Most of the tools we buy today are all manufactured in China, and just imported, assembled, local logo slapped, and marked up for 3 x's the price. What are some tools or gadgets you've bought from Chinese websites that turned out better than expected for your DIY projects and hobbies?Post pics or screenshots of the item you bought and the price and whether it was good or a ripoff.Optional: What else were you able to afford for your DIY because of the money you saved by buying from China? Can be more Chinese tools or something western made.Previous: >>2860719
>>2869276That pic with all the router bits and saw and such scares me. Not sure if I’m the only one, but when it comes to any tool that requires proper metallurgy to work well, I don’t know if I have ever gotten a single Chinesium or generic branded one that wasn’t a huge disappointment that sent me going back to buy at least a mid range name brand.Like picrel, a pocket hole jig where the name brand is Kreg and seems kinda ridiculously priced when you think it’s nothing but a plastic block and a drill bit. So I get everything lined up and such, use the provided WorkPro special drill bit, and even new out of the box it’s horrible and chews up the wood and needs extra pressure which potentially moves the whole block and makes the pocket hole crooked. So I get a Kreg bit to make it work right, and all of the Kreg stuff is marked and easy to understand. And the Workpro leaves red flakes of plastic behind while the Kreg guide isn’t chewed up at all. The Workpro driver but is also rusting while the Kreg is fine.
>>2869342Also these plugs are the most god awful plastic ever. If I’m trying to drill pocket holes for a clean wood project, there’s no possible way to use those plugs without them sticking out like a sore thumb. They’re a waste of space.
I've bought literal thousands of things from Aliexpress. Most things are appropriate for the price you pay, ie. $1 phone chargers are garbage that don't perform well, have a fake ampmeter LCD that doesn't display anything, and can set your house on fire or shock you. $1 router bits are inaccurate and bearings on them are prone to failing. Very cheap drill bits are cheese grade steel. Cheap carbide endmills are usually relatively soft, but it's still carbide, it still mills stainless and hardened, and you can buy higher hardness stuff if that's what you want. Carbide inserts for tooling (mostly for lathe) and the holders are usually fine. Precision tools (micrometers, gauges) are decent for the money. Calipers are tricky, some of the midrange calipers have awful electronics that drain a battery in one or two months, others last at least a year.Other electronics, got some VESC high-end knockoff brushless drivers, two 2.4G RC controllers, tons of ESP32's, two large 200A lithium BMS from JK, stepper motors, smart closed loop steppers, 3D printer driver boards, large brushless motors, various HTD belts and pulleys, 3 VFDs for induction motors. Hundred various sensors and shit for various project, notably parts for an auto irrigation system with solenoids.Hand tools - lots of crimping tools, notably IWISS makes good ones; some wire strippers. Soldering irons, mostly just cheapo 900M knockoffs. Various knockoff WAGO connectors, shitty ferrules and terminals.Bigger tools, I got a $300 edge banding machine that works okay, a $25 18V Makita mini chainsaw that I already shilled in other threads that has developed a minor-medium issue with eating up the blade guide but it's still decently usable despite that.Also bought a $5000 1-ton excavator this year for maximum chink, it's doing okay at ~30 hours.
>>2869342What are those blue star bits? I've never seen them like that.
>>2869276Vevor "foundry" (actually a furnace) was a weird purchase. Mine didn't include the nozzle for the burner, had to DIY one up. Thankfully, the design is a modified version of one a Youtuber made a few years ago. It also didn't include the refractory cement I could swear it was supposed to come with.Functions okay-ish after tinkering.Iwiss ferule crimper was a worthwhile purchase.Bought a 3018 CNC with a small handful of the upgrades they have included. Waste of money, could have spent it on purchasing the parts I would need to make an actual worthwhile CNC from scratch - mainboard suffers from brownouts that cause the stepper motors to loose steps. Z axis too wobbly, etc. I 've gutted the thing, dumped money into it, and now it is almost barely functional.First motor controller for the new spindle for said project exploded - looks like they patched a trace on the back of the board poorly and thats where it failed. Have a newer, slightly nicer looking controller (for more money), still looks sketchy with untrimmed component leads nearly contacting the aluminum shell.RDGG is the only manufacturer I trust for mechanical components, everyone else sends rusty linear rails/rods/etc, or bent ballscrews.Got a Flashforge 5M from Ali for cheaper than list price, thing works fine (for the price point).Lots of cheapo taps, they always seem to be oversized, not terrible with a little locktite.No matter who I buy screws from on there, they always end up being a mm shorter than advertised. I just snag things from Bolt Depot now.
>>2869575Which blue star bits? There’s the little Kreg “T” thing which is just a hex key to tighten the collar on the drill bit. The Kreg and the knockoff use a long #2 square driver for the screws>>2869459I love me some Chinese circuit boards that get like 200C on some chip and you wouldn’t have the slightest clue if you built it into a project and didn’t burn yourself on it.
>>2869276New general? Kinda exciting. Here's my two cents on soldering tools:I've had a T12 station for 7 years now and it's been excellent. This year the P-channel MOSFET died short and cooked the tip up above 500C, since it started glowing, but I swapped the PFET out with a through-hole PFET screwed to the case with wires running to the board, and it works a treat again. The roasted tip also still works, somehow. And the knockoff tips have dropped in price over the last 5 years to the point they're like $2 each instead of $10. Even though they're obviously knockoffs, I've never had a problem with them losing their plating or no longer wetting solder, at least nothing that some tip-tinner paste wouldn't solve. I have a handpiece where the tips just push right in, which is nice and convenient for hot-swapping between THT and SMT tips (D24 and D12 respectively), but it does mean if you're putting force on your tip it can rotate. The D52 is great for heavy loads like SMT MOSFETs. The internal PSU is a bit sketchy though, so I'd recommend using one with an external PSU instead. I added an external DC jack to mine anyhow, in case I need to run it off a battery.I bought a T12 controller to make a T245 soldering station with (>>2869123), which worked great too. Though some T12 controllers have a few design issues, like using a single small linear regulator that has heating issues, or using a small power FET that isn't really rated for 8A, or using an MCU that can't take custom firmware.I also have a Yihua 929D desoldering iron, which is excellent for its price, though I modified it to actually have a ground connection to the tip (via a 1MΩ resistor).I hear good things about the TS101, but haven't tried it since I'm not fond of the higher tip-to-grip distance compared to a T12. I'm considering buying desoldering tweezers, and some of those T215-tip battery irons look interesting.Don't trust noname chinese soldering consumables.
