Worst tool you ever bought

[rtbcomp]

Hi,

I'm sorry but I find this very funny...

so much so that I've got tears running down my face.

It'd have been even funnier if you'd walked into the shop and it was still smoking!

Regards
Peter

'Ello, I wish to register a complaint.
'Ello, Miss?

What do you mean "miss"?

I'm sorry, I have a cold. I wish to make a complaint!

We're closin' for lunch.

Never mind that, my lad. I wish to complain about this bandsaw what I purchased not half an hour ago from this very boutique.

Oh yes, the, uh, the Chigago Electric Portable, What's, uh, What's wrong with it?

I'll tell you what's wrong with it, my lad. 'It's dead, that's what's wrong with it!

No, no, 'e's uh,...it's resting.

Look, matey, I know a dead bandsaw when I see one, and I'm looking at one right now.

No no he's not dead, he's, he's restin'! Remarkable saw, the Chicago Electric, isn'it, ay? Beautiful sprockets!

The sprockets don't enter into it. It's stone dead.

Nononono, no, no! 'E's resting!

All right then, if he's restin', I'll start him up! 'Ello, Mister Bandsaw! I've got a lovely piece of steel for you if you
show...

There, he moved!

 

[shenion]

Chicago Electric == Harbor Freight

From the first post:

"1. Almost any tool from Harbor Freight. Set of metric T-handle ball head hex wrenches. Ball snaps off on any serious use. Now you have a recessed allen head bolt with a ball jammed in its head "

rtbcomp: liked the Dead Parrot sketch parody. Actually HF accepts returns freely. They do a big biz selling the returns on ebay to unsuspecting buyers.

 

[booboothebold]

Hi,



I'm sorry but I find this very funny...

so much so that I've got tears running down my face.

It'd have been even funnier if you'd walked into the shop and it was still smoking!

Regards
Peter

i wanted to, but didnt feel like driving for a 1\2 hr with that smokin pos in the van with me. does give me ideas though

 

[Axedieselman]

Harbor frieght for "some" things is ok, like 0.99 for a pack of 10 rolls of electrical tape, other than that dont waste time on their speacialty tools/ or shop tools. I bought a 14 in. chop saw a year ago and after the first week of service I had to bludgen the thing with a hammer to get it to work, it's now at the landfill! "SIP" welders are Great for novices....see ya all later.

 

[dstealth]

I used to buy cheap, unbranded stuff years ago when I got into cars from a shop called Parker Tools. Bought a set of spanners from them and not long after purchase the cheap layer of paint that was on them started flaking off and eventually the inside edges started to get chipped away the more I put them to use.

I got a 'NU Tool' set one Christmas which had an array of drill bits, socket bits, hex keys, wood drills in etc. I snapped the ratchet driver that holds the socket/screwdriver bits almost straight away, the hex keys are rounded, and I found out a few weeks ago when I opened the case back up that most of them are heavily rusted.

Since going into the motor trade, 80% of my tools are now Snap-On and MAC. I haven't looked back.

Conclusion - why waste money on rubbish?

 

[rtbcomp]

Conclusion - why waste money on rubbish?

I think we rely too much on consumer legislation, in particular that stuff is supposed to be fit for purpose. So when we see tools advertised, regardless of price, they should be fit.

Because it's usually more hassle to get them changed or a refund we tend to throw them away and buy better next time. Trouble is, there's one born every minute!

 

[Axedieselman]

Rubbish!

Why waste money on rubbish is exactly right dstealth, but in order to confirm it is rubbish, one needs to come accross it, and confront it, buy it, then finally confirming that it is indeed rubbish and consider it a lesson. Now maybe we can end this Harbor frieght convo, and all in favor of shoping for name brand tools elsewhere, say "EYE"..........and there you have it, lessons learned. Places I like are www.weldingdepot.com >>www.airgas.com >> www.tweco.com >> and of course Craftsman or Snapon for everything else. On another note, my TIG machine in the shop doesn't intensify when I step on the pedal, mostly I work on my MIG machine, I was wondering if any of you fine chaps might know what may be causing this problem?? Cheerio.....

 

[shenion]

I had 4 Tweco torches; #1, #2 and two #4's. Still have the 12' #1 and one of the 15' #4's. Built to last.

I sold one of the #4's on ebay for $125.00. No bad for a torch that was 25 years old. (had new liner, orings)

Welding Depot is where I got my Clarke and lots of supples. Excellent to deal with.

Snapon has gotten way overpriced. I see tons of stuff on Craig's list; used it is still more than I can get a lifetime guaranteed Craftsman tool for. Talked to a former dealer and asked how they could charge so much for them. "Easy, we don't sell tools, we sell financing. Drop off some tools at a shop, when they like them, OK, that's $XX/month; never mention the price."

