HF tools that suck

[Travelover]

They sell a great looking hatchet, fiberglass handle and all, works good unless you attempt to use it, especially on something like wood. The steel is dead soft and will look like you were trying to cut rocks with it.

I believe these only look like hatchets. They are actually designed as wall decorations or in an extreme case, for home defense.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

...Out of about 8 or 10 total from Horrible Fright not one single grinder or chop saw has made it past 2 uses...

Dargo, from all the anectdotes in multiple posts that you have shared about how often you destroy tools, and how only the absolute top of the line stuff will stand up to your use, you have got to be the absolute hardest man on tools that I have ever heard of.

 

[Ken_CT]

I bought a couple of things from them recently. I have had some very good buys from them and some junk Since this is the HF tools that suck thread, I'll mention the $1.99 magnetic bit holder. I drove one screw in, it slipped a little when it was all the way home, which is normal. The next screw wouldn't go in at all. I looked at the head and it was completely stripped. I think it was made of aluminum. What a piece of junk.

 

[California]

The $5.99 cordless shaver. I bought one several years ago. It always bogged down and stalled. I took it back. Now, several years later, I bought one to keep out at the ranch. In my experience some of the stuff from China has vastly improved in quality compared to 10 years ago.

This new shaver works better, it shaves close and holds a charge for several days. However ... the rpm's drop to half as it hits an unshaven area. This one hasn't stalled yet, but it doesn't inspire confidence. I expect it will soon be a throwaway.

Maybe I'll open it up and see if I can put a Radio Shack replacement nicad in it. It shaves nice, it's just underpowered.

 

[Dargo]

Dargo, from all the anectdotes in multiple posts that you have shared about how often you destroy tools, and how only the absolute top of the line stuff will stand up to your use, you have got to be the absolute hardest man on tools that I have ever heard of.

Hey, can you tear up an anvil with a rubber mallet?

Actually most of my projects tend to be on the heavy side. I don't abuse tools or equipment, but I also expect them to be as durable and powerful as claimed. My plasma cutter is a Hypertherm 1250. I needed one that size to cut the steel I use. Besides the DeWalt D28715 chop saw, I also use my DeWalt DW872 multicutter saw quite often. I just noticed that DeWalt does sell a cheaper and less powerful chop saw than the one I own.

 

[gemini5362]

Sorry buddy but... Is DeWart deserving of being in the list of premium tools. (Maybe on price because you pay a premium but not on function or quality)

Within a period of 2 weeks I had the following DeWart tools fail:
1. 4 1/2 angle grinder
2. 4 1/2 angle grinder
3. 14 inch chop saw

Saw was repaired for nearly the cost of a new one. Angle grinder minimum repair cost at factory warranty station was in excess of sale price making them throw away.

Now for the HF tool that sucks. Plastic woodworking clamps that you tighten by repetitive hand squeezing. I broke one and got it replaced under the warranty. Yesterday it broke. Sure they will give me another but... In the mean time I don't have a tool and cost of travel requires me mto wait till I'm going near an HF to do the swap.

Pat

Pat I dont really know that much about dewalt tools. I see them and I do notice the price is about the same as I pay for my ridgid tools so of course I buy the ridgid brand. I have no idea how well they hold up. I have to read yours and other posts about them to try and have an opinion. I do wonder if maybe all the trouble you are having with your dewalt tools would go away if you changed the frequency of the water injection you use on them to try and get them to use less electricity.

 

[tallyho8]

Pat I dont really know that much about dewalt tools. I see them and I do notice the price is about the same as I pay for my ridgid tools so of course I buy the ridgid brand. I have no idea how well they hold up. I have to read yours and other posts about them to try and have an opinion. I do wonder if maybe all the trouble you are having with your dewalt tools would go away if you changed the frequency of the water injection you use on them to try and get them to use less electricity.

Or, if you get rid of your HST and get a gear tractor.

 

[dawoodwa]

The only HF tool that I have ever liked was their dial indicators. When I did millwright work I would use their dial indicators while i was performing alignments because it wouldn't hurt so bad if I broke one but I would always pull out the Starrett for the buyoff from the customer. The HF dial indicators worked just as good as the Starretts, never had any problems on the alignments.

 

[DionysiosA76]

probaly the pencil torch sucks the most... the best though is either the CAT gloves, or some of the welding accesories...

 

[California]

probably the pencil torch sucks the most... the best though is either the CAT gloves, or some of the welding accesories...

The slender blue torch? Agreed. I got rid of one long ago.

CAT gloves? I can't find them on their glove page. The leather driving gloves or roping gloves (same but thicker) are great for shoveling.

 

[3RRL]

I don't know if they still sell them, but they used to sell those toy airplanes.
What POC those were. Mine didn't last one flight.

 

[MtnViewRanch]

I don't know if they still sell them, but they used to sell those toy airplanes.
What POC those were. Mine didn't last one flight.

Not one flight? What, did it explode in mid flight? Or did it crash into one of your trees? That would be bad piloting wouldn't it?

 

[Danno1]

.

