On Aug 5, 8:18 am, Robatoy wrote:

Nobody can look me in the eye and tell me that a 20-pound sledgehammer
is NOT a 'power tool'.

:}

Ha! Amen!

And so versatile, too. I am wondering why we haven't seen Billy Mays
Here selling them for something.

Robert

On Aug 5, 9:55*am, "
wrote:
On Aug 5, 8:18 am, Robatoy wrote:

Nobody can look me in the eye and tell me that a 20-pound sledgehammer
is NOT a 'power tool'.

:}

Ha! *Amen!

And so versatile, too. *I am wondering why we haven't seen Billy Mays
Here selling them for something.

Robert

"Hello Billy Mays Here here."
"Ever seen a tool this versatile? Turn one brick into two small ones
with enough material left over to decorate your garden?"
" A tool so versatile. you can crushhhh a pop can in one simple
action!" "Save on recyclable storage space."
"Trouble opening this CD package?" "Try our new SMAKKUM tool."
"Handcrafted by decedents of Thor in our new Norwegian foundry."
"SMAKKUM" " Order today and we'll include this free hernia kit"
"Here's how to order..............."

"Robatoy" wrote

"Hello Billy Mays Here here."
"Ever seen a tool this versatile? Turn one brick into two small ones
with enough material left over to decorate your garden?"
" A tool so versatile. you can crushhhh a pop can in one simple
action!" "Save on recyclable storage space."
"Trouble opening this CD package?" "Try our new SMAKKUM tool."
"Handcrafted by decedents of Thor in our new Norwegian foundry."
"SMAKKUM" " Order today and we'll include this free hernia kit"
"Here's how to order..............."

Shades of Gallagher's "sledgematic".

On Aug 5, 10:22*am, "Lee Michaels" wrote:
"Robatoy" *wrote

"Hello Billy Mays Here here."
"Ever seen a tool this versatile? Turn one brick into two small ones
with enough material left over to decorate your garden?"
" A tool so versatile. you can crushhhh a pop can in one simple
action!" "Save on recyclable *storage space."
"Trouble opening this CD package?" "Try our new SMAKKUM tool."
"Handcrafted by decedents of Thor in our new Norwegian foundry."
"SMAKKUM" " Order today and we'll include this free hernia kit"
"Here's how to order..............."

Shades of Gallagher's "sledgematic".

Shades of Flintstone's BamBam?

"Upscale" wrote in message
...

"Robatoy" wrote in message
"Hello Billy Mays Here here."
"Ever seen a tool this versatile? Turn one brick into two small ones
with enough material left over to decorate your garden?"
" A tool so versatile. you can crushhhh a pop can in one simple
action!" "Save on recyclable storage space."
"Trouble opening this CD package?" "Try our new SMAKKUM tool."
"Handcrafted by decedents of Thor in our new Norwegian foundry."
"SMAKKUM" " Order today and we'll include this free hernia kit"
"Here's how to order..............."

I don't recognize the name Billy Mays because my ears auto-shut-off when a
TV ad appears, but I'm willing to bet it's that guy with the black beard
that I see hawking the Oxyclean.



Tha'd be him!

And thinking of those goofy infomercials. Have you ever noticed how
uncoordinated and spastic the performers are when using the traditional
mop/hammer/steamer//what ever as a comparison to the new fangled gizmo they
are hawking?

"Upscale" wrote

TV ad appears, but I'm willing to bet it's that guy with the black beard
that I see hawking the Oxyclean.

Me too ... I hit the next button when I see a black beard, or, in the case
of Brittany, anything that vaguely resembles a black beard.

Yeeech!

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 5/14/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

"Robatoy" wrote in message
"Hello Billy Mays Here here."
"Ever seen a tool this versatile? Turn one brick into two small ones
with enough material left over to decorate your garden?"
" A tool so versatile. you can crushhhh a pop can in one simple
action!" "Save on recyclable storage space."
"Trouble opening this CD package?" "Try our new SMAKKUM tool."
"Handcrafted by decedents of Thor in our new Norwegian foundry."
"SMAKKUM" " Order today and we'll include this free hernia kit"
"Here's how to order..............."

