Quick question of some of you more experienced power tool users....can
I trust a Chicago Electric sliding miter saw?

"bigdaddy12367" wrote in message
...
Quick question of some of you more experienced power tool users....can
I trust a Chicago Electric sliding miter saw?


To do what?
It will be underpowered.
It will break prematurely.
It will not give you accurate angles.

So, if you aren't going to use it much and don't need accuracy, it might be
a great saw for you.

lid (bigdaddy12367) wrote in news:jvuzf.143315$Zp.106130
@fe08.news.easynews.com:

Quick question of some of you more experienced power tool users....can
I trust a Chicago Electric sliding miter saw?



Do you have an HF nearby? --- if so, go look.

I was in the store in PDX the other day (picking up clamps); I looked at
one of the CMS's (wasn't the slider) -- the blade was binding on the
guard as you brought the blade down. The return spring for the miter
head looks like it's retained very poorly. Very scary tool.

I like HF for some things -- but I wouldn't trust anything with spinny
sharp metal.

Now having said that -- one of our favorite restaurants was having some
re-model work done. The guy doing the work was using an HF CMS. I had to
chuckle at that.

--
Regards,

JT
Speaking only for myself....

"bigdaddy12367" wrote in message
...
Quick question of some of you more experienced power tool users....can
I trust a Chicago Electric sliding miter saw?

To do what?
HF is the cheapest of the cheap.
Remember the old adage, the pain of paying for higher quality fades, but the
grief of a cheap tool lasts until you rid yourself of it.

Dave



Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY **
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com

In article ,
lid says...
Quick question of some of you more experienced power tool users....can
I trust a Chicago Electric sliding miter saw?

I bought the 10" version six months ago and am quite happy with it.
It's not a Hitachi, but it's 1/5th the price. One cow-orker has
issues with his (stiff slide bearings) and another likes his. I
figured it would be worth it if all I did on it was to cut framing.
It's actually better than I thought it would be and well worth the
$100 paid.

--
Keith

Teamcasa wrote:

HF is the cheapest of the cheap.
Remember the old adage, the pain of paying for higher quality
fades, but the grief of a cheap tool lasts until you rid yourself
of it.

I agree that Harbor Freight has a pretty crappy reputation... and some
of their power tools don't exactly inspire confidence. But it seems to
me that more mainstream stuff is actually from places like China and
that the quality of everything coming out of China is improving. Truly
some stuff is not so great, but other stuff is just fine. I wouldn't
immediately discount HF, but buyer beware and YMMV and all that.

Regarding a sliding miter saw. I'm still hacking away on an old B&D I
bought for a song years ago. All in all it works pretty damn good...
something got bent however and even a new blade wobbles just a fuzz. A
new sliding miter saw is high on my "thinking about getting" list. At
this point in time I'm mostly settled on the midrange 10" Hitachi even
though the orange HF saw costs half as much (maybe even less). The HF
saw seems to have a rough slider and the thing is just a little on the
flimsy side. The Hitachi feels like a rock.

While I'm all for the idea of buying a cheap power tool if your needs
are occasional and light duty, I can just about guarantee that if you
buy tools on the cheap you WILL be disappointed somewhere along the
line. Just figure that in and determine if that's worth the money
you'll save.

Joe Barta

John Thomas wrote:
I like HF for some things -- but I wouldn't trust anything with spinny
sharp metal.

I agree. I bought a band saw from them a while back and the blade
wouldn't stay on the wheels.

Mike

I have one that about 5 years old and still working fine. that being said, I
use it for rough work only it does not cut accurately enough for any fine
work.Built a deck with it, some framing, ect. still on the first brushes.
with harbor freight its a crap shoot, brother in law bought same saw at the
same time and has had very different results all bad. if you have the 100
to though away you could win or lose.

Good luck


Len

"Teamcasa" wrote in message
...

"bigdaddy12367" wrote in message
...
Quick question of some of you more experienced power tool users....can
I trust a Chicago Electric sliding miter saw?

