# Where/when/why did Dewalt go to crap?



## Dave88LX (Nov 10, 2011)

I recall when I was younger (and perhaps did not know/read nearly as much), Dewalt was "The $#!7" as far as tools go. As I understood, if you put down the money for Dewalt, you were good.

Nowadays, I read nothing good about them. Sure, for the average home user, most will not notice a difference or use the tool to the point of wearing it out.

So, what went wrong?


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

China...


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## hyunelan2 (Aug 14, 2007)

When they started marketing them to consumers. Rather than being a line that was strictly aimed at professionals, they started making and selling tools that appealed to mass market. The more they sell, the better the bottom line does. This started about when B&D bought and merged Proter Cable with Dewalt (2004), that's what you get. A high-end-consumer / low-end semi-professional level of tools. This has brought the price points down a bit, which is good for my garage workshop, but not-so-much for you guys that need them on a daily basis.

Today, Black & Decker, Porter Cable, and Dewalt are all equal in my book.


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

mass marketing. low quality control in production and extremely poor research and development. 

dewalt makes all kinds of claims that they revolutionize tools when the real truth is they spend very little money on r & d, instead of actually developing tools they reverse engineer next gen tools made by other brands such as bosch, makita and milwaukee. case in point cordless impact drivers, lithium ion technology, brushless drill technology


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## Windows on Wash (Aug 30, 2011)

BigJim said:


> China...


Big +1

So depressing to try to find something with an other than "Hencho in Chine" label on it.

Near impossible these days and I refuse to buy anything from China if I have an option.


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## raylo32 (Nov 25, 2006)

They turned me off when they started marketing their 18v lithium ion gear as 20vMax. Any 18v battery will read ~20v for a little while after you pull it off the charger. Using that as a bit of advert misinformation to pretend that their batteries have more power than the others' 18v is pathetic.


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## jschaben (Mar 31, 2010)

BigJim said:


> China...


If you check, you will find most deWalt made in Mexico. B&D has owned the deWalt flag since the early sixties but I agree with the other poster. Seems things went to pot when B&D/Stanley bought out Porter Cable in 2004. They musta put in a new crew of bean counters to pencil whip in profits and out quality.
The Chinese can produce quality products, they just produce what is ordered and if one orders crap, they will happily supply crap. One of the nicest little routers I have acquired in the last couple of years is a Craftsman, designed and manufactured by Chervon corp in China. :whistling2:


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

jschaben said:


> If you check, you will find most deWalt made in Mexico. B&D has owned the deWalt flag since the early sixties but I agree with the other poster. Seems things went to pot when B&D/Stanley bought out Porter Cable in 2004. They musta put in a new crew of bean counters to pencil whip in profits and out quality.
> The Chinese can produce quality products, they just produce what is ordered and if one orders crap, they will happily supply crap. One of the nicest little routers I have acquired in the last couple of years is a Craftsman, designed and manufactured by Chervon corp in China. :whistling2:


I got to checking again and Dewalt tools and parts are made in several parts of the world, they are mostly assembled in Mexico. I didn't know Dewalt/B&D bought Porter Cable out and are incorporating the technology of all the tools together. Learn something new every day.

I have the DW708 compound slide which was made in the USA, the DW slides after the 708 were made in China. I noticed a lot of difference in the saws. The DW718 was not as built as strong, had more play in the head and were cheaper but not much. 

I had a DeWalt 16 inch RAS 5hp 220 and it was a hoss. It still cut perfect when I sold it and it was made back in 1957. The quality of some of the old tools is gone. I do agree some of the tools made in China are good tools. When Grizzly, Jet and some others first came out they were not good tools. They have come a long way in quality IMHO.


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## Dave88LX (Nov 10, 2011)

BigJim said:


> I have the DW708 compound slide which was made in the USA, the DW slides after the 708 were made in China. I noticed a lot of difference in the saws. The DW718 was not as built as strong, had more play in the head and were cheaper but not much.


