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Just snagged a HF portable bandsaw for $69.00 with a 2 year free replacement warranty. I know what you are thinking, but I decided to purchase one after watching this video. I hit it with a 20% off coupon. Their website shows it back ordered and I purchased the last one on the shelf. Someone is buying these saws.

 

 

Breakdown:

Sale Price: $74.99

20% coupon: $59.99

2 yr full replacement warranty: $10.00

Total: $69.99

Add local tax

 

Yakdung

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I know you're trying to give everyone a heads up , but so I'm I.

I won't even walk into a harbor freight anymore. I personally felt like I was killing my country every time I would go in there for even the smallest thing. I know everywhere you go now, damn near everything is made in China and they have some good prices on tools, but their tools are total junk and your wasting your money in the long run. I know a people and even a lot of local businesses will buy from there regardless the quality, It is a great price and hard not to buy something like this when you need it, especially when the US brand is 3 to 4 times the price, but remember with every purchase of Chinese goods we are building them up stronger and in the process making our-selfs weaker. This is a free country, for now, so enjoy it while you can.

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Cam's right. You'll end up replacing that cheap saw several times, probably after the "warranty" runs out. That blade runs how fast? I'd sooner trust something by a reputable maker.

 

America 1st.

 

Anyone but China next.

 

 

 

 

China...dead fuckin' LAST!

 

 

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I work with tools, myself. I completely agree with what Mr Cam is saying, and there are more reasons as well.

 

If I go and spend 500 bucks on a table saw, it most likely wont have the ability to do certain shit that ONLY a table saw can be used to do. So I bought a 1700 dollar craftsmen jobsite saw instead. Believe you me, I have used the living shit out of it too! leave it in the rain, rip even aluminum on the damn thing, its still dead on accurate and runs like a top, and I have had it for years.

 

my nail guns. I cant even figure how many nails they all have shot, but its a damn lot. no signs of air leaks, and I havent had to replace or repair any of them yet.

 

compressors, still have the same one for over ten years now or better. craftsman.

 

all my wrenches, sockets, screwdrivers, hammers, saws....craftsman, or the equivalent.

 

my cordless tools are porter cable or dewalt. sure, some are made in mexico, but its better to give them mexicans a little work to keep them outta here.

 

my damn power washer is a john deere

 

any masonry tools are marshalmallow or kobalt.

 

my tile saw is american made

 

I dont buy the cheap hammers with the wood handles. metal only. screw those sledges with the cheap plastic handles too....they are crap.

 

I will go to thrift stores if i want another full sized trowel or clamps or vice grips and get the good used old stuff. If it cant chop a block or red brick in half without denting, it isnt a trowel, its a piece of sheet metal with a handle on it and gets tossed into the back of the rack at lowes behind said block cube or brick cube (they love it when i do that, fuck them).

 

 

 

why would i spend more on tools? or not rent this stuff? because time is money, and they pay for themselves many times over quickly.

 

 

If you go cheap on tools, expect to get held up when you least expect it, or have a failure right as you are cutting into your saiga and then ya really score the thing up.

 

unless its a tool you plan to ruin on one job, dont go cheap or chinese. buy American. I speak from years of experience, and have seen a lot of people over the years with cheap tools struggle with them. hell, you even LOOK unprofessional when you show up with a 50 dollar table saw and some chintzy fuckin air tools.

 

go try out your chinese drifts or nail sets and give em a little abuse. see how long they last. or try a chink level or yellow made square. you will be going back to a plumb bob and a stick rule quickly if you trust your precision work to those pieces of junk.

 

 

 

what I CANT avoid, are the fuckin chinese screws i have to buy now. ALL the 2" drywall screws like to break at the head, and all of the damn deck screws are so dull, i have to wang them into the wood just to get them started.

Edited by BVamp
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I know you're trying to give everyone a heads up , but so I'm I.

