Central Machinery

[Kabek Johnson]

I am moving back from overseas duty and will be finally setting up a basic wood shop. I have been looking at Harbor Freight since they are close to my soon to be residence. I am looking at several things all made by Central Machinery. Does anyone have any input on there tools such as table saws, etc.

I appreciate your time.

[Richard Allen]

Hi Kabek

I like to think that every vendor has some products which are good value. I am unaware of any Central Machinery tools which represent good value.

Good Luck

[Dick Parr]

I'll second that. With the exception of maybe a jointer that a friend got. He bought a 7' jointer and hasn't had any plroblems that I have heard of and that has been 6 or 7 years ago. Every thing I have ever bought has lasted maybe for one job, if that.

[Carl Eyman]

I have had a router table with a built in 3 h.p. (sic) router that I have used since 1987. There are things about it that are inconveinent, but it works. I guess that if you examine carefully you can find pieces that are worth the money. Oh, one other example, I bought a milling machine to cut keyways in shafts before I retired 15 yrs ago. I visit my old factory once and a while and it is still going. It is used only ocassionaly, of course.

[Jim Becker]

The most expensive tools are the ones you need to replace early and often. Invest wizely, even if it means waiting and extra month or three to get quality. That said, Harbor Freight's drill presses are usually good buys and some folks have had reasonable service from the 34706 lathe. Other than that....you get what you pay for.

[Carl Eyman]

I should have added something. In both these cases the budget dictated it was going to be the cheap piece of equipment or none. In each case the results were better than not buying it would have been. In generalm I agree with Dick. I'd rather go used on a table saw, for instance, than HF.

[Gary Whitt]

I have a friend that has the 7" jointer. He's had it for almost 3 years with no problems.
He also has a 16 speed floor model drill press with no problems.
He owns 3 of their routers; one broke.
He has two of their biscuit joiners with no problems.
He gave me a 5 speed benchtop drill press that was 5 years old. I've had no problems with that.
I've had their biscuit jointer for a year with no problems.
I've had their 6" disc/4" belt sander combo for a year with no problems.
I've had their dovetail jig for over a year with no problems.
I've had their 3"x21" belt sander for six months with no problems.

Can you tell that we have a store nearby????

That being said....
I would not buy their major power tools.
I have a Powermatic TS; Ryobi MS; Ryobi BS; Dewalt planer; Craftsman router; Skil circular saw.

Hope some of this helps.

[Michael Cody]

I am moving back from overseas duty and will be finally setting up a basic wood shop. I have been looking at Harbor Freight since they are close to my soon to be residence. I am looking at several things all made by Central Machinery. Does anyone have any input on there tools such as table saws, etc.

I appreciate your time.

A lot of it depends on what you are going to do and how tolerant you are of some shortcomings.. It's also not like the basic design of most WW equipment has changed in the last 50 years .. so it's mostly about what corners they cut.

Tools I've owned or do own:

HF's lathe #34706 is as good as Jet's 12x36 or Delta's similar model. It's a great tool for a beginner and only 169$ when it's on sale. You can find reviews of it on the web by searching goggle for 34706. They have some decent beginner lathe tools for 35$ or so also. If you are turning spindles mostly, this all you need.

HF 4sp bandsaw, not a bad saw, paid only 199$ for it, had to replace the spring for tensioning .. put a riser block on it (extra 60$) -- otherwise it does what I want - cut turning blocks w/o problem. Won't tension anything bigger than 1/2" and it tracks 3/8" & 1/4" blades fine. Guides are just ok, but it doesn't resaw worth diddly ... enough power but blades won't track reliably.

HF Oil Pancake compressor -- no problems at all and a great price. 89$ on sale

HF Pittsburgh Bar Clamps -- the ones with full cast handles not the pin handled one. Good as Pony's (though some will disagree) ... 3.49$ each on sale.

HF Touchup spray gun ... good value @ under 20$ ... works as advertised.

Older HF Brad Nailer -- run away - but I've heard the newer ones are decent.

