Tool Review: Harbor Freight electric DA

[Mike W.]

Pneumatic DAs are so sweet, crank up the compressor and buzz along at 10K OPM or whatever speed. But they're absolutely air pigs, unless you have at least a 5HP commercial compressor you'll spend a lot more time waiting for pressure to build than you will sanding. So I bought this a couple of years ago and love it. It's not perfect, it's not as fast as a pneumatic tool, seat of the pants says it's about 2/3 as fast, it's kind of heavy and not nearly as smooth in your hand, but hit the switch and go and go until you're done. It's freakin' great. It's a bit of a beast weight wise, but lean into it with both hands and it'll drop a little but not much and just keep going. Comes with a hook and loop backing pad which I swapped out for a PSA one. It's probably not a pro grade tool, but I'm not a pro and it suits me just fine. Somewhere between cheap and expensive, a little over $50 with the ever present 20% off coupon. 4, maybe 4.5 stars out of 5 because it is heavy and vibe prone, but it's still a kick ass tool. So far I've used it more on wood than metal, but it doesn't care, hit the pedal and go.

[tig]

Now we know you've REALLY been drinking.

[John SCB]

Now we know you've REALLY been drinking.

[dsw99a]

thanks for that unsolicitated plug. Ill need one soon when i start on the body of my e12. I just killed my compressor sandblasting some rims for my f-150. I can start on my body as soon as i get a FEW more bit and pieces from a good friend of mine.

[jhh925]

Seeing a Harbor Freight tool review here reminds me to throw out an unsolicited plug for this Youtuber, a Canadian who goes by AvE.

He's often hilarious, and his tool reviews can be genuinely useful. Unlike most reviews, his evaluations are mostly tear-downs of the tools to evaluate construction, materials, components, etc. He's also has a series of videos where he built, used and revised a hydraulic torque testing device that he used to test a bunch of breaker bars and ratchets to failure.

"Keep your dick on the ice."

[mescko]

Fo-cus you FUCK!

[jhh925]

That's the guy. Someone even went to the effort to do a wiki site just to decode his vocabulary.

[EventuallyAyrton]

At least there are other people who watch him

[Prizm]

I have used for years, works good untell you drop, and the switch stops working or you break the body. I would put a hook and loop pad on it so you can switch back and forth as needed.