911 and E.R.-- courtesy of Harbor Freight

I had the same problem with china junk . We have no choice .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWoNDxjOksM&feature=related

 

Geez, thank god it wasnt worse.

 

Man that sucks. I think the HAMB needs a list of non chinese crap tools. Made in USA seems to be pretty hard to find nowadays. And sometimes it will say MADE IN USA and just be chromed here!

 

You want to nuke china cuz they build crappy tools?

 

I used to have one of their pipe kinkers. I was using it once when a weld on the base snapped, and it pretty much flew apart. It hit my nearby hand with enough force to fracture my wrist. I stopped buying tools there around that time. I have started buying tools from the tool trucks lately. A lot happier so far.

 

here is a link that was posted when vise grips sold out to china.

http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/

 

Agreed. Harbor freight is only good for sanding discs and other .50 cent items. Don't trust your well being and personal safety to cheap Chinese crap!

 

glad yer ok scott ....now everybody take all your cheap hf stuff and weld it together with other broken parts , and you just made a trophy for the next show you go to ..haha..

 

Glad to see your smiley has his safety glasses on. I wouldn't even trust their 50 cent sanding disks. I made the mistake of buying some wheel carts and of course they exploded the first time i used them. The car almost smashed my foot when the casters broke off.......... Hope your hand is 100% soon.

 

I agree that the majority of there stuff is just plain dangerous crap but I have had success with there air tools and there more expensive wrenches but other than that everything else I or one of my friends have bought there is absolute crap.

 

I bought my Ridgid woodworkng tools at HF. Good stuff. Drill bits suck, they are worthless, I use my Drill Dr. on them, and get by. Never again will I buy cutting tools like bits there. The cheap stuff looks cheap and gives what you pay for. My Grandad taught me what he learned in the late 1800's from his Dad, "Don't try to shave Lincoln's beard off a penny when buying tools."

 

Drill Dr are made USA, China or mexico but will not tell you with country

 

HF, for me, is for disposable tool applications and is an excellent source for that.

And as for the Chinese crap, I don't trust their products one bit (no pun intended).
I'm glad the hand will be okay, but this is historically typical of Chinese business culture to cheap out on specs and material to up their margin. To the Chinese it is simply good business sense.
I have even returned produce to grocery stores after I found out it was from China. And when asked why, I told them because "it's from China". Duh.

Trust me, I is one, and I don't trust the lot of them. Anyone doing business with the Chinese does so at their own risk and at the peril of themselves and their customers. That has been historically and culturally consistent for at least the past 5000 years.

 

Hey - they're also a good source for home made "shorty" wrenches in absurd sizes! Need a 2" wrench, but don't have the clearance? Buy one at Harbor Freight for $2 and cut it off!

~Jason

 

I am really sorry to learn that you got hurt because someone sold you a piece of crap. I hope your hand heals 100%
Bob

 

China...Great Food....Crappy Tools

 

Probably made by the same people.

 

That happened right here in Albuquerque - McDs at San Mateo & Gibson. You should read the reports themselves - I had to do research on it for a grad class a few years ago.

It worked for Japan (just kidding!)

Actually, Japan's reputation for quality was as bad or worse than the Chinese before the '70s.

Yes, but watch where the corporate profits go. A Toyota that's Made in the USA does create American jobs, but all corporate profits go to Toyota...and Toyota USA is still Toyota with global HQ in Japan.

Someone once said, "Follow the money" - we do this to ourselves. We have imploded due to our personal selfishness and China is replacing us.

As much as I hate lawyers and believe the over-litigious society we live in is part of our downfall, I'm not so sure I'd dismiss the option out of hand, Scott...(no pun intended, but it does work well )

Exceptionally happy to hear your hand will be fine and it wasn't worse than it could have been...

 

I hope your hand heals well, thanks to your post many others may be saved. I just called my Dad and told him about this delightful device.

In addition to a grinder and a couple clamps, I've really only bought the box loads of paintbrushes they sell. They are great for fiberglass and por-15.

I like walking through their store even though I don't buy much....

 

There are differences. The imported version might be made of a lower grade of material. It certainly has hollow jaws. That's one of the ways they cut manufacturing costs (and shipping costs!). In a vise, you always want solid jaws. Off-shore anvils are notorious for being hollow, too.

Regarding that broken Speedway leveler: in many cases the same off-shore facilities that supply outfits like HF sell to others, too. All that changes is the color paint and the decals. You must be discerning when you buy: if the photos show low-quality parts (like that Acme screw on that Speedway leveler), then beware. JCWhitney, Northern, Griot, and others usually are selling 'uptown' (as we said in Brooklyn) or 'Harry Homeowner' grade crap.

I have some solid cast-iron jackstands from the 20s (from my father) and more conventional cast-iron jackstands from Snap-On (from the late 70s) and I trust them. I would only use a cheap jackstand on something where there is not much weight or potential for a problem, like maybe a rear end. I once had a set of sheet metal jackstands when I was building a car in the Service; I gave them away many moon ago as they were crap.

In my lifetime so far, two friends have been crushed and killed by equipment falling on them. One was a pro well-driller whose truck fell of the jack when he was working underneath. The other was a skilled amatuer whose Jag fell on top of him. I don't know why or how these accidents happened, but since both individuals were on the ball, either they were very careless, something went wrong, or a combination. Regardless, it is something to keep in mind that even good equipment can fail. But you stack the deck against you if you start off with marginal equipment.

 

Me too, but make sure it isn't Chinese chain!! Lots of it around, and the welds on the links look like they were made by a blind man with a battery and coat hangers. If it isn't clearly labeled "proof rated" it isn't worth using.