On Mon 22 Nov 2004 08:36:21p, snipped-for-privacy@consult.pretender (Jeffrey J.
Kosowsky) wrote in
I bought the recip saw. Actually it was on sale for 25$ when I needed one
for a garage project. I figured, if it does this one job it was worth it
and if I find myself using it a lot, I'll get a good one. It did the garage
job, then another one, then the bathroom remodel, then it helped tear down
the neighbor's old shed, and it still goes on and on.
I like having a reciprocating saw around so when it dies I'll upgrade, but
I don't feel bad about having bought this one.
I don't know if I'd trust 'em well enough to get something that's supposed
to be precise, like a sliding miter saw, though.
Dan
I have a cheap Chicago $49 router which works good. Great drill press for
$39. Lathe for $149 seems adequate since it does indeed spin. But serious
woodworkers (if that be you)need serious tools..... casual woodworkers (that
be me) can make do.
-opinions may vary.
This is Turtle.
I have tried out their Chicago recept saw. It is a little bitty thing and is not
big at all. When cutting 2 -- 2" x 6" at one time it will drag down or jam for
second at times if you push it. You just can't push it hard. I have a regular
Porter Cable and will cut the 2 2X6 at one time with no effort at all. I've had
it about 3 months and have not burned it up yet. I only use it for lite cutting
or it being small to reach up in a hole to cut something. It is about 1/2 the
size of the regular Porter Cable saw.
They are on sale this week for $19.99 if you need to know.
All the Chicago tools are for lite cutting and not the get it on cutting. If
your doing lite cutting they usely work fairly well.
TURTLE
I tend to shy away from the Chicago Electric brand. I bought a drop light
and it fried the first time
I plugged it in. Took it back. Second one fried. Bought a heat gun.
Fried the first time I plugged it in.
Took it back. Second one fried as well. That said, I have their 4"
grinder and it seems to do the odd job
that I demand of it ok. I tend to think the Central Machinery brand is
better (have their floor standing drill press
and it works great) and I've been pretty happy with the Central Pneumatic
stuff. YMMV of course.
Cheers,
cc
I've bought a bunch of stuff from Harbor Fright. Their Pittsburgh wrenches
are really sloppy, their flare wrenches are useless. Ended up pitching them
out.
Hint: Buy a couple things, and then sit and wait for the catalogs. Most of
thier stuff goes on half or third off, if you wait long enough. With some
patience, you can save a bundle.
I like their aluminum pipe wrenches. they also had some slip joint pliers
for turning pipes and nuts. They are really great. Their little yellow VOM
goes on sale now and again for 2.99 and I buy four or so. Not super precice,
but fits neatly into tool boxes and small spaces. I've also got some of
their Sawzall blades, which go smooth in a hurry. But for what I use, they
are OK.
I got two Drill Master drills in 12 volts. When the batteries go, I can wire
them to a lighter plug, and use them near the car, or off a 12 volt gel cell
jumper pack. Or buy more batteries. The Drill Masters are only 500 RPM, my
Makita is 1300 or so. But they are better than just OK for twenty bucks.
On 23 Nov 2004 07:09:14 -0800, scott snipped-for-privacy@my-deja.com (Childfree
Scott) scribbled this interesting note:
I bought one of these once. Paid $12.00 for it brand new from Harbor
Freight. The first one did not work at all so I returned it. The
second one worked for the length of the job and burned up. I then went
to a local surplus store that carries a lot of aircraft tools, router
bits, heat shrink (up to stuff that is three inches across and has
sealer inside), and bought a very good, used heat gun and paid three
times that much. This gun will give years of service, as opposed to
the H.F. heat gun.
I did once buy one of the HVLP paint guns with the two quart cup. This
one, to be specific:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumbery02
It was stolen out of a house I was working on...along with about a
thousand dollars of other tools. But while I was using it I was happy
with the results.
The problem with this kind of Made in China compressor is, if it ever
needs any kind of servicing you may as well toss it on the curb as no
one seems to carry the parts for them. This tool, like most of the
H.F. Made in China tools are disposable.
This kind of air compressor, while much more expensive, will not only
give decades of good, daily service (and in fact, I've been told, are
rated to last 10,000 hours of use before needing service-that's eight
hours a day, five days a week, fifty-two weeks a year, for five years)
but are inexpensive to have serviced and usually only need a new
piston and cylinder, which costs about a hundred dollars.
http://www.bobstools.net/Store/Thomas.html
We recently took in a small collection of these compressors, including
one that is an antique (or at least about 25 years old) for service.
Each of them were repaired and the average cost per unit for repairs
was indeed about one hundred dollars. That compares favorably against
the revenue generated by using this kind of dependable equipment. Even
the stuff sold by Home Depot isn't of a very high quality when
compared to this kind of compressor. We did a kind of experiment one
time wherein we bought a Stanley-Bostich compressor. It lasted a month
or two before beginning to fail. Thomas compressors give years of
service. This is why we went back to Thomas. I still have a
Stanley-Bostich compressor. I keep it at home and use it to air up car
tires. It leaks down fast, leaks oil, has poor cfm, and really is kind
of useless for anything but airing up car tires!:~)
Oh, and why did we have a small collection of Thomas compressors to
have repaired? Because we've been using them for decades and
oftentimes didn't have time to take one in for repair and instead just
bought one or two new ones. When we had a good amount of slack time
after the damage from some unusually heavy hail storms had been
cleared away, we took all of them in for service. Now it is like we
have lots of new compressors to choose from.
It is up to the end user to decide which is more inexpensive...I know
which direction I incline to...
The best hand tool for the job depends on the job. Sometimes a
disposable wrench or other tool is exactly what the job calls for.