To do what?
HF is the cheapest of the cheap.

No, that would be Homier. HF is way ahead of them.

Wed, Jan 18, 2006, 6:13pm (EST+5) (John*Thomas)
exclaimeth:
snip the blade was binding on the guard as you brought the blade down.
The return spring for the miter head looks like it's retained very
poorly. Very scary tool.
I like HF for some things -- but I wouldn't trust anything with spinny
sharp metal.
Now having said that -- one of our favorite restaurants was having some
re-model work done. The guy doing the work was using an HF CMS. I had to
chuckle at that.

So? A tool on the floor is put together by someone that doesn't
care. I've seen the HF sliders with parts loose, parts on backwards,
etc. Not impressitve. BUT, I've also seen them put together right,
with everything properly tighteed. And, those seeme to be comporable to
tools costing a lot more, with more prestigious names. Would I buy one?
You betcha. However, I would not use one every day, and my income would
not depend on it. Even so, I think it'd last me well enough.

I have a number of small HF power tools. No prob. I don't have a
lot of money to burn, so my saw is, and has been for somewhere around 8
years, an el cheapo HF 10" bench saw. Arouind $59 new, if I recall
right. Made a sled for it, bought a cheap carbide blade, and works no
prob. Again, I don't use it every day, and I don't depend on any part
of my income with it. But, it's still working, and probably will for
years to come. I would like to scrape up some money for someing a few
steps higher, and convert this one to a dis sander - but until then,
I'll keep using it, and be happy that I have a saw, period.

As far as a contractor using a HF tool. Every time I go in the
local store, there's contractors in there buying. Go figure.



JOAT
If you can't say anything nice about someone, you must be talking about
Hilary Clinton.

Thanks for the advice....prob worth a trip to sears then eh? lol

All that being said, I now add that I am very happy with that thirty
dollar reciprocating saw I got from HF about two years ago. Bought it
for one job, figured if it lasted for just that job, it was worth a
shot. And it's been a workhorse ever since.

But my own feeling on those guys is, the more precise the item has to
be, and the more complicated it is, the worse your odds get. Not saying
you'll always get crap, but I think it gets more and more likely the
more you'll be asking it to do.

On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 17:01:03 GMT, lid (bigdaddy12367)
wrote:

Quick question of some of you more experienced power tool users....can
I trust a Chicago Electric sliding miter saw?

Personally, I don't trust much of anything that HF sells that has a
power cord on it, but some people swear by theirs. There are some
things HF sells that work fine, others, you should run from.

My best advice is find a HF store and check the saw out for yourself.
Look for fit and finish and see how smoothly the saw moves. Look at
the safety features. Remember that you get what you pay for and
you're not paying much, so...

wrote:

All that being said, I now add that I am very happy with that
thirty dollar reciprocating saw I got from HF about two years ago.
Bought it for one job, figured if it lasted for just that job, it
was worth a shot. And it's been a workhorse ever since.

I bought a 4" grinder once for a single job. It wasn't from HF but it
was a dirt cheap made in China sort of thing. It lasted for one job...
almost. The thing was the most poorly made POS power tool I ever
bought in my life. The good news is I saved a few bucks. The bad news
is that if I ever need one again, I'll have to buy one again.

Joe Barta

Have a cheapo HF compound sliding miter saw. Have used it
off and on for couple years. Have made a lot of cuts with it.
Works fine. I have both Makita and Delta compound mitre
saws (not sliding) and I use the HF saw almost exclusively.
The HF is much more noisy but the angle cuts have been
right on the money and more accurate than either of the others.
It has been very much worth it's cost to me.
For what it's worth! sdh.
bigdaddy12367 wrote:
Quick question of some of you more experienced power tool users....can
I trust a Chicago Electric sliding miter saw?

On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 11:43:28 -0800, upand_at_them wrote:

John Thomas wrote:
I like HF for some things -- but I wouldn't trust anything with spinny
sharp metal.

