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Chinese turnbuckles ..

2K views 22 replies 9 participants last post by  svselkie02 
#1 ·
Anyone have any comments on the performance and longevity of these?

I know the metallurgy history. Just wondering if its better these days.
 
#2 ·
My rigger wont use them, as Dirty Harry would say "are you feeling lucky" I wouldn't scrimp on something as critical as this. Suncor brand for instance is not recommended for spar rigging (by them) strange, even though they have sizes appropriate for such application. Its been discussed in this forum.
 
#3 ·
I have used them on smaller boats (up to 22') and buying a much bigger size than the stress rating. Acceptable performance after 2-3 years. On bigger boats in heavy duty service - I would not dare. Buy quality, spend money just once, and no surprises.
 
#5 ·
I would not have any qualms about using them on any boat. Keep in mind that much of the critical hardware used in most of our products is produced in China, India, Korea, and other nations. It is not inferior or superior - it's often equal in build and quality and meets or exceeds military specs. The failure rate is likely the same regardless of where it is made.

For those naysayers, if it were not for the ingenious people of China, we would not have advanced as rapidly as we have here in the US. It was the Chinese that constructed the world's largest sailboats, some measuring more than 600 feet long. They invented longitude and latitude, the compass, charting, and landed in the US (according to DNA information) 63 years before Columbus. They invented gunpowder, firearms, the rocket, and were responsible for the construction of much of our western rail lines. They created and produced the finest silks in the world, and were world cruisers and traders long before any other nation dreamed possible. The list of Chinese inventions is endless and continues to this day.

Just because something is made in the US does not infer superior quality. Those that look down upon goods made in other nations obviously know little or nothing about world history.

Gary :cool:
 
#6 ·
They build a lot of cheap crap as well. Without the QC checks and liability. They also steal our patents whenever they can not bound by our laws. I don't mean to blast the Chinese, Gary is correct in his usual interesting way, but again my rigger will not use Chinese parts. Any more would surely be debatable. Make America great again, buy US made name parts.:wink:wink (only because there is no US flag smiley)
 
#7 ·
The Chinese produce exactly to the specs of the purchaser. If you are purchasing your turnbuckles (or whatever) from a brand you trust, then those items should be just fine. If, on the other hand, you are purchasing a 'no name' item at a ridiculously low price, then you are most likely going to get exactly what you paid for; junk.
Rocna's problems with Chinese production were 100% the fault of Rocna. They ordered anchors built out of inferior steel, trying to make a few bucks more. The Chinese just produced what they were told to.
On the other side of the coin, I won't purchase any Chinese manufactured inflatable dinghy, no matter whose name is on it. Though Zodiac does produce some of their lines in China, their top quality boats are still manufactured in France. Perhaps other inflatable boat manufacturers do the same.
 
#16 ·
Finally, somebody makes sense. FFsake you order what you want to the specs you want. No one ever thinks to blame the importer, it's always some nameless, faceless "Chinese".

Even better, the wankers at walmart who don't give a flying fubar about anything, they just say build it to X price point, we don't care how you get there.

But still we shop there and blame the "Chinese".
 
#8 ·
Gary-
You forget to mention, the Chinese emperors ordered those fine ships all burned and sunk, and all knowledge from their expeditions purged and unwritten. They did this mainly because they were once removed from the Sun God, and the hairy barbarians in the rest of the world (us) were just one step above animals, to be avoided, shunned, and treated with contempt.
The problem is that culturally, this attitude survived the Revolution and has been around for thousands of years in China. Since "we" are so closely related to animals, it is perfectly acceptable to sell us inferior goods, toxic foods, whatever makes a buck by whatever means, because there's nothing unethical about cheating the animals.
I don't say that's *universal* much less limited to China, but the problem endures. The Swiss also have a similar view of "auslanders", and the Parisians feel the same way about anyone who lives outside of Paris, even if they live in France. But nothing as pervasive and deeply seated as it is in China. Where despite the occasional raids and arrests and even an odd execution or two, even the national government condones the practices.
China has a problem. Not exclusive or unique to them, but prominent. If I buy a Wichard snap shackle, I'm fairly sure it will work. Brand names in China? Are there any? Can I rely on their reputation, established by 50+ years of quality control on the marketplace? Don't think so.
Be nice if that changed, but I'd hate to do an assay and xray on every Chinese fitting to find out whether it was a 'Shenzhen special' or not.
 
#9 ·
Drifting a bit but the subject has been covered pretty well anyway. Hello, unfortunately you're right, if there weren't a market for cheap things China wouldn't be what they are today. But there will always be a market for cheap things. We just need to know when to buy the good stuff. Without getting to far in the weeds on all the reasons their pricing, more times than not is a factor of cheap parts and materials as well as cheap labor. Now if they were known as a cheap labor high quality builder (in general) then they would be a force. As far as looking down their nose at the inferior race I think you're pretty close here.
 
