Quality of Harbor Freight and Chicago Electric tools

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

Reply to
Evodawg
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This IMO says it all.

I've been happy with many of the items I've bought there but the 1/2 inch drill I bought didn't give me an hour of service.

Reply to
3rd eye

When building to a low price point, compromises in build quality have to be made. For example, contractor-grade power tools have ball bearing construction, whereas the Chicago Electric stuff has cheap bushings in their place. They work OK when new but wear quickly and develop tolerances that are unacceptable to tradesmen.

If you only use the tool once a month or so, it may last you a long time. But if you get involved in a couple weekend-long projects where the tool gets a thorough workout, don't be surprised if you have to make a trip to the builder's supply to replace with with a Porter Cable, Bosch, etc.

(snip)

Reply to
Chuck Hoffman

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

Reply to
BGBevill

I have a pair of HF14.4v cordless drills, which together cost less than a new battery for my B&D FireStorm. ;-) They run out of "juice" quicker than my B&D so I use them for drilling instead of screwing. But it's really handy to chuck up three cordless drills, one straight bit to the desired depth, one countersink, and one with a phillips or square drive. It's quicker for me to pick up and set down three separate tools (with no cords to get twisted & tangled ) than to use even my DW "Quick Flip" Drill/Driver attachment.

Since the 14.4's are still on sale I may buy a couple more to be sure I have a couple extra backup batteries (& chargers & drills ) that are all interchangeable. When B&D "upgraded" my model drill to make the batteries different the replacement battery price doubled.

IMO the HF 14.4's work ok for drilling & countersinking, but B&D / DW / ... / Milwaulkee / ... are needed for putting in screws.

--- Now for some philosophy ---

I was in college 1977-82. I started as a mechanical engineering student but switched to computer science my sophmore year.

(1) Increasing tooling allows greater precision.

One of the classes I had as an ME was "Intro. to Industrial Engineering." I recall little from that class except this illustration from the very early days of the "Industrial Revolution" that went more or less like this:

"I highly recommend Messer. _______ for the position of Chief Engineer of your company. While in our employ Mr. _______ supervised and directed the construction of a large steam engine. He did such a good job that at no point could a worn shilling be inserted between the piston and the cylinder wall."

The instructor then talked about current engine tolerances in small engines such as model airplane engines being measured in thousandths of an inch. "Engineering Excellence" of one era/application is a dismal failure in another era/application.

(2) Tools reduce / negate human variation.

Once upon a time only *men* had the strength to swing the heavy sledge hammers to drive railroad spikes and seat red-hot rivets. However men being what men have always been, spent much of their time drinking and thinking about sex, and the railroad spikes were not always driven in as deep as they should have been and the rivets were not always seated. Structures failed that *should* *not* have failed by the drawing board calculations. Failure analysis found out the problems. Engineers strove to develop ways to take the "human factor" out of these critical construction operations. (This

1910's-1940's information comes to me from my late father-in-law, Dr. R.F. Branch, who ran Army aid stations in the Pacific in WWII and was the physician who tied the dog tag on Earnie Pyle's toe. I really miss him alot. We would BS for hours on end.)

The engineers developed a riveting gun that always completely seated the rivets. In the personnel crunch of WWII it was discovered that "Rosie The Riveter" could hold the tool just as well as any old Joe. ;-) Joe could go get shot at and Rosie could build the equipment just as good a Joe could. The machine took away the variability.

(3) *IF* the HF tools are primarily assembled by machines, they can be as good as *anything* Sir Isaac Newton, Da Vinci, Einsten, DeWalt, ...., could have possibly carved by hand. ;-)

I have my NOMEX undies on. Bring it on!

-- Mark

Reply to
Mark Jerde

I don't think I would buy anything major from them unless you have a local store for returning defectives. Sometimes it is hard to predict in advance if the quality will be adequate. Much of their stuff is good enough for occasional use (most occasional users are more likely to lose tools from theft or drop damage than from wearing them out). The average hobbyist/homeowner will use a piece of equipment a couple hours a year, but using a really nice brand name piece is kind of cool, though, if you can justify the extra 400% cost :>) bill

Reply to
bill a

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

Reply to
maradcliff

Chicago Electric, Ive heard they are Crap

Reply to
m Ransley

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.

