Power Tools
I used to work for a company that sold, amongst many other things, power tools.

One of the things I found out while I was there was that your average* Black & Decker, B&Q etc tools have a design-life of one hour.

So in effect they're designed to break after an hour's use.

Bear in mind that this doesn't mean they'll only last you an hour. Drilling a hole? Maybe 10 seconds. Drilling a hole in something really hard? Perhaps 20 seconds.

And so your hour of life can last for several years.

It still amazes me though... 1 hour's life. Therefore, nearly every power tool you own is cheap tat =)


*By "average", I mean the bog-standard ones. As you pay more, such as for "Professional" quality stuff, like DeWalt, then they're designed to last much much longer, apparently.
(Professor Kenny Martin Hmm? What?, Mon 7 Jan 2008, 16:23, 7 replies)

cheap tools
I almost posted about this but couldn't be arsed.

i used to work for a tractor dealership and if the straw heads couldn't afford genuine parts we offered them Vapormatic ones they look the same, work the same but for a fraction of the price and a fraction of the time.

They also do power tools and I can happily say their hammer drill is the crappest tool I have ever had the misfortune of laying my hands on.

One of the engineers snapped a vapormatic Crowbar trying to get into his (draper another blight on the working man) tool box after he locked the keys in it.
(Barry Chuckle has gone out in the thong to feed the pigeons, Mon 7 Jan 2008, 16:27, closed)

Pathetic isn't it?
My philosophy is therefore to buy the cheapest shoddiest kit available or (if prolonged repetitive use is required) fork out for professional kit. I swear it's all the 'bells & whistles' models in-between that are the biggest waste of money.

They design cars to do the same. Brake lines being a prime example. They're made from steel and usually corrode over the course of a few years, whereas you usually get them replaced with copper which presumable costs only pennies more yet resists corrosion for a considerably longer time.
(Greencloud Wanted to go fishing on, Mon 7 Jan 2008, 16:30, closed)

Remember floppy disks?
They had a design lifetime of 24 hours. Now they didn't churn away for very long at a time, but 24 hours really isn't very much. Especially if you are storing valuable data on them.

Oh, and I'm with you on the bells and whistles thing, Greencloud. I don't want automatic lights, wipers, heating systems (or for that matter gearboxes) on a car. I'd rather they spent the money on good quality basic components.

Maybe then I'd be able to get the tailgate of my Laguna open. Bloody thing failed last week. This is not really handy when you play in a band and drive an estate car because you have lots of gear to shift around. Grrrr!
( K2k6 has a proper job these days, Mon 7 Jan 2008, 16:41, closed)

Ah well, you see, that was your mistake...
...you appear to have purchased a French car.
( reallywittyname veraciously conspues lexiphanicism on, Mon 7 Jan 2008, 16:48, closed)

Yup
we all know what ford stands for

fix it again tony


I miss king of the hill
(Barry Chuckle has gone out in the thong to feed the pigeons, Mon 7 Jan 2008, 16:54, closed)

Someone I know
Was restoring a little railway loco, and derusting by angle grinder with wire brush. He bought one cheap one with waranty, used it for the weekend until it packed up, got a new one free, used that to death...so actually worked out far cheaper.
( Greenbat, Mon 7 Jan 2008, 18:36, closed)

I agree with all of the above
Cars are shit, tractors are shit, lorries are shit, boats are shit, tools are shit... even life is shit. Except for us mechanics!!! We make a packet from all this throw away cheap uni-part crap. Bring it on I say!
P.S. don't buy snap-on, buy Teng. Just as good but half the price... kind of pisses on the whole 'don't buy cheaper stuff' rule though
(Merrick I cure cats with hammers, Mon 7 Jan 2008, 18:40, closed)