Harbor Freight (?)

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Thank-you very much for the information.I will see how much
a 16" husky will cost me.

a reply to: mamabeth

My pleasure.

Just remember, with the 135 a 16" bar is the largest you can put on it. With the 435 you can put a 16" and also an 18" bar on it.

The other thing to keep in mind is, with the lower powered saws the bar should always be longer than the diameter of what you're cutting. To cut something with a larger diameter than the bar length takes a LOT more power.

a reply to: mamabeth

Murdoch's (if you've got one near you) has a Husky 435e for $269. I'm not really a fan of the "e" models because I think they have less torque, but for small stuff you'll probably be okay.

Here's a link to it.
Murdoch's - Husky 435e

Harbor Freight is cheap and you get what you pay for. Just don’t expect it to last. Back when I did construction I bought a toe nailer there to do a hardwood floor job. It lasted for two jobs lol.

But it was cheap, so I didn’t lose that much. If it’s a tool you’re going to use all the time it’s best to just get the expensive version, otherwise you’ll end up spending more and losing time searching for a replacement.

I love HF !

As a union elevator mechanic, my company buys all my power tools for me. I have everything Milwaukee cordless 18 volt.

But, I do have to purchase my hand tools. The only thing I do purchase might be impact sockets, some pry bars. I stay away from ratchets , tend to stay with gear wrench ratchet wrenches .

One thing that I did get one time was the 45 watt solar panel set up for like $140 (ex sold that) . It worked great for running small things if the power went out.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Husky, Stihl or Echo. I have a husky chainsaw. A Stihl does everything rototiller and Echo blower and weedwhacker. Have had zero problems.
Husky also make Craftsman riders. At least the one I bought for the wife and me.
Bought a corded impact wrench from HF and that thing rocks.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I've bought a lot of stuff there.

I've not had any problem with their quality...except for their paint sprayers--DO NOT BUY THEIR PAINT SPRAYERS--they suck in every way, except how they're supposed to.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk
Husky 135 is a rebranded Poulan.

Poulan is owned by Husqvarna.

a reply to: OneArmedBandit

Did not know that.

Well, strike the 135 from my recommendations list, mamma.

Go with the 435, if you're going to get a small saw.

a reply to: seagull

The HPLV's too, or just their can sprayers?

I heard their HPLV sprayers were decent, but I've never tried one. All my spray gear is Binks.

a reply to: underwerks

Totally agree.

I don't think I'd take HF tools out to a jobsite. Casual use maybe, and then only some tools.

Again, HF has some decent stuff...but they also have some junk too.

a reply to: Tarzan the apeman.

Oh no doubt on the Stihl's and Echo's, good stuff there too. A little more expensive in the chainsaw department though. Plus, saw for saw the Stihl's are heavier by a pound or more (sometimes 2).

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Goodonya for figuring out the game. As far as cordless stuff goes, I'm locked in to Ryobi. Cheap, good performance, and -- best of all -- ALL generations of batteries and chargers talk to each other. That was smart of them.

I can't look down my nose at HF. I bought a 1/6 yard concrete mixer from them that came in a 4 cu. ft. box. It's a great mixer, and just right for one or two people mixing and pouring. 1/6 yard is one bag of Portland, and aggregate and water. Truth is, it does much better with 1/2 bag, so it's really a 1/12 yard mixer. Whatever. It's electric, lives outside with a homestitched canvas cover and is quiet.

You need a good Come-a-long? Harbor Freight. There are things I WILL spend more on to get quality, but there are also things that are foolish to spend money for the same thing, as you noted.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

The can's. I bought one to paint the garage... Half way through, it quit. Just plugged up, and I couldn't get it unplugged.

So, too, the second one. Everything else I've bought there has worked wonderfully, no issues at all.

Now, Home Depot is something else entirely...I'm very careful what I buy there, after having been burned a number of times.

Would you guys rather buy a new harbor freight tool or a good name brand tool that is lightly used and for sale like on Craigslist? I've found so many dewalt's, milwakee, makita, etc for about 30-60% retail that are in good to great condition and they are selling b/c they don't use them, the project is done, or they got something else.

I think one difference you will see is the batteries in these HF tools. I've taken A LOT of brand name batteies apart and some lesser brands (black and decker, craftsman are mid-brand) then low end hitachi (blue ones, not bright green) and bottom was harbor freight. The batteries just don't have the amperage (both in amp-hours and in max current output) and they also seem to not last anywhere near as long in charges. Now this was about 2-3 years ago, so they may have gotten better at this but I can attest that the brands in the top paragraph there, have the best quality batteries and their controller boards, circuits, switches and connectors are all robust and built to last.

Also, if you pick up a couple used tools, you can usually find other ones of the same manufacturer and they use the same battery (within the same line, lithium vs NiCd) and some HF tools have unique batteries to the tool!

Has anyone had any luck with Porter Cable in the last 5-10 years? they look nice and some are priced and rated (power wise) as high as Makita's while they also have some crazy cheap tool sets (like a power drill & impact driver set w/ 2 li-ion batteries for $90!) That is HF price or even less, and it seems like they may be relying on their good name (from years gone by). I recently saw one of their drills beat all the top brands in the $250-350 range and I really had to wonder if that was a legit review or if they were being paid to talk them up. It's strange that I don't think I see them anywhere but online now.

I don't know how they do it these days, but I've got an old Milwaukee drill that is a beast.
Probably made in the 40's or 50's.
That mule will snap your arm if a bit snags.
Major torque and built like a tank.
Works every time I need it.

a reply to: DigginFoTroof

Well, I can't really answer your question. The only HF cordless tool I've ever bought is the impact wrench I referred to in the OP. I'm really surprised at how well it works, but again I think it's just a Makita. I've recently replaced my cordless tools with the Ryobi tools. As Argentus noted, the common battery type for all tools is a real deal-maker in my book, and their tools work really well too.

I'm not much on buying used tools because most times they've been badly abused and/or left out in the weather which pretty much is a death warrant for most tools. I'd rather break it on my own, then at least I know what happened and why, so I'll know if I ever want to buy that tool manufacturer again.

As for the HF impact, like I noted I changed four complete sets of tires (actually 6 if I include my car). So just the 4 sets is 128 lug nuts off and then back on again, all with one battery and that battery still shows a full charge. Add in another 40 more lug nuts on and off for my car (the car is way easier than my trucks though). That's a total of 336 operations, and well over an hour and a half of high torque use which is pretty damn good for any battery operated tool.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

I have a Husky 460 and it performs flawlessly. Husqvarna along with Mikita and Lincoln are the best brand of tools I have owned; however you are going to pay a little more but the upgrade in quality is worth the extra price. I am on my second Husky, but have owed several other brands that did not hold up in the long run.

You are giving good advise on quality and dependable tools.

a reply to: DigginFoTroof

I've had great luck with my Porter cable gear, a brushless cordless drill and an impact driver.

They've been beat to hell, with significant (ab)use and keep on kicking. Only issue I've had is the brushless drill will shut off after maybe 5-10 minutes of continuous use (no let up, constant spinning).