harbor freight shrinker/stretcher.....

"and who pays $100/hr for labor."........Dude, you should come over to New York, that's who pays 100 an hour! Our local Mercedes clown is getting 125 an hour now!! Oh yeah, and after 4 hours at the Mercedes place, it's still broken! Pretty sad state of affairs when the Mercedes guys aren't much better than the guys at the local Firestone store!

 

thanks for the info

 

I know we're straying O T ,but it is hard to pay someone to work on something when they charge a buck an hour....and it's getting hard to find guys who are better than me, which is why I would even go there...

 

So who is going to make the argument that the people working at HF need our business so they dont get laid off? each store seems to have 14 or so employess that take shifts. Seems like supporting local business to me!

 

Wealth is created through manufacturing, like the chinamen are showing us.Those jobs are just a result of shuffling money around.

 

Ok but imagine if you have two HF's in town and they both close the doors because people arnt shopping at them and business is down. thats 28 or so in your community that are now collecting unemployment and out of work..

 

Not HF

But it will do 5/16 steel.

I have a set of little ones that I got so long ago the pair cost me less than $40....... one thing ....... dn't leave the handle in. The weight of it is hard on the jaws

 

I tried making a similar point here once before - you might as well get your rain jacket on and start whizzing into the wind.

Funny but just the other day I was at the local Horrible Fright store with my buddy - I needed some air fittings and I nearly bought a handful - lucky for me I came to my senses!

My buddy was more desperate than me and bought a handful of air fittings knowing full well they were more than likely gonna annoy the shit out of him leaking air and such. We both agreed they were junk but he bought some reluctantly anyways.

HOWEVER we were both wrong - they did NOT LEAK!!!!! Well they didn't leak because they wouldn't even FIT his mating couplers!!!!!!! Yep imagine that the SUM FLUNG DUNG fittings wouldn't even fit his standard couplers And YES he bought the "right" ones - they were just garbage even BEYOND what we both thought. Imagine that.

I realize that sometimes we cannot justify high end US made tools - but really - these damn fittings were a buck apiece and were totally useless. I bet we'll find some "real" US made ones that actually fit the standard. And yeah we might pay a little more, but what good is a deal if the freakin things are junk to begin with.


I will say that walking around their showroom was quite a treat - half the shit on display was already broken - and the crap that wasn't didn't look like it was worth the time to drag home - crap like their E-wheel - just plain humorous.

Yeah guys I know you can't completely avoid the SUM FLUNG DUNG products, but you're really doing yourself a disservice if you don't make a serious effort to absolutely minimize your purchase of that crap.

Look around - our economy is hurting - supporting it takes effort - it ain't always easy, but it IS the right thing to do.

 

As an industrial mechanic, I have tools and I have good tools. Yeah, I have some HF stuff and use it. I also have the assortment of Snap-On, Mac, Matco, Milwaukee, Chicago Pneumatic, Proto, Craftsman, etc.

The good stuff is usually at home. Why? Like Brad54 said, my tools are more likely to get lost or stolen than broken. I don't break many tools, but I can split Craftsman sockets with relative ease........and I'm just a little guy at 5' 7" 165lbs. So much for "it's high quality cuz it's made in the USA".

Wanna talk foreign tools? I'll take my Makita grinder over a Chinese-made Dewalt any day! Bought my Metabo over the US made Milwaukee for ergonomic reasons. Neither are US made tools, but they are my preference.

Leaky air fittings from HF? I've bought Milton's that leaked too, got one on my HF air drill right now that needs to be changed out.

Our economy is hurting? No shit! I'm one of the folks hurting from it! What happened to the rest of the world's economy when our's went into the shitter?

American made in my garage often refers to made by ME. I built my old shrinker. I didn't harden the jaws enough, and they started to wear. Faced with making a new set of dies, I decided to buy the HF units. If my only choice was the $400 US made units, guess what? I would have made another set of jaws and maybe even another body so I could avoid having to switch the dies around. Who woulda stayed working then? Whose economy would that help? Mine.

Some folks might be surprised where the components for the US made stuff comes from. Even Cat is using Chinese sourced materials these days. The parts say Made in the USA because the components are assembled here.

Traditional tools? I was thinking the almost same thing Brad said - "Step away from the MIG welder!". Plasma whatter?

Traditional hot rods weren't built with a credit card either!

I could go on and on.............including about how the American manufacturing base has been hurt a whole lot more by politicians than by the tools sold by Harbor Freight.......but, I'll simply say that it's sometimes my choice to either buy Chinese or not have something. Food and shelter win over tools - and tools provide that food and shelter. It's a vicious cycle.

Tim D.

 

Your local HF store probably employees 15 or so people. Mostly lower paid retail personel and shelf stockers.

