Are Chinese tools any good? Post your hauls of any recent Chinese tools you've bought or currently awaiting delivery for your DIY needs and post what ended up being trash so we can avoid it. What other websites do you buy from besides the usual? Share tips, brands, advice.

Recently bought a $50 "5k" action cam and it was the first chinkshit product ever that truly betrayed my expectations. Had great product design, nice touchscreen on the back, front screen, decent UI and settings, easy to use, everything was great. Only thing they skimped out on was the camera. It was poor quality 720p with no autofocus at fixed 30fps upscaled potentially to 5k, or saved as 120fps, but still 30fps. I have no idea why they'd make everything good and then fuck the camera, the one part that actually matters. I had free returns on it, and returned it. At one point I'd bought an ultra mini action/borehole cam literally for $2, and that thing had almost comparable video quality to the cheapo "5k" camera.

>>2914818 (OP)
I picked up another size of Chinese Swedish pipe wrench a couple weeks ago. The 17” worked pretty well on PVC. We’ll see what happens the first time I have to grab iron or steel with them.

>>2914893
dude, honest question, do you have a tool budget allowance? bc i feel like you are getting more and more all the time

>>2914818 (OP)
previous thread >>2869276
non tools /csg/ chink shit general in /g/ >>>/g/105173837

>>2914922
35% off bby!!!

I got the Harbor Freight Wago knockoffs too. And they actually came in super handy on a fan project. And I think I made $300 doing random ass projects for a lady that day, so I took like $30 of it and got myself the big Icon wrench.

One thing I almost returned recently, I got this inner tie rod tool but I had room to stick a 12” crescent wrench on the thing so it ended up being entirely unused. But that was another project where I was doing a weekend’s worth of work for a lady and made $400 so I guess I have the tie rod tool for the future if I ever need it.

>>2914922
>>2914942
>tie rod tool
But yea the tool allowance is pretty much money I make doing side jobs, spend 1/3 on tools, 1/3 in the bank, 1/3 taking the wife to dinner because I was out all day making a mess.

Also my job would give me ramdom Amazon gift cards like $25-$50 at a time so those were always good for some German pliers or screwdrivers. And then other shit is impulse buys at Lowe’s when they have those yellow tape measures I like on clearance for $5.

>>2914875
Op here, I buy most of my tools from Aliexpress now.

>>2914922
He's probably the only person on 4chan whose posts I look forward to reading and actually take the time to read slowly and take his advice.

>>2914986
Bepis pls, put your trip back on

>>2914818 (OP)
Yea they are fine enough.
I had generic chinese stuff import that lasted me as long as the name brand tools and cost less than name brand after including taxes. Though it depends on the quality of the tool itself from what I've heard. You just have to know what you are buying and it will be the same as name brands.

>>2914818 (OP)
as per >>2914343
Do not fucking trust chink screw extractors, I was warned, I didn't listen and it made everything worse

>>2914942
>>2914945
What section of harbor freight are those wago knock offs in? I looked a month or two ago but couldnt find them. Maybe my store just didnt stock them.

>>2914942
>>2914945
thanks for the anwer, and good for you i guess, cannot do that side job shit myself
>>2914986
i mean i kinda do too, but he is kinda a hoarder and always posting new stuf, i am surprised

>>2914875
/thread.
most of it is cheap bullshit, and if you want quality you will spend the same as you would on your own country tool.

>>2915050
They’re in the electrical section by the multimeters.

>>2915050
>>2915083
Also fwiw, Home Depot has name bramd Wagos now. They started carrying them like late last year. The problem is there’s no assortment, and they’re like $1ea when buying 10pks. Amazon isn’t cheap for the real Wagos either though

I think somebody did a comparison of the HF knockoffs and they’re slightly larger than the name brand but not bad at all.

>>2915136
Solder and tape is still code compliant and superior for permanent (or semi-permanent) connections.

wagos are about as good as the push-in connectors on the backs of outlets... luckily most electricians still use the screw terminals... and for good reasons.

