Soldering Iron (cheap but good)

[Malcolm Leonard]

There was a time when,for all paractical purposes,only two quality levels
exitsted in the world of hand tools.
1.Good stuff made in the USA.
2.Lousy stuff made in Asia.

This was also true of guitars,at one time,by the way,and probably a lot of
other things I am not familiar with.

But,in recent times,foreign (Asian)companies have introduced an ***in
between*** level of hand tool quality.
Sometimes these foreign tools sell under famous American brand names(this is
also true of some power tools..check out Delta,for example.) and are also
available (at much less cost )under "unknown" brand names.
Now,a given pair of side cutters,for example,may sell for $8.00 under a
known US name,and sell for $2.98 under the
Asian name.Same tool......folks......*same*tool..

**However***the above mentioned side cutters under the American brand name
will very likely display a higher level of quality control as regards how
closely the cutting edges fit together.
All this means is that All tolls vary in quality(even  very expensive ones)
but you pay more if more time is spent by the maker of that tool separating
the wheat from the chafff,because they have to pay somebody to inspect this
stuff and they have to toss out a higher percentage of it if it  is sold
under the famous American name.
So,low price tools are very often just as good...**if** you take the time to
go through a few and check them more carefully than you normally would check
an American branded tool.
I have no doubt the soldering iron mentioned works great.Soldering irons are
pretty simple to begin with.

Probably what has happened is the purchaser got himself a real deal because
the name on his iron is relatively unknown.
Furthermore....considering the low price,if he gets two years of use from it
he is still ahead of the game.
And one , more thing...have you checked the price of replacement tips for
the famous name irons,lately?
Probably cheaper to discard this iron and buy a new one rather than replace
the tip on a more costly iron.
Malcolm Leonard
----- Original Message -----
From: "Neil Morrison" <neilsmorr at HOTMAIL.COM>
To: <HEATH at LISTSERV.TEMPE.GOV>
Sent: Wednesday, April 09, 2003 9:30 AM
Subject: Re: Soldering Iron (cheap but good)


> FWIW, I've seen somewhat similar items at the dollar stores. This one
> may be better quality than those, but to each his own taste!
>
> Neil
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Glen Zook" <gzook at YAHOO.COM>
>
>
> > About a week ago I was in one of those stores that
> > sell over-runs, etc., called "Big Lots".  This is a
> > national chain and can be found around many
> > metropolitan centers.  I came across a 30 watt
> > soldering iron sold under the brand name "Hobby House"
> > that had a price tag of $2.98.  This is a 30 watt iron
> > and comes with a very simple stand.
> > ...
>
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