Name that tool !

[WobblyHand]

Purpose of my post was just to show Aloris had been made in USA. I only have two tool holders from Aloris, but they are very useful. They are also unique. All the rest of my tool holders are varying offshore ones. For the most part, the offshore ones are more than good enough. Sometimes the set screws are soft, but they are easily replaceable. I recall one lot of my offshore holders needed better screws, but the rest were fine.

I'm not so proud that I won't save money. I'm also somewhat sensible, and will buy top of the line things if they are well suited to the job. The AXA-4D and AXA-8 tools from Aloris are very good. Sure I wish they were cheaper, but I spent the money and don't regret it.

For the AXA-1's and 2's, I have off shore ones. To be honest, they are very good as well, and a whole lot less expensive. I'd be swapping a hole lot of tooling if I hadn't bought the offshore holders. Are they perfect? Not always. Neither were the Aloris's. (I had to machine both Aloris holders so they would hit centerline!) So fill up your shop with tooling that you need and can afford. If you need something unique, be prepared to spend a little extra.

And for goodness sake - don't drop your tools!

 

[Ultradog MN]

USA tools and equipment keep our friends and neighbors employed.
That to me is worth the premium they cost.
As for off shore tooling, things from Spain, Italy, Japan, Germany, Canada Poland, Great Britain, Mexico, Taiwan, Russia, Canada, Israel, France, Sweden, Australia and a host of other countries is okay too.
I don't think it is tool snobbery to try and avoid buying stuff from the Chi Coms.
It is more like self preservation.

 

[WobblyHand]

I agree with you as well.
We live in a global economy. No nation can single handedly produce every single thing a society needs.
We get oil from many places, computer chips from others, castings from this place, machine tools from that place, mahogany, ebony, teak or other lumber from here. Bauxite from there.
It is a world of buy and sell, of trade, of markets, alliances, of give and take.
We are dependent on other places and they on us.
But I am not willing to just throw in the towel and buy indiscriminately.
I watch for quality. When I buy new things I check for the country of origin , I buy used or vintage. My go to place is McMaster, not Amazon.
I am not at all wealthy but price is not my Only consideration.
I see so much "tool porn" here and believe much if not most of it won't last as long as the owner.
I am not here to sow discord but I will show dissent.
I just want people to think about where they buy from and consider the implications of their purchases. Where we hobbiests buy from has miniscule effect on our global trade but it can have a very large effect on our neighbors.

I agree with you and @ltlvt on most of what you said. I only buy things within my means. I too, look for quality, which sometimes is rare. Given a reasonable choice I'll support local companies, because they support their communities. That extends from coffee shops to steel yards. I do spend more there, because they have mouths to feed and families to support. I get it.

I don't go out of my way to source offshore, but my personal constraints occasionally lead me to that choice. I'm pretty frugal with my purchases, they're usually because I can't get an alternative method to work. I wish there were more local choices, indeed some local shops I had bought from in the past have shutdown. There used to be a more industrial base locally, but that seems to be gone.

Stuff and life changes, have to adapt and continue. Although it appeared we may have been in conflict, we are not. I respect your comments and agree with them.

 

[ltlvt]

Anyone clapping their gums about chy-na needs to step up and realize #1: Their not the enemy they are sold as by our politicians and #B: Our own government put us in this situation, and as to china they did it to stem communism, not that that makes it any easer to deal with.

Does china siphon off US dollars that could be better spent at home? Of course they do, just like other foreign manufacturers, but how did we get here?


By trying to save the damn planet which just let horrendous polluters gain a big advantage over our manufacturing base.

Ive said it before, the only way to turn this around is to get rid of the grossly bloated government agency called the EPA and put something leaner and more in tune with todays issues in its place.

Businesses are saddled with so much BS in dealing with their regulations that they literally cant compete with the foreign manufacturers, and buying from "Better" foreign company's does little if anything at all for US manufacturers, VS buying from china.

Hell, short of Bison I cant even think of a foreign MFG that has a quality product that is not chineses made.

Your own government and the MSM are the ones people should be railing against if they don't like the current MFG situation, not the chinese.

If it weren't for chinese goods at this point you would be living in a mud hut with a rock for a hat.

Buying used Aloris components does squat for the American MFG base, and proclaiming high standards on this or any other board is mere posturing, leave that at the other boards. If you even dare go there.

As mentioned in the quoted post above, this is a hobby forum, excoriating others for their choices is simply bad form.

Very well said. I am here because I enjoy the folks that contribute to this forum. Trying to change anything besides me and my attitude is like trying to change the sea level by pi$$ing in the ocean. BTW we BOTH must not forget to take our MEDS! As my friends say "Keep Coming Back"

 

[WobblyHand]

Anyone clapping their gums about chy-na needs to step up and realize #1: Their not the enemy they are sold as by our politicians and #B: Our own government put us in this situation, and as to china they did it to stem communism, not that that makes it any easer to deal with.

Does china siphon off US dollars that could be better spent at home? Of course they do, just like other foreign manufacturers, but how did we get here?


By trying to save the damn planet which just let horrendous polluters gain a big advantage over our manufacturing base.

Ive said it before, the only way to turn this around is to get rid of the grossly bloated government agency called the EPA and put something leaner and more in tune with todays issues in its place.

Businesses are saddled with so much BS in dealing with their regulations that they literally cant compete with the foreign manufacturers, and buying from "Better" foreign company's does little if anything at all for US manufacturers, VS buying from china.

Hell, short of Bison I cant even think of a foreign MFG that has a quality product that is not chineses made.

Your own government and the MSM are the ones people should be railing against if they don't like the current MFG situation, not the chinese.

If it weren't for chinese goods at this point you would be living in a mud hut with a rock for a hat.

Buying used Aloris components does squat for the American MFG base, and proclaiming high standards on this or any other board is mere posturing, leave that at the other boards. If you even dare go there.

As mentioned in the quoted post above, this is a hobby forum, excoriating others for their choices is simply bad form.

Our own companies, with the encouragement of the tax code, shifted their manufacturing offshore. Did they care about American workers? Clearly not. They were rewarding themselves and their shareholders.

The place to start is to get people in place who will make the proper changes and incentives to manufacture here. That includes changing laws, so companies are not financially rewarded by the tax system to offshore. I'm not protectionist, I believe in true trade, but we shouldn't encourage offshoring via our tax code.

Now, the horse has left the barn. Will it come back, really don't know, as we have lost quite a bit of manufacturing knowledge and technology, with this blunder. In the meantime, our competitors are advancing. I certainly hope that we will recover our edge.

I'd recommend we tone stuff down, just to keep this from going off the rails. It's a good discussion, but it can easily go off course if we are not careful.