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Posted by David Sherman [72.47.9.228] on Sunday, November 21, 2010 at 15:50:53 :
In Reply to: Coup[le Boice-Crane things I had were not so hot either. posted by Chriscase [76.212.215.52] on Sunday, November 21, 2010 at 15:14:55 :
After reading about them on some of the woodworker boards, my impression is that they made "homeowner" quality tools. In their day, they had a very complete catalog of power tools, but they were clearly geared towards the guy in his post-war suburban garage who wanted to do a little woodworking on the weekend, rather than the professional who needed a tool that would hold up to daily use. The '50s were the heyday of stamped sheet metal, and Boice Crane used it where better manufacturers would have used cast iron. I guess you could say they were the Harbor Freight of their day.
Just goes to show that not everything made in the USA in the old days was all that great. Sometimes I think that the only reason we think good old American tools were so good is that only the good ones are still around. All the cheap junk that was undoubtedly available back then, just like today, has broken and been thrown out by now.
I knew a guy who had a Monkey Wards table saw from the '50s, inherited from his dad, and about all you could say for it is that it would cut wood. In terms of noise, vibration, and (in)accuracy, it made today's Chinese saws look like precision instruments.
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