New Drill Gloat

Stuart Ablett

Member
Messages
15,917
Location
Tokyo Japan
I've been wanting a good 3/8" corded drill.

I have 4 lousy ones :rolleyes:

Three of them were hand me downs from friends leaving the country, two are el cheap Ryobi drills, non-reversible, low power, lousy chucks.

green_ryobi_drill.jpg
two like this

red_ryobi_drill.jpg
one of these, I bought this one, and it works well for sanding on the lathe, as the lower speed setting is slow enough to not burn up my sanding disks.

I also have one B&D that is also lousy, poor chuck, got to use a hammer to get the chuck tight enough to hold a bit.......... again, this drill works fine for the buffing wheel I have for a drill on the lathe.

The thing is, I've found out building the Phoenix, I really do need a better 3/8" corded drill.

Well, I found one :D

m609_drill.jpg m609_drill_nameplate.jpg

This drill lists for around $100, and the street price is closer to $65, not bad, but then I found this very drill in a "Bargain Bin" in the DIY shop, there was no case or anything, no manual etc. :D

The tag said 2980 yen, or about $25 :thumb:

Hope it works better than the other four I have :rolleyes:

In the hand, it is really a lot more substantial than the other ones, so we shall see, more powerful too!

One thing I did notice on the nameplate............

m609_drill_nameplate2.jpg

Yep, "Assembled in China"


Cheers!
 
Nice score Stu! Now all ya need to do is sell the other drills and the new one will be free!:D

Reminds me of an old Skill sander I picked up in a bargain bin for $10 (many moons ago). Long story shorter, a friend wanted one for a Christmas present - turns out it was some heavy duty pro unit Skill sold and cost about 6X what the consumer models sold for.:eek: :eek:

FWIW,
Wes
 
Stu,

Nice Score! :thumb:

It seems like hand power tools cost alot less over there. Is that because it is somewhat local (china, tiawan, japan) manufacturing or something else?
 
Actually Sean, in general they are MUCH more expensive here.

I can find the exact same tool, same model number and everything at Amazon etc for often 1/3 of the price we pay here in Japan.

Things are changing, but even the selection of tools here is not as good as the US.

I got REAL lucky on this one! :thumb:
 
What is the general feeling of many woodworkers in Japan that use powertools about imported tools?

I'd say most appreciate the better prices, but most also understand, that by and large, the better tools are still made in Japan, but you pay for them, boy do you pay! :rolleyes:

I'd also say that most do not know about the dumping of Japanese tool outside of Japan, and the high prices that are paid here, domestically, but the internet has done wonders for that! :thumb:

A few years ago, a Japanese carpenter that I know in the area was complaining to me about how is brand spanking new cordless drill got stolen from the back of his truck, he had just got it, and had not even put his name etc on the case, or tool, he was not happy, as he was going to have to shell out another $500+ for a new one. I told him that they were half that price in the US, he did not believe me, so I went online and found the exact make and model of his drill online in the US for under $200. They wanted $50 for shipping so he asked me to order him one, which I did.

He saved $250+ and was one happy guy, but he could NOT believe that the same tool was for sale in the US for less than half the price it was in Japan, this tool was MADE in Japan and shipped to the US, a real eye opener for him.

Cheers!
 
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