Your WORST tool buy!

[Swingpress]

This is more to help others lean form our mistakes. While it could be argued that there is no such thing as a bad buy, I think most would agree that people can definitely rip you off if your not careful and slightly impulsive.

So GJ members......what's the worst buy you have made?

Mine was probably the $200 I spent on a " great condition steel" anvil described as at least 150lbs only to have an 80lb sway backed door stop show up with a bent beak and rounded heel! Biggest POS ever!

Always see it in person lol.


Dang...I'm still a little sore about that...

 

[tweedlestan]

For me it was a brand new Snap on screwdriver set. What a mistake, they were absolute GARBAGE.

Tip quality was pathetic, they didn't fit screws properly. They were also exceedingly soft, softer than ANY screwdriver I have ever used. I bent one flathead on a bronze screw.

 

[PugetDude]

10" Makita Table saw.

The saw cuts OK, has decent power, but the fence is worse than worthless. Nothing available aftermarket, (except a Rousseau drop in table that costs more than the saw)...may make my own out of some 80/20.

 

[dutchgray]

10" Makita Table saw.

+1
Quite possibly their worst tool, just a horrible piece of junk.

 

[Al Borland]

Harbor freight engine leveler.
NOT a happy day when that let go.

 

[theoldwizard1]

Craftsman rubber strap wrenches. I do not know why I keep them. I have never been able to get them to work on anything.

 

[ecotec]

Craftsman rubber strap wrenches. I do not know why I keep them. I have never been able to get them to work on anything.

I sneak all the tools that I can't stand to look at anymore into my father-in -law's tools.

 

[colt zantop]

Everything I bought the first time I walked into harbor freight......****, the sand paper even sucked! Lol

 

[Sunset_Z28]

This tap and die set from Advance Auto. I knew better and bought it anyways. The one star review on the website is from me and shows pics I took of the garbage taps.

https://m.advanceautoparts.com/p/au...55tw-tw455/9010284-P?searchTerm=taps+and+dies

 

[PFSard]

Craftsman rubber strap wrenches. I do not know why I keep them. I have never been able to get them to work on anything.

I found one in the trash in the other day. I thought it was just me. Maybe that was where it belonged.

 

[LXCam]

Harbor freight engine leveler.
NOT a happy day when that let go.

I got one of those that every once in a great while has something really expensive hanging off it. So how bout giving a brother a heads up on what broke?

Thanks

I found one in the trash in the other day. I thought it was just me. Maybe that was where it belonged.

Return it from where you got it or bad luck will follow you for life!


Hum, my worst purchase eh? That's a tuff one. I'd have to say a super max knee mill that looked in perfect condition but the spindle was locked up for vertical movement. Long story short I took a grand hit by the time it left my shop.

 

[pawnworld007]

Harbor freight engine leveler.
NOT a happy day when that let go.

Curious what part of it failed as well.

 

[txvwnut]

Craftsman rubber strap wrenches. I do not know why I keep them. I have never been able to get them to work on anything.

At least yours are still together. The first time I went to use one of the two from the set I bought the strap ripped away from the handle.

 

[BK13]

Every tool stolen by my GF's dirtbag son. Gotta love a mother who enables her 36 year old son to live rent free for four years. Couldn't find a job in that period of time, despite construction going crazy in Portland. But hey, he did manage to get out of bed, usually, by the crack of noon. That weed isn't going to smoke itself! Must be nice to do nothing but get stoned, watch cartoons, and eat somebody else's food.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[LXCam]

Every tool stolen by my GF's dirtbag son. Gotta love a mother who enables her 36 year old son to live rent free for four years. Couldn't find a job in that period of time, despite construction going crazy in Portland. But hey, he did manage to get out of bed, usually, by the crack of noon. That weed isn't going to smoke itself! Must be nice to do nothing but get stoned, watch cartoons, and eat somebody else's food.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Can I have his job after he leaves. I could use some down time.

 

[Dimitri]

SK 1/4" drive "screw driver".

Nothing prevents it from spinning mechanically. It's a round extension in a handle with a round hole. Removal and lots of Green Loctite is required.

Dimitri

 

[BK13]

Can I have his job after he leaves. I could use some down time.