Maybe he didn't use a long enough conveyor!!!

.

 

[TerryJ]

I bought a 30' "fat" tape measure for occasional use, $1.99. I used it on one occasion............only one. I stretched the tape measure out to 20', then 22', then 24', all the time feeling the tension of the return spring failing. I now have a 30' non- retractable tape measure.

 

[patrick_g]

I bought a 30' "fat" tape measure for occasional use, $1.99. I now have a 30' non- retractable tape measure.

Terry, you are lucky. I have a collection of failed tapes wth names like Lufkin, Craftsman, and so forth. Biggest difference is you got off a lot cheaper. I have a tape I really don't like too much. It is one with inches running on one edge and centimeters on the other. I really NEED inches on both sides. A carpenter gave me the tape nearly new because it bugged him. Why do I use it?? Because it works and never messes up. I wish one of the name brand Fat Max or whatever would last so long.

I started out saving the tape out of the units with failed springs and even cut some of them into convenient lengths to leave laying about at different pieces of shop equipment like joiners, planers, drill presses and such but there is only so many ways to use my large supply of failed tapes.

Maybe we need to consider buying a bunch of the same model so the parts are interchangeable.

Pat

 

[mygoatboy]

Terry, you are lucky. I have a collection of failed tapes wth names like Lufkin, Craftsman, and so forth. Biggest difference is you got off a lot cheaper. I have a tape I really don't like too much. It is one with inches running on one edge and centimeters on the other. I really NEED inches on both sides. A carpenter gave me the tape nearly new because it bugged him. Why do I use it?? Because it works and never messes up. I wish one of the name brand Fat Max or whatever would last so long.

I started out saving the tape out of the units with failed springs and even cut some of them into convenient lengths to leave laying about at different pieces of shop equipment like joiners, planers, drill presses and such but there is only so many ways to use my large supply of failed tapes.

Maybe we need to consider buying a bunch of the same model so the parts are interchangeable.

Pat

You know that Craftsmen does have a lifetime warranty on their tape measures as well. I my line of work, timber framing, you wear out tape measures and now I will only get Craftsmen because of being able to exchange a 25 year old one with a broken tape for a new one.

Also let me add a tool that sucks.

The pitman arm puller is a waste of $6.99. I need to pull the pitman arms on my Ford 3000 to change some oil seals so I bought the pitman puller. It looked nice, even made in Taiwan and not China. I put it on and snug it up by hand. Then I put my 1/2" ratchet on it and start going to town. Gosh it feels like it is pulling off really easily, mind you the pitman arms were in the shadows of my shop. Then bang the tool blew into 4 pieces. Good thing my loader frame was between the tool and my "special area". Needless to say I drove to Sears and got a good puller for $30 and it did the job with no problem.

 

[dejswa]

Electric heat gun for $9.99 on sale - 2/10

OK, the thing did work for about 10 minutes, then died - nothing.

So, how complicated could a heat gun be. I opened it up. My first impression was "OMG - what a piece of cr#*. No wonder they could sell it for $9.99.

First of all, the motor was the tiniest thing I have ever seen - like what I would expect on a kid's toy with AA batteries, maybe 3/4 inch in diameter. Next, the wiring was substandard for a device that was 1500 watts. It looked like maybe 22 ga wire going from the power cord to everything else. The plastic housing was paper thin. This truly looked like a disposable item.

The switch turned out to be defective. I just hard-wired it so now it turns on when you plug it in.

Was it worth the money? Maybe - I don't use a heat gun often - probably has another hour of life left in it.

I just bought a HF 3/4" drive socket and ratchet set for $50. Quite a lot of metal for $50. Some of those sockets cost $50 each if you buy elsewhere. Maybe I'll be lucky and get a little use out of them before one breaks.

DJ

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Add the grinding stone bit set for a hand drill. I looked on the website and couldn't even find it there.

I used it last night to open a few holes that I drilled 1/32" too small. My first thought was that the stones were a little higher quality and didn't disintegrate on contact like previous sets I have used. My second thought was, "Where did the stone go?" It broke in half and came completely off the shaft. Luckily there was another usable piece in the set that I bought, and I was able to get the job done.

The first stone lasted about 21 seconds.

 

[BobbyH]

Bummers: The palm held nailer. I bought one and it just sat there and hissed out all the air through poor connections within the nailer. I brought that one back and got another one. Same thing. Just POC, save your money.

The PVC cutter is a world class POC.

The 18 guage nail/brad gun is definitely worth the money. Excellent tool.

The battery operated 14 & 18 volt drills are generally pretty good. I have gotten three years out of two of them, using them frequently.

The orange colored electric shear works well and I use mine a lot.

I have a lot of HF tools... many of them good, some few of them garbage. As with any store, you gotta be careful of what you buy. Caveat emptor. Nice thing about HF is that they have never refused to take back and either replace or refund an item that I was unhappy with.

 

[2manyrocks]

Angle drill attachment-broke quickly, but they took it back to my great surprise. Offered me another one, and I quickly said no thanks.