Tools, Service and Tool shops

[Mark Sierant]

Part of the pleasure of Old Trucks is owning and operating a vast variety of tools. Collecting the tools to do the job in my books is as much fun as doing the job, until one of them lets you down.
Well after 20 years of service my favorite gear puller failed in the thread, I was sad to say goodbye but it had been a good relationship.

Ha the replacement, went out to Gasweld a chain of tool stores here in Australia and bought a new 6" gear puller that I was told was "tade quality never had one come back" salesmans words.

Went home to work pulling the timing gear of the crank from the Toydodge. Now this is were the relationship started ended and went downhill. The new pullers arms bent out and the threaded shaft buckled, NOT Happy at this point, borrowed a mates puller of came the gear.

Back to Gasweld, walked in the door let the salesman know about the tool and presented the 2 day old docket. I asked to see his best quality gear puller and out came a nice Hydrolic unit. He left me to look it over, I could not get the ram to work so I asked for assistance.

This is what I got from Mr Salesman"YOU HAVE BROKEN IT THAT IS ANOTHER TOOL I CANNOT SELL".
I bit back very loudly at this point so that the entire shop new what I thought about him and quality of his merchandise.

Things went downhill even further when he said I would recieve no Refund on my bent puller, Well I yelled at this "ARSEHOLE" AT GASWELD a little more untill I vented my spleen to the value of the tool. I plan to go back next Saturday a let him and his customers view this quality item again.

How do other restorers find the quality of tools in their location, a lot of tools now are made in Tawain or China. No longer can you find Australian Made, Made In Great Britt or the USA. Even when you go to Trade shops the old brand names are now made somewhere in SE Asia. I just want quality that lasts even if I have to pay twice the price I know that it will work when I need it.

[Snowtractor]

...Craftsman . That is my primary tool and I can use them for electrical fuses or screwdrivers for pry bars and take them back to Sears for a no beef exchange. There are others I have also and have had no problem exchanging them. Bumper to Bumper supports their tools that was as does Mac and Allied , though I think Allied has gone tits up. The holy grail , snap-on , can be snotty and only come around once in a while and quite often you have to argue with the agent to get warranty. THe agents are owner operators and I think you cut in to their bottom line if you return something. I have had no problems with princess auto also, though some of their stuff is shite Chinese pot metal stuff that breaks the first use. Mostly Sears has stood up very well and is a good quality tool {I've used the wrenches and three size of drive of rachets for 22 years now , no problems}. I wish Cooper tools were in Canada, they look like a nice quality for sensible price tool supplier.
Sean

[Keith Webb]

Mark, I think you may need to add "hates kwappy modern tools" to your description!

Sounds like that salesman could do with a refresher sales training course too!

I'd be inclined to write to the head office providing photographic evidence of the poor quality of the tool along with a detailed account of your experience.

The whole thing could have been avoided if they had (a) had good quality merchandise and (b) had handled your complaint correctly. No wonder you were angry.

I once took a Chev engine to the reconditioners who failed to remove the harmonic balancer and wound up cutting the crankshaft off!

[chris vickery]

I used to work in the indusrtial sales market, and unfortunately in today's global market, almost everything comes from China.
A well known Canadian company, Gray Tool, used to have their own casting plant right here, using Canadian steel, and forged and worked it into very fine tools. If one were to compare a wrench made in the 1970's to one made today, there is no comparison. Gray buys all their rough cast from overseas, forges and finshes it here, and then calls it Canadian made because it meets the proper requirement for "Canadian content" as per our government rules.
Believe it or not, even Snap-On buys and uses this crap in their tools as well.
Many tool suppliers simply buy from one source and have their label put on it. You can buy a tool from Snap-On, Canadian Tire, Sears or wherever, pay various prices and end up with the exact tool, just a different label.
Now, as per the arguement on the best tools, it depends on what level. If were talking at a hobbyist level it is different than a professional level.
I use a combination of Craftsman and Mastercraft Professional as both Sears and Canadian Tire offer a no-nonsense replacement policy. I do have some Proto and old stock Gray tools which are excellent but quite expensive for the hobbyist.
It really comes down to getting what you pay for, and generally if it says made in China, Korea or Taiwan its shit.

[Richard Farrant]

Mark,

If you want pullers, you cannot beat Sykes Pickavant range and made in the UK.

Same overhere with Chinese or Taiwanese tools, some will good service and others are as Keith says, "cwwapp".

Richard