Good deal on 10" Handscrews

On Wednesday, January 28, 2015 at 7:32:27 AM UTC-5, Mike Marlow wrote:
> Electric Comet wrote:
>
> >
> > Good/bad/great/junk, doesn't matter I don't buy from hf
> >
>
> Personal choice - you're entitled to that.
>
> > I just wanna know what happened pre and post junior
> >
>
> So do I - the other poster who used that term is the first person I've ever
> heard use it.
>

See here for an explanation...

http://www.vcstar.com/business/harbor-freight-ceo-accused-by-parents-of-looting

On Wednesday, February 4, 2015 at 4:50:15 PM UTC-5, Puckdropper at dot wrot=
e:
> "Bob La Londe" <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:=20
>=20
> *snip*
>=20
> >=20
> > HF used to have two things going for them. They were CHEAP and they
> > had just about any odd ball tool you could need. It was a great place
> > for a guy doing a single repair job who didn't need a tool to last a
> > lifetime. Now they are just cheap. We can argue about quality until
> > the cows come home, but based on my direct experience the overall
> > quality is less.=20
> >=20
>=20
> You know... that was kinda the thing. They had all kinds of neat things=
=20
> that made it worth the trip just for the looking.
>=20
> I'm much more familiar with their inventory now, so I don't know if=20
> there's less neat things or if I'm just used to seeing them.
>=20

I'm going with the "just used to seeing them" theory, at least based on my =
trips to either of the 2 (yes, 2!) HF stores in my area.

The shelves are packed, the aisles are packed, the end caps, etc. Yes, I do=
notice that some of the same stuff is stacked in more than area (and somet=
imes with more than one price) but in general I have noticed no decrease in=
the number of different items.

A disappointing thing I noticed just before Christmas: I bought a variable =
speed multi-function tool for the office gift exchange and found that it no=
longer came with a carrying case, just the cardboard box it comes in. The =
4 I've bought over the last couple of years (gifts, etc) all came with case=
s. I don't know when they stopped, but that's a darn shame.

"Bob La Londe" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

*snip*

>
> HF used to have two things going for them. They were CHEAP and they
> had just about any odd ball tool you could need. It was a great place
> for a guy doing a single repair job who didn't need a tool to last a
> lifetime. Now they are just cheap. We can argue about quality until
> the cows come home, but based on my direct experience the overall
> quality is less.
>

You know... that was kinda the thing. They had all kinds of neat things
that made it worth the trip just for the looking.

I'm much more familiar with their inventory now, so I don't know if
there's less neat things or if I'm just used to seeing them.

Puckdropper
--
Make it to fit, don't make it fit.

On 1/28/2015 4:59 PM, Electric Comet wrote:
> On Wed, 28 Jan 2015 09:48:42 -0800 (PST)
> DerbyDad03 <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> See here for an explanation...
>>
>> http://www.vcstar.com/business/harbor-freight-ceo-accused-by-parents-of-looting
>
> No respect for his own dad/mom
> There's several hundred million reasons not buy hf
>

No respect? That is putting it mildly. Really sleazy.

On Wed, 28 Jan 2015 07:35:49 -0500, "Mike Marlow"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Electric Comet wrote:
>
>>
>> Good/bad/great/junk, doesn't matter I don't buy from hf
>>
>
>Personal choice - you're entitled to that.
>
>> I just wanna know what happened pre and post junior
>>
>
>So do I - the other poster who used that term is the first person I've ever
>heard use it.
>
>> I've stated this before, wait you don't read all my posts
>> dang it
>>
>
>Sure I do.
>
>
>>
>> the quality has gone up because the chinese have figured a lot
>> of stuff out through trial-and-error
>>
>
>...and they've gotten a lot of our (and other's) engineering since they
>became the world's manufacturing center
>
>> this same scenario has percolat> they used to make complete crap bicycles
>> but now they can make
>> a very high quality bicycle
>>
>>
>> do you work for hf or are you affiated
>> or do you just invest in them, er, I mean
>> buy from them
>
>Nope - no association with them. I do buy stuff from them but not
>exclusively
>
>>
>> it's what comes out the other side of the tool that counts
>
>Completely true

I have to agree with Mike Marlowe on this, I've bought total crap
from them but other items turn out to be great values. I was hesitant
to buy an auto darkening welding helmet from them, but his experience
with his got me to give it a try and it works great, and probably
saved me a couple hundred bucks. You just have to do your research
and see how others have done. I'm sure we've all bought big name tools
to find out hey are crap to!

