I owned their 10" SCMS for a couple of days last year. Got it on sale for $99 took it home and tried it out. It cut ok but I felt that the sliding mechanism was a bit sloppy (in other words it lacked precision.) Also the little interlock button associated with the switch is fragile and easly broken/lost. One good thing about HF is you can take it home and check it out and if you do not like it you can return it and get your money back.
A SCMS is a great job site tool but in the shop an old craftsman RAS ($100) is superior in my opinion.
One great value they (HF) are currently offering is the 6" digital calipers for $19.95 (includes a case and a spare battery.) I have never heard anyone complain about these (except people who have never used them.) Regards Bob
It's not on your list, but I've been using their heavy-duty lathe (normally runs $270, was on sale for $180) for the past couple of weeks and I love it. It's my starter lathe, but it will be some time before I grow out of it. I don't think I would have been happy with their lower-end models, they really seemed low quality in the store, even if they were impressively cheap. About as close as you can come to calling a power tool 'disposable'.
Not a woodworking tool, but I have one of the real heavy duty HF #40576 14 x 40 metal working lathes. It's a Zhuji Machine Tool Works GH-1440A also sold by Grizzly, Enco, Jet and a host of other companies at much more than the $3,000 I paid for it. It puts the old Logan lathe I had to shame.
I agree with that. Some of their stuff is junk, some is worthwhile. I find the tools that I use only very infrequently can be of Harbor Freight quality. Even my shop at work is now buying some of their products.
440 LB electric hoist $59 Sawzall type reciprocating saw $29 Bubble level with built-in laser $9 B&D Workmate clone $11 B&W Security camera $29 Emergency light (wall mount - 2 lights) $19 Tow Strap $8 Tarps $1-$20 Bought lots of 'em Digital Volt Meter $2.99 (got several - accuracy rivals my Fluke!) Pneumatic variable speed drill $19 Digital Clamp on Amp meter $9 Bench top drill press $39 (bought a decade ago)
"I" wouldn't buy their blades or router bits because they appear to be below the level I'll accept. All those items above have been thoroughly tested and work great. I bought a bench top TS that was junk and I subsequently dumped it. Not all their stuff works as well as I had hoped, but the vast majority of it was worth a lot more than I paid, which is why I keep going back.
Let me know in twenty years how that meter is holding up! A fellow I work with bought a VOM from HF. It lasted about 6 months of daily use, and failed when he was not able to replace it easily. He bought Fluke to repalce it! For the home owner, occasional use, I would probably buy one or two also, if I did not have five different Fluke meters in my possession already! Greg
It certainly could fail at an inopportune time, I agree, though electronics today are pretty reliable. If they work out of the box, they will usually continue to work for years unless mistreated. And you did adress it but for the price difference on the clamp meter, you could buy a new one every year and only be behind after the 15th year.
Take the price of the Fluke, divide by $2.99, let me know how many SPARES that'll cover! Flukes are good meters, which is why we have them at work. But 99.99999% of the time, that el-cheapo meter will do most everything "I" need whether it be at work (Biomedical field use) or at home. I've already opened it up and had a look at the guts. The main chip is buried in an expoxy blob on the board, the rest is rather well built on a single board. You're probably right though, it may only last 15 years. ;-)
As mentioned in my original post, I bought this for my truck, boat, toolbox, and for field work. The lab still gets the high dollar toys. Oh, Flukes die too. We're getting rid of a Fluke Datalogger and replacing it with a laptop and an IOtech. Fluke couldn't fix it reliably, and having to repeat a 2hr airpack test with human subjects isn't an option. As Fluke says, "If it works, it's a Fluke". Funny, but sometimes true. Money doesn't always buy quality or reliability. We've bought a lot of high end electronics at work and sent them to our calibration lab before use... only to find they failed the initial cal. The equipment, in those cases, were returned.
If your buddy needs it as a daily tool, what's he doing buying a $2.99 meter designed for occasional use by a home owner? :-o I consider Harbor Freight tools great for the occasional use. I don't think many of their products would withstand daily use as professional equipment, but then again, their stuff is a fraction of the cost. If he couldn't afford professional quality equipment, he could at least bought a few spares. :-)
I bought an inexpensive bench grinder. Not from HF, but of the same quality I believe. Works good, but easy to bog down (not much hp or low torque). Take care. BigJoe
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