Bad tool purchases

[Rick Potter]

Have you ever lusted after a tool, only to finally buy it, bring it home, and find out it was either a lousy tool, or maybe even (perish the thought) a tool you didn't even need? You know what I mean, that tool you just had to have that sits over there in the corner, unused.

Actually, I have several. My worst purchase was a steel tilting router table that I picked up at a WW show. WOW, it was the latest, greatest, centerfold quality tool I had ever seen. I was in love.

In reality it vibrates out of adjustment easily, the fence is lousy, the dust collection setup came out of a Crackerjack box, and it just sits there in the corner, mocking me everytime I see it. $600 worth of frustration, and no where to return it, because they were gone by the time of the next show.

RBI bought the rights to it and hopefully improved it, but that just pours salt on my wounded ego.

PLEASE: Tell me I am not the only one with a story like this. OK, I feel better now, it's your turn to come clean.

Hi....I'm Rick, and I'm a tool junkie.

[Larry Rose]

Rick, Don't feel like the redheaded stepchild, I've bought a boat load of junk/tools that either didn't work or I had no real use for them. My biggest problem was buying cheap junk instead of waiting a little longer to get a good one. In the town that I grew up in there was a little dinner run by an excentric old man. When you walked in the door you had to duck to get under a sigh that said "Cheap food's not good. Good food's not cheap. We serve the best." I now try to remember that when I'm tempted to buy a piece of junk. BTW it doesn't always work as I also have the dreaded wood guy disease.

[Christof Grohs]

Leigh D4. Lucky to have paid 1/2 of retail value at a local auction but to this day it sits boxed up...not a bad purchase (investment) but yet another tool I don't need or didn't need at the time. In the beginning I thought the machines would make me a better woodworker but I now know that practice, education and patience are the best tools I can own. A look at Krenov's work, coming from a minimalist shop, reveals this.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Leigh D4. Lucky to have paid 1/2 of retail value at a local auction but to this day it sits boxed up...not a bad purchase (investment)


Sell it before Leigh makes it look like it's obsolete. As the newer and newer models come along people will lust after the prettier paint schemes and ignore that fact that the older jigs had better clamps.

[Mike Peace]

Yup. It was my first stationary power tool when I started getting into woodworking about three years ago. Bought a used Craftsman RAS. No manual or wrenches with it. Can't seem to get it tuned as it has a bad heeling problem causing it to cut with a 1/4" kerf. I bought a Ridgid TS so the RAS sits unused.

[Aaron Frank]

I have to admit it, I'm a wood butcher. My projects often turn out fine, but getting from the wood store to the finishing stage takes way too long and there are so many mistakes along the way it's just embarrassing.

Anyway, 4 years ago when I was first beginning with ww'ing I saw the Windsor No. 5 scratch beader that was being reproduced by Kansas City Windsor Tool Works. It was an exquisite looking tool. I had no idea what it did, but I wanted it. But, it wasn't in production at the time. So, I put my name on the waiting list and a year+ later, I got the email. "Production is underway on 5 new beaders, if you're still interested send your money to such and such address." Well, I was definitely still interested, and now I knew what it was and sort of how to use it -- having used a Stanley #66.

So, it arrived and it was amazing - cocobolo handles, silver hued bronze body and laser cut scratch inserts. I tested it out on a couple of evenings, trying the different cutters on various scraps. Everything was flawless. It was amazing, so I sent it back.:eek: Would I have loved to keep it? Yes, of course. But to what end, so that 10 years from now when I've actually learned enough and become competent enough to use it properly AND actually have a project for which it is needed, I can pull it out of the drawer. No, that's money and time poorly spent.

Lesson learned: better tools may make make a project come out better, but if your a butcher you're still going to come out with a sub-par project.

(I have no affiliation with Kansas City Windsor Tools, but I will say that they make beautifully crafted tools.)

[John Wesley Williams]

Ridgid BS1400 - BS is a very fitting name - won't pass the nickel test or even the coffee mug test. Fortunately I'm inside the 90 day window to return it and go buy a Rikon

[Craig D Peltier]

I bought a Black an Decker mini screwdriver to get into tight spots.Its horribly underpowered for a screw.
Also my craftsman screw gun which I use full time 19.2 volt is way heavy.Wish I didnt cheap on that.I like those black and white little makitas,if anyone has one chime in please.

[Jason Boushard]

pretty much everything I bought up untill about a year ago. lol

[Jim McCarty]

Ridgid BS1400 - BS is a very fitting name - won't pass the nickel test or even the coffee mug test. Fortunately I'm inside the 90 day window to return it and go buy a Rikon
Funny. I'm a pro and still make an occasional bad choice. Sears RAS. Short bed jointer by Rockwell. Ryobi BT3000 for field work. Makita 8" table saw (I just don't like direct drive table saws I guess). As I get older I look for lighter tools since a lot of mine make it to the jobsites, unfortunately light and quality often don't go together. It's good to know that I'm not the only one to make these mistakes. My name is Jim and I'm a tool junkie.

[Steve Clardy]

Hmmm.

Buying bad/unneeded tools.
I've done it numerous times. I don't want to think about it.;)

[Mike Henderson]

Perhaps my worse tool purchase was a Rockler dovetail jig. I bought it early in my woodworking career, thinking I'd be using it to make dovetails on drawers. The problem was that it took a long time to set up, and it was a fixed spacing jig - so the dovetails didn't look right unless the drawer was just the right size.

Once I learned how to do dovetails by hand, I found that I could do them almost as fast as I could by machine, given all the set up time, and they looked "better" when made by hand.

I eventually sold the jig on eBay for a fraction of what I paid for it and was glad to get rid of it.

Mike

[Al Willits]

Ya, there was a couple of Festools I had, ended up throwing them in the trash...

That got your attention didn't it?? :D :D :D :D

Actually one of the more expensive boo boo's I made was buying a 110v wire feed welder, luckily I sold it for about 75% of what I paid for it though.

Al

[James Aguanno]

A direct drive Delta (could have been any direct drive saw) table saw. It was about 10 years ago, and I was not into the internet, so I did not do much research. By the way, it was all that I could afford at the time, and I really wanted to get into woodworking. I still have the saw and use it regularly. I make do with the inaccuracies and noise (this thing is really loud). I have to do a little extra work each time I use it to make sure my cuts are where I expect them, and dread when I have to do a bevel cut.

I also regret buying a buscuit jointer. I really do not use it much and would have saved a lot of money had I just went with a pocket hole system first (now I have both but only use the pocket hole system).

Jamie

[Larry Fox]

Actually, one of my worst purchases (at the time) was a boatload of Bessy 50" K-Body clamps. It was not the clamps themselves that made it a bad purchase but the use. I decided, early on, that I wanted to start my clamp collection with the most useful clamps and decided on the 50" ones wiuld give me the widest range of applicability. I bought 8 of them and these were to serve as my everyday clamps for a long time. Wrong, they are so bulky and heavy that it turned out to be incredibly frustrating clamping anything small. I still have them and love them when they are appropriate but they get used fairly infrequently - I use the 12" and 24" inch ones all the time.

My worst purchase by far though was a japanese flush-trim cutoff saw. This thing has 0 set on it and I find it virtually impossible to use.

[Brent Dowell]

Skil Wormdrive saw.

Thought since it cost more, it would be better.

Don't get me wrong, it's a good saw, but I never use it because it's so heavy.

Maybe if I was building houses all day, it'd be dream, but for just breaking up sheetgoods, it's way overkill.

Also, Ryobi bt3k, craftsman 5hp oilless compressor. Replaced both of those with more sensible items and sold them on craigslist.

[Dave Novak]

My delta drill press has only been used maybe twice in the two years I've had it, and ti really wasn't necessary either time. Takes up a lot of valuable floorspace. Right after I bought it I had a local machine shop make me a 4' long woodworking table I could swap out with the stock table. That cost me a bunch, and I've never used it. Looks cool hanging on the wall though.

[glenn bradley]

I have a great biscuit joiner. Whenever I need it, its there and works flawlessly. I just use it so much less than I thought I would I've almost sold it a couple times feeling the money could be better used elsewhere. The thing that always stops me is that it works so darn well when I do use it.

[Larry Nall]

Yep, I bought an 8" Craftsman RAS. It's OK for crosscutting PT decking but a fine tool, it is not.

[Michael Weber]

I cast my fate with those who listed their Craftsman RAS. I have one that's not been used in so long the table may have termites.

[jason lambert]

Actually AL one of my "bad purchases" about 2 weeks ago was a Festool LR32 System. I won't go into the specifice but if you have anything other than small normal stock you can not use it. You can't even join guides together to make it longer since the hole spaceing on the end is not 1/2 a hole and there long guide is under 8' so if you wnat to do anything big you are screwed. Needless to say screwed up several pieces of expensive wood. If it was $100 I would work with it but I am stuck with a costly tool to make some holes were my Rockler jig works better.

[Paul Dwight]

My worst purchase ever: A $50 Skil "hammer drill" that was just too lightly built to be used in concrete. Bent the shaft the first day I owned it and I wasn't really using it that hard.

Second worst purchase ever: A Hitachi twin hotdog compressor. That little oil-less monster made so much noise I dreaded using it. Heck, the whole family dreaded me using it. It also didn't have enough capacity to run an HVLP gun, which I really needed. Worked fine with air nailers, staple guns and brad guns, of course (as long as my ear protectors were securely in place).

Third worst purchase ever: A Penn State dust collector that had too small an impeller, too small a motor, too small a dust bag and too coarse a dust bag. Followed closely by the purchase of a Jet cannister filter retro-fit kit, thinking it would cure all the ills of the undersized DC. I got better filtration (until the cannister clogged up) but nothing could compensate for the undersized impeller and motor. I think of this as money I had to spend to convince myself that there is no substitute for a cyclone.

[Bill Wyko]

Perhaps my worse tool purchase was a Rockler dovetail jig. I bought it early in my woodworking career, thinking I'd be using it to make dovetails on drawers. The problem was that it took a long time to set up, and it was a fixed spacing jig - so the dovetails didn't look right unless the drawer was just the right size.

Once I learned how to do dovetails by hand, I found that I could do them almost as fast as I could by machine, given all the set up time, and they looked "better" when made by hand.

I eventually sold the jig on eBay for a fraction of what I paid for it and was glad to get rid of it.

Mike

I bought the same one and if you want to put insult to injury. It's the exact same one that Harbor Freight sells at a fraction of the cost.
My rule is "The bitterness of poor quality lingers long after the cheap price is forgotten"

[Robert Mayer]

Where should I start...

-Craftsman "3hp" direct drive saw. very dangerous and completely inaccurate, plus it didnt use normal 3/4 slots

-Delta dust collector that filtered down to an amazing 30 microns.

-Biscuit joiner, completely useless for me. Especially since I bought a dowelmax.