#10 ·
The Chinese produce exactly to the specs of the purchaser.
That's a fair observation. The crap gets sold to us by the American company that pays the Chinese to make it.

They invented longitude and latitude, the compass, charting, and landed in the US (according to DNA information) 63 years before Columbus. They invented gunpowder, firearms, the rocket,
etc etc

True. So what?. They also produced female foot binding, eating dogs, 21st century folk remedies for impotence by eradicating animal species, the savagery of Mao's Cultural Revolution, a number of artificial islands in international waters and political systems that still to this day mirror the murderous legalist regimes of the first millennium BC. Doesn't change anything. Their manufactured goods are what they are regardless of any positive technical contributions in their history.

Those that look down upon goods made in other nations obviously know little or nothing about world history.
Those who think knowledge of world history informs good buying decisions when it comes to boat hardware, may not know all that much about either.

As far as looking down their nose at the inferior race I think you're pretty close here.
It's got nothing to do with race. More to do with culture.
 
#11 ·
My wife used to say I was an animal, but I was a lot younger then and had more hair. ;)

svselkie02, history teaches us a lot about many things, and just in case you haven't noticed, worldwide, it has a tendency to repeat itself.

And, yes, I was well aware that they burned all those ships, and also executed many of the admirals that explored the world. That's just, IMO, another classic example of man's inhumanity to man, and that will likely never change in the few years I have remaining in my life.

All the best,

Gary
 
#13 ·
I've purchased a few things from marinepartdepot, which i think is in the class of cheap stainless fittings being discussed. So far they seem fine, however, without testing data I tend not to use them in applications where safety might be compromised.

Would be really great if we could get someone like Practical Sailer to test a few of the load bearing items, like shackles and turnbuckles, to get some quantitative input.

Know of anyone doing testing on these?
 
#17 ·
"The Chinese produce exactly to the specs of the purchaser"
Not always, and the problem is not just China. When the bids went out for cable for the Brooklyn Bridge, the winning bidder cheated on the specs and the original cable had to be condemned, fortunately before it ever got used.

Two years ago I ordered inline fuses from Littelfuse, a top brand name. Henche in Mexico by a contractor, apparently, and they arrived a full wire size under spec, coincidentally inthe wrong color, as well. Littelfuse confirmed that in 24 hours and promised to go after the contractor.

Then there's the question of who do you think specified adding toxins to brand-name toothpaste sold around the world, made in China, about 4 years ago? Or the Duracells that ship from China, with Chinese text on them, that Duracell (US) says they never made?

And maybe it goes back 10 years now, a top name in portable gensets was losing sales to some no-name that apparently was making identical but inferior copies. Turned out the gensets were being made in China, very reputably. And at night, someone else was using the same plant and the worn-out discard dies and tools to run off the copycats.

Everything is made to spec? Nope. Not in China or elsewhere. But if you buy a Rolex, the Swiss don't care if you are an animal, they still will expect their watch to perform in the proper manner, and stand behind it.

Ask Disney how they feel about the Chinese government, and a decade of trying to stop those $1 "Genuine Disney" DVDs out of China's open street markets.
 
#18 ·
"The Chinese produce exactly to the specs of the purchaser"
Not always, and the problem is not just China. When the bids went out for cable for the Brooklyn Bridge, the winning bidder cheated on the specs and the original cable had to be condemned, fortunately before it ever got used.

Two years ago I ordered inline fuses from Littelfuse, a top brand name. Henche in Mexico by a contractor, apparently, and they arrived a full wire size under spec, coincidentally inthe wrong color, as well. Littelfuse confirmed that in 24 hours and promised to go after the contractor.

Then there's the question of who do you think specified adding toxins to brand-name toothpaste sold around the world, made in China, about 4 years ago? Or the Duracells that ship from China, with Chinese text on them, that Duracell (US) says they never made?

And maybe it goes back 10 years now, a top name in portable gensets was losing sales to some no-name that apparently was making identical but inferior copies. Turned out the gensets were being made in China, very reputably. And at night, someone else was using the same plant and the worn-out discard dies and tools to run off the copycats.

Everything is made to spec? Nope. Not in China or elsewhere. But if you buy a Rolex, the Swiss don't care if you are an animal, they still will expect their watch to perform in the proper manner, and stand behind it.

Ask Disney how they feel about the Chinese government, and a decade of trying to stop those $1 "Genuine Disney" DVDs out of China's open street markets.
Same ones they sell on Canal Street? Or any US flea market. :) Obviously, there are some bad business practices out there.
 
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