I have a set of socket wrenches that I bought at Penney's over 40 years ago.
I bought them because they
were about 10-15% less than the Craftsman brand. They had the same lifetime
guarantee as Sears. Unfortunately,
they stopped selling tools in the early '80s. Still work great, other than
the 7/16 that some got lost under the
carpet of the Spit for about 20 years. A Snap-On found on the race track
replaced that.
As for Harbor Freight and other el cheapo tools, I will buy them as a one
time deal for limited jobs. But when they
need replacing, I try to buy quality. I bought a cheap tap and die set years
ago. As the original wear out, they get
replaced with good stuff.
Doug
--
Doug Mitchell
dmitchel@sbcglobal.net
-----Original Message-----
From: fot-bounces@autox.team.net [mailto:fot-bounces@autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of TeriAnn J. Wakeman
Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2013 9:54 AM
To: FOT
Subject: Re: [Fot] Harbor Freight
On 1/7/13 10:29 PM, Bill Tobin wrote:
> Funny how "China Freight" always uses cutesy names for their stuff: US
> General, Chicago Hydraulics, etc.
After WWII and well into the 1960's Japanese products for export to the US
followed the same strategy. Provide a name that Americans would be
comfortable with that would give the impression of quality and reliability.
Growing up my first sewing machine was made in Japan and carried the brand
name "Stradivarius" .
My first tools were acquired on an as needed basis one at a time as I needed
to get something done when I could not afford a pro to perform the task. I
would go to a shop. They would diagnose the problem and give me an estimate
I could not afford. I would then go to the library and read everything I
could find about that part of a car. Then I would go to the parts store
and purchase the part. Then I would give it a go. Usually the process would
look more like a keystone comedy skit from the Lucille Ball show with me
accidentally taking off wrong parts, breaking things because I didn't know
how to use a tool properly or taking off too many parts. I once or twice
had a spark plug launch itself off the engine whilst driving down a road
because I didn't get it on tight enough. And of course by the time I stopped
work on a project I had more grease and grime on me than the vehicle had on
it.
At first a car project would usually include multiple trips to purchase a
tool I did not have but perceived I needed for the next step of the project.
My first breaker bar, short extension and spark plug socket carried the
brand name "J.C. Penny". Yes Penny's used to sell tools that carried their
name.
TeriAnn
If I'd had enough money back then to pay a mechanic I would never have
learned how to turn a wrench.
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