You Get What You Pay For - Harbor Freight Tools

[Maine Sail]

Hi All,

Well I had meant to present you guys with another product review. Don't worry it will still be forth coming but in the mean time I need to vent.

I went to Harbor Freight Tools and while there saw three items that I absolutely did not need, but ones I thought might warrant a closer look and an honest assessment of performance, quality and cost.

The three items were the Chicago Electric (read Harbor Freights in-house brand) Multi-Tool and the Chicago Electric 7" Variable Speed Buffer item #92623. For non electric stuff I picked up a slightly changed version, read new one piece crimp dies, of the HFT ratcheting crimpers I have previosuly reviewed, item #97420..

The buffer has not yet been used so I can't yet fully comment. I can say that there is no way this tool is made in the same factory, as HFT claims their tools are, or is built to the level of quality as the Makita 9227C is.

So I set up some pieces of 5/8" thick solid fiberglass to make a few cuts because boaters cut fiberglass, not soft pine. The tolls I am testing are the Fein Multi-Master, Dremel Multi-Max and the Harbor Freight Multi-Tool. I already owned the Dremel and the Fein, as I said I did not need this tool and was merely doing it for you guys, and bought the HF MT on a whim.

Upon opening the box it was apparent that the HF MT tool was very, very cheaply built. No big deal, lots of tools are inexpensive and not built to a Fein standard. So I install the blade and plug her in. It was my hope that this tool may best the Dremel for $50.00 less...

NOT!!! I plug her in and flip the switch...mmmmmmmmrrrrrrr she fires up, then seconds later,......dead silence?

Really, I should have known better than to buy anything that required electricity from HF but I thought a good honest assessment, using the same techniques on each tool, and then a rating based on multiple factors and observations might help some boaters make a more educated decision as to which of the oscilating tools to purchase.

Soooo, long story short is. The Harbor Freight tool is on the bench broken open and I am trying to get it working. So far I know the switch is operational and that the brushes on the motor have continuity but I have not yet ascertained if they are seeing power. I'll dig into it more later and hopefully will be able to get it working so I can at least evaluate it on performance. We apparently already know about initial quality.:cussing: I know from past experience with HF that once you walk out the door you basically own it but this little experiment will now add a third dimension and that is a CUSTOMER SERVICE report on how Harbor Freight handles this issue..

So for now stick with pliers, hammers and tools that don't require electricity when dealing with HFT....

What a joke.... DOA !!!!

 

[Ed Schenck]

Re: Sometimes You Get What You Pay For...

Looking forward to the "customer service" part Maine. And to think that I almost bought one because it said "Chicago Electric". I have had similar bad luck there. I bought their dremmel-like tool. My good one is battery operated, I hate battery tools. So I buy the HF because the package says 110v and the picture shows the cord. Lo and behold it does have to be plugged in but only to keep the little battery charged. It is so weak as to be more useless than my real Dremmel.

 

[Rick D]

Re: Sometimes You Get What You Pay For...

Friend bought one a couple of weeks ago. Worked well enough for him. (HF muti-tool)

 

[gfrazzle]

HF "Tools"

I buy HF tools with the understanding that they are cheap ( and inexpensive ) when I don't need them to last a long time.

That said, I bought the multi tool a few months ago to use as a detail sander for some brightwork- worked fine for several hours.

I also bought a 12 volt portable pump to use for cleaning the bilge - clipped it onto a battery- ran for 20 seconds and seized- garbage. Took it back, got a free replacement- motor ran fine- pump didn't work.

In their defense, HF gave me a refund, no questions asked.

Sometimes you win, sometimes.....

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Re: Sometimes You Get What You Pay For...

Hf is one of those places where I buy only pry bars. Not much that can go wrong that isn't already plainly obvious. Having said that, I think they are what they are - a great place to buy cheap stuff cheap.

 

[Ray Bowles]

Re: Sometimes You Get What You Pay For...

As a person that made his living with tools I found that my time was worth too much to try and do quality work with poor equipment.
The old saying is true..."You can't make ice cream out of horse crap!"
Ray

 

[Maine Sail]

I fixed it...

It's funny, about a half hour after posting this thread I got a query from a guy in the process of buffing his Catalina 34. I responded to him with more questions about his machine, pads technique etc. and this is what I got back.

Maine Sail, I appreciate your reply. I have actually been working on the boat for two days. I went out and bought a cheap variable (600-3200RPM)speed buffer/sander from harbor freight. It is POS - can't take a load.

Good timing Bill, my thoughts exactly right about now, and now I own one of those POS as well..

Well anyway I fixed the HF Multi-Tool nothing more than poor quality control. The spring for one of the brushes on the motor was not properly seated and explains why it worked for just a second or two. Unfortunately I used up my time to play with tools today, and to compare them, on fixing the HF MT..

