Yeah,I know,it's been talked to death but I had to post this one.I got a pneumatic panel flanger as a gift from a buddy.I know he meant well and it's the thought and all that shit but...Any way I hooked it up and was gonna put a test flange on a piece of 18 ga.On the first try the whole head snapped off and flew across the shop. I swear,on the first try.I don't flange panels anyway,just butt weld them but I figured what the hell I'd give it a try.Anyway I'm headed to Harbor Freight to try and return this POS.
Maybe your "Buddy" intended for the flying chunk of steal to hit you square in the head to get you out of the way so he could move in on your project(s)! I'd take a real close look at this guy.
I really don't mind the Harbor Freight threads.When i am thinking about going there to buy tools it is nice to do a search here and try to get the low down on what i may be looking to buy
It really kind of depends on how much your going to use the thing. If you only drag it out once or twice a year, the money you save might be worth the frustration. But then again I am one broke bastard so I might be bias.
Some of their stuff is awful, but some is fine... I have a 3/8 air drill from there that I beat the hell out of every day for years at a truck repair job I used to have. Still works fine, cost $15... I wonder about their cheap welder...
I bought one of the blue 4 1/2 inch grinders for shits and giggles. I plugged it in and it ran for about a minute then died.
I have one of these and I've ground all kinds of shit with it and no problem. I guess it just depends. I have a Sears one but I normally just grab up the HF one because I don't care if it quits or not ..
Northern Tool, man....Northern Tool. Ordered a replacement jack for my hoist...didn't tell me it was going to be 2 WEEKS to get it. I called and some overseas guy took my call, cancelled the order. Ordered from Northern Tool.....here in 3-5 days and the operator was a nice fellow Southerner who works at their office in North Carolina.
Got a 5 drawer tool cart from Horrible Freight a few weeks back. Every bit as nice as the Sears Craftsboy one for $279. Roller drawers, not bad at all! Coupon from SRM brought the price down to $99. I looked over the tools while I was there and shook my head at the junk they sell. Power tools or jackstands? No F'in way.
You get what you pay for! I dont understand why folks that use the cheap import shit, get so bent when it fails? They know thier stuff is shit that why they offer the replacment warranty.
You have to know what to buy and what not to buy when it comes to Harbor Freight. I have gambled a couple times. A couple of times I have come out way ahead....like the air saw and nibbler I have been beating up for 3 years. I paid 8 dollars for one and 12 for the other one. It probably evens out though, with all of the shit I have bought that failed epically.
hey they warranty all there stuff if its not 2yrs old with the paper work or you get a credit some of the cheap dicks up here buy en usem and return em they been workin there credit for years
This may not be a popular post but I must tell you that I also bought one of the panel flangers/hole punch from H.F. Went to use it and the lever was not pushing the actuator far enough down into the tool to work effectively. I modified the lever and it has worked fine since then. I find that when you buy the cheap crap from HF and rework it a bit it can usually get the job it was intended to do done on a hobby level. No way any of those tools would last after extended use.
Shopping at Harbor Freight is like going to a whore house where most of the girls have herpes...... but the price is right, and you decide to take a chance.
I bought an impact deep socket set there and the first time I tried to use the 13mm it split. Looks like it's a common issue with their impact stuff, one store had about three sets with missing sockets and one cracked socket put back in the case, on the clearance table. Meanwhile I have the same set SAE that I got a couple years ago that I've beat the shit out of and they've been fine. Must be the Taiwanese who cast these have cheapened up the metal even more, I didn't think that possible. The grinders I buy there have all been fine, too, I consider them disposable and each one lasts a couple years. The only failure I question is one the cord shorted at the case and burned up. The grinder might be okay if I put another cord on it, but they shouldn't rub to short out like that. I wanted to look at the 1-ton shop crane the other day, store didn't have one out, I ask an older guy who looks like he might have half a clue. He checks the computer and sees they have eight, but won't bring one out for me to look at. If I'm going to buy it, he'll bring it out. Well, no, I want to see if this thing is a piece of shit that will kill me on the first use or what. So I left and didn't buy anything - I'll go to another store and get one if this guy wants to be a lazy bastard. It occurred to me later I should have told him "yes, I want one" then while he was in the back getting it, left, so the guy would actually have to do some work that day.
