Cheap Tools

[hosocat]

I thought it might be fun to get feedback on various tools/equipment/supplies people have used in their restoration efforts.

I just prepped the new floor pans for my 73 super vert. I've heard all sorts of bad things about Harbor Freight tools, but I took a chance and bought their spot weld drills. Cost $4.99 for one compared to over $20 for a better Eastwood model. However, the HF drill bit successfully drilled out all the necessary spot welds on my new floor pans. If I was going to make a living out of removing spot welds I'd probably buy the Eastwood. But since this is probably the last time I'll be drilling spot welds I think it worked out pretty well.

Also, I bouight my new floor pans from JC Whitney, since they ended up being the cheapest I could find. I'd heard how they were cheap brazilian junk, and were thinner than the original floor pans. But I compared the thickness of the metal to the original pans and as near as I can tell they are the exact same gauge. I haven't trimmed them and welded them in, but so far I'd say they are a satisfactory alternative for floor pans.

ANyone else have any experience with going the cheapo route on tools and supplies?

[skills@eurocarsplus]

[hosocat]

The pans say "zito pereira made in brazil". They seem okay, but I guess we'll see if they last or not.

[runchman]

prefer my cheap-ass angle grinders from HF to my Milwaukee one, because the HF have a trigger that locks rather than a paddle switch you have to hold.

Plus at $15 or whatever they are, you can have one with a grinding disk, one with a cutting disk, one with a wire wheel… and seldom have to mess with switching things around.
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1971 super total body-off restoration

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=532247&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

[raygreenwood]

I think one really needs to define the term "tools" a little tighter.

For instance....hand tools...sockets, ratchets, screwdrivers, drive bits and wrenches...I buy as top notch as I can afford. No HF stuff. It only took one busted wrench and a busted ratchet and the resulting busted up hands...many many years ago to get that point.

Power tools like an angle grinder...there are many shades of "best". To the Previous poster....if you spent bigger bucks on a Milwaukee and it did not have the features you needed...I would ask why?

Among the top brands, Dewalt, Bosch, Milwaukee, BD etc.....there are so many quality models and reviews of all the features that its hard not to get what you want for a decent price.

My problem with buying power tools at HF is not that they dont work ...but you never know when they will quit. I have already had that problem once....and even though I got a free replacement. But the trip to HF to get it....screwed the time table for the weekend and I had to leave town on Monday. Couldnt get back to the job at hand for two weeks.

Condiering my Bosch angle Grinder has upper mid range balls and will last for eons...and was about $90 on sale....the time loss I outlined above was worth far more to me than saving $65 by buying the HF grinder.
If you have $40 more to spend you can get the same Bosch (or a Dewalt or Milwaukee) that has tool-less media changeover. That is far nicer than having 5 cheap power tools laying around just to vary your abrasive media.

But...back to cheap tools....yes....My 12 ton press is from harbor freight and even though it could use a few tweeks compared to a high end press....its awesome.
A limited use, low design tool like the basic press...i would most certainly buy as a cheap tool again.

My drill press....while not being HF low ...is still a Chinese made mid grade press. Its a Porter cable from Lowes....and is just awesome even with a few cheap quirks. Better than HF...but far from professional.

My chinese Combo, pipe and 6" jaw rotating vise from Menards...has just been superb. No problems. Worth every penny of the $69 I paid for it.

My HF 20 gallon parts washer. Has just been superb,, i use a solvent based parts washer solvent from O'reillys and have no issues with the pump or anything else. Had to strengthen the legs and added castors and a ball valve on the bottom...but definitely a cheap tool I would buy again.

So you can see the level of tool that I would buy. In the case of the large HF tools I bought....if i were doing this for a living, they would fail quickly. But for limited use...they are just fine. Ray

[marklaken]

My HF 60 gallon air compressor has been a great investment - 10 years of light/medium duty use and no complaints. My HF angle grinder was a waste of money.

I have no complaints with any of my HF pneumatic tools (sanders, drills, chisels, etc)

I use a cheapo hammer and dolly set - I always think I should get better gear, but I am rough on my tools and have htese on hand, so I just keep using them (I wonder how much better I would be with a nice hammer and palm dolly

I use a relatively cheap spray gun (Devilbiss Finishline) - I think I would be better off with a better gun, but again, I already have this one and it's not broken, so I just keep running with it.