>>2869653here's a pic of the inside of the T12 station, for no good reason. Looks like a V2.1S board.
>>2869276Anyone get multitools on aliexpress? Looking to get one on 11/11
>>2869342>WorkProI got an auto wire stripper from them that cost basically nothing and I was surprised by the quality and features. I actually like it more than the Knipex one.
link to current chink shit general in /g/, there are coupons and the sales calendar there >>>/g/103141286
Speaking of T12 stations, I've had a Quecoo T12-956 for a while now, and I'm perfectly happy with it, even though it's a theretically simplified version with an STC chip instead of an STM32 one.The PSU already came with all the grounding and section separations done properly, so no issues there.I especially love how cheap the chink tips for it are.Anyway I will also ask here, anyone had hands on one of these ESR meters? >>2869982
11:11 sale is coming up whats in you're cart
I bought some dewalt knockoffsratchet works it doesn't have a lot of torque to break away bolts but you can still break the bolt loose manually and zip it outits not brushlessgrinder works I haven't used it yet though so I don't know how easy it gets overloaded or how much torque it hasIts brushless thoughNeither have circuit protection so they can over drain your batteries and break them so you need to be careful
>>2870354Ordered the ESR meter, might let you know how it does, of course assuming I even remember by the time it arrives.
Fuck I paid $30 for the Lisle set of these a couple months agoThey are pretty good for $30 definitely worth it for $8 if you work on cars https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807300564189.htmlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SDywH5sS6I
Probably not the right thread but I bought a bunch of guitar tools as backup from aliexpress and they work just as well as the ones I buy in the states.
>>2870527I just got the Lisle ones a couple weeks ago. It’s one of those new popular patented tools where the Chinese knockoffs pop up on Amazon for cheap and the posting gets taken down before they have more than 5 reviews, so I passed on a sketchy Chinesium listing.Was disappointed in how sloppy the joint on the Lisle is. Not that it really matters for that application, but the Lisle tools aren’t cheap and I was expecting a bit more from a company that I thought still did some manufacturing in the US. The little metal flat pry bars and the diamond grit contact cleaning tweezers are two more tools that pop up on Amazon for a couple days before getting taken down for a patent copyright thing, and I’ve been tempted to get the cheap pry tool but if there’s no reviews on the post and it shows up as some POS made of Zamac, it’s useless.
>>2870600Those Lisle's are lovingly crafted by master toolmakers in Vietnam.
>>2870602At least the bits on the front line up pretty well. Maybe I need to stop buying good pliers, I’m getting too spoiled.Also if it is Vietnam, I think that’s like a Taiwan, not nearly as bad as mainland China. Trying to think of COO’s, the budget Fujiya pliers I got were from Vietnam I believe, and I think Wiha pliers are from there, plus something else I got, and it seems to be some better brands and decent quality stuff I have gotten from there. Not as nice as the Germany or Japan pliers, but they’re finished properly and line up and all that. You can tell when the machining is 300% past it’s recommended replacement.
>>2869653HiI also have a T12 station. Bought three years ago.The OLED screen has died. I now solder blind.Thanks for reading my email.
>>2870600They have the angled ones on ali for $8 I had searched for knock offs but didn't see any before I bought the Lisle it must be a recent thing
>>2870399Bought LED headlamp and cooking utensils as Christmas gifts, thermal pants for myself. Nothing I was especially looking for this time, the discounts aren't great, either.
A lot of those T12 stations aren't properly grounded make sure to check yours and fix it if its notthere are tutorials on youtube
>>2869653>TS101not worth it anymore pinecil is the current meme
>>2870604To not get into it too much, there's one major producer of hand-tools in Vietnam that owns several factories and produces tools for a fat heaping load of companies. Lisle, Wiha, Fujiya, Engineer, Tsunoda, Channellock, Irwin, Matco, GearWrench, Vampire, Crescent, Craftsman, Facom, Sunex, Proto, General, AmPro, the list goes on I'm sure. Wiha isn't actually a tool manufacturer at all, which I think is funny. They're a fabless tool company, 100% of their manufacturing is done contractually, with most of their German tools made by Orbis. Orbis produces fabulous tools, and many of the best German handtools you've ever touched were secretly made by them. Wiha's Schonach location is the one you see in photos usually, doesn't actually produce new tools, they package/repackage/label imports. Monchwiler and Werkzeuge are both are owned by Wiha, but they're both filled with Orbis machines, engineers, and designs. Kunststoffwerk is just a Swiss producer of plastics that Wiha bought to shit out rulers and bubble levels. Their USA factory is also a plastics producer, they "make" many of their tools by inserting German/Polish/Vietnamese parts into plastic handles. The Polish shit is the most egregious though because there's nothing inherently wrong with Polish tools, Wiha chose to be shitty in Poland. It's their personal experiment in using Poland as Germany's Mexico, offering shit pay, milking old beat to shit equipment, and using the cheapest materials they can get their hands on. They wanted to cut costs and increase profit margins on handtools while maintaining the Made-in-Europe status, and they did, which is how we got those new chippy cracky snappy Hex Keys and why their precision drivers don't have that "surgical precision" grind anymore.
>>2870679Basically the same thing, but the Pinecil supports more power delivery standards, and is a lot cheaper if you’re buying within America. If you’re not, shipping is quite expensive.Also the iFixIt iron is the newer meme.
>>2870810Sooo Wiha owns the factory in Germany where Wiha tools are produced, but they don’t really produce their own tools?Don’t get me wrong, a lot of the outsourced Wiha stuff has been lame, but the Orbis thing makes no sense. Orbis is like a subset of Knipex that has a couple pairs of specialty pliers under that name, so how do you come to the statement that Orbis, a company which doesn’t make screwdrivers, is actually manufacturing screwdrivers for a more well known and established company that owns the factory and has its damn name on the building? And a quick google search shows Wiha is quite transparent, they do all the metal work in one factory and then stick the blades in the handles and package them in a second factoryWiha def outsources the other hand tools besides screwdrivers though
>>2870864>Also the iFixIt iron is the newer meme.too expensive
>>2870930>too expensiveYes. And the lack of any kind of display on the iron itself, requiring that you plug it into its dedicated powerbank, feels unreasonably limiting. At least it defaults to 350C when you plug it into any other USB source. You could absolutely engineer a user interface that doesn't compromise ergonomics. The proprietary tips aren't brilliant either.Doesn't not make it the hot new meme for some ungodly reason.
