Cordless Power Equipment

[jfkbengals]

(09-08-2020, 09:07 PM)Nate (formerly eliminate08) Wrote: No doubt brother, love Harbor Freight. Their grinder discs are one tenth the price of the discs I have to be buy at the local shops
and they are 10 times better. It is the place to go, bought us a Predator Generator from them lately and a bunch of the tool boxes 
for doing mechanics. Can store and entire shop in 4 tool boxes, one of each color, red, black, green and yellow.

Not the big tools mind you, but sure makes the shop much more open and free.

I find HF discs to wear at a much faster rate than other brands.  In the end, the number of discs used eliminates the savings.

What people have to keep in mind with HF tools is that the quality control is not all that great, but that is how the cost is kept down.  As a result, the longevity can be suspect, and there may need to be adjustments out of the box.  For example, I have a hand held electric planer from there which won't cut square if the blade is properly seated per the instructions, which is exactly the way it came out of the box.  For my purposes it didn't matter, so I didn't bother to correct it at that point in time.  If it is something you are going to use everyday, you can't expect it to last long.  But it can easily tie you over while you save the money to invest in a higher quality product.  If it is something you are only intending to use once or twice, it easily be a better deal than a rental.

[McC]

(09-08-2020, 06:43 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: A lot of "tool snobs" seem to look down upon, and talk shit about Harbor Freight, but I've had pretty good luck with their stuff, as well.  I'll give you a prime example.  Back when I was doing tile and stone (among other types of flooring), a DeWalt or Makita angle grinder would be good for about a year, maybe year and a half of hard use.  I had one where the bearings went out, and the cutting wheel would no longer hold a straight line.  The job was at a retail store, so the work was at night.  The only place open was Harbor Freight.  I bought their $20 angle grinder, and couldn't have been more pleased.

Not only did the Chicago Tool brand perform better out of the box than the name brand ones that cost over $100 each, that thing lasted nearly 5 years before it bit the dust.  And I believe that happened because it got left out in the rain..  So, you'll never hear me criticize Harbor Freight, or anyone who gets their tools from them.

The only thing I have as an issue with them is how many of their power tools are made in China.  I go back and forth on how I feel about that.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(09-08-2020, 09:37 PM)jfkbengals Wrote: I find HF discs to wear at a much faster rate than other brands.  In the end, the number of discs used eliminates the savings.

What people have to keep in mind with HF tools is that the quality control is not all that great, but that is how the cost is kept down.  As a result, the longevity can be suspect, and there may need to be adjustments out of the box.  For example, I have a hand held electric planer from there which won't cut square if the blade is properly seated per the instructions, which is exactly the way it came out of the box.  For my purposes it didn't matter, so I didn't bother to correct it at that point in time.  If it is something you are going to use everyday, you can't expect it to last long.  But it can easily tie you over while you save the money to invest in a higher quality product.  If it is something you are only intending to use once or twice, it easily be a better deal than a rental.

I have had the opposite with the discs. But of course there are going to be crappy tools here and there.

And every place in the nation has different stores. I think they try and take advantage of people here that are rich and don't 
want to travel a 100 miles. They will pay more for crappy grinder discs. But yeah, I have many planers, big ones, so I don't 
need the little fellas. Industrial is the way to go with Planers IMO.

Hand held electric planers are cool, at least the old ones. I have a great one.

[sandwedge]

(09-08-2020, 06:43 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: A lot of "tool snobs" seem to look down upon, and talk shit about Harbor Freight, but I've had pretty good luck with their stuff, as well.  I'll give you a prime example.  Back when I was doing tile and stone (among other types of flooring), a DeWalt or Makita angle grinder would be good for about a year, maybe year and a half of hard use.  I had one where the bearings went out, and the cutting wheel would no longer hold a straight line.  The job was at a retail store, so the work was at night.  The only place open was Harbor Freight.  I bought their $20 angle grinder, and couldn't have been more pleased.

Not only did the Chicago Tool brand perform better out of the box than the name brand ones that cost over $100 each, that thing lasted nearly 5 years before it bit the dust.  And I believe that happened because it got left out in the rain..  So, you'll never hear me criticize Harbor Freight, or anyone who gets their tools from them.

I guess I am a tool snob. Lol When it comes to power tools I always stick with tried and true brand, Porter Cable. For me they last for years. I go to Harbor Freight when I need tool for a one time thing, just because it doesn't cost very much. I do my tarps there though. You can't beat the price of tarps anywhere else.

[*Nate (formerly eliminate08)*]

(09-09-2020, 12:10 PM)sandwedge Wrote: I guess I am a tool snob. Lol When it comes to power tools I always stick with tried and true brand, Porter Cable. For me they last for years. I go to Harbor Freight when I need tool for a one time thing, just because it doesn't cost very much. I do my tarps there though. You can't beat the price of tarps anywhere else.

I like Porter Cable, have 4 cordless ones, but I like the Hercules better from Harbor Freight so far and it has a lifetime warranty.

More power than Porter Cable and when it gets cold they don't just go dead like my Porter Cable drills do.

[mallorian69]

(09-08-2020, 09:18 PM)jfkbengals Wrote: Which attachments and which battery powered trimmer?

My stuff is all either Trimmer Plus or Ryobi.

If those are the same attachments you have, your answer might bum me out.  I blew the motor on mine this summer and bought a new one already...

My attachments are all poulan pro and my new weed eater is a hart, who's parent company also owns the ryobi brand, as well as Milwaukee and a few others.

Pretty much all detachable weed eater attachments are interchangeable regardless of brand as long as they are the type that detaches mid shaft. I have a pole saw, cultivater, and weed eater head that I have used on my new hart motor.