Goods from Banggood

[Ajax]

I won't sacrifice hard working tool makers to thieves stealing designs and selling me tools on the cheap.

I wouldn't want my hard work undermined like this.

 

[Gerald Yang]

Well , I am a Chinese, came to Canada 10 years ago and still have a lot connections with China(mainland).
to be honest, most "made in China" stuff are just bad, including many name brands like Milwaukee. that is the reason why I pick festool, you really can tell the difference. the reason is just simply because of cheap labour, so they won't willing to put more money to a better production line or CNC machine, it just not worth it. if the same stuff is made in german or any other country, the labour cost will push the manufacturer to get a better production line and better CNC machine due to the high labour cost.

but a good point said above, if you can find the right manufacturer for the right brand, you will have a great deal, like I know a guy can get me some Bessey clamps from the original factory for half price, or some HONGDUI stuff. HONGDUI do make their own design and do have amazing quality.

But still, I don't like the idea that people just copy the idea and make cheap copies, for sure you can get 90% for less than half price, but copyright is a thing.

 

[smorgasbord]

Here's an item to not get:https://www.banggood.com/300-or-600...Multi-function-Measuring-Ruler-p-1988498.html
[attachimg=1]

It's a simple ruler. How badly could they screw that up?
Turns out quite badly.

Here compared to my Shinwa metal rule:
At Left edge:
[attachimg=2]
You can see at 60mm it's already off, but

At the Right Edge:
[attachimg=3]
Off by a full mm.

And also compared to my Tajima Class 1 tape measure (hooked):
[attachimg=4]

Banggood essentially has a no-return policy, and the most I could get out of them was $35, so it ended up being a cheap straight edge, if you wanted a knife edge for your straight edge (might be good for cutting veneer). It is pretty straight as far as I've looked so far, at least.

I have a useless end hook and Rule Stop for it, too.

The Woodpeck version is $60, Banggood's was $41.50.

Note this same ruler was reviewed by Dennis of "Hooked on Wood," yet somehow the version is unusable as a ruler. Did he not check the measurements, or was he given a special version to review?

 

[smorgasbord]

BTW, I noticed that the Hongdui copy of the Micro-Jig FitFinder 1/2 gauge got pulled from Banggood's US site, but it apparently still available in the UK.

Hongdui website version:https://hongduitools.com/113.html

YouTube reviews:


Might be gone in the UK now, too:https://uk.banggood.com/HONGDUI-Woo...ool-for-Table-Saw-Router-Table-p-1974936.html

When Woodpeckers copied Carmonius Finsnickeri's Domino table, I was disheartened, but it did make me feel OK about buying straightforward tools that are copies. That I got bit by an inferior copy is probably my just deserts.

 

[Mini Me]

I won't buy aluminium tools and regard WP tools as a blatant cheap copy of steel tools. Aluminium tools are more easily damaged and in the end are just copies for the most part on what traditionally was made in steel or made to suit the user. Use a marking knife with an Aluminium rule or straight edge and the chance of damaging the edge is huge, drop an Aluminium tool on the floor and cry especially if it is made by WP. Yes, I had some but after the first one got so easily damaged I quickly sold them. My view is I may as well buy Chinese if I want an Aluminium tool and regard it as expendable.

 

[krudawg]

I own that Hondui edge hand plane - use it quite a bit now.  Just bought a really cool chisel shapening Jig by Mohoo.  It's a complete knock off of the Woodpeckers "One Time Tool". I bought package a and b.  I was curious what Woodpeckers was selling that "one time tool" for on their website but pricing information was not available.  I read a lot of flack about Banggood but you will find some really nice tools on their site.  For me, I check out China Tools Reviews on Hookedonwood.online. If Dennis gives it at least 4.5 stars I'll buy it if I am looking for that tool

 

[krudawg]

I won't buy aluminium tools and regard WP tools as a blatant cheap copy of steel tools. Aluminium tools are more easily damaged and in the end are just copies for the most part on what traditionally was made in steel or made to suit the user. Use a marking knife with an Aluminium rule or straight edge and the chance of damaging the edge is huge, drop an Aluminium tool on the floor and cry especially if it is made by WP. Yes, I had some but after the first one got so easily damaged I quickly sold them. My view is I may as well buy Chinese if I want an Aluminium tool and regard it as expendable.