I don't recognize the name Billy Mays because my ears auto-shut-off when a
TV ad appears, but I'm willing to bet it's that guy with the black beard
that I see hawking the Oxyclean.

I would have to say it is caused by the big box stores. Here is my example.

I was looking for a wire feed welder. I was looking at the miller and
lincoln 135 amp welders. Lowes and Home D. around here. Friend of mine who
owns a machine shop said to stay away from them. To go to a welding
supplier. I asked "whats the difference besides price, both are 135 amp
welders from same companies. He said not the same units though. Looking
closer I found that the actual model numbers were different even though the
units were looked exactly the same. I will use the example of the Lincoln sp
135. the case was marked and looked identical only difference was the modle
number on the little tag. by going to lincolns web sight i found the sp 135
but had a hard time finding the modle number for the unit that lowes
carried. It didn't come up on any of thier product pages. I could only find
it by looking for parts for the exact model number of the lowes product.
Ended up that lincoln does not even advertise or show that model number
product in any of thier online or paper advertisements.
Looking closer at the lowes procuct and the weld shop products (price
difference of over 100 bucks) I found that the weld shop model that is
listed on the lincoln web site is like 20 pounds heavier. heavier windings
and other assoc. parts inside, including drive motors drive wheels etc. even
the guns were not the same.
Found out that the big box companies contact the manuafactures and tell them
they will sell thier product, as in I will sell the model sp135 unit but
this is what I will pay you for it. Build me a unit that you can make a
profit on. Hence, every thing is cheaper built and put in the same case.
warranties different, almost nill in the big box model.
A friend said he didnt see the difference, bought the big box model, I opted
for spending more on the welding supplier model. I use mine alot, have only
had one problem. a wire cam loose on the drive motor. lincoln fixed it at no
charge on a welder that gets used alot while my friends big box unit broke
at just over six months old. Lincoln would barely talk to him, He had a hard
time finding parts. He barely uses his and it has now found its way to the
scrap yard. Mine is still working great and is about 4 years old.

I have to throw blame at both the big box stores for asking the manuf. to
cheapen the products and also at the manuf. for even thinking about building
the product for the big box stores. If they are gonna build crap for them,
dont put your name on it, insist on puting the store name on it. let the
store take the hit for selling crap instead of tricking buyers into thinking
they are buying a quality product.

sorry bout the rant
Mike



"Phil Again" wrote in message
m...

About 35-40 years ago B&D was a decent brand tool. Then they started
color coding their power tools into cheaper built units. Looks like
they are leading PC sown that same path. The tools even look kinda
B&D'ish.

{snip}

IIRC, and please correct me if I am wrong about this, isn't there some
large corporation that owns B&D, PC, DeWalt, and Delta tools?

So, when are this mega corporation going to buy out Milwaukee tools, and/
or Makita (SP?) Tools, or will Hitachi buy out all of them?

I blame it all on Sears and Craftsman tools.

Phil

It all boils down to GREED!

both the big box stores for insisting on supplying crap at bargain basement
prices and the manufacture for building the crap so they can make an extra
buck by selling more units!

Michael Briggs wrote:
It all boils down to GREED!

both the big box stores for insisting on supplying crap at bargain basement
prices and the manufacture for building the crap so they can make an extra
buck by selling more units!

Except you've got the root cause turned around -- if folks weren't
buying almost solely based on purchase cost, the cheapest wouldn't
necessarily win.

So, the fundamental greed is in the purchaser trying to get "more than
their money's worth"...

$0.02, ymmv, etc., etc., ...

--

"dpb" wrote

So, the fundamental greed is in the purchaser trying to get "more than
their money's worth"...

$0.02, ymmv, etc., etc., ...


Agreed ... most tools these days appear to be targeting Harry Homeowner, who
arguably watches way too much DIY reality TV, thus the bubble gum
appearance/cheap construction.

