[Boatanchors] Harbor Freight

[Robert Nickels]

Jerry K wrote:
> There's a large place in Oklahoma City that specializes in hand tools 
> (only) of all kinds, 95% of which are the same grade as carried by HF, 
> only with about 40 times the selection.
I do my share of HF bashing, but like has been said many times, buyer 
beware and if it's right for your intended use, go for it.  (My 55 pound 
HF anvil fits that description perfectly).

Aside from hand tools, it's well worth looking at the HF competitors.  
Grizzly is probably the biggest in the machine tool market, 
http://www.grizzlyindustrial.com/ - there are others, and  there are 
whole cults around things like "7x10 mini lathes" who have researched 
the differences, know which tools come from which suppliers in Asia, 
what the strengths and weaknesses are, etc.  If anyone is contemplating 
purchase of wood or metalworking machine tools, it's worth the time to 
do your homework (Yahoo Groups, etc).

A real popular tool among the home shop machinist gang is the 4" by 6" 
horizontal bandsaw, aka "$200 bandsaw", aka "Harbor Freight bandsaw".  
They leave a lot to be desired, but can be enhanced, and they offer so 
much for the money that even pro shops will have one over in a corner.   
I'd say the $4 DVMs are in the same category.

73, Bob W9RAN