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  #11  
Old 10-23-2013, 07:22 PM
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rocketbob rocketbob is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: 8I3
Posts: 3,564
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hmmm. I recently bought a Harbor Freight powder coat gun for $40 with coupons and have redone the yokes in my C150, coated a stainless barrel on a new AR-15 build, several small items amongst other things...and it has worked extremely well with zero problems.
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N9187P PA-24-260B Comanche, flying
N678X F1 Rocket, under const.
N244BJ RV-6 "victim of SNF tornado" 1200+ hrs, rebuilding
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  #12  
Old 10-23-2013, 08:15 PM
meloosifah meloosifah is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Indiana
Posts: 216
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I concur that they have tools that work great for their intended purpose, but they are NOT the same as the name brands. I cut 500 sq ft of 1 inch stone with a HF saw and it got the job done. BUT, it is nowhere near the quality of my uncle's saw that looks nearly identical. Go buy a HF (insert any tool) and a Dewalt (insert same tool) and you will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they did not come off the same line.
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  #13  
Old 10-23-2013, 08:23 PM
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rocketbob rocketbob is offline
 
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I've got two Snap On ratchets that were both over $60/apiece and I loved them until they quit ratcheting. So they sit useless in my toolbox because I'm never around when the Snap On guy visits a friend's shop. But Harbor Freight is open till 9pm and I haven't had anything from their fail yet.
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Bob Japundza CFI A&PIA
N9187P PA-24-260B Comanche, flying
N678X F1 Rocket, under const.
N244BJ RV-6 "victim of SNF tornado" 1200+ hrs, rebuilding
N8155F C150 flying
N7925P PA-24-250 Comanche, restoring
Not a thing I own is stock.
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  #14  
Old 10-24-2013, 07:19 AM
Valentine Valentine is offline
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Paso Robles, CA
Posts: 25
Default Quality control

100 doodads come down the line and the inspector picks off 10 and evaluates them. If 3 or more fail he rejects the entire lot. The lot then goes to HF, Sears, Best Buy, Ebay etc. I recently bought ten scissors from HF for a buck each. I liked the fact that one blade had serrations and could cut FG cloth. These had no serrations, a mfg error! Still they serve other purposes. You risk getting a defect like I've gotten from Garmin etc.

Slightly Out of tolerance pistons for Cadillacs used to go to Chevies.

Hal. Sanding and scuffing.
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  #15  
Old 10-24-2013, 09:55 AM
Aryana Aryana is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Western US
Posts: 98
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HF has done me right. Not everything they sell is a winner, but to say everything is garbage there is not right.

You can spend $259 on this camera from ATS or get the same camera at HF for less.

Same camera private labeled to each distributor/vendor.



Sorry for the large photo
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  #16  
Old 10-24-2013, 10:41 AM
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CharlieWaffles CharlieWaffles is offline
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: West Linn, Oregon
Posts: 1,351
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I'm not saying all HF stuff will be bad or will break. I'm just saying the failure rate is high and quality is low. It's one thing to get a camera too, HVLP or something else and use it. If it fails, no biggie, go buy another one. But I don't have faith in the items that would be PERMANENT in the plane - rivets, adhesive, primer, fasteners, etc...

HF is like a tool, use it properly and all is good.
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  #17  
Old 10-24-2013, 02:46 PM
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wirejock wirejock is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Estes Park, CO
Posts: 3,947
Default HF tools

I have a whole shop full of their bench tools because the owner who sold me his kit included them. Since, a few have failed and been replaced. I always compare specs, features and price with name brands. A few were replaced with HF products because they worked fine for the job and were significantly cheaper. Others I wanted the feature and paid a bit more for it. I bought drills, jig saw and circular saw. The jig and circular are notoriously off and have to be checked for square before use but they do work ok. Some that are seldom used are HF. Others I use every day are name brand like Dewalt. I recently did some refinish work with two orbital sanders. One HF, one Dewalt. The Dewalt was twice the tool and given the size of the project, well worth the price premium as it shaved hours off the job.
There are some I won't use where accuracy is critical. Torque wrenches for example. The one I bought was just a few dollars more and dead on accurate.
Their die grinders, dremel and cut off saws work fine and get heavy use in my shop.
I've broken lots of their hand tools such as taps and hex wrenches so I stick with better brands now on them.
Personally I would recommend doing research. They are not always cheaper. It depends on the tool. Same for quality.
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Donated 12/03/2019, plus a little extra.
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HS SB, empennage, tanks, wings, fuse, working finishing kit
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I cannot be, nor will I be, held responsible if you try to do the same things I do and it does not work and/or causes you loss, injury, or even death in the process.
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