On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 07:11:25 -0700, Doug Winterburn
wrote:
On 02/15/2013 03:06 AM, wrote:
There are certain circumstances that I have found HF to be quite
handy. For years I sneered at their quality, the origin of their
tools, and the lack of support for their products. What a difference
a few years make. Now nearly every tool I see anywhere is made in
China, or from sourced parts from there so I am buying Chinese whether
I like it or not.
Unless you spend 40x prices for a Cherman Festool, you're right.
I thought it would be fun to see what TO buy, and what NOT to buy from
everyone based on personal experience. Not a Googled experience, but
hands on.
So, here's few from me on the "buy list". Their multitool kicks ass.
I have absolutely used the snot out of mine for about three years now,
and it is still a very stout machine that works as well as it did when
I bought it. I have found the blades to be nearly the quality of
the Fein blades, which was a shocker. I have bought them and given
them away as gifts and all the owners have had the same experience as
mine.
Their 4 1/2" grinder. This tool was bought as an emergency to replace
a Bosch grind that crapped out on the job. This one can't be killed.
I have had it for about 6-8 years now, and use it to grind metal for
finishing, grind off bolts and screws on burglar bars when painting,
and use the masonry blades on it to cut bricks, pavers, stone, and to
inlet flashings into masonry chimneys. Paid $13 for this tool.
Halogen light bulbs for my stand lights. Everywhere else, these bulbs
are 6 - 10 bucks each. When they have a door buster, I buy them for
99 cents. Last better in the lamps than the more expensive
offerings.
Foam sanding blocks. These are $6 for ten, not one for $6. They have
worked every bit as well as the 3M offerings for me, and now I only
use them when I need a foam block to conform to an irregular shape. I
used these by the bucket when I was doing a lot of refinishing.
Nitrile gloves. You can get 100 5 mil gloves for what you pay for a
set or two from the paint store. I use 3 mil, 5 mil, and for using
caustic materials (like MEK, etc.) I use their 7 mil. I mix and
spray, take the gloves off and toss them. I may use ten sets of
gloves a day, which means it costs me a little over a buck. Best of
all, the gloves work great for me. And if I tear one from material
handling, I have so many in the box I just get another. It isn't a
tragedy as it is when using the paint store gloves that are sold as
two to three pairs in a $10 pack.
Their latex, leather (roping), jersey, and other gloves are really
great, too.
HVLP guns. I only used these to try out new finishes and experiment
with mixes, but after I screwed up my expensive finish gun I was
forced to use my practice guns on the job. What a bone head... if it
was good enough for me to determine my mixes and be satisfied with the
end results, why wouldn't I like it on the job? I have had several of
these guns, and the only thing to consider is the build quality can be
spotty.
Paint gun stuff. They have great prices on HVLP gun filters, material
filters, inline moisture removal filters and cup liners. Literally,
their prices are about 1/10 of Sherwin Williams. This is a big deal
for me because as is he case with sand paper, these are all
consumables for the guys that do it for a living. Being extremely
affordable means I am in the habit of changing gun filters every job,
changing line filters every job and always having cup liner on hand at
a whopping ten cents a piece.
Woodworking hammers. Good stuff, and while I use my Plumb (made in
China of course), these are great hammers for helpers or for certain
tasks like roofing where you don't want tar and gunk on your wood
working tools.
I've had mixed luck with those. The newer ones aren't fitted, the
handles are hacked to standard size and the heads epoxied on. Some
last forever, while others break within minutes.
Bulk drill bits. NOT the crap in the indexes, not in the special
sets. But once upon a time they had bits from manufacturing that had
been reground. They were all different lengths and sizes and were
sold by the pound. I tried a pound, and while I have little idea or
concern exactly what size they are (for me bits are almost exclusively
for pilot holes or rivets) these bits have out lasted my Blue Mol and
Bosch bits by a pretty long stroke. Sadly, they are in store only and
it is catch as catch can. The bits are something like $5 a pound, and
I look for the bags that have the 1/8" and similar sizes in them. You
get a lot of 1/8" bits in a pound.
So some things NOT to buy there. First, they used to have a line of
air nailers that were perfect back up guns. No longer so. Blew a
seal on my Bostitch brad nailer, and since the seals weren't in stock
I bought their 18 ga. It was OK for base and some other work, but
marked up the wood unless you got it just right. The gun would drive
a 2" brad into white oak with no problems. It crapped out before the
job was finished. Three weeks ago, same scenario with my 16 ga
straight nailer. Piston bumper in the gun broke and it is special
order. Bought the 16 ga at HF on sale for $39, and it wasn't worth 39
cents. It jammed up solid after about 1/2 clip of nails. The guns
are junk and they cost me a lot of down time.
Squeeze clamps. At $2 for a 12" clamp, I couldn't resist. I bought
four. Two work and two don't. They wouldn't clamp a sock on the
clothesline. HF told me they had problems with them and they were
changing manufacturers.
Screwdrivers. Forget it.
I've had good luck with the Pittsburgh 7pc set in my backup kit.
Most drill bits. Forget them, too.
I break more (due to hard handling) than I wear out.
Chisels of any type. Cold, or for wood or anything else, a no go.
I've had excellent luck with their transfer punches, hollow punches,
nail sets, and 4T porta-power set. I tried re-hardening some of their
chisels but the steel just isn't there. They must be made from rebar
remelts. =:0
Hand saws. Nope.
Measuring tapes. No way, they break in minutes.
I think I've bought a dozen there (some freebies) in the last decade
and I'm down to 3 or 4 now. They seem to last as well as other brands
I've bought.
OK, that's my take on HF after waaay too much coffee and a 3 hour long
session in the waiting room of the doctor's office typing this out
with nothing else to do.
Any thoughts?
Robert
I have quite a bit of their stuff including most of what "works" for you.
Ditto, guys. I've been buying there since the early Seventies, so
I've had most of their worthwhile stuff. I'm still beating the crap
out of their 5" swivel vise. Their bar and pipe clamps work well if
not flawlessly. I often use one of their wood clamps to hold work
vertical while I repair it.
The one I really like is the infrared non-contact thermometer. I use it
at every stop while towing the 5th wheel to shoot all the hubs and
drums, which was prompted after losing a wheel a few years ago. I also
have their small pancake compressor that was about $40 after coupons.
It has been used quite a bit to air up tires while traveling and will
even run off the 1000W inverter in the 5th wheel.
I had their little pocket job for years but it died and I didn't
replace it. I'll buy a pistol grip next time.
Another thing to avoid is their metal panel punch set. I later eBayed
a Greenlee and the difference was night and day. The wee HF beastie
stripped before I could -blink-. If you see the number 91201 knockout
punch set at HF, RUN AWAY! They're truly ghastly. I tried 3 other
sets in the store that day before getting my money back.
--
If government were a product,
selling it would be illegal.
--P.J. O'Rourke