I'm kind of surprised I can't find any cheap mini/micro mills on Ali. There are tons (of poor quality, to be fair) benchtop lathes, but no mini/micro mills? I would love to be able to snag a $300 mini mill to mod and fix up over time.
>>2870944They have the shitty cross-slide attachment for drill presses, or $300 CNC mills with tiny spindles.
Can’t remember which thread it was, but anons were talking about their Amazon brand laser levels. They’re somewhat frustrating without a tripod and the tripods can often cost more than the tool, so I was being a cheap ass and clamping the thing to a ladder.But no more! Walking down the clearance aisle of Wally World and found this tripod for $14. Even has a little carrying bag and two bubble levels on the tripod. Perfect for DIYer duty laser level work.
>>2870991Guess I could always buy the shitty drill press cross slide and build up from there.
how are chink pry bars? I'm looking for something that just won't bend or break when I take apart the paneling or lever the door, but I realize that chinesium alloys are probably the worst thing coming out of china
>>2870944Where ya at? I have a mini mill I should probably sell as I haven't used it in years. It's a Cummins brand Seig X2 clone that I already upgraded to the gas lift spring, put the belt drive upgrade on, and epoxy filled the column. Since getting it I acquired a HF knee mill (6x26 clone) and one of the large round column HF benchtop mills that I snagged at an auction for dirt cheap. Plus I have a 9x49 Lagun I got for a good price I just haven't ever hooked it up to power.
>>2871106>chinesium alloys are probably the worst thing coming out of chinaThis is the concern, especially when you start putting a lot of leverage on the thing. I sort of had the opposite with the cheap pry bars I got, the metal has been ok but the handles and strike caps aren’t secured to the bar worth a damn.For pry bars, unironically go to Walmart. They have Hyper Tough pry bars for cheap and they’re USA made and pretty damn solid. There’s a 3pk of common sizes for cheap, and larger sizes individually for real fair prices.
>>2871189>For pry bars, unironically go to Walmart.I'm Euro, so no Walmarts here, but I just found the pic-rel post-exhibition set of Roughneck Gorilla (no experience with the brand but it seems solid) utility bars for the equivalent of 7 bucks and also saw a half-price flash sale of some 20$ amazon 30'' crowbar (definitely chinesium, the brand name was CCLIFE, but all the reviews were positive, so maybe it won't be that bad), which should be even more suitable for my needs than a set of pry bars: the utility bars for taking apart paneling without breaking it and the crowbar for levering stuff
>>2871189I can vouch for hyper tough as well. Kids got me some stuff for father's day a few years back and I ended up using it a lot. Im the type to hammer on random screwdrivers etc like they were punches and pry up on shit when I'm working on old cars. Also built 2 decks and a wood 4x4 squat rack and bench with their drill bits. Not too shabby. Prob wouldn't last for a daily driver but for hobbyist/weekend warrior it's a good pickup
Received this thing today, paid $8 for it in the 3-for-whatever deal they usually have running. It's a tiny cordless rotary tool. Can take dremel attachments or smaller (<3mm). Took it apart, has a small DC motor, a 1.3Wh AA-sized lithium battery, and a control board. I fully expected it to be weak, was hoping it'd maybe have a 18650, but they never put 18650s in these small tools for some reason.It's okay for the money, I explicitly got this just for fiddling with PCB holes, grinding off tiny components, friction cutting couple mm holes in 3D prints, very low-power very small jobs.
Are there any power tools worth a damn on Aliexpress?
>>2871419You get what you pay for. I'd say that most of the mid-priced stuff is usually not going to be total junk, and the mid-priced batteries are probably not total junk (some sellers list the specific cells you are getting), but will still likely not outlive any genuine tools.
anyone seen chink mini/detail polishers that take dewalt? 12 or 24v there's a sort of full size one on amazon AU, as well as the legit full sized dewalt, but I really want a detail version like milwaukee but for dewalt
What in the fuck is this thing called? Trying to set up a data recovery business and need things like this for probing SD cards and other storage devices.
>>2871903Flying Lead needle probe.
>>2869276Totally down with this general, I been buying shit off aliexpress like I'm my boomer parents at walmart. I haven't even tried everything I've bought, but haven't spent more than $10 on any one thing. Only noticable thing was a breakout board that had some leads severely bent.Storage items is pretty foolproof and of course cheaper than the same exact thing from amazon or local big-box. Lots of variety too. Always check the store you're buying from. If they've been open 5 years and have a lot of 5star reviews and no/extremely few 1 star/negative, it's a fairly safe bet. If you're thinking you're getting an ipad for $5 you are a moron. If you're buying from a shop that opened this year and has no reviews, probably dumb but a crapshoot. Cool general though, I wish I'd taken a chance with aliexpress long ago. A lot of the same exact stuff is just priced up on amazon or local retail. >>2870352good to knowWould like to see more "I bought this and it is good" posts, as well as "this shop has done me right" postsI've seen it said you should video your box opening, something I'll probably start doing. But also I had a refund automatically happen from a seller who failed to ship in time. Weird world to this dumb midwestern anon, still figuring it out.
>>2869653>>2869655>>2870354>>2870617>>2870678>>2870679>>2870864>>2870930>>2870933Whats the deal with soldering stations? I don't do a ton of fiddly small electrical work but once in a while have to solder stuff to a circuit board or replace a component. Mainly solder electrical connections for vehicle wiring. Have used mostly pencil type plug in irons for small stuff, some bigger weller trigger type irons for some things, a butane torch at times, and a cordless milwaukee m12 soldering iron for up under dashes and tight spots on vehicles. Am I missing out on some huge thing by not having a soldering station with adjustable heat?
