45 minutes ago, schnewj said:

Bottom line...only the employees can ensure the environment and the quality of the products. No amount of "smoke and mirrors" programs will change that mindset.

Absolutely true Bill! Nothing got my ire going more than hearing someone say "It's not my job!"

Boy, you guys sure get fired up over Harbor Freight. The way I see it is you can buy off shore tools at a bargain price. Where as other stores sell equally quality tools for a higher price.

 

I remember in the early 60's , HF was a liquidator and my Dad bought a lot of tools from them after he retired for his metal working shop. They were Taiwanese imports at the time.

 

Go Harbor Freight.

Herb

I try to support American made products, but , to live within my budget, and to continue woodworking, I buy tools to do the job that are priced within my means. That even includes a SCMS from Harbor Freight at under 1/3 the cost of higher rated brands.

1 hour ago, Dadio said:

Boy, you guys sure get fired up over Harbor Freight.

 

I remember the first time I was in one of their stores. We were on vacation in Savannah, GA and made a day trip over to Hilton Head Island...big outdoor mall there...my wife said "Look, a tool store. You can go there and look around while we shop." A couple hours later when I finally found them and they offloaded the bags onto their pack mule, she asked, "did you find anything good?" I replied, "nah, just a bunch of import stuff." That day cost plenty though...the only thing I got was a headache from the heat/humidity and a frappe.` It was good!

 

Of course that was before everybody else began their importing stuff and I was in my late 40's...the odds of the tool wearing out before me was much greater then than it is now. IMHO they aren't a One Stop solution but do have budget friendly alternatives for many things. They have some stuff I wouldn't walk out with if it was free (that's shop lifting anyway isn't it?), but same applies to the BORGS, and Sears.

I don't think I'd buy anything with a cord or battery there.   One of the guys bought a router for the furniture bank and it lasted a few months (about 8-10 half-days of work).

 

I do like their F-clamps.   You see them in FWW photo shots all the time.  If they're good enough for Michael Fortune, I can use them.   I think they're way better than the cheaper version of Pony F-clamps now.   An they come with pads already on, you don't have to buy more.

 

I also have a few of their $14 spray guns.   Cheap enough I can use them for a single type of finish (shellac, lacquer, spray stains, etc.)  They seem to work as well as the ones 3x as much at Rockler.

 

And I like their storage boxes.  Better than Stanley or DeWalt because I can pull the container out and take it to the work (the other seem to just have dividers).

 

Oh, and I have a couple of their mover's dollies.

 

I got an angle grinder for $15 and I think it paid for itself in saved time after the second time I used it.  OK, this had a cord, but I went 35 years without one so I knew I would not use it regularly.

2 hours ago, kmealy said:

I also have a few of their $14 spray guns.   Cheap enough I can use them for a single type of finish (shellac, lacquer, spray stains, etc.)  They seem to work as well as the ones 3x as much at Rockler.

 

Speaking of the HF spray guns, I bought a couple of them when I did the Plymouth.  I was shooting Rustoleum, and knew I was only doing one car.

I have actually won a couple awards for the paint job on it!

Cal

13 hours ago, kmealy said:

I don't think I'd buy anything with a cord or battery there.   One of the guys bought a router for the furniture bank and it lasted a few months (about 8-10 half-days of work).

 

I do like their F-clamps.   You see them in FWW photo shots all the time.  If they're good enough for Michael Fortune, I can use them.   I think they're way better than the cheaper version of Pony F-clamps now.   An they come with pads already on, you don't have to buy more.

 

I also have a few of their $14 spray guns.   Cheap enough I can use them for a single type of finish (shellac, lacquer, spray stains, etc.)  They seem to work as well as the ones 3x as much at Rockler.

 

And I like their storage boxes.  Better than Stanley or DeWalt because I can pull the container out and take it to the work (the other seem to just have dividers).

 

Oh, and I have a couple of their mover's dollies.

 

I got an angle grinder for $15 and I think it paid for itself in saved time after the second time I used it.  OK, this had a cord, but I went 35 years without one so I knew I would not use it regularly.

