Chicago Electric tools at Harbor Freight

JeffRey30747 · Nov 2, 2005

I have had fairly good luck with the pneumatic tools and the 4 1/2" angle grinders but the rotozip knockoff and the reciprocating saw weren't quite up to snuff. I have been thinking of getting a larger angle grinder for welding and sharpening mower blades. The little 9.6v cordless drill I bought was cheap and it still works but has always been weak.

Jeff

jhb · Nov 2, 2005

Thats just weird,yesterday I was looking at a 7" angle grinder on HF for 29 and change, which was why I posted and today it is gone. The cheapest 7" grinder is 70 bucks.

Wait a minute, when I click on the 70.00 grinder, the 70 is crossed out and 29 is written in. What kind of marketing is that?

FYI, I did buy a cement mixer from them, and it works just fine for my needs.

hobbyfarm · Nov 2, 2005

( ...I now buy name brands - cost more fer sure - but I'm never disappointed nor left high & dry in the middle of doing something.)

That's exactly the way I feel. I don't even dip any lower than Craftsman any more. Quite often, in the middle of a project, they'll let you down. And, it's quite a drive to the city to replace them.
Dewalt, Hilti, Milwaukee, Makita, Bosch, Hitachi, and Porter Cable, (still "iffy" about the Ridgid brand, although I am seeing them more out on the jobsites). Basically, if I can't get it repaired locally, and get warranty locally, I skip it. But rather than but all Red, Green or Blue, I tend to "cherry-pick" my tools from the brands mentioned.

CTyler · Nov 2, 2005

( I guess that explains the drill and grinder I bought from HF - they were both blue and both total junk )

I have some HF stuff, Makita, Craftsman, Dewalt etc.. So far the the HF stuff has been ok to good. The only exception was the 4 1/2 grinder(blueish green color) that was worse than worthless. Went through 5 or 6 replacements before the shotgun put a friggen slug thru the last one.

Soundguy · Nov 2, 2005

My first HF grinder was yellow.. it makes a click every now and then but grinds good. The wheel lock button is gone.. and the stabilizer handle broke.. so i screwed a long bolt in it.. works fine.. but it is 7 years old.. I paid 9.99 for it. I figure it doesn't owe me anything. For at least 2 years I had it in one of those rig/jigs that convert your angle grinder to a chop saw.. so it's cut many a hardened pin and dowel rods..
My 4 year old orange one I paid 14.99 for.. still all functional...

Soundguy

George2615 · Nov 2, 2005

I bought a 4 1/2" grinder a couple years ago I think for about $18. It even came with an extra set of brushes for the armature. 3 weeks ago I saw another sale and bought another figuring my first one would break soon but its still working. I also bought a 1/2" D handle drill cheap. I haven't had any problems with them yet.

CTyler · Nov 3, 2005

I suspect there was a bad lot of them. They all had the same basic failure breaking the casting that held the ring gear on the back side. The pinions were not shimmed correctly either and would walk around. These were not branded with any name.

The CE items, hand held bandsaw and sawzall, seem fine. The bandsaw only gets occasional use, have 7x12 w/hydraulic feed for most stuff. The sawzall has had a fair amount of use on wood and some metal.

slowrev · Nov 3, 2005

I have had good service from my HF roto zip tool. I have one that I put a 4 inch metal cutting disk on and have cut lots of stuff with it. Worn out about 6 or 7 cutting wheels so far. It is nice and fits back in places other cutting tools won't.

Ben

RichZ · Nov 3, 2005

I have a Harbor Freight reciprocating saw. I've given it some hard use, and some of my friends have borrowed it, and I know they use it hard, too. I've been very happy with it, it hasn't failed me yet.

I also have a Harbor Freight dremel tool, that my wife bought for, believe it or not, doing the fine trimming on our goats' hooves. As we have over 60 goats, and will have many more on our dairy goat farm, it gets hard use. It's been dropped in the mud and even in water, and it's been stomped on and kicked by many angry goats. It still works just fine.

I'm real happy with my Harbor Freight tools. I have lots of their hand tools, too, and they get pretty hard farm use. So far they haven't failed me. Harbor Freight gives you lots of bang for the buck!! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif