Story about home power tools

Heard on the radio just now -- heard it before too -- that there was a big influx into Baltimore of workers from West Virginia and Virginia and Carolina during the war and maybe other times, and Black and Decker used to rent power tools to the shipyard(s?) here. According to someone quoting Mr. Decker, he noticed -- didn't say exactly when

-- that people were taking the tools home and bringing them back, and he asked them why, and was told "I can get so much done with these things at home." And after that, Black and Decker started selling the tools through hardware stores.

Reply to
mm
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sad they cut to junk quality, B&D is known as disposable tools

Reply to
hallerb

B&D has various grades of tools as do many other manufacturers. I have a B&D *industrial* 3/8" drill that has had much use for the last

20 years. I also have a B&D 7/8 HP router - the antecedant of the Dewalt 610 - that has been used even more over almost 40 years. I replaced its bearings about 10 years ago.
Reply to
dadiOH

Yes it is sad. They took the B&D brand name and used it to sell garbage to make the most profit in the short term. If the B&D brand is on ANY quality tools anymore I haven't heard of them.

Reply to
marson

"dadiOH" :

But that is exactly the point, isn't it. Your excellent stuff is really old and not the current stuff. Tomes

Reply to
Tomes

Or it might be said they they responded to the big box cheap, cheap, cheap is all that matters syndrome.

Reply to
George

OP said B&G started retailing during "the war" (presumably, WW2) and the person to whom I posted said it was a shame they diminished the quality (presumably, when they started retailing). I was pointing out that was not the case at least as recently as 20 years ago, probably less. Besides, they still make the good stuff, just marketed under different names...DeWalt, Porter-Cable, Delta...

The Dewalt 610 router was exactly same as my ancient B&D except it could use 1/2" collets, was a bit more powerful and had a tab over part of the power switch. I'd love to find a motor unit from one.

Reply to
dadiOH

marson wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@a70g2000hsh.googlegroups.com:

Are you kidding? Just go to WalMart. They have all the B&D stuff! :-)

Regarding old B&D, I have this 7 1/4 circ saw I bought in 1981. It just won't die. You can hear the bearings rattle even. It started doing that a year ago. Never put brushes in it. Can you imagine.

Reply to
Red Green

HAD, not has. All B & D is low end stuff for the once a year user. No more pro tools.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

Cool.

Reply to
Tomes

Right, the big one, W W 2. :) I should have said that.

Reply to
mm

Right, the big one, W W 2. :) I should have said that.

Even if one doesn't like B&D now, my post was meant as a bit of history about power tools. Apparently they were the first??? to sell to consumers. Of course if they hadn't done it someone else would have eventually, but that's true of lots of history.

And I thought the reason was interesting.

Yet, like in lots of groups on lots of topics, every time someone mentions B&D, someone else has to say how bad they are now. There are far more people who want cheap tools rather than great ones and someone is going to make them for them. And someone will make the great ones. That's called free enterprise and the market system.

Reply to
mm

It was.

I don't buy or use cheap tools. OK, I'm a tool snob. They do, however, have a place. Many homeowners use a drill once or twice a year and they don't need a heavy duty high quality brand. A few weeks ago I bought a 12V Ryobi cordless drill kit for $49. The purpose was to complete a certain job and I know later it will be abused and eventually lost or damaged. The job is now done and the drill is still intact so anything we get from it now is a bonus.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

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