Reply to
Jim Yanik

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 23:07:23 GMT, "Mark Jerde" scribbled this interesting note:

lots of what if's in that sentence!:~) (if, can, could, etc...)

-- John Willis (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

Reply to
John Willis

After the second, you could be su re my third would not be a Skil. Unless you are getting them free.

Reply to
Edwin Pawlowski

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

Reply to
makesawdust

On Wed, 24 Nov 2004 03:19:03 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" scribbled this interesting note:

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)

Reply to
John Willis

Actually I did get 2 of them almost free. I bought the first one new, the other two I picked up at an auction for $1 each. (a real auction, not Ebay). For a buck each, I surely wouldn't bitch. Both worked, but both wore out or lost those damn guard return springs. They still work, but are just dangerous with those missing springs. Are you saying to contact Bosch for the springs? Got a phone number?

Thanks

Mark

Reply to
maradcliff

On 11/30/2004 12:57 PM US(ET), snipped-for-privacy@UNLISTED.com took fingers to keys, and typed the following:

I recently looked for some parts for an old Model 77, Type 3, Skil worm drive that I inherited. Not the return spring (which still works), but the little handle to swing the blade guard out of the way, and the locking lever handles for the plate angle and depth adjustment. The locking nuts are still there but the quick release levers are gone (they look like flat socket wrenches) . The newer owners manuals are on line in PDF format at

formatting link
was none for the old 77 Type 13. I downloaded the newer HD77 manual (at the bottom of the above site page) and the parts looked somewhat similar but were not attached in the same way. I emailed Skil and got a reply back from Michelle that the parts indeed looked a little different and that I should contact Skil at:

Skil Factory Service Center

121 Corporate Blvd. S. Plainfield, NJ 07080 908/769-8208

I never contacted Skil or bought the parts though, so I can't say if they would fit.

Reply to
willshak

On Tue, 30 Nov 2004 11:57:13 -0600, snipped-for-privacy@UNLISTED.com scribbled this interesting note:

I simply did a search on their web site and found a service center in Dallas, drove over and picked up the parts.

-- John Willis (Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

Reply to
John Willis
90% of them are pure junk not fit for the intended purpose. The other 10% are OK for occassional use.

Forget these HF dregs and buy known quality tools that you can trust and that will help you achieve quality work.

Chicago Electric is a brand name intended to decieve the consumer into thinking these are made in the USA. Chicago Electric along with Pittsburg Forge, and Central Pnuematic are farmed out to the lowest cost/lowest quality manufacturers in China.

Buy quality and you'll only say ouch once. Buy this crap and you'll curse and swear every time you use it and eventually get so frustrated it'll go in the garbage can.

Reply to
davefr

It all depends. It depends on what you are going to use it for, your skill level, income, severity of use, etc. Take their cordless drills for example. The 18v. is a very good tool for the occasional hobbist, home use, etc.

You are right, the quality is not there, most of the time. But for those of us who are beginning or occasional hobbists, there is no way we can justify the added expense of "name brand." Speaking of which, A lot of stuff Grizzly sells LOOKS an awful lot like the stuff from HF. Are you suggesting a person buy Grizzly just because of the name? Just kidding!

If price were no issue and my skills warranted it, I would buy top of the line everytime. However, as they say, this is not a perfect world.

Deb

Reply to
Dr. Deb

it's NOT? damn! *g*

IMHO, if we could all start this "hobby" with a lot of bucks and a knowledge of tools, HF wouldn't exist..

But for people like me, who had a new marriage/job/family/home to take priority over tool budget, places like HF allow you to get a few basic tools that you'd have to wait years for if you only bought good quality tools..

Reply to
mac davis

It sure isn't a perfect world. (If it was I'd have real shop!) However look at it this way: The purpose of tools, especially power tools, is to make your life easier. If the tool makes your life harder on the balance because it's poorly made, you have to get two or three before it runs right, etc., is it really making your life easier.

Less money for less quality only works to a point and my experience with Harbor Freight is that they are perilously close to that point.

--RC

You can tell a really good idea by the enemies it makes

Reply to
rcook5

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