[Boatanchors] Harbor Freight

[Rodger]

Another item I picked up from HF that gets a lot of use are their long 
shaft precision screwdrivers.  These are great for getting into a number 
of hard to reach places in vintage gear and since they are not going to 
be used where much force is necessary they will hold up well.  The 
ratcheting box wrenches are also handy for places where a traditional 
ratchet setup doesn't fit well, I wouldn't use them to break loose a 
stuck fastener or put final torque on a grade 8 bolt but they really 
speed up the middle part of removing or tightening fasteners.  I tend to 
stay away from their power tools but I did buy their knock off of a 
Milwaukee hole hawg many years ago and it has had a tremendous amount of 
usage.  I spent a couple of days doing the wiring for a 1,600 square 
foot addition we added a few years ago and it has held up just fine and 
gets used whenever I need to drill large holes in a limited space.

Of course even the name brand stuff is largely cost engineered and 
produced cheaply today so unfortunately the quality of a lot of 
traditional brands now produced in China is no better than the new/off 
brands produced in China.  I do a fair amount of wood working and my 
Delta Uni-Saw and 3 horse shaper are the traditional made in USA well 
built machines.  But when I looked at band saws the classic 14 inch 
Delta had suffered greatly; the one I saw on display had rough looking 
castings and although the working upper and lower parts were lined up 
the castings were slightly offset to allow this to happen.  It was one 
of the first major lines that Delta shifted to offshore production.  I 
ended up buying an Italian produced 24 inch bandsaw and it has the same 
machining and rugged parts you would expect from older US designed gear 
and its only drawback was getting it out of the delivery truck and into 
the shop.  A number of years ago much of the Milwaukee line was 
definitely cost engineered down and the continued price pressure will 
probably cause this trend to continue. Unfortunately the market of 
people who are willing to spend more for quality continues to shrink and 
the manufacturers can either respond to this properly or go out of 
business. 

I don't trust any of the air impact type tools from HF but that is just 
bias on my part and not founded by any experience or research.  If 
nothing else, HF is good for humor as every thing you buy comes with a 
warning to use eye protection including some plastic flower pots I 
bought for my wife years ago.  I really should pick up some of their 
safety glasses sometime to see whether they warn you to be sure and wear 
safety glasses when using that product.

Rodger WQ9E

rbethman wrote:
> Jim,
>
> I'd be a "bit" hesitant to even call their products as "Consumer Grade".
>
> I wouldn't even give my wife one of their screwdrivers.
>
> At the same time though, I have picked up the SAE and Metric "T" 
> handled allen wrenches.  You just have to remember that they do NOT 
> have the same tool strength that you would normally expect.
>
> Bob - N0DGN
>