You seem to have some very strong opinions about woodworking tools - most likely you are a very skilled woodworker because of that.  But my woodworking is mediocre  at best and have a small shop with a very limited budget, I'm Okay with China Tools if they get a rating of 4 stars or above from Dennis at www.hookedonwood.online. Now I own a lot of Festool Power tools including a Sliding Table Saw built by Felder but that is exactly why I have less money to spend on rulers, squares, clamps and other ancillary woodworking tools.  If I had a bigger budget, of course I'd ignore China Tools. But hey, they work for me.  Thanks for sharing

 

[Packard]

I won't buy aluminium tools and regard WP tools as a blatant cheap copy of steel tools. Aluminium tools are more easily damaged and in the end are just copies for the most part on what traditionally was made in steel or made to suit the user. Use a marking knife with an Aluminium rule or straight edge and the chance of damaging the edge is huge, drop an Aluminium tool on the floor and cry especially if it is made by WP. Yes, I had some but after the first one got so easily damaged I quickly sold them. My view is I may as well buy Chinese if I want an Aluminium tool and regard it as expendable.

Shinwa, a well-regarded Japanese manufacturer of measuring tools for woodworkers, makes their measuring tools from steel, from aluminum and from injection molded resin, depending on which material is best suited.

I think this is all about what-broke-on-my-bicycle-as-a-child prejudice.

In the 1950s, all the parts that broke on my bike wer made of plastic.  I have a skepticism for plastic as a result.  The aluminum parts broke before the steel parts.  So I favor steel.

But in the 1980s kids were riding BMX bikes with wheels and rims made from resin.  Those plastic wheels lasted longer than their steel counterpart.  Kids who grew up riding BMXs might favor plastic over other materials.

It all goes back to bicycles.

 

[makpacman]

Omg that's great! Lol for real @Packard.

Fwiw I had those plastic rims. Never broke, but I got good with a spoke wrench. ACS springs to mind.

 

[Picktool]

Those were the days...

Ever have the Hutch bear claw pedals? Shin & Sock killers

 

[Mini Me]

I have a strong aversion to buying WP's overpriced versions of steel tools which they have copied and made pretty. The unique stuff is another story and I have no issue with buying from Bangood at all.

 

[krudawg]

Well then, that's a start

 

[smorgasbord]

If Dennis gives it at least 4.5 stars I'll buy it if I am looking for that tool

I do think Dennis tries to be honest, but you still have to be careful with Dennis's reviews:
1) He's still at best a intermediate woodworker who is learning as he makes videos.
2) He doesn't have experience with alternative tools and methodologies.

For instance, in his review of a few doweling jigs he does admit he hasn't used many, and certainly not any of the more expensive ones on the market. That said, he goes on to talk about quality without talking about convenience or accuracy. In this example, none of the 3 jigs he reviewed has an indexed stop system that, for instance, Woodpecker's Cam-A-Line jig has. They just have rods going into thru holes with set screws. When you make a joint, you have to reference the left of the jig for one piece and the right side of the jig for the other piece. With the Cam-A-Line, that stop is indexed from the side of the jig, which is machined evenly on both sides, so the distance from edge to the holes is the same. With most other jigs, you have to measure and reset the stop distance manually, which not only takes time, but can lead to slight errors in alignment. Admittingly, sometimes you get lucky and can align the body of the jig with the edge of the workpiece, though.

The Domino machines have a similar feature  with their paddles and cross-stops, and also you can cut them wider to allow for inaccuracies without sacrificing much strength. Remember, dowels aren't forgiving of inaccuracies in any direction except depth of drill.

 

[Packard]

I rode racing bikes.  I had a Fiorelli track bike and a Rolls road bike—both made in Italy.  Both were made from double-butted Columbus steel tubing and were low temperature silver brazed. 

They both had “rat trap” pedals.  They required that you reach down and release the strap in order to exit the pedal.

The hit on these was “If you fell to the ground and were about to be run over by a 40,000 pound semi-trailer, you would not be able to get out of harm’s way.”

I never heard of anyone getting hit by a semi while riding a bike. 

The bigger safety issue was if you were about to fall and you could release your foot from the pedal, your instinct would be to stick your foot out to break your fall.  What that would do, was guarantee that you would have one or more breaks in your leg.

The correct tactic was to keep your knees in and hold onto the handle bar.  You will end up with a nasty raspberry, but your shoulder will protect your head.  And there was a greatly reduced chance of breaking a leg.  But…it took some time to get used to the fact that you could not just jump off your bike.

 

[semenza]

Oh yes, the strap on pedals.........................

    I was into racing way back when too. Never switched to the clip ins. I was at the middle of the overlap in technology. I only went down once when car came to a short stop at an intersection and the guy I was drafting thought the car was going through. He stopped, I was only about 12" behind the wheel in front. My front wheel into his derailleur.  Didn't really matter what type of pedals I had. I went over. Helmet saved my head. I ended up with a gash in my leg that looked ( and was bleeding worse than it was). Guy in front had a busted derailleur and was left flagging down some support.

