More China parts

Rod

What are you useing #40 chain for ?
I hope not for binding a tractor.

I lament the passing of U.S. brands like my favorite tractors Olivers and Allis-Chalmers, but I know I can"t change it.

I think we all have to admit that U.S. companies and U.S. workers have to share some of the blame for becoming non-competitive in the global economy.

While what"s happening in China concerns me, I remain optimistic that as the Chinese standard of living goes up and more environmental regulations go into effect there, our workers and products will again become competitive and the pendulum will swing back our.

I know this is an awfully long way of saying..."Stan I don"t know if that Chinese roller chain will stand up, but I wouldn"t be afraid to give it a shot."

Larry

Nails, I grabbed several 50 lb. boxes of galvanized nails almost 20 years ago, 16 commons hot dipped, and 12 common hot dipped, I noticed you could not find a heavy galvanized nail too, they are always the thinner ones like coated or I forget the name, same shape but not as thick as a common. We used to pick up at a warehouse that had rows and rows of pallets full of nails, guy there used to get me anything I needed, especially types you don't find easily.

You used to have great supply houses, not these chains and big box retailers with buyers only motivated for profit, the old traditional ones always carried great quality, and what about the machine industry, machinists used to get quality everything, I've lost confidence in so much of this, try to stick with the old school suppliers when possible. In the construction industry you see a lot of foreign made materials now, hate the chinese plumbing parts, 100% junk.

My father went to china 2 years ago, construction was booming there, they need steel like crazy and they know how to turn over a product that works but may not be of much quality.

I've had some chinese contractors on non-union projects that I got stuck doing, you have to stay on top of them, they can be a pain to deal with, as with most any of foreign backround. The communication thing is the biggest problem, it makes it tough to work together, you need a person who speaks the language on site. The quality of workmanship, and respect for safety exhibited is disappointing to say the least, their values are much different, get it done, get more done with less, a never ending quest, must be more efficient, must make money at all costs, it's almost evil. It makes a project managers job a nightmare sometimes. I can see where all this comes from, not good at all. Many times I would be on the phone or call for a meeting with the owners of these contracting outfits, to solve problems related to the job, only way to be heard and get it done the way it is suppoded to be done.

It's not a lack of intelligence,it's business and the bottom line with all of this, something is wrong here, you cannot sacrifice quality when it comes to things used for lifting, hoisting and what have you.

Stick to the domestic makers: Acco, Campell, Suncor for proof coil and high test grades.

Apparently 16 pennies doesn't go as far in China as it does in the USA either. I bought a box of 16 penny, hot-dipped galvanized nails at my local hardware store last week that were made in China. Not only are they too small in diameter to be 16 penny nails, they are also soft. I am doing some repair work on an old barn and very often when I drive a nail into this old wood the nail simply buckles over in the middle.

To add to the puzzlement, neither the local lumber yard nor the Farmer's Co-Op carry galvanized nails any more. I have to go to a larger town this afternoon for a meeting, so I'll probably stop at Home Depot and see what their nails look like.

Tom in TN

China typically uses hot rolled steel, instead of cold rolled steel. Cold rolled is tougher, and typically thinner because of that. So for instance, if pickup 3/8 hot rolled versus 3/8 cold rolled, the cold rolled is going to be considerably stronger. You'll also notice a visible difference in the radii. You'll see more stress cracking in hot rolled. I'm not saying that it won't work for your application, but pound for pound, it isn't the same. For the most part, all looks good out of the barrel, but you're right, time will tell.

Anymore we just gotta be careful in what we buy. Looks can be decieving, and that's getting to be the norm. I guess lower industry standards equate to a global economy. Is maddening and insulting to the end users/buyers/owners.

Mark

My point, I guess, is that initially it all pretty much looks good as one is pulling it out of the barrel, or whatever, but when one goes to rely on it... It may or may not be there for the application.

Many of my friends now say "Yes, but the quality of products coming out of China is improving". No, I don"t think it is, but instead that we are lowering ours standards to conform to the garbage that we are being flooded with, driven by our effort to save a buck. And cost wise, isn"t saving a buck. Cost every bit as much as if was made of better quality and/or here.

Mark

Hopefully, our sons and daughters won't have to face a modernized Chinese army that we americans paid for.

Wise up people.

Mark