My mantra these days...You have to know which pennies to pinch!:~)
--
John Willis
(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)
I bought a HF clone of a Bosch 1581 jigsaw for $59 USD,and have been very
satisfied with it. A Bosch would have cost me ~$100 more.
I compared it to one in my local Home Depot,it's exactly like the Bosch
1581.
The 1581 is just like the 1587 without the quick blade change;you need a
screwdriver instead.Variable speed,roller guide,uses Bosch blades,has the
air blower and the 4 position orbital control.
I've had one really bad experience with Harbor Freight tools. I got
"great deal" on a 15 piece, 1/4 inch shank router bit set - about $2
or $30. I was using one of the bits to cut a pattern, and a piece o
carbide came zinging off the bit. I chucked another bit from the set
and the same thing happened. I promptly took the remaining bit
outside and put them in the trash. Lesson learned, no more chea
router bits.
However, I've had good luck with other tools they sell that are onl
for occasional use: heat gun, laminate router trimmer, 4" angl
grinder, 4'x8' utility trailer (was a pain to assemble, but is a grea
value), and lots of hand tools (hammers, files, etc.).
I just bought a 7" benchtop tile cutter that I haven't used yet, bu
postings on other forums said it was a good value.
Also, two years ago I bought one of their General Machine brand woo
lathes. I love it. The castings are identical to Jet's lathe tha
costs 4 times more, the quality of finish is good (the castings ar
actually cleaner than many Jet's I have seen), there is almost n
vibration when it runs (you can stand a nickle on edge on the rails)
and it was affordable. I did, however, go top-quality on my turnin
tools, and ended up spending more on a set of gouges than I did on th
lathe
--
makesawdust
Just curious, which HVLP Paint gun did you buy from Harbor Freight? I'm
thiinking of buying one of their turbine type sprayers (no air
compressor needed).
On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 02:36:21 GMT, snipped-for-privacy@consult.pretender (Jeffrey
J. Kosowsky) wrote:
I have never bought from H. F. simply because there is not one nearby.
I have a distant friend who says their stuff is not top quality, but
swears their stuff holds up pretty well, for the price.
I HAVE purchased from another company called Homier Distributors.
They are mobile merchants and set up a sale in a tent in different
towns. I have never been so dissatisfied with any other purchases.
Their stuff is total junk, and once they got your money, forget about
getting any help or being able to return defective items, or even
having an email returned. This is the worst company I have ever dealt
with. However, this same friend has also bought from Homier and says
he has gotten a few deals from them. Of course too, he just putters
around. I tend to really use tools, and those homier tools have all
broken within one day or less.
I might consider buying from Harbor Freight if I have access. I will
NEVER buy from Homier again.
I probably did not really answer your question, but this is just some
personal experience.
Mark
I bought a sliding Miter Saw from them to replace the one I had stolen
off the back of my truck. It's a knock off of the Makita but not built
as well, but it only cost $99.00. I only use it off the back of my
truck. Matter of fact it's chained to the back of my truck now. If it's
stolen its not a big deal. The one I had stolen was a Dewalt. I replace
it with another higher end Dewalt but it stays in the shop. The saw so
far has worked ok but a little gutless. I spent 1/2 as much for a blade
( 50.00 Frued) for the saw which helps. I too bought their cheap tile
saw and it's worked pretty good. I didnt expect to use it for long since
I dont do tile everyday.
The tools I use everyday are: Porter Cable 14.4 cordless drill and their
combo brad and finish nailer with compressor, a Milwaukee sawzall and
corded 1/2 drill, Mikata grinder, and a old Craftsman circular saw. I
would never even think about replacing these with a HF for the obvious
reasons. I USE THEM EVERYDAY!!! I'm really impressed with the grinder,
it only cost $60.00 and it's really powerful and the Sawzall for $125.00
on sale.
Rich
--
"You can lead them to LINUX
but you can't make them THINK"
I have purchased hand tools from both Harbor Freight and Homier with decent
results. I also bought a 1/2" drill from Homier a few years back and it quit
the first time I used it. Unlike Marks experience, I had no problem getting it
replaced and the new one they sent is still working fine, although still not
top quality. I also bought a air compressor from Homier that ran for about a
year and quit. I got so used to having it around that I just went and bought a
better quality one, but I did get my money's worth out of the cheaper one. I
am still using the air tools I got from Homier with no problems. I can't
remember any power tools that I have bought from HF, but I do get their fliers
and I see their prices.
Bobby
Tools are freedom. Good ones open up possibilities and can last a lifetime.
$29.95 is better spent on a good steak, cooked to your preference, with a
tall glass of ale.
Dave
I like the steak idea. This is great advice. !!
I think we can all agree that tools are dangerous. Lower grade tools make
the jobs we do even more dangerous. For example, I would never consider a
lower grade saw. If you think about it as simply a safety issue, I think
the extra money is worth it to keep us out of the emergency room.
If you really need to a decent tool, and don't want to pay the money for it,
then rent a high-quality tool to do the job.
I have a dangerous circular saw. It's a Skil. The damn spring
vanished that pulls the blade guard down. I have set that saw down
several times and the blade hit the floor, and it cut the cord once.
This is the 3rd Skil saw that developed this problem. I finally just
made a little "stool" out of 4x4's and plywood. I just set the saw
over the groove where the blade sets in.
Yeah, I know, I should replace the spring (if I could find one).
Mark
Buying the wrong Skil. Try the worm drive version. I've never worn one
out. And some parts interchange from older to newer units. I believe
the part number is HD-77. And yes, I know Bosch makes them these days
since that's where I have to go for the occasional new handle.
--
John Willis
(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)
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