Worthless Tools Gallery. What Tools do you regret buying?

[Mark in Indiana]

I can't think of any "worthless" tools that I've ever owned. I've had several over the years that I've been disappointed with the quality and several that were good tools, but so specialized that I wondered why I bought them, outside of a "cant pass it up" price.

I've seen tools that made me ask WTF. The worst one that I can think of is a C-Man 10" woodworking table saw with a granite top. Oh, anytime a laser guide is put on a tool.

Happy trails.

 

[Eddyde]

There have been a few dissapointments over the years but the first is always the worst.
I was 18 and very much into woodworking at the time (1980). I saved up to buy Sears Craftsman Router, their top of the line, "2 ½" Hp. with dust collection, built in light and "micrometer" depth gauge. Wow, I thought I was in the big leagues with a real pro tool that would be with me for many years to come... Well the ugly truth reared its head during my first project. First, the "micrometer" depth gauge was almost useless being poorly designed rack and pinion arrangement, executed in cheap plastic. Then I found the base wouldn't square to the tool without several rounds of tweaking. But worst, the base wasn't concentric with the spindle... Crestfallen as I was I managed to work around the routers issues and complete a few projects. Then about a year and a half later, I was using it to cut a dado in some pine for a bookcase When it started making a hellacious sound and sparks started flying out of it. Upon opening it up I found the top bearing had come loose, being held in place by a small stamped metal bracket "secured" by two screws threaded directly into plastic. I managed to temporarily fix it and complete the bookcase but I never used it after that.

 

[schor]

I went to one of those 2 day tool sales where they sell everything dirt cheap, most likely because you cannot find proper ul listing or cas approvals on the tools, chinese junk that was probably headed to the scrap heap.

I bought a reciprocating saw for $14 after I asked to plug it in and it ran, looked kind of like a makita but no branding at all. I thought oh well, how can I go wrong for $14.

First time I tried to use it I found out that it would not hold the blade, once I started cutting the blade would always come loose.

 

[hman]

Not strictly a "tool," but ...

After reading the thread about fire extinguishers here, I went searching for a CO2 unit. Found a used one on Craigslist, listed for $40. Saw the pressure test date was old, bought it for $30. Went to have it tested and filled - if flunked!

The cylinder outfit that did the testing thinks they might be able to find a replacement cylinder next week ... the valve head was OK.

The good news for me is that, after getting test/fill quotes from a couple of fire extinguisher vendors, I kept looking until I found out where the tests are actually done ... and the failed test cost me only $30 instead of their usual $50. Just grumpy that I flushed the original $30 down the toilet.:angry:

 

[savarin]

Those hand mitre saws that have a large blade tensioned by a long length of all thread at the top of the frame and the whole thing slides between 4 vertical guides on plastic guides and flops all over the place and everything is made from the skimpiest pot metal die castings with the clamps that hold the length of wood in place bending at anything over featherweight pressure with a blade that blunts on anything over balsa wood hardness.
But, they look good.

 

[petcnc]

Worthless vices story for my X2 mill

When I first bought my mill I bought a cheap 80mm vise to learn how to use the mill.


As you can imagine it was far from perfect for precision work and as I was feeling more and more comfortable in using the mill I decided to buy a PRESISION VICE to be able to do some more presision work.
Mr e-bay helped me to find a vise within my budget (80 GBP) and I ordered it.


When the vise arrived I noticed a few things I was not happy with:
A. Marks



B. Holes on the body



C. Missing/broken body parts



D. Scratches everywhere





E. Pin was bent and in bad shape





F. Drop marks



I was so frustrated with the tool I asked the seller to replace it. He agreed under the condition to send back the vise. When I tried to do so I found out that the postage would be half the value of the vise. I felt it was not worth it to pay another 40 pounds for it so I asked the seller to refund 50% of it's value and I would keep the vise.
He agreed and I have a vise I donot like and I never used.

PART B KURT STYLE VISE

Next I put some rectification work on my first 80mm vise and now I can do work on the mill in a satisfactory level



BUT...

