Link: http://HarborFreightReviews.com/HFRreviews.html

Item: Bench Grinder with Flex Shaft
Item number: 43533
Retail price: $39.99
Frequent sale price: $24.99
Target price: $20 or less
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We like the item but we don't like the price -- not even on sale. Use a 20%-off coupon to bring the price down to $19.99 and we'll rate it a great buy putting it our Hot Buys list. Pay the higher frequent sale price of $24.99 if you must (i.e., you have an immediate need for the item and can't find a coupon), but expect $20's worth of service. (Actually, you'll get more value than this, but keep your expectations low, please.) And don't even think about paying the full retail price of $39.99 or you might be very disappointed and complaining about the quality of Harbor Freight tools.

Hint: Part of the trick with Harbor Freight tools is buying them at the right price. Then you shouldn't expect as much out of them as you would if you paid the full retail price which is often inflated. Their tools are overall good-value-for-the-money, but you have to buy them 'right' using our target prices as a guide. Then you'll find that you usually get much more than your money's worth.

This is actually quite a nice, small, bench grinder (borderline miniature, but then there's that "theory of relativity" again). It has a 3" grinding stone and a 3" fiber wheel with variable speeds up to 10,000 rpm. It also has a 31" flex-shaft attachment which accepts Dremel-style accessories. (Both of our evaluation models were missing their flex shafts. Therefore, we were unable to test this component, but we did note that many display and return units were lacking this attachment.) It's absolutely great for working on small parts and has a correspondingly small footprint on your workbench. The variable speed control is an especially nice feature, allowing speed adjustment appropriate to the work. The flex shaft can be very handy, although it's likely to be prone to failure and won't last nearly as long as the grinder itself. In short, we love this little grinder and use it frequently for our electronic and other prototyping.

Even at the frequent sale price of $24.99, it's a good value. Our expectations for Harbor Freight are somewhat higher. We think the normal retail price should be around $24.99 (maybe $29.99) and the sale price should be $19.99 (i.e, our target price). We come to expect good-quality tools at ridiculously low prices from Harbor Freight, and they just need to nudge this one down a notch or two more to make us happy shoppers. Keep those 20%-off coupons coming and you (Harbor Freight) make the grade on this one too.

"Give them an inch and they'll want a mile." Harbor Freight management is probably thinking their prices are already very low and we at Harbor Freight Reviews want an even better deal. Well, they're right. Harbor Freight tools are generally good-value-for-the-money, but we've come to expect "good-quality tools at ridiculously low prices" (seems we've read something like that in their mission statement). Keep the prices low and we'll keep buying -- and so the wheels of capitalism spin. Play hardball if you must with your Chinese suppliers, Harbor Freight; there's plenty of profit in the deal for everyone and the consumer can still win big time too!

Bottom line: A good buy at our target price which is 20% lower than Harbor Freight's usual sale price; lucky you have a 20%-off coupon to apply to this item when on-sale. Don't have a 20%-off coupon? You should click here to read Notes for the Novice Shopper.