I won't even walk into a harbor freight anymore. I personally felt like I was killing my country every time I would go in there for even the smallest thing. I know everywhere you go now, damn near everything is made in China and they have some good prices on tools, but their tools are total junk and your wasting your money in the long run. I know a people and even a lot of local businesses will buy from there regardless the quality, It is a great price and hard not to buy something like this when you need it, especially when the US brand is 3 to 4 times the price, but remember with every purchase of Chinese goods we are building them up stronger and in the process making our-selfs weaker. This is a free country, for now, so enjoy it while you can.

 

I know and I hear you. Walked into Sears and two thirds of their tools are also from China. Walked into WoodCraft looking to find a companion for my good old US made Rockwell 14" bandsaw. All made in China. Time came to purchase a new Diesel pickup made in the good old USA. Guess what? Engine was made in America shipped by rail car down to Mexico to a Dodge assembly plant. Placed back on a rail car and shipped back to America. Guess what? After eight years the Dodge truck is a piece of shit and the Cummins engine is running like a tank. I have worked too hard and I'm tired of supporting crap just because it was made in a particular country. I gravitate towards quality and reliability hence my collection of AKM's from around the globe. Unions chose to ignore Dr. Edward Deming and we are all paying the price. Don't look now but China already owns this county.

 

Yakdung

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yakdung - you been here a while, so Ill be nice.

 

the unions, i agree. but the tax floating mr cliton gave was far worse.

 

 

my survival sepends on 5 days of work per month. I dont come cheap.

 

you want it done, call "that guy". you want it done right, call me.

 

...and i travel, too....

 

i dont half ass shit, and i damn sure dont bring some cheap ass tools on the job. now, if you want to cut one blank for a stock so you can work it, sure, go get that bandsaw. mines 20 years old and kicking hard.....and dont show any signs of wearing out any time soon....

 

 

now, radial arm saws? stay the fuck away from them things. more dangerous than a planer/shaper bed tool. that is one tool i will never own again. almost cut my finger off making pipes for the hippies at the dead festivals out of purple heart.

 

if you dont buy a tool, it should be for the right reasons. not because of where its made at. screw that cheap shit, and everyone using them.....yeh, you.

 

even my main "cats paw" is american and forged. screw that crap tool shit.....

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yakdung - you been here a while, so Ill be nice.

 

the unions, i agree. but the tax floating mr cliton gave was far worse.

 

 

my survival sepends on 5 days of work per month. I dont come cheap.

 

you want it done, call "that guy". you want it done right, call me.

 

...and i travel, too....

 

i dont half ass shit, and i damn sure dont bring some cheap ass tools on the job. now, if you want to cut one blank for a stock so you can work it, sure, go get that bandsaw. mines 20 years old and kicking hard.....and dont show any signs of wearing out any time soon....

 

 

now, radial arm saws? stay the fuck away from them things. more dangerous than a planer/shaper bed tool. that is one tool i will never own again. almost cut my finger off making pipes for the hippies at the dead festivals out of purple heart.

 

if you dont buy a tool, it should be for the right reasons. not because of where its made at. screw that cheap shit, and everyone using them.....yeh, you.

 

even my main "cats paw" is american and forged. screw that crap tool shit.....

 

Like I said. I always try and shop good ole USA. I will be purchasing a MIG welder soon and I could buy Pacific Rim, but I will be purchasing a Miller and a Hypertherm Plasma down the road.

 

Be safe,

Yakdung

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The funny thing is ppl are saying, dont buy from harbour freight because it's supporting china, but look where are name brand tools are made, most are also from china and some times there made in the same factory thats making the off brand stuff.

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yup.

 

thing is, knowing which tool is the better tool.

 

 

go look at the cabinet grade plywood at your home depot or lowes. check the stick thats actually ON the piece of 50 dollar wood.

 

i wont buy it, ill make my own with veneer and glue first.

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I got the HF portable bandsaw for a few knifemaking projects. It took some minor modification to make it work as a vertical saw, but it never tracked well and the noise the motor made was awful. I got a DeWalt saw a few years later, and it is better in every way. It cost twice as much, but it is worth it.

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I got the HF portable bandsaw for a few knifemaking projects. It took some minor modification to make it work as a vertical saw, but it never tracked well and the noise the motor made was awful. I got a DeWalt saw a few years later, and it is better in every way. It cost twice as much, but it is worth it.

