Well, I might as well wade in.

I am not a big HF fan but I occasionally buy small tools from them. However
I bought a $99 mortiser from them several years ago - mainly on a whim.
Surprise - It cut's square holes well and the chisels have taken several
sharpenings quite well. The hold-down mechanism sucked but I have worked
around that with some mods and clamps. Probably won't be my last mortiser
but it fills the bill for now.

Also, an aquaintance entered the trim carpentry a couple of years ago after
being laid off from the aircraft industry. Starting on a shoestring, he
purchased HF brad and finish nailers - both for about $100. Figured they
would get him going until he could afford better. His only complaint after
two years is they won't wear out and he takes a lot of crap from his peers.
(A few of whom now own HF nailers as "back ups".)

Anyone can build crap and unfortuanately we are seeing quite a bit of it
coming from "domestic manufacturers". Anyone compared a 30 year old Unisaw
with a new one lately? It ain't crap but it isn't what it used to be - just
3-4 times the price. That is why products like the Grizzly 1023 series saws
are so popular.

So There

RonB