Iron Gym pull-up bar

As a frugal guy starting an exercise program, I didn't want to spend $45 on the pull-up bar available from the local Sports Authority store.  Checking on Amazon, there are many less expensive products available.  There are tension bars, which are supposed to stay up because of tension place on the door frame.  These cost about $15, but many people complained that they come loose too often.  The other style of pull-up bar is the frame hook, where you use the moulding around the door frame to hook the device on.  Prices for these are generally in the $25 range when shipping is added.  After reading the comments on several of these, I decided on the Iron Gym for $27.50.  It doesn't look as fancy as some of the others, but it should fit my 24"-wide 6"-deep door frame.  We shall see if the quality holds up to the praise.

Swivel Cushioned Barstool from Big Lots

Since my only chair broke, I have been looking for a replacement.  My tables are high, so I was looking for a barstool.  While shipping at Big Lots today, I found a 24" swivel cushioned barstool.  The 24" height is not available online, but the 30" version is and can be found at this link and is pictured below.

Now, I don't really have any qualms about buying something made in China.  My objection is to the lack of quality allowed by companies, like Big Lots, that use the inexpensive labor.  This tubular metal chair had flaws.  First, the leg walls were used as the nuts for the bolts.  Not really a problem, except that the bolts included in the kit only fit one specific hole!  The Chinese factory could not even get screw thread tolerances correct.  In fact, one of the bolts is still not in all the way because the threads were beginning to strip.  Tolerances were also off on the lengths of the chair legs.  One of the legs is much shorter than the others, causing a rocking of the chair while in use.  Third, the last step in assembly uses screws instead of bolts, and one is to screw the frame to the cushion without starter holes or self-drilling screws.  Who designed this?  There are unprotected screws inside my cushion that I eventually expect to feel jabbing my butt.  And these screws were Phillips head screws, so I needed to get another tool to complete assembly.  Fourth, the swivel assembly is very tight.  I have to use quite a bit of effort to get the seat to actually swivel.

What does this all mean?  It means that Big Lots should do a little more quality control on the items it sells or advertise that it is selling crap on purpose because can be obtained cheaper.  The quality of the chair itself is below my expectations based on comparison to the floor model and the assembly difficulties above.  The $30 I paid, in my opinion, was more than I should have.  Only time and the lifespan of the chair will ultimately determine if this opinion remains accurate.