No! LOL. He finally moved out (to Florida) a couple of months ago, but just flew back because his grandmother was at the end of her life. Forgot how much I detest the little jack wagon.

However, if you just want to chill for a bit, I do have plenty of beer and a fairly wide selection of bourbon.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Furd50]

Harbor Freight 8 inch bench grinder. Didn't even have enough torque to start when I put a wire wheel on it. Alas, by the time I found out I had tossed the lousy grinding wheels and lost the eye shield holders so I couldn't return it.

 

[LXCam]

No! LOL. He finally moved out (to Florida) a couple of months ago, but just flew back because his grandmother was at the end of her life. Forgot how much I detest the little jack wagon.

However, if you just want to chill for a bit, I do have plenty of beer and a fairly wide selection of bourbon.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Perfect, I got a decent selection of bourbon myself. Let me box that stuff up and I'll be right over.

 

[6PTsocket]

This tap and die set from Advance Auto. I knew better and bought it anyways. The one star review on the website is from me and shows pics I took of the garbage taps.

https://m.advanceautoparts.com/p/au...55tw-tw455/9010284-P?searchTerm=taps+and+dies

Look how the average is 4 stars. Sometimes you see a high rating but most of the reviewers say it stinks. Must be new math. If I am trying to get feedback I always read the ratings and ignore the stars. When several reviewers all have the same conplaint and they sound half way rational, I look elsewhere. $ 29 bucks plus Advance lousy prices was a dead give away on that one. That makes it a 20 buck tap and die set, I would be amazed if it was not junk. A couple of decent taps can cost that much.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[6PTsocket]

https://www.zoro.com/huck-magna-lok...K3-8jjaoydtosuHNvPIOZPn3-2W0HC2Q5MaAqtA8P8HAQ

I bought an earlier model of this tool before Huck bought the company that made it. It is not even serviced where other Huck tools are. One guy handles it. You have to mail him the tool.
It does blind rivets and nutserts and was compact and very powerful when it worked which was almost never. I saw a used one on ebay that was less than the repair cost. The hydraulics were always screwed up. It was less that half the current price when I bought it. I really tried to make it work but it is a total loser. I saw it sold off one of the trucks. Don't even think about it.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[ecotec]

Reviews are always sketchy. A lot of people review things that they have recently bought and have not even used yet. Some are just excited to have bought it...

 

[L.Cheapo]

In my defense, I bought these long before the GearWrenches were sold. More backdrag than forward strength.

I keep them in a drawer of my toolbox to remind me to make better decisions going forward.

 

[1950mercury]

For me it was a brand new Snap on screwdriver set. What a mistake, they were absolute GARBAGE.

Tip quality was pathetic, they didn't fit screws properly. They were also exceedingly soft, softer than ANY screwdriver I have ever used. I bent one flathead on a bronze screw.

Did you return them. I call bs

 

[Lassen Forge]

A set of sockets I bought at a Kragens while on a trip, to replace a fan belt that blew. It worked about 1/2 minute, the 1/2" socket rounded off, then the ratchet broke, then the other socket (13mm) broke in half using an extension and a pair of vise grips. If that was their "best" I would hate to see the worst.

Then there was another one - Bought a used depth gauge, sight unseen, to replace one that walked away on me years before (Needed to check the cylinder mounting deck on a motorcycle)... only to find the thing locked up tight. Supposed to be in good shape - r-i-i-i-i-g-h-t...

And the cheap sandpaper - where you go to use it, and the grit literally falls off the paper... thank you, Harbor Fright.

 

[Al Borland]

I got one of those that every once in a great while has something really expensive hanging off it. So how bout giving a brother a heads up on what broke?

Curious what part of it failed as well.

The adjuster screw/threaded rod/long boltlike thing on top that goes thru the loop that the hoist picks up on bent, ripped out and failed. With only a smallblock ford attached, so not even a heavy engine.

 

[LXCam]

The adjuster screw/threaded rod/long boltlike thing on top that goes thru the loop that the hoist picks up on bent, ripped out and failed. With only a smallblock ford attached, so not even a heavy engine.

Thanks, I'll be taking a look at that.

