wrote in message
...
Someone wrote: 'YOUR OUT OF YOUR F**KING MIND' ...with regard to
suggesting people buy ANYTHING from Harbor Freight.

I disagree.

I've come to see HF products as a kind of semi-finished kit, something
you have to take apart, clean up, align and re-assemble before you can
use it.

See those angle-head grinders over there? Most wear out in a matter
of hours... unless you dismantle the gear-box, add a Zerk and fill the
thing with high-pressure moly lube. Give it a shot of lube now &
then, the things last a good long time. Ditto for their gear-head
bench mill. I took about a tea-cup of SAND out of the thing, then
dressed the gears, stoned the ways, did all the usual stuff a
machinist does to ensure his tools run true... and it does.

The point here is that the odds of plugging in a tool from Harbor
Freight -- and having the thing actually work! -- are vanishingly
small. But the difference between a usable tool and a piece of junk
is often no more than a bit of attention on your part.

Some insist this is kinda crazy -- buying a tool only to fix it. (Like
the ALL CAPS profanity fellow.) But a fundamental part of having and
using tools is knowing how to maintain them, from simple sharpening
chores to periodic re-alignment & adjustments. With HF tools you
simply start with the maintenance. By the time you're ready to put
the tool to work you know it will do a good job.

-R.S.Hoover

I'll add to that. I bought three of the small angle grinders. Christ the
cost was so low the only fear I had was the possibility of damage to the
rotator cuff when I threw them away. Guess what. All three are still
working in spite of some heavy grinding. 3rd wheel, wire brushes, and more
on them now. Didn't do a thing but plug in and use.
Now I could have bought one from Snap-On but I would have to have a clean
dirt proof storage and gloves to operate and a maintenance program.
Now the "Professional" grade drill drivers that I bought from Sears?? Have
had a lot more trouble with them. I've found some good value with HF tools
and continue to use them.
Stu