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Which Life Pro Tip disappointed you?
(lemmy.world)
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this post was submitted on 06 Nov 2023
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I think when people say to but high quality items, they mean to spend what they’re worth. Getting the most expensive thing doesn’t really guarantee a quality item, but cheaping out makes it much more likely that you’ll end up with something lackluster. Plus, something like sleep can be fairly complicated and is connected to your habits, what you’ve eaten, or schedule, etc., so expecting a single change (pillow) to make a huge difference may not be realistic.
You're usually fine using a cheap item. If you use it enough to break it, then you need a quality item.
Ah the old Harbor Freight rule
Obligatory I’ve been using the same $20 impact socket set professionally for 20 years and its fine
Hmm. Kinda rhymes with "garbage crate". Horrible store. I'm never going back.
I've always been partial to "hazard fraught"
I disagree with it being garbage though. It's true, most of their merchandise isn't the highest quality, but when you need a tool for just one project that you don't already own and can't seem to borrow from anyone it's a great place to get that tool on the cheap, and for some oddball tools there's may be no convenient place to track them down.
I was recently working on a small project I needed a router for. In this case I was able to borrow a router from a friend but he only had one bit for it and it wasn't one I needed. If you haven't priced out router bits recently, they tend to go for like $20-30 a piece from the usual big retailers.
I was able to get a set of 15 bits from harbor freight for about $30-40 and they did exactly what I needed them to.
I'm sure they probably won't last as long as the good bits, but for how often I need a router these will probably last me the rest of my life.
Needed a rivnut tool for a different project a few months ago, and nowhere else around me carries them, beat waiting a couple days for one from Amazon.
Also have a bike rack from them that's doing the job just fine, and a handful of little weird tools for various hobbies.
I wouldn't trust them for anything my life or livelihood depends on, but for little incidental things I can't borrow or find anywhere else they do just fine.
Both of the tools I tried from there failed hard and fast. The first was a rotary tool. I ended up keeping the plastic and using a motor from a printer instead until I bought my Foredom.
The second was a vibratory tumbler. After running it for a few hours, I walked into my garage to find it filled with smoke and the acrid smell of burning electrical equipment.
I took it back to the store for a refund and the manager threatened me, saying that he wouldn't let me make any more returns after bringing back an obviously defective piece of garbage.
Glad you had a better experience, but that place is definitely not for me.
Hand tools are fine 99%. Cutting tools--the part that actually does the cutting--are usually fine. Power tools are very hit or miss. Like, I would definitely not buy any cordless or corded tools there. Air tools are generally okay, but don't work as well as other, more expensive air tool brands. OTOH, I've used a Harbor Freight flooring stapler that failed in under a day of use, while the Husky branded stapler did just fine for a few years. Impact sockets are good, although they're limited on sizes (I don't think that they have anything bigger than 22mm). I've been using a Harbor Freight floor jack and jack stands for a few years now without issue.