I agree. I bought a band saw from them a while back and the blade
wouldn't stay on the wheels.

Mike

I have their 14" model. Once I had made the simple adjustments called
for in the directions that came with it, mine worked fine right
out of the box.

As did my 12x33 lathe, my 6" jointer, my 12 1/2" planer, my 6" beltsander.

Don't know what, if anything, was actually wrong with your bandsaw, but
your experience is not typical. Moreover, when I did have a problem (slow
delivery on some accessory parts), their customer service department
corrected the problem.

YMMV. Mine certainly did.

Bill

Why do you use the Harbor Freight over the Makita or Delta?

Steve Hopper wrote:
Have a cheapo HF compound sliding miter saw. Have used it
off and on for couple years. Have made a lot of cuts with it.
Works fine. I have both Makita and Delta compound mitre
saws (not sliding) and I use the HF saw almost exclusively.
The HF is much more noisy but the angle cuts have been
right on the money and more accurate than either of the others.
It has been very much worth it's cost to me.
For what it's worth! sdh.
bigdaddy12367 wrote:

As did my 12x33 lathe, my 6" jointer, my 12 1/2" planer, my 6" beltsander.

Don't know what, if anything, was actually wrong with your bandsaw, but
your experience is not typical. Moreover, when I did have a problem (slow
delivery on some accessory parts), their customer service department
corrected the problem.

YMMV. Mine certainly did.


I have to agree here also. I have their 6" jointer and an el cheapo drill
press and they've worked flawlessly. Had a belt/disc sander combo that had
the bearings go after 18 months, cost me $6 to fix, kept it for another 18
months and sold it at a garage sale for about 75% of what I paid for it.
Also bought their mortise machine - no problems so far.

as you said, YMMV.

Vic

"Joe Barta" wrote in message
.. .
wrote:

All that being said, I now add that I am very happy with that
thirty dollar reciprocating saw I got from HF about two years ago.
Bought it for one job, figured if it lasted for just that job, it
was worth a shot. And it's been a workhorse ever since.

I bought a 4" grinder once for a single job. It wasn't from HF but it
was a dirt cheap made in China sort of thing. It lasted for one job...
almost. The thing was the most poorly made POS power tool I ever
bought in my life. The good news is I saved a few bucks. The bad news
is that if I ever need one again, I'll have to buy one again.

Joe Barta


Funny. One of the very few things I've ever bought from Harbor Freight that
had moving parts, happened to be a 4 inch grinder. I was restoring a '51
Dodge and I burned out a Snap-On grinder. Replacing it would have been a
$130 ordeal. So, I gave Harbor Freight a try. They had a couple different
grinders on the shelves, but I bought a $19 model. It has a trip off switch
and the cheaper $15 model had a simple slide switch. I'm not real fond of
the trip off switch when you compare it to a well designed grinder with a
dead man switch, but the price made me give it a try.

For $20 I really didn't care that much if I toasted the thing so I put it to
brutal work. It never missed a beat. I'm still using and abusing it today.
I can't really take the position that a cheap tool will always break when
you need it the most - that's what my top notch Snap-On grinder did. If I
toast this the next time I use it, I'll probably go spend another $19 for a
replacement. I can go through 4 of them before I hit the price of a DeWalt
and 6 before I hit the price of a Snap-On.

That experience hasn't made me comfortable with much else that Harbor
Freight sells that moves, but I do have to say that grinder has held up
well.

--

-Mike-

Wed, Jan 18, 2006, 7:54pm (EST+5) (Toller) doth sayeth:
No, that would be Homier. HF is way ahead of them.

Amazing as it may seem, awhile back I found one that is possibly
even lower then Hornier. They have traveling sales, as does Hornier.
I've gone to a couple, or three, and the ONLY thing I could bring myself
to buy was the Chinee air rifle they sell - more then worth the price.
At the Hornier sales, I actually do once-in-awhile buy a few small, and
inexpensive, items.