The spring for the brush never seated in the brush holder:

Brush is now properly seated:

Perhaps after the family has gone to bed, and my paperwork is done, I can sneak out to the barn to make some cuts and see how they compare...

 

[Ctskip]

Re: Sometimes You Get What You Pay For...

It's no wonder our economy is in a slump. Even my new 10 yr old home is built with crap materials. I'll never do that again. Between chipped wood and pressed paper they call wood. I'm embarrassed to say I bought it.
I've always been a fan of,... You always get what you pay for.

Keep it up,
Ctskip

 

[Hermit Scott]

I went to Harbor Freight Tools .......

That is the beginning of joke if I've ever heard one.

 

[Paul Mermelstein]

Re: Sometimes You Get What You Pay For...

In addition to buying and using tools for my boatwork, I also do some amateur woodworking. I never buy any electrical tools from HF, or anything requiring precision measurements or fine control. HF is fine for clamps, hammers, cheap bits, etc. But that's all in my book.

That said .... Maine Sail, how do you like the Dremel MultiMax? How does it compare to the Fein?

Thanks.

 

[DougM]

Re: Sometimes You Get What You Pay For...

I took a chance on a Harbor Freight Buffer against my better judgement...Buffed the hull with it once, then scrapped the buffer. I know better, but I just wanted to try it.

I agree with the others who purchased Makitas...

If you need a tool for a job, spend the money for a good one!

 

[kloudie1]

Re: Sometimes You Get What You Pay For...

OK, I am not on HF payroll.. My experience is a little more positive than some expressed here and I feel like they deserve some credit for a little more even review.. first.. I am not a “power user” I buy some tools from them because they are cheap and because I don’t use the tools in a commercial way. I do some light woodworking and boat work and work around the house and car.. I bought a 92623 7” sander ($24 on sale) and a 40070 palm sander a couple of summers ago when I had a prop failure in Pensacola. We decided to do a bottom job while waiting .. Both of these tools performed well through the bottom work and still work fine after many hours of work. No problems other than the palm sander doesn’t have a standard sized pad so quarter sheets are a little too small.. crappy design but it functions fine for under $10. The multitool (67256) has worked well now for about 2 hours and seems fine.. The Fein blades are better ! The HF does not have the slick tool quick change that the Fein does.. but the HF was $25.. Ed, I bought the 110Volt rotary tool, 40457, and have used it a lot.. I bought some Dremel bits for it and find that it has plenty power .. I cut the thru-wall port extension on a new 5X12 Gray port to size using this tool.. The tool is about 4 years old now and is used every week for small grinding and carving. The close quarters drill, 92956, has been invaluable around the boat and in helping a friend wire a house for computer and sound.. Cheap tools? YES.. not high precision either.. but in my opinion fine for the jobs I’ve used them for.. I have had two failures on HF stuff.. One was a badly made (in India) flare wrench that broke the first time I tried to use it.. the other was a pressure regulator diaphragm on an air compressor (94667). There was small debris left in the outlet piping which got under the diaphragm and poked a hole in it.. (bad QC again) .. New regulator was $8. I patched the old diaphragm for a spare regulator, but cleaning the piping seems to have solved the problem. Again, I have had positive experience with the stuff but I do recognize the limitations.. probably not good for production shop use, but in my opinion, fine for home/hobby.. considering the limitations.

 

[tommays]

Re: Sometimes You Get What You Pay For...

Roybie is cheep enough and it may be a POV thing but i got the good Maktia polish machine kit, bag, pads ect for 200 dollars for a tool that will most likely last the rest of my life

 

[Ross]

Re: Sometimes You Get What You Pay For...

I have never regretted buying the best tools I could afford. I have a Craftsman sabersaw that I bought forty years ago and use often. I burned up two Dremels before I got smart and went to and industrial grade Dewalt.

 

[tommays]

Re: Sometimes You Get What You Pay For...

And i also buy a LOT of used tools my table saw is a bit odd in that its a 9" yes you can get good blades

BUT at 250 dollars it is a far better TOOL than most of what is sold right NOW

My really BIG hand drill is used as well as a bunch of other garage sale stuff along with a mix of NEW

 

[Maine Sail]

OK, I am not on HF payroll.. My experience is a little more positive than some expressed here and I feel like they deserve some credit for a little more even review..

I have not yet had a chance to fully review this stuff. My initial post was one out of frustration when the HFT product failed right out of the box. Please understand that I DO buy some HFT tools but mostly stuff that does not require accuracy or electricity. For pounding nails I still like my Estwing but I do have a number of HFT mallets and such as well as pry bars, clamps, some pliers and other stuff that is actually a decent value at HFT.

