Worst Tool Ever Bought

[tlak]

I bought two air hoses from Lowe's. I was working on my house with the air compressor in the garage so one hose laid in the driveway to get air to the house. The hose totally deteriorated from the sun that there were cracks on every inch of it and it would pop at anytime, anywhere on it. The second while I still have and use will pop a hole just bending it sometimes.
I've taken stuff back to just about everywhere and got a refund or store credit but this hose looked so decrepit they wouldn't give me anything and it wasn't that old.
So don't buy the red air hose at Lowe's.

 

[1936]

A BIG second on that for Harbor freight air hoses.

 

[Mike M]

Reminds me of Dad's old air hose. Older then me 48 yrs. and still holding !
They sure as heck don't make hose like they used to. Air or hydraulic and even tires. Rubber today just falls apart.

 

[Stephen Newell]

Well that goes with any vinyl hoses. They don't hold up to the hot sun. I even had a new vinyl garden hose burst because it was in the sun. Sometimes I wish they would un-invent plastic.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Carbon black added to the rubber makes it sunlight resistant, they must be leaving it out of the mix. The worst tool I have owned is a grinder I bought from a tent tool sale on the side of the road. It cost $5.00 ,it ran about 10 minutes, started smoking,made aloud bang and then caught on fire.

 

[portgeorge]

Hi, Lesson learned several years ago , is never purchase electric tools from these sales tents on side of road or at large yard sales. They work for a few minutes, heat up and smoke, you are out your money. These must have been rejects. Cheers, Murray

 

[36 Coupe]

If you are talking angle grinders.My B&D grinder cost 69 bucks many years ago and has been used hard.I replaced the cord thats all.Why do you think you can buy a good tool for 5 bucks.My 3/8 drill and electric saw cost 30 bucks each in 1958 when wages were 1.35 an hour.They are still in use.

 

[Jim in N.M.]

I needed some "Good" snap ring pliers, Bought the best one's I could find on flebay, paid their big price! Pure Junk. And I still need a good (large) set for my backhoe!!.....Jim in N.M.

 

[greygoat]

As a former Army aircraft mechanic, then a
Railroad locomotive mechanic, I've NEVER, EVER
had any problems with Snap-On tools. Their snap
ring pliers were fine!
Snap-On had a different set of distributers that
called on railroads...not the same as the "Tool
truck" guys who rape garage mechinics. Railroads
pay only 25 or 30 percent of the tool truck
prices, and we mechanics,(Burlington Northern)
could order tools for home use at railroad cost!

 

[Ultradog MN]

Did the tent say Harbor Freight on the side?

 

[2x4]

bought 2 air hose new in plastic wrappers. Hooked"em up & air poured out of the fittings at both ends! They were Chinese & fittings were for acetylene. Had to cut off both ends, go to NAPA & buy fittings & hose clamps to make it work. Who would've thought the fittings would be wrong!

 

[36F30]

(quoted from post at 15:42:19 10/01/11) bought 2 air hose new in plastic wrappers. Hooked"em up & air poured out of the fittings at both ends! They were Chinese & fittings were for acetylene. Had to cut off both ends, go to NAPA & buy fittings & hose clamps to make it work. Who would've thought the fittings would be wrong!

Acetylene hoses have backwards / lefthand threads, how did you even hook them up?

 

[Chuck (CA)]

T post jack from HF just bent when I tried to pop out the first T post. When I brought it back, the guy implied that the one I bought never works.

 

[dr sportster]

In the 1970s when the first Chinese junk tools started appearing I made the mistake of buying a bench grinder. The motor smoked the first time I put a piece of steel against the grinding wheel.

 

[ihredo4]

Craftsman Robo Grip pliers. Those are the biggest piece of junk I ever bought. Tried useing them several times and finally chucked them in the hedge row somewhere. Never thought twice about that since I was gkad they were gone.

 

[Stan in Oly, WA]

I had a similar experience at H/F. Five or six years ago I got one of their 7" angle grinders for a project that involved hours of grinding. After the smoke got out of the second one in a matter of a few days, and I was returning it for a third one, the manager suggested that I might be better off buying a Milwaukee (somewhere else). I felt like that was a fair appraisal of the situation.

Stan

 

[palerider]

Craftsman tools. I"ve been turned down flat twice in trying to collect on the "lifetime" Craftsman "gaurantee". There won"t be a third time.