My local Home Depot has a DW718 on "Clearance" for $399, marked down from $599. That is a stupid buy, when you can get the DWS780 for $599 with the included DWX723 stand. For the same cost of the DW718 + stand, you can get the newer DWS780 with stand.

I thought about asking what the best price they would do in it is, but, I don't see the DW718 with extraordinarily favorable reviews.


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

From what I see there isn't much difference between the 718 and the 780 go to Amazon and read the comments about the saws and make up your mind from there. If it were me I would go out of my way to find a 708 at a pawn shop or somewhere because they are just that much better saw. From what I am reading the DW780 has some plastic parts that don't function well at all.

I would take a used 708 over a new 718 or 780. I have wore many miter saws out but this DW708 has lasted longer than any I have owned. 

Makita makes a good saw, I just can't stand the way it sounds. The old Hitachi saws were really good ones, I don't like the new Hitachi stuff although I do have one of their small saws. JMHO


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## woodworkbykirk (Sep 25, 2011)

hitachi has gone downhill also. they switched manufacturing also. the older japanese made nailers and compressors were beasts that didnt die. the new stuff is nothing more than throw away grade.

the dewalt mitre saws are a joke, i dont get how they can put out a 12" saw that has a motor thats smaller than that found on a 7 1/4".. all it does is cause the saw to bog down easier putting the user at more risk of a kickback


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## vada1983 (Dec 31, 2013)

*Why dewalt went wrong? Answer from noob...*

I'll trade an answer for a question. I worked with somebody a few years who designed the power toolset range for the Black & Decker owned brands, which also included DeWalt. These American guys design here in the US, and coordinate with China for production. There is huge cost-cutting once the design files leave the US and before it goes into production, which means loss of quality and durability. Its always a battle between the designers who want good products, and the Chinese, who mostly want to increase their bottom line at the factory, and the US company owners, who want to sell as many as possible for as little as possible, so the Chinese usually win. It also bothered me that the same young people design the product line. They're all young college educated kids who have never had to pound nails or work on hot days framing houses. For instance, my friend loved track days on his Audi, but I doubt he'd ever hung anything other than a picture on the wall.

Now my question, I'm new to nail guns, I notice my 18g nail gun, when pressed to the work surface, never actually makes contact, yet drives nails fine. Whats the reason for this gap? I never feel comfortable with my tool not touching the work surface. Thanks.


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## Gymschu (Dec 12, 2010)

I know I'm just rehashing some info already posted but as most of you know, US firms outsource all of their products now. Trigger switches might be made in Mexico. Chucks might be made in Wisconsin. Plastic housing might be made in China. Then all those parts may be sent to a factory in the US or elsewhere and assembled. You can see the problem. Just a difficult job to oversee quality control when parts are made all over the world and assembled elsewhere. When it was all "in-house" quality control could be managed so much better.


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## Mort (Nov 26, 2008)

^^^ See "Boeing 787" for evidence of that.


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## Dave88LX (Nov 10, 2011)

So let me ask this question. Let's say your typical $100 priced drill that's built overseas/around-the-world. What would that same drill cost (to the consumer) to be built here in the U.S.?


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## Mort (Nov 26, 2008)

Depending on who you believe, between $125 and $1000. The quality would be much better, not only with more skilled assemblers, but they wouldn't use that crappy Chinese steel. 

With Chinese laborers finally realizing how badly they're being hosed, I bet we see more production back in the states.


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## ToolSeeker (Sep 19, 2012)

Mort said:


> Depending on who you believe, between $125 and $1000. The quality would be much better, not only with more skilled assemblers, but they wouldn't use that crappy Chinese steel.
> 
> With Chinese laborers finally realizing how badly they're being hosed, I bet we see more production back in the states.


The trouble is they are getting hosed by our standards, By their standards they have good jobs.


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