Normally I buy quality tools but with some the cheap s*** is just as good.
I am getting ready to make a some walnut columns 12" by 96" and need a
bunch of 6" bar clamps. Checked Ebay and there were several sellers of the
clamps. I picked the guy in AK as I figured the freight would be less and
bought 16 clamps. Price was about $40 including freight. Nice surprise
when they came. Bar is chrome plated, over all finish good and they work as
well as the $20 name brand clamps. Contacted the seller and I can get
another 100 for $210 including freight.
Also bought a 40 piece set of 1/2" carbide router bits as the set had
some that I wanted but never needed enough to buy. I was hoping that they
would last long enough for small special projects and then I would throw
them away as they were cheaper to buy than have sharpened. The first one I
used was a 1/2" straight bit to rough out a 390 lb finial of fresh cut oak.
( You can see it on my site.) Milled the 14.5" square by 38" piece into an
octagon removing about 100 lbs. At the end the bit was still sharp!
WWW.Homier.com has large deep throat bar clamp sets. 6 for $20! I bought
2 sets when their traveling sale was here. They have worked great except
for one which I had to weld the head on.
I was at Wal Mart and they had 25' tape measures for $2.28 each. Marked
in inches and metric. Bought 10 and still have problems finding one in the
shop. They work as well as the $20 Stanley.
--
Art Ransom
Lancaster , Texas

www.turningaround.org

Do you work for Homier?
I can't think of any other reason to recommend their products (have once
been stupid enough to have gone to one of their sales, and having every
single item break the first time I used it.).

I have found some of the same thoughts. While I never thought I would be mixing
Harbor Freight with my Delta, Porter Cable and Powermatic tastes. I needed a
crown stapler for some light work, $20 at Harbor Freight and the dang thing
works as well as my $140 PC brad nailer. 6" Pittsburgh clamps from Harbor
Freight, sit right next to my Jorgensons, interchangable. I'm not about to
replace my Powermatic tablesaw with a Harbor Freight or Homier don't get me
wrong, but there are some pretty helpfull cheap items from those guys when you
don't have enough usage to warrent the expense. Specifically the $7 dial
indicator (great for TS alignement and joiner blade alignments), $20 digital
caliper, pittsburg clamps, cheap bits (spade and forstner) when you want to
grind an odd size. But have had some dissapointments also, T-Handle hex were
pretty soft.

Phil

Art Ransom wrote:

Normally I buy quality tools but with some the cheap s*** is just as good.
I am getting ready to make a some walnut columns 12" by 96" and need a
bunch of 6" bar clamps. Checked Ebay and there were several sellers of the
clamps. I picked the guy in AK as I figured the freight would be less and
bought 16 clamps. Price was about $40 including freight. Nice surprise
when they came. Bar is chrome plated, over all finish good and they work as
well as the $20 name brand clamps. Contacted the seller and I can get
another 100 for $210 including freight.
Also bought a 40 piece set of 1/2" carbide router bits as the set had
some that I wanted but never needed enough to buy. I was hoping that they
would last long enough for small special projects and then I would throw
them away as they were cheaper to buy than have sharpened. The first one I
used was a 1/2" straight bit to rough out a 390 lb finial of fresh cut oak.
( You can see it on my site.) Milled the 14.5" square by 38" piece into an
octagon removing about 100 lbs. At the end the bit was still sharp!
WWW.Homier.com has large deep throat bar clamp sets. 6 for $20! I bought
2 sets when their traveling sale was here. They have worked great except
for one which I had to weld the head on.
I was at Wal Mart and they had 25' tape measures for $2.28 each. Marked
in inches and metric. Bought 10 and still have problems finding one in the
shop. They work as well as the $20 Stanley.
--
Art Ransom
Lancaster , Texas

www.turningaround.org

"Art Ransom" wrote in message
news:st3md.90179$HA.22535@attbi_s01...
Normally I buy quality tools but with some the cheap s*** is just as good.

In Houston, we have a very interesting shop called empire tools. They have
a huge, enormous, gargantuan stock of import tools. I've bought many
utility F clamps from them and I am very satisfied. This particular dealer
is no fly-by-night junk dealer. They also carry most name brands in hand
tools and they are the regional repair center for Dewalt tools.

There is still no cheap import substitute for Bessey K-body clamps that I
can find sigh.