>>2914922
>dude, honest question, do you have a tool budget allowance? bc i feel like you are getting more and more all the time
>>2915055
>i mean i kinda do too, but he is kinda a hoarder and always posting new stuf, i am surprised

You mean you're not constantly scoring deals on new and vintage tools and equipment? Why even live?

>>2915145
I’m all for soldering on little projects and some automotive jobs, but I’m not really trying to solder solid core residential wire my friend.

They came in real handy doing picrel. There was an electrical box and previous resident at this condo wanted a fan in a different location, and new owner lady wanted to put a second smaller fan where the box was. So I had to drill a hole in the side of that small fan, run the wires from the big fan through the side, and then tie together 3x live wires, 3x neutrals, and 3x grounds while holding the fan up and not losing the short wire coming from the second fan. And then had to jam all of those wires into the small fan’s body with the remote receiver and all that bullshit. Soldering up there would’ve been a big headache and wire nuts aren’t as secure or easy.

Also I did a little over the sink like 30” LED kitchen light for a lady a few months back, bought the light from Home Depot, and that thing actually came with Wagos instead of wire nuts. It was a nice touch.

>>2915154
not at his rate. also he seems to like having many of the same tools, i tend to just get different stuff
i first need to renew my house and shit, but i am losing a ton of time browsing for machine tool deals when i still dont have a place to put a lathe or mill

>>2915145
>>2915155
Wrong damn pic

That shitty PVC wire covering was all over the place too, held up with double sided tape. Sent the lady to Lowe’s with a pic of Tapcons and some PVC or conduit clamps. Guy at Lowe’s told her “Nah we don’t have any tapcons shorter than 2 or 3 inches”. Smdh. It worked, I just hate the extra step of pounding in stupid little plastic anchors when tapcons exist.

>>2915156
>>2915154
I don’t have space for big shop equipment. Have been wanting a table saw for awhile but keep making do with saw guides, and passed up on a few good drill press deals. I had to settle for a 1-car garage when I bought thie house a couple years ago because lol Florida housing market and NY scaring off millions of residents who were paying $200k too much without even seeing the house.

Last house I was renting had a good size 2-car garage but the owners were greedy. They gave me a 90-day notice after 6 years of no issues at all, and then told me I could buy it for $750k if I wanted to stay. But that house was worth low-mid 300s in 2016 when I moved in and needed everything updated. They tried to put it on the market for $750 and it sat for a year until they finally sold it to boomers from CT for $600k. Also insurance rates got jacked in that area a few years back because they changed flood zones.

Maybe one day when the wife has a good chunk of her med school loans paid off, I’ll get some acreage and a big out building. For now I’m happy that I don’t have a landlord anymore.

>>2915156
Hey man, when you see 10” Cobras on clearance at Lowe’s for $11, and the 5pc German made Wiha drivers are sitting on a display marked down to $9, you can’t pass em up.

Works well for consumables too. Like 2 rolls of 3m duct tape for $3 or some shit, and I got a bunch of masking tape and Super 33 and Super 88 for dirt cheap from Walmart recently. That FrogTape is nice, especially when you’re paying like 1/4 what it costs at Home Depot.

>>2915161
you guys have often spanish tools for cheaper than me that i am close to many of the factories ¬¬

>>2915162
Taxes are a bitch. Like Australians pay so much of everything compared to us, yet they have to be the shortest trip from SEA out of any developed English speaking country.

There’s some steals on Japanese stuff too. A lot of it depends if there’s retailers who are bringing the stuff in I think. But the past couple years, you can get some nice Japanese pliers for like 30% less than a Chinese made Milwaukee version sold at Home Depot, and half the price of USA made Klein, and that blows my mind. I think part of the cheap Japanese tools is the exchange rate though.

Hazet and Stahlwille and Facom and those brands are still pretty expensive here. Still cheaper than Snap On, but close to most US made industrial or automotive brands.’

>>2915166
its not a taxes shit, bc it is way more than that, taxes are only 21% and there is no transport cost, as i said, i get directly from the source
the real shit is the bulk buying of your chain shops, we just dont have those sizes

Recommend me some non-chink tool brands.
I have had my share of tools that break apart in hands and dull while cutting plastic.

can you even buy shit from ali anymore because of the tariffs? /g/ used to have a thread about ali but it seems people lost interest and the general died.

