I usually just browse ouor local Horrible Fright store, mainly to get ideas for things I may want to build. Of all the purchases I made from them I only have two items worthy of using, that has lasted, and one of which is a major brand name I bought through them. I have a small horizontal vertical type metal cutting bandsaw I bought from them over 20 years ago, for $99.00 and free shipping back then. I have greatly improved this saw over the years and it owes me nothing. The newer ones are all stamped steel for blade guide supports etc and made very cheaply as comparted to this older saw. The other item was supposedly a Lincoln AC welder for $100.00 , new not refurbed. It took over 11 weeks from the time I ordered it until it finally showed up on the freight companies loading dock. Went to pick it up and low and behold it turned out to be a Lincoln AC/DC welder shipped by mistake so it was my gain. Hard to beat a ACDC Lincoln for that price. If its a one time deal I need a certain tool for I may buy it but I have never got any long term use out of their tools, and usually consistent use of their tools usually winds up messing up something else down the road like rounding off bolt heads, or broken studs with their gear pullers, stripped out screw heads from their screwdrivers etc. Their air tools consume way more air than a quality air tool does. They work but air consumption is much higher to get the same output out of a name brand air tool. So I am not a real big fan of HF, and put it about the same quality as Chuck Hormiers traveling tool circus. Northern used to be good, but now its hard to tell what the item is in terms of quality as they seemed to have added a heap of import junk to their product listing.
One thing China does do and does a great job at doing is making great drill bits. They are cryogenically heat treated and very hard and durable. BUT.........they should learn how to sharpen them, as their sharpeing skills leave a lot to be desired. I do buy HF drill bits when on sale, and never use them right from the box unless I resharpen them first. Makes a heap of difference. Of course sizes are not held to tight so some are under and some are oversized, but for the most part when sharpend right they are fine for in a shop. I also buy HF 4" angle grinders 4 or 5 at a time when on sale, as some last others don't, and an angle grinder around my place gets a real workout. Someday I may justs break down and buy a good POrter Cable or Metabao and be done with it. I probably spent enough on HF grinders to have bought 2 or 3 of the good angle grinders already.
Grizzley markets good and bad items, and JET which is supposedly the top dog in import machines etc also has good and bad. I got a royal shaft on the lathe I bought from JET but at least they did make good for its shortcomings and problems it had.
Not much into refurbed tools, as if there is suffiicient quantity of an item that it can be refurbed and sold in numerous stores nationwide it tells me two things. It was a lemon of a design or make to begin with or perhaps they seen a defect and decided to do something about it. I just don't usually take a gamble on these things.
Just my take on Horrible Fright and the others......
