Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
Some of you guys know that in my regular life I am a CPA (and now working for a not-for-profit also a property manager, refurb manager, landscape designer, counselor, and who knows what else!
). Anyway, my experience with power tools has been pretty limited, at least until I joined this forum. Reading after some of you guys got me to visit Harbor Freight and to see that there are sure a lot better ways to restored grill fireboxes than sand paper and Easy-Off!
One of the first big helps was to see the value of an angle grinder and cup brush. I took note that a number of you use this heavily discounted "Drill Master" sometimes on sale for as little as $9.99 at HF:
I have noticed that the cheap price comes with some complaints. Mostly that it overheats. Of course, at this price you could buy 2 or 3 and swap them out. But that also could be a pain and mean having a place for duplicate tools. (My tiny shed doesn't allow for much of that, so I do see that as a downside.)
The day I shopped, they had a pretty compelling deal on the next model up. This is the "Chicago Electric Power Tools" version. (I guess there is a Chicago China I don't know about or they just shamelessly appropriated the Windy City name; definitely not from a factory in Chi-Town) Anyway, it is a little higher amperage. Who knows, maybe a little better built. I can say that it does get hot, but has never gotten unusable. It has survived a number of firebox clean-outs and still is chugging along.
Like any guy, once you start looking at tools, I started thinking about how nice it would be to have something better. One piece of experience (still very limited, I admit) that I have picked up is that the regular wire cup brush works fine in most situations and doesn't leave obvious scratches. On the other hand, as has been noted, they do throw splinters
. A little of that is to be expected and a good reminder of how VERY IMPORTANT safety is in using these tools. Another issue, though, is that the regular brush can't always readily cut the most burned on stains. That is where a braided brush shines. So, I began justifying the "need" for a second grinder so that I could always have one ready with each kind of brush. No annoying change outs!
OK, I am lazy!
I also admit that the Harbor Freight "high end" brand Hercules immediately caught my eye. This one has all the bells and whistles, at least to me. I like the paddle switch especially. I think it looks really sharp and feels well made, although it is also pretty heavy.
At $89 it is no bargain. You can't use the 20% or 25% off coupons on Hercules brand stuff, so you have to hope for a specific sale on this one. I decided that it was more than I needed, and I didn't like how heavy it is. I doubt I need all that amperage anyway.
The next model down, another Hercules, lacks the paddle switch but does feature a trim design, a seemingly quality feel and better power to weight ratio than the bigger Hercules.
It has a lot of appeal and at $42.99 on sale, not outrageously priced. Again, no discount coupons, however. I was tempted. Very tempted. But it bothered me to spend that much and not get a paddle switch. Bruce is definitely one of our most experienced members, and I put a lot of value on his comments about a paddle switch being a desirable upgrade.
So, then there was this one:
Back to the cheaper China - I mean Chicago - Electric brand, but also eligible for coupons. Has a paddle switch, CHECK. Higher amperage and more heat resistance, CHECK. An attractive price, CHECK. And, it even looks a little nicer! $29.99 and with 20% OFF only $23.99. SOLD!
So far, I think I made a good compromise purchase. We will see what long term use will bring. I plan to use this one with the regular brush and my older, cheaper basic one as a back-up with the braided brush attached.
TO BE CONTINUED...
). Anyway, my experience with power tools has been pretty limited, at least until I joined this forum. Reading after some of you guys got me to visit Harbor Freight and to see that there are sure a lot better ways to restored grill fireboxes than sand paper and Easy-Off! One of the first big helps was to see the value of an angle grinder and cup brush. I took note that a number of you use this heavily discounted "Drill Master" sometimes on sale for as little as $9.99 at HF:
I have noticed that the cheap price comes with some complaints. Mostly that it overheats. Of course, at this price you could buy 2 or 3 and swap them out. But that also could be a pain and mean having a place for duplicate tools. (My tiny shed doesn't allow for much of that, so I do see that as a downside.)
The day I shopped, they had a pretty compelling deal on the next model up. This is the "Chicago Electric Power Tools" version. (I guess there is a Chicago China I don't know about or they just shamelessly appropriated the Windy City name; definitely not from a factory in Chi-Town
) Anyway, it is a little higher amperage. Who knows, maybe a little better built. I can say that it does get hot, but has never gotten unusable. It has survived a number of firebox clean-outs and still is chugging along.
Like any guy, once you start looking at tools, I started thinking about how nice it would be to have something better. One piece of experience (still very limited, I admit) that I have picked up is that the regular wire cup brush works fine in most situations and doesn't leave obvious scratches. On the other hand, as has been noted, they do throw splinters
. A little of that is to be expected and a good reminder of how VERY IMPORTANT safety is in using these tools. Another issue, though, is that the regular brush can't always readily cut the most burned on stains. That is where a braided brush shines. So, I began justifying the "need" for a second grinder so that I could always have one ready with each kind of brush. No annoying change outs! OK, I am lazy!I also admit that the Harbor Freight "high end" brand Hercules immediately caught my eye. This one has all the bells and whistles, at least to me. I like the paddle switch especially. I think it looks really sharp and feels well made, although it is also pretty heavy.
At $89 it is no bargain. You can't use the 20% or 25% off coupons on Hercules brand stuff, so you have to hope for a specific sale on this one. I decided that it was more than I needed, and I didn't like how heavy it is. I doubt I need all that amperage anyway.
The next model down, another Hercules, lacks the paddle switch but does feature a trim design, a seemingly quality feel and better power to weight ratio than the bigger Hercules.
It has a lot of appeal and at $42.99 on sale, not outrageously priced. Again, no discount coupons, however. I was tempted. Very tempted. But it bothered me to spend that much and not get a paddle switch. Bruce is definitely one of our most experienced members, and I put a lot of value on his comments about a paddle switch being a desirable upgrade.
So, then there was this one:
Back to the cheaper China - I mean Chicago - Electric brand, but also eligible for coupons. Has a paddle switch, CHECK. Higher amperage and more heat resistance, CHECK. An attractive price, CHECK. And, it even looks a little nicer! $29.99 and with 20% OFF only $23.99. SOLD!
So far, I think I made a good compromise purchase. We will see what long term use will bring. I plan to use this one with the regular brush and my older, cheaper basic one as a back-up with the braided brush attached.
TO BE CONTINUED...
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