Harbor Freight: Friend or Foe?

[palemelanesian]

18V Cordless drill - I had a blue one that was junk. I have an orange one that's 5 years old and has remodeled my entire house.

My expensive Craftsman drill was in between the two, but closer to the junk one than the good one.

I've had good success with the simple hand tools - clamps and such.

[GasSavers_maximilian]

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

I've had good success with the simple hand tools - clamps and such.

Paydirt! I need some clamps to make some kitchen cabinets. Thanks!

[Jay2TheRescue]

I love Big Lots! TSC is also fun to go to. The critters don't like me going there though. I don't go often, but when I do I always come back with vaccinations for the dogs & cats. If you know how to do it you can give your dog or cat all their vaccinations for under $10. Sure beats going to the vet and overpaying for the shots and paying for an office visit as well.

-Jay

[theholycow]

Originally Posted by bowtieguy

that reminds me, gotta make a trip to big lots, tractor supply, the dollar tree, and home depot tomorrow(all w/in a square mile). oh, and advance auto.

Nice collection!

Originally Posted by PaleMelanesian

18V Cordless drill - I had a blue one that was junk. I have an orange one that's 5 years old and has remodeled my entire house.

From Harbor Freight? Cordless stuff is exactly what I would never expect to be decent from there. Mainly, the batteries. I have had cheap cordless drills that were usable but pretty lame, but I never bothered at HF.

Now I've got a couple Black & Decker 24v cordless drills (and a reciprocating saw and a circular saw) that are quite good. The set (except the extra drill and extra batteries) was a birthday gift a few years ago.

[Jay2TheRescue]

I have a Milwaukee 18v lithium cordless that's fantastic. I only have to charge it about once every few months. I even drilled about a dozen holes in concrete with it once and didn't need to switch batteries. The thing I love about the lithium is that it runs at full power right up until the battery dies.

-Jay

[GasSavers_maximilian]

I wish cordless tool battery packs had a standardized form factor (could differ by voltage, of course). Then you could have third party ones.

[theholycow]

There are some vaguely standardized form factors. One form factor of the actual plug part is similar/same across a huge variety of tools, then the main body and clip differs. Harbor Freight sells some replacement batteries that fit a variety of their tools as well as other brands.

I have a Craftsman 3.6v driver with a "VersaPak" battery system that was supposed to be standardized, but I think it never went anywhere.
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Decker-V.../dp/B0000302V8

The brochure came with a picture of a drill (probably fictional) that took two or three of them at the same time.

[GasSavers_maximilian]

You mean different manufacturers support the one standard? Fantastic! I'll check it out. My cordless drill's down to one good battery pack and it's a brand I bought in Canada (Rona) so I'm not sure how easy getting another one would be.

[theholycow]

What about rebuilding your dead battery packs? They've mostly all got the same stuff inside, and even if they don't you can put whatever you want in them. There's professional rebuilders but I'd just try to DIY.

[GasSavers_maximilian]

I have thought about that, but never really took the idea seriously. Worth looking into. Know a good source of rechargeable cells other than just dissecting commercial packs? I'll scan my usual places and see what they've got. Good idea.