Bob

Hi,

For all of those newbies in the UK, I recommed "The 99p Store" - they have
sooo many good deals, like fibreglass handled rubber mallets, tennon saws &
mirtre box sets etc...
Some things aren't so good though... stay away from their "budget block
plane" it's cr*p it just scratches the piece making a mess for the sander.

Cheers,

SB

-----------
"Art Ransom" wrote in message
news:st3md.90179$HA.22535@attbi_s01...
Normally I buy quality tools but with some the cheap s*** is just as good.
I am getting ready to make a some walnut columns 12" by 96" and need a
bunch of 6" bar clamps. Checked Ebay and there were several sellers of
the
clamps. I picked the guy in AK as I figured the freight would be less and
bought 16 clamps. Price was about $40 including freight. Nice surprise
when they came. Bar is chrome plated, over all finish good and they work
as
well as the $20 name brand clamps. Contacted the seller and I can get
another 100 for $210 including freight.
Also bought a 40 piece set of 1/2" carbide router bits as the set had
some that I wanted but never needed enough to buy. I was hoping that they
would last long enough for small special projects and then I would throw
them away as they were cheaper to buy than have sharpened. The first one
I
used was a 1/2" straight bit to rough out a 390 lb finial of fresh cut
oak.
( You can see it on my site.) Milled the 14.5" square by 38" piece into an
octagon removing about 100 lbs. At the end the bit was still sharp!
WWW.Homier.com has large deep throat bar clamp sets. 6 for $20! I
bought
2 sets when their traveling sale was here. They have worked great except
for one which I had to weld the head on.
I was at Wal Mart and they had 25' tape measures for $2.28 each. Marked
in inches and metric. Bought 10 and still have problems finding one in
the
shop. They work as well as the $20 Stanley.
--
Art Ransom
Lancaster , Texas

www.turningaround.org

On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 14:57:28 GMT, "Art Ransom"
wrote:

I use a lot of harbor freight stuff, especially clamps..
Last sale, I bought a lot of 6" bar clamps for $2 each and 12" for
$2.50..
They're better than the one's I bought on ebay, and seem as good as
the old jorgies that I've been using.. and the HF ones even came with
soft "non-marring" covers like the ones that I bought for the
jorgies..

I'll even admit that I buy saw blades there... *blush*
I bought five 10", 80 point carbide blades for $10 each, thinking that
I'd use them until they needed sharpening and them just throw them in
the recycle bin and throw a new one on, instead of having my better
(but still not "good") get dulled by cutting mdf, etc...
Damned if the first one that I put on the CMS over a month ago isn't
still cutting splinter free and seems as sharp as new...
I know that the blades are cheap and not "finish" quality, but they do
what I need them to do in the CMS and I never seem to get good blades
into the sharpening shop until the y REALLY need sharpening.. nice to
have a disposable blade to change like razors... lol

Normally I buy quality tools but with some the cheap s*** is just as good.
I am getting ready to make a some walnut columns 12" by 96" and need a
bunch of 6" bar clamps. Checked Ebay and there were several sellers of the
clamps. I picked the guy in AK as I figured the freight would be less and
bought 16 clamps. Price was about $40 including freight. Nice surprise
when they came. Bar is chrome plated, over all finish good and they work as
well as the $20 name brand clamps. Contacted the seller and I can get
another 100 for $210 including freight.
Also bought a 40 piece set of 1/2" carbide router bits as the set had
some that I wanted but never needed enough to buy. I was hoping that they
would last long enough for small special projects and then I would throw
them away as they were cheaper to buy than have sharpened. The first one I
used was a 1/2" straight bit to rough out a 390 lb finial of fresh cut oak.
( You can see it on my site.) Milled the 14.5" square by 38" piece into an
octagon removing about 100 lbs. At the end the bit was still sharp!
WWW.Homier.com has large deep throat bar clamp sets. 6 for $20! I bought
2 sets when their traveling sale was here. They have worked great except
for one which I had to weld the head on.
I was at Wal Mart and they had 25' tape measures for $2.28 each. Marked
in inches and metric. Bought 10 and still have problems finding one in the
shop. They work as well as the $20 Stanley.

