Chicago Electric - Harbor Freight

I have bought a number of things at Harbor Freight and have always been satisfied. It probably will be noisier and more difficult to adjust than a decent brand, and might wear out faster; but for the price it is probably a good product. At least that has been my experience.

You think $14 more ain't too much for the Ingersoll Rand whole kit??? I don't... HF: 40681-7VGA that's the way to go big bro...

Alex

generic chinese tools at generic chinese tool prices. it's a bit risky- some CE stuff self destructs the first time you pull the switch, some performes adequately for years.

snipped-for-privacy@aol.com (BUB 209) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mb-m29.aol.com:

Just one warning about electric die grinders - power. I have the $100 Makita, and I feel it's pretty wimpy,

For ***very*** limited uses, I've used a Bosch trim router instead: no base, the router bit hanging out. It's incredibly dangerous, it doesn't have a long enough neck, but much much more oomph.

I'll probably switch to air powered for my next project.

I have purchased a few things from Harbor Freight and I guess I would summarize as you get what you pay for. For example I bought a biscuit joiner for I thinkk $39 bucks. I used it successfully for many projects until SWMBO sprung for a DeWalt, at which time I realized how much better a quality tool was. Adjustments were easier. The base was made of steel instead of plastic on the Chicago electric version. That said, the Chicago unit did what it advertised.

I have also purchased some bar clamps. They work fine, but rust sooner and are not as stiff as Jorgensen clamps. Again, you get what you pay for, but sometimes a tool that does the job and we can afford is better than a superior tool and not eating this week.

George

I'm 2 for 3 with Chicago Electric (Harbor Freight) tools.

An 18v cordless drill sat on the shelf until after the warrantee expired (90 days) then was used to drive a bunch of deck screws - stripped out the gearbox before the job was complete, replaced with an 18v DeWalt XRP, a MUCH better tool.

A 4-1/2" angle grinder purchased a couple of years ago for a particular project outlasted the project and continues to perform. Only sees occasional use, but, so far, has met my requirements. I have no basis for comparison with other brands/models.

A 10" Sliding miter saw purchased about 3 years ago for $100 continued to operate satisfactorily through a fairly large deck project. The saw was OK for rough carpentry/framing work but I would not recommend it for trim/finish work or anything requiring high precision. Main complaint was sticky slide action and soft, mushy miter stops. A new project required higher precision work so the saw was given to a friend while still serviceable and replaced with a Hitachi SCMS for about 5 times the initial cost. Although the Hitachi is a far, far better saw, it was also far, far more expensive.

Tom Veatch Wichita, KS USA

I have one. It works very well. If you plan to grind any metal, get some solid carbide burrs from Enco. They have US made ones for around $5 each in various shapes and sizes.

Allright. One thing I won't use though are the big (2"or larger) reinforced cutoff wheels because they will burn the tool up very fast.

I'm by no means an expert, but I'm not sure that a cutoff wheel belongs on any die grinder, name brand or not. I have a pneumatic cutoff tool for that--the wheel is perpendicular to the handle and there is guard around it. It also spins much slower.