Exactly. For someone who isn't going to be putting that tool to work and expecting it to make money for them, then the reward far outweighs the risk. All of my work tools are high quality...some of my home and hobby stuff, not so much. Then again, I have a family, a mortgage, car payment, and lots of other stuff to deal with too, so spending beaucoup bucks on ONE tool is out of the question if it isn't going to be making me money. I'd love to have all American made stuff, but when I can't afford it or find it used, it's off to Harbor Freight.
Gospel I've bought some of the cheapo welding clamp pliers and some of the cheap 4 1/2" grinders and a bag of the EXACT same panel holders that Eastwoods sells. The clamps don't need to be heavy duty, so they get the job done. The grinders vibrate my hands a helluva lot more than my nicer one, but they get the job done. The panel holders are great, if you use 'em. No way would I buy their hand tools or anything that my life would depend on (jack stands, jacks, etc)
My rule of the thumb for buying tools is to remember what the cheap one tasted like coming through my bottom lip......then I get the Snapon one.
I've got a HF band saw (I believe it was around $170 +/-) that I've had for about 2 years. It gets me by with smaller projects on the cars, but being a mechanic/machinist, any lack of QC is usually an invitation to upgrade it to my preferences (as in: making it REALLY work). The ratio of "works right" versus "piece of %*&$" was about 65/35 (adjustments on the blade leave something to be desired), but the other day I discovered the source of one its' continual achiles heel; dragging when starting. Get this, the gear box lube was filled with a substance I can only described as 100 yr old molasses mixed with 100 yr old gear lube mixed with super glue. No joke, the lube was actually STOPPING the gears from rotating (I used a heat gun to loosen it up)! It took me about 30 mins to clear the lube box, and then I drilled a hole for a fill plug and filled it up with a correct lube. It has now moved to a 80/20 ratio. I also picked up one of their benchtop drill presses at the same time... great for sheet metal, and hanging safety goggles on (1/3 horsepower (?) yea with ONE pound of torque). I'm just happy I've got a good stock of metal to fall back on (a nearby scrap metal dealer by my "real" job has been a godsend at times).
I have mostly all Craftsman , SK and name brand tools . I buy the HF crap tool when I only need it for a few things but not something I will use all the time . I have 2 of their grinder and got them for like $10 a piece on a deal . I will use them to clean the frames and things like that so when they go up then throw them away . I would rather beat the shit out of the cheap junk for like grinding all day to clean a frame that use my good one on it and burn it up . So far for "HOME USE" building the car & truck I have , the cheapo stuff has held up and I used that extra money for some of the other better things I need ! The cheap stuff does serve the purpose for a small job BUT not foe a living to pay for my house & car ! RetroJim
A lot of the companies have their tools made in China. I bought a 4 1/2" angle grinder from HF about five years ago. It looks like a Makita knock off. I have dropped it several times. Cut much steel and aluminum, and even used the flat to smooth wood ends. I figure I have run 30 cut off discs through it. I am doing some house remodeling and used it to cut off nails and score plaster. It has been caked with plaster dust. I think I got my $20 out of it
I've got a whole pile of 4.5" angle grinders (like 5 of em) I got lazy and got em on sale, I dont think I paid over $10 for any of em....BUT I've got a different wheel on each one....just pick the one up you need and go to town... I've been lucky with em...I had one eat a cord but three out of the 5 are 4 years old, one of em is like 9 years old and the last one is just a few months....for 10 bucks, that one I've had 9 years owes me nothing. That said the wheels and attachments that go on them are mainstream...handtools, drillbits and stuff I use day in and day out...matco/s&k etc
Harbor Freight has it's place for the weekend warrior. I've bought CHEAP air tools there that I don't need to use that often and they've served their purpose just fine.
The Jalopy Journal