>>2915178
dude wtf are you talking about, /csg/ never died and is even linked in this thread >>2914925

>>2915179
well shit, i assumed it was dead when i couldn't find the thread for a while.

>>2915183
i dont think it ever been more than a day without a thread in a while
maybe you have filters? many people have problems with that

>>2915172
Depends on the type of tool.

Also depends if you want something really good, or some mid tier Taiwan stuff that is plenty good for most /dit/ tasks. And that also depends on the tool and jog and how large the price gap is from chinesium to mid tier to contractor tier to premium

what is the weirdest fake makita power tool you have seen?
i have seen really random shit with a makita battery connector
currently there are tv adds showing one really weird handheld power washer that use fake makita batteries

>>2915222
Ryobi makes those for real. They have a damn pool vacuum and handheld wet tile saw.

any suggestions for a good flush cutter?
i need a cutter to trim 8-10mm stainless steel and these shitty flush cutters from china eat shit when i use them on these.

If I just want to see the waveforms of a dimmer, this should do the job right?

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008414466127.html

Don't really have a real usecase to justify something more expensive.

>>2914818 (OP)
pic related is a heads up if you're buying work lights, look for ones with usb sockets. usb on these is very useful, the light is independently switchable so there is 2 in 1 function. For some reason plain lights and plain usb converters are basically the same price. Anyway check for a switch.

>>2917893
They're alright, I have something similar, and it's good for all garden-variety stuff.

>>2915183
There's a Discord too, A7xtZd4N2e. Used to be the one listed in /csg/ threads, but they've tried to distance from 4chan. Still a focus on Ali shopping though.

Does anyone know where to find a cheap hygrometer that uses the SHT35 sensor?

>>2914818 (OP)
Here’s the soldering iron review I posted in /ohm/:
>>2917111

>>2917973
I just bought something almost exactly like that except it connects to ryobi 40 volt batteries. It was pretty cheap compared to the tripower $200 light ryobi sells.

>80W (100V)
>100-120W (110-120V)
>50W (220-240V)
What is this? Can anybody explain to me why the JP model is rated 80W, while the US model is rated 100-120W, and the EU model is rated 50W, and will it result in the same power output?

I got some werkmann tools in a local "chinese" shop, they seem pretty good.
anyone ever heard of them?

>>2917973
>>2918554
word of warning from a dewaltchad

not all companies put low voltage cutoffs in the battery, so check your brand before draining your battery to 0 and killing it

>>2918834
>werkmann

Avoid.

The pliers aren't heat treated, the steel is so soft that the grippy part of the pliers will wear out quickly.
The sidecutters on the pliers are useless due to soft steel, too.
The ratchet will fail if you encounter a properly tight bolt, and the sockets are probably too loose and will damage screwheads.

When it comes to pliers, buy Knipex or NWS.
Yes they're expensive but they'll do the job proper and last you forever.

For a ratchet set, look for "toptul" there's 2-3 car part stores that carry them on the side, a proper 1/4" ratchet set like that one should be 30-40€ form them.
Made in taiwan by rotary group to really high specs exceeding german industrial DIN norms by a lot.

>>2919352
way too expensive for me.
what about lidls parkside brand?

Whose knockoff is this battery? The charger stopped working and I need a new one. Looks exactly like Makita, but they're all 18V and this is supposedly 20V. Backside of charger says 21.5V 1.6A

>>2919823
many brands call their 18v nominal "21v batteries"

>>2919823
Looks like it could be a DeWalt knockoff, count the number of pins. DeWalt batteries (and their knockoffs) will have a couple extra pins I believe. The chinks love to knockoff makita packs tho.

But like other guy said, the 18V, 20V, 21V batteries are all the same 5 cells inside, 18V nominal and 21V fully charged with no load, so sellers try to trick people who think 20V is better because 20>18.

>>2919360
>way too expensive for me.

