Jeffrey J. Kosowsky wrote:

Harbor Freight seems to have some very attractively priced power
tools, particularly those under the "Chicago Electric Power".

What has been your experience with Harbor Freight in general and with
the Chicago Electric brand in particular?
- How does the quality and value stack up?
- If one is a serious hobbyist who doesn't have unlimited money to
spend on tools, is it better to buy fewer name-brand, high-priced
tools or go for a broader range of Chicago Electric brand tools to
fill out my home shop?

Presumably you never get something for nothing so I imagine the
quality of a 29.95 sawzall type tool can't be as good as a $200
Milwaukee version... but that being said, is it worth buying this
stuff?

Please share your experiences and advice from a hobbyist perspective
(I know that if you use your tools professionally 8+ hours/day then it
pays to buy the best).

Thanks
I have their biscuit joiner, a friend gave me after he used it a few times
and decided he liked biscuits so he bought a better one. I used it to make
my router table but that is the only time I've used it so far. It has a
scratchy sound while running that makes you think its going to let the
magic smoke out any minute but managed to hold together so far. It isn't
very accurate, the plastic fence flexes and will move a bit from the start
of the project until the finish so its not something you would want to make
real fine furniture with or use a lot.