[Bob Childress]

In the early (read: poor) days I bought a lot of them. :rolleyes:

But the worst in recent years was a B&D jig saw. If 5000 monkeys typing at random will eventually produce Shakespeare then that saw would have eventually produced a cut where I wanted it. But I couldn't wait that long! :D

Also, one of Rockler's so-called band clamps--all band, no clamp. :(

[Robert Mayer]

I forgot to add the beadlock system to my list. What a piece of junk it was. I could never get it very accurate and many times the overpriced tenons fit EXTREMELY tight.

[Ron Jones near Indy]

I have a Black & Decker belt sander that came from KMart on clearance for $12 several years ago. No power, poor tracking and I'm just naming it's strengths. It was way overpriced.:(

[Brad Townsend]

I have a Delta Shopmaster combination disc/edge sander that when I first bought it, would vibrate itself right off the workbench. (The operative word here is not "Delta", but "Shopmaster". I was inexperienced and ignorant.) After tearing into it and tightening a few things down, it is of occasional use, but only marginally better than boat anchor status.

[Eugene A. Manzo III]

Every Tool I own is useful and in my hands producing Quality Work every single day. This provides my family with anything they need or desire, it is
as if GOD helped me hand pick every tool I own , many of which I bought new off a person that didnt use it. Then I awaken from my deep sleep and dreams to go to work to pay for yet another tool that I do not need. :D

[Dan Larson]

Aw, come on guys... I can't be the only one to be suckered in by the Porter Cable Profile sander.:rolleyes: I never thought it could be possible that a sander could leave a surface in worse shape than when you started sanding. This one re-wrote the rule book for me!

[Steve Clardy]

Aw, come on guys... I can't be the only one to be suckered in by the Porter Cable Profile sander.:rolleyes: I never thought it could be possible that a sander could leave a surface in worse shape than when you started sanding. This one re-wrote the rule book for me!


Now Dan. I had totally wiped the pc detail sander from all memories, and you have to mention it. :rolleyes: ;) :D :D :D :D :D

[Paul B. Cresti]

buying a Felder RL160 dust extractor....very expensive and never lived up to the hype...oh well live and learn. Sometimes the best things do not cost a lot of money and the best solution to a problem can very well be the simplest (sometimes :) )

[gary rogers]

I actually bought two of the PC profile sanders. The first one didn`t last thru the job and I couldn`t get back to the store where I got it to get it replaced. It was a vast upgrade from the Ryobi detail sander which went back to the store after a five minute test. Sold the PC`s on Ebay for about half of what I paid and got a Fein Multimaster that I should have bought in the first place.

[John Shuk]

My Laguna LT16 bandsaw turned out to be one a tool that I'm not happy with. I guess I bought it early in the model run and it seems as though none of the bugs were worked out. My experience was that Laguna wasn't willing to make things right for me.
It's a bummer because I justified paying more by telling myself that I was getting top of the line quality and service.

[Brian Kent]

Ryobi Table saw - not the expensive 3000 model but the cheap one.
Ryobi 1/4" shank router.
Buck Brothers planes.
Harbor Freight carving chisel set (8 for $6.99).

[Bruce Benjamin]

The details are long and tedious but not only is the Jointech Smart Miter the worst tool I've ever purchased, the customer service was so unbelievably bad that even now when I read the review I wrote, it's hard to believe. But every word of it is true...Except that it's actually a little worse than I stated in my review. If anyone is interested in reading the review, PM me and I'll send you the link.

Bruce

[Pat Germain]

I bought the proverbial Craftsman Contractor saw about 12 years ago. Right after I bought it, I discovered the rec.arts.woodworking newsgroup (I was an early user of the Internet) and saw numerous mentions of "Crapsman". :(

My wife would have had a large, brown cow if I tried to get rid of the saw. So, over the years I've hot-rodded it and it's actually a decent saw now. (Of course, it would been better to just buy a decent saw to begin with.) Luckily, I did opt for a belt drive. Whew! Also, sticking with that saw earned me many a "kitchen pass" to buy whatever I want as long I have the cash. :) LOML didn't even bat an eye when I ponied up over $800 for an 8" jointer last month. Woo-hoo!

My first framing saw was a SkilSaw. I think I used it once. Then my brother used it and it literally burned up halfway through a cut. :rolleyes:

I also have a cheap, portable jigsaw. I think it's also a Skil. It vibrates like a Soviet helicopter which makes it impossible to make smooth cuts.

Last week I was talking with a fellow woodworker about clamps. I was debating whether to go with the Bessey K-clamps, or the Jet clamps. The fellow woodworker informed me he bought a "whole bunch" of clamps for just $3 each from Harbor Freight and I should go with those. :rolleyes: I must admit, I was tempted; for about 10 seconds. I think I'll save some dough and buy a couple of Jet clamp kits. :cool:

OT Comment: I've learned much about quality hardware in my life. For example, people busted on me when I spent $600 for a hard-tail mountain bike when "department store" bikes can be had for under $200. I felt vindicated when I was a leader for my church middle school bike-A-thon. Almost every kid with a department store bike broke down. Poor kids. Their brakes failed. Their derailers failed. They huffed and puffed up hills with their heavy, steel frames, steel wheels and cast metal components. I'm now convinced my bike was worth every cent and no longer do I question locals who strap a $2700 Yeti bike to the top of their $600 VW Golf. :D

[Carl Crout]

Exaktor sliding table - replaced it with the Jessem

Biscuit joiner - have use it twice

Craftsman 7 1/4" circular saw - can't see the blade clearly while cutting so I use dad's 1960's solid steel 7" Craftsman circular saw

Scheppach sharpener - doesn't get tools razor sharp - I only use it for my planer and jointer blades. I use the LV MK II motorized to sharpen everything else

[Rick Potter]

When I posted this, I thought it would make me less depressed to find out others had the disease. Well, it started out that way, but after reading the entries up to now, I find that I also own no less than TEN other tools that made the list.

I need a support group.

I am going back into my cave now, and pulling the covers over my head. Manly men should not be seen whimpering.

Rick P

[Roger Bell]

This idea for a thread comes up a lot.....and I must say I have a perverse enjoyment in reading the responses.........we've all been there......right? "Live and Learn" seems to be the bottom line and the consistent theme..........the Woodworker's "human condition", eh?.

Woodworking shows...........

Black and Decker..........

I would have to say that the worst genre of bad purchase is the one you buy on impulse that promises to make you a better woodworker......but, five years later, you have yet to even try it out...........it remains still in the box. Makes you feel stupid........which is not altogether a bad thing....given that Live and Learn is a necessary part of life and the process of maturation.

If you want a specific example (one among many).........some stick-on laser units for the chopsaw and the DP I bought from a WW show for $75.......still in the box. Anybody want 'em?

[Chris Kalkowski]

Add me to the list of owning this boat anchor.



Perhaps my worse tool purchase was a Rockler dovetail jig. I bought it early in my woodworking career, thinking I'd be using it to make dovetails on drawers. The problem was that it took a long time to set up, and it was a fixed spacing jig - so the dovetails didn't look right unless the drawer was just the right size.

Once I learned how to do dovetails by hand, I found that I could do them almost as fast as I could by machine, given all the set up time, and they looked "better" when made by hand.

I eventually sold the jig on eBay for a fraction of what I paid for it and was glad to get rid of it.

Mike

[Dave MacArthur]

Well, I was actually laughing quite a bit reading this thread, and feeling pretty good about myself, until the 4th "biscuit joiner"... then I got thinking about my DeWalt biscuit joiner, which until this very moment I absolutely loved.
:( Now that I think about it, I used it twice in 11 years! Once to test it, and once a week later for the project I bought it for. It worked just great, and for all these years I have been very happy with it every time my gaze wandered across it sitting there all prima-donna on my shelf. Now, thanks to this unwelcome self-assessment of actual use, all those years of sweet blissful biscuit heaven are destroyed...

I guess that in most cases where I could use the biscuits, I have either gone with locking router joints, or pocket screws via an early Kreg jig.

There is hope though, as I feel that if I refuse to come back to this thread, I should become happy with that yellow chunk of solidified quality again very soon, and we will have many more good years together.

[Jason Boushard]

I am surprised at all the biscuit jointer comments I use mine on every shadow box I build am I missing something?

[Dave MacArthur]

Ok, maybe I used it a few more times than that lol...
First tool, a craftsman elec. screwdriver, totally underpowered... it wouldn't drive a screw into anything denser than air. I decided that weekend that all future power screw drivers would be full-up drills.

[Jim Becker]

I am surprised at all the biscuit jointer comments I use mine on every shadow box I build am I missing something?

While mine gets used on occasion, it's the one power tool I could live without if I had to "downsize" by one tool. I think it comes down to preferred techniques, Jason. A lot of folks who used to use biscuits in cabinet construction, for example, discovered pocket screw techniques, including myself. Yet, for shadow boxes that benefit from the "hidden spline" that a biscuit provides on a mitered corner, that tool is quite valuable.

[Jeff Raymond]

Anything that says Craftsman that plugs in.

No, I don't own Milwaukee or Bosch. :D

[Doug Shepard]

Porter-Cable inline profile sander

Nuff said

[Clay Crocker]

Three words: Delta Sharpening Center:mad:

I made the PC Profile Sander mistake too. I do get "some" use out of the profiles for hand sanding though.

[Larry Fox]

I am surprised at all the biscuit jointer comments I use mine on every shadow box I build am I missing something?

Jason, I also use my biscuit jointer a fair bit. I have a pocket-hole setup as well and I tend to use them together on things like cabinet or jig construction. In my opinion they comlement one another - especially in jig making. Cut some biscuit slots to keep things aligned and lock it down with some pocket screws and you are done and onto something more interesting.

[Craig Feuerzeig]

Oh that profile sander...

Thought I actually had it given away once. Not to be. :(

Anybody?

[Jim Becker]

Three words: Delta Sharpening Center.

Yea, I bought a clone of that one and it was, umm...not useful. I sold it to a signmaker who had three more of them. :p

[Randy Redding]

I really hate the router table I bought about 10 years ago. It was a cheapy that I paid too much for and the wood and I regret it most times I use it. So, I'm replacing it soon.

Have to agree about the worm drive skill. Great for 2x8's but unusable in the shop. Of course, I have one. It has been great for larger construction projects.

I asked for a couple of table saw attachments for Christmas a few years ago that didn't work too well. Some of the "fancy" push sticks don't work any better than a wood stick with a notch in it.

Some of the tools I have don't get as much use as I thought they might but are nice to have around "just to look at".

[Austin Grote]

Inca Radial Arm Saw

[Jim Summers]

For me it has to be a rotozip. The noise that thing makes and the butcher job it seems to do, which is probably more the guy holding the tool. Either way it has found a home in a box in the garage.

Take it easy,
jim

[Steve Sawyer]

I'm sure we can ALL relate stories of some piece of junk or other that induced buyer's remorse.

