18 Gauge Brad Nailer - pass/fail combo? I'm not sure where to rate it. Had it for 5 years, and it worked a treat every time I pulled it out for the random woodworking project - so maybe used a couple times a year.
I pressed it into heavier service recently installing trim in my new house, and it wasn't happy. First the hammer/anvil/drive blade whateverwhatever that hits the nail was seizing (even with oil supplied both externally and through the airline) sometimes seizing in the fully extended position, and sometimes in the fully retracted position. Finally it got stuck and I couldn't free it with persuasion or hand tools; complete disassembly revealed that the long drive blade/hammer part was completely bent into a nice ZZ-Top shape within the chamber. Snapped upon trying to bend it back out.
Guess this would rate a solid Meh, good for very infrequent or low duty cycle use.
Pittsburgh brand "channel lock" pliers are utter garbage.
buzzboy said:
The cheapo 4.5" doesn't last.
Well dang. Bought one the other week because my 20 year old Milwaukee, while powerful, is massive. Figured for $10 might be nice to have as a light duty one-handed cutting implement.
That said, I just ordered a cordless Makita-powered brushless Chinesium unit from eBay. Normally this kind of sub-HF malarkey would be a big time no-no, but having lived with a similar brushless fake Makita 3/8ths impact(because $30 shipped and reviewed well by aVe), the positive experience made rolling the dice again that much easier. I know it's not HF but I'll chime back in here whenever it decides to show up.
In reply to ebelements :
I've had 5 of the $10 4.5" inch grinders living outside for 5 years. I can't get them to stop working. They've taken every idiotic thing I can throw at them and keep on grinding.
The 3 inch electric grinder was utter utter trash though, put any pressure on it at all and it trips off for "safety".
RevRico said:
In reply to ebelements :
I've had 5 of the $10 4.5" inch grinders living outside for 5 years. I can't get them to stop working. They've taken every idiotic thing I can throw at them and keep on grinding.
The 3 inch electric grinder was utter utter trash though, put any pressure on it at all and it trips off for "safety".
I have 3 and they all kick ass. One each for cutoff wheel, flap disc, and grinding wheel.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
RevRico said:
In reply to ebelements :
I've had 5 of the $10 4.5" inch grinders living outside for 5 years. I can't get them to stop working. They've taken every idiotic thing I can throw at them and keep on grinding.
The 3 inch electric grinder was utter utter trash though, put any pressure on it at all and it trips off for "safety".
I have 3 and they all kick ass. One each for cutoff wheel, flap disc, and grinding wheel.
I found one at the junkyard in the bed of a truck and it works like a charm.
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
Pittsburgh brand "channel lock" pliers are utter garbage.
Most things branded Pittsburgh are, like Ben Roethlisberger.
Bauer cordless sawzall.
Works decent for odds and ends.
Over heats and let's the smoke out when cutting up cars. But took a long while. Once cooled of works perfect.
For doing 2 or 3 big cuts on a car or some smaller jobs it's awesome. Multiple big cuts. Not so much.
8.9/10 recommend.
I may have commented on this already, but I still <3 my Earthquake XT 1/2" cordless impact. I've used it on a few dozen wheels & other fasteners over the 2-years I've owned it, but have only charged it once during that time.
Unfortunately I can't say the same about the Cen-Tech 4-in-1 jump pack/compressor. The battery died about a year after I bought it, due to being a lazy procrastinator I finally ordered & replaced the battery this spring. Even though it shows it's charged, the compressor just clicks, making me think it's locked up internally. At this point I'll pull out the battery & save it for the Miata.
It's a shame as it was really handy when it was working, and I'd love to find another/comparable one that doesn't fail so quickly.
RevRico said:
In reply to ebelements :
I've had 5 of the $10 4.5" inch grinders living outside for 5 years. I can't get them to stop working. They've taken every idiotic thing I can throw at them and keep on grinding.
The 3 inch electric grinder was utter utter trash though, put any pressure on it at all and it trips off for "safety".
Rule of thumb, if it's orange, it's junk.
I had an orange 4.5" grinder smoke and die on the first cut.
