Re: Sheet metal knockout punches

On Sun, 01 Nov 2009 15:03:09 -0500, "Michael A. Terrell"
<mike.terrell@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


krw wrote:

On Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:30:52 -0400, "Michael A. Terrell"
<mike.terrell@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:


They are working to improve quality. I've talked to a manager they
move around from store to store to improve their retail stores, and was
told they have had to drop a number of vendors because of quality
problems. Some were replaced because another vendor offered better
quality, and at a lower price. Some of the discussions we had resulted
in changes in their website, as well. Most people don't use that grade
of tool for profession work, but I've run into several guys who swear by
their Pittsburgh Professional wrenches. One was putting two sets in his
work truck and told me he had never had one break, but a lot had been
stolen so he bought two sets at a time. Others told me they used them
working on cars for a living, and had never had a problem. For their
prices, they are hard to beat but you need to look at any tools you plan
on using daily no matter who sells them. I know people who still swear
by Craftsman hand tools because of the lifetime warranty. Then they brag
about how many times Sears has replaced their broken tools.

Hmm. I was at the Montgomery store yesterday but didn't buy much
(just a magnetic parts dish). I was looking at some of their wrenches
but I've bough cheap wrenches before that weren't the marked size.
Kinda makes it tough when the wrench is smaller than the bolt. Maybe
I'll give them a try.

I have been buying from Harbor Freight for almost 40 years and have
only had one defective tool in that time. It was one of their 6 in 1
screwdrivers, and one piece wasn't properly punched. OTOH, I bought six
that day for half price so I didn't bother to take back a $1.49 tool
that I can fix on my drill press. When I started dealing with them,
they only did mail order and I was buying factory second drill bits by
the pound. Mostly 1/8", since I broke a lot of them drilling out
rivets. A pound would last about 5 years for about $10.

I have bought their drill bits and use the smaller ones a fair bit.
The bigger ones last a long time so I can afford to buy good ones. ;-)
I've had a problem with the temper on screwdrivers and alignment of
the jaws on pliers. HF isn't alone here but they are pretty bad.
I also have their 10" compound sliding miter saw. It's fine for
framing but it's not so great for woodworking. I'll likely replace
it, perhaps with a Bosch or Dewalt, in a year or so.


I just bought an old Crftsman 10" belt drive table saw to replace the
one that has an internal motor that quit. Both were built by Emerson
over 15 years ago. The internal motor was a custom design, and used an
externally mounted Klixon thermal motor starter that is no longer
availible. the motor is no longer availible, as well. The belt drive
saw is older, but uses a stock 1/2 HP motor and there is very little
that can't be repaired or make with a few metalworking tools. I'm going
to replace all the bearings as P.M., and the rubber covered levelers
will be replaced with some 4" stem casters. It is so heavy that it takes
two people to lift it out of my truck, or to move it.

The "integral" motors are usually universal motors; horrible things.
An old Sears contractors saw is a reasonable tool. Newer ones are
junk. I bought a Delta X5 Unisaw in March. Just came in from making
sawdust, in fact (still can't understand why my dado zero-clearance
insert no longer fits ?-/).

I have several other Crftsman saws that my dad left when he moved
north last year. A couple radial arm saws, a miter saw and a couple
circular saws. I also have the little 10" table saw from Harbor freight
that I use to cut luan plywood. I bought it for $69 a few months ago.
Its nothing special, but it works for what I want. I am replacing some
paper tray bins with plywood, and i am going to build some 2'*2'*2'
boxes that stack

I also have a Craftsman RAS that I bought about 30 years ago. It's
taken apart right now but I'll put it back together when I get my shop
built. Last year I bought a Dewalt rear swivel circular saw that's
really slick. I also have their 18V 6" saw that I used for cutting
plywood down to size. I don't like most of HF's power tools. As I
said, the HF 10" SCMS is OK for what I bought it for but it's no world
beater. I bought a couple of HF 18V drills that are absolute junk. I
bought 'em mail order before I'd ever been into a store. Had I seen
them I never would have wasted the money.
.

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