Harbor Freight

[theholycow]

^I've heard plenty of horror stories about Crapsman jacks...HF's jacks actually get many more good reviews.

I heard hand tool replacement is somewhat a PitA now with those guys.

I had an original Gear Wrench reversible ratcheting box-end wrench whose reverse lever broke off and the ratchet mechanism locked up. I just ignored it for 5 or 10 years, then last year I looked up warranties on Gear Wrench's site and it said that Sears handles them.

I went to the nearest Sears (a "Sears Essentials", previously a K-mart) and the guy there said he didn't think Sears did that...I told him that Gear Wrench said so, so he went to the shelf and got me an identical replacement.

[watkins]

If any tool can manage to feel good in your hand, it's a Snap-On.

I honestly like the feel of Matco ratchets much better than Snap-On. I also like the easier to identify sockets.


As for Crapsman, last I checked they will replace anything no questions asked. Except for some of their cheap lines (Evolve?) that say on the packages that they are not covered.

[Shadow]

If any tool can manage to feel good in your hand, it's a Snap-On.

I honestly like the feel of Matco ratchets much better than Snap-On. I also like the easier to identify sockets.


As for Crapsman, last I checked they will replace anything no questions asked. Except for some of their cheap lines (Evolve?) that say on the packages that they are not covered.

Not sure if you know this or not, but Snap-On started laser-etching their sockets a while back. Crafstman does the same. It's so much easier to see that way.

[watkins]

Bright blue and red numbers are nice! Color-coded and easy to identify even though a film of oil

[.insane]

Sears will replace tools just for being rusty?

Yup, the sears and sears hardware stores around here are pretty chill. I keep a little plastic box in my trunk and whenever i see a garage sale i'll check for any tools. If they are craftsmen and in bad condition i'll throw them in the trunk. Every couple of months i take the box into the store and walk out with a bunch of brand new tools.

You know what they say, one man's trash...

[beowulf80]

My rule of thumb, if you're going to use it more than twice, don't buy it from Harbor Frieght.

My bad experience came from borrowing a buddy's angle grinder. I was going to be grinding off some paint off a table saw I was restoring. Once he dropped it off I found out it was HF. The tool was terribly balanced, and it was constantly vibrating at a high frequency. This makes you hands & forearms hurt after just a few min. However, a tablesaw cabinet is quite large, and the whole job was going to take about an hour. I sucked it up and started grinding off 60 years of paint & grime. About 25 min into grinding the tool disintegrated in my hands. What happened is there are 4 screws/bolts that hold 2 castings together. Using it as a grinder, as intended, caused the bolts to back out and the castings came apart. This is right at the junction where the gears meet to turn the rotary motion 90 degrees. I was lucky enough to just get grazed by a few parts; no permanent damage to me; just thier reputation. I was able to put it back together and finish the job. Just this time I stopped every few min and had to re-tighten the bolts.

[beowulf80]

All that said, if you know you're only going to use it once or twice, I totally understand why you'd go for the low price of HF.

[watkins]

Loctite

[theholycow]

I have to admit, my angle grinder and many of my other cheap Chinese-made power tools came from discount stores other than HF...same price, expect same quality, but I can't necessarily compare. I've mostly bought hand tools, electronic tools, and specialty tools there.

My bench grinder is HF's brand (Central somethingorother) and, apart from things that are cheesy about it (most of which are easily detected in the store) it is fine.

[beowulf80]

Loctite

Tried it, only marginally helped. Threads were basically stripped out. Could have drilled it out, retapped, and gotten a size larger bolt, but seemed like way more effort than that tool deserved.

Instead my plan for high $ tools is restoring quality old ones. Much of the American made power tools from the 40's and 50's was basically made to last forever. That's why I was stripping the tablesaw in the first place; $300 saw with the same or better performance as a $4500 one today.

[theholycow]

Instead my plan for high $ tools is restoring quality old ones. Much of the American made power tools from the 40's and 50's was basically made to last forever. That's why I was stripping the tablesaw in the first place; $300 saw with the same or better performance as a $4500 one today.

I like that plan. I've had a similar plan but haven't acquired such tools at a price that worked for me. Many were built to last (or at least, the surviving ones are; the ones that weren't aren't still around) but I wouldn't say they have the performance of a modern deluxe model...and they definitely lack the amenities.

[beowulf80]

Depends on the tool. The table saw I referenced basically had the same parts from 1939 - 2008. And some of the "amenities" of the newer models can be worked around with good setup and good techniques.

My next project is going to be a jointer. Craigslist and ebay auto-notifiers are your friend. I'm keeping my eyes open for a good deal.

As for hand tools, specifically wrenches, check out Husky's. Good quality at a decent price.

[theholycow]

My Husky ratchet is built better than cheap department/discount store ratchets, although HF has ratchets as good and better (and probably some worse too).

[Rope-Pusher]

My next project is going to be a jointer. Craigslist and ebay auto-notifiers are your friend. I'm keeping my eyes open for a good deal.

??

[beowulf80]

LOL, not quite what I was looking for!

Something more along these lines:
http://chicago.craigslist.org/sox/tls/2196383747.html