 

[da bees]

Boss sent his flunky to help us build a wood plank fence. Told me to use company charge account to buy "cheapest"claw hammer available since this guy probably never need it again. By noon the cast iron head mushroomed,split off a shard imbedding it the guy's arm. I took the guy to get tetnus shot,cleaned up and rest of day off(paid). Never looked at a cheapo tool since without recalling that hammer.

 

[ohio]

Bought 100' of harbortion freight airhose, It ruptured the first time it got to 125 psi. it was rated at #200.

 

[36 Coupe]

Claw hammers should be forged and tempered hard.This makes them dangerous for mechanics use.A good quality Estwing hammer will cost 20 bucks now.A hammer that costs less is suspect.A 16 oz hammer is too light for driving spikes.

 

[JML755]

(quoted from post at 22:55:43 10/02/11) Craftsman tools. I"ve been turned down flat twice in trying to collect on the "lifetime" Craftsman "gaurantee". There won"t be a third time.

Curious what you tried to return. I just returned some 1/4" sockets over the weekend. No questions asked, didn't even look at them, just handed me a receipt to get it out of the store. There's more to your story, I suspect.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Had same problem with couple of Harbor Freight air hoses. They do have some inexpensive stuff that works well, but air hose isn't included.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I've got a couple of Harbor Freight grinders and they do get hot if used for long periods, so I don't do it. Also got a couple of used industrial ginders that have scratches and dings that I bought extremely cheap at local auctions which one can run all day. If you have a lot of grinding and didn't want to buy an expensive industrial model, purchase a couple of the inexpensive ones and alternate. Probably still cheaper than the expensive model and if only a one time project, it would be something I would consider.

 

[tlak]

Just like I told it. Probably the women thing, a girl was checking in returns and started hym hawin before she ever called a section person.

 

[Stan in Oly, WA]

That's good advice. Thanks

Stan

 

[Randy NWMO]

Interesting. I work at BNSF myself, and I have seen three 1/2" drive impact sockets break in the last 3 months. Yes, they were Snap-On, and yes, they were marked impact sockets. Guess you can't count on ANYTHING anymore ....

 

[jackinok]

probably the worst was a name brand angle grinder .Place i bought it had that made in usa one, and a cheap chinese made one.So being im a SEMI nice guy i thought i would buy the american made one WRONG MOVE! took it home plugged it in and it literally in two seconds was on fire!Since i was standing on top of a piece of equipment i just yanked the cord and gave it a throw.Of course when it hit the ground it went in to 19 pieces.I took it back never really expecting anything to come of it and i wasnt surprised when they didnt take it back.Bought the cheap 8.99 chinese one and have been using it for probably seven or eight years now.Taught me a lesson,when the US started letting the chinese set the quality standards,and all they had to do to claim better quality was to build a slightly better piece of trash,the whole industry went downhill so fast its unbelieveable.I'm hard on tools and dont cut them much slack i will admit,but truthfully ,i dont see much difference in any of them anymore.I'm convinced they all come out of the same sweat shop in the slums of calcutta,and the only difference is the name,and wheather you want the chrome plating polished or not!.most places has a high end line of tools its true,but theres so much money to be made on that cheap junk not many carry them on hand,most are special order type stuff.

 

[johndeerefan]

I was in a pinch and needed a new volt meter immediately. The nearest store was Wal-Mart. I usually don't buy any tools from them, but I thought the $25 digital volt meters should be fine no more than I use it (mainly for checking trailer lights and plugs).

Long story short, I used it the day I bought it for something A/C. Tonight (3 months later) I put it on D/C voltage and it would never read 0. This POS is the worst freaking tool I have bought. Might have known the quality you would get from Wally World.

 

[Anonymous-0]

IHRed, I second the robogrips from sears. Just be glad you got them in the hedge row before the slipped and pinched the $#!+ out of your fingers.

 

[lblock]

(quoted from post at 10:28:20 10/02/11) Craftsman Robo Grip pliers. Those are the biggest piece of junk I ever bought. Tried useing them several times and finally chucked them in the hedge row somewhere. Never thought twice about that since I was gkad they were gone.

hose things are crap threw mine in the dumpster my employee got them out and he tried to use them.15 minutes later Dumpster lol