Mike M

Greg Guarino <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> 10" handscrews $6.85 each.
>
> http://www.rockler.com/wooden-handscrew-clamps-clamps
> Free shipping over $25 (through 1/26 only) Promo code: V2677
>
> I already have their 12" and 8" models. They seem to be of decent
> quality.
>
http://www.harborfreight.com/10-in-handscrew-clamp-60549.html

Also decent quality (not that I have much to compare)

--
-----------------------------------------------------
Free Software - Baxter Codeworks www.baxcode.com
-----------------------------------------------------

"Baxter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Greg Guarino <[email protected]> wrote in
> news:[email protected]:
>
>> 10" handscrews $6.85 each.
>>
>> http://www.rockler.com/wooden-handscrew-clamps-clamps
>> Free shipping over $25 (through 1/26 only) Promo code: V2677
>>
>> I already have their 12" and 8" models. They seem to be of decent
>> quality.
>>
> http://www.harborfreight.com/10-in-handscrew-clamp-60549.html
>
> Also decent quality (not that I have much to compare)


I have 4 of the 10" from HF and they are many years old with no issues. On
the other hand that means they were purchased from pre-Junior inventory.
I've found all post-Junior inventory requires a double and triple check
before purchasing.

Bob La Londe wrote:

> I have 4 of the 10" from HF and they are many years old with no
> issues. On the other hand that means they were purchased from
> pre-Junior inventory. I've found all post-Junior inventory requires a
> double and triple check before purchasing.

Pardon my ignorance here, but I buy a fair amount from HF and I've never
heard the phrases pre-Junior and post-Junior. Nor have I seen any decrease
in quality - in fact I've seen an increase in quality. So - I'm confused by
this post.

--

-Mike-
[email protected]

On Tue, 27 Jan 2015 17:47:20 -0700
"Bob La Londe" <[email protected]> wrote:

> I have 4 of the 10" from HF and they are many years old with no
> issues. On the other hand that means they were purchased from
> pre-Junior inventory. I've found all post-Junior inventory requires a
> double and triple check before purchasing.

What's/who's Junior? I don't think I've ever bought anything from HF.
So I go elsewhere to buy junk or get free junk.

Electric Comet wrote:
> On Tue, 27 Jan 2015 17:47:20 -0700
> "Bob La Londe" <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>> I have 4 of the 10" from HF and they are many years old with no
>> issues. On the other hand that means they were purchased from
>> pre-Junior inventory. I've found all post-Junior inventory requires a
>> double and triple check before purchasing.
>
> What's/who's Junior? I don't think I've ever bought anything from HF.
> So I go elsewhere to buy junk or get free junk.

You should probably look at a lot of posts here from very knowlegable
people, who do buy from HF. Junk? Ok - if you say so, then that's what
you'll believe.

--

-Mike-
[email protected]

On Tue, 27 Jan 2015 21:58:23 -0500
"Mike Marlow" <[email protected]> wrote:

> You should probably look at a lot of posts here from very knowlegable
> people, who do buy from HF. Junk? Ok - if you say so, then that's
> what you'll believe.


Good/bad/great/junk, doesn't matter I don't buy from hf

I just wanna know what happened pre and post junior

I've stated this before, wait you don't read all my posts
dang it

anyway HF used to be real crap I understand the quality has
gone up and I've said this before

the quality has gone up because the chinese have figured a lot
of stuff out through trial-and-error

they used to make complete crap bicycles but now they can make
a very high quality bicycle

this same scenario has percolated every which way into the things
they make, so no surprise, (did I mention i said this before)
that hf quality has improved

do you work for hf or are you affiated
or do you just invest in them, er, I mean
buy from them

I never got into what things are right to own and what's wrong
to own. If you like your sears table saw that's great
if you like your hf drill press, great

it's what comes out the other side of the tool that counts

Electric Comet wrote:

>
> Good/bad/great/junk, doesn't matter I don't buy from hf
>

Personal choice - you're entitled to that.

