That reminds me of the drill bit set I purchased several years back, that aren’t good for more than drilling wood. Even then, pushing too hard makes them bend in half.
I’ve had some of those flexible drill bits where the tip rounds off in seconds also… 
Hee hee. I bought one of those $20 tap and die sets at Menards. Its handy just to have all the sizes but the taps are good for maybe two uses at the most then they are shot. I needed to install a dead bolt in a steel door so I bought the $5 hole drill kit. The starter bit would not even drill through the sheet metal door. And the 2" hole saw essentially burned its way through. I was 200 miles away so had to use it but sheesh why bother?
“Both were made of solid pot metal.”
Solid indeed . . .
speaking of pot metal, that reminds me of the heater hose connections on the older GM V8 engines . . . that connection that screwed into the water pump
It was absolutely pointless to even attempt removing it, because it was pot metal. Interestingly enough, the chinese Dorman parts were made of a better material
When you need a water pump for one of those applications, it’s probably best to buy one of those chinese Dorman heater connections while you’re in the store
I discovered suddenly one day that the door handles on my Lincoln are pot metal. The driver’s side is a royal pain in the neck to change because of the electronics.
When I get time I now have to do the passenger side which is slightly less of a pain.
Guess that should be balanced against plastic Toyota door handles that are 1/8" thick with no reinforcement ribs. It’s all crap.
I’ve replaced a few of those plastic Toyota door handles
In my area, most of the older Toyotas from the 1990s have one or more broken door handles
craptastic indeed
I had to do half of them on my youngest son’s Camry and was a bit surprised to find no reinforcement ribs. If it had ribs they would probably never break short of blatant abuse. Toyota probably saved half a cent per car by rib elimination… 
He called the other night and thankfully traded that POS off for a 2013 Camaro with only 2k miles on the clock. Hopefully this one will hold up as well as his last Camaro.
I also have quite a few Craftsman tools made–many years ago–in the USA, and I prize them.
I also still use my Altec stereo speakers that I bought in the late '70s.
They were made in the US, back in the days when the Lansing family still owned Altec, and in addition to their cases being made from genuine US Walnut, they sound better than virtually any “modern” speaker.
However, let us not forget that there are other western nations that used to manufacture high-quality goods, unlike the junk that is now foisted on us from China. For example I have a full set of German-made Henkels knives that I bought in the late '70s, and they will probably outlive me. I sharpen them regularly on a Chef’s Choice electric knife sharpener–also bought in the late '70s–and also made in the good old USA.
Occasionally, I use my Braun electric juice extractor–made in Germany, and also purchased in the late '70s. It operates flawlessly and will likely still work that way after I am gone and my heirs use it.
However, just as American industry has fallen into a sad state, the use of our American language–English–has also deteriorated over the past few decades. For instance, there is no such word as “alot”. There is “allot”, which means to divide things into shares or portions, and there are the two words, “a lot”. But there is no such word as “alot”, despite the fact that–sadly–you see this non-word used on a frequent basis.
So, if you are like me, the next time that you mourn the demise of American industry, you should also feel sorrow when you see our language being slaughtered on a daily basis.
I have a 1/2 ratchet (craftsman) from my grandfather. god only knows how old it is. it was not new in the 70s.
it has lasted me 25 years of hard use in the construction trade, plus all my auto repairs and home projects.
I noticed it loosening up a bit during my last round of jeep repairs, it really made me sad. I don t know that there is anything made today that is comparable.
db, you made a good choice. Milwaukee is the best reciprocating saw around. it should last decades of hard use with only brushes needing replacement.
used tools are a good way to get quality stuff for cheap.
I won t even talk about china except to say that I worked for a Chinese fellow for many years. I also worked with some Chinese fellows that he imported in the belief that they were better than American workers. he found out that that was not the case. they would work 16 hr days, in fact they make sure that they got at least 12 hr days, even if they had to do nothing the first 4 hrs to make it necessary. it was the same with the Hondurans he employed. they would work all night, and did all they could to make that necessary. he went back to mostly americans before I left. unfortunatrly he had alienated many of the best men in the field locally and had to pay thru the nose to relocate people from other states to come here.
his belief in the superiority of the Chinese worker, and china in general, was shaken. they cared about money. nothing else.
many of the Chinese and Hondurans got a new name periodically too. you figure it out…
@VDCdriver
So, if you are like me, the next time that you mourn the demise of American industry, you should also feel sorrow when you see our language being slaughtered on a daily basis.
