When you pickup a tool and hold it in your hand, you should get a pretty good idea if it's quality or crap. If it's crap... put it back. I used to buy only Craftsman but the first time I bought a Pittsburgh (Professional Series) ratchet is the last time I bought a Craftsman... not that there's anything wrong with Craftsman but why pay twice as much for a tool that isn't twice as good?
A few years back (ok, maybe more than a few) I was looking to buy a 12" Adjustable Wrench, the Craftsman was something like $20 bucks (memory could be weak) and the Chinese knock off at about $5 bucks looked exactly the same, was made from metal every bit as good (if not better) and even had a rubberized coating on the handle. I still have that adjustable wrench today and whenever I need a big adjustable that's the one I use... the Craftsman sits in the tool drawer looking pretty.
When I installed my MaxJax lift I needed to drill ten 7/8ths holes through 5" of solid concrete. Off to Harbor Freight I went and returned with a Bauer hammer drill that made short work of drilling through concrete. Of course, due to my own stupidity, I located the posts to close together and had to re-drill 5 of the holes 12" wider and then due to even greater stupidity I realized that I located the posts too far into the garage and had to re-drill all 10 holes 18" closer to the garage door. What's my point? Well, in addition to lesson learned... the hammer drill performed flawlessly drilling 25 7/8" holes through 5" of concrete. Great tool.
On the other side of the coind, 10 years ago (I think it was 10) I bought a band saw from Harbor Freight that was a knockoff of the much more expensive popular brand. There was no Harbor Freight store anywhere near me (now there are two within 10 miles of me) so I purchased it online and had it shipped. When it arrived I was disappointed with the poor quality to say the least. Everything about the tool was cheap crap (with the possible exception of the cast iron base). Had I seen this machine in a store I would not have bought it. I probably should have sent it back but it was very heavy and the carton it came in was all but destroyed in shipping, and it was so cheap to begin with, so I kept it. I am still using that saw today and it's still made of the cheapest crap materials you could find, but I gotta admit... it cuts pretty good.
bTw... don't bother buying the Harbor Freight $9 dollar HVLP spray guns on sale... they're total crap. :smile
A few years back (ok, maybe more than a few) I was looking to buy a 12" Adjustable Wrench, the Craftsman was something like $20 bucks (memory could be weak) and the Chinese knock off at about $5 bucks looked exactly the same, was made from metal every bit as good (if not better) and even had a rubberized coating on the handle. I still have that adjustable wrench today and whenever I need a big adjustable that's the one I use... the Craftsman sits in the tool drawer looking pretty.
When I installed my MaxJax lift I needed to drill ten 7/8ths holes through 5" of solid concrete. Off to Harbor Freight I went and returned with a Bauer hammer drill that made short work of drilling through concrete. Of course, due to my own stupidity, I located the posts to close together and had to re-drill 5 of the holes 12" wider and then due to even greater stupidity I realized that I located the posts too far into the garage and had to re-drill all 10 holes 18" closer to the garage door. What's my point? Well, in addition to lesson learned... the hammer drill performed flawlessly drilling 25 7/8" holes through 5" of concrete. Great tool.
On the other side of the coind, 10 years ago (I think it was 10) I bought a band saw from Harbor Freight that was a knockoff of the much more expensive popular brand. There was no Harbor Freight store anywhere near me (now there are two within 10 miles of me) so I purchased it online and had it shipped. When it arrived I was disappointed with the poor quality to say the least. Everything about the tool was cheap crap (with the possible exception of the cast iron base). Had I seen this machine in a store I would not have bought it. I probably should have sent it back but it was very heavy and the carton it came in was all but destroyed in shipping, and it was so cheap to begin with, so I kept it. I am still using that saw today and it's still made of the cheapest crap materials you could find, but I gotta admit... it cuts pretty good.
bTw... don't bother buying the Harbor Freight $9 dollar HVLP spray guns on sale... they're total crap. :smile