 

[tweedlestan]

Did you return them. I call bs

You calling me a liar, buddy?

 

[ecotec]

I do not know my worst tool buy...

My most recent bad tool buy was my Craftsman offset ratcheting speed wrenches. I have had non-offset ones for 20 years. I always wished that they were offset. Anyways... I bought a set about two months ago at Sears. They are terrible. They function fine, but they look like ****. I think they forgot a step before they chromed them. They are the last tool that I will ever buy from Sears.

 

[KM223]

Worst by far is my Snap On sockets, Snap On ratchets and Snap On wrenches. Especially the Snap On line wrenches.

 

[IndyGarage]

In my defense, I bought these long before the GearWrenches were sold. More backdrag than forward strength.

I keep them in a drawer of my toolbox to remind me to make better decisions going forward.

Just throw them in the scrap pile in order to remove them from the gene pool. I had a set of them a long time ago as well. Don't think there was a single time i used them successfully.

My worst tool buys are something that doesn't work the first time you try to use it, so you end up trying to fix the tool so you can fix whatever you are working on. I've had a few of those.

I bought this cool looking set of self adjusting locking pliers - jammed up first time I tried to use them. I bought a set of automotive HVAC gauges - manifold leaked on one side. I bought a "kawasaki" brand angle grinder on clearance - switch lasted exactly 3 minutes.

There are dozens of others.

 

[WVBrady]

The adjuster screw/threaded rod/long boltlike thing on top that goes thru the loop that the hoist picks up on bent, ripped out and failed. With only a smallblock ford attached, so not even a heavy engine.

I haven't used mine yet, but I just took a look at mine. The bolt has a wheel attached to it that rides on the bottom of the beam, so the weight it not just supported by the bolt. Maybe it is an improved design.

 

[ca90ss]

Festool Ti-15 impact, weak for an impact and all but useless as a drill.

 

[T45]

You calling me a liar, buddy?

Did you warranty them or do you just talk trash on the internet?

 

[tweedlestan]

Did you warranty them or do you just talk trash on the internet?

Warrantied them, sold them. The one that bent on a bronze screw may be laying around somewhere though. It wasn't part of my newest set.

Is it so hard to believe that Snap on screwdrivers aren't the best in the world, fail spectacularly sometimes, and in fact are outperformed by many other brands?

 

[gdocktor3]

Warrantied them, sold them. The one that bent on a bronze screw may be laying around somewhere though. It wasn't part of my newest set.

Is it so hard to believe that Snap on screwdrivers aren't the best in the world, fail spectacularly sometimes, and in fact are outperformed by many other brands?

Hmmm.... Bronze screws are so soft I find it hard to believe any screwdriver would bend, let alone Snap On. Were these the instinct style screwdrivers or the hard handles and what did you replace them with? I have 2 hard handles & 4 instincts and they are some of the best screwdrivers I've ever owned. The instinct's tips are matched only by my Wera and Vessel screwdrivers. I also own Matco, SK, Black pro, red pro, and standard Craftsman, Crescent, Blackhawk, Klein, Stanley, etc and none of them match the Snap On's.

 

[Two Speed]

Two Channel Lock tools that dispointed me greatly, got it as a pair, the 412 and 422 v-jaw tongue and groove pliers. Handles are uncomfortable, and they don't grab worth a damn if you need to really hold something tight, unlike the old Channel Locks I am accustomed to.

 

[Infinia]

I got suckered by Robo-Grips, damn you Bob Villa!

 

[dkroth]

Craftsman rubber strap wrenches. I do not know why I keep them. I have never been able to get them to work on anything.

I found one in the trash in the other day. I thought it was just me. Maybe that was where it belonged.

At least yours are still together. The first time I went to use one of the two from the set I bought the strap ripped away from the handle.

But they're Craftsman. You can get them replaced.


Seriously, I bought these a few months ago with bonus points. I haven't used them yet. Now I'm not looking forward to it.

 

[unslow1]

Craftsman rubber strap wrenches. I do not know why I keep them. I have never been able to get them to work on anything.

They won't even open a jar for me. I'm tempted to put a tire softening compound like VHT on them.