I've been extremely disappointed with the two (standard and thin-kerf) Micro-Jig splitters I've bought. They certainly show a great deal of care in the design and the installation jigs and all, but the darn things don't really work very well. They almost always get pulled out of the mounting holes despite fitting in quite tight. I'm going to have to rig up something else, because these are worse than useless as they can cause the work to bind at the worst possible moment.

How 'bout the reverse situation? The cheap piece of crap you bought 'cause you needed one RIGHT NOW or really couldn't afford the one you wanted, and were pleasantly surprised with what you ended up with.

For me it's my digital caliper from Harbor Freight. Surprised I gave 'em a second chance after my experience ("in the trash with you...") with an earlier dial indicator. However, the digital has been reliable and dead accurate for over a year of constant use.

[Rob Wright]

Hmmm. Let's see - where to begin?

B&D Mouse Detail Sander - It was a gift, it is worthless, and I have now looked the gift horse in the mouth!

Milwaukee Detail sander bought off of u-bid.com for $10. The sandpaper costs more than that to buy and it does do much sanding.

Biscuit Jointer - Yeah I know - a few people have these on the list already. I find that now that I have a Kreg, I use it few and far in between on projects.

14"-delta RAS - got this for a steel and have a nice forrest blade on it. It cuts great but a little scary for me.

Any tool that says "Tool Shop" - if you have a Menard's near by you will know what I mean. The $30 hammer drill lasted 1 and a half holes when the hammer part of the drill decided to stop functioning.

Skilsaw el cheapo circular saw - $35 was too much, now mostly use a PC. The bearing have always sounded rough, and the run out is bad!

AKEDA Jig Dovetail machine - It worked great and I had to have it. I used it once. I thought that I really didn't like the look of how the dovetails looked so perfect. Also - not enough of that type of building projects

Estwing ergonomic framing hammer - looks like someone forgot to out the head on it. Use the old trusty 22 oz Vaughn instead

I am sure there are more - you may even see me post another list after I think more about this:D


- Rob

[Bill Spievak]

I fell for the rotozip TV ads about 5 years ago and bought the whole kit, case and all. The noise is tolerable with muffs or plugs, but the cuts are terrible. :( I thought, OK, I can still use it for tile, wrongo, hard to control and very dusty unless you have a helper hold the vac hose near the base. :( OK, I'll use it for drywall cut outs, wrongo if your electrician installed plastic boxes. :( Now, I will not buy anything from a TV ad, and I'm very leary of the demos at the wood shows.

[Mike Null]

Leigh D4; made a beautiful blanket chest as a gift for my niece and never used it again. Sold it at a small loss. Not a bad tool though.

Biscuit joiner? Oh, I forgot about that.

I could list a dozen others.

[Grant Lasson]

I've been out to the garage (aka "shop") just to make sure.

#4 Carter Stabilizer for bandsaw blades
#3 Beadlock
#2 Woodrat plunge bars
#1 Performax 16/32 drum sander

The Carter and the Beadlock were impulse purchases at my first woodworking show (when I was just getting interested in WWing). I've never used the Beadlock and only rarely needed the stabilizer. Solutions to problems that didn't exist.

The plunge bars were designed to address an important problem to me; however, they just didn't work very well (Bosch 1619 and DeWalt 621).

As to the Performax, I let my hatred of sanding get the best of me. This machine is incredibly difficult to adjust and get satisfactory results. I have yet to sand a panel of any width and have it come out the same width on both sides. There is unbelievable backlash in the height adjustment. You never, ever want to have to back off... The original sandpaper feed belt is totally unsatisfactory. The infeed and outfeed tables couldn't get any harder to adjust.

Am I really the only vote for the Performax?

[Justin McCurdy]

Crappy tools:
Craftsman circular saw(innacurate bevel)
craftsman jigsaw (blade bends)
craftsman table saw(underpowered belt drive that some wood could stop the spinning of)
craftsman router table (marred wood surface)
craftsman push stick combo(never worked correctly)
craftsman right angle clamp (several degrees off)
craftsman router (difficult and unrepeatable adjustment).
Old General Doweling jig

Replaced with:
Bosch circular saw CS10
Bosch jigsaw 1590EVS
Steel City Table Saw 3HP
New Yankee Workshop custom built router table
Rockler magnetic push stick
2 Bosch 2 1/4HP routers
Porter Cable 555 Biscuit joiner

[Sam Shank]

Try using the RotoZip for cutting out holes in drywall for recessed lighting cans. Works like a champ. Loud and messy -yes. But works great.

[Jim Bell]

My worst purchase ever: A $50 Skil "hammer drill" that was just too lightly built to be used in concrete. Bent the shaft the first day I owned it and I wasn't really using it that hard.

Second worst purchase ever: A Hitachi twin hotdog compressor. That little oil-less monster made so much noise I dreaded using it. Heck, the whole family dreaded me using it. It also didn't have enough capacity to run an HVLP gun, which I really needed. Worked fine with air nailers, staple guns and brad guns, of course (as long as my ear protectors were securely in place).

Third worst purchase ever: A Penn State dust collector that had too small an impeller, too small a motor, too small a dust bag and too coarse a dust bag. Followed closely by the purchase of a Jet cannister filter retro-fit kit, thinking it would cure all the ills of the undersized DC. I got better filtration (until the cannister clogged up) but nothing could compensate for the undersized impeller and motor. I think of this as money I had to spend to convince myself that there is no substitute for a cyclone.

That would be me as well except I tried other things. JDS air filter, :eek: $600.00 worth of fans:eek: , $450.00 for an 1100 Jet DC w/ cannister,:eek: $200.00 for Chinese DC:eek: :confused: :eek: , finally purchased Clearvue. A variety of biscuit joiners and routers. A reconditioned B&D jigsaw ($10.00):mad: and some real junk. I now find shopping for tools to be more productive. I never wasted money I was simply going to wood working tool school.;)

[brian j waloweek]

i must add my delta 1 hp dc to this list, not very noisy and not very powerful, my new rigid 6hp shop vac replaces it on everything but the planer and jointer only becuase the shop vac at 14 gal. fills up quickly.also someone mentioned their penn state dc, i have a penn state air filtration unit i hang from my cellar ceiling that works great, i think, i was willed it
with about 3 F-250's 8 foot bed loads of various tools from my girlfriends step-dad, roy matthews, who passed awayed in feb. now my shop is almost complete[will any of our shops be complete?]. Roy was a great
friend whom i only knew for the past 8 years. w.w.ing was something that we both had in common and we instantly hit it off on my first visit with him in quincy mass. my girlfriend tells me her ex-husband never even got to see his shop on their visits over a ten year period !!!. one of the items
he gave me that he really was proud of was a emmert patternmakers vise
he took with him when the quincy shipyard closed,he also took home unbeknowst to him was a case of asbestos cancer:eek: . i will have to post more on roy, he was someone i know you guys would have loved to have known, i am glad i did, hower ever briefly.:)

[jonathan snyder]

I sure got a laugh out of reading this thread!

I'll add my mistakes to the list

Skill jig saw - bad choice, boy was I happy when it broke. Upgraded to a Bosch.

B&D cordless tool set - 7 1/4" circular was was a joke, that got thrown out. The drill and sawzall are still working though.

Ryobi biscuit joiner - I bought it when I first started woodworking. I think I used it on two projects, hasn't been out of the case since.

Shopfox jack and block plane - anybody want them, no I would not do that to you!! Upgraded to a whole heard of vintage Stanley's.

I'm sure I could think of a few more it I tried harder.

Jonathan

[Mike Null]

Well, I've already posted earlier but this is a nasty thread--just keeps reminding how _________ I am.

Before I started reading this I was pretty happy with my PC jig saw but, obviously, I was wrong.

Next, I blame that biscuit joiner mistake on Norm. It was definitely his fault that I bought it.

Even worse, my son who does not share my wood working "skills" will not take these tools off my hands free.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello,

Next, I blame that biscuit joiner mistake on Norm. It was definitely his fault that I bought it.
Holy smokes can I relate to that!
I bought the most expensive one I could find at the time - Porter Cable - thinking I'd get all sorts of use out of it.
Two, maybe three times it's seen use.

Another "bad tool" - Craftsman CMS w/laser.
I went to pick it up by the handle the other day and ended up with only a handle in my hand.
We'll see how good Sears is at making things right.

[Lou Ortiz]

I don't know what other's luck has been with the 16/32 sander, but it's been fairly handy for really wide panels for me. Though it's kind of finicky, it's helped to flatten some boards that were too wide for the planer as well. I guess I've been fortunate to get consistent results across the width of the boards.

My worse purchase may end up being either the Liegh D4 (I find I like cutting the dovetails by hand better and it's actually faster the setting up the jig) or the Kregg Pockethole jig. I've only ever dragged it out a few times and usually use more traditional joints.


As to the Performax, I let my hatred of sanding get the best of me. This machine is incredibly difficult to adjust and get satisfactory results. I have yet to sand a panel of any width and have it come out the same width on both sides. There is unbelievable backlash in the height adjustment. You never, ever want to have to back off... The original sandpaper feed belt is totally unsatisfactory. The infeed and outfeed tables couldn't get any harder to adjust.

Am I really the only vote for the Performax?[/quote]

[Al Willits]

Hate the biscuit jointer???
Well, maybe not hate, but don't use? :)

Shows how different we can all be, I use my PC quite a bit, gonna use it to install a decorative molding around the top of the storage cabinet that I've been trying to get get done, the little biscuits work nice for that.

Another tool I can add was a Sears tool, a aluminum table that clamped on to a drill press and you could use like the table on a milling machines, worked well on light cuts on aluminum, until the cutter caught and the clamps ripped out of the table and made my drill press shaft have a distinct wobble to it.

They might have mentioned that 1/8" alum plate might be to much for this pos.

Al

[Rich Engelhardt]

Hello Al,

Hate the biscuit jointer???
Not really "hate" it.
I just regret having bought it - well,,more like I'd have rather sunk the $180.00 into something more useful.

Your right about ht "how different".

I just started a thread about "good tools", and my number one (Kreg pocket hole jig) is Lou's list of contenders for his number 1 dislike.

[John Piwaron]

Ha ha! Nice thread.

Right now I don't own much in the way of "bad tools" as defined - poor quality or questionable utility. About the only one I can think of is the router bit sharpening thing you're supposed to use your Craftsman router for. It sits waiting, for the day that will never come, to sharpen my bits.

Yes, I've bought other tools that didn't perform up to snuff or my expectations. In all cases, they have parted company with me either by a sale or a return. I had a Porter Cable 555 biscuit joiner that I didn't care for due to the difficulty of keeping the fence parallel to the cutter. The Craftsman radial arm saw that had an inability to hold it's adjustments and the complete lack of any kind of guard. And a Lie-Nielsen side rabbet plane that didn't work how I needed it to work.

