I have the oscilating multi-tool. It kinda sucks as a sander, but as a saw for getting into impossible places, it's awesome. Blades are cheap enough you don't mind wrecking one now and then. Wear hearing protection as it's a bit loud and piercing.
Some day I want to get a cheap H-F tool set to keep in the shed. It would be nice to not constantly have to run back to the garage when working on the mower...
93gsxturbo wrote: 100% fail. Buy American.
Yes!
Trans_Maro wrote:93gsxturbo wrote: 100% fail. Buy American.Let us know how that's going for you. I buy Canadian / American made whenever I can but it can be damn near impossible for some things.
Really? My tool box is filled with USA-made tools. Snap-On, Matco, Wright Tool, Cornwell, Proto, etc... All offer many American made tools. There are many more also, but you have to look farther than Home Depot and Harbor Freight. My local Hardware store carries an entire line of USA made hand tools. For air tools, there's Dynabrade, Viking, some IR, Hutchins, and several others.
bravenrace wrote:Trans_Maro wrote:Really? My tool box is filled with USA-made tools. Snap-On, Matco, Wright Tool, Cornwell, Proto, etc... All offer many American made tools. There are many more also, but you have to look farther than Home Depot and Harbor Freight. My local Hardware store carries an entire line of USA made hand tools. For air tools, there's Dynabrade, Viking, some IR, Hutchins, and several others.93gsxturbo wrote: 100% fail. Buy American.Let us know how that's going for you. I buy Canadian / American made whenever I can but it can be damn near impossible for some things.
Many of those brands you mention aren't exactly accessible for those that don't work in an automotive-related industry.
I also refuse to buy a tool that i can't see/feel in person first. I also can't afford most of the brands you mentioned. 
Wish i could... in a perfect world i'd have a huge Cornwell box filled with SnapOn tools.
In the meantime, if anyone wants to poo-poo me for not buying American tools, feel free to supplement my tool budget to make up the difference so i can afford the American tools i like. 
You DID make your post using an Alienware or Falcon Northwest computer, right?
Now hopefully back to the original topic/point of the thread?
So far, I really like all of the "Pittsburgh Pro" branded hand-tools that I've purchased. The 3/8" drive ratchet is lightyears beyond the crap Craftsman ones I've had in the past.
Post came from a PC my friend spec'd and built for me. Not perfect, but as close as I can feasibly get.
99.9% of my tools are American made. There is a whole mess of different brands. Sources for used American made tools include garage sales, swap meets, craigslist, Ebay, and word of mouth. Thats where most of mine came from. I have only bought a few things new off the Snap-On truck, and most of it was small items to ensure constant goodwill from my rep for warranty work.
Champagne tools on a High Life budget. And I have never been a professional mechanic, I just like nice things. 
As far as not accessible, Craigslist is full of stuff and you can feel them before you buy them. Snap-On has a fantastic web site and ships tools direct to you and handles warranty work directly also, in a very prompt and professional manner.
Ian F wrote: I have the oscilating multi-tool. It kinda sucks as a sander, but as a saw for getting into impossible places, it's awesome. Blades are cheap enough you don't mind wrecking one now and then. Wear hearing protection as it's a bit loud and piercing.
I can't get the blades to stay on the thing. They keep coming lose while I am trying to cut.
In reply to bravenrace:
MY toolbox is full of Snap-On, MAC, Proto and Craftsman as well if you really feel the need to get into an internet dick-swinging contest.
ALL of those manufacturers outsource SOME of their production to china.
I also used to run a tool repair shop, if you think IR is made in the USA, you better look again.
Funny, all the guys I bought tools from, even my china made tools, are all Americans or Canadians. I wonder what would happen if we stopped buying foreign-made tools from the local folks who are employed to sell those tools.
It's a global marketplace and some folks need to give their heads a shake now and then.
As a millwright I usually don't care what brand tools I am breaking but I will take Knipex Cobras over any of the pliers offered by american companies.
In reply to Trans_Maro:
Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, I was just correcting you.
I never said all of the tools those companies sell are made in America, I said many are, so I don't know what you are arguing about. I just replied to a comment you made that wasn't necessarily accurate. If anyone is swinging something, it's you.
