Chicago Tools vs. other disc sanders?

[fprintf]

What are the various brands of disc sanders I should check out when building my shop? I'd rather buy something middle of the road than something cheap that will break, but then again I have been known to buy something from Harbor Freight at a very inexpensive price and be tickled when it arrives and works just as well as the more expensive Delta, Makita, or DeWalt brand stuff.

Right now I am looking into a large (9" or higher) disc sander for sanding the end of foam wings in preparation for foam cutting. Any recommendations on what disc sander will do the job? I do not forsee it being used for any woodworking, so if a light duty Chicago Tools (e.g. Chinese Harbor Freight model) will do this trick at $99 then that is just fine.

Thanks in advance!

[briandlg]

I bought a Harbor Freight disc sander several months ago and took it back the same day. The disc was not flat and the table mounts were not evenly attached.

That being said, I know a couple people from these boards that have gotten theirs from Harbor Freight and have had no problems.

I went ahead and upgraded to the Delta 12". I've been very happy with it. On the street, it's probably about $75-100 more than the HF version.

[RCL]

Hi fprintf,

Guess I can't offer much in the disk sander area, but I saw your thoughts about Harbor Freight vs others and couldn't resist plugging in my two cents.

BTW, I use my table saw with a sanding disk for disk sanding.

The Harbor Freight thing... I'm a mechanic by trade... not complaining or boasting!?!? But I bought Snap-on hand tools for years for the work I did in the shop. I really thought I needed them. The last few years I've had a little more time on my hands and have been building my garage into a shop with a little more than just hand tools. I've bought a ton of stuff from Harbor Freight and loved it. Keep in mind, I'm not putting these to any industrial use test, but they work great for the garage/shop/hobby stuff I do. Air tools, power tools, sprayer tools, etc., all work great! I did buy an $8 dollar dent puller from them that was pretty much of a toy, rather than a tool. It was a sale item, so I guess you have to consider what you're getting. I have a bunch of Chicago Tools air tools that have been working for years.

BTW, I have no prefessional connection to Harbor Freight. Just like to save a little money.

Mark

[fprintf]

Thanks all for the information. I did a small trial with them and bought the $20 airbrush and $40 ($15 on sale) digital caliper. I must say they are both really great, albeit you can tell they are cheap imitations.

[mwraight]

I buy a lot of Harbor Freight hand tools, because if they break they're cheap to replace. I've broke cheap tools and I've broke Craftsman tools. I used a set of Harbor Freight Impact sockets to get a transmission out of an Isuzu Trooper - no problems - and they were stressed and abused to the max.

My experience with Harbor Freight's electric tools is a little different. I haven't used their sander, but I've used their Chicago Tools Flex Shaft machine. I was working for a goldsmith doing polishing work. We had two brands of flex shafts - Foredom, which is the Ferrari of flex shafts and Chicago Tools. I used the Chicago brand for about 10 minutes. It was insufferably crappy. It was underpowered, noisy and jumpy. In the end I preferred a 25 year old Foredom that was nearly worn out!

I believe you usually get what you pay for. Hand tools are basically made the same way - Craftsman impact sockets are not any different from Harbor Freight - the only difference with a Craftsman is the replacement policy. But I feel differently about electric tools. To keep the prices down they have to use the cheapest parts out there - and the motor is the most important part of that tool. I would rather spend a few dollars extra and get something just a little higher grade - like Black & Decker (which I believe is somehow affiliated with DeWalt, but can't prove that).

I know those unbelievable prices are hard to walk away from, but if you have to replace a $100 tool every 3 years you're not saving much. Get a $150 one that will last you 15 years or a $200 one that will last forever.

Of course I can't be too holy about this - I have a $29.99 Chicago Tools rock tumbler under my bed right now! :)