Obviously there's as many reasons for a "bad tool" as there are visitors to this forum.

[Brad Townsend]

This thread is fascinating! There are the usual suspects one would expect to find mentioned - the Rotozips, etc., but also some high end stuff that is very favorably reviewed on here and elsewhere that I have rarely seen criticized. Leigh jigs? PC biscuit joiner? Performax drum sanders? (Disclaimer: The last two, I own, use and like very much.:D) The opinions expressed here show that a great tool for one person can be a huge waste of money for someone else. I suspect that if this thread ran a year from now, there would be several Festool Domino mentions.:eek:

[skip coyne]

Ill hop in with rotozip also , it does do a nice job in Sheetrock but it throws to much dust to be practical for me

another one is the Multi tool . I always liked the victornix swiss army knives so I bought the swiss army tool , lots of tools all work but its to big and heavy to be practical to carry constantly and when I need them I just get the appropriate tool for the job mostly it sits in the center console of the truck and is rarely used

[Matt Meiser]

I haven't used my biscuit jointer much, but there are a couple projects I've built that it was invaluable on for aligning parts. I haven't used it for panel glue-ups in several years though which is what I though I NEEDED it for. If I looked at $/hour of use, this would be a very expensive tool.

Mouse Sander--I think I've used it on one project for sanding the corners. It was cheap and maybe worth it for that but it hasn't been out of the case in years.

Delta drum sander--slow, messy, even with good dust collection, expensive consumables. I spent more time fiddling with it than using it.

[Jim Chilenski]

My worst tool purchase, the Delta Router/Shaper. Too slow to work as a router for anything except big router bits like a panel raiser. And too under powered to cut with a big bit in one pass. But I did use it for making raised panels for cabinet doors for kitchen cabinets because I didn't have anything else. Got pretty good at it too. Built an auxiliary fence and table out of 1/4 inch plywood that allowed me to make three passes on a panel side without changing the height of the router bit or the position of the fence. I would start with both the auxiliary table and fence in place for the first pass. Remove the auxiliary table for the second pass, and then finally the auxiliary fence for the third pass. Worked well in both maple and cherry.

Still using it too. :rolleyes:

Jim

[Kirk Poore]

The only thing I've bought that was a complete disaster was a Craftsman variable speed grinder. The VS was controlled by a circuit board that burned out 2 months after the warranty ended. Sears wanted 2/3 of the grinder cost for a new circuit board. The plastic case screw holes stripped and the case cracked as I took it apart to get the circuit board out. I pulled off the wheels, threw it in the trash, and bought an all metal, no electronics Delta that's worked perfectly for the last 18 years. I've shied away from anything Sears with circuit boards ever since.

Kirk

[Mike Ramsey]

Seems the biscuit jointer has made it into a majority of posts...inclucing
mine, saw Norm use one yrs ago & ordered one. 5 yrs of dust, can't find it.
A Skilsaw circular saw, cuts a perfect 45 deg when set at 90 deg..
A HF lathe, chase it around the shop trying to turn something on it.
A HF dovetail jig, the instructions are in chinese so I never figured it out.

[Jay Sharp]

I have two really bad purchases. First would have to be the Porter Cable detail sander, it wears the sand paper out too fast. I use the rubber profile blocks by hand. The second disapointment is a Powermatic 66 tablesaw. It cuts like really bad and no amount of tuning can get it to cut better. I bought it thinking it was the best saw at the time, 4 years ago. I replaced the belts, pullies, bearings twice, and had the motor tested. I have a Tablesaw Aliner JR and have the saw set to within .001" and the runout on the abor flange is less than .001". Powermatic's tech support couldn't help and the local tool repair shop couldn't find the problem. The saw sets in the corner collecting dust, making me mad ever time I look at it. I use my Delta Contractor saw, which is tuned and cuts great. I would sell the Powermatic at a loss, but I don't want to sell my problem to someone else.

[Steve Rowe]

I confess that some of these responses look like I would have listed but fortunately have liquidated in garage sales. Never did fall for the PC profile sander but I was tempted. One that hasn't been listed yet is:

Zyliss Vise - bought it, used once and has been sitting in the drawer ever since.

Steve

[James Ayars]

Bad purchase #1: Arrow model ET200 brad nailer. I took it back to Lowes the next day because it would drive 1.25" brads barely halfway into a piece of cedar. Exchanged it and the second one did the same thing. Got my money back and used it for something else.

Bad purchase #2: B&D jig saw. It quit cutting a straight line in less than a year. A Bosch 1590 replaced it.

I've got some other B&D and Craftsman power tools and havn't found them to be that bad.

My Craftsman table saw does have one fault in that the miter slots don't seem to fit accessories for any other saws.

[Michael Schwartz]

20 dollar skillsaw jigsaw (gift) Vibrates like crazy and has no blade support.

Black and decker Mouse sander, I will admit that I get it out every now and then where I can't fit my Porter Cable Random Orbit Sander, but I swear that I can sand almost as fast by hand.

Buck brothers block plane. My motivation for buying this is that I wanted a really good handplane. It was my first hanplane and I was only 16, and after going to a lecture by Garret Hack and picking up a copy of his book, I realized what a handplane is and is capable of. I am now the proud owner of a growing collection of stanelys and a Lie Neilson low angle jack.

Buck brothers carving tool set (should have got the harbor freights for 8) I paid 30 dollars for these things, came blunt enough to stand them up on the edges out of the box, and after many hours spendt sharpening them, they wouldn't take let alone hold and edge. I bought these before I took a carving class, and have never really used them since. I know own a nice set of Swissmade tools.

Craftsman screw extractors on clearence for 10 bucks, Bad Joke if there ever was one. I bought a set that taps the screw wtih reverse thread and they work great.

Dremmel, never buy one of these unless your life is about model trains or something. I fell for the infomercial on TV and bought the whole XPR kit.
The mini planer is a bad joke, snipes like crazy, rides over high spots, and is absolutely useless. The Multi saw vibrates worse than my 20 dollar skill jigsaw and strugles to cut anything over 1/4 inch, and vibrates so much it breaks anything thinner. I finally killed the brushes on the thing carving with it, and I am not going to replace them until I need it. If you need a rotary tool, get a pneumatic die grinder.

Cheapo set of t handled allen wrenches, rounded one of them off the first time I used it.

The list goes on and on.

[Joe Jensen]

1) 1988 era Porter Cable Tenon jig for router
2) 1988 era Porter Cable dovetail jig
3) Delta mortise jig for drill press
4) All cheap chinese hand tools I've received as gifts
5) The Costco cheap floor jack that failed after 5 uses
6) Porter Cable Detail Sander ******** THE WORST EVER ********

[Terry Fogarty]

I suspect that if this thread ran a year from now, there would be several Festool Domino mentions.:eek:

Why would you say that:confused:

[Rolf Safferthal]

Buying good equipment depends from two things: money and wisdom. If one lacks only one, chances are good to purchase a bad (wrong) product.

My bad purchases - partly long ago in the past:

- a Kinzo router: worked for less than 2 hours, then it burned. (Today: Festool OF 1010)

- a portable circular saw and a table to work with. Inaccurate, dangerous, screaming loud (Replacement: a midsize bandsaw)

- Wolfcraft portable drill guide: wobbly, inaccurate (no replacement)

- several Wolfcraft forstner bits: dulled quickly (Replacement: Famag Bormax bits)

- Skil power handplaner: completely useless (Replacement: a lot of wooden and iron handplanes)

- Stanley honing guide: inaccurate, difficult to set (Replacement: Veritas MK II Honing Guide)

- some Arkansas stones. Too small, didn`t work fast (Replacement: Japanese Water Stones, including an 8000 - boy, thats keen!)

Seems to me, my woodworking style has changed too!

But even if one has more money and wisdom you may get a foul product. Once I bought a Clifton 420 shoulder plane via E**y. What I got was a plane pieced together from parts Clifton throwed away as rejections. (Replacement: some old German wooden shoulder planes from Steiner - a finding in a rural shop dealing with everything farmers need. Steiner went out of the plane business in the early 1970´s. These tools rested there as shelf warmers for more than 30 years.)

[Jeff Raymond]

My Milwaukee scroll saw.

The $&*)*^ thing only lasted 22 years after continuous use with hardwoods and the motor finally gave up the ghost. Would they replace it with a new one?

NOOOO!

And I thought they were supposed to last. :D

Got a new Bosch as a replacement. Hopefully I will get some decent use out of it.

ps: I kept the Milwaukee. Betchya it can be fixed.

[Brad Townsend]

Originally Posted by Brad Townsend http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=620504#post620504)
I suspect that if this thread ran a year from now, there would be several Festool Domino mentions.:eek:


Why would you say that:confused:
You took the line out of context. Reread the whole post.:)

[Gary Keedwell]

:eek: The Festool police....on duty.:eek: :rolleyes: :)

Gary K.

[Rod Sheridan]

Biscuit joiner, not that it's a really bad tool, it's just that when glueing up panels I can do it more accurately than by hand.

So, it sits there gathering dust.

Other tool was a clone 14" bandsaw. Replaced it with a 17" General International and haven't looked back.

Crapsman table saw replaced with a General 650 with Biessemeyer fence, Excalibur over arm guard and merlin splitter.........Nice saw.

Regards, Rod.

[Bruce Benjamin]

Why would you say that:confused:

:eek: :eek: :eek: ...:D :D :D

[Don Bullock]

My worst tool buy has to be a beautiful, bright red, Skil router that I bought back in the late '70s. The collette was housed in cheap plastic that broke the first day I tried to use it. Back then I was devastated. I had saved up money from Christmas and my birthday to buy it. That router was one of the reasons that I gave up on woodworking back then. I just couldn't afford to buy "good" tools that would do the kind of work that I wanted to do. There was no way for me to know what was "good and bad."

I'm not sure if I'm better at avoiding "bad" tools, but at least now I have more funds for tools and places like this forum have helped me to buy the "right" ones for me. BTW -- I'm having a blast making up for "lost time." Post of my "first" new projects will be posted soon.

[Greg Narozniak]

Mine would have to be the JointAbility. Don't remember how much I paid but the thing is sooo heavy and full sheets of stock have to be shoe horned in and still hardly fit and smaller pieces want to slide around no matter how much I clamp them down or add "extra pieces" to halp with the pressure.

The second would be the "Original" 7529 PC router. Dam power switch never worked right and it sits on a shelf.

[Warren Clemans]

Grizzly 18" bandsaw. Vibrates like crazy. Cast metal guide holder broke. Cast metal plate that the upper wheel attaches to broke (same thing happened to my grandfather's Grizzly saw). Magnetic switch crapped out after about 2 years. No dust ports. Takes about 45 min. to set it up before resawing. Yes, I know, people say they make better stuff now. It's not much comfort. Saving my pennies for Mini Max (or similar).

