HF Tools

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  • LCHIEN
    Internet Fact Checker
    • Dec 2002
    • 20913
    • Katy, TX, USA.
    • BT3000 vintage 1999

    HF Tools

    I found this amusing.
    I bought a set of HF stubby wrenches... only about $7 for a set of 12 SAE and Metric wrenches. Quite serviceable.

    But this is laughable, the consistency of their product.
    In the picture below, there is side of metric wrenches,
    Of the six wrenches, look at the logo on the shaft:
    1 in upper/lower case
    3 in all upper case
    2 with no logo at all (and no its not on the back)
    Even the U/C ones, they all look a little different size and maybe stroke width.

    the other side, the SAE wrenches, 4 blanks, 2 U/C

    Oh, well. interesting. At least it's spelled right.

    I guess its a matter of product documentation and quality control.
    I can see you would make all of one size first then make the others serially, but the engraving or stamping process should be fully documented so it comes out the same every time.
    Attached Files
    Loring in Katy, TX USA
    If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
    BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions
  • atgcpaul
    Veteran Member
    • Aug 2003
    • 4055
    • Maryland
    • Grizzly 1023SLX

    #2
    I wonder if it's consistent with other stubby wrenches at your store. Maybe each wrench is made at different factories and they're all bundled at a different location.

    My parents just had a new house built. We stayed overnight on Christmas. EVERY single screw on all the outlets and switch plates was aligned straight up and down. Then I noticed that the faux cathedral grain on the composite decking also all faced the same way.

    Comment

    • Cochese
      Veteran Member
      • Jun 2010
      • 1988

      #3
      I've always said that the end user is the QC at HF.

      I've been ogling their 21-gal compressor online all morning. I don't have room, I know I don't have room. I'm still trying to figure out a way.
      I have a little blog about my shop

      Comment

      • LCHIEN
        Internet Fact Checker
        • Dec 2002
        • 20913
        • Katy, TX, USA.
        • BT3000 vintage 1999

        #4
        Originally posted by atgcpaul
        I wonder if it's consistent with other stubby wrenches at your store. Maybe each wrench is made at different factories and they're all bundled at a different location.

        My parents just had a new house built. We stayed overnight on Christmas. EVERY single screw on all the outlets and switch plates was aligned straight up and down. Then I noticed that the faux cathedral grain on the composite decking also all faced the same way.
        I've been in engineering product development for 40 years.
        When we document a part we put specific instructions and specifications and artwork reproducible files attached so that a panel silkscreen or engravement made by one shop or person will match that made at another shop. They must follow the directions and the QC dept must enforce it.

        But I've been at places where non-conformities have been passed just to get product out the door on time. And frequent rejections will raise the price or hours of labor on the next batch.

        When I was summer-jobbing in a electronics assembly shop I was taught to line up all the screw heads exactly the same way.
        Loring in Katy, TX USA
        If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
        BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

        Comment

        • Knottscott
          Veteran Member
          • Dec 2004
          • 3815
          • Rochester, NY.
          • 2008 Shop Fox W1677

          #5
          Even the font looks to vary a bit. I've got a similar Pittsburg set that's beautiful and all identical. One of the bigger concerns I have with recommending HF tools is that the one the next person gets may not perform the same as mine....
          Happiness is sort of like wetting your pants....everyone can see it, but only you can feel the warmth.

          Comment

          • capncarl
            Veteran Member
            • Jan 2007
            • 3564
            • Leesburg Georgia USA
            • SawStop CTS

            #6
            I purchased a set of stubby mm and sae a few years ago when they started selling cheap at the big box stores. I hate to say it but they are my least used tool in my box.

            Comment

            • JimD
              Veteran Member
              • Feb 2003
              • 4187
              • Lexington, SC.

              #7
              I don't see a use for stubby wrenches either. But if you're going to get them, HF prices would be the way to do it.

              I don't care about the alignment of the screw heads on the outlets but I do want the light switch to be the one closest to the door when there are more than one. If there are more than one light, I want the closest to be the one that is the closest switch. In bedrooms, often we have a separate switch for the fan, it should be further from the door. When I did the finish electrical on our addition, I wired it this way. Often the electrician just does whatever. I moved them around at our last house.

              Comment

              • tfischer
                Veteran Member
                • Jul 2003
                • 2343
                • Plymouth (Minneapolis), MN, USA.
                • BT3100

                #8
                Originally posted by JimD
                I don't see a use for stubby wrenches either. But if you're going to get them, HF prices would be the way to do it.

                I don't care about the alignment of the screw heads on the outlets but I do want the light switch to be the one closest to the door when there are more than one. If there are more than one light, I want the closest to be the one that is the closest switch. In bedrooms, often we have a separate switch for the fan, it should be further from the door. When I did the finish electrical on our addition, I wired it this way. Often the electrician just does whatever. I moved them around at our last house.
                I've always done switch plate screws horizontal, but when we had our kitchen remodeled last year the elecrician did them all vertical. Either way, it looks better to have them consistent. Not something you really notice but now when I go somewhere and they're willy nilly, it does jump out at me.

                The electrician wired the two switches by our kitchen sink "backwards" in my opinion. I always feel the sink light should be closest to the sink, and the disposal furthest. He did it the other way. My old mnemonic was always "you want to keep the garbage far away".

                Comment

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