[JeepnGreg]

are chicago electric brand tools from harbor frieght OK, or are they complete junk. i know its not dewalt by any stretch of the imagination, but i need a reciprocating saw and im poor......50 bucks after shipping for their "industrial" 7 amp motor recip. saw isnt too bad a deal..

any one have expirience with this brand ?

 

[Dirt Dog]

MOst of their stuff is junk. You just never know. I've got a 4 1/2" grinder of theirs that I love. It works great. Even after 10+ years.

 

[Jim_Lou]

I've bought a bunch of their 4 1/2" grinders. Four of them are on a rack, with a different wheel or brush on each. It's a great time saver!

Two of them died after a dozen or so running hours, but I took them back to the store and they were replaced without question. At $17.00 they're cheap enough that I keep a spare or two on hand.

Were there not a Harbor Freight retail store 45 minutes away, I might have a different opinion.

 

[027]

Like Jim, I have a Harbor freight right near me and their tools are cheap but good and if they go bad I take them back if only a short time has passed, if not I just get another. I have been using various Chicago brand tools from there for years and am happy with them. This is coming from some one whose tool box is over flowing with Snap On, Mac, and Cornwell, tools from the mech tech days at the dealers. Boy can you spend a paycheck there real fast and those ol boys know what there doing, giving you a tool today for payment tomorrow

 

[959]

i tried out a chicago Electric wire fed welder. it was bad. real bad. it was 100% usless.

fake tool. I hate fake tools.

but I like buying real tools from harbor frieght.

I got some C clamps for a few dollar which are fine, they are C clamps what could be wrong with them.
I got 4 pairs of welding gloves for $4. which are very usfull.

 

[BMB]

I didn't have any luck with their grinder. I bought one and it lasted about five minutes. The screws in the head backed out, so I loctited them in and tried it the next day. They came back out and the gear stripped at the same time, so back it went. I'd look into some of their refurbished DeWalts if your trying to save money.

BMB

 

[1830]

My welder is a Chicago Electric MIG. I've used it about 10-15 times and I've gotta say i'm very pleased. It does what I ask it to. Of course, we'll see if it lasts a lifetime or if i'm reposting another opinion 3 months from now

 

[barfnick]

I have some of their tools and they work great for occasional use. If I was trying to make a living with them, I would buy better ones, but for the most part I am happy with them. I live within 15 minutes of one and work less than 5 minutes from a different one, so if I have a problem, they are close by.

 

[517]

Are they yellow? Are there any markings cast into the housings?

Here in Western Canada we have Princess Auto (started in Winnipeg), and they bring in all kinds of stuff from China, probably like Harbour Freight. They have the cheap grinders, drills, pipe benders, etc. I bought a 1/2" electric drill and it seems to work fine. Beats the heck out of using a 3/8 variable to spin a hole saw. Wondering if it's the same "brand". A friend bought a $29.00 1/2" hammer drill and burned it out pronto trying to use it for a job it wasn't meant for, drilling 1/2" holes in steel. I don't imagine it had enough gear reduction for that.


Ok, went to their site and I think I answered my own question. It looks like the same stuff, just a different color of plastic. My drill is their "Super Heavy Duty Industrial 1/2"". $39.00 on their site. They were $70.00 cdn at our retainer. Sounds about right. I think it's a not bad drill for occassional use. It certainly looks heavy duty and isn't too noisy either. So I think that speaks well to the quality of the motor and gearbox.

 

[387]

Still going on their grinder here....I guess 3 or so years. Blows up? Trash, then new one.

 

[1070]

Barfnick's right.... as long as you don't plan to open your own shop with these tools, they aren't bad. I've tried to burn up the grinder I bought from HF and haven't yet... I also bought the 40 lb sandlbaster and have been happy. The nail gun I got is marginal but the body sander has held up very well. sockets... no brainer (cheap and still going strong). busted a couple of wrenches, broke a couple screwdrivers, the little cheap junk can be just that... cheap.

my $0.02

 

[uglyjeepoffroad]

I am all for value (read: Cheap), but sometimes a trip to the local pawn shop can be in order. I picked up a Makita Saws-all for $25 with a metal case and 3 blades. Hard to beat.

 

[uglyjeepoffroad]

Here is one.

Ebay Listing

 

[Jim_Lou]

Update:

Was using one of the HF grinders this morning when the drive gears apparently stripped. I went to the tool cabinet, got out the spare, swapped wheels and was back in business.

I don't know how old the dead one is - could be 6 to 18 months, but probably about a year. It's the one with the ferrous metal grinding wheel, and gets the most use by far.

Next time we make a trip the The Toy Store I'll replace it, maybe free, maybe %17.00.

 

[517]

Ugly, we hate you. j/k. You should see the AR-15 I picked up at a pawn shop. I thought it was just a toy on the wall till I asked about it.