northern tool = harbor freight

[crazyal]

Back in my dirt track racing days I would use my Craftsman 1/2" electric impact wrench with a 1" socket to change wheels. Because of the dirt and the cost of it I decided to try one from HF, what a piece of junk. With in a night or two of racing the socket would no longer stay on, I decided to put a couple of tackwelds to hold it on since it was going to be dedicated to lug nuts. With in a month the insides stripped out and all I was left with was a case for my good impact wrench.

A friend gave me a NT version and while it looks like the same cheesy plastic it has held up to the same abuse. The simple fact is it's not China that's making these poor quallity tools but HF and the likes who have low or no specifications. I have lots of tools made in China, like my Craftsman drill press, that have given years of dependable service with years to go.

Instead of looking at each item and saying they look the same and saying they must be try each one to see if they are. Who knows they might be or maybe the extra money a company is charging went into the parts inside or higher quallity of steel.

My father loved HF and bought about 20 sets of drill indexes. Each bit I tried would catch on the steel then untwist and then twist the other way. I made a set of reverse looking drill bits and have the index sitting in the garage. I keep it to play a joke on people, it's always funny when someone picks one out to use then realizes something's wrong.

 

[Soundguy]

speaking of wrong way drill bits. I am amazed when i go into a store and ask for left handed drill bits and people think I'm pulling their leg!

soundguy

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Back in my dirt track racing days I would use my Craftsman 1/2" electric impact wrench with a 1" socket to change wheels. Because of the dirt and the cost of it I decided to try one from HF, what a piece of junk. With in a night or two of racing the socket would no longer stay on, I decided to put a couple of tackwelds to hold it on since it was going to be dedicated to lug nuts. With in a month the insides stripped out and all I was left with was a case for my good impact wrench.

A friend gave me a NT version and while it looks like the same cheesy plastic it has held up to the same abuse. The simple fact is it's not China that's making these poor quallity tools but HF and the likes who have low or no specifications. I have lots of tools made in China, like my Craftsman drill press, that have given years of dependable service with years to go.

Instead of looking at each item and saying they look the same and saying they must be try each one to see if they are. Who knows they might be or maybe the extra money a company is charging went into the parts inside or higher quallity of steel.

My father loved HF and bought about 20 sets of drill indexes. Each bit I tried would catch on the steel then untwist and then twist the other way. I made a set of reverse looking drill bits and have the index sitting in the garage. I keep it to play a joke on people, it's always funny when someone picks one out to use then realizes something's wrong.

You have a very good point about the fact that just cause something is made in China doesn't mean it's junk. I also appreciate the point that just because two items are made in china does not mean that they are the same quality. There's a lot of variability to Chinese manufacturers. On the same note, just because something is made in the USA doesn't mean it's automatically superior quality to everything else.

 

[mjncad]

My take on Northern Tool, and I have ordered some things from them is that they offer a mix of good stuff and HF quality crap. I think a buyer needs to know what they are getting from NT. Would I buy a name brand cordless tool from NT? Sure if the price is right. Would I buy one of NT's house brand cordless tools? No way.

 

[KubotainNH]

bout' the only difference in a NT catalog to a HF sales flier is that the prices are about 30%+ higher and the paper is glossy, and there is no 20% off coupon in a northern catalog

soundguy

Well, the catalogs I get from NT are an inch thick. Not so much on the HF. I use the NT one as a starting point if need something. I bought a NT branded impact wrench and that thing works great. It was on sale with free shipping if I recall correctly. Like someone else stated, you have to know what you want.