Industrial Tools
Industrial tools include all the common tools found around households: hammers, saws, pliers, screwdrivers, wrenches, etc. Industrial tools also encompass tools used primarily in manufacturing settings such a lathes, heavy-duty grinders, machine tools for cutting metal, and many other specialty tools. The industrial tool supply market has undergone a great shift in the 20th Century.
The United States once had a thriving industrial tools market. "Made in USA" was proudly stamped upon the tools of most manufacturers. But rising labor costs made industrial tools more and more expensive. Industrial tools imported from other countries, particularly Asian nations, began to undercut U.S.-made toolmakers' prices. Today, only a small percentage of industrial tools are made in the USA. Most are made and imported from Asia, Germany, Italy, and other countries.
Industrial tools supply houses based in the U.S. today are almost exclusively importers and distributors. Even these non-manufacturing middlemen are being squeezed out by direct dealings between buyers and foreign sellers of industrial tools, who increasingly connect via the Internet.
Industrial electrical tools include precision drill presses, stamping machines and stamping dies, mills for metal cutting, injection molding machinery, sheet metal forming rollers, and other things. These industrial tools are quite large and fit only in factories, not homes. They are designed to withstand constant operation so they are very rugged and durable.
Industrial air tools include wrenches, drills, nut and bolt and screwdrivers powered by compressed air; injection molding machinery; blow molding machinery; driers and heat guns; and other items usually hand-held by workers on assembly lines. Industrial air tools are generally powered by compressed air delivered through network of overhead pipes and hanging hoses to workers' workstations. Industrial air tools have the advantages inexpensive fuel and none of the pollution that accompanies gasoline powered tools.
Industrial wood tools include lathes, drills, band saws, circular saws, grinders and sanders. These tools are often much larger than those found in home woodworking shops. For example, a band saw used to cut wooden oars for boats may have a blade four inches wide and a wheel several feet in diameter.
But many industrial hand tools are used as well as large, heavy-duty industrial tools. Hand tools are used in final finishing, assembly, and maintenance of larger, heavy equipment. The industrial hand tool supply includes esoteric items such as hand torque wrenches, tension gages, and other things used to keep tools in precision alignment or working condition.