The "makers" of the US made shrinkers most likely employee many more than that. Probably higer paying jobs than HF as their is some skill involved. If Lancaster decides to drop production of their shrinkers and close that section of the factory because sales are down due to cheap HF imitations how have you really helped?

You are trading 15 lower paid retail jobs for 15 or more higher paying factory jobs. Not to mention the domino effect that it would have on other businesses.

Buying american made products is what's BEST for the economy.

I know it's not always possible but don't let on like buying cheap imported products is just as good for the economy as buying things made here in the U.S. It's not!!

 

Oh, I agree it may not be as good. Let's put Harbor Freight out of business instead. They're an American company that just imports cheap Chinese crap........like Wal Mart, Target, Meijer, et al.

Several of the employees at the local HF store had to trade their high paying manufacturing jobs for low paying retail jobs due to absolute shit management of an American manufacturing company. Yes, I know those people - I used to work with some of them. I also ended up taking a lower paying job.....had to step back about 4 years in pay due to the same mis-management, and I got lucky. 11 years in an automotive supplier's factory, making parts for American cars and Mitsubishis. Poof, you're unemployed and it has nothing to do with foreign competition! Let's talk about what's good for the American economy, shall we?

If the $600 I've spent at HF this year (yep, got reciepts) is going to make that much of a difference, we got bigger problems than where I'm buying my tools! Wait a minute, we do got bigger problems than where I'm buying my tools! How about the 586 people that lost their jobs, on the same day, in the same factory where I worked? How about the ones that defaulted on their mortgages because they didn't have that higher paying manufacturing job any more? $600 economic stimulus payment? How about the $5000 a year I lost when my company closed and no one was gonna lift a finger to bail them out? How about the 25% my 401K LOST this year?

Wow, we're way off topic here.

The HF shrinker/stretcher ain't the best, but it works. The Lancaster-style shrinker/stretcher ain't the best, but it works. The Eckold/Erco/Marchant-style shrinkers ARE the best........and ya ain't getting one of those for even $4000, unless you get a hell of a deal.

Tim D.

 

http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/1/8/191237.shtml

 

Yep american big business is cut throat, the bottom line is the bottom line. If you work for a company that is bought, sold, merges with another company or shuts down then you're in for a rough ride and may be screwed. I've been there to. It sucks!

That doesn't change the fact that buying products that are manufactured in this country is better for the economy than buying imported products.

Eastwood is not the only place to buy stuff people seem to forget that. They are often overpriced and a lot of the stuff they sell is cheap imports.

Don't forget about used equipment. I would rather buy used American over new imports anyday!!

Despite what most people on here seem to think ebay, that's right I said it ebay, is your friend I've found lots of good deals on used equipment there.

Now to help get this back on topic here is a link to a previous thread about shrinkers and stretchers and a few links to places that sell the American made ones.


http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=254013&highlight=shrinker

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/lancasterformer.php

http://www.gulleyperformancecenter.com/lsas.htm

http://www.vansantent.com/sheet_metal_machines/shrinker_stretcher_tools.htm

http://metalcrafttools.com/tools.html

http://www.faybutler.com/lancaster.htm

 

"Some folks might be surprised where the components for the US made stuff comes from. Even Cat is using Chinese sourced materials these days" Yup, too true...even the vaunted Mercedes has a plant in China squirting out C classes...When the Germans can't afford to make German cars anymore, there's a problem! Which is why you have to pay close attention to the ads...they now say "German Engineered" - true, the engineers in Germany design the things, then the specs get sent over to China and then you know what happens....

 

i think what makes stores like HF work is they have what you want right there in the store, no waiting, how about one of you guys makeing shrinker/stretchers and haveing HF sell them?, every country has to export to survive, China must be allowing US goods into there country or when they shiped there goods into the US there would have to be duties paid.

i'll add this here, http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2008-05/09/content_6672186.htm

 

I have been thinking about buying it, But I kind of have a problem dropping a hundred dollars at HF.

 

I need to go to your HF. The ones in PHX NEVER have what I need. And if its on sale? Forget it. I keep trying to tell them I can't grind metal with a raincheck.

 

I go to HF when they have a sidewalk sale. Hell, even if the stuff is junk, and actually, I've never bought anything at HF that didn't work. I've got a Craftsman volt meter thingy that I gave about $50 for and it has never worked right. I got one at HF for $2.95 that does everything the Craftsman one did. I've got a ton of HF stuff and all of it still works. The "buy American" argument is a valid one but with that kind of thinking nobody should shop at Walmart. I don't know where you'd go to get American made stuff but it wouldn't be there. Just think of the economic impact if Walmart went belly up. As I've said on this topic before, look around your house and see what's American made. Not much. No tellin' how much foreign made shit is in that PC you're on right now. The real crooks in this economy break down is the fault of the damn government and those same crooks will be re-elected, you just wait and see. I am a product of this economy thing too and I worked for the government. One reason people, historically, took government jobs at a reduced pay was for job stability. Forget that shit, that's out the window now .. I'm just lucky that I could retire. Most people aren't that lucky these days ... Pay attention, it's the damn politicans that got us in this mess. You know who they are and if you live where they do then get them out!

