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Another HF Dado Question

Is the Harbor Freight 42 tooth blades/6 tooth chippers dado (Item 44566) worth the extra $10 over the 22 tooth blades/2 tooth chippers dado (Item

40745)?

Thanks,

Ryan

Reply to
Ryan Willobee
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I haven't used either.. HF is on my "do not buy list".. they have a few good things, but the other

80% or so of their stuff is so bad that I feel I don't save money there by shopping there.

Without seeing the blades, it's hard to tell.. I would think that the blade with more teeth would give you a smoother cut, but the blade with fewer teeth might be a more aggressive cut.. Take a look at some ripping blades.. does the HF dado with fewer teeth look that? Do the two HF blades have the same size teeth (maybe those cheap bastards removed teeth on the cheaper blade just to save money).

Reply to
jim wilson

I just got their "top of the line" $39.95 (40745) dado blade that was recently 1/2 off. I paid $20 for it. I'm not all that exprienced, but the dadoes I've tried have come out real nice and accurate. Smooth edges and bottom with no tear out. This was done on standard 2x4 pine from Lowes.

I figure I should learn enough from my $20 investment to know that a $20 dado blade is less than adequate. And if I do lose interest like I tend to, what's $20.

The secret with Harbor Freight is watch for and buy the stuff >Is the Harbor Freight 42 tooth blades/6 tooth chippers dado (Item 44566)

Reply to
Jim K

This sounds like an idiotic statement too me. Are you saying you don't have the self control to keep from buying the 80% junk?

Reply to
Bruce

Well, lots of time I don't know it's junk. Like I bought some "stainless steel" putty knives there. Figured that would be impossible to screw up, but they did.

I also got suckered into their 1000 fasteners, which turned out to be so soft they were completely unusable. I figured their cheap slave labor could at least make a passable screw or washer..I was wrong.

I also got suckered into their drill bits, based on some reviews here that said they were "ok".. Well, I guess they are ok if you only plan to drill a dozen holes with each forstner bit and then throw the bit away.. or if you don't mind their 1/8" bits breaking as you drill the hole.

In short, I made about 3 trips there, and to be honest, I have very few keepers from there. Their heavy duty grinder stand was good. Their red pipe clamps aren't ponys, but they are ok. I'm trying to think of anything else that was even acceptable quality.. oh yeah, I bought some small shovels for my kids' sandbox...

Nothing else that I recall was acceptable quality, and I'm not one of these anal retentive people that demands perfection. Their pliers are awful. The wire cutters dull quickly and the slip plyers don't "slip" right..

But I'm curious, what do you think is the quality stuff there?

I'm embarassed to admit I probably spent about $250 at harbor frieght and all I have to show for it is a grinder stand, $10 shovel, and about 10 pipe clamps. Everything else was pure garbage, and I didn't even buy anything that ran on electricity.

Reply to
jim wilson

I do buy there time to time but I have limited my purchases to things I have low expectations for. Cheap carbide tipped blades for the circular saw ($1.99/ea) 14" cutoff wheels for my chop saw, the clamps you mentioned, and their 5" casters when on sale are a bargain.

Many have posted in the past what they think are "good" deals and the general underlying theme is "disposable" stuff is usually worth it. You decide if a saw blade or cheap brushes fit that definition....

-Bruce

Reply to
Bruce Rowen

I really wouldn't call any of it quality. I would imagine the reconditioned stuff by DeWalt and Ryobi and such are pretty good, but the prices aren't that low.

I've had good luck with some of the abrasive rolls and pipe and C clamps. The set of hole punches has worked pretty good for a while. I also bought the set of pipe wrenches that has carried me through a few plumbing (and I HATE plumbing) jobs.

Reply to
Jim K

I bought this dado a few weeks ago, too. Not bad. It's perfectly adequate for my purposes (mostly cutting dadoes for floating panels). I haven't done any joinery by dado, so the slight bottom rounding is no problem.

Just to suggest some other HF items I've had good luck with:

  1. The clamps (of course); I especially like the 24" aluminum channel clamps on sale.
  2. A cheapie 12V cordless drill for . "Drillmaster" ... I am almost embarrassed to admit it. Sure, it is cheap junk compared to a Dewalt, but it drives a screw just fine, it is easier than the corded drill, and at my expectations are very low :-)
  3. A metal dial caliper, which was around as I recall. It's nicely made. I spent a fair amount of time (in grad school) doing machining work, where I often used good Mitutoyo dial calipers. This dial caliper is almost as good those, but a whole lot cheaper. Definitely a cut above the little plastic ones I see sold for more.
  4. The quick-release woodworking vise I got from them isn't bad, either. Looks like a clone of the Record 53ED vise, but I think I paid for the HF job.
Reply to
Nate Perkins

Reply to
Jim K

I'm surprised the pipe wrenches worked well for you.. I guess I got a really bad one from them.. it literally slipped when in use, so it didn't grab the pipe very well.

I'm a bit bitter on harbor freight.. due to my wife's neglegance, I had about $700 of tools stolen. All my handtools, basically anything they could easily carry away. So I didn't have enough money to replace them, so I bought HF screwdrivers, plyers, drill bits, etc.. to try and get me by (I needed to fix a car and other stuff immediately).. So, in the year since of getting burned I'm re-replacing all that crap with good stuff. So I get a bit ticked off every time I see one of those orange handed pittsburg plyers, etc.. I do have to admit that their steal framing hammers are ok, but everything else was substandard. I would've been further ahead to carry some credit card debt for a few months, instead of buying those "disposable tools", expecting them to be adequate enough.. So I guess my expectations were unreasonable. Another one of life's expensive lessons.

I am saving them to lend to the neighbors though. I guess they are good for that. ha ha.

Reply to
jim wilson

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