The gray bodied grinders do seem to last forever.
wae
UltraDork
9/25/20 3:56 p.m.
Chicago Electric finger sander (bandfile belt sander): Pass
I got one of these after watching a lot of Binky in a row while working on a new front motor mount bracket for the Neon. It worked a treat for that project and I've used it when cutting stripper poles, cleaning up welds, woodworking, and even used it to take a half inch or so out of a joist so I could install a pole upper-mount bracket. My brother and my dad have both come across it in the shop and used it for various things and afterwards have raved about it.
A couple complaints: The little lever that sets the tension is about 1mm too long and it interferes with the body of the tool such that it's extremely hard to set it to full tension without pushing it past that point to fully unlocked. Replacing the belt requires an allen wrench to remove the cover, which is annoying. I cannot figure out how to set the adjuster just right so that it doesn't throw the belt off all the time. After a while, I can find the sweet spot and it'll be fine, but if it gets knocked out of adjustment I'm forever trying to get it back where it needs to be. The belts that it comes with and that HF sells are total crap. Get the 3M ones from Amazon and now you have yourself a very functional grinder.
The tool is so useful that it's worth dealing with those minor problems.
6' 1000lb trailer ramps: fail
That was from my ~500lb mower the first time I tried to load it.
Mr_Asa
SuperDork
9/25/20 6:48 p.m.
Oscillating tool/Plunge cutter
Solid pass. Done everything I've asked of it
However...
The battery that comes with the stupid thing blows goats. Comes with one, it stopped charging. I bought another to replace it cause I was in the middle of project (or else I would have waited till I needed it, then bought a Ryobi One+ cutter) and it charges fine. Replaced the bad one under warranty and the replacement charged twice before crapping out.
All Quinn/Pittsburgh pro sockets I've owned- big pass
Pittsburgh Pro Ratchets- pass, in particular there is one that is about 18" long, dual 1/4-3/8 heads flex heads. Thing is damn strong for how thin it is and incredibly useful.
Daytona jack- big pass
Tin snips-fail, grabbed some in a pinch since I was already there and I have 3 pairs of Midwest so I know what makes good snips. These are trash.
5 Drawer tool cart- big pass. Got the orange one. These are their best bang for the buck item. My last one was about 10 years old overloaded no issues. This one has better sliders, is 2 inches deeper and has a few other nice updates
wae
UltraDork
9/27/20 4:16 p.m.
I just picked up their Little Giant ladder clone. On sale for $99 plus the 20% coupon works, so about $85 after Ohio taxes (my local store was out so I had to *gasp* cross the river). Seems pretty well built and I've tested out all the various functions.
May be a repeat, but PASS.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:
Rule of thumb, if it's orange, it's junk.
Words to live by... 
(I'll Stop)
In reply to Patrick (Forum Supporter) :
As a Raiders fan I approve of this message :)
AngryCorvair (Forum Supporter) said:
Pittsburgh brand "channel lock" pliers are utter garbage.
The HF smaller size HF vice grips are absolute trash. The jaws actully flex laterally, so they'll slip out of place pretty easily if you try to apply any force.
wire twisting pliers, big big pass. They work much better than the set they replaced. 
noddaz
UltraDork
10/3/20 9:24 a.m.
In reply to Professor_Brap (Forum Supporter) :
I am surprised HF would have something like that.
But China does have an aircraft industry, so it makes sense.
noddaz said:
In reply to Professor_Brap (Forum Supporter) :
I am surprised HF would have something like that.
But China does have an aircraft industry, so it makes sense.
My old set broke and I was looking for a new set and found these. Was surprised also.
OK my first order with HF lost most of the items in the ether somewhere and everything finally showed up about month later. But because the prices are so good I figure what the hell give them another shot. I need a 18mm deep socket to do my timing belt. Order these Quinn sockets, and guess what socket it skips. Literally skips 10,11,12,13,14,15,17.....19,21. WTF where is my 18????? Yeah I should have read the details, so my bad. But how can you skip sockets sizes. Fail, fail, fail https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-drive-metric-chrome-deep-socket-10-pc-64216.html
Oh well trip to Ace hardware to buy one socket for probably 5 bucks. FU HF.