> I just wanna know what happened pre and post junior
>

So do I - the other poster who used that term is the first person I've ever
heard use it.

> I've stated this before, wait you don't read all my posts
> dang it
>

Sure I do.


>
> the quality has gone up because the chinese have figured a lot
> of stuff out through trial-and-error
>

...and they've gotten a lot of our (and other's) engineering since they
became the world's manufacturing center

> this same scenario has percolat> they used to make complete crap bicycles
> but now they can make
> a very high quality bicycle
>
>
> do you work for hf or are you affiated
> or do you just invest in them, er, I mean
> buy from them

Nope - no association with them. I do buy stuff from them but not
exclusively

>
> it's what comes out the other side of the tool that counts

Completely true

--

-Mike-
[email protected]

DerbyDad03 wrote:
> On Wednesday, January 28, 2015 at 7:32:27 AM UTC-5, Mike Marlow wrote:
>> Electric Comet wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Good/bad/great/junk, doesn't matter I don't buy from hf
>>>
>>
>> Personal choice - you're entitled to that.
>>
>>> I just wanna know what happened pre and post junior
>>>
>>
>> So do I - the other poster who used that term is the first person
>> I've ever heard use it.
>>
>
> See here for an explanation...
>
> http://www.vcstar.com/business/harbor-freight-ceo-accused-by-parents-of-looting

Sad story - not because it has anything at all to do with Harbor Freight,
but simply because of what it says about that family.

--

-Mike-
[email protected]

On Wed, 28 Jan 2015 09:48:42 -0800 (PST)
DerbyDad03 <[email protected]> wrote:

> See here for an explanation...
>
> http://www.vcstar.com/business/harbor-freight-ceo-accused-by-parents-of-looting

No respect for his own dad/mom
There's several hundred million reasons not buy hf

"Mike Marlow" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Bob La Londe wrote:
>
>> I have 4 of the 10" from HF and they are many years old with no
>> issues. On the other hand that means they were purchased from
>> pre-Junior inventory. I've found all post-Junior inventory requires a
>> double and triple check before purchasing.
>
> Pardon my ignorance here, but I buy a fair amount from HF and I've never
> heard the phrases pre-Junior and post-Junior. Nor have I seen any
> decrease in quality - in fact I've seen an increase in quality. So - I'm
> confused by this post.

Since the son did a hostile takeover of the company and had his dad escorted
out of the building.

I have noticed a huge reduction of selection and a drop in quality in the
types of things I buy.

Punch in lathe on their site search. Used to be 25 models of metal lathes
alone. Now there are 3. Maybe 6 or 8 if you count wood lathes. The bigger
ones were comparable or not much worse than some of the other low end
importers like Enco. Same thing with mills. Now everybody expected to have
to work on one of these machines to make them good. Now I expect to have to
repair it first.

HF has a lot of useable stuff, but lots of it needs to be double checked.
Used to be I wouldn't hesitate to buy a set of taps and dies from them for
throwing a service truck. It would only be H3 tolerance, but they would
work. Last set I bought to toss in a service truck, half the dies were
totally the wrong size. I didn't check any further. Just dropped it in a
garbage barrel. I used to love the T-Handle hex wrenches from them too.
Now they are so soft you can twist even some of the larger sizes.

Same thing with pneumatics. I've some old air regulators from them that are
bullet proof. Recently I added 2 new regulators to my shop air, and both
failed in less than 60 days.

I've got two HF bench sanders. I had to remachine the disc tables on both
of them because they had so much wobble you couldn't hold a work piece up
against them. My dad has a couple older ones that all he did was plug them
in and use them.

Maybe the tools you buy are better, but the ones I bought are mostly not. I
still shop there, but I always plan trips to bring stuff back now. Anything
that has to work I spend more money and buy it somewhere else. I've got a
bunch of 12" bar clamps I use on my injection bench for molds that work
great, so there are some good things still to be had there, but I will
repeat myself. Check out everything carefully before buying and consider
how critical it is that it works. I stand by that.

