Harbor Freight Tools vs. China Bashing

[hop2it]

I have used harbor freight tools with great success,I have a6 1/2 hp plate compactor model 66571 that cost with coupons about $450. It would have cost $75. Per day to rent one.I compacted 45 yards of fill and 25 tons of crushed stone it sat in the shed for 3 years unused. This summer I needed to compact my driveway after tearing down my old garage I drained the old gas refilled with new it started on the second pull. I also have a model 68150 demolition hammer that I demolished my cement block garage the floor was. Between 10" and 12" thick it performed flawlessly I highly recommend both.I also bought a makita 1" hammer drill I drilled 10, 5/8" holes 2" deep switched to a 7/8 bit it wouldn't drill come to find out it was made in China and past the 12 month warranty.I should have bought a harbor freight drill and eliminated the middle man.
Doug

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by BlueSunoco

Thank you. Clearly one of the most enlightened posts that has been on here for ages. And, 'Too many people in the US don't care about quality, only cost.' I lived and worked in Germany for quite some time, and those people SUPPORT EACH OTHER and their country and do strive for quality products. I was very impressed with the German people and greatly admired them.

We are doomed unless something changes and quick, but I really feel it has gone too far we turned the corner a long time ago. And it is our own fault.

Right on!

I think many Craftsman tools have been made in China for at least 10 years. Wards and Penny's used to also sell quality tools years ago, and I still have some of their wrenches. Sure would like to turn the clock back to the 50's when we had lots of quality manufacturing in this country.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by leo

This post is for Joe K regarding his lawn mower issues. Yes it's true the new mowers have no adjustment or choke capabilities. However if you always treat your gas with one of the "preservers" like Stable or SeaFoam you will fare much better. No, the mowers don't always start on the first or second pull like when their new but at least they do start. Today's formulation of gas when it becomes stale is a major part of the problem.

A bit off topic but if you use av gas in your garden equipment you can leave it in the tank for 2 years without it going bad. Avoid getting it on your hands if possible. It has 4 cc of lead per gallon.

As far as tools go, I am filthy rich so I buy the best high priced tools available. They last forever.

[Bertha]

One is China one is USA....Lionel & MTH.

Quality will be there....If you pay for it.

Same goes for the tools.

My variable speed cordless drills still work like new.


Bob

[Joe K]

Originally Posted by leo

This post is for Joe K regarding his lawn mower issues. Yes it's true the new mowers have no adjustment or choke capabilities. However if you always treat your gas with one of the "preservers" like Stable or SeaFoam you will fare much better. No, the mowers don't always start on the first or second pull like when their new but at least they do start. Today's formulation of gas when it becomes stale is a major part of the problem.

Not to dispute, but that second lawnmower provided by Sears was treated it's entire short life using Stable BOUGHT AT SEARS. It never knew anything else.

And yes, Stable is an aid to prevent gumming. I have used and advocated it myself here on this board. But seemingly not enough aid in this case?

That mower engine is now residing comfortably at the dump.

No, the mowers don't always start on the first or second pull - And maybe not at all IF THEY'RE MADE IN USA and built to EPA DESIGN and burn EPA DESIGN SPEC FUEL.

And therein lies the REAL problem. We've sold our free enterprise to the most well armed consumer, instead of to marketplace demand.

Meanwhile I have my Predator - I may buy another one to sit on the shelf - before Uncle Sugar gets in the way?

Joe K

[mshmodela]

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Such a feeling of using my Dad's SK Wayne tools... I've know these tools at least 40 years... They work like brand new tools to this day...

[Kevin in NJ]

The lawnmowers tend to have problems with the jets getting clogged with the alcohol fuel.

The need to go to a none adjustable carb is to reduce emissions. I have taken my share of lawnmowers out of the trash with one of two problems. The shear pin or clogged carb jets.

The new gas makes it worse as it tends to leave behind more residue when it evaporates out of the passages. I even had this problem with my 65 Mustang. The lawnmowers have the hair sized passages and takes very little to alter the flow. You just need to clear the jet with a very fine wire.

As far as HF tools, they have their place. While I have a lot of Snap On, the HF tools have done well for the times I needed a special tool for a one off project. You have to know what you need to do with the tool. You can not beat some of the free bees and the 20% off coupon. The LED flashlights for free do fine once you put real batteries in them. A few of the digital multimeters for free are great to leave around the work areas and tell you basic troubleshooting info.

[700rpm]

I use Craftsman in my garage, but I keep Chinese in my cars, because I figure there is a higher liklihood I will misplace or forget a tool on the road, and a greater chance tools will be stolen out of my car than from my garage. I also have 3 or 4 sets of Chinese 7/16, 1/2, and 9/16 open end and/or box wrenches in the garage because those are the ones I use most often and am constantly setting down and misplacing. I have a serious infestation in my garage of tool hiding gremlins who will snatch the very tool I'm using and hide it as soon as I turn my back. It's easier to go get another wrench from the toolbox than to wait for the gremlin to put the tool back exactly where I last saw it. Henry and Purdy, I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.

[Bertha]

Ok it's time to define......TOOLS.


