# Harbor Freight



## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

Looks like everybody went to bed early tonight.

Walked thru Harbor Freight today and saw a dove tail jig for $39.00. Anybody ever bought one from there and if so how did it work?


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## sIKE (Feb 14, 2008)

No but I will take a look this coming week….


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## Steve2 (Aug 16, 2008)

The $39 dovetail jig is the perennial cheap one under every machine color and label imaginable. Stand in line with those throwing it out after you try it a few times and give up in frustration and wasted time.


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## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

That's why I didn't buy it without checking with the experts here.


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## tooldad (Mar 24, 2008)

2nd the moilly comment. I had one, file 13. bought an omnijig on ebay.


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## tooldad (Mar 24, 2008)

actually sold it to a sucker at a garage sale for $30. Ha Ha


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## DanM (Mar 30, 2008)

I have a number of HF tools, and I feel their level of quality/price has its place. I've been quite satisfied with most of my purchases from them, but I avoid buying anything there which requires much precision, such as a dovetail jig.

Can you imagine what a nightmare their $250, 7" jointer must be?!?

Dan


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

Like Dan says, I can't imagine buying large power tools from HF.

Still, I love going in there. It's sort of like dumpster diving…. most of what's in there is garbage, but you can find some useful gems for next to nothing sometimes.


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## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

Charlie - I hear you.
This time they had 0-1 inch dial indicators for $14.00. Would a bought that except I bought a more expensive one several months ago.


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## croessler (Jun 22, 2007)

The only thing I have purchased with satisfaction from H/F has been the basic f-type clamps….. I have to agree with DanM on this one…


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## rtb (Mar 26, 2008)

HF has some good values if you shop carefully. brads,nails, staples for my small size pneumatic tools fine, at thier price a good value. Would i buy 5000 for my framing gun? not on a bet. vinyl gloves for finishing, electric ties, chear hammers (for the missus) other throw aways fine. I wouldn't but any mechanical tool of any type at any price, same for any thing in which you expect exactness including drill bits. If you think of it as a dollar store and buy essentially throw away stuff you will probably be ok. as for the dovetail jig the price alone should be a dead give away.


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## GaryK (Jun 25, 2007)

Well I actually bought one of those cheap ones. I think I spend $40 on it. I got it to work fine.
It took a while to get it set up right but it worked pretty good.

I now have a good Leigh jig.

HF does have great deals on C-Clamps. Kinda hard to screw up a C-Clamp. I think the last time I was there I got 10 5" clamps for $20. They work great.

I did the drawers for this project with the cheap one.


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## ChicoWoodnut (Dec 15, 2007)

I bought a little tile saw there. It lasted just long enough to tile the bathroom. At least it's not taking up space in the shop now LOL.


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## ajosephg (Aug 25, 2008)

Yeah - I couldn't believe all the various models of tile saws they had. Is that a new fad or what? Surely no pros are going to buy there.


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## sIKE (Feb 14, 2008)

I know a couple of pro's that use some tools from their. They mainly buy the tools they may only needs to use once or twice a year, and tools that burn up quickly under heavy use anyway (aka rotozip type tools). I like the air compressor stuff that HF carries.


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## DanM (Mar 30, 2008)

Interesting comments. I have quite a number of their clamps and some hand tools, like a huge 14" pair of nippers I use all the time for pulling/cutting nails, etc, as well as a pancake compressor, several air tools (nailers, ratchets) a side cabinet for my rollaway which is especially nice, a 120v impact wrench which is terrific for lug nuts, a 1" SDS hammer drill, and a 16 speed 3/4hp drill press. All of these have performed very well, though some, such as the impact wrench & hammer drill, have seen only minimal use. On the other hand, I use the drill press all the time. Given that these items are often "on sale", and that you can usually also apply one of the 15% discount coupons they dole out liberally, I really do think they CAN be a very good value. And it's not that I just buy low priced crap. My TS & jointer for example are both Powermatics. I like to think that in saving on these tools of lesser use/accuracy requirements, I can spend more on the machines that really do require higher quality. Like any other supplier, patronize them for what they do best.

Dan


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## Grumpy (Nov 9, 2007)

I have one, a cheapo. It works OK but I do need to be careful with it. Once you get used to using it you can do some good joinery.


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## Jim55 (Sep 28, 2012)

Too often I have seen HF machines maligned and another brand praised… but if you bother to look, more often than not, the machine that cost 3 times as much is actually the same machine painted another color.

One thing about HF machines is that they can make good foundations for upgrading and the upgraded machine costing a fraction of a comparable machine ready to go. If you are among those who can just go buy whatever you want than fine. The high priced spread is the way to go. But for us on fixed incomes, it's HF or a coping saw and chisel. (Not that there is anything wrong with hand tools. I use them frequently. But, if time is a consideration, a machine is the way to go.)

Concerning HF gauges and dial calipers, as an ex machinist I can tell you they will do what you want them to do. I just drew the line at test indicators I wanted to hold .0001 tolerance.


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## crank49 (Apr 7, 2010)

Actually, referring to the 7" jointer mentioned above, I think there have been some positive posts on here about it.

I don't own the HF jointer, but do have a couple drill presses, air nailers, 12" disk sander, 4 1/2" disk grinder, 4" x 24" belt sander, a lathe, and a few clamps and wrenches. I have been very happy with most of these tools.

But, I carefully scrutinize every thing I get there. I think "dumpster diving" as stated by charles above, is the most profoundly accurate description of the HF shopping experience I have ever read. :^)


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## Jim55 (Sep 28, 2012)

To those saying they "...cant imagine buying large power tools from HF" they might reconsider. I am an ex-machinist and I has seen and used a lot of HF machines and tools in industrial settings. Not precision machining equipment, no but, support equipment like saws, sanders light duty drill presses and the like. Their cost to endurance ratios make buying comparable machines costing many times the money simply not cost effective.
Another consideration is the proliferation of the base units. In the low-mid range machines, most come from the same factory anyway. I have too often seen somebody trashing a $150-$200 HF this or that while extolling the virtues of the $400-$600 name brand never realizing it was the same machine in a different paint job, if that. Look at the HF/Grizz dust collectors and 14" band saws. Same thing and even the same paint, but Grizz doubles the cost. (The Grizz just has athe switch in a different location but you can see the drilled/tapped holes there on the HF saw.) A Jet drill press and belt/disc sander are the same as some HF machines only at 3 times the cost. Some Delta & HF machines are the same at double + the cost of HF.

No, I don't work for nor am I in any way compensated by HF. I just get tired of people trashing something just because of the name on it. This original posters dovetail jig is another case in point as one commenter noted… this same unit is sold by many companies by other names only at costs up to $100.
Y'all want to pay out the nose for Chinese imports, go ahead. But please, don't trash my choices just because they don't cost as much as yours without you look under the paint first.


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## Jim Jakosh (Nov 24, 2009)

Joe, I have that dovetail jig and made a heck of a lot of drawers on it. BUT first , I had to rebuild it. I added socket head cap screws on all the rail locks and use an allen T handle to access them. I had to cut some holes in it for the places where I repositioned them. I added a shim across the back to make the horizontal board flush up to the vertical one perfectly each time. Before that, when you clamped the horizontal board, it would tip up high away from the vertical board making it impossible to get any good dovetails on it..
I also made some 90 degree gages with an exact 1/2" off set from the top rail to the side rail so the side gages could be set perfectly each time.

I mounted it on a piece of maple and I clamp that maple board to the work bench top and away I go. I find I have to do that a lot with Chinese tools, but it paid off.
Trying to use that one off the shelf was tough and frustrating!


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