Cheap tools??

[Howard]

Found a general-merchandise site with some tools that look like a pretty good deal, but I don't recognize the brands -- and some of the brands aren't mentioned at all. I would be interested to know if any of you woodworkers might recognize any of these, and share your opinions...

1) 2 gal. air compressor. No brand name given. $52 2 gal/4cfm enough for anything useful?

2) Air Brad Nailer by American Tool Group. $26. Don't recognize "American Tool Group".

they had an air hose for $8 (good price or not?)

3) Benchtop drill press. No brand name given. $40 could definitely use a drill press. I hestitate to plunk down $40 for something from an unknown manufacturer that might be junk, but I'm still tempted, because the local borg's similar-sized DP is about twice the price.

That's about it for their tool selection. They had some hand tools (screwdriver sets, drill bits) pretty cheap, but I don't need any cheap screwdrivers just now, and I have seen forstner bits cheaper elsewhere. The site is mainly oriented towards toys, jewelry, and knives.

-- Howard

[PPH]

Sure sounds like harborfreight.com. All these are chinese made products and not a good quality. But, if it is something you do not intend to use every day, then they should be ok. At these prices, the tools are pretty much disposable. I personally have the brad nailer. I use it rarely, but when I do, it works as advertised.

[Pat Barber]

You can't buy a good dinner for $40 and you were gonna buy a drill press for that amount ???

Howard wrote:

something

[Charlie Self]

Man, I am GLAD I don't live where you do!

Charlie Self

"Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things." Sir Winston Churchill

[larry]

I don't think that the frequency of use is a measure of a tools worth. If you only use it twice a year and it didn't work either time it wasn't a bargin at any price.

[George]

Aren't you being a bit hasty? After all, the money saved can go toward getting the BEST personal injury attorney available. OK, scratch that as I guess you have to have SOMEBODY to sue, not some anonymous company in some anonymous country somewhere in the world.

[George]

Follow-up: my take on tools is if they are ashamed to put their name and address on it, I never buy it.

[Wade Lippman]

I have pretty much stopped buying cheap tools. If you are lucky they fail the first time you use them, so you can still take them back, but even that is a hassle.

There are exceptions; I bought some nice pipe wrenches for $8.

So, look at the tool carefully. If it seems okay, then maybe take a risk. If in doubt (or buying sight unseen) let it go.

[Mike]

Is 2 gal/4cfm enough for anything useful?

something

[George E. Cawthon]

something

Damn, where do you live? I can buy 4 good dinners for $40. Never paid $40 for a dinner in my life and don't plan to. And for $40 I can make a great dinner for about 10 people.

As far as the drill press I plunked down $40 for the benchtop from HF and am very happy. Never had a drill press and found out what I had been missing. Not lots of power but smooth.

[George E. Cawthon]

And you live in what world? I suggest that you drive one family car 400 miles every day and the other one 10 miles a day 4 days a week and see which one fails first.

[Silvan]

You can't? I can buy a good dinner for four for $20. Of course my standards aren't so high. :)

[Larry C in Auburn, WA]

Good luck with getting an answer. You're going to get answers in two basic categories. One will be those that say buy the best available ("pay once", "you get what you pay for", etc). The others will say the cheap tool is fine for occasional use ("I've got a cheap one and for the one time a year I use it it works fine", etc).

I think it depends on how often you'll use a tool and how much money for tools you have. Buying two cheap tools that work "ok" for you might be better than one tool that works fantastic. I do think you generally get what you pay for. The question is, and only you can answer it, is how good of a tool do you need?

For those that say buy the best...I propose that you DO NOT buy the best available 100% of the time. Do you have the best car, the best washer/dryer, the best house, the best set of chisels, the best saw blade, the best suit, eat at the best restaurant, etc?. I doubt anyone can say they have the best of everything they own, but they're quick to tell YOU to spend your money on the best available.

Just my opinion, but everyone else is welcome to use it...

[Wade Lippman]

A cheap tool is fine for occasional use, but a cheap tool is a Ryobi. The stuff he is talking about is crap; its probably not good for anything.

[RPRESHONG]

No but my truck is pretty good.

As far as the quality of the tool you buy I don't think it's the frequency of use but what your going to use it for.

Maybe you only use it a few times a year but if what your doing is critical you should have the best you can afford. Bob making sawdust in Salem Or.

[Mark Jerde]

I bought some HF bar clamps over the internet, half expecting to chuck them in the trash. They're actually very acceptable for the price. I intend to get some more.

-- Mark

[Larry C in Auburn, WA]

Define "afford". I've never really understood it when someone says "buy the best you can afford". Does that mean save all your extra money for 6 months then buy it? Does it mean spend whatever cash you have in your pocket at that moment in time? Does it mean cash out the equity in your house? Does it mean go without lunch for a week and use that extra money? In other words, it all comes down to individual priorities. How much money a person is willing to spend while accepting that in most cases the more you spend the better quality you'll get. None of us can answer that question for others.

Is a $50 drill press as good as a $500 drill press? I highly doubt it. Does everyone that needs a drill press need a $500 drill press? I highly doubt it. Is there anyone that could benefit from a $50 drill press rather than going without? I'm sure there are.

Why didn't you buy the best truck available? I bet you could "afford" it, although you might have had to give up something else that you also wanted. So, you made the choice to settle for less than the best so you could spend the rest of your money on other things; like going out to a nice dinner at Burger King ;)

These threads crack me up how people can decide what tool someone else needs and how much money the other person should spend as well. Of course it's somewhat humorous to see people ask questions like "What tool should I buy?" or "is this brand any good?". There isn't one answer that fits everyone.

[Mark]

Point well taken.

[Nova]

Yes. ;-)

-- Jack Novak Buffalo, NY - USA (Remove "SPAM" from email address to reply)

[Howard]

The manufacturer is "MTG", but I never heard of them...

-- Howard

Mark wrote: