Cheapo power tool rant

[dwasifar]

So Home Depot sells this:

It's your typical bargain-basement drill, made by Buffalo Tool. HD charges $28 for it, but Harbor Freight has one that looks like it came out of the same factory for $20, with keyless chuck.

Here are its specs:

No surprises there. Mediocre power, 90-day warranty for a reason.

And yet here's this guy in the listing's QA section:

Apparently the trigger switch has failed and he wants to fix it. He's in for a rude shock when he calls that 800 number and finds out that the part plus the shipping is going to come to at least 75% of the price he paid for the drill.

I. Don't. Get. It.

Let's say it costs $20 to buy and ship the switch. Now he's spent $48, plus sales tax, plus his labor, on this cheap POS drill which is just going to break again. For twenty bucks more he could be using a nice 8 amp Milwaukee corded drill with keyless chuck and 5 year warranty.

I get that he might not have understood the quality difference when he first bought the thing, but paying to fix a disposable tool like this one is just throwing good money after bad. That's what I don't get. You just know he's either going to waste money fixing it, or waste money buying another one like it. This experience should be a lesson, but for some guys it doesn't seem to stick.

 

[Knotgoalie]

Good for an emergency job. "Dixie Cup Tools...use em' once and throw em' away"

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

Only $10 for a genuine Milwaukee VS switch.

 

[dwasifar]

Good for an emergency job. "Dixie Cup Tools...use em' once and throw em' away"

Maybe if you're stuck somewhere, I guess.

 

[Knotgoalie]

Maybe if you're stuck somewhere, I guess.

...or if your sister asks that you hang a couple of shelves for her out of the blue Buy the drill, do the job and leave it there for next time!

 

[Richard Cranium]

it is better then some people have.

 

[dwasifar]

...or if your sister asks that you hang a couple of shelves for her out of the blue Buy the drill, do the job and leave it there for next time!

Yeah. But you certainly wouldn't try to repair it when it breaks. And I'm guessing that if this one is broken, it was used for more than just this kind of one-off thing.

Plus which, HD doesn't even sell this in the store. You have to order it.

 

[DadsTools]

Guess he should have bought the HD 2yr extended warranty for another $7.

 

[dutchgray]

I would just pick up a used one, there is always a supply of little used homeowner type 3/8 drills for about £5 a go, most were much better quality than these modern drills even though they were only cheap when they were made.

 

[oldwino]

For most homeowners that thing could last for years. 2-3 holes at a time through light material

Everyone out there is like us

 

[Knotgoalie]

For most homeowners that thing could last for years. 2-3 holes at a time through light material

...or just one and a half 3/8" holes in 1/4" steel

 

[cherrybomb]

You did buy it cheap,don't expect it to be a great tool.That is a pipe dream.There are much better choices to make when that one quits.Don't fix,toss! IMO please always choose Quality over low price.

 

[Knotgoalie]

Don't fix,toss!

Don't toss, re-purpose. I'm sure that drill motor can power something home built like a belt/disc sander or whatever.

 

[thesilverone]

OP has too much free time

 

[vssjim]

If I needed a corded drill I do agree with some others look for a good US made used one ], they are all over Ebay and craigslist and will probably out live the user.

 

[DFB]

This is too funny It's like a pastor at church preaching to the converted.

I actually flip a few of those HF corded drills at my flea mkt tool tent. $12.99 with coupon but the cheap hammer drill sells even better!

 

[Stuart in MN]

Apparently the trigger switch has failed and he wants to fix it. He's in for a rude shock when he calls that 800 number and finds out that the part plus the shipping is going to come to at least 75% of the price he paid for the drill.

Do you know that for a fact, or is this speculation on what the switch actually costs.

 

[speed bump]

Who says it is going to break again or that he actually repaired it when he found out what the part costs? Some people have the desire to fix things even if it doesn't make sense as well.