HF 18v cordless drill, worked for 2 years, died while building a 24x16 deck, clutch stripped out .. still drives light stuff ok, but clutch slips on heavy stuff. For 38$ -- hard to call it bad .. just throw it away or sell it in a Garage sale for 10$ (which I did) and buy a new one.. However to be honest, I did replace it with a used Panasonic 15.6 -- a much nicer & 10 times more expensive unit.. Is it 10 times better.. not sure but I got a deal on a used one from a buddy who uses them exclusively for his office furniture/cubicle install crews.

Other various automotive tools like pop-rivet gun, air ratchet, all ok but nothing to brag about.. also have bought a couple of cheap electric motors from them.. work as advertised but I would not use them for misson critical applications or very heavy duty ones...


Tool's I've not owned.

I have heard good things about their jointers and the price is very good. The same goes for their 3hp plunge router. HF 17" Drill press was rated best value by one of the WW mags last year or so.

Also I have seen good reviews recently of their 15g finish nailer, HLVP spray gun, HLVP Sprayer (69$ on sale), 7" metal lathe, and other non-motorized tools.


Basically if you go into HF & Central Machinery stuff with your eyes open, there are some great deals. Understand the pricing and be ready for non-hand holding mail order environment with sometimes slow shipping and you can get some great deals... Don't "brand name" envy cloud your evaluations and you can save a lot of money, but be ready for some compromises. It all depends on the customer experience you are looking for.

[James Carmichael]

I have no experience their stationary tools, although I'm looking the 7" jointer as it's on sale for $219. The CM 3/4" SDS rotary hammer I bought for $30 has been an extremely useful tool for me.

The consensus over at BT3Central.COM seems to be that the 7" jointer, 14" Band Saw, and 2HP DC are good products with the last one being an exceptional value. The standard warning from those who have them (especially the band saw) is to be prepared to spend a lot of time setting them up as instructions are poor.

[Tyler Howell]

Hi Kabek

I like to think that every vendor has some products which are good value. I am unaware of any Central Machinery tools which represent good value.

Good Luck

Richard that was very polite and correct.

[Tyler Howell]

The most expensive tools are the ones you need to replace early and often. Invest wizely, even if it means waiting and extra month or three to get quality. That said, Harbor Freight's drill presses are usually good buys and some folks have had reasonable service from the 34706 lathe. Other than that....you get what you pay for.

My first and last DP from HF cut nice eleptical holes. Nuff said!

[Bert Johansen]

Five years ago I began the woodworking learning process with a very small budget. I purchased a small drill press, stationary sander and 14" band saw from HP. All are still in service, although I have upgraded the drill press. I use the band saw to resaw quite successfully, but it takes some difficult tweaking to get the belts tight enough. I use a Timberwolf 3/4-inch blade, and the machine tracks perfectly for me. It has cool blocks, and they work fine.

The stationary sander has a cast iron platen, and is quite sturdy. I use it almost every day.

Someday I will upgrade both the bandsaw and sander, but for now they suffice.

BJ

[Kent Cori]

Another supporting vote for the 34706 lathe. I've had mine two years and been pretty satisfied with the value received for the $199 price tag. That said, I'm on my third banjo and second belt. However, these are relatively minor complaints. I also really like their $29 set of HSS lathe chisels.

I've bought some other small stuff (all less than $10) such as a full face mask, set of measuring tools, dust pan, etc. that have been reasonable deals. In some cases, I've seen the identical item under a different name sell for twice the price despite the fact that both were made in the same Chinese factory I suspect.

The bottom line is, check this and other forums for the specific item you are considering. Most are probably of marginal quality but there are a few gems to be had.

[Wolf Kiessling]

I am moving back from overseas duty and will be finally setting up a basic wood shop. I have been looking at Harbor Freight since they are close to my soon to be residence. I am looking at several things all made by Central Machinery. Does anyone have any input on there tools such as table saws, etc.

I appreciate your time.

I DO NOT LIKE CENTRAL MACHINERY TOOLS. Having said that, I still purchase stuff at HF. Their hand tools, for the most part, are okay for me and sometimes you can get factory reconditioned brand name stuff (Delta, DeWalt, etc) But, again, Central Machinery, fuggadboudit......