I expect this topic is an old one, but I haven’t yet seen discussion on it.
I’m just flat getting tired of screws stripping out, or even snapping the heads, with normal torque on the screw. I’ve correlated the nation of manufacture as a pretty solid connection with screws of bad (weak) metal. It seems anything with a Made in China label is asking for trouble.
It used to be that McFeely was a good source for high-grade woodscrews. No more. They import everything from China.
Has anyone found a source of solid, reliable, woodscrews?
Thanks,
Pish
Replies
http://www.jamestowndistributors.com
If you want the best.
C.
I have had good luck with Rockler's and
http://www.redtopscrews.com/
I do not know the country of origin, just that they seem to work OK for me.
I would suggest, however, that you write a "contact us" note to McFeely's and tell them of your dissatisfaction. As long as we (collectively and passively) accept crap, that's what they're going to sell to us. If they're savvy at at they know that for every person that writes, there are about 100 that will just vote with their feet on future purchases.
Country of origin isn't the same as a grade. More important than where it is made is what the US seller specifies and how well it checks quality controls. I'd suspect the big boxes of calling for the cheapest that still look shiny. Other buyers may hold their Chinese suppliers to tighter standards.
Since there isn't a free lunch anywhere, I'd bet the better correlate with quality is price.
Have you had specific problems with screws from McFeelys? Which screws were they, what was the application, and how did they break?
Jamestown Distributors is also an excellent source.
I've seen a direct correlation between country of origin and quality. Not just screws. Just about anything made in China ends up being inferior to the quality and reliability I'd expect from a high-grade product. I have seen absolutely zero screws which were made in China that did not seem to be composed of "soft" metal. That is, the heads will spin off with normal torque, or the slots, whether Phillips or otherwise, deform and do not hold a bit. I do not think there are any quality screws made in China and imported to the US.Of course, as long as we buy them without complaining, that's all we can expect to see. Quality is a thing of the past in the American marketplace, because the American marketplace really is living in Taiwan and Shanghai.Pish
So, in other words, you don't have any specific example of problem screws from McFeely's.
I'm not trying to provoke a defensive response from anyone. I'm not suggesting that China (PRC or ROC) won't come around, as Japan did many years ago. I have plenty of Japanese tools, and love them. I even have one Chinese tool that I think is pretty good. I'm simply saying that their products are not of the caliber that I would desire.
Perhaps because I'm seeing all sorts of out-sourcing of products that used to be made in America, now coming from Asia, I'm sensitized to their quality. If you haven't seen the problem you're either blind or strangely biased. Try not to get your shorts in a knot. I wasn't attaching you on a personal level. Seems you took it that way.
Goes for you, too, Frenchy.
Some of, but not all, of McFeely's screws that gave me problems:
10x1 1/2 Flat Head Stainless - Gray Square bit - Made in Taiwan
10x2 12 Flat Head Stainless - Square Recess - "
10x1 Flat Head Lube Finish - Square recess "
8X1 1/4 Super Round Washer - Square recess - Clear Zinc Plated - Taiwan
"Perhaps because I'm seeing all sorts of out-sourcing of products that used to be made in America, now coming from Asia, I'm sensitized to their quality. If you haven't seen the problem you're either blind or strangely biased."
No one is saying that there aren't crappy products coming from China. There are, in fact, thousands--if not millions--of crappy products coming from China. You, however, are the one who appears to be making the generalization that because some of McFeely's screws are coming from China, they are necessarily crappy. As far as I can tell, no one else (including myself) has experienced these problems with McFeely's screws.
I recently installed 400 ProMax #8 x 1-5/8 round washer head/lube finish screws from McFeely's (labeled "Taiwan/China"). They were screwed, without predrilling any pilot holes, through 3/4" birch plywood into SYP. As I recall, I had one cam-out, my own fault because I wasn't holding the driver squarely. Not one screw broke, and not one drive recess was damaged.
Stainless steel screws are all soft, by the way. It's the nature of the manufacturing process.
-Steve
Pishnaris,
I would love it if your statement were true.. I'm a flag waving patriot and hate the fact that in some cases we're being out done by other countires. If everything I bought from China was junk then I could point with pride and say see!!! While I bought American goods instead.
The truth is that American owned companies often export American jobs instead of making the capitol investments needed to make things here at a cost which will ensure their acceptance by the market place and still remain profitable for the company..
In other words, We're doing it to ourselves!
A classic example is right here in Minnesota. Recently one of the iron mines that provided so much iron for America's development in the last century was closed. The owners felt it was more profitable investing elseswhere (not that it wasn't making a profit simply they had better oppertunities elseswhere).
The Chinese bought it and using equipment on hand and the existing workforce have made the mine pay off handsomely. They mine the ore ,ship it on the same carriers as before to the same smelters etc.. turn it into cast Iron, ship it to China.. make stuff out of it and sell it back here all the time making a profit doing so!
Local sawmills are also affected in the same way.. wood which was once only finding a market at pallet mills and pulp mills has now found a great buyer in China Our trees are sawn and dried and shipped to China where furnature is being made from them and then shipped back here and sold.
They can do so because the funiture factories there are modern and state of the art compared to our "handcrafted" inefficencies..
"Just about anything made in China ends up being inferior to the quality and reliability I'd expect from a high-grade product."
The same way that back in the 50's and 60's, everything imported from Japan was junk, with no possibility of ever being able to compete with American-made products....
-Steve
Pishnaris,
It is with great sadness that I disagree with you..
The same could have been said about made in Japan decades ago but that's no longer the case. The Japanese make some of the finest stuff (as well as some real junk)
It's definately not true with regard some equipment.. I have an air compressor that is nearly 3 decades old and it has been steadfast in it's reliablity.
My shop equipment is made in China and in 6 years and over 50,000 bd.ft. of hardwood I've broken one fan belt. (one of three) my local auto parts store had it in stock and it took me less than 5 minutes to replace..
Many of my stainless steel lag bolts were made in China and in spite of using my Snap ON air impact to put them in I never broke a single one!.. That's thousands of lag bolts.
It's absolutely true that not everything they make is the finesy quality.. I wish we could make statements like you just did and have them correct but it's not true..
Nothing in your persoanl profile. You a pro or hobbyist?
Lumping all Chineese made stuff in the junk category is clearly a non-truth. I've seen great improvements in the quality over the years.
I disagree on your comments. I do purchasing for a Timberframe/millshop and find there is a lot of chineese hardware out there and it's not all junk by any means. We've been using McFeely's screws for years now and no compalints from the guys in the shop and they are as picky as you can get. We do only high end work for wealthy people so buying cheap hardware isn't cost effective and the hardware is usually the smallest part of the budget. We get a lot of Chineese bolts from Fastenal but as lot as it's up to the codes it's no problem.
In the old days made in Japan meant junk. Today it means quality. Chineese stuff is getting better. If you follow history, made in China will soon mean quality and some other newly developed country will be taking the place of China.
Lumping all Chineese made stuff in the junk category is clearly a non-truth.I agree.. I have been in a few factories in China. You CANNOT blame it on the WORKERS! It is the owners or whatever. Like in the good old USA! Like anywhere, there is Good AND Bad..However I agree about the screws! JUNK!I have two Chinese granddaughters that were made PERFECT!
Huge discussion on this just recently, click here for a view. I think you'll find that the slam on McFeely's is unwarranted.
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