I only bought the three tools I did to possibly try and save you guys, and other boaters some money. I did not need to spend this money at all but did in the hopes of giving an honest side by side assessment from somone hwo uses these tools on boats.

Sometimes the least expensive is not the best value. For example I know that the Fein blades outlast the Dremel blades by multiples so the $12.00 Dremel blade is not a better deal than the $40.00 Fein blade if you need to buy eight of them to do the same job that you can do with one Fein blade. Yes, the Fein blades are offensively priced but they last and when you break it down into feet cut per/cost the Feins win over the Dremel blades.

From what I have had a chance to play around with so far the three tools fall just about where they are priced, not surprising at all. The Fein is head and shoulders above and beyond both the Dremel and the HFT but that is to be expected, or should be expected, at $209.00 vs $99.00 & $49.00. You'd better get something good for that extra money spent..

The HFT MT oscillates at half the speed that the Fein & Dremel do. This is probably why it seems so inaccurate and tends to jump and marr a surface when trying to make a plunge cut. The Dremel is considerably better at plunges than the HFT MT but a long way from the Fein.

I hope to do more comparisons this week including the blades.

For a once in a while user the HFT will be fine.

If you want better accuracy and don't want to ruin the veneer on a $200.00 sheet of marine ply then the Fein is the best choice.

If you want better accuracy and are not a "woodworker" or doing any sort of delicate work the Dremel is a good choice and represents a better value IMHO than the HFT MT even at $99.00 vs. $49.00..

I have also had a chance to use the Rockwell Multi-Tool and find it to be better than the Dremel at the same price. My buddy Andy owns it and after borrowing my Fein and using it side by side his Rockwell he said "The Rockwell is OK but it sure not a Fein"

I do not own the Rockwell but in my observations of it I would purchase it over the HFT MT or the Dremel in the lower tier price range.

If you plan on doing finesse/finish quality work and want a lifetime tool then the Fein is the best choice. For anything else I would buy the Dremel or Rockwell. For occasional down and dirty work the HFT will suffice..

I will hopefully have more detail if I get some barn time this week...

 

[Bob S]

It all depends on where you buy your tools. I have a friend who is a plasterer by trade. He bought a 1/2" Makita drill at Home Depot to mix plaster. Well, it broke after a few months. Home Depot wouldn't replace it and told him to go to an authorized Makita repair facilities. When he took the drill to the service center the technician knew he had bought it from Home Depot by the serial #. Turns out they use plastic gears for the units sold by Home Depot where the industrial grade tools used steel gears. Same unit, same model #, even the same colors as the industrial version just at Home Depot prices. He was told when Home Depot orders them from Makita the quantities are so high they can re engineer them. So you really do get what you pay for!

 

[kenn]

Re: Sometimes You Get What You Pay For...

I've pretty much figured out what the good tool brands are, and also how I'm likely to use them. I'll buy cheap house-brand stuff if it seems reasonably robust and I'm not going to need it more than a couple times a year. Example - a sawzall. I'll buy better-quality stuff if it's a critical tool and I'm going to be using it alot.

If you have the time and money, the very best strategy is to buy the good stuff when it comes on sale. Here in Canada, Canadian Tire routinely features something good as a loss-leader (sometimes better than 40% off) so I've made a practice of stocking up. At this point I'm well-stocked.

I will note that it seems these days, there's so much pressure on price that even the "good stuff" is usually built offshore, doesn't last as long, and DOAs or warranty claims seem to happen more often.

 

[Big Windy]

Re: Sometimes You Get What You Pay For...

I buy HF hand tools (wrenches, sockets, pliers, breaker bars, torque wrenches, etc)...they have all worked fine, plus they have the same warranty as Craftsman, you can swap them out, no receipt required.

I also bought a 18v drill/light set combo and extra battery. Absolute junk, never worked right and never held a charge. Also bought the biggest 12v air compressor they make, the kind with alligator clips to put on the battery ...I've returned it twice for a new ones. Keeps blowing fuses.

Bottom line, hand tools are okay, I no longer buy anything with a battery or a motor from HF.

 

[kloudie1]

Re: Sometimes You Get What You Pay For...

True words, MainSail.. I recently bought an HP laptop that worked about 20 minutes before going belly up.. Hardware malfunction.. Pretty frustrating ! But after some heartburn, HP sent me a new one with upgrades to make the deal sweeter..
Interesting that Fein discovered and patented the vibrating tool.. for some years, the medical folks had been using a VERY similar vibrating tool method of removing casts without cutting the skin underneath..That began in 1943, Dr. Homer Stryker, of Michigan invented it.. I am glad someone decided to branch it out into the woodworking world!