Well said. I remember going into the trades back in the early 70s, and it was a different world. There were NO foreign tools on the job. Porter Cab le was king, and they made a fine grade of professional tools. They had so me competition with the industrial line of Black and Decker (excellent tool s, available only through a professional jobber), Millers Falls, the top li ne of Skil, and from a small company that made drills and the original Sawz all, Milwaukee. They were the kings of the job site as they cost a lot, bu t they lasted for years on site, and were rebuildable. I still have my Mil waukee Hole Shooter purchased in '76, and although it has had many cords, a few sets of brushes and a trigger or two, it still works! My last Milwauk ee circular saw was rebuilt (bearings, brushes, triggers, cords) than I rem ember, and it finally had so many things wrong they couldn't get all the pa rts. My Porter Cable circular saw (346C) runs to this day. It is so old y ou have to load the grease cup every few days when you are using it.
These were fine tools, engineered for professionals that put them to work a ll day long. I didn't cry about spending money on them; I dutifully waited until I could afford them as I knew they were a good investment in a quali ty tool. My last American made tools to do that for me are my Bosch router , my Bosch circular saw, and my Sioux circular sander/polisher. All of tho se models are made somewhere else now, somewhere other than here.
So I know it can be done. ANYPLACE that can make a tool that will serve on the job for 30 years or more knows their stuff, and that used to be us. I just don't think there is that kind of desire for quality or the desire to make it by a manufacturer. "Good enough" is the manufacturing standard of the day, and I have adjusted my expectations accordingly.
I think it odd to see foreign names on the tools being touted so highly. T hinking back on the old tools when I was reading this thread, I remember ba ck in the early 70s there were NO foreign tools allowed. Period. If you h auled it out on site, you were warned to put it up or it got smashed. I li ve in "Military City USA" where we has at one time 8 military bases.
So there were no Japanese tools. There were no German tools. There were n o Italian tools. Thinking back, WWII was only about 25 - 27 years past us, and that wasn't far enough for the experienced hands on the job. Some of the guys I worked with weren't even 50, and they served in WWII, so they th ought it disrespectful and disloyal to support our old enemies in any way. The local unions banished all foreign made tools from the jobs, period, no exceptions. We used American only and were damn proud of it.
I like their 10" miter saw, and have a few other DeWalts and agree with you r statement. No bad, but I quit seeing too many DeWalt products on the job for a real simple reason: they don't last well for site use. Their drill s are still pretty good, and since they are now priced around the Ryobis, a re probably a pretty good deal, as they now have the same warranty as the R yobi products. I have never had a saw or drill from DeWalt last longer tha n 3 years, so I think their warranty reflects their product confidence. Ho pefully, they would last a homeowner longer than that since I probably use saws and drills in a week more than some do in a year.
Guess we will see what happens to the new made in America line. I have bud dies that will buy those tools simply because they have that sticker. When I had three DW recips saws in a row fail in one week, a drill last about 2 years (one year warranty at that time) and had to return other DW tools si mply due to poor quality of fit/finish/performance, that did it for me.
Robert