Whenever I let one of my neighbors try one of my tools, like my handbuilt
Italian pin nailer, their eyes light up ... but only momentarily, to be
immediately extinguished upon the answer to "How much did this thing cost?".

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 5/14/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

On Aug 5, 11:39*am, "Swingman" wrote:
"Upscale" wrote

TV ad appears, but I'm willing to bet it's that guy with the black beard
that I see hawking the Oxyclean.

Me too ... I hit the next button when I see a black beard, or, in the case
of Brittany, anything that vaguely resembles a black beard.

You sick *******!

*tips hat*

r

On Aug 5, 1:53*pm, "Swingman" wrote:
"dpb" wrote

So, the fundamental greed is in the purchaser trying to get "more than
their money's worth"...

$0.02, ymmv, etc., etc., ...

Agreed ... most tools these days appear to be targeting Harry Homeowner, who
arguably watches way too much DIY reality TV, thus the bubble gum
appearance/cheap construction.

....and then *drumroll* the absolute WORST thing happens.... Some
clown buys the home-owner-cheap piece of **** and then echo ON
BECOMES A PROFESSIONAL!!!echo OFF and sells his services to the
neighbours.

whispers there is Joe, the true professional, getting his ass beat
by Joe The Clown, by $ 1500.00... he smirks, drives off, and knows who
the real idiot is...

On Aug 2, 6:25*pm, "Leon" wrote:
"Phil Again" wrote in message

m...



About 35-40 years ago B&D was a decent brand tool. *Then they started
color coding their power tools into cheaper built units. *Looks like
they are leading PC sown that same path. *The tools even look kinda
B&D'ish.

*{snip}

IIRC, and please correct me if I am wrong about this, isn't there some
large corporation that owns B&D, PC, DeWalt, and Delta tools?

B&D basically owns them all, *B&D and DeWalt have been linked together since
at least the 70's.



So, when are this mega corporation going to buy out Milwaukee tools, and/
or Makita (SP?) Tools, or will Hitachi buy out all of them?

IIRC Milwaukee was bought some years ago, already many of their tools come
from the East.

It all started with B & D buying ELU. I liked Elu tools. (At least in
their day, they worked for guys like me.) We went to hell after that.

"Robatoy" wrote in message
...
On Aug 5, 11:39 am, "Swingman" wrote:
"Upscale" wrote

TV ad appears, but I'm willing to bet it's that guy with the black
beard
that I see hawking the Oxyclean.

Me too ... I hit the next button when I see a black beard, or, in the
case
of Brittany, anything that vaguely resembles a black beard.

You sick *******!

*tips hat*

Hehe ... that was some ugly, wot?!

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 5/14/08
KarlC@ (the obvious)

"Leon" wrote in message
And thinking of those goofy infomercials. Have you ever noticed how
uncoordinated and spastic the performers are when using the traditional
mop/hammer/steamer//what ever as a comparison to the new fangled gizmo
they
are hawking?

Funny you mention that. I distinctly think of that when I see a Swiffer
commercial. The person using that regular dust brush is deliberately doing
it wrong to raise a dust cloud while the Swiffer person does it properly.

On Aug 5, 2:19*pm, "Swingman" wrote:
"Robatoy" wrote in message

...
On Aug 5, 11:39 am, "Swingman" wrote:

"Upscale" wrote

TV ad appears, but I'm willing to bet it's that guy with the black
beard
that I see hawking the Oxyclean.

Me too ... I hit the next button when I see a black beard, or, in the
case
of Brittany, anything that vaguely resembles a black beard.

You sick *******!
*tips hat*

Hehe ... that was some ugly, wot?!

I'll say... *shudders*.
Just showtagoesya that I could never figure out what the infatuation
was with that trailertrash.
She was cute, as a Mouskateer, has nice straight teeth, (maybe a
reason for her to be popular in the UK) tits 'were' perky, she could
dance.
So can(could) dozens of others. The Paparazzi went nuts with that
bearded clam crotch shot..(wooopsies just an accident).
Sooooo, Swingman, your ability to remind me of that horrid moment on a
bad newsday was NOT appreciated. 'k?

