PixMan
Diamond
- Joined
- Jan 30, 2007
- Location
- Central MA USA
This has probably been beat to death already, but I need to vent.
I have bought many Starrett tools over the years for several reasons. Their hand tools such as punches, bench blocks, V-blocks, and others are really good and still as square, flat or round as the day I got them. Scales are so good you can split hairs and (now with a magnifier for me) gage between the 50ths and 100ths marks. My traditional micrometers are all still perfect, and if I drop one I can still get it repaired for a fair price and quick turnaround.
My disappointment lies in the electronic stuff. I have a No.723 depth gauge and a No.734 1" micrometer that are now expensive and unwieldy paperweights. They say they can't fix the failed electronics because their OE supplier no longer has parts. When they did work, these things chewed through bigger and more-expensive batteries 10x faster than the cheaper smaller ones in my totally reliable Mitutoyo Absolute calipers that I bought for less money.
I still have a working No.721 9" caliper and a No.723 6" caliper, but I know it's just a matter of time and luck before those expensive and bulkier tools are also junk.
This is so frustrating. I want to support a local (to me) tool maker. I want to have good, accurate and reliable measuring tools, keep a fiend employed, and contribute to the local economy. However, I can't waste another nickel on their electronic crap. They've offered me some small "trade-in" value, but its SO small that I could (but won't) buy the replacement tools from one of their distributors for less money *without* their trade-in offer.
I'll continue to buy anything non-electronic from them, but Starrett has destroyed any faith I may have had with them in anything that requires voltage.
I have bought many Starrett tools over the years for several reasons. Their hand tools such as punches, bench blocks, V-blocks, and others are really good and still as square, flat or round as the day I got them. Scales are so good you can split hairs and (now with a magnifier for me) gage between the 50ths and 100ths marks. My traditional micrometers are all still perfect, and if I drop one I can still get it repaired for a fair price and quick turnaround.
My disappointment lies in the electronic stuff. I have a No.723 depth gauge and a No.734 1" micrometer that are now expensive and unwieldy paperweights. They say they can't fix the failed electronics because their OE supplier no longer has parts. When they did work, these things chewed through bigger and more-expensive batteries 10x faster than the cheaper smaller ones in my totally reliable Mitutoyo Absolute calipers that I bought for less money.
I still have a working No.721 9" caliper and a No.723 6" caliper, but I know it's just a matter of time and luck before those expensive and bulkier tools are also junk.
This is so frustrating. I want to support a local (to me) tool maker. I want to have good, accurate and reliable measuring tools, keep a fiend employed, and contribute to the local economy. However, I can't waste another nickel on their electronic crap. They've offered me some small "trade-in" value, but its SO small that I could (but won't) buy the replacement tools from one of their distributors for less money *without* their trade-in offer.
I'll continue to buy anything non-electronic from them, but Starrett has destroyed any faith I may have had with them in anything that requires voltage.