Lefty Lucy said:
Dang. Mike, I hate doing this, but I just realized I don't know squat about what I'm saying here, and will apologize to you, sir. Chicago Electric , Central Pneumatics, Chicago Pneumatic, I got confused. It's Chicago Electric that I am familiar with. Is there a difference?
I just noticed Hitachi went from Made in Japan to Made in Taiwan to made in China. Does Made in Malaysia come before Made in Mexico, and is it before or after Made in USA?
Read the Feb 2007 issue of Woodworker's Journal on "The China Syndrome". EVERYTHING is made offshore, darn near! And there are varying degrees of quality. I just bought a Powermatic bandsaw, and they are made in Taiwan. And Delta, Grizzly, Craftsman, Jet, Rikon, Steel City Tools, "add your favorite brand here" are all made in Asia. You have low-end stuff, like Harbor Freight brands, and high-end products, like Powermatic -- you get varying degrees of quality depending on what you want to spend. But there is good news -- there are some great tools coming out of Asia.
Let's face it, we have lost manufacturing to Asia. No amount of grumbling and devotion to national pride is going to change anything. We can design amazing stuff, but it will be built offshore. The West's continued demand for lower and lower priced products has gotten us where we are today.
If I could buy an American-made power tool, and it came at a slight premium, I'd buy it. But there is not enough market demand for many companies to stick it out here and try to compete with cheaper tools from overseas. One that comes to mind is The Original Saw Company, that makes incredible radial arm saws. But be prepared to drop a few kilobucks for one. I am assuming they still make them here (and that they are still in business!). I think I'll Google them right now.
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