>>2872021For wires it doesn't matter much. For circuit boards there's much more of a risk of overheating something. The advantage of temperature control is that you can pump a lot more power into a smaller tip when you need to power through a beefy solder joint, without having to rely on natural convection to prevent it from overheating. The high power for small size makes them better able to handle small parts too, so temperature controlled irons/stations are generally well suited for a wide range of scales. Even the high-power 200W JBC T245 stations can work on 0402 SMD passives. If you wanted irons that can go up to 200W (for andersons or whatever) and down to circuit-board scale, you'd end up with like 5 irons of differing sizes, and the big ones would be less usable in tight quarters.The other advantage of a temperature controlled iron is tip life, since they don't drift too hot when left alone for a while. A lot of them even go to sleep and cool down when you leave them for too long. This is fine because a temp-controlled iron will heat up in like 5 seconds (if it uses cartridge tips at least), unlike a passively regulated iron that takes multiple minutes.Temperature controlled irons don't have to be smart and digital, you can get some with a little dial on the handle but they're not that well regulated. You can also get "PTC" irons, where the heating element reduces its power naturally as it heats up, and curie-point irons that stop conducting abruptly once the magnetic switch in their tip gets above a certain temperature. Though personally I do recommend a digital iron, especially one with cartridge tips because of how fast they heat up. I've heard stories where people get tips that just dissolve away, but I've never had that issue myself.I am >>2869653 by the way.
I’ve been using the Vevor 2418 engraver for 3 years and it’s been a pretty good experience. Not better than you’d expect from a $150 CNC, but it’s accurate, doesn’t break easily and engraves fine. For cutting its a bit under powered but they sell an upgraded spindle at $100 and then another stronger model at like $300. Basically covers the entire ‘bottom barrel price range’ but without being actually terrible
>>2872023Thank you for the well written response. I was genuinely curious and you took the time to make a very informative post. I appreciate it!
>>2872023nta but thanks. Do you have any recommendations? I'm just a hobbyist and beginning, so not into surfacemount yet, wondering if it's a waste to get something cheap and instead just invest in higher quality. But then again, being a beginner, I don't really know how to differentiate quality and crap. Also, would this be something to stay away from on aliexpress and instead go to amazon, or will it just be the same thing with increased price or something?Thanks for the informative post too, I'm so new I didn't realize cartridge tips were a thing even.
>>2872231Everybody seems to like those Yihua soldering stations. I think most of those are Hakko or Weller clones and they can use name brand Hakko tips.
>>2872288Yihua's pretty decent, actually. Have an 858D and besides Fedex breaking the fucking gun holder, it works really well and I've had no problems with it.
>>2871997>Would like to see more "I bought this and it is good" posts, as well as "this shop has done me right" poststhere are often post like that, we just are flooded with 11.11 bullshit right nowand i would say that easily half the reviews are /diy/ related, mostly /ohm/ related
>>2869276Does ali or temu have any good cheap laser levelers?
>>2872968>0.4deg slanted work surface so the poly-coated OSB drains the condensation from icy cold beverages What a genius!
Anybody can recommend me an air quality meter? Should I even buy one on aliexpress in the first place? I don't know much about them but I'd really like one for 3d printing.
>>2872974english pls
>>2873151The pic you posted must be the workbench of a genius!
>>2873151>>2873208That genius uses Bosch though, because while Chinese crap can be a great value sometimes, a genius doesn’t trust the Chinese to make accurate measuring devices or properly hardened steel.Except for multimeters, there are some OK cheap multimeters, but you better compare the readings to a known accurate meter when it’s fresh out of the box and stay way from high voltage. But if you try to save a few bucks on cheap measuring tech, you’re going start a job and lead yourself into a confusing mess if you have been trusting inaccurate readings the whole time.
>>2871106If you need something metal and heavy duty, don't get it from china
>>2870527>>2870600literally 15-20 bucks.lifetime warranty.made in US, designed in Iowa.
>>2873222Had to dig it out of the trash can to tell you you’re wrong
>>2873223fuck them then.
>>2873222>>2873223Here’s a few of their stamped pliers that are USA made from a few years ago. So they either sent the manufacturing overseas recently, or they make stamped metal and maybe some plastic stuff in the US, and forged stuff overseas.The Vietnam made ones don’t even have a Lisle logo on them, which is why maybe anon feels like he got ripped off for $30. If they’re not even branded, there’s part of me that feels like the $8 Ali ones could be the same damn thing without Lisle packaging. Or at least with how loose the joint is on these Lisle ones I got, my brain couldn’t tel the difference if the Ali one was delivered in the Lisle packaging.
>>2873213under a chinese brand or made in china in general? I bought an amazon crowbar recently >>2871203 and this thing seems indestructible, and I doubt something like that isn't made in china
>>2873271That's fine you can trust that thing with your limbs all you want.
precision measurement tools, potential death-inducing tools that depend on their metallurgy, and anything involving food-grade stuff, I'd rather not buy from China, or at least buy from a reputable brand even if made in China where they can certify, calibrate and back their product with good warranty. Everything else is generally fair game, but sometimes you do get what you pay for. Good general though, I'm learning lots.
>>2872021CAN SOMEONE PLEASE COMMENT ON ALIEXPRES SOLDERING TINis it bad quality? I cannot for the life of me solder wires like I used to do in the pastwhat is some cheap but good soldering wire to solder 2 wires togethr?
>>2873562Not aliexpress. Buy from any local electronics store, if you can, leaded, if you can't buy leaded, buy silver solder. Sn99Cu0.7Ag0.3 is pretty good from the cheapo ones.
>>2873563Okay so the problem is aliexpres solder is just ass then? Yeah but in my hardware store this shit costs like €30 for the cheapest one
>>2873565Then order online from a non-chink supplier. But silver solder will always be expensive, at least $10/100g. 100g will probably last you a long time as a hobbyist though.Aliexpress also has this stuff but it's expensive on aliexpress, too, like $70/500g.
>>2873567alright thanks
>>2873562bite the bullet and buy kester 24-6040-0027. it will last you a long time.
Chinesium bicycle spoke wrenches, yay or nay?