HF used to have two things going for them. They were CHEAP and they had
just about any odd ball tool you could need. It was a great place for a guy
doing a single repair job who didn't need a tool to last a lifetime. Now
they are just cheap. We can argue about quality until the cows come home,
but based on my direct experience the overall quality is less.

On Wed, 4 Feb 2015 13:39:28 -0700
"Bob La Londe" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
> I have noticed a huge reduction of selection and a drop in quality in
> the types of things I buy.

Calling the son scum would be unfair to scum

Jr's running her into the ground. The bean counter disease has set
in and you can bet it won't get better, it rarely does


Dad/mom had a vision and went with it, the kid didn't deserve a
thing and we see the result
They made a brand name and that ain't easy, jr's pissing the name away

Bob La Londe wrote:

>
> Since the son did a hostile takeover of the company and had his dad
> escorted out of the building.

Yeah - I did a little looking around and found articles on the idiot son's
actions. What a shame...

>
> I have noticed a huge reduction of selection and a drop in quality in
> the types of things I buy.

Wow - not here. I'm in HF on a regular basis and I haven't noticed any
decrease in selection.

>
> Punch in lathe on their site search. Used to be 25 models of metal
> lathes alone. Now there are 3. Maybe 6 or 8 if you count wood
> lathes. The bigger ones were comparable or not much worse than some
> of the other low end importers like Enco. Same thing with mills. Now
> everybody expected to have to work on one of these machines to
> make them good. Now I expect to have to repair it first.

That explains a bit - it appears to be a matter of what you're looking for
and I wouldn't be looking for tools like that.

>
> HF has a lot of useable stuff, but lots of it needs to be double
> checked. Used to be I wouldn't hesitate to buy a set of taps and dies
> from them for throwing a service truck. It would only be H3
> tolerance, but they would work. Last set I bought to toss in a
> service truck, half the dies were totally the wrong size. I didn't
> check any further. Just dropped it in a garbage barrel. I used to
> love the T-Handle hex wrenches from them too. Now they are so soft
> you can twist even some of the larger sizes.

Two of the tools that I also bought from HF and have had great service out
of them - much like your experience. I bought mine many years ago and have
not had to replace them so I hadn't seen any changes in quality. I have had
to replace a tap here and there, but those always seem to be of good
quality.

>
> Same thing with pneumatics. I've some old air regulators from them
> that are bullet proof. Recently I added 2 new regulators to my shop
> air, and both failed in less than 60 days.

Huh. I have a ton of their air regulators too, and again - mine are
probably 10 years old or so, and like you say - they are bullet proof. I've
got one on every one of my spray guns as well as some other pneumatic tools,
and a couple in the cabinet as spares as well.

>
> I've got two HF bench sanders. I had to remachine the disc tables on
> both of them because they had so much wobble you couldn't hold a work
> piece up against them. My dad has a couple older ones that all he
> did was plug them in and use them.

No experience with this tool though I do have their saw blade sharpener and
their chainsaw sharpener - both worked right out of the box and work
excellent.

>
> HF used to have two things going for them. They were CHEAP and they
> had just about any odd ball tool you could need. It was a great
> place for a guy doing a single repair job who didn't need a tool to
> last a lifetime. Now they are just cheap. We can argue about
> quality until the cows come home, but based on my direct experience
> the overall quality is less.

I've always said that you had to be a little careful with HF - somethings
just were not good. I believe that's still the case. I don't disagree with
people who say that - I only disagree with those who make wholesale
statements that HF stuff is just junk. I use too much of their stuff to
know that such a statement is just not true. But - you do have to be
careful...

--

-Mike-
[email protected]

On Thu, 5 Feb 2015 11:58:57 -0800 (PST)
DerbyDad03 <[email protected]> wrote:

> The shelves are packed, the aisles are packed, the end caps, etc.

Not hf but there are stores in japan called Handsman they carry
over 2 million. They have workshops you can use there if you need
it. I saw a long show about them and I know someone that visited
one while there. He was just killing some time but he said it would
be real easy to get stuck there. like a time warp

Via buying clout CEO was able to get manufacturers to sell parts
for things sold in the store. a good idea that has paid off big


> box it comes in. The 4 I've bought over the last couple of years
> (gifts, etc) all came with cases. I don't know when they stopped, but
> that's a darn shame.

when junior took over