When I first retired back in 2007, I got bored two years later and worked full time at a Harbor Freight for an entire year.
Fully half of the lathes, mills, and other complicated bench machines were returned within a week, with the buyer cussing that they were total junk, out of spec, and wouldn't hold their specs for five minutes even when properly set. (The return rates on the compressors and generators were even worse! Key parts were often defective, and were totally non-replaceable and non-repairable.) I remember one guy who brought a model of compressor back three times for NIB replacement units during a two week period, and finally gave up and got his money back.
So, if you are planning to do any detailed milling, requiring close spec tolerances, . . . forget it.
Buy a moderately used quality machine, for half price. Assuming you take care of it, you can use it for years and then get your money back.
For something like a large crow bar, a rough metal or wood cutter, a sledge-hammer, or a huge adjustable crescent wrench, the tools at Harbor Freight are a great buy. (The best deal is the multi-tool, which it the cord powered oscillating tool. These generally cost 1/3rd of what a Bosch costs and actually last longer. I get 5 years of really hard use out of those tools without burning them up!)
The other fantastic buys are the large white canvas painting clothes, and the plastic tarps.
Hope this gives you some useful info.
Mannyrock