>>2874310Sure. I got a cheap bike repair tool kit years and years ago and the cheap spoke wrenches aren’t that much worse than the Park Tools I have. Not like there’s going to be a lot of force on them.
>>2874462could you send a link to this?
>>2874468It was like 20 years ago, probably from Danscomp, a BMX site. Had cheap stamped pedal wrenches and freewheel romoval tool and stuff. Spoke wrencues are tiny and cheap anyway. I’m sure there’s something on Amazon like that.If you don’t know the size, I recommend getting a multipack of different spoke wrenches rather than all in one because the multitools can be a bitch to fit on certain wheels, especially our old 48 spoke bmx wheels.
>>2874468>>2874483Picrel is probably like $3 from Ali
>>2874483>>2874484>>2874468Damn I suck… picrel. If it’s $9 with free Prime shipping, I’m sure it’s real cheap elsewhere
I bought the chink Lisle pliers they are exactly the same except 1/3 the price and are spring loadedI could have bought both chink sets for less than the original if I had just waited a couple months
>>2870810Wait, what?I thought wera was the not-really-German,-only-redditors-Fall-for-them brand and wiha was proper German stuff. Now you’re saying Wiha is just as shit? What do I get now?But more on topic:A few years ago I got the OG wiha x Xiaomi precision screwdriver set off AliExpress and, while it’s a tad Apple-ish function follows form- it’s really quite decent. I also got a lot of NewOne blades for my vibrating Multitool and they’re quite good for the price. Wouldn’t use them for precision cuts, but for “might fuck up my blade” demo work, they’re great. Also the reason for my first>we gotta warn you about a product email!From AliExpress. Was afraid that one of my more private orders was leaded or something, but turns out it was just because of them selling Starlock blades, which apparently you can only do with a loicence. Oh well, st*rlock is just as good. Are >maybe I need them once or twice, maybe I never need them…Safety bits from AliExpress good enough for occasional use, or do those need to be very precise to even work?
>>2874741Anon’s claims on Wiha are quite interesting considering the company openly shows its factories on their website and even tells you which manufacturing steps are done at which factories… plus there’s a big Wiha sign on the buildings. Sears era Craftsman and current Icon and Kobalt are brand that do what Anon claims of Wiha, which is why you never see a photo ot an Icon factory or find the address of the Kobalt plastic handle factory where all of the Kobalt tools get their soft grip handles
>>2874741Also I have the super cheap security bit set from Harbor Freight or Advance Auto or wherever I snagged the $8 100pc set, and it has served me well enough. They’re not finely machine precision bits, but it’s not really necessary when 95% of the time those bits are being used in plastic electronics. Sticking them in an impact driver could be iffy though,
>>2869276I bought a cheap 0 file for silversmithing from someone on eBay and I'm presuming it's from Ali express since I've seen similar, it works fine but the way it was made, at the top looked like it had been chewed off, yet my swiss vallorbe files are beautifully made, it does the job though so I can't complain.
>>2874741>>2874776You know Wiha sells a LOT of Vietnamese and Taiwanese products, right? Explore the Wiha website, products list Country of Origin under their specs, except the ones made in Asia. If it's made in Asia they won't list a country of origin on the Wiha site. Lots of companies do this.Their Insulated Linesman's Pliers, their classic pliers, the Industrial line, soft grips, nippers, tongue in grooves, autogrips, crimping pliers, all Vietnamese. Most of the ESD Safe Precision stuff is still made in Germany. They have most of their pliers made for them now, by the big Vietnamese East West Whatever group that's producing pliers for *most* tool brands these days. The ones made in Italy still note the country of origin. Their Combo Wrenches and Ratcheting Combos, Ratchet Handles, socket sets and accessories like u-joints, all the normal non-ESD-safe ones are made in Taiwan, but it's not noted on the Wiha site. Their Hex Bit Sockets and Torx Bit Sockets are a mix of mostly Taiwanese but still some German and even some American made ones. Their adjustable wrenches made in Spain still note the country of origin. Their line of ESD-safe Tweezers that are made in Pakistan, no Country of Origin on their site. Their Mallet Heads are mostly German and Polish, but they don't tell you about the Hungarian ones, so I guess Hungary is just as bad as Taiwan or Vietnam to them.
Needed a Dremel replacement, have a very dinky hobby grinding wheel I can hook this chinese one onto. according to the reviews its missing a bearing and has no easy means of lubricating the internals ( I bet I can just blast some silicone WD-40 down it and be fine)I realize the dinky lathe chuck is technically not supposed to be used for metal, but I've seen people do so online with some amount of success, so heres hoping.I'll also finally have some shop aprons.Anyone else snag anything good(enough)?
>>2874946opps, forgot pic.
>>2874621What are these useful for? And what did you buy them for personally?
>>2874947Damn that's a good deal on the flex rotary tool and the denim apron. Looks like I'm copping myself both.
>>2874960>What are these useful for?disconnecting electrical connectors on vehicles>And what did you buy them for personally?I have no self control
>>2874930That wasn’t the argument. Anybody who has looked knows it’s pretty much the screwdrivers made in Germany, their website doesn’t claim they’re forging wrenches in Germany. It’s anon’s claim that Wiha doesn’t manufacture stuff themselves and it’s Orbis manufacturing it in Orbis factories in Germany and stamping a Wiha name on it… needs more evidence other than one Anon claim on 4chan.Also people don’t think of Wiha when they want pliers and wrenches, that’s some new stuff made in Asia with a Wiha name on it, that’s why people don’t really buy them unless they’re on clearance for half price at Lowe’s.
>>2874992WIHA TOOLS USA Designed by Wiha Germany, manufactured in Vietnam, Obama did this.
Do you guys think the tariffs thing will make a big difference? Or is it saber-rattling?Will I look back on 2024 with $50 MCUs/components and regret not buying them on the cheap?The real answer is "nobody knows" I think, fucking geopolitics, but just wondering your opinions
>>2874993Barrack HUSSEIN Obama!For real though, it’s hard to say, that’s a big investment if they wanted to get set up to manufacture wrenches and stuff in Yurop. They would have to charge the high, and with so many first world wrench companies going under in recent years, it would be a big gamble to forge wrenches in Germany. So many of the successful US/Yuro wrench companies only really survive because of a long history and you can’t instill the trust in consumers that easily where they’ll drop $300+ on a 12pc wrench set from a screwdriver company instead of going with a known wrench brand. Also the stuff I have seen with a Vietnam stamp on it has generally been decent, whatever factory is over there is doing it better than China.Klein has been introducing a lot of new wrenches and sockets too and all of that stuff seems to be overseas.