Grizzly 8" jointer would be a close second, but after much shimming of the beds, it at least works.

[Richard Butler]

Worst tools?

Bosch Router table. The plastic plate flexes and you cannot get a metal plate. Sure Bosch lists the plate, but is not made. Run away from anything Bosch makes in a router table.

Other poor choices. PC 4112 dovetail jig. Should have waited to get a 4212.

Timberwolf bandsaw blades. What a load of nonsense. Never again.

Any Craftsman tool that runs from electricity. Never again.

Central Pneumatic tools. Garbage

Grizzly mortiser. Should have spent the money on a good one.

[Robert Mayer]

Im going to add my 4212 dovetail jig to this list. Got lots of good reviews, but I hated it. The clamps on it wouldnt hold the wood tight enough. Right in the middle of routing it would move ever so slightly, ruining the entire piece. Plus the line they made on the top that your supposed to line up on the back of the board was about an 1/8" thick making it hard to make repeatable nice fitting dt's. Sold it!

[Jeff A. Smith]

1) Jointech Smart Miter
2) Porter Cable Detail Sander
3) Jointech Fence System

Jointech because they don't stand behind their stuff, even when there are manufacturing defects, and my Smart Miter was warped always, and the PC detail sander for all the reasons everyone else stated.

I'm not blindly bashing Jointech... but anytime someone's doing a comparison between Jointech and Incra... take the time to read the fine print on the warranties offered by Jointech vs. Woodpeck. Woodpeck will repair or replace if the product fails "under normal use." This means... if it breaks while you're using it, you're covered. Jointech is a mfg. defect warranty, and they'll argue with you to no end. I've been there... not going back.

[Bruce Benjamin]

1) Jointech Smart Miter
2) Porter Cable Detail Sander
3) Jointech Fence System

Jointech because they don't stand behind their stuff, even when there are manufacturing defects, and my Smart Miter was warped always, and the PC detail sander for all the reasons everyone else stated.

I'm not blindly bashing Jointech... but anytime someone's doing a comparison between Jointech and Incra... take the time to read the fine print on the warranties offered by Jointech vs. Woodpeck. Woodpeck will repair or replace if the product fails "under normal use." This means... if it breaks while you're using it, you're covered. Jointech is a mfg. defect warranty, and they'll argue with you to no end. I've been there... not going back.

AMEN to that about Jointech. They won't honor their lifetime warranty because they'll find a way to weasel out of it. If anyone else needs the ugly details of my Jointech fiasco PM me and I'll send you a link to my long and detailed write up.

Bruce

[Michael Rominger]

Porter cable profile sander, completely useless.

[Michael Tarnowicz]

It's true of the old saying....things are seldom what they seem. I too, admit I made a bad tool decision. After several months, I received my much awaited Mini Max C26 Combo Saw. The unit was well packed and everything seemed to be rec'd in order.

After having run the saw for a few days, I noticed a soft rattling noise that became increasing more alarming. I immediately shut down the saw and contacted Michael Kahn, my sales contact, who promised to contact their field service rep. After two days with no reply, I contacted Michael again. This time he put me in touch with another customer who "listened' to the saw over the phone. The noise was attributed to a loose cooling fan on the end of the table saw motor. This was confirmed by me two hours later after having tipped the cabinet over on its side to remove the motor. As can be imagined, this was no easy task. In order to access all four mounting bolts a had to pop the rivets on an adjacent ID plate near the top of the saw to blindly reach in and remove these bolts.

Sure enough the fan had managed to work itself loose and machine it'self against the sheet metal containment shroud. Other than a press fit collar, no other physical means of attachment i.e. pin are used. After two hours the saw was up and running. At first I was inclined to leave the fan off, but changed my mind and once again, with the help of a friend, tipped the 300 lb cabinet on it’s side and reattached the fan.

Much to my dismay, the soft rattling noise reappeared again two days later. Again it got louder the next day, but this time the motor quit before we could react. Once again we attempted to contact service, but our calls, like last time, went unreturned. Finally, after having obtained his cell phone was I able to contact their only field rep. You would think a huge company like SCM would be able to afford more than one field rep for the entire US! The rep immediately took a defensive position and proceeding to blame me...the customer for the apparent motor failure. It seemed too quick to blame me, as if he was all too familiar with the failure mode. He promised to call back the next day regarding their sending a replacement motor. Bottom line: No return phone call nor a new motor was ever rec'd. Mini Max refused to honor their service warranty and chose to ignore the problem.

Finally, out of much fustration, I hired an electrician to investigate. What he found was very surprising. Aside from the lack of an adequate means of securing the cooling fan in place, none of the three motors where thermally protected. Unlike my Delta table saw or Laguna band saw, if the motor overheats it can easily be reset.

A wire from the capacitor had shorted itself to the external motor housing. He simply cut out the effected piece and reattached it. He also inserted a layer of insulating tape in the bottom of the junction box. He also threaded and inserted a bolt with a small sheet metal cap into the end of the shaft to secure the impeller in place. The saw has been running fine since the fix, but I dread the next problem, as I now know I made a huge mistake in judging the level of customer support Mini Max actually provides.

Save your money, don’t buy a Mini Max combo, or any other combo for that matter. If one features breaks, you lose the use of the other two because the 300lb cabinet is sitting on it’s side waiting for service that never arrives.

[Pat Germain]

^^ I recently read about problems with Italian motors. I don't recall where, but your experience seems to add legitimacy to this claim.

On the other hand, Jim Becker seems pleased as punch with his MiniMax. (Although, I don't personally know Jim and certainly don't claim to speak for him.) Thus, I'm not sure if your MiniMax problems were isolated, Michael. Isolated or not, that's certainly no excuse for poor customer service involving what's supposed to be a high-end item.

[Jon Eaton]

The B&D Mouse sander and the RotoZip mystery tool. Yep, the Mouse is an imitation tool. The RotoZip actually has some power, but can't be controlled......beyond drywall.

Hey, that isn't too many scars and the $$ wasn't that bad.

[Jamie Smith]

Worst overall would have to be a harbor freight laminate trimmer. $20 piece of junk with so much run-out it was visible to the naked eye. wasn't worth the return shipping, so it went right to goodwill.

I regret the D4 purchase also, but only because I never use it. I wouldn't sell it though, because I might get to some day...

[George Sanders]

Ah, the PC detail sander. :rolleyes: What a POS. :mad: Yeah, they got me.:o Add ANY Harbor Freight and ANYTHING new from Sears. I have replaced all of my new stuff with "old arn" namely anything made 50 years ago right here in the good ol USA.
Machines like a heavy cast iron craftsman table saw from the 60's, a couple of wood lathes from the same era and a 12" Parks planer. :D My new motto is; "If I can pick it up by myself it's too lightweight". Old Arn Rules;)

[Robert Conner]

I bought a Biscuit Joiner after watching Norm, I thought what a great idea. It is, I just don't use it. I even tried Norms little brush glue idea, how many wasted stiff brushes can you afford, because who remembers to clean the darn things when you are too busy getting the parts together before the biscuits swell.
Now for the Roto zip. I have tried and tried it is IMPOSSIBLE to control! The one time I got it to work reasonably straight I hit a staple.
These tools have to be grouped with the Mister Clean Auto Wash System, Anybody else wasted money on that one?
Robert

[Ray Knight]

I have started building shaker chairs, and reproducing early 1800 window sashes, moving away from auto restoration to woodworking. Seems that figuring out how much i need to pay for a major tool is never certain. I no longer feel guilty admitting I sometimes shop at harborfreight. Their dust collector is working fine for me. I buy a Jet 12" band saw, burn a motor out resawing a couple weeks later, they replaced the motor and I bought a 14", pleased with it. Now I have a skinny blade in the 12" and a resaw blade in the 14", but damn I don't really need both. I bought a small porter cable router, it screams at 27,000, and the quik-lift I bought had a resonance and won't hold a setting. The quiklift/woodpecker owner figured it out, got a bigger portercable, works fine, so now I have 2 quik-lifts and 3 routers, go figure. I can sort of justify it for quick setup change, but sure wouldn't have planned it. Right now trying to decide how far to go in cabinet TS, to upgrade from my contractor saw. Powermatic, sawstop or jet??. I'll decide when the money is available. Ray Knight

[Phil Harding]

Aw, come on guys... I can't be the only one to be suckered in by the Porter Cable Profile sander.:rolleyes: I never thought it could be possible that a sander could leave a surface in worse shape than when you started sanding. This one re-wrote the rule book for me!

Well, you're not alone. I was just too embarrassed to admit I bought one even after researching it and reading all the bad reviews. I even felt guilty when I sold it on eBay.

-- Phil

[Stan Welborn]

A Skil jigsaw that..., well I wouldn't call it excessive vibrating, more akin to the bucking of a mechanical bull. I used to listen for the 8 second horn so I could jump off. In comparison, the Bosch makes me want to write a letter of thanks every time I use it.

And of course the wife thought I needed the RotoZip and all the trimmings for Christmas one year. I actually tried to use it several times to make her feel good, but just ended up butchering whatever I set out to use it on. Only thing I've found it to be good for is expanding my sons 4 letter vocabulary, and making beer taste very good.

[Nancy Laird]

Right now trying to decide how far to go in cabinet TS, to upgrade from my contractor saw. Powermatic, sawstop or jet??. I'll decide when the money is available. Ray Knight

Ray, before you decide, be sure to take a good long hard look at the Steel City saws. They are very well-built, solid, and the new ones have the availability of a granite top. I was in the store the other day playing with the fences on the various saws they had displayed - Jet, PM, Delta, Woodtek, and Steel City, and the fence on the Steel City was the smoothest and easiest to move and lock in right on target. It's better than our Bies fence, and that's saying a lot. If we were in the market for a new cabinet saw, the Steel City would be in our shop right now--although we can't complain about our 14-year-old Unisaw!!

Nancy (96 days)

[Vernon Taylor]

Northstate 25" dual drum sander from Leneave Supply(machine generly well made but can't seem to keep paper on it,service or help from Leneave has been non-existant) $1700 mistake
PC Detail sander(also use the profiles for hand sanding)
Roto Zip(no explanation needed)
Little craftsman sander with three discs,kinda handy but the sanding wheels keep falling off.
PC333ROS-something wrong with switch took it in for repair died again after 20 minutes-gave up and bought the German made Ridgid 6"

[Chuck Lenz]

HOLY CATS ! Theres so many bad tool purchase posts that I'm almost afraid to buy a tool anymore. :eek: Has anyone checked any of them for lead paint ? ;)

[Alain Tellier]

Mine is a two part...

The first one was a Skill jigsaw... which name you need a lot of to handle this posessed electric gizmo. It is impossible to cut anything straight much less follow a marked curve. An exercice in frustration and swearing.