JOAT
If you can't say anything nice about someone, you must be talking about
Hilary Clinton.

"The thing was the most poorly made POS power tool I ever
bought in my life. The good news is I saved a few bucks. The bad news
is that if I ever need one again, I'll have to buy one again.

Joe Barta"

As I should have said in my original post, ya pays your money and ya
takes your chance. I know it's a gamble with HF, more so than a lot of
other places. But so far I'm winning and the bets aren't large so I
keep coming back.

On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 13:08:17 -0800, wrote:

All that being said, I now add that I am very happy with that thirty
dollar reciprocating saw I got from HF about two years ago. Bought it
for one job, figured if it lasted for just that job, it was worth a
shot. And it's been a workhorse ever since.

But my own feeling on those guys is, the more precise the item has to
be, and the more complicated it is, the worse your odds get. Not saying
you'll always get crap, but I think it gets more and more likely the
more you'll be asking it to do.

I've taken chances with HF. Sure sometimes I get crap (cordless drills),
sometimes a "gem". IMO, the slider was a great deal for a "Franklin".

--
Keith

On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 15:24:49 -0800, wrote:

"The thing was the most poorly made POS power tool I ever
bought in my life. The good news is I saved a few bucks. The bad news
is that if I ever need one again, I'll have to buy one again.

Joe Barta"

As I should have said in my original post, ya pays your money and ya
takes your chance. I know it's a gamble with HF, more so than a lot of
other places. But so far I'm winning and the bets aren't large so I
keep coming back.

*Exactly* No, I'm not going to buy a table saw from HF, but the OP would
do well to look seriously at this tool, understanding that it's not a
Makita.

--
Keith

On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 16:32:57 -0600, Mike Berger wrote:

Why do you use the Harbor Freight over the Makita or Delta?

Slider over a non-slider? What's so hard to understand? That's why I
bought the HF slider for cheap money.

--
Keith


Steve Hopper wrote:
Have a cheapo HF compound sliding miter saw. Have used it
off and on for couple years. Have made a lot of cuts with it.
Works fine. I have both Makita and Delta compound mitre
saws (not sliding) and I use the HF saw almost exclusively.
The HF is much more noisy but the angle cuts have been
right on the money and more accurate than either of the others.
It has been very much worth it's cost to me.
For what it's worth! sdh.
bigdaddy12367 wrote:

Subject

"Harbor Freight" and "tools" are mutually exclusive terms.

Having said that, I buy a lot of consumables from them such as latex
gloves, chip brushes, etc.

If I need tools, I go to people who sell tools.

Lew

I've had one for about 4 years and think its great. I could not get
my Delta chopsaw to stay adjusted, once I adjusted the Harbor Freight
it has stayed adjusted. I would not use it for picture frames, but
for framing, trim, etc., it works fine. A great tool for the money.


On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 17:01:03 GMT, lid (bigdaddy12367)
wrote:

Quick question of some of you more experienced power tool users....can
I trust a Chicago Electric sliding miter saw?

Wed, Jan 18, 2006, 10:48pm (EST+5) (Vic*Baron)
listeth:
snip I have their 6" jointer and an el cheapo drill press and they've
worked flawlessly. Had a belt/disc sander combo snip

I don' got no jointer, but forgot to say that I've got the bench
drill press, wood lathe, belt/disc sander, and a 4" grinder or two.
They're all still working just fine.



JOAT
If you can't say anything nice about someone, you must be talking about
Hilary Clinton.

On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 21:01:05 GMT, with neither quill nor qualm,
lid (bigdaddy12367) quickly quoth:

Thanks for the advice....prob worth a trip to sears then eh? lol


Only if you're a masochist.


-------------------------------------------
Crapsman tools are their own punishment
http://diversify.com Comprehensive Website Design
================================================== ====

On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 17:01:03 GMT, lid (bigdaddy12367) wrote:

Quick question of some of you more experienced power tool users....can
I trust a Chicago Electric sliding miter saw?

