I don't know how they do that (not CNC related)

[Burkhardt]

Normally I stay away from Harborfreight stuff as my experience is mixed at best. But during Black Friday sale I could not resist and bought their 12" Double Bevel Miter Saw for a whopping $129. I used it a couple of times since and it is actually very nice, sturdy double linear bearing, strong 15 amp motor and even a laser line pointer. It cuts through a 4x4 like butter. Obviously I don't know if the motor is going to burn up next week.

I compared it at the store with the equivalent $600 deWalt and Ridgid saws and could not find much apparent difference, which may not be surprising, given that the brand name tools are almost all made and sometimes designed in China as well.

I was just wondering if somebody bought that thing, too and can tell me if it was a bad idea. After all, I just don't get how they do that. My company makes electromechanical equipment and even if we bought large quantities directly in China we could not even buy half of the components for that money, not to mention assembly, packaging, shipping and making a profit.

[Kyle Stapleton]

If you would bought the rigid you would have it for life, their lifetime warranty is great. I have used it on a few times in the nine years I have been teaching and it has saved me and my school a load.

[kevin]

Gone through 2 Dewalt in 12 years .I like the dewalt the none sliding it is belt drive with the belt near the top of the machine no obstruction clear view of blade

I didn't know the ridge is guaranteed for life could convert me

The new Bosh is copying Dewalt

[gene]

they will take a brand name saw and reverse engineer it . Take i apart and make the pieces some will be different on the outside . I had purchased a gas motor and a friend that runs a racing go kart mechanical place to do dyno and special machining told me that the motor was a clone of a honda . with no money for research and devolopment its easy to lower cost especially when you make it in china.

[bcondon]

The Chinese would be armed with cameras and as a trade show team, we needed to move around to block camera views. The backs of everything needed to be locked up and all labels with specs had to be covered with tape.

These folks were known for copying and not design.

Cisco systems has several lawsuits that the company stole software
to run on routers. The router technology would be purchased and reverse engineered. They would install the software, typos and all and sell on the open market.

[Brian Harnett]

All the power tools that have American names are no longer made here, the last one, porter cable sold out to black and decker about 15 years ago, its all imports.

I was die hard porter cable now I do not have any brand loyalty its all imported anyway, the only American is the white collar corporate office brand name stuck on imported plastic.

[gene]

its sorry to say that most tools are disposable now a days

[Burkhardt]

its sorry to say that most tools are disposable now a days
That was kind of my thought when I bought the saw on an impulse. At $129 the risk is very low even if a lot of Harborfreight tools don't even qualify as disposable but are junk out of the box. But that one does look pretty solid, cuts at proper angles and with my average use of maybe 2 cuts per week I could never justify the brand name tools.

[twelchPTM]

I buy only rigid power tools, They perform great and the lifetime warranty is unmatched. I bought a cordless combo kit about 8 years ago and still use it regularly. I burned the drill out 3 times and had it repaired and was given brand new batteries (mixing concrete in a bucket with a mud paddle would do that to any drill)

As far as the harbor freight power tools go, I have seen a lot of guys buy them and use them for significant periods of time. However beside being a copies of higher quality tools you can feel the difference in the quality of material used for the casings. it won't mater how good of a motor you have in it if you break the piece that holds it together!

[chiloquinruss]

I've posted this before but. When I first set up my shop I had no idea of what I was going to make in it or what most of the tools were capable of. So I made a decision to buy the anchor tools as brand name items and everything else was an HF item. So ShopBot, table saw, miter saw, band saw, duct collector were all brand names. As I started using mycollection of tools for projects I discovered that the price or the quality of the tool made NO difference in MY quality of work. Over time I got a LITTLE better and upgraded a couple of the tools. However for the most part the HF tools still get used. Those folks on here that are real crafstman know how to use real tools and in their case the quality of the tool does make a difference. I've had my dream shop for 6 years now and I love every minute of it. I LEARN something new every day and on a good day I can rermember some of them! :D Russ

[shilala]

We're getting a Harbor Freight store right up the street. It'll probably be open in a few days.
I've never bought but very few tools there, all hand specialty tools, and got about five minutes use out of them before they were junked.
I'm old now, and I can pick out quality stuff. Lots of things at Harbor Freight are dumpster fillers, but I've seen (and bought) things there that are as good as, or superior to things that cost a whole heck of a lot more everywhere else.
I'm extremely anal about my tools, but if I saw something there that looked and felt good, I'd take a chance on it.

[Burkhardt]

Good news....I have used that thing for 5 weeks now (occasionally) and is still in one piece :rolleyes:

Actually, I should have mentioned my previous 10" sliding miter saw was also HF, but much more rickety. Nevertheless, I used it for 10 years and abused it a lot to cut aluminum profiles. I will keep it around for that purpose and not ruin the new one.

But I did have my share of HF "experience". The worst one was a rechargeable angle drill that did not survive tightening the bit the first time. Or maybe the plastic handle clamps are even worse. They don't hold up to more than a wimpy toddler's grip. The metal screw bar clamp are however cheap and surprisingly solid. It is kind of a **** shot.