jim wilson wrote:
>
> But I'm curious, what do you think is the quality stuff there?
I do buy there time to time but I have limited my purchases to things I
have low
expectations for. Cheap carbide tipped blades for the circular saw
($1.99/ea) 14"
cutoff wheels for my chop saw, the clamps you mentioned, and their 5"
casters when on
sale are a bargain.
Many have posted in the past what they think are "good" deals and the
general underlying
theme is "disposable" stuff is usually worth it. You decide if a saw
blade or cheap brushes
fit that definition....
-Bruce
-----= Posted via Newsfeeds.Com, Uncensored Usenet News =-----
http://www.newsfeeds.com - The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World!
-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----
In rec.woodworking
[email protected] (jim wilson) wrote:
>I haven't used either.. HF is on my "do not buy list".. they have a
>few good things, but the other 80% or so of their stuff is so bad
>that I feel I don't save money there by shopping there.
This sounds like an idiotic statement too me. Are you saying you don't
have the self control to keep from buying the 80% junk?
I really wouldn't call any of it quality. I would imagine the
reconditioned stuff by DeWalt and Ryobi and such are pretty good, but
the prices aren't that low.
I've had good luck with some of the abrasive rolls and pipe and C
clamps. The set of hole punches has worked pretty good for a while. I
also bought the set of pipe wrenches that has carried me through a few
plumbing (and I HATE plumbing) jobs.
>> [email protected] (jim wilson) wrote:
>>
>
>But I'm curious, what do you think is the quality stuff there?
>
Yeah - I forgot to mention I bought a digital caliper for $11 ( I
think). I tested it on some standards I have for my micrometers and it
showed right on at 1" and 2".
On 24 Sep 2003 21:25:59 -0700, [email protected] (Nate Perkins)
wrote:
>3. A metal dial caliper, which was around $15 as I recall. It's
>nicely made. I spent a fair amount of time (in grad school) doing
>machining work, where I often used good Mitutoyo dial calipers. This
>dial caliper is almost as good those, but a whole lot cheaper.
>Definitely a cut above the little plastic ones I see sold for more.
>
>4. The quick-release woodworking vise I got from them isn't bad,
>either. Looks like a clone of the Record 53ED vise, but I think I
>paid $30 for the HF job.
Jim K <jkajpust@###ameritech.net> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I just got their "top of the line" $39.95 (40745) dado blade that was
> recently 1/2 off. I paid $20 for it. I'm not all that exprienced, but
> the dadoes I've tried have come out real nice and accurate. Smooth
> edges and bottom with no tear out. This was done on standard 2x4 pine
> from Lowes.
I bought this dado a few weeks ago, too. Not bad. It's perfectly
adequate for my purposes (mostly cutting dadoes for floating panels).
I haven't done any joinery by dado, so the slight bottom rounding is
no problem.
Just to suggest some other HF items I've had good luck with:
1. The clamps (of course); I especially like the 24" aluminum
channel clamps on sale.
2. A cheapie 12V cordless drill for $15. "Drillmaster" ... I am
almost embarrassed to admit it. Sure, it is cheap junk compared to a
Dewalt, but it drives a screw just fine, it is easier than the corded
drill, and at $15 my expectations are very low :-)
3. A metal dial caliper, which was around $15 as I recall. It's
nicely made. I spent a fair amount of time (in grad school) doing
machining work, where I often used good Mitutoyo dial calipers. This
dial caliper is almost as good those, but a whole lot cheaper.
Definitely a cut above the little plastic ones I see sold for more.
4. The quick-release woodworking vise I got from them isn't bad,
either. Looks like a clone of the Record 53ED vise, but I think I
paid $30 for the HF job.
I just got their "top of the line" $39.95 (40745) dado blade that was
recently 1/2 off. I paid $20 for it. I'm not all that exprienced, but
the dadoes I've tried have come out real nice and accurate. Smooth
edges and bottom with no tear out. This was done on standard 2x4 pine
from Lowes.
I figure I should learn enough from my $20 investment to know that a
$20 dado blade is less than adequate. And if I do lose interest like I
tend to, what's $20.
The secret with Harbor Freight is watch for and buy the stuff on sale.