Axedieselman, start anew thread on the pedal.

Heh, believe it or not, I just bought a Harbor Freight auto mask Was on ebay for $13, couldn't resist. Works as good as my Antec. Is just a spare and will be what my video camera will be wearing for some test vids

 

[paul_c]

'Chain' style oil filter remover from Halfords. First time I used it, one of the rivets in the chain broke. So I hammered a screwdriver through the filter, and now thoroughly recommend this superior technique.

Stud extractor. If you drill a hole, then screw it in (reverse thread), it doesn't grip, and when it does, it strips its own thread. Useless tool!!!!

 

[weldequip]

Snapon has gotten way overpriced. Talked to a former dealer and asked how they could charge so much for them. "Easy, we don't sell tools, we sell financing.

Hit the nail on the head there Shenion. Can't speak for hand-tools as that's not my game, but their welders are way over priced for the specification & quality.... still, if you want 'so much a week' you have to pay for it.
weldequip

 

[MrFluffy]

Stud extractor. If you drill a hole, then screw it in (reverse thread), it doesn't grip, and when it does, it strips its own thread. Useless tool!!!!

You got off light there mate, normally they anchor in and smash as theyre brittle because their hardened to cut their thread. Which then leaves you with the original fastener to get out, and the extractor too, at which point you have to dismantle said assembly and find someone with a spark eroder as a broken ezout is hardened and cannot be drilled out.
Its a lot easier to just drill out the stud in the first place...

 

[hareng]

Worst tool, prepare for a long list but i wont.

B&Q labelled multipurpose cordless 18Volt saw. Supposed to cut wood, steel!, MDF, etc, new blades as well.
Could not get it to cut in to a 1" dia living twig.
Upon a further test to see how weak this thing was, it really struggled to mark a plastic storage bin.

Got my money back and said it wouldnt cut butter.
Now got a Dewalt 18V Repo saw, can do some damage with that.

 

[zardoz]

A set of 5 screwdrivers that were not even tempered. Soon as a screw that was not hand tight was attempted, they bent like a stick of liquorice.

(mind you at a price of 70p i should have been forewarned. even if it was back in 1982)

 

[rtbcomp]

A set of 5 screwdrivers that were not even tempered. Soon as a screw that was not hand tight was attempted, they bent like a stick of liquorice.

(mind you at a price of 70p i should have been forewarned. even if it was back in 1982)

I bought a set of Hilka VDE screwdrivers, the pozidrives stripped and the straight blades twisted the first time I used them.

 

[steve202]

worst tool? got be my SIP mig.

Today, started welding, when the wire stopped but the fed was still working. (not what you are thinking) this was different.. I squeezed the trigger and looked at the end as you do, then looked down at the machine, the wire was being fed out of the torch lead and onto the floor about a foot away from where the torch lead goes into the machine.
This is a new machine BTW, couple months old. Upon inspection the thick lead inside had come away from that terribly crap collar affair and something had gone bang and fried the metal liner in half, say four inches away from the feed rollers. luckily I could just do a cut and shut job on it and use a jubilee clip to hold the cable.
The wire had come out of the broken liner and up the plastic sleeve for a bit then pierced that and spewed out. my warranty is now shagged but I was ion the middle of a job so had no choice. best 200 quid spent ever. not.

Lovely. Oh and I noticed the feed rollers bending today so I will have to brace that up too. Crap welder!

Ahh, feel better now, needed the rant.

I honestly cant wait for it to blow up so I can get me a clarke.

 

[Wozzaaah]

 

[malcolm]

I honestly cant wait for it to blow up so I can get me a clarke.

Get yourself something nicer than a Clarke - they still need the wire feed roller botch once the plasticy thing holding the top roller gets worn/out of shape.

 

[steve202]

nice one Wozz


Yep, will have to look into getting a proper machine indeed.

 

[dstealth]

I've got to admit though, my dad's 110 Amp SIP Migmate Super is still going strong after about 14 years! Haven't had to do a wire feed mod or anything! Touches wood.

Chris.

 

[Stuggi]

9" cheapo angle grinder, burned out the switch after two 1 meter cuts in 6mm steel. Bought an AEG for at least 5 times the cost of the second, finished two more cuts in about a third of the time for one cut, fixed the switch and now I have a good steel grinder and a cheapo stone grinder for that occasional garden work.
What really gets me though are those cheap phillips and torx bits. They wear out like one per screw, and they cost just a little less than the forged ones that I've started using, 500 screws, one bit and still going strong.