Re: [surfer_dave] Harbor Freight Angle Grinders

I have the 7" HF variable speed sander. The first time I turned it on, it had a horrible wobble & a bad-bearings noise. I took it apart & repacked the bearings with Milwaukee grease. It got better - enough to be useful.

The variable speed buttons are unhappy that they encounter dust (on a sander - go figure). The + button works with about 960 # of pressure and the - not at all. So when I want to go back down in speed, I have to unplug the tool so it resets and then use the + to get back where I want to be.

I went into a HF store (Napa) a few weeks ago. I couldn't force myself to buy anything. Not even sandpaper. Its more depressing than a WalMart or a 3rd world Supertienda. Rack after rack of the cheapest crap you can buy. It made me very sad. Cast iron tools with 1/8" ridges where the casts hadn't matched up. Brand-new power tools that wouldn't spin by hand without bearing noise. Electrical connections with solders that looked like blind 3 year-olds had done them. Beads of weld with no apparent penetration - they'll crack apart the first time you have that cement mixer in the back of your truck & hit a bump. Harsh criticism to be sure, but all true.

Buy one tool, you might get lucky. Read the catalog or the website and you might be tempted. Walk into a store and the cover is blown. I'll not be able to support HF again. Too depressing.

Buy good tools. Your grandchildren will thank you.

Want to buy a slightly used sander? :)