Just received an email from HF in response to my asking if they could honor a warrenty on a tool I haven't used until two days ago. The tool is a paddle switch 4.5 inch hand grinder. It sat on my bench unused since I purchased it Jan 2015! Bought it to practice shaping wood.
While using it to grind rust off my mower deck which is in terrible shape. I bought it last year used. Crapped out this year. Lots out maintenance including rust to be done.
The grinder motor was running but the head was not engaged.
Sent an email and they would exchange it as I have been a customer before they had a web page. They agreed and I was amazed.
Well I found out that the bolts had loosened after taking off the protective shroud. And I repaired the grinder,which completed the job nicely.
Soo I hoped I'd gotten to them in time to cancel the postage paid return they were sending and I thanked them.
I just thought they get a bad rap a lot? But they do stand behind what they sell. Sometimes it's not assembled correctly?
I have 2 water pumps from HF that I bought over 10 years ago and have used them and got my moneys worth. Never tried to deal with repairs or returns…but I am glad to hear they handled your issue correctly
HF sells junk. But they also sell some good stuff. If you use some common sense you can save a bundle on lots of things. Its a really nice place to have around. Think ill try some of those clamps, are you guys saying their a good deal.
So here's the deal: Harbor Freight for the most part makes all their own tools, or at least contracts with manufacturers to make their own brands. Some other brands such as Sears sell the some of the exact same products, probably from the same manufacturer, as their own brands.
I think the key phrase is "emerging manufacturing" some of their products they get right and are great quality for a bargain, and others are a waste of money. Solid bar clamps, terrible squeeze hand clamps (compared to say DeWalt). Some things work really well with some effort. If your time is worth money, then you'll be better off spending more for something that works for you out of the box.
Given the time and feedback, it is likely that their catalog will continue improve. Some bad products have been discontinued, others replaced by newer properly functioning versions.
HF sells junk. But they also sell some good stuff. If you use some common sense you can save a bundle on lots of things. Its a really nice place to have around. Think ill try some of those clamps, are you guys saying their a good deal.
i ripped some maple to fit inside mine and have used the crap out of them. without some type of wood to fill the inside they twist real easy.
imo, a very good deal
I never had a bad experience with HF but I choose cautiously what I buy there. I bought two 4 1/2'' grinders from them 15 years ago and the one keeps on going. I never checked the other. LOL Maybe I should. Good to hear Tom.
Love their clamps my sister gave me 10 of the old 2' f style clamps I have some of the new style 18" ones and 4 of the aluminum 60" and a single 36" one. They only had one of the 36" when I was there so only one. My local store is straight junk poor service, no organization and like to argue over the warranties on the clamps even though it says lifetime on the side. Now the Louisville ky store is the greatest I have been in clean, well stocked, helpful and knowledgable staff. We went in they asked how our day was as soon as we came through the door then asked what we was looking for and took us to where the stuff was.
Talking about clamps, I probably have about a dozen of the toggle clamps about evenly mixed between the horizontal and vertical style. For guys who make up a lot of jigs, these are super handy and so far (knock on wood) I haven't had one fail. Though I have had them pull the mounting screws out of plywood if I didn't adjust them to well.
Talking about clamps, I probably have about a dozen of the toggle clamps about evenly mixed between the horizontal and vertical style. For guys who make up a lot of jigs, these are super handy and so far (knock on wood) I haven t had one fail. Though I have had them pull the mounting screws out of plywood if I didn t adjust them to well.
For those that don't have a nearby Harbor Freight, Menards carries them for just a dollar more. With all those 11% rebate sales they run, the price difference can be as low as 23 cents.
The first round I needed 6 clamps and I also saw that Amazon lists the Powertec brand clamp for a reasonable price ($6.99) and it seems to get ok reviews.
Yep They are knockoffs off Jorgenson Bar clamps. Menards has sales on their version and the 11% covers sales tax. HF charges a flat 6.99 with a deal in shipping from Fed ex but handed off to USPS. I purchased 16 f bar clamps of different lengths. Came in two shipments for one rate.
If I were running a commercial shop I'd purchase Milwaukee , Dewalt, Makita.
I have abused the hell out of their cheap single speed multi tool. I've run it for hours scraping adhesive off a kitchen floor, and it never got hot. Carved out a TP holder recess in a solid stack of 2X4s. The blade smoked but the tool never faltered. When it quit one time, I pulled off the plate covering the cord connection, and found a loose wire, which was easy to correct (pinch the female connector to make it a bit tighter). Bought another one to have as a spare, as the $15 cost was pretty painless. Handy to have 2 of them, with different blades in each. Sure it's noisy, but so are all the other tools of that type that I've used (including the Fein).
Years ago, my first set of HF wrenches (ratcheting box wrenches) were junk-some didn't work right out of the box.. That was back when HF was strictly a mail order place, unless you lived in California. Since then, they've improved to the point where I find their wrenches as good as anyone's. I especially like the ratcheting set that uses through sockets, so you can turn a nut anywhere along a long bolt or all-thread. Seems solidly made, and the fine toothed ratchet is very smooth.
There seems to be a gradual improvement overall in HF's tools. You still have to check stuff out pretty carefully, but there are some worthwhile bargains there. I'm waiting for a clone of the Domino. Expect to pay about $79.95 for it.
Love their clamps my sister gave me 10 of the old 2 f style clamps I have some of the new style 18" ones and 4 of the aluminum 60" and a single 36" one. They only had one of the 36" when I was there so only one. My local store is straight junk poor service, no organization and like to argue over the warranties on the clamps even though it says lifetime on the side. Now the Louisville ky store is the greatest I have been in clean, well stocked, helpful and knowledgable staff. We went in they asked how our day was as soon as we came through the door then asked what we was looking for and took us to where the stuff was.
+1 for the Louisville store (Westport Rd), and not just because it's a mere 15 minute drive for me. I wanted to get into turning pens, so I went there to pick up a set of their medium quality lathe tools and the mini 8×12 variable speed lathe. Tools were in stock, lathe wasn't. Lady at the counter checked another store for me, and also when the next shipment arrived. Put one on hold for me for the following Monday (this was Saturday) and took my number. I bought the lathe tools and left.
Sunday I get a call that it's in if I want to pick it up…so I got it earlier than expected, and having to make two trips let me use their 20% off coupon on both the tools and the lathe. And everyone was super friendly all 3 or 4 times I've been in the store, even the younger employees.
Could do with a few companies like that down here, even if you get a guarantee they never honour it! Glad to hear you managed to get it sorted, even without the guarantee!
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