I have a higher quality MIG welder (Hobart Handler 135) and don't think I would be happy with anything less.
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Wish List:
1967 Wesfalia SO-42 Parts Needed: Kitchenette, Cot Poles

'65 rear left beetle fender

15" Bus Wheels in fair condition

Mark Laken
Fort Collins, CO

[modok]

Cheap tools are a roll of the dice. HF is about 50%.
My Milwaukee angle grinder has outlasted HF ones about 7-1.
Cheap vice grips suck SO BAD.

Last time I was there I stacked up a dozen levels and they all read different.......which is right???
My favorite HF anglegrinder fail was when the brush cap came off during use and I stuck my finger in there and got zapped good.

Chances of electrocuting yourself much higher with cheap tools

My favorite chinese tool is the step drill. Uni-bit 40$, cheap copy 5$ I've bought TOns of them and made them into all kinds of special tools.

[Northof49]

I wouldn't buy any that if they broke, there would be consequences, like a lot of hand tools that might bust my knuckles, round the bolt, or break off inside something. But, angle grinders, heat gun, most air tools, pry bars, pickle forks, seem good for light duty use. Snap ring pliers, seal drivers, stethoscope, knock about multimeters, hammers, drill bits, multibits, all seem fine and workable for the shade tree mechanic.

Wrenches and sockets I say no to, other than 3/4 inch drive. Those seem to have enough capacity to handle axle nuts for instance.
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1958 Karmann Ghia owner

[OE800]

I have some HF duck bill pliers I like for bending thin sheet metal.

I bought a low end Lincoln MIG welder that I like a lot from homedepot.com

my angle grinder was $109 at home depot, its a 4" Milwaukee with a decent amp rating I forget what it is, but I like it a lot and am glad I didn't get a HF one.

I recently got a set of $8.99 metric combination wrenches from HF that seem pretty decent so far.

my pneumatic tools are all from HF and none of them have let me down yet, I will probably buy more air tools from them.

I am the farthest thing possible from a professional, I use my tools on a regular basis but not usually for more than a few hours at a time. If I could I would buy more expensive tools but my cheap stuff has been good for what I am doing.

[hosocat]

I think some of it depends on the individual personality.

I'm not a pro. I'm not even a serious amateur. But I've had HF tools that have lasted for years. I bought the cheapest HF electric angle grinder, and I've used it a couple dozen times on sheet metal mostly. Probably the thickest thing I cut through is rebar. But it's still working great after about 8 years of occasional use.

On the other hand I have a friend who I let use my tools when we work on something together. He is a tool destroyer. He has broken 5 or 6 of my HF tools because he can't seem to judge how to let the tool work at its own capacity. It's like he does push ups on the tool while it's operating. Then he comes grumbling to me about how he can't finish the job because I buy cheap acc tools. Funny how I was able to do the same jobs with them for years with no problem but then the first time he uses them they break. Not just HF tools, though. Just a couple weeks ago I was using a fiberglass handle shovel to dig around some tree roots to prep them for cutting away and digging out a small pine sapling. My bud comes up and relieves me. I come back ten minutes later and he says "oh, I broke your shovel". Friggin' A - I had that shovel for ten years and the first time he uses it he breaks it???!!! Sometimes I think it makes him feel macho to be able to break a tool. But he's a guy who likes to buy pro quality tools. Like his Miller wire welder. He bought one for close to $1000 a couple years ago and he's used it exactly once. I bought that cheap HF wire welder for $90 about four years ago. I've used it about ten times for small, light welding projects and it still works fine. Better believe I'm not letting my bud touch it!!!

[esde]

I have had a few harbor freight grinders and drills, and can't recall any of them lasting over a week, but then I use my stuff hard every day. Now as a general rule I just won't buy anything from Harbor freight that plugs in with a cord, or has a digital display, and as a result I've found that I'm not disappointed so often. Their pneumatic tools seem to soldier on as long as I oil them, as do the imported no name drill bits, which I keep around to preserve my "good" set of bits. I checked a buddies HF infrared thermostat, and it was not accurate compared to my Fluke, or even consistent in it's own readings. For my purposes, if I need 30 welding clamps for a job I'll go to harbor freight rather than blow $500 on vice grips. Any other simple tool, sure HF might be worth the risk. But tools are also an investment, so for stuff that matters I spend real money on the best stuff I can afford.

[Northof49]

It sure is handy to have a bunch of small angle grinders preloaded with a wire brush, a grinding disc and a zip disc near the welder. I wouldn't work with them all day, but when you need to quickly grind a bare spot for a ground clamp or touch up a spot where you intend to resume a welding bead, it sure is handy. If I want to grind a long bevel for instance, I grab my 25 year old quality 9 inch grinder.
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1958 Karmann Ghia owner

[runchman]