely intangible; like electricity, insurance, and taxes. Even if a Snap-on ratchet was overpriced, I sure got me a nice comfortable soft grip handle that I can squeeze and grab onto.

 

[Tonyuk]

That there is a typical statement of someone who isn't able to recognize the difference in quality between different makes of tools. I can pick up one of your favored Taiwan made tools and immediately find problems with it. And I don't mean cosmetics either; I mean functional problems.

I have tools in my box from the vast majority of the big names in Europe and many from tbr US.

A quality tool from the east is easily as good as a quality tool from the west. I use tools from both sides daily in work and none have let me down.

Buy quality stuff, you can't buy a set of spanners for 9.99 and claim they're poor quality just because they've all been made in the east.

Think of how much of your home equipment is made in the east, my 4k ultra high def TV is fantastic quality and made in China. If they can make them up then they can make a good spanner, there's no 'dark art' to tool production.

You say that foreign sockets aggravate you due to a detent or something, do you use tools for a living every day? If you do I'm surprised you bother to notice.

 

[HC33]

Not everything made in taiwan is junk. Its just cheaper to pay the little people make lots of stuff and Taiwan isnt china as everyone assumes. I have some sunex and blackhawk by proto wrenches made in taiwan that are really good quality tools. You should just be happy it doesn't say made in Mexico. But nexttime buy snap on if you want american awesome expensive as hell tools.

 

[Mgdoug3]

SK is also American made.

 

[Angry welder]

Matco=Gearwrench same part numbers. Coincidence?

This is why I bought Gearwrench the last time I bought sockets.

 

[Elvisidal]

Allen, torx, pliers, crowfoots, wrenches still USA MADE by Proto here in the end of 2018.

I think it’s cool you necro’d a 7 year old thread and this is all you’ve had to say in 5 pages

 

[Partsguy57]

Thats great but just an opinion. I worked for the largest
ford dealer in WA and there were plenty of HF tools used and abused daily. They have plenty of quality tools and they keep improving almost weekly it seems.

I pulled apart a 545D completely using HF rats and sockets a few weeks ago to send the motor in for an overhaul....complete junk I tell ya

Lol sure whatever.. there is a difference and you will find that the vast majority of people who make there living with tools will agree with me based on personal experience. There is buyer for h.f and use for them them and many recognize this. I.e budget, amount of use etc... and then there is the other... the absolute cheap skate where the highest measure of quality is the cheapest price.. you I would suspect.... ( again based on personal experience selling millions of auto parts and work through my machine shop and parts store) cheers

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[Farmall450]

Vim makes good tools; Carlyle seems to have really decent Torx. I have impact torx and allen from them and my HS had regular sets.

 

[ChrisLS8]

Lol sure whatever.. there is a difference and you will find that the vast majority of people who make there living with tools will agree with me based on personal experience. There is buyer for h.f and use for them them and many recognize this. I.e budget, amount of use etc... and then there is the other... the absolute cheap skate where the highest measure of quality is the cheapest price.. you I would suspect.... ( again based on personal experience selling millions of auto parts and work through my machine shop and parts store) cheers

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Quite condescending much? I didn't say I only use HF but I'm not opposed to using tools that work perfectly fine rather than the COO snobs who equate highest price and US orgin to highest quality.

I do quite fine for myself and I spend good money on tools THAT WORK regardless of where they are made (stilleto hammers for exanple)

 

[Partsguy57]

Quite condescending much? I didn't say I only use HF but I'm not opposed to using tools that work perfectly fine rather than the COO snobs who equate highest price and US orgin to highest quality.

I do quite fine for myself and I spend good money on tools THAT WORK regardless of where they are made (stilleto hammers for exanple)

Lol nope... life experience... and yes there is difference and if you equate h.f to good, what do you consider poor? If cheap tools work fine for you great... no amount of you or others claiming quality will change what they are.. cheap tools. Cheers

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[ChrisLS8]

Lol nope... life experience... and yes there is difference and if you equate h.f to good, what do you consider poor? If cheap tools work fine for you great... no amount of you or others claiming quality will change what they are.. cheap tools. Cheers

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Yes the resounding amount of people on here who use and abuse their HF boxes and tools are wrong as well. Okay

 

[Tonyuk]

Lol nope... life experience... and yes there is difference and if you equate h.f to good, what do you consider poor? If cheap tools work fine for you great... no amount of you or others claiming quality will change what they are.. cheap tools. Cheers

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If you want to spend more money for the sake of it then crack on.

 

[Partsguy57]

If you want to spend more money for the sake of it then crack on.

.... and no matter what color of lipstick you put on a pig, it's still a pig... h.f the quantity tool place where you can by a torque wrench for less then a good burger fries and shake... funny pick almost any other product whether it be a car, food, home, tv, computer, construction tools, boat, bikes, think of anything you want,and people buy better or upgrade as we all know there is better choices. But h.f cheap? No...they can't be!! Lol enjoy your glass of koolaid. H.f the magic kingdom where your dollar is worth 10.00 more.... Cheers

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[Wamsutta]

HF the magic kingdom where your dollar is worth $10.00 or more....

Catchy phrase right there.

 

[IMStuner]

At least Matco stands behind their warranty. So i could care less where it's made as long as it's a quality tool. But they shouldn't lie about where it's made.

 

[athlon70]

Just like in Australia, all our tools are from Taiwan, China and yet we are still made to pay the same.

Our market is flooded with Sidchrome, Kinchrome, Gearwrench, SP Tools, Stanley etc all overseas.

Think i'll pay the premium and get German as you can't even trust the all American companies nowadays.

My son paid $800USD for a Milwaukee Impact gun, made in China. They are playing the consumer for fools.

 

[nelstomlinson]

My matco guy was showing me some wrench set yesterday ... I asked if it was US made and he put it back in his tote and started showing me something else. He knows I don't buy anything Matco unless it's US made.

The problem with buying US made from Matco or Sears Craftsman or any outfit that doesn't make their own is that when you try to warrenty it, you are very likely to get something made in China. An outfit like Wright or SK or Snap On that owns factories here is a little less likely to move production overseas.