The second one was a drill adapter featuring a drill bit on one end for pilot holes and a driver bit on the other which you use by flipping the adapter on end... This thing wobbled so much you'd think it's the reincarnation of a paint mixer!

[Bill Wyko]

Worst overall would have to be a harbor freight laminate trimmer. $20 piece of junk with so much run-out it was visible to the naked eye. wasn't worth the return shipping, so it went right to goodwill.

I regret the D4 purchase also, but only because I never use it. I wouldn't sell it though, because I might get to some day...
I bought one of those POS's. It shook so bad it made my hands feel like they were made of silicone. What a piece of junk.

[Mike Spanbauer]

I've been thinking about this thread hard and trying to come up with good choices for both, and try as might i can't think of any tools I would throw into the trash category that I've actually bought.

A lesson i learned early in life (dad was a garage owner back when they do full service from oil to engine rebuilds) and his motto was to always have the right tool for the job AND ensure you buy something that'll work when you need it again and again.

Buy once, cry once. Other side of that is that I'm an analytic by nature and often purchase a TOUGH tool.

I've certainly used my fair shair of crap, but I've never purchased one.

As to my favorite / best? That's equally difficult. I've so many tools that are a joy to use, I don't know if I could narrow it down... Veritas adjustable block plane, MM16 bandsaw, PM66 ('84 vintage), PM60 jointer - green beauty, Festool sanders...

Plus when posts like this come up I bookmark them and refer back to them before spending any money on a new tool. I'll look to see who if anyone commented on an item and ask a few questions via PM.

Great thread though!

mike

[Bill Brehme]

I am surprised nobody mentioned this gleaming jewel on top of the trash heap... Why is it gleaming? Because it is still brand new when you throw it away! Ladies and gentlemen let me divert your attention over to the Harbor Freight 'Angle Drill Guide'!!! This steaming pile of refuse is designed to turn any hand drill into a angling mini drill press.:) Ya Think???:confused:

This sticking, twisting, racking, plastic junk would barely let me get the drill bit down to wood.:mad: By that point you are far off your center mark.
:mad: Then your hole is out of round.:mad: :mad:

There is a permanent mark in my boot where I punted this over the fence!:eek: The next morning I climed over the fence and retrieved it, put it back in its mangled package, and took it back to HF.

I truely, fully expected the whole staff of the outlet store to be standing outside the front sidewalk, just laughing, slapping their knee, cat calling to let me in on the joke... No. They just gave me my money back:( .

I have seen this in other stores. So, not just to pick on HF.;)

Oh yea, +1 on the HF laminate trimmer: It was more plastiky (sp?) in use than it looked on the display.:rolleyes:

[Allen Grimes]

I hate my table saw. It runs fine and I use it every day, but I hate it. I'd punch it in the face if it had one.

Other than that, I am happy with ALL of my tool purchases and plan on staying that way. Even though I know that some new shinier tools have come out that might be better than some of mine, I am still happy with the decisions I made.

[James Suzda]

As to the Performax, I let my hatred of sanding get the best of me. This machine is incredibly difficult to adjust and get satisfactory results. I have yet to sand a panel of any width and have it come out the same width on both sides. There is unbelievable backlash in the height adjustment. You never, ever want to have to back off... The original sandpaper feed belt is totally unsatisfactory. The infeed and outfeed tables couldn't get any harder to adjust.

Am I really the only vote for the Performax?

I’m another Performax 16/32 owner who has experienced the same problems and frustrations with his machine. Don’t get me wrong, I still use it, but it didn’t live up to my expectations when I purchased it.
The biggest problem I have with mine is that the right clip will let go of the paper at the worse times and then I really have a mess on my hands. Plus the breaker keeps popping even with minimal depth adjustment.
Jim

[David Weaver]

I am surprised nobody mentioned this gleaming jewel on top of the trash heap... Why is it gleaming? Because it is still brand new when you throw it away! Ladies and gentlemen let me divert your attention over to the Harbor Freight 'Angle Drill Guide'!!! This steaming pile of refuse is designed to turn any hand drill into a angling mini drill press.:) Ya Think???:confused:

This sticking, twisting, racking, plastic junk would barely let me get the drill bit down to wood.:mad: By that point you are far off your center mark.
:mad: Then your hole is out of round.:mad: :mad:

There is a permanent mark in my boot where I punted this over the fence!:eek: The next morning I climed over the fence and retrieved it, put it back in its mangled package, and took it back to HF.

I truely, fully expected the whole staff of the outlet store to be standing outside the front sidewalk, just laughing, slapping their knee, cat calling to let me in on the joke... No. They just gave me my money back:( .

I have seen this in other stores. So, not just to pick on HF.;)

Oh yea, +1 on the HF laminate trimmer: It was more plastiky (sp?) in use than it looked on the display.:rolleyes:

Gotta give them credit for giving you your money back. There has been some HF stuff that I've gotten that I haven't been happy with, but I'm ecstatic with the compressor that I got for $99 - it runs like a champ.

The worst thing that I think I ever got was one of those made in china tools (probably same as HF) that you can get on ebay for cheap - when I first started, I got a biscuit joiner. The thing was fine except that the OEM blade it came with was dull and part of the guide was plastic. The dull blade burnt everything it came in contact with and sent flaming chips everywhere. If you tried to cut faster to avoid the burning, it would stall.

What a turd. I still have it because I refuse to sell it to anyone (even for $1) until I can take it apart and stone the blade to a legitimate edge and see if it will cut.

I have since acquired the dewalt biscuit joiner, but haven't used it yet (used a friends, though).

[Keith Beck]

Try using the RotoZip for cutting out holes in drywall for recessed lighting cans. Works like a champ. Loud and messy -yes. But works great.

Well, you had much better luck than I did. Mine kept breaking bits. I ended up just finishing the job with a jigsaw.

Another impulse buy that now sits collecting dust... :(

Keith

[Keith Beck]

I hate my table saw. It runs fine and I use it every day, but I hate it. I'd punch it in the face if it had one.

Now that's funny! :D Thanks for giving me my first chuckle of the day Allen!

[Richard M. Wolfe]

What's a bad purchase? For me it's a ratio of price to use/poor design/being user friendly, etc.

Yeah, I had the Skil jigsaw. Bad tool, but since I was out only ten bucks or so, plus I probably lost several pounds from the vibration it's easy to write off, other than time wasted.

A step up in expense, the 15" Delta scroll saw. Not that I use a scroll saw that much, but with that one I tried. I really did. :o Throw into that mix the Sears 3x21 belt sander.

Finally, for the cost it's the Delta drum sander. Wish I had spent three or four times the cost to get one that works well, because I need it and use it all the time.

It's odd about biscuit joiners. They seem to be a thing people either use a lot or use once in a blue moon. What you make, I guess. I figure I've run through about 20 boxes of a thousand biscuits and other than a table saw, router and various sanders it sees about as much use as anything I have.

Oh well, I guess bad tools have their place. If you're forced to use a piece of junk and make it work and then go to a good one you're that much happier using it and probably use the tool better than someone who started out on it.

[Bill Jepson]

Ya, there was a couple of Festools I had, ended up throwing them in the trash...

That got your attention didn't it?? :D :D :D :D

Actually one of the more expensive boo boo's I made was buying a 110v wire feed welder, luckily I sold it for about 75% of what I paid for it though.

Al

Al, didn't your electricty company call to ask why your bill went down so much?!
Bill

[Bill Brehme]

I also have the Dewalt biscuit joiner. It just happens to say 'Craftsman' on it (they are identical). The box has never been cracked open. I have had it about 5 months now.:(

[Loren Hedahl]

Home Depot Ridgid contractor's saw.

They were giving $100 rebate for any old table saw you brought in on their new contractor's saw. I took the deal, even though I had no immediate use for the new saw.

Unfortunately it sat in its original box for several years before I unpacked and got it going. From the first use I have regretted the purchase.

The fence couldn't be installed without reaming out the holes. Now any little bump on the rails also bumps them out of alignment.

The rip fence won't stay in adjustment. I finally used epoxy to keep the adjustment from moving.

The blade wobbled. Turned out the arbor flange wasn't true. I compensate with a small piece of electricians tape on a certain point on the flange each time I change blades, then tighten the blade nut until the blade runs true.

Now it is just fine if take the effort to check the blade runout and fence alignment before each use, but I hate it for all the trouble it gives me. The old radial arm saw it was supposed to replace is still the saw of my choice because it stays in adjustment better and makes smoother cuts with the same blade.

[keith ouellette]

The robland x-31 combination by laguna. The video looked great but the machine worked bad. The slidding table wouldn't adjust to be on the same plane as the table, the jointer fence flexed and changing opperations was a real pain. I had to beg them to take it back to california and it cost me to get it there but when i first saw it I was in love. Also both machines I bought from wilke. I just don't have good luck on tool purchases.

[Gregg Feldstone]

Delta 28-206 14" bandsaw. Neither I nor the service guy from the store I bought it from could get it to stop vibrating. ALso, adjusting the lower guides is way too much trouble. I was able to return it, did my research and bought an Agazzani........lots more $$$ but a joy to use.

[Brian Weick]

I love the PC 7518 3-1/4hp router, very rugged , very accurate but after 3 months of ownership and it was only used a few times, the electronic variable speed module went on me. I was not a happy craftsman!
I was out of the warranty period by a few days- so I called Porter cable and told them my problem and she told me that it would be $98.00 + shipping and handling making it $117.00 for the part- :eek: I explained to her that I am not happy :mad: with the companies answer to my problem and would never consider purchasing another tool from them again, I am paying over $400.00 for a router that is supposedly one of the best on the market and peters out after 3 months:mad: . I said you have to do better than that, She put me on hold, la la la - on hold phone music-- "Sir, I'm sorry that you had a problem with our router and I will ship that out to you express at no charge" - that made me happy- :) ` now what happed while that music was rolling- was she doing her nails working off a "how to handle complaint Rolodex :rolleyes: " - depends on how upset the customer is and type of situation I guess. I'll never know - but they did take care of me-:) it's all about customer service as well- sometimes lemons come out of the factories from time to time. :rolleyes:
Brian

[Thomas Johnson]

:) - we all do it. And it wont be the last time becasue we are junkies for tools. I'm 52 and just bought another bunch of junk (Ryobi 18v jig saw). I build decks and it just didnt do the job - I broke down and bought the corded Bosch for $159. BTW - my neighbor owns a Dewalt 18v and its not that bad, alot better then the Ryobi.

[Matt P]

My Timberwolf blade broke after about 1/2 hour of moderate use. What was your experience like?


Worst tools?

Timberwolf bandsaw blades. What a load of nonsense. Never again.