"Art Ransom" wrote in message news:st3md.90179$HA.22535@attbi_s01...
Normally I buy quality tools but with some the cheap s*** is just as good.
I am getting ready to make a some walnut columns 12" by 96" and need a
bunch of 6" bar clamps. Checked Ebay and there were several sellers of the
clamps. I picked the guy in AK as I figured the freight would be less and
bought 16 clamps. Price was about $40 including freight. Nice surprise
when they came. Bar is chrome plated, over all finish good and they work as
well as the $20 name brand clamps. Contacted the seller and I can get
another 100 for $210 including freight.
Also bought a 40 piece set of 1/2" carbide router bits as the set had
some that I wanted but never needed enough to buy. I was hoping that they
would last long enough for small special projects and then I would throw
them away as they were cheaper to buy than have sharpened. The first one I
used was a 1/2" straight bit to rough out a 390 lb finial of fresh cut oak.
( You can see it on my site.) Milled the 14.5" square by 38" piece into an
octagon removing about 100 lbs. At the end the bit was still sharp!
WWW.Homier.com has large deep throat bar clamp sets. 6 for $20! I bought
2 sets when their traveling sale was here. They have worked great except
for one which I had to weld the head on.
I was at Wal Mart and they had 25' tape measures for $2.28 each. Marked
in inches and metric. Bought 10 and still have problems finding one in the
shop. They work as well as the $20 Stanley.

Don't let Toller bother you. There are lots of times and lots of areas
where cheap tools are called for. Foe example, those $5 sets of open
end wrenches with the little metal clip around them. While these are
not the tools that I would have in my garage tool chest (I don't do
mechanical work for a living so I don't need Snap-On either), they are
perfect for the truck toolbox that only comes out for the unexpected
and usually small task. They are also what is in the toolbox that I
keep in my jetski that I hope I never have to use. In other words,
they are adequate for the task assigned.

Mon, Nov 15, 2004, 4:22pm (EST+5) (SB) says:
snip "budget block plane" it's cr*p it just scratches the piece making
a mess for the sander.

You sure it didn't need sharpening?



JOAT
Any plan is bad which is incapable of modification.
- Publilius Syrus

In article ,
says...
Don't let Toller bother you. There are lots of times and lots of areas
where cheap tools are called for. Foe example, those $5 sets of open
end wrenches with the little metal clip around them.

They fit pretty good on a motorcycle too. And they may well be better
quality than what came with the bike :-).

--
Homo sapiens is a goal, not a description

Art wrote: I was at Wal Mart
and they had 25' tape measures for $2.28 each. Marked
in inches and metric. Bought 10 and still have problems finding one in the
shop. They work as well as the $20 Stanley.

Have you checked them against each other for consistency in measurements? "Ya
pay what ya get fur" Tom
Work at your leisure!

On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 19:14:05 -0500, (J T)
wrote:

You sure it didn't need sharpening?

No, it needed a good beating with the 99p brickie's lump hammer.

My parents gave my son one of these. I managed to dispose of it
safely, after first demonstrating to him why it was rubbish, and why
he should be grateful for his ancient 60 1/2

Years ago they gave me a Stanley 102 block plane, as part of my first
toolkit. It took me _thirty_years_ to make that thing work right.
Planing is easy. Setting up a plane is hard. Setting up something
with such a crude adjustment mechanism makes it even harder. Kids
need, even more than experts, a plane that's easily and reliably
adjustable.

If I had the cash to spare, I'd have bought him another LV low-angle.
The plane that goes dull annually, and can be adjusted by turning the
knob to the depth you want.

--
Smert' spamionam

On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 16:22:56 -0000, "SB"
wrote:

For all of those newbies in the UK, I recommed "The 99p Store" -

You can never have too many clamps. Look out for the 2" and 3" clamps
- a pair on a cardboard backing for about a quid.

--
Smert' spamionam

On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 13:01:29 -0500, (J T)
wrote:

Mon, Nov 15, 2004, 4:53pm (EST+5) (mac*davis)
says:
I use a lot of harbor freight stuff, especially clamps.. Last sale, I
bought a lot of 6" bar clamps for $2 each snip

For 6" clamps, I check Big Lots. They have what I call "quick
clamps" (tighten with one hand) 6 inchers at around $2 each. Also got
some 12" bar clamps there that work great, for around $2, and a few 24"
bar clamps for just a bit more.

But, if you want inexpensive clamps, make some wood cam clamps.
Once you make your first one, all the mystery is gone, and they go
together fast after that. Most of mine are about 99.99% plywood
(usually scrap, rather than new), and one short piece of store-bought
dowel, for a pivot. They're almost free, except for time spent, and
work. Work good. If you want plans, I've posted several, at different
times, so just check the archives.



