"The thing was the most poorly made POS power tool I ever bought in my life. The good news is I saved a few bucks. The bad news is that if I ever need one again, I'll have to buy one again.
Joe Barta"
As I should have said in my original post, ya pays your money and ya takes your chance. I know it's a gamble with HF, more so than a lot of other places. But so far I'm winning and the bets aren't large so I keep coming back.
I've taken chances with HF. Sure sometimes I get crap (cordless drills), sometimes a "gem". IMO, the slider was a great deal for a "Franklin".
*Exactly* No, I'm not going to buy a table saw from HF, but the OP would do well to look seriously at this tool, understanding that it's not a Makita.
Slider over a non-slider? What's so hard to understand? That's why I bought the HF slider for cheap money.
RE: Subject
"Harbor Freight" and "tools" are mutually exclusive terms.
Having said that, I buy a lot of consumables from them such as latex gloves, chip brushes, etc.
If I need tools, I go to people who sell tools.
Lew
I've had one for about 4 years and think its great. I could not get my Delta chopsaw to stay adjusted, once I adjusted the Harbor Freight it has stayed adjusted. I would not use it for picture frames, but for framing, trim, etc., it works fine. A great tool for the money.
Wed, Jan 18, 2006, 10:48pm (EST+5) snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com (Vic=A0Baron) listeth: I have their 6" jointer and an el cheapo drill press and they've worked flawlessly. Had a belt/disc sander combo
I don' got no jointer, but forgot to say that I've got the bench drill press, wood lathe, belt/disc sander, and a 4" grinder or two. They're all still working just fine.
JOAT If you can't say anything nice about someone, you must be talking about Hilary Clinton.
I don't have one, but have heard a lot of complaints about flexing of the slide... If you buy a bargain tool and realize that you only get what you pay for, HF is a great place to play...
As to the CMS, I'd get the non-slider and take some time to set it up... if you NEED the slider, I'd suggest a more expensive tool..
mac
Please remove splinters before emailing
Thu, Jan 19, 2006, 10:28am (EST-1) snipped-for-privacy@shout.net (Mike=A0Berger) asketh: Cummins? They do the truckload thing around here two or three times a year.
Yep, I'm sure that's the one. Like I said, the Chinese air rifle is the only thing I've seen there I'd consider buying - great deal. I got the air pistol too, but wouldn't buy another.
JOAT If you can't say anything nice about someone, you must be talking about Hilary Clinton.
Thu, Jan 19, 2006, 10:30am (EST-1) snipped-for-privacy@shout.net (Mike=A0Berger) sayeth: I so rarely need the extra range of a slider. That's why I asked. So it's the feature, and not the quality, that makes you choose it over the others. It's helpful to know that if you're recommending it to someone.
I'd been considering a miter saw. But, the non-sliders probably won't cut quite the width I'd need, so I''d been looking at the HF slider. But, then I came across one of my old Popular Mechanics magazines - got plans on making a non-sliding compound miter saw, using a circular saw. Neat. Then ran across my Capotosto's book on jigs, and "it's" got plans for a "crosscut platform", which uses a circular saw - and is in essence, a compound sliding miter saw - but one you make yourself. Very neat. So, I'll probably pass on buying a miter saw, it'd be a lot more fun making my own version. Quite possible I'll buy another circular saw tho, my B&D is somewhere around "too old to remember how old".
JOAT If you can't say anything nice about someone, you must be talking about Hilary Clinton.
Ok, I simply find sliders easier to use (more like a RAS). I don't=20 think I'd use a CMS if I had one.
I suppose. I'm not terribly happy with the accuracy or power of a=20 circular saw for much other than basic frame carpentry and perhaps=20 cutting panels down to size (with appropriate fences/clamps). FOr=20 the $100 I didn't expect much form the HF slider and was pleasantly=20 surprised.
;-)
--=20 Keith
Good Question which I should have elaborated upon in posting. Two reasons: (1) The sliding aspect gives me wider sawing capacity which I frequently need, and (2) When making angle cuts this particular HF saw is more accurate than either the Delta or Makita. Only reason I don't get rid of the extra saws is that the Makita is mounted in an eight foot table with markings & stops and the Delta is my portable mitre saw because it is a little smaller and lighter and I can more easily lug it around. The HF is definitely more noisy but seems strong and hasn't died yet! For what it's worth. sdh. .
Nonsense. There are snobs everywhere though.
Me too. Most of my purchases from HF are such things, but that doesn't mean they have no decent tools.
Like Crapsman? ;-)
Harbor Freight sells tools. Lots of them! I been there. I seen them!
Joe Barta
Keith responds:
To each his own.
I wrote:
Keith responds:
Isn't that another name for HF?
Lew
It is a piece of junk and you really do get what you pay for. I have a HF near me and went to take a look at one. The travel is stiff at best and looks like it will cut less accurately than my RAS and that is a Craftsman. If you need it for possible framing it might just get by but I would be afraid to use it myself.
Give me a break. Craftsman is about
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,00 0,000,000,000,000 times better than the crap sold at HF.
Look a little closer. Some of it is identical, except for the sticker (e.g. router bits), some is only slightly different or has a different color, at a 40 percent higher cost. Just because it is a Sears or other store doesn't mean it is different? Bought a flimsy but large dustpan at Lowes that was 5 times the cost of the identical item at the dollar store. Bought an HF short extension with 3 outlets and HF. The exact identical item cost 3 times the amount at HD and 4 times the amount at Lowes and Sears. I also note that Lowes larger electrical extension are now much lower and closer to the HF price and they usually have a different color.
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