On Wed, 8 Dec 1999, Scott Hall wrote:
[...]
> I was looking through the harbor freight catalog and lo, I see many models
> by 'chicago electric'. all 'factory reconditioned', but it'll get used
> only a few times a year (after I'm done with the obligatory play/break-in
> period, which should last several weeks), so I'm not sweating reliability.
>
> so, though I know I'd _really_ like a miller or marquette, are chicago
> electric any good? I ask, 'cause I see in the h.f. catalog that I can buy
> things that I know are decent stuff (or at least decent manufacturers),
> and I see some stuff that I'd be afraid to use, lest it maim me while
> opening the packaging it came in, and I am completely ignorant of chicago
> electric.
We bought a CE sawzall from HF 'cause it was half the price of the Milwaukee
I wanted and we knew we'd only be using it a coupla times a year. I compared
it to Denise's brother's Milwaukee, and there are significant differences.
The controls on the CE are cheesier feeling, a blade change takes 5 minutes
instead of 5 seconds (set screws with a wrench I'll surely lose soon vs
twist-lock), the motor and gears make scarier noises :-), and the balance of
the saw in your hands is not quite as good.
But it gets the jobe done when I whip it out every few months...
Oh, and it came with spare brushes for the motor in the box. I don't want
to think about what that says about the company's confidence in their own
motor. :-)
I think the bottom line is similar to what seems to be the prevailing
opinion about HF's cheap hand tools: OK for occasional use, but insufficient
for serious use.
-Andy
72 Pantera - Rocky 91 Miata - Steve 96 A4Q - Rudolf
80 928 - Phantom 87 E350XL - Andylance 84 RZ350 - Sting
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