How do we feel about Chinese made electrical tools?

[china]

Keia yesI found out the hard way

[Dennis]

Sometimes Chinese does just fine and if you dont hate Amazon and Ebay, you deal direct with them. Dennis.

[china]

Yes dealing direct would be better as you know that you are buying to a price, the Foredom flex shaft I purchased at a gem show as a genuine item turnout to be a forgery
and of course the the seller has disappeared of the planet.

[ShinyLauren]

I would save up for the Fordom one they are really nice to use I tried cheaper one and they don't seem to have the control either to hot or to cold

I think I may do this then. I might get one of the cheapo battery pens for now, just to add bits together whilst I'm practicing.

[ShinyLauren]

Thanks for all the advice - I think I probably knew the answer before I asked the question!

[BarryM]

It is not that they are made in China being a problem (most iPhones are made there with very high quality) - it is that they are poor copies, which is not restricted to China, although the majority seem to come from there. If the real item costs £200 and you think you can get a copy that "is just as good" for £100, then don't be upset when you find it isn't.


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[Dennis]

I know Barry, but for 'just as good', substitute 'all I need' and you have some money over to spend elsewhere. For instance, my spare micromotor seized up a year ago and I bought a Marathon via Amazon for just under £100 all in.
It turned out that I liked it so much that I have used it ever since. My main motor by Ram Products from Sutton Tools cost four times as much some years ago. Dennis.

[ps_bond]

I recently had a discussion with someone who reckoned they'd purchased a genuine Smiths Little Torch from China. It's got the serial number and everything... I suggested that that was not an indicator of it being genuine, but they were adamant, claiming that Smiths themselves had validated the s/n. I remain deeply sceptical.

While "good enough" quality might be achievable, if there are any problems - up to and including duff earthing that gives you a shock - then you have no protection at all. Things are still being marked as CE compliant that have been nowhere near appropriate checks - I can't remember if I've used this example before, but a (former) colleague of mine purchased some LED spotlights from China via EBay; when they arrived he discovered that a) the anode of the LEDs were floating at 220ish Volts (think there may have been a rectifier & smoothing cap, don't recall as it wasn't the salient issue) and b) there was no protective glass over the front of the lamps, so you'd have had a mains-level shock if you'd touched it. They were CE marked as well.

Caveat Emptor.

[Goldsmith]

If you are making a living from your work then always buy the best tools available as the cost of tools is totally reclaimable against any income tax you may need to pay on your manufacturing earnings. When I had a good earning year I enjoyed updating and restocking my workshop with new tools before any income tax papers were submitted rather than giving money to the government.

[ShinyLauren]

If you are making a living from your work then always buy the best tools available as the cost of tools is totally reclaimable against any income tax you may need to pay on your manufacturing earnings. When I had a good earning year I enjoyed updating and restocking my workshop with new tools before any income tax papers were submitted rather than giving money to the government.

At the moment I am still working for a law firm 4 days a week, so I am just reinvesting earnings from my jewellery in buying new tools (rather than paying extra tax on it), so that when I no longer have a 'proper' job I'll already have all the tools I'll ever need. And a PUK welder...

I am trying to buy the best I can afford, but was vaguely hoping that for something I might not use loads, like the wax pen, I could get away with a cheapo version!