 

This was just a Litmus experiment for me. The damn thing is loud and I immediately changed to Lenox / Wolf brand of blade. Just got sick and tired using a silly hacksaw. I decided to give this cheap saw a go and channel the extra coin towards a Miller MIG. I will tell you I really love this type of saw though. If I get too annoyed with it I'll just give it away.

 

Yakdung

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The tools I use every day, all day are American made. The bigger power tools I use once in awhile tend to be HF. Thus far, no issues and I've had my drill/stand and bench grinder for 8-10yrs. Just bought a HF scrollsaw. Will I have to replace it, maybe/maybe not.

 

I would much rather buy American, but I can't afford to give an arm and a leg for something I use only occasionally. It's not my fault the American workforce chooses to price it self out of business. Though it's not totally theirs either as everytime someone decides they want more, everyone else has to pay for it.

 

I've seen what I call the "High Dollar" Farriers who charge maybe 2-3 times what I do are now starting to get dropped for more reasonable rates that are just as qualified. It wasn't just the "Housing Bubble" that burst, it was the high dollar labor market as well. Some are still doing well, but as the price of EVERYTHING goes up, they are becomeing less atractive to the average citizen whose already paying out the nose for everything else in their life and just can't afford them anymore. Thus shrinking their client base.

 

Hell, we're finding it more cost effective to go the India, etc for major surgeries by US trained docters. And over there, they still have the "small business" attitude that is becomeong increasingly lacking in this country.

 

Attitude is everything. And when your arrogance dominates your attitude, you've already lost.

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Pauly is right, and if you look now, you can still get vise grips made in Nebraska on E-Bay. Once those are gone that is it, except for garage sales. BpS12 - it's not all the Americans fault. Look at tariffs and taxes between the countries. I understand what you are saying, but our hands are tied. So you are saying Americans should be paid 25 cents a day to make tools and live in a tar paper shack and shit in a hole in the ground? And then not be given a tariff like the Chinese impose on our stuff to make it incomparable? (even though the quality isn't). Whatever. Your call. I don't want to live in your vision for the US, if that's the case. US workers mostly take pride in the goods they produce, and are almost always of higher quality. Trade agreements hamper us. If we didn't allow these trade agreements, the chinese shit would be close to the cost of our stuff. Don't blame the American worker or the American company - blame your government. Blame Wal Mart, blame the US consumer. Don't blame the worker or the company, so much. Don't worry, when inflation hits big time soon, everything at wallyworld will skyrocket and it will seem like the good old days were just a few years ago for anything. If nothing else, there are lots of auctions from the baby boomers all getting really old now - plenty of American tools there, and cheap. I'm not being arrogent, just realistic. US labor can't compete with 3rd world country labor. We should be able to in a few years if things keep going they way they are, though.

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I hate to say it, but our inflation rate would be in at least in the 10-20% range annually if we didn't have all these goods imported from third world countries.

 

The cost to have textiles made in the U.S. with the markups required by retailers would easily be 5-10 times more than what you pay at Wal Mart. If you can afford to pay $100 for a shirt and $250 for jeans, then you are much wealthier than me.

 

Our union labor, environmental laws, taxes, energy costs and zoning requirements have made it so expensive to be a profitable manufacturer in the U.S. that it is cheaper to transport an engine to Mexico and back than it is to just use the vacant facilities in Detroit.

 

One way a manufacturer can be profitable here is with labor that is predominantly illegal (you can pay them less and they actually show up and work each day) - hence the reason why our borders are open.

 

I am willing to bet that the computer you are all using to read this is made predominantly in China (who owns 98% of the rare-earth reserves around the world).

 

This shit is scary as hell, and we all have to point the fingers at ourselves for allowing our elected officials to tax and regulate the manufacturing industry out of the United States while they themselves become millionaires.

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I hate to say it, but our inflation rate would be in at least in the 10-20% range annually if we didn't have all these goods imported from third world countries.

 

The cost to have textiles made in the U.S. with the markups required by retailers would easily be 5-10 times more than what you pay at Wal Mart. If you can afford to pay $100 for a shirt and $250 for jeans, then you are much wealthier than me.

