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Tools & Craft #109: Testing a Knockoff Tool vs. the Real Deal
I can appreciate Arnold's position about cost; mycadvice has always been to buy the best tools you can afford. Good tools make jobs simpler and safer and they last a lot longer. Cheap tools (as opposed to those that are simply less expensive) can be dangerous.
Excellent article. I'm very tired of the assumption that any 'tool shaped object' will do the job as well as another, and that cheap tools are in any way a good idea. I see the statement of the web that 'a tool that you'll only use once can be cheap crap.' Who uses a tool only once and isn't infuriated when it can't quite do the job, or when it breaks and damages the work? Lots of people have told me they can't afford good tools, and maybe they're right, but I've bought some of my best stuff when I was unemployed and didn't know if I'd ever see another paycheck. My tablesaw (Delta Unisaw) cost a months wages when I was flat broke and got a tax refund check that almost covered it. There are obviously people who can't take that risk or will never have money. I'm sympathetic, I've been very broke. As a general rule, however, you should buy the best tools you can afford. There's just nothing else that makes sense.
Oh Boy here we go . I once saw an AVE review of 10 dollar calipers vs a mitutoyo. I have one of those 10 dollar calipers and I paid 110 REALS (Brazil's currency). 110 reals is about 3 days work for a guy working at McDonald's in Brazil. A mitutoyo caliper costs over a months wages. So when I hear ppl complaining about harbour freight tools being cheap and bad, I take a deep breath. You don't know how good you have it. I would love to have that shitty bar clamp. They are poorly designed for your ease of use, but perfectly designed for my 3rd world pocket.
I don't know who buys anything from Harbor Freight expecting high quality and I don't know what article you're complaining about because you seem to have left out any actual references to it.
I have a couple of the Harbor Freight clamps and the lack of adjustment notches is a huge annoyance. You end up spending a lot of time turning the screw until the next notch catches. Additionally, you lose about half the effective length of the screw which can be a factor if you're using the clamp to pull something together. I have several HF tools and am satisfied for the most parthowever would not purchase these clamps again.