It's a tiny drill that falls in the "I have a drill for hanging pictures and curtains" category. Unless you have a very specific application for a 3/8" corded drill spending Milwaukee money on one makes no sense for the 3 times a year you use it.

 

[jd_1138]

I only buy Makita and DeWalt power tools. They have never have been let down. Cheap junk is NOT a good value.

 

[Coach James]

For some folks, buying "cheap junk" is a good value. One of my relatives might drill 3 holes a year. It would be needless for them to spend the time looking for an old USA made drill or spending the money to buy a Makita, Dewalt, Milwaukee, etc. brand drill. If it only drills 50 holes before it breaks, that is a lifetime of use for some folks.

Coach

 

[wolf_from_wv]

For some folks, buying "cheap junk" is a good value. One of my relatives might drill 3 holes a year. It would be needless for them to spend the time looking for an old USA made drill or spending the money to buy a Makita, Dewalt, Milwaukee, etc. brand drill. If it only drills 50 holes before it breaks, that is a lifetime of use for some folks.

Coach

I bought one of the Harbor Freight hammer drills because I needed to drill a couple holes for Tapcons. It will spend most of its life in a toolbox.

I bought a Walmart brand 3/8 cordless drill because my Ryobi cordless wouldn't hold a 1/16" drill bit. It sees a bit more use, but lives in a toolbox.

My Ryobi 1/2" drill (considered cheap by some) sees regular use. It's done what I need it to do. It seems like every time I put it away, I need it for something else.

My Craftsman 1/2" 600rpm drill doesn't seem to mind stirring drywall mud. It did pretty well with the holesaw in the truck frame and installing a door lock.

 

[928'er]

Guess he should have bought the HD 2yr extended warranty for another $7.

I had a girl at HF try to sell me an extended warranty on a $9.99 heat gun. LOL

 

[dwasifar]

You did buy it cheap,don't expect it to be a great tool.That is a pipe dream.There are much better choices to make when that one quits.Don't fix,toss! IMO please always choose Quality over low price.

Who are you talking to? Did someone here actually buy one of these?

 

[cherrybomb]

What ?

 

[Mechanical Noise]

I have a drill that looks almost exactly like that one. It's a Tool Shop brand drill from Menard's. It cost me $15.00 about 15 years ago. It would have been less but I never got around to filling the rebate form.

It replaced crappy, Made in USA, Craftsman drill. First thing that broke on that Craftsman drill was the damn reverse switch lever. I could flip the stub with a screwdriver or a nail so I figured I was OK. Then the cheap, hard outer covering on the power cord split at the strain relief. A little bit of tape and that crappy drill was back in business. Then one of the teeth broke off on the chuck. Hey, that's why they put three holes in the chuck, right?

So, I was at Menard's and saw that drill, no doubt made of plastic and Chinesium. HAHAHA!!! It will cost me only a few bucks to find out much worse it is than my genuine Made in USA Craftsman drill.

Guess what? NOTHING has broken on the Chinese drill.

 

[finn]

Do you know for a fact that the switch is overpriced, or is that just internet speculation?

Those cheap tools probably do a fine job for the 90% of homeowners who hang a picture on the wall once every five years. You don’t need job site or shop quality tools for that.

I bought a cheap Ryobi hammer drill when I sold my house and my drills were already moved 500 miles away.

The drill was about $15 more expensive than renting a drill for four hours at Home Depot.

After that one use, it spent the next four years on the shelf, until I ultimately donated it to my son.

Cheap tools have their place. Buying another Bosch or Milwaukee wouldn’t make sense. Buying a used drill wouldn’t work either. A week plus driving all over creation to drill two holes in a wall?... get real!

 

[zendriver]

A lol of people don't realize that "time is money" or at least it should be. And are obsessed with parts availability

Personally I'd pitch it in the trash if broken


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[gtae07]

I bought one of the Harbor Freight hammer drills because I needed to drill a couple holes for Tapcons. It will spend most of its life in a toolbox.

I did the same. Also bought a $90 HF nailgun to build my shop, will probably never need to use it again.