It's unfortunate that most Americans have the same attitude you do about buying American. By the time you realize what a huge mistake you are making, it will likely be too late. But I'm didn't and am not telling you what to do, I posted what I do. Sheez.
In reply to bravenrace:
I'm Canadian.
I buy Canadian, a lot..
Same with American stuff.
It's very, very hard to restrict your purchases to just buying North American products.
It's not "making a mistake", a lot of it is inevitable. Where is your cellphone, T.V. Computer etc made? Hell, where does your gasoline come from?
Sorry I came across as a dick, your post sounded like a "Look at me, Look how awesome I am because I only buy US made stuff and all you guys aren't trying hard enough".
Anyways, this is getting horribly off-topic.
I've found the Pittsburgh prybar set (black with black handle) to be well worth the $7.99 - $14.99 you spend on it. I've beaten mine pretty hard and they haven't died yet.
I haven't bought much else from them except some solar floodlights for the backyard which have held up well and some mole chasers which seem to be getting less effective as the moles get used to the buzzing noise.
I picked up set of ramps for doing oil changes at HF, They were made in the USA.
HF does indeed sell US made stuff. So do $ stores. Its not all from China.
Free multimeters get a pass because they work and are free.
93gsxturbo wrote: Post came from a PC my friend spec'd and built for me. Not perfect, but as close as I can feasibly get. 99.9% of my tools are American made. There is a whole mess of different brands. Sources for used American made tools include garage sales, swap meets, craigslist, Ebay, and word of mouth. Thats where most of mine came from. I have only bought a few things new off the Snap-On truck, and most of it was small items to ensure constant goodwill from my rep for warranty work. Champagne tools on a High Life budget. And I have never been a professional mechanic, I just like nice things.
Fair enough. But again, not possible for all of us. I don't have time in the day to deal with all that, and i have nice tools either way and i'm happy about that.
bravenrace wrote: In reply to Trans_Maro: Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, I was just correcting you. I never said all of the tools those companies sell are made in America, I said many are, so I don't know what you are arguing about. I just replied to a comment you made that wasn't necessarily accurate. If anyone is swinging something, it's you. It's unfortunate that most Americans have the same attitude you do about buying American. By the time you realize what a huge mistake you are making, it will likely be too late. But I'm didn't and am not telling you what to do, I posted what I do. Sheez.
What's the mistake?
I never understand this whole discussion. There's one side telling the other that they're making a mistake (sometimes even going so far to say that they're committing treason. Yes, i was accused of treason literally this week because i bought tools that weren't made in the USA. It made me berkeleying SICK that someone would be so berkeleying ignorant.), but can't really come up with what the mistake is besides "I think you're wrong."
And then the other side saying not really having a problem with people buying whatever tools they like, even if they are USA tools. (And really, congrats on buying American, nobody would judge you for doing so.)
There's bigger fish to fry in the world than complaining about how others spend their money.
I like Gearwrench, TopTul, Wera, Wiha, and i'm beyond excited for the new Carlyle line of tools. I fail to see what my "mistake" is.
I bought hundreds and hundreds of dollars worth of Craftsman USA tools. I did my part. Then i realized i HATED the tools and got sick of breaking 3/8" ratchets. (Just by hand, no cheater bar. There's actually a surprising ratchet test floating around the internet at the moment. USA or not, i'm not buying an inferior tool.) Someone else can have them. Unfortunately, they're really the only USA tool i can afford that's readily available to me.
This thing works good if you retro fit the dremel flex arm to it, but the original gets a fail.
The composite ratchet pictured has held up great, as well as the multi colored sockets Pass ( the craftsman ratchets have both broken a few times fail 
)
The vises they sell are junk I have broken a few different styles now (switched to HoPo's Irwin vises as they have a lifetime warranty for the moment)
\
Is fun for kids and adults alike Pass HF propane flame thrower
On my 5th one of these this year, still under the original warranty electric Fail grinder
this thing worked for a little while at least. Float charger fail
Works great for cleaning and takes a wire wheel they sell buffer pass
This thing works for simple stuff but the table is worthless it doesn't line up like it should and the belt walks all over, and the wheel/disc is lop sided. belt/disc sander just barely passing
Hold up well compared to some others' brands C clamps of many sizes pass
I LOVE the color-coded tools. I use them in my junkyard toolbag. Has really saved me a lot of time, and i haven't broken a single one.