 

Our union labor, environmental laws, taxes, energy costs and zoning requirements have made it so expensive to be a profitable manufacturer in the U.S. that it is cheaper to transport an engine to Mexico and back than it is to just use the vacant facilities in Detroit.

 

One way a manufacturer can be profitable here is with labor that is predominantly illegal (you can pay them less and they actually show up and work each day) - hence the reason why our borders are open.

 

I am willing to bet that the computer you are all using to read this is made predominantly in China (who owns 98% of the rare-earth reserves around the world).

 

This shit is scary as hell, and we all have to point the fingers at ourselves for allowing our elected officials to tax and regulate the manufacturing industry out of the United States while they themselves become millionaires.

 

Right as rain, sadly.

 

In the early 90s I took a truckload of saline solution from Michigan down to Texas, where it was going across the border. I was curious and asked what it would be used for. The reply I got was that it would be packaged in emergency medical kits and shipped back to Michigan. I kid you not. Again, sadly.

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Bron,

 

"So you are saying Americans should be paid 25 cents a day...."

 

No, but $25/hour and a damn near full benefits pakage on top of that just for screwing some bolts into a car body. And that was a non Union plant, 6yrs ago. The Union plants were $10-$20 higher. Sadly, when the high paying factory job came into town, the prices for EVERYTHING else got "adjusted" to those now with higher incomes, thus makeing those of us with the same, now lower, incomes seem poor.

 

BD has it right on the nose, WE ALL are responsible for what has happened. From the guy on Capitol Hill to the guy mucking horse stalls(whose usually a Mexican cause Americans tend to feel they are above such work, even our frickin kids). And I have never been a fan of the so called "Free Trade" agreements, which are anything but Fair. But we keep voteing for the lesser of two asshole parties, so what else can we expect?

 

NO ONE here buys ALL American. We wouldn't be here(on a forum for a Russian weapon) if we did. Mostly because we can't afford to. Because everybody always wants more, fair or otherwise. And the more we want, the more we have to make, and the more others have to make to pay us and we have to make to pay them. Good gods it's a vicious cycle, lol.

 

For myself, I'm trying not to be a significant part of it. I refuse to double/triple what I pay for an item(as tends to be the going business model) when I sell it to my clients. I'll add maybe 1/4 to 1/2 of what I paid for it. Better to make a little profit and always be working than to make a huge profit and be outa work next month/year. I may go under, but at least it wont be because I've been dishonorable in my business.

 

Just trying to make a living, not a killing.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I hate to say it, but our inflation rate would be in at least in the 10-20% range annually if we didn't have all these goods imported from third world countries.

 

The cost to have textiles made in the U.S. with the markups required by retailers would easily be 5-10 times more than what you pay at Wal Mart. If you can afford to pay $100 for a shirt and $250 for jeans, then you are much wealthier than me.

 

Our union labor, environmental laws, taxes, energy costs and zoning requirements have made it so expensive to be a profitable manufacturer in the U.S. that it is cheaper to transport an engine to Mexico and back than it is to just use the vacant facilities in Detroit.

 

One way a manufacturer can be profitable here is with labor that is predominantly illegal (you can pay them less and they actually show up and work each day) - hence the reason why our borders are open.

 

I am willing to bet that the computer you are all using to read this is made predominantly in China (who owns 98% of the rare-earth reserves around the world).

 

This shit is scary as hell, and we all have to point the fingers at ourselves for allowing our elected officials to tax and regulate the manufacturing industry out of the United States while they themselves become millionaires.

 

 

I hate to agree with you that it's the government regulations, environmental laws and unions that are driving costs up. Also having to hire worthless workers due to 'Affirmative Action' doesn't help either. I know many competent blacks who hate Affirmative Action because people think they only got hired because of their race. It's hard to fire many the deadbeat workers unlike China where the deadbeats are fired at. This country also has one of the highest corporate taxes in the world. Sad to say but many times it's easier for a corporation to have the Chinese make the product than try to comply with all the local, state and federal laws and deal with unions who are only a front for the DemocRATs to make a product here in the US.

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