26
That $7 squaring jig from Harbor Freight actually works
Picked up one of their aluminum corner clamps on a whim last month figuring it would be trash. First time I used it on a face frame for a kitchen job in Portland, the thing held dead square with no slipping. I clamped it down, glued the joint, and when I checked with my Starrett square it was within a hair. Anybody else find a cheap tool that surprised the heck out of them?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
carter.gavin1mo ago
Picked up their cheap digital caliper for like $15 and it's been surprisingly accurate for measuring casework. I've checked it against my Mitutoyo and it's off by less than .001 which is good enough for most framing work. Definitely got my money's worth out of that thing.
6
reese_nelson1mo ago
Man, that's a solid find for seven bucks. I grabbed one of their cheap trigger clamps years ago expecting it to break immediately, but it's still kicking and holding pressure just fine. Good to know the aluminum corner clamp is actually legit too.
2
skylerrobinson1mo ago
That $7 aluminum corner clamp you mentioned is actually one of the better things they sell. I picked one up a while back for some cabinet doors and it held square just fine. @reese_nelson, you're right about those trigger clamps too, I've got one that's been a workhorse for years. One small thing though, the Harbor Freight digital caliper is usually fine for casework like carter.gavin said, but I've tested two of them against my Mitutoyo and they were off by a solid .002 to .003. Still plenty good for most framing but worth double checking on a critical fit.
2