Grrrrr...Milwaukee, what a con.

[Ollie78]

It is hard to find anything not directly made in China or made from parts that are. Its not always a bad sign, they will make it to a spec and quality that is ordered. Of course then they will steal the IP and sell low quality copies in a different colour which is not helpful for anyone.

Makita do a whole different made in Japan range in burgundy colour, apparently they are hard to find but really good.

Ollie

 

[mwinfrance]

When you consider the extremely low bar ( around 4% of final input, such as putting a few screws into things that are shipped fully assembled apart from those last few screws ) that goods have to reach to be qualified to have "made in USA" or Made in EU" etc. "Made in PRC"* is probably more honest than any other "Made in ......" that you'll find.
*Even then a lot of "made in PRC" has large elements made elsewhere in even cheaper countries such as Vietnam, Indonesia, or even North Korea. Apparel ( including footwear ) is particularly prone to this.Many major luxury brands ( particularly in the USA, manufacture their some or all of their leather apparel /goods in Pakistan and India, the labels are shipped separately and the act of adding them in to the leather goods upon arrival in the USA qualifies them as "made in USA". The pigskin items usually are made in PRC and go through the same "label" addition, legally.

 

[Jar944]

It's generally well known (over here) all the American brand hand held power tools are made in China. Good luck finding something that isnt.

 

[Adam W.]

Not good really, my early Milwaukee stuff is USA made and it's very good quality.

 

[clogs]

I'd like to add.....that when I lived in California Makita had a factory there.....I bought a load back to the UK.....
Anyone know what made/assembled by Makita in the UK.....would happily buy theirs if it secures jobs in the UK.....
Does the overpriced black n green gear have any Chinese made paarts in it....
laguna machines are also made in that part of the world under strict super vision.....

Those that run these tool factories in China are no different to those that ran the British car /motorcycle industry...
do as little as poss for as much as possible, they just want easy money.........
it did bring the best of Japanese motorcycles to the UK tho.....good out of bad.....?

People like DeWalt should have one price for the tool/machine plus transport/import duty regardless where it's sold.....
Then we'd all by their stuff...what it cost in the US should apply here plus the above.....
NOT WHAT THE MARKET WILL PAY/STAND.....
Like always those in the UK were always screwed on price for tools....

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Some years ago I bought a "Buck" knife. When I opened it there was a little leaflet telling me all about how proud they were of their American knife making history etc. and when I opened the knife up there it was - Made in China.

 

[AJB Temple]

Festool state that all of their tools are made in the home country of Germany and that they now have a US production line. They appear to have a subtle 'not made in china' approach.

Mafell are also clear that their tools are made in Germany.

Some brands are clearly making a virtue of where they manufacture and standing behind it with meaningful guarantees.

 

[Adam W.]

I was going to buy a new saw and was looking at the Milwaukee one, but I'm now looking at the Mafell one and thinking about taking out a second mortgage.

 

[mwinfrance]

I was going to buy a new saw and was looking at the Milwaukee one, but I'm now looking at the Mafell one and thinking about taking out a second mortgage.

I thought that Festool and Mafell were made out of unicorn tears and sweat respectively. Which is why they are not made in China as they have no unicorns. Ask Baldkev which type of mortgage he would recommend at the moment .

 

[Adam W.]

Luckily I've just scored a day job doing joinery at The Ritz.

 

[Ttrees]

Surprised you didn't come across some reviews mentioning the shearing shafts
on the Acorn to arabella videos, fairly sure it was that one.
Not found any hits of that, bit odd.

Why not get a Wolf, some of them seem a bit more ergonomic than others,
and what's more one could add not contributing to landfill aswell as buying local.

 

[AJB Temple]

To be fair Mafell is not aimed at the cheap DIY market. They are aimed at the serious professional user and they make tools of exceptional quality and robustness. Festool tools are also well made and they stand behind their guarantees. You get what you pay for to a degree. Chinese tools are cheap because they have communist controlled industrial sectors that are not what everyone would call fair to workers. If you are OK with that then that's a personal choice and pricing decision. But it is not fair to criticise ethical western manufactures for keeping jobs and quality control in Europe and the US. There is no outflow of money to what most people in the west (from our personal version of moral high ground) view as an oppressive communist regime and these companies pay taxes that are used in the EU and US. I try to minimise buying stuff from China for these reasons.

 

[mwinfrance]

I don't criticize Festool or Mafell for their prices , but I think they could probably cut their margins in half and still make a lot of money.I doubt that they are manufacturing in the EU on ethical grounds though, I've see breakdowns of their gear which shows that they ( or Festool at least ) contain some Chinese made parts.American guy on YT whose name escapes me did a breakdown of the TS55.

 

[Doug71]

Festool state that all of their tools are made in the home country of Germany and that they now have a US production line. They appear to have a subtle 'not made in china' approach.

Mafell are also clear that their tools are made in Germany.

Some brands are clearly making a virtue of where they manufacture and standing behind it with meaningful guarantees.

Festools new reciprocating saw is made in PRC which I found a bit disappointing.

 

[Adam W.]

Festools new reciprocating saw is made in PRC which I found a bit disappointing.

Surely not.

 

[Spectric]

You get what you ask for, China can make anything from tack to satellites and so are more than capable of quality but unless we are willing to pay more then the likes of our tool outlets will be asking for a quality level that with their profit margin they know they can sell and we are willing to buy.

If you doubt Chinese engineering then just take a look at their Beidou satellite navigation system.

 

[frankendoodle65]

Festool state that all of their tools are made in the home country of Germany and that they now have a US production line.

I'll double check tomorrow but I'm sure my cxs says it was made in the Czech Republic, can't remember about my Domino or tracksaw though

 

[Spectric]

I suppose using a name like Milwaukee is misleading, but then that is how adverising and marketing work.

 

[Distinterior]

I think a couple of my Festool battery chargers are made in Poland or the Czech Republic, but I wasnt aware that any of their drills were/ are....?

 

[Doug71]

Surely not.

If you click on the 360 degree view on the link below and zoom in on the identification plate it says made in PRC.

I think it might be another manufacturers saw rebadged and pimped a bit like they did with the multi tool which is probably the reason.

https://www.festool.co.uk/products/sawing/reciprocating-saws/576949---rsc-18-5,2-eb-plus-gb#Overview