Why buy top quality tools
made by Elora Werkzeugfabrik?
Please
read on…
If all tools were made the same, they would cost the same. Labor is an
insignificant cost in the production of tools. These days the production of
tools are highly mechanized, so if you pay the person $3.00 per hour or
$30.00 per hour to run a machine that produces 10,000 pieces per hour, you
can see the operators cost per unit is minimal. So how do they make them
cheaper?
Materials
Alloy- is
specific to the application. Iron is the main ingredient of steel. A good
tool must be mixed with minerals to create a good alloy, properly hardened,
forged, and tempered. The combination of these processes are also specific
to the application of the tool. For instance in an impact socket, the steel
is actually softer than a standard socket, so during use, it will not
fragment and hurt the user. Have you ever used a cheap screwdriver, only to
see the corners of the blade twist and bend during the first use? This is a
prime example of cheap materials.
Chrome - Give
chrome plating a thought, are you filling a jewelry box or a tool box?
The tool looks
really nice with a high polish, and the others with a matte chrome finish
are not quite as pretty. That is where the benefit of shiny chrome stops.
Although it is more appealing it is not always as good as the matte chrome
finish.
What keeps your
tool on the fastener is friction.
Look inside
where the socket or wrench contacts the fastener. Is it high polished
chrome? Although pretty, this is not. High polished chrome is a low friction
surface (similar to a bearing surface), allowing you slip on the fastener
easier.
What keeps the
tool in your hand is also friction.
Your hand can
slip off a high polished tool much easier, if this has happened to you, you
understand the pain it can cause.
Standards
DIN and
ISO standards are minimum requirements that a tool must meet, that among
other things determine the shape of the tool, and minimum strength of the
tool under stress. Cheap tools often do not meet the DIN and ISO standards,
while others just meet them. A good tool easily exceeds the standards
providing better performance and a longer life.
Quality control
Do the
cheap tools get checked to see if they meet the specifications, and how
often during the run does this occur? Will your tool damage the fastener
because of improper fit?
Engineering
Top
quality tools are engineered for the function they perform. They are
designed with the best material for that job, while also designing the best
form for the job, and ease for the user.
Equipment
Cost
savings may also be accomplished by purchasing used equipment for the
manufacturing process. Have these machines been refurbished to meet the
specifications, or merely put to use without that consideration?
Cheap tools have hidden costs
Damage to the
fastener
Ever round the
corners on a nut? It is not always the fault of the nut. If you used a cheap
tool, it can cause the damage, and you blame the nut! How much time did this
add to the task you were doing, and how miserable was it? Was the cheap tool
really such a good deal?
Shorter life
Cheap is not
cheap, in the long run. At one time I sold Porter Ferguson 4 ton porta
powers, made in the USA. What a nice piece of equipment! I loved selling
them because they are known to last as long as 30 years in the field, while
requiring minimal maintenance during that period. I never had to apologize
for this product. Customers wanted cheaper units. so I bought 2 cheap sets
from a different manufacturer to sell. What a mistake! Both porta powers
failed at about 30 days into the 90 day warrantee period. After that they
failed again, and for a third time. I learned my lesson, refunded the money,
and destroyed the equipment. In the not so long run the good porta power was
less expensive, you paid for it once. Using the cheaper porta power, if it
lasted a year (and it would not) the breakeven point was about five or six
years, meaning that use of the cheaper tool would actually cost 3 to 4 times
more over the term of a twenty year career.
Safety
Is it really a
good idea to buy a cheap tool that can cause injury? Is it worth the
financial and physical pain?
Beware of the Demonstration
Demonstration of hand tools usually focus on one point, and are, in my
opinion, staged. Two demos’ that come to mind are for wrenches and
screwdrivers.
A wrench demo I have seen has you take 2 different branded wrenches mounted
on a piece of NYLON hex stock, and you turn them until one slips. Wow! The
one is better than the other, Right? Not necessarily, unless you intend to
turn nylon nuts all the time. My guess is you will be turning metal nuts a
lot more often, and that is the demo you should see. If you are shown this
one, ask the demonstrator to demonstrate this using steel hex stock.
Screwdrivers are often made with high torque handles, and are demonstrated
showing how well it works in a high torque application, breaking a screw
loose. While this is true, I have found it is more difficult to rotate the
screwdriver after the screw is loose with those type of handles. So you have
to ask yourself, how often do I have to brake screws loose, and how often am
I easily spinning the screw running out to the end of the threads? A normal
handle is easier to run out to the end of the threads. And some screwdrivers
have a built in nut on the shaft so you may break screw loose, for this
abnormal condition.
Reference from
www.bloomertool.com
