On Sat, 21 Jul 2012 20:28:54 +0100, "Dave Plowman (News)"
wrote:

In article ,
wrote:
Have you ever bought any Tools or anything for that matter from Aldi?

Mike

I've always found their tools quite good, and generally excellent value
for money. A while back, I bought a compressor and a bunch of air
tools from them for a very reasonable price - better than any of the
DIY sheds were offering. Agreed, it's not of 'professional' quality,
but it is extremely well made, has dual ports, both with pressure
gauges, and every last nut and bolt is available as a spare part. It's
not particularly quiet, and the tank is not huge, but as a DIY item,
it is more than adequate, and has so far given me excellent service.

Arfa
That is my experience with the items sold by Harbor Freight Tools. If
I were a professional whose livelihood depended on his tools, Harbor
Freight would not be my preferred source. More than 2 years ago I
bought a 'Sawzall' (reciprocating saw) from HFT for $19.99. A
professional would have preferred the Milwaukee brand ($120 - $150)
whild a dedicated DIYer should have preferred a Porter-Cable product
at $80 - $100. I have used it for perhaps a dozen projects from
cutting a 2' diameter circle out of a piece of 1/2" plywood (metric
conversions available on request) to removing siding and soffit from
an addition.

None of which have much bearing on Aldi.

Actually it does. Most of these products come out of China, Usually
a single factory is selling the product to a number of retailers,
often the retailer specifies the 'brand name'.
How long a warranty do those cheap brands give? Lidl and Aldi ones are 3
years.
Harbor Freight's warranty is typically 90 days, extendable to 2 years.
I'm still using the heat gun I purchaed from them 6 years ago,
likewise the DMM, the saw, torque wrench, etc.

Again, it's not the length of the warranty, it's how long the tool
will last under the purchaser's useage. If a builder saves $100 on a
'sawzall' and it fails under a 3 year warranty, he has lost money
because the down time spent getting it replaced under warranty is
worth more than $100. For someone like me, I have every expectation
any tool I purchase will outlast me (barring abuse or incompetance).

PlainBill