SS Accessories: Made in China?

[jeeperjohn]

.......The problem is that these plants will be built in the Southeast U.S. rather than the Northwest.....

Why is the being located in the Southeast rather than the Northwest a problem?

[cincinnati]

Glad to hear Woodworker's Supply is doing this. I believe as the US economy continues it slide into the dumper we are going to see real attitude changes take place with the American consumer. People are going to quickly see that building the economy of a sworn enemy (China) is not the smartest thing we ever did.........
Ed

You are way more optimistic than I. I work in retail and no one ever ask "is this made in the usa?) it's "How much is this" followed by " I can get that cheaper at Wal-Mart"

[eldyfig]

Just purchased a new 7.5" saw, chose PortaCable, as it is manufactured in the USA.

Similar to what Nick said about the SS, it was manufactured in the U.S., but are all the parts inside the saw American made?

Tim's bits are totally foriegn. Nothing American about them. Does SS run tests are accessories like these like the destructive testing they do on the SS.

Why is the being located in the Southeast rather than the Northwest a problem?

Chuck was going to come out of retirement. Problem is, he would have to sacrifice some of his shop time. Don't do it, Chuck.

[shydragon]

I had purchased a 6" combination square off ebay. Brand new, and made in USA.

But, I'm working on my car, need to remove the fan. BMW, calls it a special tool for an exhorbant amount. In reality it is a 32mm wrench. I checked with General Tool near work, $40.00 for Proto 32mm wrench, Sears $26.00. This will probably be the only time, I will ever need a wrench that large. So, in this case, I went to Harbor Freight, purchased a 16 piece set that included the 32mm wrench for $18.99.

Quality.....probably not very good, but all I want to do is remove the dang fan, and if this will do it, then I'm there.

[a1gutterman]

I had purchased a 6" combination square off ebay. Brand new, and made in USA.

But, I'm working on my car, need to remove the fan. BMW, calls it a special tool for an exhorbant amount. In reality it is a 32mm wrench. I checked with General Tool near work, $40.00 for Proto 32mm wrench, Sears $26.00. This will probably be the only time, I will ever need a wrench that large. So, in this case, I went to Harbor Freight, purchased a 16 piece set that included the 32mm wrench for $18.99.

Quality.....probably not very good, but all I want to do is remove the dang fan, and if this will do it, then I'm there.

I wonder, Pat,
Could you have rented that wrench rather then support China?

[a1gutterman]

Just looking through my Woodworker's Supply catalog, and I notice with pleasure that items are either listed as imported or USA. The choice is mine. I too would be disappointed to order an item thought to be USA produced to find that it was imported. Just purchased a new 7.5" saw, chose PortaCable, as it is manufactured in the USA. Just my thing.

Hi Gary,
Knot too long ago, when PorterCable was knot owned by Black and Decker, almost everything they sold was made in the USA. Now that they are owned by B&D, knot all of their product is US made. Some is. I check first, buy second.

[Ed in Tampa]

You are way more optimistic than I. I work in retail and no one ever ask "is this made in the usa?) it's "How much is this" followed by " I can get that cheaper at Wal-Mart"

Cincinnati
Unfortunately your right in many cases but I will venture a guess that one day they may regret that attitude. However by then unfortunately it will probably be too late.

Two serious things are happening before American's eyes and they refuse to see it. First we are building the economy of a nation that is virtually at war with us. Think about it, communism fell in the USSR because it became an economic disaster. That won't happen to China as long as we support the communist ideology with our pursuit of cheap goods.

Second we are quickly shipping jobs out of this country. Even high profile technical jobs. In the early 90's there was a huge scare that some PC's got shipped inadvertantly to China, today China manufactures many of them. What changed? Did China stop their saber rattling? Did communism fall like in USSR? Did China stop supplying arm and ammunition to our enemies (Iraq, Muslim insurregents)? Did China agree to stop perfecting and launching ICBm's? Did freedom come to the people of China? The answer is no. What changed is American people learned they could have more material goods if they bought cheaper made items made in China.

One day America will regret that decision.
Ed

[a1gutterman]

I already regret it, Ed!:(

[a1gutterman]

Hi Nick,

"...ALL of this product that I received, is marked as being made in China..."

I stand by what I posted in other threads](I never doubted you , Nick)[/color] However, we do not make all of our parts and accessories - (understandable) - switches, bearings, motors, bits, blades, nuts, bolts, and screws all come to us from other suppliers. By and large these are American suppliers, but we cannot control where their products are made and they don't always tell us (again, understandable). When some of you folks pointed out to me that the switch said "Made in Mexico," it was news to me.

I do know that we do destructive testing on all our components, particularly when a supplier informs us of a change or a serious problem is reported. The Mexican switches are of comparable quality to what we can get from other suppliers (who may or may not have their switches made in America), so there is not reason to switch (pun intended).

Occassionally, there is a good reason to change to an offshore supplier. In checking where our saw blades were made for folks in another thread, I found they were made in Germany. Amana, our saw blade supplier, has a cooperative venture with a German company making and selling industrial-quality saw blades. We found these industrial bladse from Germany cost only a little bit more than Amana's pro-sumer line that's made in America. We were able to offer a much higher quality saw blade than we had before at the same cost (I wonder if this German company, that you already have access to, manufactures brad point drill bits?) I wood rather pay more for a bit NOT made in China).

The current global economy doesn't necessarily have to mean reduced quality for the consumer. Recently, we have been looking at some very good products from New Zealand and Russia! Nor does "Made in America" have to mean that every component is manufactured inside the United States. Even in its heyday, when Shopsmith had 1500 employees, we weren't big enough to make all of the components ourselves. We've always depended on suppliers for reasonably-priced components, and we've always tested and screened those components for quality.

With all good wishes,

As I have stated in other posts, I wood rather buy all US made product, but I will knot do without something just because of it's origin! European manufactured items are much more acceptable to me then items made in China. China, IMHO, is not a country that I wood choose to put American money into. There are a few other countries to keep China company in that respect, but I wood prefer to buy product made in North America and Europe before anywhere else.

Nick, on page 74 of the Shopsmith Father's Day 2008 Sale catalog, in regards to the brad point bits that SS offers, it says: "These bits are manufactured to our exacting specifications from high quality carbon alloy steel..." What does that mean? Are these spec's the same as they were for American made bits? Do you personally feel that these bits are as good as those that American companies made? Do they last as long? Thank you for your insights,

[fjimp]

I bought a complete set of those bits two years ago. Until I used one today had never noticed they were made in China. That being said I have absolutely no complaint with the quality. I am sorry to have my dollars ultimately going to China yet realize that is the world we live in. Jim