Very good point. I believe that we will never see proper use of the English language in the USA again. I am guilty of using improper English many times… I always wondered why every time I type alot it gets flagged by spell check. That mysteries solved. Lol.
You must understand though times are changing, the use of slang is not only commonplace now, its encouraged. I do not agree with this, however I think its a losing battle.
You down with that? Why you hating?
I feel you man…
“Why you hating?”
Hating?
No
I reserve the emotion of hate for people like Adolph Hitler, Pol Pot, Osama bin Laden, and others who slaughtered innocent people and attempted to destroy entire civilizations and cultures.
Instead, I dislike (sometimes very strongly) things like…the demise of American industry…intoxicated drivers…people who attempt to deprive others of their rights…and–yes–those who routinely misuse their native language.
I fully understand that language evolves and changes over time and that slang may eventually enter the dictionary, but to try to rationalize one’s misuse of his native language by claiming that we should “give in” to a losing battle is not something with which I will ever agree.
"That mysteries solved."
No, but that mystery is solved.
;-))
I needed to remove the screws holding the warped rotors on my daughter’s Honda. It was late and I decided to be cheap and I bought an impact driver at Harbor Fright for $9. I wacked on it a few times and the screw never moved. I took a look at the phillips bit and the end was twisted into a spiral. In stalled the other bit into the tool and hit it and after 3 hits it was twisted. The screw was in perfect shape. I could hear it chuckling at me. I decided to drill off its head and be done with it.
I did find and buy one made in the USA. It cost me $80, but it works!
American industry is not gone, it has changed. and some manufacturing, like automobiles, dropped dramatically and then returned. It could be worse. Holden, Ford, and Toyota are the only auto builders in Australia, and all will cease operations ther by the end of 2017.
Thank you for that link, knfenimore!
I have bookmarked it for future use.
Years ago, my dad bought me a Craftsman 3/8" variable speed reversible drill. It has seen hard use. It did develop a terrible noise and when I took it apart, I found that the bearing plate was worn. I ordered a new bearing plate Sears parts department, but was told that the drill couldn’t be repaired in house. I asked what kind of grease should be packed in and they couldn’t answer that question. I installed the bearing plate and used some fresh gun grease out of my grease gun. The drill has worked perfectly for the last 30 years. I did purchase a 3/8" rechargeable battery drill from Harbor Freight. It is o.k. for lighter jobs, but for heavy drilling jobs, I still like that Craftsman drill. I don’t find using an extension cord a real inconvenience.
Back to the original question, I find a great difference between Snap On tools and other brands.
Mountainbike said it’s not the tool, it’s the artist. I disagree to a certain point. True, I’ll never paint like Picasso no matter the brushes, but I have seen a guy round out a flare nut using a Craftsman line wrench when a Snap on open end wrench easily turned it without slipping.
@asemaster–I am sure good tools are a must for a professional mechanic, just as a good musical instrument is essential for a professional musician. I almost gave up playing my horn about 20 years ago. I just couldn’t seem to play a fast passage of music accurately. I signed up for lessons with a good horn teacher. She told me to go home and memorize the passage I had to play. I did that and it didn’t seem to help. When I came to my next lesson, she put a blindfold on me and had me play the passage. She then took my horn, did something, put the horn back in my lap and told me to play the passage again. I was able to play the passage very accurately. She then took off the blindfold. She had put my mouthpiece in her horn and I was playing her instrument. I had played the same horn for 40 years and the valves were all leaking. I didn’t realize how much the instrument had deteriorated. I elected to buy a new horn.
If I did a lot of work with machinery, I would certainly want the best tools. I had a graduate assistant from Thailand and asked me if I knew where she could purchase a Fluke voltmeter for her nephew who was studying to be an electrical engineer. I had never heard of a Fluke voltmeter, but I called an electronic supply store and they stocked these voltmeters. I took her to the store and the proprietor told me that the Fluke was the best voltmeter in the world and it is made in the U.S.A. For my purposes, however, the cheap voltmeter I bought at WalMart for $10 serves my purposes in testing batteries.
My dad was a Craftsman guy so I became one. I don’t recall the brand or where I got it but I have an actual metric crescent wrench. It is clearly marked 200mm on the handle. I have complete peace of mind knowing that I have the proper crescent wrench for metric fasteners. Ha! Ha! Ha!