I have a coworker who gets all spooled up about how terrible it is to buy any kind of cheap tool. It's his opinion that I should have bought a proper Snap-On wrench instead of the HF one for installing a trailer ball on a drawbar. I've used it twice in four years and probably will never use it again.

Now yeah, my main cordless drill is a quality brand. My rivet guns and all that are, too. But my cheap grinder for hobby welding projects? My $7 HF one is chugging along fine.


Lifecycle cost can be deceiving. Sometimes buying the cheaper, shorter-lived item can still be cheaper, even buying it multiple times, than a "quality" item that lasts longer and gets fixed a few times along the way. I have family members who brag about how old their washer and dryer are, and how they "save money" by fixing them to the tune of hundreds of dollars every few years...

 

[eyeball]

A lol of people don't realize that "time is money" or at least it should be.

I understand the concept of time = money in a professional situation and I apply that while working in my chosen profession as I am sure we all do.

However a lot of us (me included) are garage hobbiest. For me time in my garage is not about money but relaxation and the gratification of creating, repurposing, or refurbishing.

That said, chasing parts to fix a poor quality drill is neither relaxing nor gratifying. Although once it is fixed, there is a bit of satisfaction from saving something from the garbage heap.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a firm believer that in the world of tools you usually get what you pay for. I tend to pay extra for higher quality tools in a effort to get back some of my time.

So, in the end maybe Zendriver is correct even for us hobbiest, time is money.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[zendriver]

I understand the concept of time = money in a professional situation and I apply that while working in my chosen profession as I am sure we all do.

However a lot of us (me included) are garage hobbiest. For me time in my garage is not about money but relaxation and the gratification of creating, repurposing, or refurbishing.

That said, chasing parts to fix a poor quality drill is neither relaxing nor gratifying. Although once it is fixed, there is a bit of satisfaction from saving something from the garbage heap.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a firm believer that in the world of tools you usually get what you pay for. I tend to pay extra for higher quality tools in a effort to get back some of my time.

So, in the end maybe Zendriver is correct even for us hobbiest, time is money.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

I guess what I really meant, was that "time is valuable", but if someone has the time and inclination, to spend a a day and a half , troubleshooting, procuring and installing a replacement part, in a 40 year old power tool, they are indeed fortunate, to have that choice.

Many just have another weekend job that they need to get done, so that they can move on to the next one, since the subsequent work week, is only two days away.

 

[dwasifar]

You did buy it cheap,don't expect it to be a great tool.That is a pipe dream.There are much better choices to make when that one quits.Don't fix,toss! IMO please always choose Quality over low price.

Who are you talking to? Did someone here actually buy one of these?

What ?

Who were you talking to when you said "you did buy it cheap"? I don't think anyone in this thread bought one of these.

 

[dwasifar]

Do you know for a fact that the switch is overpriced, or is that just internet speculation?

I'm making an educated guess at the price based on my experience repairing other tools. The shipping is what usually gets you; you don't usually get free shipping on tool parts. But even if I'm way off and it's only $10 shipped, that's still $40 into a junky drill that's just like the $20 HF ones, and the questioner would have been better off buying something else in the first place.

Those cheap tools probably do a fine job for the 90% of homeowners who hang a picture on the wall once every five years. You don’t need job site or shop quality tools for that.

I'm thinking a person ambitious enough to try to repair a power tool is someone who uses tools a little more often than that casual homeowner.

 

[matthew]

For the very occasional user I'd say an inexpensive 3/8" corded drill isn't the worst choice. While I'd definitely agree that it might have been worthwhile to buy a Makita or Milwaukee, it's still a lot more sensible than all those people who buy cheap cordless tools, and end up paying more for what are generally less functional tool than cheap corded stuff, and the batteries are never ready for use when infrequently used.

 

[seanb02]

What amazes me the most is the people that get hung up over what somebody else buys when it doesn't affect them in any way. If somebody wants a recommendation that is one thing, but to criticize someone else's choice, what is the point of that? What do you get out of the time spent worrying about that other person's choice?

