Rant: The quality of new rivet guns compared to the old ones I inherited.

My 20 year old pneumatic gun from the shop in Tulsa still runs smooth, but the new one I bought last week already has a sticky trigger after 50 rivets. Are all the new ones just built worse now?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_elliot1mo ago

Tell me about it, that's so frustrating. I completely get what you and @jasonallen are saying about things just not being built to last anymore. It feels like they design stuff to fail so you have to buy another one. My old tools are tanks, but anything new seems to have a major flaw right away. Saving a few bucks on materials costs us so much more in the long run.

jasonallen1mo ago

Yeah, that "sticky trigger after 50 rivets" thing is so familiar. I mean, it's not just rivet guns. I had this old cordless drill from my dad that just would not quit, but the new one I got last year, the chuck started getting all wobbly in like a month. Feels like everything is made with thinner metal or cheaper plastic now. You just expect stuff to be a bit broken out of the box. It's kind of a bummer.

reed.skyler1mo ago

My grandma's Sunbeam mixer from 1978 is still going strong in my kitchen. It's got some weight to it, you know? But the one I bought for my apartment, the plastic housing cracked just from the vibration of the dough hook. It's the same story with everything, from kitchen stuff to tools. They just don't make the metal thick or the plastic tough like they used to, it's all about getting it out the door fast and cheap.