[Charles Wiggins]

Rick, Don't feel like the redheaded stepchild, I've bought a boat load of junk/tools that either didn't work or I had no real use for them. My biggest problem was buying cheap junk instead of waiting a little longer to get a good one. In the town that I grew up in there was a little dinner run by an excentric old man. When you walked in the door you had to duck to get under a sigh that said "Cheap food's not good. Good food's not cheap. We serve the best." I now try to remember that when I'm tempted to buy a piece of junk. BTW it doesn't always work as I also have the dreaded wood guy disease.

I'm slowly learning that it is much better to wait and buy better!

[Matt P]

My Timberwolf blade broke after about 1/2 hour of moderate use. Are they generally considered to be overrated blades??

Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Butler http://www.sawmillcreek.org/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=623501#post623501)
Worst tools?

Timberwolf bandsaw blades. What a load of nonsense. Never again.

[Denny Rice]

My Rotozip!!! Thank God I didn't buy it. My father seen it a couple of yrs ago and thought I might like it for Christmas. The fist time I turned the thing on I thought it was going to twist right out of my hands. Don't even get me started on the very high priced cheap bits they sell for this tool either. It is a POJ:D

[Leland Berry]

This thread is actually fun to read. You can almost tell-(reading between the lines ) what everyone expects and how they use their tools. Everyone is differant in that respect.--On mans junk-another mans treasure. I can relate to nearly every post. Face it we are ALL tool junkies and suffer total brain fade sometimes . I try (usually) three excerises to insure a
good buy on a power tool--1) Put hands on it to see HOW it was made.
2) Research it--users,SMC,others until a warm fuzzy fealing overcomes the heat of-"got to have that passion" and #3) CALL the manufacturer,
even one of their engineers until you get SATISFACTORY answers to any
questions, especially to figure out WHOM to they expect to buy this thing? Someone who's going to beat the whizz out of it or someones
granny ? Believe me , I've had my share of junk too-probably will again-
but after 29 years of working in manufacturing, I'll pick the phone in half
a-heart-beat for an answer and if I don't get one or if they aren't sold on
the product neither am I. --On the flip side, if you own/and use a $200
framing gun, and FAIL TO OIL IT--it'll FAIL TO WORK-Guaranteed .

[Steveo O'Banion]

I bought a Black an Decker mini screwdriver to get into tight spots.Its horribly underpowered for a screw.

Yup, I bought one of those. It won't put a 8 x 1 screw into poplar with a full charge and a pilot hole!

Wood is another weakness for me that I'm finally getting over. I started buying it 22 years ago when I had two good sources that let me cherry pick their lumber piles and dumpsters. I use it at school now for my really talented kids for their special projects.

Steve

[John Maus]

Enter another Harbor Freight tool story.

As I walked through my local HF six months ago a nice looking floor standing drill press caught my eye. Wow! The price was nice looking also. I should have grabbed my wallet and ran but you know what they say about lessons learned. I really wanted and new drill press and this deal seemed soooo good.

Getting my new purchase home, unpacked, and up and running was pretty easy and gave that "how smart you are for finding this deal" feeling. The honeymoon ended right after my limited warranty did. Come to find out, there is a very small, inexpensive, and cheaply made cam that fits on the belt tightening lever via a set screw. When this cam cracks the belt tightening lever is rendered inop and the whole machine goes down.

Yes, the part can be ordered for $3.50 plus $1.75 shipping. I ordered my replacement part 90 days ago thinking, in a week or two I'll be drilling happy holes again. I still have not received my part and the nice folks at HF customer service can only tell me its on order. The part comes from the manufacturer overseas and apparently there isn't a good line of, like language, communication between the two locations.

Aw well. I am now doing what I should have done six months ago. Looking for a brand name drill press with a little better reputation for quality and customer service.

If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.

John

[Craig McCormick]

I bought a Black an Decker mini screwdriver to get into tight spots.Its horribly underpowered for a screw.
Also my craftsman screw gun which I use full time 19.2 volt is way heavy.Wish I didnt cheap on that.I like those black and white little makitas,if anyone has one chime in please.
Craig,

I have a little Bosch screw driver that we use every day in our home repair business. $130.00 well spent. Bosch also has a stronger model for $179.00

Craig McCormick

[Jamie Cowan]

I bought a used benchtop jointer, knowing it wasn't a great machine. I just wanted something to plane the rough surface off carving stock so I could draw on it. The problem is it takes a huge cupped dig out of the tail end on every pass. Sort of defeats the purpose. Fifty bucks isn't a big deal, but instead, I think of it as two $25 gouges I don't have. Easier to just hand plane the blanks. Lesson learned.

[Matt Meiser]

That's most likely an alignment problem. Sounds to me like the outfeed bed is too low compared to the knives.

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I agree with Matt on the alignment problem. If you just want the surface reasonably smooth try picking up on the workpiece end as it exits the planer. That should help or eliminate the snipe from knives digging into it as it drops when it finishes the cut.

[Tom Walz]

¼ sheet sander and paper. I let the HD ‘expert’ help me. The ¼ sheet sandpaper is too small for the sander. I can make it work with duct tape but it is a pain.

Maybe the second ‘set’ of anything. It is nice to buy a set and get a holder but many of the screwdrivers, nut drivers, etc. I have never used.

I do have several, practically identical claw hammers. I bought two of them so my son and his buddy could help me fix the storm damaged back fence. One of the best buys I ever made. They made some money and learned something and I have a great memory.

[Larry Browning]

My goodness! this thread goes on forever! I will admit I did not read all the posts. A few years back I came to realize that for the most part (there are a few exceptions) If the brand name of the tool has the words "craft" or "master" in its name, it is probably junk. Ya got Shop Master, Shop Craft, Master Mechanic, Mastercraft, Craftmaster and of course the ever popular Craftsman.
Just an observation.

[Jamie Cowan]

I bought a $15 trim router at Pep Boys, hoping to use it for about 20 minutes. Must admit I had planned to return it if it broke over and over until I made the sales clerk cry. Runs great, smells like a tire fire. I'll keep it.

[Dick Bringhurst]

Wow! Not one roto zip mentioned. Dick B.

[Steve Clardy]

Wow! Not one roto zip mentioned. Dick B.



I'll mention it. RotoZip. :(

[Larry Browning]

Wow! Not one roto zip mentioned. Dick B.
Well, I guess you are like me in that you didn't read all the posts. (I'd bet few have) I read a least 3 roto zip regrets, there are probably more. I am also too lazy to go back and find them for you. Maybe someone with more ambition than me will do it.

[Bryan Berguson]

Aw, come on guys... I can't be the only one to be suckered in by the Porter Cable Profile sander.:rolleyes: I never thought it could be possible that a sander could leave a surface in worse shape than when you started sanding. This one re-wrote the rule book for me!


I always thought that tool would be fairly useful, especially since I hate detail sanding. Thanks for saving me some money! :)

Bryan

[Pat Germain]

A few years back I came to realize that for the most part (there are a few exceptions) If the brand name of the tool has the words "craft" or "master" in its name, it is probably junk.

You can add "Skil" to that list. I had a Skil framing saw years ago. The shoe and the blade were so far out of alignment, it was impossible to use a gude. That saw started belching fire when my brother used it to cut some OSB.

I now have a Skil portable jigsaw. I needed it only for cutting some drywall in a built-in I have in my house. Good golly, that thing vibrates so much it's literally impossible to cut a smooth line.

On a positive note, I recently bought a mortising attachment for my drill press. I didn't expect much from it, but by golly it works quite well. The fence is a pain to move and adjust, but I think I can re-engineer that.

[Steven Hardy]

I would have to include three.
My "8inch" Guardian Power ,cast iorn drill press,bought from Tiawan General (us general) in the eighties. It actually has only a 4 inch reach,and the third horsepower motor is SO weak ,i can stall the drill on the highest torque setting by brasping the chuck with my hand. It works ok for holing a wire wheel for derusting ...so I keep it around.

My Jet-dc650 dust collector...I'd swear that on a quiet night in my shop,that I can hear it rusting.

My long departed Sears floor Jack. I had it for a year and broke the little clip that pulls the piston back out of the pump. At the time Sears was excelland for getting replacement parts....In the eighties...i managed to get parts for a thirty year old 2 cycle lawn mower! Well, I went to sears parts . The half ounce clip was going to cost 125.00 dollars because the smallest FRU was the pump. I reengineered it with a piece of brazing rod and a drill .

[Dewey Torres]

Boy ...haven't we all been there!
Dewey

[stan kisamore]

This thread is great! It makes me feel better now(misery loves company). I can only add my RotoZip to the pile- great idea with no useful working concept. FWIW, this is my first post but have been a long time lurker. It has helped me avoid more costly purchasing mistakes. I'm waiting on delivery of a Delta 36-980 and crossing my fingers.

[Greg Hines, MD]

Someone asked about things you bought that they were surprised about, and I bought a GripMaster about 10 years ago. I had seen it in an infomercial years before that, and I came to needing a vise, and gave it a try. It is a surprisingly versatile clamping system. I use it occasionally for clamping weird shaped things mostly, but sometimes for just general use.

Something I bought and haven't used? 1/2" Linkbelt. It did not fit my Shopsmith pulleys, so it hangs on the wall until I get a different table saw, then it will be the first upgrade.

Doc

[Cary Falk]

My most worthless tool was the ColdHeat soldering gun.

[Neal Clayton]

so far i'm only really regretful of a "small mortise machine to save space". i mean, it says powermatic on it so it must be ok, right?

not when there's enough slop in the shaft to shake the motor back and forth with your hands about 1/4" :(.

the sad thing is i knew that "benchtop machine will save space" with anything that cuts rather than sands was a bad idea to begin with, and did it anyway.

[Joe Jensen]

so far i'm only really regretful of a "small mortise machine to save space". i mean, it says powermatic on it so it must be ok, right?

not when there's enough slop in the shaft to shake the motor back and forth with your hands about 1/4" :(.

the sad thing is i knew that "benchtop machine will save space" with anything that cuts rather than sands was a bad idea to begin with, and did it anyway.

Funny, I bought the same one. Too heavy to put away each time, and it takes enough space that I may as well have a floor standing unit...joe

[Dino Drosas]

I'll have to ad a Woodtek 36" double drum sander to this list. Its highest and best use would have to be a boat anchor. Sure wouldn't sand anything. Gave it away.

[John Gornall]

TAS - tool aquistion syndrome - it's treatable. At least that's what they keep telling me.

[Ted Torres]

"Total Shop", the foreign knockoff version of the Shop Smith 5 in 1 tool...geeze, what an Expensive -Drill Press- (as most other features were fair to useless, especially the table saw setup)!

Should have bought a good cabinet saw long ago!!!

[Butch Edwards]

..it'd be easier to name the tools that weren't junk..the list would be MUCH shorter.......:rolleyes:

but the Grizzly mortising attachment for the drill press was the kneeslapper...another idea that look good on paper....:D

[Jacob Reverb]

I bought a HFT air-powered 3/8" drill, in part because the website said it had planetary gears that gave it lots of torque, so I thought, "Hey, this would make a great power screwdriver!"