I buy what I need based on the intended usage of the tool. I am a professional equipment mechanic rather than a home hobbyist. The tool that I buy is typically not going to be the same tool I would recommend to a home hobbyist for the same application.

Sure it is great for your ego to go around and be a snob about what you have. Besides making yourself feel important what have you gained?

 

[dwasifar]

What amazes me the most is the people that get hung up over what somebody else buys when it doesn't affect them in any way. If somebody wants a recommendation that is one thing, but to criticize someone else's choice, what is the point of that? What do you get out of the time spent worrying about that other person's choice?

Sure it is great for your ego to go around and be a snob about what you have. Besides making yourself feel important what have you gained?

You know, I was with you until that last bit. I understand what you're getting at, and I take your point, more or less. But I never talked about "what I have." That's not the point at all.

A person who has a broken cheap drill and wants to fix it wants to keep using it, right? And although it's possible it was used infrequently and still died young, chances are against that. Most drills that have only been used a few times still work, even cheap ones. It's far more likely that he used it up; it reached the end of its brief design life and he's trying to nurse it along. Assuming that's so, my point was simply that this is a bad financial practice. It's not about bragging.

I guess you're right that it doesn't affect me directly, but can't I still be dismayed that it happens? Don't you shake your head when you see someone doing something dumb, even if it doesn't involve you?

 

[Musicinabottle]

What amazes me the most is the people that get hung up over what somebody else buys when it doesn't affect them in any way. If somebody wants a recommendation that is one thing, but to criticize someone else's choice, what is the point of that? What do you get out of the time spent worrying about that other person's choice?

I buy what I need based on the intended usage of the tool. I am a professional equipment mechanic rather than a home hobbyist. The tool that I buy is typically not going to be the same tool I would recommend to a home hobbyist for the same application.

Sure it is great for your ego to go around and be a snob about what you have. Besides making yourself feel important what have you gained?

But I want everyone to have what I have.

 

[seanb02]

You know, I was with you until that last bit. I understand what you're getting at, and I take your point, more or less. But I never talked about "what I have." That's not the point at all.

A person who has a broken cheap drill and wants to fix it wants to keep using it, right? And although it's possible it was used infrequently and still died young, chances are against that. Most drills that have only been used a few times still work, even cheap ones. It's far more likely that he used it up; it reached the end of its brief design life and he's trying to nurse it along. Assuming that's so, my point was simply that this is a bad financial practice. It's not about bragging.

I guess you're right that it doesn't affect me directly, but can't I still be dismayed that it happens? Don't you shake your head when you see someone doing something dumb, even if it doesn't involve you?

No, maybe I worded a few things poorly. The guy probably could have asked about a slightly better option to replace the tool rather than for parts to repair it. But really in that kind of price range no matter what you look at they are all going to have a few that fail right off the line after a couple uses. But the majority are going to make it more than a couple uses, and a good portion are probably still going to be able to do their intended job 20 years down the road because most folks aren't buying them for regular usage.

It's not that I don't care that somebody's tool failed them, it's more that they aren't interested in getting a better tool, rather find a replacement part and hopefully be done with it for the next 20 years of limited use. Clearly a gamble, but for extremely limited home type use, who is to say whether it is a smart gamble or not?

Sorry if I came across badly, hard to convey some things online.

 

[seanb02]

But I want everyone to have what I have.

But what if you have terminal harbor freight illness? I don't want that no matter how good you say it is?

Sorry... I had to, you left the field too open.

 

[Musicinabottle]

What we need is a tool nazi that put tariffs on all the Chinese tools so that they were twice as expensive as tools from other countries like say.... America, with the slogan "Make America great again"

 

[jonesg]

Don't toss, re-purpose. I'm sure that drill motor can power something home built like a belt/disc sander or whatever.

Dont forget to buy an on/off switch. Doh