Makita and harbor freight miter saw advice

[Dave Gale]

Ok so I found out Makita non sliding miter saw is made in China. Not by word of mouth, there is a website that shows where tools are made. Would that possibly mean Makita and Harbor Freight are on same level? Thanks for any input. I just have a small workshop and never needed a slider. Thank you

[Jim Becker]

Companies source their manufacturing globally. "Where" something is made does not reflect on quality. "How' something is made, does. It's about quality control and what the expectations are for a given brand. Some have higher expectations than others...and price accordingly to cover their costs.

[Peter Kelly]

What's the website that shows where tools are all made?

[Bruce King]

It’s common for the smaller or cheaper items in a company’s product line to be built by someone else. I don’t remember the details but there is a top name boat engine company that gets all their smaller engines from Tohatsu which actually also makes a very good product.

[Andrew Seemann]

Most miter saws are made in China. Makita though I think owns their factory there, rather than contracting the manufacture out to a third party. Even with third party manufacturing, the product is still built to a company's spec, whether high quality or low quality. iPhones are made in China and they are a both pretty complex build and made to high quality.

Fortunately/Unfortunately the days of saying "Made in China = Junk" are long over, and have been for around 20 years. Some of us still remember when Made in Japan meant junk, and that stopped being true 40-50 years ago. Unfortunately the saying stops being true about 10 years before people stop saying it, given our experience with Japan, Singapore, Honk Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, China, and soon to be Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Turkey, etc.

[Dave Opsahl]

I own the Makita you are looking at, and have used the Harbor Frieght equivalent. Most of my battery hand tools are Makita (some for more than 15 years), and I had (but no longer have) two HF machines (a sander and a jobsite saw).

Buy the Makita. You'd never know they were made in the same country, and there's a reason why the HF machines are gone.

[Howard Pollack]

A way to think about it is that the Chinese (or anyone else) build what is ordered or wanted. It is kind of like the drug trade, trying to control it at the production end is a fools game, if there are end users who want it manufacturers will make it. Manufacturers will make what is desired/sells. Buy quality and don't be concerned about where it is made (unless you want to add the political dimension to your decision). Don't forget that we, too, produce a lot of junk as well as high quality items.

[glenn bradley]

I'm going to go with "no" as the answer to your question. In the U.S. we make good stuff and not-so-good-stuff. Same goes for any other modern manufacturing county you might name. I know someone who will buy something at HF, swear it is as great as the name brand, confess a few days later that it really isn't so hot, and then do it again. We have created a world where we have to be really smart shoppers. We have to do our own research as to which maker does the best job or gives the best value in a given situation. We can no longer just trust Powermatic or Delta or Craftsman to make a good product. Most makers have their few items that they do really well and a plethora of also-rans regardless of the country of origin. Do your research. Shop smart. promote those folks doing it well and give honest non-rants about those who fall short. We are our best reviewers.