Twist drill prices

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Mr Ron
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Twist drill prices

Post by Mr Ron »

Browsing through a catalog of British tools and fasteners, I found the price for a HSS drill for a 1/4-20 bolt; $5.20. The cost of things we use here are many times more than Brits and Europeans pay. The cost of a 1/2" end mill costs so much more than what we pay here. I can see where Brits are so much more careful about their tools, from reports I have read from British metalworking hobbyist's. We have it good.
Mr.Ron from South Mississippi
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liveaboard
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Re: Twist drill prices

Post by liveaboard »

Almost everything in the US is far cheaper; but drills and cutters are hard to judge, since prices vary so much between suppliers.

I buy small German made cobalt drill bits in packs of 10 from my steel supplier, and they're half the price and twice the quality than drill bits I don't buy at other shops in the same town.

It's a similar situation with fasteners. The variation in prices is huge. And the lower priced ones aren't necessarily lower quality, or manufactured in Asia. The difference is the retail markup.

There's an auction today in Munich; Oh how wish I knew some way to get this delivered to me at a reasonable price!
Hundreds of taper shank bits, at this moment the top bid is 25 Euros!
https://www.apexauctions.co.uk/auction/ ... 050/349503
There are other choice looking lots too.
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tornitore45
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Re: Twist drill prices

Post by tornitore45 »

The international exchange rates are quite puzzling.
If it takes 2 dollar to buy one item in the US and it takes 2.5 Euros to buy the same the same item in Italy then the exchange should be costing 80 cents to buy an Euro instead is about $1.18 to buy one Euro.

By large measure anything manufactured industrially cost less in the US than anywhere else, sure coffee is cheaper in Brazil but that follows a different set of rules.
Mauro Gaetano
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SteveM
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Re: Twist drill prices

Post by SteveM »

I pick up quality, made in USA drill bits at flea markets and estate sales and sharpen them. Brands like Cleveland and Morse.

A new set of such drills is in the $150-$300 price range.

Adding in what I got from my dad, I have 50 lbs of drill bits to sharpen.

Steve
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Twist drill prices

Post by SteveHGraham »

I remember going to Greece in 1984. I had just spent 4 months in Israel, where meat was hard to find. Suddenly, I found myself able to buy meals featuring lots of beef and lamb for a buck or two. I got totally cheated at a tourist place, and I didn't care because the bill for dinner was three dollars and change.

I will never understand exchange rates.

I don't feel sorry for foreigners, though, because we subsidize a lot of what they buy. A bottle of perfume that costs $60 here might cost $10 overseas. Companies charge us more just because we can pay it. And then there's that little debt they owe us for funding their national defenses even when they can afford to pay. It's amazing to me that our income taxes support Germany and Japan.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
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liveaboard
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Re: Twist drill prices

Post by liveaboard »

The difference in perfume, booze, cigarettes, and fuel is all about various taxes.
And for that matter, it's largely the same with drill bits.

For instance, I pay 23% sales tax on virtually everything. Basic unprocessed foods are taxed at 6%. Gasoline is $5 or $6 a gallon, diesel a little cheaper.
Daytime electricity is around $0.25 per Kwh.

A 10 year old car with 150,000 miles on it might be had for $4,000 here, and I'm talking a basic little Sbox on it's last round before the scrapyard.

Decent beef $10 per pound. Whole chicken is cheap, $1.10; Breasts $4.50
Wage for skilled labor $10 an hour. Unskilled $7.50 Full time work under a roof with a contract and all will get you around $5. If you have a degree, $6.

Wine is cheap; but I don't drink.
SteveM
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Re: Twist drill prices

Post by SteveM »

liveaboard wrote: Wed Sep 26, 2018 6:22 pm...I pay 23% sales tax on virtually everything.
Wine is cheap; but I don't drink.
With taxes like that, maybe you should. I would.

Steve
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Twist drill prices

Post by SteveHGraham »

Taxes are not the entire reason for the grey market.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
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liveaboard
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Re: Twist drill prices

Post by liveaboard »

This sort of tax rate is normal in Europe and most of the world.
I find it strange that Americans feel their taxes are too high, when they pay the lowest tax of any major country I know of.
In addition to the sales tax [or value added tax to be precise] US income taxes are a pittance of what we pay here; but European governments provide health care, so if you like, that's included.

The government here has practically eliminated grey marketing; all retail cash registers are now connected to the tax department. deliveries must be logged before leaving their depots and fines are steep for non compliance. In effect, goods are tracked from the dock to the consumer to ensure the taxes are paid.
It's very spooky and "big-brotherish", small business owners complain about the excess bureaucracy in all things. But what to do in a culture where tax evasion is a national sport?
I'm expecting them to start taxing sunlight soon... Actually, there was a proposal for that but it was voted down.
TRX
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Re: Twist drill prices

Post by TRX »

Ancient Rome once taxed sunlight!

[see: "A Golden Thread : 2500 Years of Solar Architecture and Technology" by Ken Butti and John Perlin, 1980]

Americans *do* have a dislike for taxes. It was one of the official reasons we aren't part of Britain any more. And when the New Bosses turned out to be greedier than the Old Bosses, the reason for the Whiskey Rebellion and Shay's Rebellion. The Sixteenth Amendment, passed in 1913, allowed the Feds to collect tax money for itself without apportioning it to the states; it has been under almost continuous protest, with the last challenge making it to the Supreme Court just ten years ago. And the last time there was a serious attempt to form a new political party, its name was an acronum for "Taxed Enough Already."

Every nation has its hot buttons. Dislike of taxes is baked into America from its very beginning.
SteveM
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Re: Twist drill prices

Post by SteveM »

TRX wrote: Fri Sep 28, 2018 6:53 amAnd the last time there was a serious attempt to form a new political party, its name was an acronum for "Taxed Enough Already."
A high school math teacher in my town ran for mayor under the "Upset Taxpayers" party. Got about 1/3 of the vote. The party remained a viable party for years, as people under the party banner either won seats in the local government, or got enough votes to call it an "official" party.

That was in the 1970's.

Steve
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Twist drill prices

Post by SteveHGraham »

Don't be deceived. Americans are sharecroppers for a socialist government that punishes the productive and rewards takers and do-nothings. Our personal income taxes are not the highest (or the lowest), but we pay a ton of other taxes, and nearly everything we buy comes from corporations that pay an extremely high tax rate. Corporations are huge tax collectors in America. The price tag on a wrench may not say anything about taxes, but 21% is included regardless.

We also pay a lot in fuel taxes. Governments make more money on a gallon of gas than oil companies and gas station owners.

Anyway, goods would be cheaper overseas even if our taxes were the same as everyone else's. Companies charge wholesalers less in countries where the public can't pay as much.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
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