Nonsense. What you bought is a total waste of money because you get nothing for it. These are fake tools that look like they should do the job, but they won't.
There is a minimum you need to spend to get a proper tool that does the job without immediately failing.
You can actually not afford to spend less.

>>2920827
actually, I already repaired 6 bikes using those and they seem none worse for it

>>2919876
Why are 18v better than 20v+ batteries?

>>2922142
If they’re lying about the battery voltage, it’s probably just the tip of the iceberg.

So what actually happens if you order from China to the US today? Is it working basically like it used to, or does it sit for a week in California while some bureaucrat figures out if you owe twice or thrice the value of the item? How do you even pay the bureaucrat?

>>2922142
They're not, "18v" and "20v" batteries are exactly the same, five lithium ion cells in series, just with the voltage measured at different points. Hilti, Flex, maybe some other companies do have a slightly higher voltage, but it doesn't matter in practice.

36v+ can be necessary/useful for the highest power applications, stuff like circular saws, large grinders, gas tool replacements.

>>2914893
i wouldn't trust high strain tools at all. i've snapped cheap c clamps before

>>2914893
>Taiwan is the real China
Yeah I just dumped like $600 at Harbor Freight on about every metric Icon wrench, the wiggly ones and long ones and stubby ratchets etc. I am sick of digging through mismatched and lost wrench sets and just got a garage so I'm setting up toolboxes.

>>2923158
I mean at least it’s not the Pittsburgh version, so I’m hoping it’s close to the Husky. I may regret it one day, but I didn’t want to drop $$$ on the Knipex version yet when it’s mostly going to be used on plumbing fixtures which typically aren’t very hard metal.

>>2922142
18V batteries and “20V MAX” batteries are exactly the same. They are 5x 3.6V lithium cells in series, which equals 18V nominal. Milwaukee’s M18 and DeWalt’s 20V MAX will both be like 21V when fully charged. DeWalt and all of those 20V-21V brands are fudging the numbers.

Kobalt and Flex 24V are a little different. They have 6 cells in series, so they’re actually 21.6V nominal, 24V “MAX”. A 4.0Ah Kobalt or Flex battery actually has 20% more capacity than a 4.0Ah Milwaukee or DeWalt pack

>>2914893
dude these things suck balls to use. Big channellocks are so much better

>>2915172
pliers, screwdrivers- klein
sockets and ratchets- armstrong, proto, wright, williams
channelocks, strippers- knipex
small electronics scredrivers- wiha

milwaukee upping their game recently with usa made handtools. Ive gotten the needlenoses and they feel good. I rarely use needlenoses though

>>2918831
anyone?

>>2920831
update, tools still fine but the bits somehow rusted a bit from humidity in my room somehow?
guess I should have put one of those silica packets into the case

>>2914922
>i feel like you are getting more and more all the time
It's all he does! He's /diy/'s certified toolman, along with Kevin van Nigger.

>>2925644
Kek. You’re an retard

bump

I’d like to have some burger-units Allen keys on hand, just in case.
Any good enough chink recommendations for that?

>>2924946
what kind of device is it? People canz just speculate about the reason to as why this is going on nothing.

>>2928159
Are you in the US?

Stripped allen bolts are super annoying. Eklind and Bondhus hex key sets are cheap. Chinesium zamac hex keys will roll over and fuck your afternoon up so quickly. Just buy some Bondhus.

>>2928159
Just wedge a flathead screwdriver into those allen bolts, you'll still fuck them up but won't have wasted $10 on chinesium and weeks of shipping time

the solar crimpers i got are surprisingly good
and the connectors themselves better than the ones sold localy

>>2914818 (OP)
Anyone tried a cheapo chinxi 12v to 110v inverter?

>>2932961
No. But a few pointers:
I'ts old, proven and primitive technology. So hard to get wrong even when you cheal out hard you still can't really get it wrong.
The '2000W' rating and the cigarette lighter plug shown are ridicolous. Assuming ideal efficiency you'd be looking at 166 Amps drawn through that. I guess they dont even make a regular size blade fuse for that kind of current. My feeling is the 2kW rating is real and it will just blow the fuse and if unfused melt and burn this accessory.

>>2932973
tyvm