I killed it

[sailor55330]

My HF Multi-Tool. I've been using it a lot lately for sanding my deck rails. In aggregate, it has probably run 15-20 hours in the last week, usually in increments of 2-3 hours at a time. It finally died yesterday. The motor still runs, but at a reduced rpm and the oscillations have stopped, so something internal has snapped. All in all, the product is about 3-4 years old and honestly, I've beat the snot out of it. Given that I only paid $16 for it, I really don't have any complaints on the tool life. I bought it knowing that it was basically a "disposable" tool if you will---meaning there were no expectations of long life. It actually has served me well and I feel I got more than my money's worth from it.

FWIW, I also killed a ROS from HF last time I did a deck. For me, this just proves that some things from HF are pretty good, provided you remember your initial investment.

[poolhound]

Very true. I have no problem using HF tools if they are used less often or I know they will get heavy usage for a specific project. As you say the cost is usually very low and built into the overall cost of a project like a deck or new bathroom its fine to think of them as disposable. When I know I need a higher level of performance, function, capability and longevity I go with the best I can afford.

[cwsmith]

Like maybe my (the best that I could afford) Ridgid JobMax cordless... that didn't last a year, and probably had less than a half-dozen hours on it total. Batteries were a total disaster and even the warranty replacements were failures. At slightly over a $100, I definitely didn't get my money's worth.

CWS

[sailor55330]

ON the flip side, I replaced the multi-tool today with another from HF-----it came without any accessories, hex key, or bolt to hold accessories on......and it died after 30 seconds of use. 70 mile round trip to replace. Now I'm in the hole.

[Pappy]

My favorite HF 'disposal' is a 4 1/2" grinder. ~$15 on sale and they hold up to about a year of abuse.

[JimD]

I'm on my second HF multi tool too. First one lasted years and wasn't babied. I think the first one was my first HF casualty.