Source for Chain
- Thread starter Liam
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The problem...
... with story recounted so wonderfully by John Nantz about the vice grip made in Taiwan falling apart is that, as we we fast forward to the present, it is the "Made In USA" (if there is anything made here anymore) stuff that falls apart and the Asian stuff that holds up, at least IMHO.... I would not, for example buy a US made car from GM, Ford, or Chrysler (which has some great designs) because they break, and the cars made in Asia do not. It's that simple. When US makers break this simple code, I'll buy their products again.
... with story recounted so wonderfully by John Nantz about the vice grip made in Taiwan falling apart is that, as we we fast forward to the present, it is the "Made In USA" (if there is anything made here anymore) stuff that falls apart and the Asian stuff that holds up, at least IMHO.... I would not, for example buy a US made car from GM, Ford, or Chrysler (which has some great designs) because they break, and the cars made in Asia do not. It's that simple. When US makers break this simple code, I'll buy their products again.
US Car Quality
Pete: By some measures Ford/GM car quality is now better than that on average Japanese nameplate vehicles. OTH, the problems with our last two Fords are why my wife has a new Toyota, and Toyota still looks best overall. The CNN link below surprised me as to the poor showing of several Japanese brands.
Pete: By some measures Ford/GM car quality is now better than that on average Japanese nameplate vehicles. OTH, the problems with our last two Fords are why my wife has a new Toyota, and Toyota still looks best overall. The CNN link below surprised me as to the poor showing of several Japanese brands.
Change
The year was 1983 - the UAW strike was on and our '71 Cutlass Supreme was getting along in years and had about 130,000 miles. Starting was getting difficult, the air conditioner was not puting out like it used to, and it had developed a leak somewhere around the windshiled or there abouts (it also had the vinyl top to give it that convertible look), the Arab oil embargo drove gas prices through the roof - if you could even find any. After shoping for another vehicle we reluctantly (because it wasn't made in America) finally walked out the door with a Honda Accord. Fast forward nearly 20 years and it was time to sell the Accord - some 230,000 miles later and it was still running like a top with absolutely minimal maintenance - the usual like fan and timing belts, tires, oil change, etc. Easy starting even in -30 degrees. Just plain got tired of driving it. The springs had sagged and the ride was, shall we say, a little uncomfortable. When shopping for shackles at West Marine in the late '80s or early '90s I found only "made in China" shackles. I called WM tech support in Watsonville and recounted my Vice-Grips story. It's interesting to note that shortly after that the shackles they carried were stamped "Japan". My guess they probably got concerned about the potential liability should something have happened with one of their shackles. On another note (maybe the rest of this should be in the "political" section but how do you brake up a post? Last fall I was in Austria and I was REALLY surprised about how hard everybody worked compared to here. Here the sales people in stores are willing to spend time with you answering questions while there it seemed you only got momentary attention and then the sales person was off to something else. Ditto with construction workers and pretty much any thing else where a persons time was involved. If this experience is any example I think we (US workers) are in trouble and I don't think laying off thousands of workers is going to solve the root cause of our problem. Another example in boats may be the factory support. It seems to me that factory support in the US tends to be quite good compared with that of some foreign companies and what you get in Europe. Compare support between Hunter, Catalina, and, say, Bavaria. Many Bavaria owners say that factory support is lacking but people generally have good things to say about Catalina and Hunter support. Will that save us? Time will tell. As for shackles made in Japan I would hope that WM has checked out the quality control of the manufacturer. As for made in China - not on my boat!
The year was 1983 - the UAW strike was on and our '71 Cutlass Supreme was getting along in years and had about 130,000 miles. Starting was getting difficult, the air conditioner was not puting out like it used to, and it had developed a leak somewhere around the windshiled or there abouts (it also had the vinyl top to give it that convertible look), the Arab oil embargo drove gas prices through the roof - if you could even find any. After shoping for another vehicle we reluctantly (because it wasn't made in America) finally walked out the door with a Honda Accord. Fast forward nearly 20 years and it was time to sell the Accord - some 230,000 miles later and it was still running like a top with absolutely minimal maintenance - the usual like fan and timing belts, tires, oil change, etc. Easy starting even in -30 degrees. Just plain got tired of driving it. The springs had sagged and the ride was, shall we say, a little uncomfortable. When shopping for shackles at West Marine in the late '80s or early '90s I found only "made in China" shackles. I called WM tech support in Watsonville and recounted my Vice-Grips story. It's interesting to note that shortly after that the shackles they carried were stamped "Japan". My guess they probably got concerned about the potential liability should something have happened with one of their shackles. On another note (maybe the rest of this should be in the "political" section but how do you brake up a post? Last fall I was in Austria and I was REALLY surprised about how hard everybody worked compared to here. Here the sales people in stores are willing to spend time with you answering questions while there it seemed you only got momentary attention and then the sales person was off to something else. Ditto with construction workers and pretty much any thing else where a persons time was involved. If this experience is any example I think we (US workers) are in trouble and I don't think laying off thousands of workers is going to solve the root cause of our problem. Another example in boats may be the factory support. It seems to me that factory support in the US tends to be quite good compared with that of some foreign companies and what you get in Europe. Compare support between Hunter, Catalina, and, say, Bavaria. Many Bavaria owners say that factory support is lacking but people generally have good things to say about Catalina and Hunter support. Will that save us? Time will tell. As for shackles made in Japan I would hope that WM has checked out the quality control of the manufacturer. As for made in China - not on my boat!
McMaster-Carr
Thanks to this thread, I was able to find 5/16" HT from McWaters-carr for $2.08/ft and the shipping charge to west coast only $30 for 100 foot section (I'm using nylon/chain). On another topic I saw an ad for "Brait" line and I was wondering if it can be spliced onto chain?
Thanks to this thread, I was able to find 5/16" HT from McWaters-carr for $2.08/ft and the shipping charge to west coast only $30 for 100 foot section (I'm using nylon/chain). On another topic I saw an ad for "Brait" line and I was wondering if it can be spliced onto chain?
brait line
yes, it can be spliced onto chain, and stays soft and takes a fraction of the space 3 strand needs in your anchor locker!
yes, it can be spliced onto chain, and stays soft and takes a fraction of the space 3 strand needs in your anchor locker!
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