Or you could save the catalogs they send for a few months and sell
that paper for real money :-D
On Mon, 22 Sep 2003 19:00:21 -0400, "Ryan Willobee"
<[email protected]> wrote:
>Is the Harbor Freight 42 tooth blades/6 tooth chippers dado (Item 44566)
>worth the extra $10 over the 22 tooth blades/2 tooth chippers dado (Item
>40745)?
>
>Thanks,
>
>Ryan
>
"Ryan Willobee" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> Is the Harbor Freight 42 tooth blades/6 tooth chippers dado (Item 44566)
> worth the extra $10 over the 22 tooth blades/2 tooth chippers dado (Item
> 40745)?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Ryan
I haven't used either.. HF is on my "do not buy list".. they have a
few good things, but the other
80% or so of their stuff is so bad that I feel I don't save money
there
by shopping there.
Without seeing the blades, it's hard to tell.. I would think that the
blade with more teeth would give you a smoother cut, but the blade
with fewer teeth might be a more aggressive cut..
Take a look at some ripping blades.. does the HF dado with fewer teeth
look that? Do the two HF blades have the same size teeth (maybe
those cheap bastards removed teeth on the cheaper blade just to save
money).
[email protected] (Bruce) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> In rec.woodworking
> [email protected] (jim wilson) wrote:
>
> >I haven't used either.. HF is on my "do not buy list".. they have a
> >few good things, but the other 80% or so of their stuff is so bad
> >that I feel I don't save money there by shopping there.
>
> This sounds like an idiotic statement too me. Are you saying you don't
> have the self control to keep from buying the 80% junk?
Well, lots of time I don't know it's junk. Like I bought some
"stainless steel" putty knives there. Figured that would be
impossible to screw up, but they did.
I also got suckered into their 1000 fasteners, which turned out to be
so soft they were completely unusable. I figured their cheap slave
labor could at least make a passable screw or washer..I was wrong.
I also got suckered into their drill bits, based on some reviews here
that said they were "ok".. Well, I guess they are ok if you only plan
to drill a dozen holes with each forstner bit and then throw the bit
away.. or if you don't mind their 1/8" bits breaking as you drill the
hole.
In short, I made about 3 trips there, and to be honest, I have very
few keepers from there. Their heavy duty grinder stand was good. Their
red pipe clamps aren't ponys, but they are ok. I'm trying to think of
anything else that was even acceptable quality.. oh yeah, I bought
some small shovels for my kids' sandbox...
Nothing else that I recall was acceptable quality, and I'm not one of
these anal retentive people that demands perfection. Their pliers are
awful. The wire cutters dull quickly and the slip plyers don't "slip"
right..
But I'm curious, what do you think is the quality stuff there?
I'm embarassed to admit I probably spent about $250 at harbor frieght
and all I have to show for it is a grinder stand, $10 shovel, and
about 10 pipe clamps.
Everything else was pure garbage, and I didn't even buy anything that
ran on electricity.
I'm surprised the pipe wrenches worked well for you.. I guess I got
a really bad one from them.. it literally slipped when in use, so it
didn't
grab the pipe very well.
I'm a bit bitter on harbor freight.. due to my wife's neglegance, I
had about $700 of tools stolen. All my handtools, basically anything
they could easily carry away. So I didn't have enough money to replace
them, so I bought HF screwdrivers, plyers, drill bits, etc.. to try
and get me by (I needed to fix a car and other stuff immediately)..
So, in the year since of getting burned I'm re-replacing all that crap
with good stuff. So I get a bit ticked off every time I
see one of those orange handed pittsburg plyers, etc.. I do have to
admit that
their steal framing hammers are ok, but everything else was
substandard.
I would've been further ahead to carry some credit card debt for a few
months,
instead of buying those "disposable tools", expecting them to be
adequate enough.. So I guess my expectations were unreasonable.
Another one of life's expensive lessons.
I am saving them to lend to the neighbors though. I guess they are
good for that. ha ha.
Jim K <jkajpust@###ameritech.net> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> I really wouldn't call any of it quality. I would imagine the
> reconditioned stuff by DeWalt and Ryobi and such are pretty good, but
> the prices aren't that low.
>
> I've had good luck with some of the abrasive rolls and pipe and C
> clamps. The set of hole punches has worked pretty good for a while. I
> also bought the set of pipe wrenches that has carried me through a few
> plumbing (and I HATE plumbing) jobs.
>
>
>
> >> [email protected] (jim wilson) wrote:
> >>
>
> >
> >But I'm curious, what do you think is the quality stuff there?
> >