JOAT
Any plan is bad which is incapable of modification.
- Publilius Syrus

I made several cam clamps a few months ago.. from the shopsmith site,
I think..
they're good for some applications, bit I love having tons of bar
clamps around in different sizes..
I just got four 24" clamps on ebay.. I think I paid $22 including
shipping..
I never thought I'd say this, but the HF ones were better.. lol

On 15 Nov 2004 13:07:22 -0800, (David Hall)
wrote:

snip
Don't let Toller bother you. There are lots of times and lots of areas
where cheap tools are called for. Foe example, those $5 sets of open
end wrenches with the little metal clip around them. While these are
not the tools that I would have in my garage tool chest (I don't do
mechanical work for a living so I don't need Snap-On either), they are
perfect for the truck toolbox that only comes out for the unexpected
and usually small task. They are also what is in the toolbox that I
keep in my jetski that I hope I never have to use. In other words,
they are adequate for the task assigned.

I just had a friend drop by the "shop" this evening.. he works in a
machine shop and I was laughing at him because he was reading my HF
catalog...
He said that he bought a couple of complete sets of wrenches and
pliers from HF and keeps them in a "special" tool chest in his shop..
the one he opens up when people want to borrow a tool...

DY (Tom) wrote in message ...
Art wrote: I was at Wal Mart
and they had 25' tape measures for $2.28 each. Marked
in inches and metric. Bought 10 and still have problems finding one in the
shop. They work as well as the $20 Stanley.

Have you checked them against each other for consistency in measurements? "Ya
pay what ya get fur" Tom
Work at your leisure!

Tools are like fashion and almost everything else for sale in this
world. You want a "brand name", you pay a premium. I have to wonder
how often the casual hobbier buys DeWalt for snob appeal.

FoggyTown

First attempt to use a channel lock pliers resulted in it breaking
into more pieces than designed. It was THEN that I spotted the China
logo on the side! I don't have time for cheap tools!

On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 16:36:43 -0800, Larry Blanchard
wrote:

In article ,
says...
Don't let Toller bother you. There are lots of times and lots of areas
where cheap tools are called for. Foe example, those $5 sets of open
end wrenches with the little metal clip around them.

They fit pretty good on a motorcycle too. And they may well be better
quality than what came with the bike :-).

Larry Blanchard wrote in message ...
In article ,
says...
Don't let Toller bother you. There are lots of times and lots of areas
where cheap tools are called for. Foe example, those $5 sets of open
end wrenches with the little metal clip around them.

They fit pretty good on a motorcycle too. And they may well be better
quality than what came with the bike :-).

They certainly beat the tin that came with the jetski

On Tue, 16 Nov 2004 08:46:52 -0500, "
wrote:

First attempt to use a channel lock pliers resulted in it breaking
into more pieces than designed. It was THEN that I spotted the China
logo on the side! I don't have time for cheap tools!

you have to watch what you buy and expect to get what you pay for..

on my 1st trip to HF, I got a "great" deal on a 3 piece set of
"locking pliers".. the 1st time I used one, the threads pulled right
out of the handle!
I took them back and thought that I'd never buy from HF again..

funny how things change, though.. my shop is full of HF clamps, bench
pegs, sanding belts & disks, even a belt/disk sander...
I wouldn't buy pliers, wrenches, sockets, etc. from them, but on some
things inexpensive is just as good as name brand..
BTW, have you seen any tools lately that aren't Chi-wan-ese??

My wife spent $160 last month for my biscuit jointer... it's a
Craftsman, made by Dewalt, in China... go figure..lol


On Mon, 15 Nov 2004 16:36:43 -0800, Larry Blanchard
wrote:

In article ,
says...
Don't let Toller bother you. There are lots of times and lots of areas
where cheap tools are called for. Foe example, those $5 sets of open
end wrenches with the little metal clip around them.

They fit pretty good on a motorcycle too. And they may well be better
quality than what came with the bike :-).

"mac davis" wrote in message
My wife spent $160 last month for my biscuit jointer... it's a
Craftsman, made by Dewalt, in China... go figure..lol

Not everything in China is cheaply made. They have come a long way and
produce good quality when specified. As long as people keep buying cheap
junk, they will make that also.