 

While everyone seems to be bashing the Chinese, just remember...they are in the same boat now, only their "China" is now Viet Nam. If you don't believe it just start looking at where some of the "cheap" products are now being made, I see more and more "Made in Viet Nam" and less of the Chinese.
When I look in my garage and see the wide variety of tools that I own it amazes me...growing up in the 50's my dad was a craftsman and he didn't have a fraction of the tools that I own today. Dad couldn't afford a welder, a plasma cutter, an air compressor, etc. How many gearheads just ten years ago even knew what a shrinker/stretcher even was, much less were in the position to buy one? Only the pros had these tools and they charged you dearly for the products they made with them. Has anyone asked the question, "how many Americans are now in business today because they can afford a wider variety of tools?"...it is possible that Chnese tools are in fact creating jobs, maybe just not the "traditional" manufacturing jobs that we are accustomed to.

 

Why is it every damn time someone asks if anyone's used a particular HF tool, you get three posts on if the tool itself will do what it's supposed to without breaking as soon as it's exposed to American air, and 500 posts on how it's bad to buy Chinese crap with every possible argument from it's unAmerican to it's not traditional?

By the time the lying sacks of crap running the government right now are done spending, just for the sake of spending, it will be like the mid-30s all over again except we'll be paying for things in Pesos because that currency will have more value than a dollar.. I say buy the cheap one, buy some spare parts for it, use it gently, and save some money to put into gold, or some other thing that will be useful when the paper money comes from the bank on a roll like toilet paper.

Odds are unless you're looking to build a complete car from scratch with it, it will work fine for what you need, most of that stuff is intended as do a few jobs and if the thing breaks toss it. Some of their stuff has walk-in exchange warranties for breakage (hand tools). Most of the other stuff you can buy a warranty for if you want to spend the bread.

 

Used mine last night to build part of a fan shroud of my '47 Chevy and it worked fine, I figure the learning curve as a part of tuition at he School of Hard Knocks! Yep, HF stuff may suck, but it worked well enough to build my part and if it broke tonight, would I buy another cheapie? proably not, as I had loads of fun last night and now that my imagination and skills are growing, I see more solutions for old car repair and modifycations in my future, again, cheap tool, YEP! fun level? Hell Yes!!!!!!!!!

 

Why's it gotta be the lying sacks of crap right now? Why can't it be the lying sacks of crap from the last 8 years? Get the fuck over the political bullshit already. You fuckers act like one party is better than the other. They both suck, they both spend like it's going out of style. They both don't care for anyone but the 1.9% with all the money.

 

Because the same guy who says that the policies of the last 8 years, didn't work, uses that as the basis for doing more of the <I>same</I> shit - in fact spending even more than ever before, and that's saying something.

When I'm out in the garage turning a wrench, I don't keep trying to turn a lugnut clockwise and wonder why it won't come off, unless the car has left hand threads on one side. Like most people over the age of 8 or so, I understand that I should turn it the other way, not keep trying to turn it the way that doesn't work.

 

oh boy... this just might get interesting.

 

Yeah, but how many people would just keep cranking counter-clockwise, never giving a thought to the possibility of left hand threads?

Tim D.

 

Your right man. I look at all my tools and I realize that I do have alot. I remember growing up and watching my dad restore his 30 Model A, I now realize that he didn't have all the tools like I do. He didn't have a Mig Welder or English Wheel or a metal break like I do. I remember him sanding body panels with sanding blocks and not a D.A. I think sometimes we do take things for granted.

 

amen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

The HB shrinkers and stretcher will get ya by, but I have to say that Lazze's are the best I've ever used and will last forever. Plus they're built by a craftsman in the States.
http://www.lazze.us/shrinkandstretchpro.php

 

Just make sure it's not set to ohms when you put it on a live circuit or you'll find out why it's so cheap...

 

HF= cheap tools.
Got it.

That lazzies shrinker stretcher? $1200. Sort of brings the point home, doesn't it? I can't afford an American Made machine, I CAN afford the crap machine, and I know it's crap, but that's where my ingenuity comes into play, I can modify and upgrade and make it work for me, and at the end of the day, I'll have an adequate tool for my personal use.

As for where your money goes, or who it goes to, do you honestly believe you have ANY control over that? American companies are crapping on us just as much as cheap overseas junk is.

And that steel? How many steel mills are left in the U.S.? Or aluminum smelters? We lost our infrastructure for manufacturing, it's gone, and it isn't coming back. Time for us to face the reality of the situation.

I do know this, beating each other up over differing opinions isn't doing jack shit to improve the situation...but that's just my worthless opinion.