I was not totaly happy with it and recently I decided to buy a Kurt style vise for my mill.
I chose I reputable seller (Chronos.ltd.uk) and I ordered a cheap (in comparison to real KURT) Taiwan-made Vertex VA-4 (Four inch) vise.

I thought a 100mm vise will fit nicely on my mini mill....

When the box arrived I was shocked by the size of it.

It had the same size to my mill table!!!



When I opened the box and took the handle out I froze!!
It was half the size of the mill table!



When I put the vice on the mill table I felt a complete idiot.

Even without the base It was a monster





Who will imagine that 20 mm (0.8") will make that difference!

New vise is nearly double the size of the old one!!!!

As I like the vise, from the looks of it anyway, I made an important decision: To keep the vise and change the mill for a bigger one.
That also means that I need a bigger shop and deeper pockets that I have not got at the moment!

Until then I remain with two vises that are worthless tools for me.

Thanks for your understanding!

I had to confess it to somebody.

As you can imagine my wife is not the "understanding soul" that I wish to be, so she knows nothing on that!!!

Petros

 

[jocat54]

Not to break the spirit of the thread but, what do you use to cut cement board. I was gifted 28 4 x 8 sheets of cement siding, it has a wood grain on it, painted white (primer?) Plan on using it to line the blacksmith shop. I made a couple of cuts with a 7 inch metal cutting abrasive wheel in the skill saw, lots of dust and horribly slow. Picked up a masonry one, is it going to be any better?

Greg

Will post some of my useless purchases, will just have to think which were the worst.

Cutting cement with circular blade is going to a lot of dust no matter what.

If your going to be cutting much of it, get a cement board electric shear.(name brand) They work great and no dust. They do leave you with about a 1/4" strip on every cut though. I have one that has cut many feet of cement board and still work great. Bought them used.

 

[catoctin]

I must have bought that same saw a few years earlier. Worthless! I replaced it in 1997 with Hitachi sliding compound miter saw with a mobile base.

The first stationary power tool I ever purchased was a Craftsman 10" Radial Arm saw. It was purchased new around 1987. The frame and arm were so flimsy that a nudge with your hand would knock it out of alignment. I quickly sold it an found a well used 1960s Dewalt that I still have. I have used some decent Craftsman tools but that model saw was not one of them!

 

[mzayd3]

ok, you guys got me thinking. I would say anything branded as craftsman being made today is junk. I recently bought a 3/8" universal that rotated itself apart the first time I used it. Also, a few years ago, I bought a "twin spin" circular saw. (I couldn't upload a pic, sorry). It had two 6" or so blades that rotated opposite of each other. These are supposed to be able to chew through steel, wood, aluminum, blah, blah, blah. "One tool for everything"- I should have known. At any rate, I was taking some aluminum awnings off of my mom's house and used this saw to reduce their volume. (This was the first time I used the thing) After a few minutes, it started to smell like a burning varnish. I shrugged it off and kept going. Well, it started getting hot, to the point that I had to put gloves on. At this point, I knew it was toast. I kept using it until it caught on fire, and ended up returning it because it didn't perform anywhere near as intended.

Also, as it has been mentioned, any tool with a laser mounted on it. I remember Craftsman selling a drill press with a laser on it. My only thought was "How dumb! It's going to drill where you put the stupid thing! If you don't know where that is, you have no business using any sort of tool."

 

[chuckorlando]

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Now thats an awesome end to a story. Change the mill and shop to fit the vise ahahahaha. We can all feel your pain I am sure.

As I like the vise, from the looks of it anyway, I made an important decision: To keep the vise and change the mill for a bigger one.
That also means that I need a bigger shop and deeper pockets that I have not got at the moment!

Until then I remain with two vises that are worthless tools for me.

Thanks for your understanding!

I had to confess it to somebody.

As you can imagine my wife is not the "understanding soul" that I wish to be, so she knows nothing on that!!!

Petros