Tools Explained
DRILL PRESS: A tall upright machine useful for suddenly snatching flat metal bar stock out of your hands so that it smacks you in the chest and flings your beer across the room, denting the freshly-painted project which you had carefully set in the corner where nothing could get to it.

WIRE WHEEL: Cleans paint off bolts and then throws them somewhere under the workbench with the speed of light . Also removes fingerprints and hard-earned calluses from fingers in about the time it takes you to say, 'Oh sh--!'

SKIL SAW: A portable cutting tool used to make studs too short.

PLIERS: Used to round off bolt heads. Sometimes used in the creation of blood-blisters.

BELT SANDER: An electric sanding tool commonly used to convert minor touch-up jobs into major refinishing jobs.

HACKSAW: One of a family of cutting tools built on the Ouija board principle... It transforms human energy into a crooked, unpredictable motion, and the more you attempt to influence its course, the more dismal your future becomes.

VISE-GRIPS: Generally used after pliers to completely round off bolt heads. If nothing else is available, they can also be used to transfer intense welding heat to the palm of your hand.

OXYACETYLENE TORCH: Used almost entirely for lighting various flammable objects in your shop on fire. Also handy for igniting the grease inside the wheel hub out of which you want to remove a bearing race.

TABLE SAW: A large stationary power tool commonly used to launch wood projectiles for testing wall integrity.

HYDRAULIC FLOOR JACK: Used for lowering an automobile to the ground after you have installed your new brake shoes , trapping the jack handle firmly under the bumper.

BAND SAW: A large stationary power saw primarily used by most shops to cut good aluminum sheet into smaller pieces that more easily fit into the trash can after you cut on the inside of the line instead of the outside edge.

TWO-TON ENGINE HOIST: A tool for testing the maximum tensile strength of everything you forgot to disconnect.

PHILLIPS SCREWDRIVER: Normally used to stab the vacuum seals under lids or for opening old-style paper-and-tin oil cans and splashing oil on your shirt; but can also be used, as the name implies, to strip out Phillips screw heads.

STRAIGHT SCREWDRIVER: A tool for opening paint cans.. Sometimes used to convert common slotted screws into non-removable screws and butchering your palms.

PRY BAR: A tool used to crumple the metal surrounding that clip or bracket you needed to remove in order to replace a 50 cent part.

HOSE CUTTER: A tool used to make hoses too short.

HAMMER: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate the most expensive parts adjacent the object we are trying to hit.

UTILITY KNIFE: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on contents such as seats, vinyl records, liquids in plastic bottles, collector magazines, refund checks, and rubber or plastic parts. Especially useful for slicing work clothes, but only while in use.

SON-OF-A-BITCH TOOL: (A personal favorite!) Any handy tool that you grab and throw across the garage while yelling 'Son of a BITCH!' at the top of your lungs. It is also, most often, the next tool that you will need.

Bob

[Mitch//pa]

we buy the best also
here is one of my guys new 21,000. tool box...
now i want one bigger

[45GPW]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

here is one of my guys new 21,000. tool box...

Yeah! Complete with bunk bed, closet and dresser.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by Mitch//pa

we buy the best also
here is one of my guys new 21,000. tool box...
now i want one bigger

That is not a tool box, it is a zip code.....lol

[Tom Wesenberg]

Ray, you must be my twin.

Mitch, if your employee can afford a $21,000 tool box, I need to go to work for you.

[freak]

$21000 for a toolbox is foolish.

[Kevin in NJ]

Originally Posted by Tom Wesenberg

Ray, you must be my twin.

Mitch, if your employee can afford a $21,000 tool box, I need to go to work for you.

Tool guy will be visiting regularly for his payment?

It is interesting talking to the tool guys. They have guys all over that owe them money. The stories that they can tell. One of our A and P mechanics and a machinest used to be a Snap On guy.

[Tinker]

Thanks bob. I needed that. Too funny!

[SeaSlugs]

Originally Posted by Kevin in NJ

A few of the digital multimeters for free are great to leave around the work areas and tell you basic troubleshooting info.

heh i have a few of them myself. they do work ok. you arent doing any precision measuring but if you need to know if somethings shorted or need to see where you have power they work just fine. I have one in my travel tool box along with most of my other HF tools. I figure if it gets stolen or something im not out much... Cheap pliers are better than no pliers when trying to do a roadside repair...

ive had a few of those extremely cheap box end wrenches come in real handy. I mean the cheap cheap ones that look like flattened beer cans spray painted silver BUT they do have a hex stamped in the box part not a 12 point so you can REALLY get some leverage with them on rounded bolts! usually their thinner too and have bailed me out of a narrow situation before.

[mshmodela]

Holy Cow, that tool box is bigger than my car!

[CAPE A]

Bring back the SK !!! still have 3/8 '' and 1/4 '' set from when i was a kid.abt 45 yrs now, Love them.
Do have 4 Craftsman ratchets to bring back. JUNK !!!Nuckle busters when they slip
and were never abused like the SK's.

[Tom Endy]

Industrial industries in China are fully capable of making quality products. They manufacture many of the components that go into a Boeing aircraft and many American built cars. The reason there are so many poor quality China made parts at places like Harbor Freight and many Model A suppliers is because the customer ordered it that way.

Places like India, Argentina, and Taiwan may be a different story.

Tom Endy