 

I have to agree with your assessment of the spray guns. They are a great buy for the price. Like you I have dedicated a $10 HF spray gun to Shellac only. Others I use to spray Rustoleum (much cheaper then rattle cans for the larger projects) and other materials. I have three or four with different size tip for different materials. If they go south, then they have already paid for themselves. However, I have not had a problem, yet!

 

No tip erosion or any other problems. You just have to make sure that you clean them thoroughly after use...just like any other spray gun.

 

I would rather roach one of these cheapies then one of my good HVLP guns. I compared the HF to my "good" (auto paint supplier) HVLP's (which are, also, made in China) to the HF ones, and see little difference. Appearance wise they look basically the same. The HF's are of a slightly lower quality and the tips are just not as heavy and well made as the good ones.

 

+1 on the containers. I have about a dozen of them. I take a TRAY of screws to the project instead of the whole container. I hate the containers with the removable dividers. They always seem to be lifting up and allowing the screws to slip underneath the dividers. Now you can't get the lid closed... I have not had any of the plastic latches break or wear out to date. They are plenty sturdy, stack well, and are much cheaper then the Stanley/DeWalt "Made In China" storage containers.

Late to the party. HF does have some reasonably good products and some I would not use if they gave to me. I have turning tools (only as starters) , mover dollies and blankets, Trim router (very loud), grinder (also loud but does the job), ok I will not list all the clamps (changed that dinky handle on the F style) and some others.

My point since other manufacturers(distributors) were mentioned is that many different brands are made in the same Chinese plants . Harbor, Grizzley, Jet and powermatic lathes all made in the same plant. They each have different quality control and therefore the products each have different longeviety and therefore different customer satisfaction.

By the way NO i do not have any large HF tools.

7 hours ago, Gerald said:

Late to the party. HF does have some reasonably good products and some I would not use if they gave to me. I have turning tools (only as starters) , mover dollies and blankets, Trim router (very loud), grinder (also loud but does the job), ok I will not list all the clamps (changed that dinky handle on the F style) and some others.

My point since other manufacturers(distributors) were mentioned is that many different brands are made in the same Chinese plants . Harbor, Grizzley, Jet and powermatic lathes all made in the same plant. They each have different quality control and therefore the products each have different longeviety and therefore different customer satisfaction.

By the way NO i do not have any large HF tools.

 

 

To paraphrase... Most of your Harbor Freight products are junk and worthless and some, I assume, are good tools.

 

All kidding aside, and a question specific to Geralds point regarding the manufacturing of various tool lines in the same plant.  How is this accomplished?  I guess if there are separate "assembly lines" in this plant that one "line A" could be cranking out tools with close tolerances, flat tops, etc. with rejected items ending up in "line B" on a HF (or other) branded tool.  But coming down the same line?  Maybe on Monday - Thursday the line cranks out 120 units per hour but on Friday - Saturday the line is slowed to 60/hour and everyone does a better job?  Or we let the kids and unskilled newbies work on "line B" and after a month or so they graduate to "line A"...  Or maybe it is not the same plant at all, but the same manufacturing company - and the "same plant" is a myth started by the lower quality guys to make us feel they are on par with the good quality guys...

 

I have seen evidence of this (differing quality levels) in my factory service manual for GM cars.  In the body manual where body assembly is shown, gaps between panels are much closer for Pontiacs vs Chevys.

Cal

38 minutes ago, clhyer said:

But coming down the same line?  Maybe on Monday - Thursday the line cranks out 120 units per hour but on Friday - Saturday the line is slowed to 60/hour and everyone does a better job?  Or we let the kids and unskilled newbies work on "line B" and after a month or so they graduate to "line A"...  Or maybe it is not the same plant at all, but the same manufacturing company - and the "same plant" is a myth started by the lower quality guys to make us feel they are on par with the good quality guys...

 

Maybe the "B" line are the rejects from line "A"

Hercules and Dewalt ... Same tool... Different color...