quote:

Originally posted by Texas Bob C.:
Harbor Freight = crack cocaine for your garage. I try not to buy anything there that you would trust your life with, has a motor or moving parts.

I bought a rednecked leaf vac that has a HF 6.5 engine on it. Several years it's lived a hard life and always started on the first pull. It lived outside uncovered. I've never bothered to use stabil. Used hard for about three dozen hours every fall, then sporadically for grass in the summer. Not bad for a $100 engine.

I consider Harbor Freight a tool rental place. I buy something going expecting the tool to last for whatever project I am doing, any thing after that is bonus to me. All of my tools I rely on for my craft are Klein, DeWalt, Milwaukee. or Greenlee.

Consider shopping there like gambling. Sometimes it will last 20 years, sometimes 20 days, or 2 minutes.

I got their angle grinder. Lasted for 15 minutes and then let the smoke out. They did give me a new one though. I shut it off when it gets hot now.

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
I got their angle grinder. Lasted for 15 minutes and then let the smoke out. They did give me a new one though. I shut it off when it gets hot now.

Did you get their cheapest one? I was just looking at angle grinders at HF, the low ball one got bad reviews -- switch problems or quick deaths common. The "better" unit, about $40 I think, seemed to get decent enough feedback.

I don't need an angle grinder often but sure wished I had one enough times to roll the dice with HF. The return policy does give me peace of mind as long as whatever I buy doesn't cripple or kill me.

I know their Chinese impact sockets are as good as any of the Chinese impact sockets sold off the trucks. Warranties are just as good too.

quote:

Originally posted by Ripley:

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
I got their angle grinder. Lasted for 15 minutes and then let the smoke out. They did give me a new one though. I shut it off when it gets hot now.

Did you get their cheapest one? I was just looking at angle grinders at HF, the low ball one got bad reviews -- switch problems or quick deaths common. The "better" unit, about $40 I think, seemed to get decent enough feedback.

I don't need an angle grinder often but sure wished I had one enough times to roll the dice with HF. The return policy does give me peace of mind as long as whatever I buy doesn't cripple or kill me.

At $40 you can just about buy an entry level DeWalt or Makita.

I have one of the $10 Hf grinders and a DeWalt and a Makita. The DeWalt lives with a cutoff wheel on it, the Makita with the wire wheel. Those two get far more frequent, and extended, use compared to the HF. That one has a flap wheel on it and it’s sole purpose is to sharpen axes. It’s grest for that and well worth $10. However, when I need to cut thick steel or knock the rust off a 12 foot railing that’ll have the grinder running for an hour I don’t reach for the harbor freight.

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
..the HF. That one has a flap wheel on it and it’s sole purpose is to sharpen axes. It’s grest for that and well worth $10.

Sharpening mower blades was the main reason I was looking at angle grinders. Flap wheel the way to go with that?

quote:

Originally posted by Ripley:

quote:

Originally posted by thumperfbc:
..the HF. That one has a flap wheel on it and it’s sole purpose is to sharpen axes. It’s grest for that and well worth $10.

Sharpening mower blades was the main reason I was looking at angle grinders. Flap wheel the way to go with that?

That was the forum consensus when I asked about sharpening axe blades. It was suggested that a grinding stone would cause too much heat and damage the temper. Probably not as big as an issue with mower blades but the flap wheel seems to work well.

quote:

Originally posted by Ripley:

quote:

Originally posted by mark123:
I got their angle grinder. Lasted for 15 minutes and then let the smoke out. They did give me a new one though. I shut it off when it gets hot now.

Did you get their cheapest one? I was just looking at angle grinders at HF, the low ball one got bad reviews -- switch problems or quick deaths common. The "better" unit, about $40 I think, seemed to get decent enough feedback.

I don't need an angle grinder often but sure wished I had one enough times to roll the dice with HF. The return policy does give me peace of mind as long as whatever I buy doesn't cripple or kill me.

Yes, I got the cheapo. I only needed it for one job and it didn't even make it through that. The second one that they gave me when I took back the first got the job done though.

I have bought a lot of HF tools and for my non professional use they are great. I have used my framing nailer for my deck 1 acre of Privacy fence and my son in law just finished his second deck with it. I am satisfied that it was $69 well spent.

Was going to rent a one man auger for my fence post holes but the rental cost was going to be over $200 i ended up buying one at HF for $159 and finished my fence and my neighbors on both sides used it for theirs.

Its in my workshop ready to use if I ever need it again.

Sometimes it is not possible to avoid Chinese-made crap. In this instance, it is possible.