>>2875029Didn’t they do it before? Like 2017 everybody was saying “Go stock up on your Chinesium now!” and that stuff didn’t seem to go up in price as much as general inflation. Everything went up over time. And the upside is that you saw Craftsman start talking about more USA manufacturing (which they sort of flaked on) and Milwaukee beginning US manufacturing.I would rather see them fix some of the BS regulatory stuff that makes USA manufacturing so overpriced. If they bumped up Chinesium pricing but allowed premium USA stuff to he more competitive, I would be content.
>>2875031all that is a distraction against the insanity of the "real estate" "market", but before I go full Georgist let's return to the topic at hand.
Just got a chink blower like that https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaSDGzLBpOE and it's crazy strong (crazy loud too), probably stronger than the real thing
>>2875139for blowing leaves?
>>2875251mostly yeah, or things like blowing off snow from your car, but it seems like just a general purpose compact blower. though it's probably too loud and the air stream is too wide for comfortable indoor use. I've been dusting my PC with it etc. too
>>2875139>>2875324forgot to add that it works with Makita LXT batteries and there are versions for DeWalt etc. ones too
for the most part ch*nks are perfecting the art of "will break in after return period ends"The sweet spot for buying bugwares was '18-'23.They're getting too good at stuff now they need a good nuking soon
>>2875350these sites won't survive tarrfis, so i don't think it'll matter much anyway.
I'm looking at getting my first oscillating tool. Is avid power decent? 60 bucks is great.
>>2875725depends on where you live. if in Europe, I got one from Einhell (rebranded as Ozito in Australia) for that much, with a 2.5Ah battery and a charger as a part of a Black Friday deal. I have some other corded stuf from this brand and recently bought a brushless cordless mortar stirrer and an impact wrench from them too and I'd say this brand is slightly below Ryobi tier (or sometimes better, depending on the tool). this particular model is very simple and you need to use an allen key to change blades, doesn't have cutting angle adjustments, etc., but it's fast (can be adjusted at 5-10k RPM) and powerful enough
Are any of the dc power supplies on ali express any good? Anyone use any of them?
>>2876122I have small one like only module and it's great.You still need power supply for it that has higher voltage than max voltage you're planning to use. I use old HP printer brick @42v or so.
>>2876122I have an older model that they probably don't sell anymore, but it's fine. Only that the cables I got with it, both AC and DC, were garbage.
>>2869342>>2869276Fuck off shill, take your gook spam back to >>>/g/csg
>>2876122I got picrel off Amazon. Has been working fine for me after a few years of random shit. It’s accurate enough for any or the stuff I’m charging, to the point where you can’t tell if the 0.02V difference between the power supply and meter is because of the power supply or the meter.
>>2876467>>2876122On the supercheap mode, there’s also these <$10 boards that will run off whatever like 3V-30V DC supply you put into it. Not sure about sensitive electronics, but it works for basic stuff. It’s off by like a 0.05 maybe and will vary a little depending what the power source is, but it’s cool for the money and probably really cheap on Ali.I still recommend the other ones considering how cheap they have gotten these days. It’s like $50 on Amazon for a 30V/10A power supply, and if you use it to recover a low cell in a power tool battery once, it pays for itself.
What's a good chinese soldering station brand or model or what should I look for when purchasing one? Any other equipment I might need that would help make getting into soldering hobby a lot easier?
>>2876468How do those cheap power supplies help recover a low cell in a battery? How does that work or what is a low cell?
>>2876747When you have an 18V power tool pack for example, it’s actually 5 cells @ 3.6V. Those cells will be around 4.2V fully charged (20.5V-21V for a full 18V battery pack) and the circuitry in the tool/battery will cut the power off around 2.0-2.5V/cell because lithium batteries can get damaged below that. Sometimes the charger won’t charge the battery because one cell of the 5 gets below some threshold where the computer chip in there thinks the pack is damaged. Or if you run a battery down to 0% charge then put it away for a few months, it can drop below a certain voltage and the charger won’t go.And other times you can never charge a battery above 3 bars out of 4 because one of the 5 cells is a little bit low, and those power tool battery management boards (BMS) will stop charging when the first cell hits 4.2V, so the cells will be like 4.2v, 4.0v, 3.9v, 4.1v, 3.2v and the pack only ever gets to ~19.4V out of a potential 21.0V if it were fully charger. So you take the battery pack apart, you get the power supply, set it to 4.20V/1A (or whatever you like, you can google the settings for the type of cell), and you can individually charge the 4 other cells and bring them up to 4.2V so all of them are even, and now the pack will stay fairly balanced for awhile as long as none of the cells are damaged internally.Pic related was a Ryobi 18V pack, when I stuck it on the charger it would flash red lights. For whatever reason, I blame the old lady who had it in her car for months sitting on a tool after she ran it dead, so 4 of the cells were like 2.5V or whatever where they’re at 5% charge but the charger should work, but the 5th cell dropped down like 1.9V. I stuck the charger on that 1.9V cell, sent some power to it and got it above 2.5V so it was even with the other cells, and then stuck the pack on the charger and it brought it right back up to fully charged.
>>2876747And the cheap board in this pic >>2876468 does pretty much the same thing as the power supply in this pic >>2876766 but you need to find some DC power source to hook up to the board while the power supply gets AC from the wall and turns it into DC.
>>2876746Ctrl-F "solder"Buy silver or leaded solder locally, chink solder is usually garbage.
>>2876766>>2876767Wow, I didn't know that was a thing and didn't know it was possible to repair. I've always throw away the batteries because I thought they were dead and wouldn't charge. Didn't know this was a thing. Learned something new today. Thank you.
