I Ordered DeWalt Tools From China

[HillStreet]

Years ago, stuff made in Japan was junk. Not anymore. China does have a lot of junk but they are getting better at producing quality. However, most of the old companies have been bought out, (like Stanley and Craftsman), and profits are being made because of Name Recognition while quality has gone down. It's all about profit. The real old American companies that made good stuff are all about gone. Most have new owners and are overseas.

I have said this for many years and I love this country but American tools and vehicles are falling behind. I drive Toyotas and Kubota’s and operate mostly Bosch and Makita tools.

 

[HillStreet]

I am the OP on this thread. Last night I sent a reply e-mail to my order e-mail asking for a status check. Nothing yet but I am thinking it will work out.

 

[newbury]

DeWalt is switching over the the 20v lithium battery tools. 18v Nicad batteries and tools will be supported but are being phased out. So it is not surprising that some 18v deals are going to be popping up. Look at any of the big box stores and see how many 18V tools you can buy. They are getting rare.

Doug in SW IA

Had to check the date of your post.
They've been switching for about 7 years. Now they are switching to FlexVolt.

Almost all power tools are made in China now. From the viewpoint of the buyer, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Some of the Chinese tools are as good or better than anything made in the US. An example are the Earthquake impact wrenches you get from Harbor Freight. They are phenomenal. For a steadily increasing number of consumer goods, China is the place to go for quality and low prices.

China, Japan, Germany, America, wherever - they all can produce quality tools. The big difference is the quality control the consumer will accept. Quality control costs money.

If you don't mind welds that look like bird crap, paint that peels, misdrilled non-essential holes, wear items like belts that wear IMMEDIATELY, and lubrication that needs to be replaced BEFORE use, a lot of inexpensive Chinese equipment is fully functional and a great buy.

 

[Oaktree]

I have said this for many years and I love this country but American tools and vehicles are falling behind. I drive Toyotas and Kubota’s and operate mostly Bosch and Makita tools.

People were saying the same thing 40-50 years ago. Didn't buy the "American made stuff=crap" argument then, don't buy it now.
Most "Japanese" cars sold here have been built here for decades. If anything, they're better quality than the old ones from Japan.

As far as smaller things like tools go, it just doesn't make economic sense to build them here. Our wages and other costs of doing business are just too high to compete. Yeah, Chinese stuff has kind of a bad rep, but they make good stuff too.
There is something to be said for buying "ok quality" tools. Technology advances so fast, today's power tools are light years ahead of ones made even 10 years ago. Why make something that will last 25 years when it will be obsolete in 10?

 

[Travelover]

...........Quality control costs money............

I would disagree with you here. In the long run, quality control is a big money saver. My career was in the US auto industry. When I hired in in the early 80's the company I worked for was paying 5 billion dollars a year in warranty costs. At that time, a whole new vehicle redesign cost about 1.5 to 2 billion dollars. So, instead of coming out with two completely new cars a year, we were infuriating customers with low quality. Not much of a money saver.

 

[MossRoad]

I think a lot of people are living in the past with respect to China's capabilities. A country that can do this can make a quality tool. Photos from the Moon's Far Side! China's Chang'e 4 Lunar Landing in Pictures

A fine use of stolen technology.

 

[Agvg]

I would disagree with you here. In the long run, quality control is a big money saver. My career was in the US auto industry. When I hired in in the early 80's the company I worked for was paying 5 billion dollars a year in warranty costs. At that time, a whole new vehicle redesign cost about 1.5 to 2 billion dollars. So, instead of coming out with two completely new cars a year, we were infuriating customers with low quality. Not much of a money saver.

Well, the money is in finding how low quality you can get a way with, high quality is probably not something that pays off very well. All cars seems to have designed issues that is by design, and lowering lifetime on wear items that produces a money flow in to the dealers is important, German VW dealers has been complaining on lack of "work" on newer cars, electric cars are the biggest fear because of a very low need for service and a very simple design.

 

[JK22]

Had to check the date of your post.
They've been switching for about 7 years. Now they are switching to FlexVolt.

Flex volt is just a 6ah 20/60v battery. All the hand tools still use 20v. The larger battery powered tools like miter saws or leaf blowers run on 60v only. You get 6ah with a flex volt battery at 20v, but they are huge. Most of their hand tools still come with 2ah or 3ah 20v battery. I have one flexvolt battery, but it really is a big brick on the tool.

 

[Fuddy1952]

A fine use of stolen technology.

Amen brother!

 

[stuckmotor]

Around fifteen years back, I found an internet ad for 3 1/2" or 4" angle grinders for around $5.00 each. I ordered several. The longest any ran was possibly ten minutes and one didn't last two. It was a cheap lesson for me. The worst part was that the shaft nuts and flanges were undersized and I couldn't use them as spares when I lost similar parts off of my other grinders.
I'm still using an old orange HF grinder I bought at around the same time.