Well—–
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It is time to upgrade from my trusty 9V Makita battery drill! I am looking for drill, recip saw and circular saw (package). I’d like to ‘buy American’— if the quality is there.
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The options out there are staggering!
Please— does anyone have a real gripe about a model/brand—so I can remove that from the list of possibilities?!
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Thanks very much– Rick
Replies
Bump.
What mean-- bump??
Your thread had moved down in the tools section. Out of sight.When I replied with "bump", it moved your thread back up where people could see it. So you could get some replies.=0)
Never take a cross country trip with a kid who has just learned to whistle.
I seriously doubt that any of the reasonable options are made in the US.
Pieced out...I believe Milwaukee "SawZall" and Skill / Bosch "Wormdrives" are made in U.S.
rustbucket
How big are you looking to go? I like my 18v Milwaukee set a lot, but it's quite a bit heavier. I've also had good luck with a Makita 14.4v that I've had for years(drill only). I guess those two brands would be my personal bias. As for being American made, couldn't tell you.
Makita still makes 'em good.
zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
Hard to say which Milwaukee tools are still made in the US, if any.
For awhile Milwaukee was owned by Atlas Copco Group (AEG), and quite a few AEG and Milwaukee tools were identical except for the color. Then in 2004 Atlas sold out to Techtronic Industries in Hong Kong, who now owns Milwaukee, AEG and Ryobi power tools and accessories; Ryobi and Homelite outdoor power equipment; and Royal, Dirt Devil, Regina and Vax floor care appliances.
Yeah, I bought my kit probably 5-6 years ago...still haven't looked to know where it's made, all I know is it ain't dead yet.
i have bosch 18v , dewalt (pos) ryobi (junk) makita ( good) rigid ( lifetime warranty , even covers the batteries) and i have delt with there technical services people a number of times however bosch & milwaukee are hard to beat except except they are higher priced
the bosch kit has everything made all over the world the real UN of kits
I have a standalone Makita 12v impact driver and their 12v flourescent light. The driver was made in Japan, the current model is now made in China. The light, far as I know, was always made in China. The batteries, last time I bought them, were made in Japan and the cheapo charger that comes with the kit is Chinese while the better quick charger is made in Japan (when I bought it).
All of the Makita "M Force" stuff is made in China.
I also have the Milwaukee 18v nicad kit. The Hatchet Sawzall and the circular saw were made in the USA, charger and light in China, batteries in Japan and I forget where the hammerdrill is made (not USA or China, though). I do not know where the tools in current kits are made.
I have looked at the new Makita 18v LI-ion stuff, and most of it was made in Japan, and I imagine that manufacturing will move to China soon- it's all about the money.
If I was buying a kit today, I would look long and hard at the new LI-ion Makita stuff. There are a staggering amount of tools available for the system. I haven't actually seen the instruction sheet, but there have been mentions here regarding temperature restrictions for the batteries.
As far as a 100% American made kit goes, I doubt it exists. I certainly haven't found it.
My Lion batteries have to be warm. That goes for the Bosch and Makita.
Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?
How warm is "warm"? Any chance of posting an excerpt from the instructions?
I suppose that working outside yesterday in single digit temperatures would not be a good thing with a LI-ion tool.... (I didn't like it, either)
To tell you the truth I've never read the instructions. I'm just going by experiance. I'll dig them up today and look.
Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?
As far as I know the Milwaukee hammerdrill is or was made in Germany.
I have a old AEG hammerdrill, and my Dad bought a Milwaukee hammerdrill a few years ago. It is identical to my old AEG except that is is red where the AEG is black, and the AEG does say made in Germany on it.
But who knows, when AEG bought Milwaukee they could have started manufacturing the Milwaukee version in the US or assembled them in the US with some German parts. If you go and look at the Milwaukee and Techtronic Corp. sites they do say some tools are assembled in the US with parts coming from various country's.
Check out this article that Tools of the Trade did. It covers every single Li-Io tool that is made today and evaluates each tool's pro's and con's.
http://www.toolsofthetrade.net/articles/showarticle.asp?articleID=2458&position=1&type=article&partID=1
This is a great summary article-- thank you.
Thanks to everyone-- you all have been a great help.
Rick
I always have a problem with the "buy American" - even though you did not say "at any cost".
Makita is designed in Japan, probably made in China or Thailand, but the important thing is, the home office sets the quality standards.
I generally buy Milwaukee or Bosch. I don't care where they are made. I want the product quality and usefulness.
I know this post will bring out all the "American Firsters", but it's irrelevant. Tool manufacturing in North America is largely gone to less expensive pastures.
It benefits the country producing the tools and the consumer, too (you).
Long live free enterprise.
Quality repairs for your home.
AaronR Construction
Vancouver, Canada
all that and not a word about their better customer service...Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming<!----><!----><!---->
WOW!!! What a Ride!Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Even if the tool itself is made in, say, Germany, the batteries will probably be made in Japan or China. Sony and Panasonic have a lock on the high-end battery technoligies, I believe.
So convenient a thing it is to be a reasonable Creature, since it enables one to find or make a Reason for everything one has a mind to do. --Benjamin Franklin
Back when people had a choice between American made and the cheaper import, the wallets voted cheaper.
The wallets still vote cheaper most of the time.
The stores want a cheaper wholesale so the profits go up, so the consumer does not have a choice. Then, the store gets rid of the US made comparable product and boosts the price of the import junk. Big Orange now sells "AmeriFlow" by Hart and Cooley- HVAC grilles and registers that are now made in China... sold at the same price as the plain old Hart and Cooley product made in the USA.... US made Woods extension cords have all been replaced by "Commercial Electric" Chinese product... Chinese made Mueller sillcocks have replaced US made Nibco and Mansfield at double the price....
"Buying American at any cost" is no longer an option- the choice does not exist anymore for plenty of merchandise (remember US made halogen worklights?). Even Metabo cordless tools are all made in China- probably by the same outfit making Ryobi.
Now, some wallets wonder where the good paying jobs are...
Go figure.
Not hard to do when your house is full of cheap labor imported junk.
Wall Street is just as guilty- demanding more and more profits, and the only way left to get it is to outsource the merchandise in the store.
I agree with almost everything you say.
Yes, the Wal-Mart mentality really did mess up the American (Canadian) "good jobs", and yes, Wall Street (Bay Street), England's FTSE traders etc. want more profits, CEOs want more profits (better buy-outs and severances) and the like .....
But I think a lot of the problems started with AFL-CIO allied gents/ladies who wanted more and more and, finally, the industries told the unions that they were leaving the country because manufacturing jobs were taking more and more of the cost equation.
The computer industry long ago went offshore. Electronics generally is gone. Why should tools be any different?
And perhaps you can tell me why imported = junk?
Are you old enough to remember "Jap Crap?" When people laughed at the old, ugly Toyotas, and said they would never sell? What now?
Manufacturing is like home building/renos/repairs. What counts is the quality, not where the trades come from. Here in Vancouver we have a lot of Asian tradespersons. Some are lousy, some are great. The person who makes the place a great building is the site supervisor/lead/owner. He/she demands the quality.
If you don't like the quality of the tool, or the lousy service, complain to the American owners. Like Marty posted above, not only do Makita have a great tool, they give great service.
In Vancouver, getting good service for my Milwaukee stuff is nearly impossible. If something goes down, I probably won't buy the brand again. Bosch fired the sales reps for Home Depot just before Christmas and replaced them with a merchandiser. I may not buy there again (I told them).
Sum total? If you want good quality, tell the people at the top of the food chain.Quality repairs for your home.
AaronR ConstructionVancouver, Canada
I remember when Nissan was Datsun, and I know that Toyota is really Toyoda. I also know that, until fairly recently, Honda, Nissan and Toyota cars and trucks had a basecoat of rust under the paint from the factory.
Thirty years ago, few wanted to buy one of those imports, and the gas crunch fixed that. History repeats itself... or does it? Domestic auto makers supply what consumers demand: big and fast. Same as days gone by.
Government pollution mandates created all kinds of problems as technology was developed. The automakers sure didn't do it on their own cuz that costs money. The exploding Pinto could have been fixed for what, a $2 part? In the end, we now enjoy cars that are much more reliable than even 20 years ago.
Every single benefit enjoyed by any hourly paid employee has been fought for by unions. Workplace safety, overtime pay and the 40 hour work week are also brought to you by unions.
Who is the bigger turd- the guy working an assembly line for $65 an hour, or the CEO that gets a $210,000,000.00 severance package? What right do doctors and lawyers have to bill out at $300.00 plus an hour when a journeyman craftsman is "too expensive" at $60 an hour?
Are the union guys making too much, or are companies too greedy, or has the American dollar lost too much purchasing power?
When I go to the store and see the Made in China label, I do not see quality. I see an item made as inexpensively as possible and sold for as much as possible, without regard for the human and environmental costs in the process.
To reply to your original post.
I have tools from most of the major manufacturers, piecemeal. Ryobi, Ridgid, Bosch, Milwaukee, DeWalt, Hitachi, and a couple older Makita tools. Personal preference is Bosch or Hitachi, although the Ryobi pieces are probably the best bang for the buck. If I were buying a combo kit, I'd probably research Bosch, Makita and Ridgid. Some kits have gems and dogs, it's a good idea to get an up-close look if you can.
I have a Makita 14.4 volt drill , circ saw, impact driver and flashlight and am quite happy with them. Many Makita tools are made in Buford, Georgia. If I could get my hands on an old 14.4 volt Makita sawzall, I would be ecstatic.