A side note: Back in the 80's to 90's,American Industry went through changes.
It had to do with the work of Deming,Juran,Crosby,etc...The "Quality" movement.
It does not have anything to do with S+W "being cheap and cutting corners"
To enter other markets around the world,compliance with ISO and other standards was mandatory.
You cannot "Inspect in" quality.You don't make quality by sorting and reworking parts.
And,sad but true,you don't get long term,repeatable quality from Old Joe,whether its from Joes tap of the hammer on the machine,or his file.Old Joe has bad days,and his eyes go bad.He has an occasional hangover.
You get Quality by beginning with a good,manufacturable design.You competitive edge may be a core competency in technology,such as Ruger's investment casting.
Like it or not,today that may include MIM and plastic molding.
Its far better to only make or buy good parts than to have a team of inspectors running around looking for bad parts.
We may get a different product than we grew up with,but,like it or not,the polymer pistol filled with stampings,MIM parts,and roll pins has given us a modest price tool that performs.
AR's are cheap,easy to build,and they perform.
The "Good old days" USA motor vehicles were only expected to go 100.000 miles.Now,250,000 is common.
In "the good old days",a 1 MOA rifle was rare,celebrated,and treasured for shooting crows or 1000 yd competition.
Today,(right or wrong) folks get disappointed when any new rifle shoots 1 1/2 MOA,it seems 1 MOA is an expectation.
I disagree with the sinister implications that S+W conspires to get away with something.Most of the folks in the gun biz treat us pretty well.
Changes in manufacturing have been happening since Eli Whitney,Henry Ford...
It had to do with the work of Deming,Juran,Crosby,etc...The "Quality" movement.
It does not have anything to do with S+W "being cheap and cutting corners"
To enter other markets around the world,compliance with ISO and other standards was mandatory.
You cannot "Inspect in" quality.You don't make quality by sorting and reworking parts.
And,sad but true,you don't get long term,repeatable quality from Old Joe,whether its from Joes tap of the hammer on the machine,or his file.Old Joe has bad days,and his eyes go bad.He has an occasional hangover.
You get Quality by beginning with a good,manufacturable design.You competitive edge may be a core competency in technology,such as Ruger's investment casting.
Like it or not,today that may include MIM and plastic molding.
Its far better to only make or buy good parts than to have a team of inspectors running around looking for bad parts.
We may get a different product than we grew up with,but,like it or not,the polymer pistol filled with stampings,MIM parts,and roll pins has given us a modest price tool that performs.
AR's are cheap,easy to build,and they perform.
The "Good old days" USA motor vehicles were only expected to go 100.000 miles.Now,250,000 is common.
In "the good old days",a 1 MOA rifle was rare,celebrated,and treasured for shooting crows or 1000 yd competition.
Today,(right or wrong) folks get disappointed when any new rifle shoots 1 1/2 MOA,it seems 1 MOA is an expectation.
I disagree with the sinister implications that S+W conspires to get away with something.Most of the folks in the gun biz treat us pretty well.
Changes in manufacturing have been happening since Eli Whitney,Henry Ford...