Now I need some brain-bleach. (vodka)

*shudders one more time*

"Upscale" wrote in message
...

"Leon" wrote in message
And thinking of those goofy infomercials. Have you ever noticed how
uncoordinated and spastic the performers are when using the traditional
mop/hammer/steamer//what ever as a comparison to the new fangled gizmo
they
are hawking?

Funny you mention that. I distinctly think of that when I see a Swiffer
commercial. The person using that regular dust brush is deliberately doing
it wrong to raise a dust cloud while the Swiffer person does it properly.


That's exactly what I am talking about. ;~)

On Aug 5, 3:45*pm, "Leon" wrote:
"Upscale" wrote in message

...

"Leon" wrote in message
And thinking of those goofy infomercials. *Have you ever noticed how
uncoordinated and spastic the performers are when using the traditional
mop/hammer/steamer//what ever as a comparison to the new fangled gizmo
they
are hawking?

Funny you mention that. I distinctly think of that when I see a Swiffer
commercial. The person using that regular dust brush is deliberately doing
it wrong to raise a dust cloud while the Swiffer person does it properly.

That's exactly what I am talking about. *;~)

Commercials are misleading. I strapped on a couple of MaxiPads and i
STILL couldn't play tennis OR ride a horse...

"Robatoy" wrote:

Now I need some brain-bleach. (vodka)


Unless you start with 195 proof grain-ethyl, it's strictly mouth wash.

BTDT

(My college roomie worked in a pharmacy)

Lew

so is a treadle-powered lathe or saw a hand tool or a power tool?

On Tue, 5 Aug 2008 17:18:04 +0100, Michael Briggs wrote
(in article ):

Subject: Looks like PC is following the path of B&D
From: "Michael Briggs"
Date: 5/8/08 17:18
Newsgroups: rec.woodworking

I would have to say it is caused by the big box stores. Here is my example.

I was looking for a wire feed welder. I was looking at the miller and
lincoln 135 amp welders. Lowes and Home D. around here. Friend of mine who
owns a machine shop said to stay away from them. To go to a welding
supplier. I asked "whats the difference besides price, both are 135 amp
welders from same companies. He said not the same units though. Looking
closer I found that the actual model numbers were different even though the
units were looked exactly the same. I will use the example of the Lincoln sp


excellent rant truncated

sorry bout the rant
Mike



In U.K.. the market leader in routers is Trend. Same price bracket as DW.
Excellent machines. Built like tanks blah blah.

Frequently see ebay.co.uk ads for Trend routers which usually turn out to be
B&Q (big box home store thing) own-spec model. I don't remember the model
number but it's a unique series. (NOT the t3/4, t5, t9/t10/t11 which I CAN
remember) Thought these might be a bargain: nice fitted case, many bits
included, reputation of "Trend" very low price, so I did some research a year
or two back.

Seems that the B&Q model, clearly marked "Trend" in appropriate corporate
logostyle, is a P.O.S. which Trend customer service deny all knowledge of,
and refer customers back to B&Q who know nothing about routers.
Very surprising, as Trend service is PDG usually.
This raises all sort of ethics/marketing questions.
The units seem to be FEPOS with no QC actually handled at some point by
Trend, at least long enough to badge them.

Long term, I don't see this doing anyone any favours. Short term, it seems
like a good idea to accountants and naive customers.

Who wins?
No-one long term. The brand is compromised. The only gains on any level are
short term, unless you're a customer who got a "Rolex!!" bargain in a Trend
router for occasional D.I.Y work which turns out to be in a batch that is
trouble-free and requires no service backup.

So, look at the PC issue. THAT all seems to be in house, so PC / BD should at
least provide service, but if components constantly fail in professional use,
the service will eventually cease being professional and will default to the
usual fob-the-customer-off stomewalling that is all too common nowadays.
Another brand compromised and customers having no-where else to turn for top
quality solutions.

Bigger, faster bucks for the shareholders and sell the company down the river
because the word "tomorrow" doesn't figure in MBE thinking.
Yeuch.