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 11:16:14 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:
Not everything in China is cheaply made.

My mail order bride sure wasn't cheap!

Seriously, I have a $3000 bicycle with a frame that was made in China.
There is a huge difference between this bike and a $40 made in China
Wal-Mart bike.

Barry

"Ba r r y" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 11:16:14 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:
Not everything in China is cheaply made.

My mail order bride sure wasn't cheap!

Seriously, I have a $3000 bicycle with a frame that was made in China.
There is a huge difference between this bike and a $40 made in China
Wal-Mart bike.

Barry

Guys, I'm getting that deja vu thing. These same discussions were held about
Japan and Korea back in the '70s and 80s.

People only laughed at Japan for a little while, China is going to make the
rest of the world's economies look feeble within most of our lifetimes.

IMHO anyway.

--

Greg

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 23:08:33 +1100, "Greg Millen"
wrote:

Guys, I'm getting that deja vu thing. These same discussions were held about
Japan and Korea back in the '70s and 80s.

People only laughed at Japan for a little while, China is going to make the
rest of the world's economies look feeble within most of our lifetimes.

I'm with you on that!

Once upon a time Toyota, Honda, Subaru, and Datsun were "off" brands.
G

Now Subaru's building Saabs, Toyota and Nissan have serious big
trucks, and Honda leads the world in quality and forward thinking
technology.

Barry

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 12:28:22 GMT, Ba r r y
wrote:

Now Subaru's building Saabs,

No, they're building crappy GM cars with Saab badges on them. Even
Saab haven't built a Saab in years.

My Saab-nut friend over the road is driving a 900 Turbo these days
that's even older (20 years?) than my Volvo. This is in preference to
his more recent Saabs, because "the 900 was the last Real One".


In comparison to Japan, there's a big difference with Korea. Japan
got the quality of their manufacturing industry right, Korea failed
to. Would _you_ want to drive a Daewoo ? They looked shiny at first,
all the extra gadgets and features, and plenty of people thought
they'd be another low-end Datsun. The reality turned out to be
reliability that's more like a Lada.

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 23:08:33 +1100, "Greg Millen"
wrote:


"Ba r r y" wrote in message
.. .
On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 11:16:14 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski"
wrote:
Not everything in China is cheaply made.

My mail order bride sure wasn't cheap!

Seriously, I have a $3000 bicycle with a frame that was made in China.
There is a huge difference between this bike and a $40 made in China
Wal-Mart bike.

Barry

Guys, I'm getting that deja vu thing. These same discussions were held about
Japan and Korea back in the '70s and 80s.

People only laughed at Japan for a little while, China is going to make the
rest of the world's economies look feeble within most of our lifetimes.

IMHO anyway.

exactly.. I remember back in the 70's, when I was looking for a car,
my brother recommended the Toyota Supra...
Being raised by parents that survived the depression, I "knew" that
the Japanese made cheap **** from our old tin cans... No Way would I
look at a japanese car..

My brother knew that I'd been riding motorcycles for years, and asked
my how many bike's I'd owned... about 12
He asked how many were Japanese... all of 'em..

hmm...... test drove the Supra and bought it... drove it like I stole
it for 7 or 8 years before I gave it to one of the kids, who put
another 150,000 miles on it...

Now I have a Dodge (owned by the Germans) Ram that was assembled in
Mexico... go figure.. lol

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 13:08:41 +0000, Andy Dingley
wrote:


In comparison to Japan, there's a big difference with Korea. Japan
got the quality of their manufacturing industry right, Korea failed
to. Would _you_ want to drive a Daewoo ?

Only over a Yugo! G

Barry

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 13:08:41 +0000, Andy Dingley
wrote:

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 12:28:22 GMT, Ba r r y
wrote:

Now Subaru's building Saabs,

No, they're building crappy GM cars with Saab badges on them. Even
Saab haven't built a Saab in years.

The Saab 9-2 is a Subaru WRX with a nicer interior. The Saabaru!

Barry

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 20:59:18 GMT, Ba r r y
calmly ranted:

On Wed, 17 Nov 2004 13:08:41 +0000, Andy Dingley
wrote:


In comparison to Japan, there's a big difference with Korea. Japan
got the quality of their manufacturing industry right, Korea failed
to. Would _you_ want to drive a Daewoo ?

Only over a Yugo! G

It doesn't have nearly enough power, traction, or ground clearance.


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