Love hate relationship with cheap tools!!!

[Outlawmws]

SNIP

Now get out there a start swinging those tools!

so we went from a "Love hate relationship with cheap tools!!!" to "Let's start Swinging"?

I think maybe I need to unsubscribe from this thread before it gets any kinkier!

 

[Moose97]

I started out years ago like a lot of folks. I didn't make a lot of money, had a house and cars and couldn't afford to pay somebody to do everything. I got by with what I could, usually hand-me-downs and cheap stuff at wal-mart (i'm actually only recently introduced to harbor Freight). I was given a gift 25+ years ago of a set of standard wrenches and sockets. Big set. They are Olympia brand. I don't think they even make them anymore. Several years ago I decided to start buying only Craftsman tools. I've replaced all the sockets and bought metric wrenches but I've not replaced the standard sizes yet. Those Olympians have worked pretty well for the last quarter century. Some day I will but for now I'll get other tools. If I was wrenching for a living I would probably go top of the line but I've always been happy with Craftsman.

 

[Gmonkee]

Rico nailed it down.

Cheap is a bad word, it implies low cost, low quality and poorly made. Inexpensive could be good, bad or in the middle but affordable.

I buy some inexpensive tools, mostly sockets, wrenches, screwdrivers and extensions because they work well without any problems. I do carefully pick and choose based on experience. There were many bad choices early on.

I also have bought some costly tools, of which most of the ratchets shone, the wrenches proved to be worth the extra cost and some of the specialty tools were pure ****. Some specialty tools are great, you won't know until you use them.

 

[Jim C.]

I try to buy the best quality tool I can afford....... within reason, and I always try to buy something made in the USA if possible. I have a ton of USA made Craftsman tools. Compared to truck brand stuff, I guess most of my tools are cheap. For the money, however, the quality was pretty good and they got the job done. I'm sure most people here can pick up a tool and determine its quality within a few seconds. I will not buy junk even if I expect to use the tool only a few times at best. Using a tool even once and having a bad experience with it because of its poor quality isn't worth the cheap price paid for it. I don't love or hate cheap tools. Like I said, by many people's standards, most of my tools are cheap. By my standards, I have tools that accomplish tasks without causing frustration, unwanted damage, and excessive debt. I guess it boils down to the tool's intended use, frequency of use, possibly COO, and economics.

Jim C.