I don't have one, but have heard a lot of complaints about flexing of the
slide...
If you buy a bargain tool and realize that you only get what you pay for, HF is
a great place to play...

As to the CMS, I'd get the non-slider and take some time to set it up... if you
NEED the slider, I'd suggest a more expensive tool..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Cummins? They do the truckload thing around here two or three times
a year.

J T wrote:
Wed, Jan 18, 2006, 7:54pm (EST+5) (Toller) doth sayeth:
No, that would be Homier. HF is way ahead of them.

Amazing as it may seem, awhile back I found one that is possibly
even lower then Hornier. They have traveling sales, as does Hornier.
I've gone to a couple, or three, and the ONLY thing I could bring myself
to buy was the Chinee air rifle they sell - more then worth the price.
At the Hornier sales, I actually do once-in-awhile buy a few small, and
inexpensive, items.

I so rarely need the extra range of a slider. That's why I asked.
So it's the feature, and not the quality, that makes you choose it
over the others. It's helpful to know that if you're recommending
it to someone.

Keith wrote:
On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 16:32:57 -0600, Mike Berger wrote:


Why do you use the Harbor Freight over the Makita or Delta?


Slider over a non-slider? What's so hard to understand? That's why I
bought the HF slider for cheap money.

Thu, Jan 19, 2006, 10:28am (EST-1) (Mike*Berger)
asketh:
Cummins? They do the truckload thing around here two or three times a
year.

Yep, I'm sure that's the one. Like I said, the Chinese air rifle
is the only thing I've seen there I'd consider buying - great deal. I
got the air pistol too, but wouldn't buy another.



JOAT
If you can't say anything nice about someone, you must be talking about
Hilary Clinton.

Thu, Jan 19, 2006, 10:30am (EST-1) (Mike*Berger)
sayeth:
I so rarely need the extra range of a slider. That's why I asked. So
it's the feature, and not the quality, that makes you choose it over the
others. It's helpful to know that if you're recommending it to someone.

I'd been considering a miter saw. But, the non-sliders probably
won't cut quite the width I'd need, so I''d been looking at the HF
slider. But, then I came across one of my old Popular Mechanics
magazines - got plans on making a non-sliding compound miter saw, using
a circular saw. Neat. Then ran across my Capotosto's book on jigs, and
"it's" got plans for a "crosscut platform", which uses a circular saw -
and is in essence, a compound sliding miter saw - but one you make
yourself. Very neat. So, I'll probably pass on buying a miter saw,
it'd be a lot more fun making my own version. Quite possible I'll buy
another circular saw tho, my B&D is somewhere around "too old to
remember how old".



JOAT
If you can't say anything nice about someone, you must be talking about
Hilary Clinton.

In article ,
says...
Thu, Jan 19, 2006, 10:30am (EST-1) (Mike*Berger)
sayeth:
I so rarely need the extra range of a slider. That's why I asked. So
it's the feature, and not the quality, that makes you choose it over the
others. It's helpful to know that if you're recommending it to someone.

Ok, I simply find sliders easier to use (more like a RAS). I don't
think I'd use a CMS if I had one.

I'd been considering a miter saw. But, the non-sliders probably
won't cut quite the width I'd need, so I''d been looking at the HF
slider. But, then I came across one of my old Popular Mechanics
magazines - got plans on making a non-sliding compound miter saw, using
a circular saw. Neat. Then ran across my Capotosto's book on jigs, and
"it's" got plans for a "crosscut platform", which uses a circular saw -
and is in essence, a compound sliding miter saw - but one you make
yourself. Very neat. So, I'll probably pass on buying a miter saw,
it'd be a lot more fun making my own version. Quite possible I'll buy
another circular saw tho, my B&D is somewhere around "too old to
remember how old".

I suppose. I'm not terribly happy with the accuracy or power of a
circular saw for much other than basic frame carpentry and perhaps
cutting panels down to size (with appropriate fences/clamps). FOr
the $100 I didn't expect much form the HF slider and was pleasantly
surprised.