In reply to Trans_Maro:
No problem. I was only trying to point out that you CAN buy USA made tools if you want to. They aren't that hard to find. I can see how you interpreted it the way you did, so no worries.
Also, just to clarify, I fully understand that there's no way to buy American all the time. I do it when I can, and when I can't, I don't.
On topic - Everything I've ever bought at HF has been junk. I'm sure there are things there that are worth buying, but I personally have had really bad experiences with everything I've bought there.
When it comes to tools, I prefer to buy them once and have them forever, and when you look at it that way, the expensive tools are actually pretty cheap.
Bought 2 of the 18V drill driver / flashlight combos for $19 each. The clutches don't adjust on either one of them, but they work well as drills. The charger smoked on one of them after being plugged in for 2 years. Bought the newer replacement (without the flashlight) for $19. The charger charges the older battery, so both units work. Mostly used at a dealership to install / remove license plates, and do a good job. And they're cheap enough that if one grows legs and walks away, no big problem.
93EXCivic wrote:Ian F wrote: I have the oscilating multi-tool. It kinda sucks as a sander, but as a saw for getting into impossible places, it's awesome. Blades are cheap enough you don't mind wrecking one now and then. Wear hearing protection as it's a bit loud and piercing.I can't get the blades to stay on the thing. They keep coming lose while I am trying to cut.
I've had that happen a couple of times. You do have the crank down the holding bolt and make sure the lock washer is in good condition. For the price and as often as I use it, I can live with that.
Ian F wrote:93EXCivic wrote:I've had that happen a couple of times. You do have the crank down the holding bolt and make sure the lock washer is in good condition. For the price and as often as I use it, I can live with that.Ian F wrote: I have the oscilating multi-tool. It kinda sucks as a sander, but as a saw for getting into impossible places, it's awesome. Blades are cheap enough you don't mind wrecking one now and then. Wear hearing protection as it's a bit loud and piercing.I can't get the blades to stay on the thing. They keep coming lose while I am trying to cut.
Mine doesn't have a lock washer crap!
93EXCivic wrote: Mine doesn't have a lock washer crap!
Well there ya go! To be honest, I don't recall if mine came with a lock washer or if I looked at it and said, "this is gonna need a lock washer..." and added it before the first use.
To be honest, I tend to view most H-F tools almost like "tool kits" where a bit of tweaking and fine tuning is expected. I may even have to add or replace some hardwear if I don't like how it looks. I buy in with low expectations and I'm thrilled if the tool works reasonably well without killing or injuring me.
Hot Rod or somebody did a comparo on cordless impacts recently: Snap on=best money no object. HF=best (beating several higher priced ones) money being an object. We're talking like $50 compared to $500, or something like that. Wish I read that before I bought a $150 or so POS from JEGS... I'm a fan of HF, but generally ONLY when the tool will pay for itself in a job or two. Cornwell is a nice company. Then again, I once bought Snap-On jumper wires in a fit of tool truck weakness.
93gsxturbo wrote: 100% fail. Buy American.
weren't you recently talking about getting rid of your corvette and getting a Porsche?
I buy American things when things I want that are within my budget are made in America. I won't buy something that is out of my budget (or more than I think it's worth to me) just to "Buy American."
I spend all day making sure American troops and American citizens are safe. I pay lots of taxes. I am already supporting America.
I have a Snap-On cordless impact (because I wanted the BEST for that application, so spent the extra money).
I have a crapload of various tools - American, Chinese, German, and other. The German tools are the best in most cases, IMO. But they cost at least as much as the American ones.
Most of my big stuff (hoists, engine stands, presses) are Harbor Freight. I don't use them all that often, so I'm not paying top-dollar for them.
Circumstances are different for a shade-tree mechanic vs. a professional mechanic, or vs. guys who race multiple cars at high levels. If I was a pro mechanic, I'd be using top-shelf (and top-price) tools. But I'm not.
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