HF tools that suck

[Iplayfarmer]

Originally Posted by Skyco

They have at least two grades of taps/dies...

That seems to be a pretty good rule of thumb for all their stuff. Their heavy duty widget is about half the price of a regular company's entry level widget; and the HF heavy duty widget will usually compare in longevity, capacity, or performance to the other guy's cheapo widget.

Buy one step up from what you would normally, and you'll have good results.

So where do you get just a good tap handle?

[Bedlam]

Passed down through the generations I guess. mine is probably third generation.

[gemini5362]

Originally Posted by SnowRidge

I have a whole bunch of Ridgid stuff. We have two sets of their cordless drills (mine and my wife's ). Never had a lick of trouble with any of it.

Snowridge I also have a bunch of ridgid stuff. I have the tablesaw, the portable table saw. the compound sliding mitre saw with the SUV (saw utility vehicle I love that name) Cordless reciprocating saw, cordless 1/2 inch hammer drill, cordless skill saw, cordless caulking gun, cordless flashlight, 7 inch cord type circular saw drill press. k400 drum sewage line cleaner. ridgid air powered finishing nailer.

So far the only problem I have had at all is with the cordless drill. I broke the tip off of one of the arms on the chuck. I called the service center and they told me to bring it in and bring my batteries and charger. I brought all of that in and left it. My drill came back to me with a new chuck. The service person told me that they had some problems with the old style charger and gave me a new version. The new version charged my batteries in half of the time. I also got new batteries. I pay a bit more for their products but the lifetime warranty is really hard to beat.

[patrick_g]

Originally Posted by Iplayfarmer

So where do you get just a good tap handle?

A real hardware or tool store. For example, in San Diego you can go downtown to San Diego Hardware and stroll the old well worn wooden floors.

Pat

[gemini5362]

I bought a HF benchmount chainsaw sharpener the other day. It is pretty cheaply made which is to be expected considering it only cost 28.95. I used it to sharpen the chain for my husquavarna over the weekend. It was not that hard to use and the chain worked a lot better after I sharpened it.

[czechsonofagun]

Great thread, good reading. Here are my $0.02

- HF cement mixer. Probably the most expensive thing from HF. Works fine after 4 years of ocasional hard use. The switch gave in this spring
- 14" chop saw. Built two trailers using it plus a lot of other DOM tubing stuff. It eventually died, but I feel I got my $50 worth many times
- chainsaw grinder. Use it for 1 year now, good grinder for the money, recently replaced the wheel with a new one from Baileys- there is a difference
- blue tarp was cheap, but very thin. Died new during Isabella.
- knife blades for sheetrock knife - total junk, more like sheet metal
- borrowed HF engine hoist from a friend, it worked fine, no complaints there, but I think it is used like once a year at max
- car stands
- gloves, sanding sponges, hydraulic jack oil refill, set of fostner bits - all of it ok or good quality.

Every time I stop in HF I buy one of the storehouses like this one. One of the thing that's good to have on hand.

[Bedlam]

''''chainsaw grinder. Use it for 1 year now, good grinder for the money, recently replaced the wheel with a new one from Baileys- there is a difference
'''''

Are you saying there is a difference in the wheels from HF or Baileys? or the sharpeners themselves?

[Dargo]

Originally Posted by czechsonofagun

- 14" chop saw. Built two trailers using it plus a lot of other DOM tubing stuff. It eventually died, but I feel I got my $50 worth many times.

That one is quite a surprise. You must have bought one that was made from different specs than the ones made in the last couple of years. I went through 3 before I just said "give me my money back" and they said "too late". I told this story before, but when I sat that junk HF chump saw out out with the trash, I told the trash man that I had the receipt with it and if he wanted I'd give him the receipt and he could go get him a new one. The trash man literally passed on taking it. He said he's seen dozens and dozens of them thrown away and didn't want to waste his time. The junk chop saws from Horrible Freight I had literally had a very, very difficult time cutting a 1/4" bolt in half!! Trying to cut up some 2"X3"X1/4 angle destroyed all 3 chump saws I had from them. I was really peeved after the 3rd one died just like the 2 previous ones and they said all they'd do is give me a replacement. It would cost me far more in gas, not to mention time, to bother replacing those pieces of junk.

Also, as I've mentioned before, I tried to give #3 to my dad. He'd already heard of how terrible they were and gave it back. He didn't even want it for no cost. I wasted my time and burned it up on the first cut when I had it delivered back to me by my dad, unused. I bought myself a quality one between #2 and #3 Horrible Freight chump saw and have made hundreds and hundreds of cuts with it and have had no problem. What's funny about that is the good one I bought is a DeWalt that is made in China. I guess that goes to prove that not everything made in China is junk. It all depends on how the company having it made places their quality requirements.

[czechsonofagun]

Originally Posted by EddieWalker

My favorites are Makita and Bosch for power tools. I replaced both my 4 1/2 inch grinder and 7 1/4 inch saw that were DeWalt with Makita brands, and the difference is amazing. Smoother, better balance, eaiser to control and just a better fit overall.

Eddie

I second the Makita, the beating my 4 1/2" grinder took is hard to believe. Bosch is a great name overseas and I trust it completely - but don't have any yet.

I heard Hitachi is on the level with Makita.

[czechsonofagun]

Originally Posted by Bedlam

''''chainsaw grinder. Use it for 1 year now, good grinder for the money, recently replaced the wheel with a new one from Baileys- there is a difference
'''''

Are you saying there is a difference in the wheels from HF or Baileys? or the sharpeners themselves?

It seems to sharpen better with the Baileys wheel. However it was not my idea, Baileys recommend it for their Chinese grinder too.

I worked in a tool factory for some time and the chainsaw sharpener is a poor excuse for a tool grinder with all the lose joints and the flex of the base and arm - but it is a great improvement over my chainsaw file ability.