Seth

 

[Packard]

The strap on pedals mated to special shoes with an aluminum plate that had a horizontal groove in it.  The pedal fit into the slot.  Once strapped, it was impossible to remove your foot from the pedal without first loosening the strap.

 

[johnmpf]

Wow, this brings back memories.  I completely forgot about having to reach down a loosen the straps whenever you stopped.

 

[krudawg]

Focus People.......

 

[krudawg]

If Dennis gives it at least 4.5 stars I'll buy it if I am looking for that tool

I do think Dennis tries to be honest, but you still have to be careful with Dennis's reviews:
1) He's still at best a intermediate woodworker who is learning as he makes videos.
2) He doesn't have experience with alternative tools and methodologies.

For instance, in his review of a few doweling jigs he does admit he hasn't used many, and certainly not any of the more expensive ones on the market. That said, he goes on to talk about quality without talking about convenience or accuracy. In this example, none of the 3 jigs he reviewed has an indexed stop system that, for instance, Woodpecker's Cam-A-Line jig has. They just have rods going into thru holes with set screws. When you make a joint, you have to reference the left of the jig for one piece and the right side of the jig for the other piece. With the Cam-A-Line, that stop is indexed from the side of the jig, which is machined evenly on both sides, so the distance from edge to the holes is the same. With most other jigs, you have to measure and reset the stop distance manually, which not only takes time, but can lead to slight errors in alignment. Admittingly, sometimes you get lucky and can align the body of the jig with the edge of the workpiece, though.

The Domino machines have a similar feature  with their paddles and cross-stops, and also you can cut them wider to allow for inaccuracies without sacrificing much strength. Remember, dowels aren't forgiving of inaccuracies in any direction except depth of drill.

I'm gonna have to disagree with you about Dennis.  His reviews can also be called nit-picking China Tools and nothing gets by him.  He is very specific about shortcomings of the tool and sometimes will opine a solution, which of course gets back to the maker and changes are usually incorporated in the next production run.  I think his woodworking skills are on the high end of the perfection meter.  Yeah, I'm a big fan of Dennis's "unvarnished" reviews and rely heavily on them when making a buying decision. 

 

[smorgasbord]

I'm gonna have to disagree with you about Dennis.  His reviews can also be called nit-picking China Tools and nothing gets by him.

I already gave an example of something that "got by him" with doweling jigs.

And like I said, while he's honest in admitting he hasn't used the high-quality originals (Jessem for the DrillPro (now Enjoywood), and DowelMax for the silver one, he really should use those beforehand to understand what, if anything, you get for the additional money. He also is focused on kitchen style cabinetry, not furniture making, so he doesn't get into what it takes to create a recessed apron with thicker legs, for instance, with those doweling jigs.

I'll also say that you never know what the Chinese manufacturers will do to their tools over time. For instance, the Woodpeckers ruler clone Dennis reviews in Episode 22 had markings that seemed accurate to him, but as I pointed out earlier in this thread, my example was way off. So, at some point we have to wonder if manufacturers are sending him examples that have been better QA'd than the ones we buy. It's why Consumer Reports and Project Farm and other serious reviewers insist on buying their items themselves anonymously. This may not be Dennis' fault, but if he really wants his readers to be happy, he needs to change his methodology.

I think his woodworking skills are on the high end of the perfection meter.

Since the early days with Norm Abram's New Yankee Workshop, it seems almost all content creators (as we call them today) are learning on the job. It was fun watching Norm improve his skills and his equipment over time. In early episodes, he cautioned us not to trust the ruler on the tablesaw rip fence, even after upgrading to a Biesemeyer. After a few episodes, he realized the tape and cursor on the Biesemeyer was better than his tape and stopped doing that. Jason Brent has had a similar arc, recently graduating to a sliding tablesaw after touting tracksaws and multiple connected MFTs for years. And now Dennis has similarly improved both his skills and his equipment. This is natural - as they make more money producing videos they can invest in better equipment, and as they make more and more projects, they learn to do it better/faster/easier. On the experienced woodworkers making content side, looking at people like Matt Estlea or even EnCurtis is probably better to learning real skills. Estlea has gone down a path of making products and it's been interesting to say the least the business hurdles he's had to overcome. EnCurtise waxes too poetic for me sometimes, but there's a lot to say to what he shows and does..

At any rate, while I've been woodworking for decades (part-time), I'm not an expert and wouldn't put myself out there as one. I do know enough now to understand the nature of YouTube content and to approach it with a reasonably skeptical eye.