Step on up to the old “Gripe Plate” with Dick Jones yet again, fair readers; this time I’m-a gripe about the (formerly fine) Dremel Moto-Tool. If you haven’t discovered these, they (USED to be) an absolutely wonderful tool for cutting, grinding, polishing, and all manner of hobby/household/garage/automotive projects.
I bought my first Dremel in ~1994 — it was built in The Netherlands. Over the course of the next 12 years, I beat the livin’ SHITE outta that tool — I used it extensively, mostly to cut and grind (heavy labor for a small tool like this) on about a dozen different vehicles that I built/restored.
Finally in ~2006, she gave up the ghost — I suspect the armature brushes finally gave out, although the motor was making some serious bearing noise. No big deal, right? Toss it in the can and go buy a new one; the old one sure didn’t owe me a nickel!
I absently grabbed one from Home Depot — this one with a long, flexible “driveshaft” arrangement, allowing it to get into smaller places. Great idea in theory; in concept, not so much. I cooked THAT one about a week after the 2-year warranty expired, in ~2008, so I switched back to the original “Moto Design”, but this time in a cordless variant; BIG mistake! That one was total garbage — didn’t have enough “ass” to polish my KNOB with (and that don’t take too much ass, for the record). Into the ash can THAT one went, and off to Lowe’s goes Richard Jones — stepping up to the plate to buy the Dremel 4200 Variable Speed Moto Tool, in the fancy plastic case — circa 2010, and now “Made In Mexico”…
Now Dick Jones ain’t got no beef with Mexico per se — beats the HELL outta Chin-wa doncha know! But alas, the Dremel Company has “sold its soul” to the Cheap Labor Devil, just like a bubillion other (formerly great) companies that are packing onto that big boat to profits at the expense of quality. These new Dremel 4200’s last just about two years of “moderate use” — I buy ’em down at Lowe’s now, keep the receipt, and go trade in the Mexican burnt out one for a new one like a salmon swimming upstream every 24 months. Trouble is, I have to pay the (grievously inflated) price differential between what *I* paid two years ago and the new “Ben Dover” price…
And while I’m on my latest tool rant, did you ever go look at a pair of Vice Grips lately? Formerly made for about 152 years in the small town of DeWitt Nebraska — here’s “The Rest Of The Story” on THAT goat fuck:
“In 2008, the original Vise-Grip manufacturing plant in Dewitt, Nebraska, closed when the parent company moved production to China. Over 330 people from Dewitt (population 600) and surrounding communities were out of work. But the local historical museum still has displays chronicling the development of the Vise-Grip and the Petersen family…”
Well ain’t THAT just wonderful?! The town is a virtual Ghost Town now, but you can go to the fucking MUSEUM and look at the way it USED to be; then I suppose you can go buy a cheeseburger from a former Vice-Grip worker, who’s now behind the short order griddle at the museum restaurant — the meat for said ‘burger was prolly shipped in from Chin-wa. Meanwhile, the Peterson heirs are probably living in El Lay, driving Toyota Priuses and not giving a BLUE FUCK about DeWitt Nebraska as they collect their fat “sellout checks” every month…
“Paging Mr. Jones — this is Beelzebub calling — your handbasket is waiting!”
Dick Jones 
More evidence documenting the decline of the USA, heck the entire free world, from giving a shit and having some pride to the current twat land we’ve become. We should have known something was up twenty years ago when we were first asked to pay $5 for a cup of coffee made from beans that were shitted outta some monkey’s arse. As though that was the height of civilization. Hell, you have to wait 30 minutes in line for that crap while the twat hoard lined-up ahead of you orders their triple moca low-fat yogurt blintz-whipped caramel crapachino. It’s a fewkin’ milk shake for godsake!! Oh, and if you think I misspelled “crapachino”, it’s my word so sod off.