JOAT
If you can't say anything nice about someone, you must be talking about
Hilary Clinton.

;-)

--
Keith

Mike Berger wrote:
Why do you use the Harbor Freight over the Makita or Delta?
Good Question which I should have elaborated upon in posting.
Two reasons: (1) The sliding aspect gives me wider sawing
capacity which I frequently need, and (2) When making angle
cuts this particular HF saw is more accurate than either the
Delta or Makita.
Only reason I don't get rid of the extra saws is that
the Makita is mounted in an eight foot table with markings &
stops and the Delta is my portable mitre saw because it
is a little smaller and lighter and I can more easily lug
it around. The HF is definitely more noisy but seems strong
and hasn't died yet! For what it's worth. sdh.
..


Have a cheapo HF compound sliding miter saw. Have used it
off and on for couple years. Have made a lot of cuts with it.
Works fine. I have both Makita and Delta compound mitre
saws (not sliding) and I use the HF saw almost exclusively.
The HF is much more noisy but the angle cuts have been
right on the money and more accurate than either of the others.
It has been very much worth it's cost to me.
For what it's worth! sdh.
bigdaddy12367 wrote:

On Thu, 19 Jan 2006 03:54:05 +0000, Lew Hodgett wrote:

Subject

"Harbor Freight" and "tools" are mutually exclusive terms.

Nonsense. There are snobs everywhere though.

Having said that, I buy a lot of consumables from them such as latex
gloves, chip brushes, etc.

Me too. Most of my purchases from HF are such things, but that doesn't
mean they have no decent tools.

If I need tools, I go to people who sell tools.

Like Crapsman? ;-)

--
Keith

Lew Hodgett wrote:

Subject

"Harbor Freight" and "tools" are mutually exclusive terms.

Having said that, I buy a lot of consumables from them such as latex
gloves, chip brushes, etc.

If I need tools, I go to people who sell tools.


Harbor Freight sells tools. Lots of them! I been there. I seen them!

Joe Barta

I wrote:

"Harbor Freight" and "tools" are mutually exclusive terms.


Keith responds:

Nonsense. There are snobs everywhere though.

To each his own.

I wrote:

If I need tools, I go to people who sell tools.

Keith responds:

Like Crapsman? ;-)

Isn't that another name for HF?

Lew

It is a piece of junk and you really do get what you pay for. I have a HF
near me and went to take a look at one. The travel is stiff at best and
looks like it will cut less accurately than my RAS and that is a Craftsman.
If you need it for possible framing it might just get by but I would be
afraid to use it myself.

--
If at first you don't succeed, you're not cut out for skydiving
"Keith" wrote in message
news
On Wed, 18 Jan 2006 15:24:49 -0800, wrote:

"The thing was the most poorly made POS power tool I ever
bought in my life. The good news is I saved a few bucks. The bad news
is that if I ever need one again, I'll have to buy one again.

Joe Barta"

As I should have said in my original post, ya pays your money and ya
takes your chance. I know it's a gamble with HF, more so than a lot of
other places. But so far I'm winning and the bets aren't large so I
keep coming back.

*Exactly* No, I'm not going to buy a table saw from HF, but the OP would
do well to look seriously at this tool, understanding that it's not a
Makita.

--
Keith

Give me a break. Craftsman is about
1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,00
0,000,000,000,000 times better than the crap sold at HF.

--
If at first you don't succeed, you're not cut out for skydiving

"Keith" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 19 Jan 2006 03:54:05 +0000, Lew Hodgett wrote:

Subject

"Harbor Freight" and "tools" are mutually exclusive terms.

Nonsense. There are snobs everywhere though.

Having said that, I buy a lot of consumables from them such as latex
gloves, chip brushes, etc.

Me too. Most of my purchases from HF are such things, but that doesn't
mean they have no decent tools.

If I need tools, I go to people who sell tools.

Like Crapsman? ;-)

--
Keith