Steve Hoch
TVWBB Platinum Member
Yeah, that is kind of cool. I like it.
I will just leave this here
- Thread starter Bruce
- Start date
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
One of my other crazy hobbies - an occasional offshoot from my grill restoration - is restoring old tools. A while back I posted this one that I did for my organization's thrift store in Florida. Underneath all that rust was a pretty nice, Made in USA Ridgid monkey wrench:
Last week was "Covered Bridge Festival" here in our part of Indiana. My wife and aunt-in-law went for the crafts and clothing hawked by vendors all along the roadsides; I zeroed in on a vendor selling old tools. I picked up a few old Made in USA Craftsman items, a 7/16" wrench and 7/16" sockets (for obvious reasons), but the real jewel was this $4 crescent wrench from the ORIGINAL Crescent Tool Co. in Jamestown, NY. This vendor just had stuff out in boxes where they were rained on:
The transformation on this one is not as dramatic. I decided to use satin black paint to give this old wrench a modern twist:
Last week was "Covered Bridge Festival" here in our part of Indiana. My wife and aunt-in-law went for the crafts and clothing hawked by vendors all along the roadsides; I zeroed in on a vendor selling old tools. I picked up a few old Made in USA Craftsman items, a 7/16" wrench and 7/16" sockets (for obvious reasons), but the real jewel was this $4 crescent wrench from the ORIGINAL Crescent Tool Co. in Jamestown, NY. This vendor just had stuff out in boxes where they were rained on:
The transformation on this one is not as dramatic. I decided to use satin black paint to give this old wrench a modern twist:
Joe Anshien
TVWBB Platinum Member
Here is a video that tests that theory....You are basically correct.
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
The old REAL Crescent that I posted has that nut that tightens the hold. Seems like very little play, unlike my new, cheap ones that probably aren't even worth having in my tool box. I mainly bought and restored this wrench just for the fun of it, but for those times when a crescent wrench is an acceptable choice, I think this one will be getting the call. So, it turns out to be very worthwhile - and cheaper than the Asian imports!
Bill Pudim
TVWBB Super Fan
I like unusual.This was posted on the Weber Owner's Club on FB. Very unusual but kind of cool. Definitely thinking outside the box.
Steve Hoch
TVWBB Platinum Member
I have watched a bunch of pretty interesting tool restoration videos on YouTube that I came across while looking for how to info on my older craftsman socket wrenches. They were in need of some attention and I didn't want to turn them in for the new Chinese made version. They work like new again.
Ed P
TVWBB Platinum Member
I've had this discussion with my grandson...I can remember back in the 50s and 60s, when "Made in Japan" stood for shoddy, cheap, throw-away, with cast zinc tools that you would buy a set for less than a dollar, use once or twice and then throw away. Then at some point, beginning around the time that Japanese motorcycles started being imported into the US, Japanese quality and value improved immensely, and at some point they began to make our products look bad, especially in the automotive sector; and now Japanese products are very highly regarded. I see the same thing happening again with China.
Steve Hoch
TVWBB Platinum Member
Ed, you're absolutely correct. The Chinese products are made to the standards of their customers, and in most cases their factories have been set up by American companies to begin with. All things being equal though, I still prefer American made.
Steve Hoch
TVWBB Platinum Member
In fact, grill related and illustrating my point is the story of a friend of mine. He worked for Weber for many years as a quality control manager here in Palatine and then Huntley. Several years ago they started sending him to China to help set their factory up over there. A few years later he was unemployed.
LMichaels
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
And that right there is just another reason I will never again buy their grills (other than an old one to fix up as a daily driver).
Jay D in Jersey
TVWBB Wizard
Except that Chinese products have had plenty of time to up the quality but with few exceptions, they have not.
Joe Anshien
TVWBB Platinum Member
I am reading "Factory Man" from the public library, recommended to me by Willard, a book on how the Bassett family "Battled Offshoring, Stayed Local - and Helped Save an American Town", in the following thread. When John Bassett III met with Taiwanse business man he states " I negotiated plenty of deals with Europeans and South Americans, but he'd never met people quite like Americans. If the price is right, you will do anything. We have never seen people before who are this greedy -- or this naïve."
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Restoring Grills and Teaching Kids a thing or two
Jay D, I prefer to buy solid furniture, preferably used. IKEA is trash but for some things and for a couple of years (kids bedrooms) it does the job. Things these days are just NOT built to last because companies play on the whole renew and redecorate every few years. Don’t get me started on...
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