>>2876976Depends on the battery brand too and what the issue is. If you have a DeWalt battery that you ran down to 1 bar on your leaf blower in the fall, put away for the winter, and now the charger is giving you a fast blinking red light, it’s probably undervoltage on all of the cells and the charger doesn’t want to go on a battery pack that could be damaged. A lot of boomers have this problem when they do the Power Wheels to DeWalt 20V battery conversion for their grandkids. When that happens, they can jump the dead pack with another fully charged DeWalt pack, just for a second to make a residual voltage high enough on the dead pack for a minute and the charger will recognize it. That wouldn’t work with the Ryobi pack though, the circuitry inside the pack saw the voltage was too low and cut power to the tabs on the outside of the pack. So the pack might have been like 9.8V, but I was getting 80mV at the contacts. Once I opened it up and brought that low cell back up above 2V, it turned back on and the charger worked.Just make sure you google how to charge lithium cells. Some chemistries are forgiving, but lithium is picky and battery fires are not fun if something goes wrong.
>>2876976>>2877020Also it’s not always really a “Repair”. If one cell is consistently going low, it means that one cell is degraded and whenever you use the tool, that one degraded cell is going to have a lower capacity and hurt the capacity. They’re also going to get unbalanced quickly again. The cells should stay pretty balanced if they’re all healthy, but shit happens, especially on those bigger like 8Ah+ packs with lots of cells
>>2869276is this some bullshit? why do these things really cost $1.5k-$2.5k?https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Cat-246d-Skid-Steer-Front-Loader-11000015123106.html
>>2877466Yes they totally cost $1.5k anon, you should order ten.
>>2877515elaborate pls. I know I'd have to pay taxes, transport and other stuff, but I still don't get what you mean.
>>2877725"transport and other stuff" costs $10-20k.
>>2873562It is all chinese garbage, I thought I was going crazy until I bought some solder for the store for $10 and soldering just werked again.
>>2877802i dont understand how they can make shiploads of electronics with flow soldered boards obviously with decent alloy, but wont/cant sell rolls of it?i too fell for the scam of ordering it. the tub of flux i got smells like industrial waste not tree sap and didnt work even with kester solder
>>2877892You can buy good solder from chinks, but then it's not cheap, and you can buy the same thing for the same price locally.
>>2878048I'll repost here also, bought a Mileseey TR256E for 160 euros on the last sale. Seems to be mostly up to spec, the 256x192 resolution is great at the price point. 50Hz imaging is probably a lie, I'm guessing it's around 30Hz. Still feels okay to use.
>>2869459Please define maximum chink in a measurement an American can understand.KTNX
>>2878386It's when more than 10% of your net worth is in Aliexpress products.
Had to borrow a 10mm socket in order to swap the power window regulator on my car (the thing that makes the window go up and down and stay there). I already had like 5 sets of sockets, but I didn't realize ALL of them were SAE. Are metric socket sets alright to buy on Ali? Anything I should be aware of?
>>2878457Cheese grade steel (but it's not a big issue since you have big contact area anyway), rusting if it's not surface coated, and loose fits. It's still going to work fine for the odd job.For example I have the set in the lower right corner and that shit gets rusty with time, and it's missing a standard metric nut size, 5.5. Still usable beyond that.
>>2878458Thanks for the info.
>>2878457>>2878458>>2878460There’s also the whole thing about horrible machining and the cheapest chinese sockets cracking on the thinnest corner (because they’re always off-center and one corner is thinner than the other 5) and busting the fuck out of your knuckles.I don’t know why you would buy Ali chinesium sockets. The decent Taiwan ones, if you want a metric shallow set in 1/4” or 3/8” drive, you can get that from a real brand with a lifetime guarantee for $10-$20. Hell, the Pittsburgh rainbow or chrome sets at HF are probably like $7.Chinesium sockets just remind me of those round head 3/8” sets that go on sale for $5 at Harbor Freight, and I had a friend for years that loved to buy those even though they would result in busted knuckles almost every job. And I have never seen those issues with the Taiwan stuff, which isn’t expensive at all. Plus when a socket cracks, it not only removes skin from your knuckles, but it will fuck up the bolt you were trying to remove and make the job more difficult.
>>2878511Thank you for the insight, I don't know anything about metric sockets so I didn't realize the quality of even HF sets is a step above Ali ones (frankly I just assumed they were all contracted from the same factories and HF just put their own brand on them and sold them domestically at a markup). I'll check my local HF next week then and see what they have. If you have any recommendations for a small cheap metric set with deep socket and 1/2 inch driver off Amazon I'm open to suggestions.I was originally going to opt for a 12-point set for the added flexibility, but a bit of research told me actual 12-point nuts are kind of rare to encounter for everyday people like me (my auto window repair only needed a 6-point) and 6-points give more purchase of the nut with less slippage chance:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pX4uHYEPOuY
>>2878527Impact sockets are going to have thicker walls. If you’re never going to use an impact wrench, you might want to go regular chrome sockets. It’s rare, but there are certain spots where impact sockets won’t fit.Also, do you know what you’re looking for? 1/2” drive is for larger stuff. If you didn’t have a 10mm socket, that’s like the lowest end of 1/2” drive sockets and going to be a bitch to work with in tight spots.But yea 12pt is sort of rare. 6pt is nicer for mechanic type work most of the time and less chance of rounding certain fasteners, although honestly it’s hard to mess up nuts and bolts with 12pt sockets unless they’re already damaged so don’t put too much weight into that. What is your situation like right now? Because even going with cheap socket sets, before you go and buy 1/2” drive deep impact sockets meant for removing wheels on cars, you might want a socket set that is organized. It’s the holidays and there are sales all over and you can get a nicely organized case of stuff that isn’t bottom barrel chinesium. Piecing this stuff together quickly becomes more expensive than buying a set, and loose sockets rolling around are guaranteed to get lost. If you go to a brick & mortar store, you can at least see what you’re looking at. 1/2” drive sockets are the larger sizes most DIYers would have, 1/4” drive is for smaller nuts and bolts, 3/8” is in the middle.
>>2878527>>2878587The cheapest Harbor Freight socket sets suck, the ones that are like $20 for a whole big set with an old school looking ratchet. If you just want a single set of sockets to match the SAE in whatever drive size you have, I recommend picrel from Harbor Freight. Cheapest option for the bare minumum. Look on the back for the COO, maybe they’re still made in Taiwan and that’s a good sign. I’ve seen these Pittsburgh Pro sockets do a lot of work and hold up fine. You can find them in different drive sizes, MM or inch, shallow or deep, whatever you want.