WRONG! First off, it doesn't have ANY torque if you get the shaft in the right position, and even at the maximum air pressure, it doesn't have all that much torque...

[Jesse Cloud]

Great thread! Its amazing how some tools like the Performax sander is both a fave and a regret. Different expectations. I have some great tools that need more maintenance than they may be worth, some days I love em, some days I hate em.

One thing that has helped me a lot, I have a rule that anything that doesn't get used for a year, gets sold. At least I don't have to look at any of my regrets.:rolleyes:

I think the point on the Domino is that its a great tool with a high price. I was feeling a little guilty a year after I got mine because I really hadn't used it that much - just weren't many mortise and tenons in the projects I was working on. Lately though, it has earned its keep many times over.

And, in the interest of full disclosure, I fell for the Roto-zip, a Grizzly scroll saw that danced a jig when you turned it on, and a few pieces of crapsman stuff.:o

[Shawn Honeychurch]

The worst I ever bought was a benchtop drill press from Wal-Mart for $39.50.

Everything was out of alignment nad ran rough and would not stay adjusted and I mean everything. I never used it, it sat there waiting until I had time to fix it.

Well I finally had time a few weeks ago, so I fixed it. I took off the entire drill head piece and threw it out, the base with it's post and the press table are now happy in there new life as an extra holder for long pieces of wood cut on my RAS.

Shawn

[John Makar]

At one time Black and Decker actually made (and sold to a few people), a 1/2 hp fixed base router. That was replaced with a bit better Craftsman. I was young and stupid. Now I'm just stupid.

Today, the PC 7518 does the hard stuff and I dabble with the PC 693.

[Fred Childs]

The worst was probably my Craftsman radial arm saw, a close second would be a full set of Craftsman screwdrivers.
These days I try to buy everything used if possible. If I don’t like it I can pass it along and break even or take a slight loss.
Some other posters worst tool purchases that I picked up used:
Roto-zip- Paid $10 used. Only used it once but it paid for itself.
Porter cable profile sander. Paid $10, have never used it. If I hate it I still won’t feel bad.:D

[steve reeves]

I bought the "big kit" several years ago, used it once and then it sat in the case for over a year... then on one of my rental houses I had some rotten wood just under the soffit (wood siding) Well I really didn't want to pull all the soffit and trim off the side of the house to cut this piece out and a saber saw just wouldn't work without tearing up stuff that didn't need it...

I pulled out the Roto-zip put one of the longish wood spiral bits in it and went to town.... never cut more than a 1/16th into any of the wall studs behind the siding... I've used it for many things that didn't need accuracy... cut outs in drywall etc...

I've even cut out some cracked wall tiles with it by using a small fence double sided taped to the wall and then angling the bit into the joint...

But it's still a P.O.C. ... loud, and the vibration..... well better used in a bordello perhaps...

Craftsman dovetail jig..... threw it against the shop floor and shattered it..

Craftsman radial arm saw (most any of them are crap no matter the brand) would never return to exact spot you started from.... sold it to my brother in law who's too stupid to figure out why his joints don't align properly.... I don't like him so I'm mum...

Every cheapo palm sander I've ever bought.... they either have no power, shoot dust all over the shop (even the ones with the alledged dust collectors) or leave the piece in worse shape than it was in when you started.

A Ryobi router table (actually has some nice features) that has a plastic insert that you can see oscilate as the router is running... junked it used the fence and very nice switch on a shop made table with a lift... used what was left of the top to build a couple of jigs with..

In fact every Ryobi tool I've ever owned was less than impressive... My aforementioned bother in law now owns most of them... He's such a happy guy.

A delta-rockwell 6" jointer I owned long ago.... couldn't keep bearings in it but the table was dead flat and square.... put fresh bearings and blades in it and guess what?.... sold it to my brother in law.

Most any cordless drill.... even the $200 ones.... If the batteries don't take a set the clutches wear out too fast (I used these for several hours a day)... Dewalt has been making the same drill for a few years (18V) I like them but they won't stand up to business use.... but so far neither has anything else.

Lowes has been really good about replacing the batteries though...

Pretty much anything that is a retailer's "exclusive" or that was designed by them..... usually the idea is great but they then throw quality of construction to the wind.

And I second the Craftsman screw drivers.... Even though exchanging them is easy, it requires me to return to the store and get tempted by more of their junk....(I've actually had some good luck with a few of their power tools...)

[Rob Renicker]

I bought a Porter Cable 7529 plunge router. It quickly became a $230 doorstop. The plunge mechanism wasn't smooth and the depth setting was nearly impossible to set accurately. I was very disappointed at what I thought was a premium plunge router. I replaced it with a DeWalt and am much happier.

Incidentally, I sold it to a friend for $50. I told him I didn't like it but he thought he was getting a bargain. He now agrees he bought a doorstop.

[Rick Fisher]

I have a list which is very long.

When ever I bought the cheapest one I could find, regardless of brand, I end up regretting it.

Some examples

Shop Fox 3/4 hp. Mortiser. Terrible fence, piston broke 2nd day.

Shop Fox 1hp Shaper. 1hp shaper. Enough said.

Dewalt Biscuit Jointer. good machine but it just sits there.

Cheap chinese pocket hole jig, Turned me off pocket holes for years.

Cheap chinese dremel Came with loads of sanding discs that fly apart after 30 seconds.

Ryobi Detail sander Terrible and insignificant tool.

Imitation chinese Bessey clamps. Pads fell off day one. Flex, junk.

I could go on and on but I am now depressed.
I dont buy anything now unless its brand name and good. If I cant justify paying for a good one, I do without.

[Robin Cruz]

I bought this detail sander which Ive used once and is otherwise useless. I dont even think they make those anymore. Cant think of any others that have been a total bust. I research pretty thoroughly on the major purchases and have had good luck. I anything, I wait too long to buy the tool that will really make a project manageable.

[Wayne Watling]

I really wanted this 10,000lb (CAD$750) monster to work and it did look really promising in all those glossy ads but after spending 6 month screwing about I'm pretty sure it wont do half blind dovetails the way it suppose too. I took it back for a full refund.

Wayne

ps. PC say they have looked into the problem and the new batches will not have this problem, its just they dont seem to have them available yet.

[Bill Huber]

I will have to say the Ryobi Detail sander is the worst I have ever bought. I really try and buy good stuff and only buy something when I need it.

I saw the Ryobi on sale one day and thought that would really be handy at times. To date I have found nothing it works on, it is a joke the way it does nothing and they are still selling it.

[Stephen Tashiro]

Some organized person should read all the replies to your thread and made a summary in tabular form!

My favorite worst tool purchase was the Wien "Allsaw". It wasn't a woodworking tool because it jumped around too much to use to cut lumber. It was also advertised as a tree rimming tool and also jumped around too much for that purpose, not to mention the fact that you might be holding up above your head while you were trying to use it in a tree trimming application.

[Don Eddard]

The Bad:

B&D Mouse Sander
Cheap Chinese plunge router on eBay (too good to be true is indeed)
Craftsman 6" disk / 4" belt benchtop sander (I can almost stall it bare-handed)


The OK, but I Seldom Use:

DeWalt Biscuit Joiner
Penn State Pocket Hole Jig
RotoZip (useless for most things, but it's handy for a few things)


The Surprises:

HF Digital Calipers
Ridgid TS3650

[Mike Shields]

1. Ryobi BT3100 tablesaw. Maybe for cutting 2x4s, but NOT for any precise woodworking. No t-slots, so the miter fence is practically useless for accurate/repeatable crosscuts and miters.

2. Delta 1" belt/8" disc benchtop sander. Tables and miter are so far out of precision it's laughable. 1" belt (flat) sands more like a drum (round)sander. Dust collection on this machine was not even considered.

3. Portable drill guide from major woodworker store. I don't know where to begin, other than to so, this thing is absolute junk. You can hold a drill more sturdy than this guide can, even after having several cups of coffee.

[Jacob Mac]

I'm just getting started really putting my shop together, so this thread was a good read. The problem is that if you're starting from scratch, it's hard to get quality for every tool you buy. This is an expensive hobby to get started.

But what I surmised from this thread is rotozip is not that great. I used one when I was laying tile at my sister's house, and I have to agree. Biscuit joiners work, just make sure you are going to use it before you buy it. And cutting dovetails by hand will be a good skill to practice to save frustration with inferior jigs I know I would be tempted to buy.

[Mark Schrier]

My first mistake years ago was a B&D 7616 router. Started screaming like a banshee in no time.

Latest mistake this year was a great deal on a couple of Harbor Freight's laminate trimmer. $18.00 each seemed like a great deal and I could buy enough to leave them set up for each operation. The first one worked OK, but when I got a binding jig built for the second router and was testing on a test scrap, the depth started changing in the first 6" run I tried:eek:. The collet was too hot to touch and the bit had slipped. Can't imagine the pain I'd feel if I had done that to my first ever ukulele build after 20-30 hours of time and $150.00 of material invested. I ran the first one again and noticed that it also got extremely hot under the collet as well.

Since I had reamed out the base holes for my jig, I didn't bring them back to HF, but when I think about buying 'cheap' I just look at the cheap plastic orange junk on the shelf:mad:.

Have since replaced them with Porter Cable 310 laminate trimmers at a cost of $155.00 each. All metal bodies, plenty of power, no overheating and collets that hold the bits. Best money I've ever saved:).

Mark

[Don Brubaker]

Wow! Not one roto zip mentioned. Dick B.
What's wrong with a Roto-zip? It's great for drywall cut outs of window/door openings; using the circle attachment, etc. Granted, we got along fine without it before it "gave birth"; and, a good trim router is probably better! I've got two of 'em ...... anyone want one?! I use it about once a year.

[Gregg Feldstone]

Minimax MM16 bandsaw. They got the geometry wrong, so the blade does not stay centered in the throatplate when the table is tilted. So....if you want to tilt the table like I do, it's a problem. Also the talbe was bowed 1/16th of an inch. Also, safety switch on brake stuck. Otherwise a fine machine.........I returned mine.

[Kevin Groenke]

Ok, let's see how long I can make this list.

These are mostly biggish ticket items, too many low buck mistakes to keep track of.

Grizzly slot mortiser - Grizzly has done a good job on many tools...not that one.
Delta 18" drum sander.
Jet sliding table.
Demand hot wire.
Wilton 6" belt/12" disc sander.
Wilton 14" vertical metal bandsaw.
PC profile/detail sander.
Made in China QR ww vise.(x8)
Grizzly 1" belt/4" disc - how could such a small thing have been so loud.
Tool Shop 9" bandsaws - they're junk, but they're still used daily.

Maybe I'll think of a few when I get back into the shop.

Oh, we have a rotozip somewhere that's been used a couple times.

-kg