Magician wrote:
Hi All

Having been in the industrial equipment market for 30 odd years, can
I
make a few points about 'cheap' power tools and just why our Chinese
friends can make them so cheap.

Some good stuf there. But you miss out 2 points:

1. Theyre not going to buy designs for high end tools, they will only
buy designs for cheapest to make tools

2. Every incoming design is inspected to find every possible way to cut
its cost. Metal gears are replaced by plastic, fibreglass tape by
cotton, shock absorbing handles by basic plastic ones, etc.

In short, I dont think theres any such thing as a quality chinese power
tool. Chinese manufacturing seems to be in the same place Japan was
decades ago - and may well change its act just as Japan did.

When it comes to other goods however, the quality spans a wide range,
and I have come across cheapo chinese goods that seem just as good
quality as the better accepted brands with 5x the price tag. Though not
often. But you can never escape the awful marketing, the dreaded Flying
Dong logo is a permanent reminder that you wre once a cheapass!


NT