>>2878527>>2878588Picrel are the sets that are probably the same shit as Ali but rebranded. You can look close at sockets and see where the 6pt hex isn’t totally centered within the socket and it fucking sucks when one of those blows out or the cheap ratchet explodes as your stoned poor 19 year old ass is trying to remove a brake caliper in a cold garage and the skin is removed from 3 knuckles.Husky from Home Depot, Kobalt or Craftsman from Lowe’s, Pittsburgh Pro or Quinn from HF, and then Amazon had SATA, Tekton, and a handful of other non-Chinesium brands that will last a lifetime for not much money if you keep track of them. And the Taiwan stuff should have a lifetime warranty too.Also worth adding that if you stay away from bottom barrel chinesium, you will destroy less fasters from crappy tolerances on crappy tools, and rounding off nuts and bolts with shitty Chinese tools is a giant headache.
>>2878588>The cheapest Harbor Freight socket sets suck, the ones that are like $20 for a whole big set with an old school looking ratchet.I love those sets. The 40-piece Pittsburgh set is only $8, the better 51-piece set is $20, most of the auto parts stores carry the same set under a different name for $20-$25. They're garbage and no replacement for even half-decent tools, but they're so cheap I keep them around for emergencies and give them away without much thought. There's a set in every vehicle I own, just in case. I've given several away to people in need, mostly off-roading, it's easy to get fucked off-road just because you misplace a single socket or wrench. I've had one of those $8 sets save my ass when I lost a whole toolbox to the dunes; losing ~$1k to the sand hurts, but $8 worth of trashy Taiwanese sockets were more than enough to bypass my punched out oil cooler and get me home. Never found the toolbox, very active trail, someone had probably picked it up before I even knew it'd been bounced. They're shit, but they're cheap insurance.
>>2878703>$8 worth of trashy Taiwanese socketsI don’t think that’s the case. They’re blow that. I have never seen a ratchet from those kits last very long at all without exploding. I hate those things so much because they always fail in a way that ends up with more than just a broken shitty tool, and the fact that the green and black handle sets or Kobalt or Husky can be had for $20-$30 and those things never fail when being used properly and can take a decent amount of abuse for not much more money. The guts of the ratchet will explode if you look at them wrong and the sockets are like chrome plated zamac, the frustration isn’t worth saving $20, and it’s not like I’m over here saying you need Snap On, but it’s a huge jump in quality for little money.
Yay!My chinesium-specialty bits arrived!Ok, I wasn’t expecting premium quality, but damn, that’s really bad. Even no-name cheapo hardware store crap has a better finish than those. The penta and the squares are ok-ish, but that large set is quite hefty. Guess for my intended use (have them, just in case I ever encounter a single weirdo screw that I need to open NOW) they ought to be good enough, but seriously, how hard can it be to machine the edges properly?
>>2869276To whoever might benefit from knowing, I bought a CPU from aliexpress and it was an ok experience, sample size of 1. Wanted to upgrade my old PC, going from 2c2t to 4c4t at same power usage so I could keep everything else stock. Wanted a core 2 quad q8400, ebay listings were all $30-50 after shipping, aliexpress vendor had one for $10 shipped, so I figured why not give it a try. It took like 3 months but when it arrived, it worked fine, still using it now.
>>2878912>how hard can it be to machine the edges properly?Why would they spend the time and/or money to do that when they can just mold or stamp the things or whatever they do to make them look like the real thing?I have the $9 100pc security bit set from the checkout line of Advance Auto for that random once a year set, and then I got the Hercules set from HF because I wanted hex and torx power bits like 2”+ with a thin shank so they would fit in recessed holes. I was hesitant about spending $25 on a 30pc bit set from Harbor Freight because I don’t trust them or I thought they would be the same shit as the cheap Warrior set with 1/4” hex shafts the entire length, but they have been solid so far. I’ve run some smaller hex and torx sizes in the impact driver and they fit well and have held up. I shredded the hell out of a loctited 1/8” hex set screw with the Hercules bit and it is still kickin.
>router bitsTideway branded bits on Aliexpress are decent.ER collet chucks, pay for best precision. Big diff.
Are 1 dollar AliExpress clamps a good idea or will these motherfuckers explode on me?https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006044059757.html?spm=a2g0n.category.0.0.396a1ecfV1T9r6&browser_id=90b19c68b8fe429387ef31a523572a87&aff_platform=msite&m_page_id=bcbfeefaa193b4c8523822e6a98af1f1ce5e1a1174&gclid=&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21CAD%215.36%211.74%21%21%2126.83%218.72%21%402103277f17339048952964780eff20%2112000039659520679%21sea%21CA%210%21ABX&isseo=y&algo_pvid=7035b1cf-b3ed-431f-a1f8-49d16ba4e1ea
>>2879380They're very small and very weak at that price point. I have some Lidl ones of the same design and the bigger ones are okay.
>>2879380you dont need to copy anything after the .html?as the other anon says they are smallhow about big ones? are big ali clamps worth it? i need several
>>2879393It's probably cheaper to buy the same shit locally, shipping cost on large, cheap items tends to make them not worth buying.
>>2879393>>2879395Harbor Freight sucks but they’re the place to go for clamps. I went and got a bunch of 18”+ clamps for a woodworking project recently and you can’t beat the prices there. $7 for 24”, $9 for 36”. They’re not as the Irwins I have, but they’ve been good enough. $35 worth of clamps at HF would cost me like $150 at Home Depot or Lowe’s.
>>2879380The handle breaks very easily on those cheap ones.Though you can 3d print replacement handles and they'll actually be tougher than the original piece of shit.
i guess i'll ask herewhat is the go to for a cheap obd reader?does the model matter?>>2879506i am a euro, i guess ill wait until lidl or aldi has those for cheap
>>2879529I bought a USB cable one way back so I'm not up to date on the new stuff, but I think any BT ones that pair with your smartphone should do decently if you get a good app. ELM327 seems to be universal and ultra-cheap.>Lidl clampsThey're basically the same thing, maybe slightly better, but also cheaper.
