Torque Wrenches

[victorofhavoc]

Well so much for these being made in the USA. Mind you I called Mac Tools directly, gave them these part numbers, and they assured me that they were made in the USA. What a joke.

View attachment 214256


On the other hand my Precision Instruments split beam torque wrench came in a few days ago. Looks fantastic and is ACTUALLY made in the USA!!! Woohoo!

View attachment 214258

Don't count your chickens just yet... Make sure to get the grip off and look for the "China" or "Taiwan" stamp that's under it.

It doesn't say "made in the USA" there, it just says "USA". I've had an American flag that said USA on the packaging and made in China on the label

 

[Diggs24]

 

[PowerDemon]

Don't count your chickens just yet... Make sure to get the grip off and look for the "China" or "Taiwan" stamp that's under it.

It doesn't say "made in the USA" there, it just says "USA". I've had an American flag that said USA on the packaging and made in China on the label

Yeah I don’t know... The box says “Made in the USA since 1938” and it comes with a calibration sheet with all matching serial numbers. I don’t know how much you can ask for. I had some questions about the wrench so I called Precision Instruments, and before we hung up he thanked me for buying American. So there is that, but as we’ve seen people saying stuff on the phone doesn’t carry much weight

So much for being made in America. Maybe the made in Taiwan refers to the plastic bag? Lol...

I wish. Unfortunately nowhere on the items themselves is the country of manufacture mentioned. That usually means the worst lol


For the record I do not hate foreign made tools. Almost all the tools I use to wrench on my car right now are Chinese/Taiwanese made and they have served me flawlessly so far. They also offer an outstanding quality/cost ratio. I just wanted to start piecing together a quality all American set and it is proving to be much more difficult than I expected.

 

[OryxRob]

Got to laugh at this, made in America obsessed.
Driving a German branded car packed full of Chinese’s components.
Likely posting on a phone / tablet jammed full of Far Eastern electronics.

I’d wager $100 says that torque wrench has nothing to do with being American.

I used to sell Raleigh & Dawes bikes, both had A massive “made in England “ sticker on them, yet not a single component was made in the UK.

 

[victorofhavoc]

My Italian race suit, shoes, and gloves are made in Romania, Croatia, and Italy respectively.

Granted the majority of things we eat these days are grown or slaughtered in other countries too, and I find that farrrr more concerning than some Chinese tools and phones.

Sadly, it's the world we live in. We wouldn't be able to afford living the way we do in America without taking advantage of the poor in other countries... You don't even have to have very much money to live like a king here, anyone can do it.

 

[PowerDemon]

Got to laugh at this, made in America obsessed.
Driving a German branded car packed full of Chinese’s components.
Likely posting on a phone / tablet jammed full of Far Eastern electronics.

I’d wager $100 says that torque wrench has nothing to do with being American.

I used to sell Raleigh & Dawes bikes, both had A massive “made in England “ sticker on them, yet not a single component was made in the UK.

Not made in America obsessed. Like I said I have no problem buying products from other countries. I doubt I own a single electronic device that is made in the United States and that's fine. I understand that my “German” car is built in Mexico with globally sourced parts and I have no problem with that.

I have always associated American made tools as some of the best hand tools that you can get and that's why I've been trying to start my collection. The thing that makes my whole attempt seem ridiculous (and it does seem ridiculous to keep canceling orders and sending perfectly good products back) is that companies like Matco and Mac claim to be “American made” yet they consistently make tools in foreign factories and then sell them at the same insane prices that they charge for the US stuff for what I imagine is a massive profit margin. I detest this business practice. If its Taiwanese market it as such and lower the price. That’s all this is about. It is the principle of false advertising that really bugs me.

You might be right about the torque wrench thing. I’ll never know.

 

[Strange Mud]

the quality of my Kobalt torques seems good. I never calibrated them but did think of a similar method of the jug.

Wrench CSB: ordered something from work from Graingers (i don't remember what but just something in the $40 range). Instead of what I wanted I got a 3/4" Proto torque about 3-4" long with the number of what I wanted on it but obviously mis-labled. I debated keeping it but instead dealt with the hassle of explaining to them and returning it. It was prob a $1000+ wrench. At time honesty sucks...

 

[Desslok]

Made in America does not guarantee it's good. McDonald's has sold "billions and billions" of the worst mystery meat burgers ever made.

 

[Acadia18]

Made in America does not guarantee it's good. McDonald's has sold "billions and billions" of the worst mystery meat burgers ever made.

Actually, one of McDondald's largest meat processing plants is in Germany. So while it may be "Assembled in the USA", it's components certainly aren't made here

 

[Raguvian]

I don't understand the need to buy USA for tools either if you're a weekend mechanic just occasionally working on stuff. 90% of my tools are from Harbor Freight and they've worked well for my usage, including multiple clutch jobs, a head gasket, and lots of suspension and brake jobs. Have I broken stuff? Yes, but it's not an issue considering I can just go to the local HF and buy some more replacements. It's not my job that I'm dependent upon to make money and actually live, so if something does snap I can wait a day or two to get a replacement, without having to spend boatloads of money on tools.

The only hand tools I don't like from HF are the wobbly extensions because they snap easily. I just replaced those with some Gearwrench non wobble extensions. For power tools I stick with Milwaukee to stay with one battery system, but otherwise I think everything came from HF, including the tool box.

 

[victorofhavoc]

I don't understand the need to buy USA for tools either if you're a weekend mechanic just occasionally working on stuff. 90% of my tools are from Harbor Freight and they've worked well for my usage, including multiple clutch jobs, a head gasket, and lots of suspension and brake jobs. Have I broken stuff? Yes, but it's not an issue considering I can just go to the local HF and buy some more replacements. It's not my job that I'm dependent upon to make money and actually live, so if something does snap I can wait a day or two to get a replacement, without having to spend boatloads of money on tools.

The only hand tools I don't like from HF are the wobbly extensions because they snap easily. I just replaced those with some Gearwrench non wobble extensions. For power tools I stick with Milwaukee to stay with one battery system, but otherwise I think everything came from HF, including the tool box.

My reasons for generally trying to buy American (and from European countries) are:

Generally better QC
More durable selections
Less chance of child labor
Less chance of manipulated and mistreated employees
Better warranty availability and someone to legitimately "own" the product they're producing
Better for the environment due to less shipping, better first world regulations on byproducts and contaminants, and of course policing to back it up

Unfortunately this is going the way of the dodo. China is what's becoming the norm, and while not all products are bad, the reality is that American workers are expensive, they want Healthcare, they want a liveable min wage, and they require unions or insurance as protection. While I agree all these things are necessary for people to have a reasonable life and not feel like they're working in a factory in China, they drive up the cost...

 

[Hoon]

Tekton is cheap and they work well. My only gripe is they don't work for reverse thread.

 

[Charlotte.:R]

Actually, one of McDondald's largest meat processing plants is in Germany. So while it may be "Assembled in the USA", it's components certainly aren't made here

Pretty sure that is for European distribution, and the majority of McDs beef here in the US is sourced domestically.

 

[bentin]

Hehe, I intentionally only buy made in the US clothing. It's impressive just how badly aligned Made In USA shirts are compared to Made in China, which are nearly all perfectly aligned. There's also a comical lack in sizing consistency among the same brand. But I'm supporting local folks, and most of the time, repairs are extremely easy when needed. But there are lots of things that made in USA either isn't worth it or even possible, there was a six month window or so that you could get a Made in Forth Worth Motorola smart phone, but those days are long gone.

I have a Tektron 1/4" and a Snap on 1/2", there's obviously a quality difference in the two, but probably not nearly justified by the pricing delta.