I see China as the 'New Japan' in that years ago Made in Japan meant it was junk, but they have improved to the point that most of their products are of high quality.

When I was young (early 60's) I remember my dad and Grandfather saying they "would never buy that Jap Junk". My dad is now 94 and swears by his Honda.

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

In many industries they have found it's actually cheaper to buy american, (or Canadian) products. The quality is better, usually. And they don't have to replace, scrap, or send back half the parts they get from China.
That said, the Chinese will continue to manufacture a lot of our stuff.

Frank/Rebop

Bristol, In ( by Elkhart) 

My source for individual replacement wrenches, sockets, etc. is swap meets and flea markets. You can get the old American made stuff at reasonable prices if you are patient.

I agree with that. My problem isn't so much where it's being made, but the drop in quality, without a drop in price to the consumer. The craftsman tools are an excellent example of this. That said, as long as American made is available and is equivalent or better quality, that's what I will buy.
Quality does come out of China. Many OEMs have parts made there.
I also don't believe that China and the many other countries will remain cheap forever. Human rights, pay equality, pollution and the disasters that will occur as a result, all of that will catch up to them. With how quickly information spreads, the workers can see what it's like in other parts of the world and start demanding what they deserve. We've already seen this. I think good stuff will eventually come from all over but because of that it will just make sense to get stuff locally, back in the USA, or whatever country it may be by then.


Lawrenceville, GA

I too always will defer to made in America when possible. But, having said that the future is not going to recognize these cultural boundaries. The internet is making our world smaller every day and out sourcing is becoming the smart market strategy for many companies. At this time many try to hide behind "assembled in the US" or "We are an American company" statements. In fact they do much of the labor intensive work off shore. Considering the low wages in these countries it can make sense.
There are companies, even in China, that manufacture products of extreme high quality and tolerances. One of the keys is almost constant monitoring and supervision by company employee's. In the very near future "American made" is going to start to apply to art and crafts items more than anything else.
I am not blindly supportive of this but I see it as inevitable. Have you seen the fancy, embroidered all over (including the brim) that are around in racing today? The overall embroidery work first started coming in from, wait for it, VietNam! And some darn nice work too. Thats just my feelings on the matter, I'm sure you all will have yours. Chuck





Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

I always make an effort to find stuff that is made in the USA. Much of the time, I find what I'm looking for. Guess what? It's usually not more expensive than the Chinese stuff and if it is, it's because the quality far exceeds the Chinese product. I've found the whole American made is more expensive claim to be a myth in most cases. Now, certainly, the companies producing the parts get a boost to their bottom line, but the consumer doesn't pay any more and, yes, there will be exceptions to this.
Next time you need something, anything, see if you can find it made in the USA. You may be surprised at just what is available. You may not be able to walk up the road and buy it, but it's probably out there.


Lawrenceville, GA

Thanks, I'll check them out. I did get the Craftsman tools I needed off of ebay, New, Hecho en USA.

And of course the "missing" wrench turned up AFTER I purchased a new one.




"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

Master Cylinder, while I agree the Craftsman tools are now Crapsman, I needed a 1/2 wrench for my going to the junk yard tool box. I got Performance brand. Durn good quality!! I've been slowly replacing my Pull and Save tools with Performance tools. Cheap and good quality (now if I could only find a woman like dat.....).
My main tools are Snapon but I don't wish to lose them at the junque yard.

The Chinese are taking over.EVERYTHING you look at these days that requires any kind of labour to make is sourced from China(or so it seems).And as mentioned I don't think the quality is there.How do you know this stuff has to pass any kind of quality control inspection?

  

Unfortunately it isn't going to get any better... Today I stopped off at Sears to get a 1/2" combo wrench to replace one of mine that is "missing" (Dang Grandson, haha. It'll turn up). To my surprise the wrenches 'Looked different', the open end was much bigger, physically. Yep, Hecho en China. Made up with bulk instead of using good metal for strength. I left without the wrench. I'll use my 13mm Snap-On until I get either a Snap-On or Proto 1/2". Or maybe a used Craftsman on ebay. When it comes to tools I refuse to buy JUNK. End of RANT...

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL