revisting the futility of comparing products online
June 18, 2012 at 10:39am
I regularly forget how futile it can be to try to compare products online before buying - you may be missing the essentials...
This time I was needing a small band saw. There is a Harbor Freight store nearby, so I check the product reviews online. Customer reaction is bi-modal:
a) "Cheap ones are junk, they don't work right."
b) "Learn how to properly "set-up" the saw, replace the stock blade with a good one, and you'll be fine."
I then visit the store for a reality check. Object of my desires is army green, steel and cast iron retro. Also some plastic - but hey, it's the space age now, no longer the long march. I try "hands-on," which doesn't mean I actually use it to saw. I mostly do idiot things, like turn a knob and make the blade guide go up and down. But I am curious about how the blade rides on the guides. So I push the guide sideways with my index finger - and am surprised how easily the whole assembly displaces, apparently because the sturdy metal guide holder is mounted in a piece of non-rigid plastic.
DOH! (enlightenment in reverse) The guy talking about proper "set-up" must have been full of hot air.
This time I was needing a small band saw. There is a Harbor Freight store nearby, so I check the product reviews online. Customer reaction is bi-modal:
a) "Cheap ones are junk, they don't work right."
b) "Learn how to properly "set-up" the saw, replace the stock blade with a good one, and you'll be fine."
I then visit the store for a reality check. Object of my desires is army green, steel and cast iron retro. Also some plastic - but hey, it's the space age now, no longer the long march. I try "hands-on," which doesn't mean I actually use it to saw. I mostly do idiot things, like turn a knob and make the blade guide go up and down. But I am curious about how the blade rides on the guides. So I push the guide sideways with my index finger - and am surprised how easily the whole assembly displaces, apparently because the sturdy metal guide holder is mounted in a piece of non-rigid plastic.
DOH! (enlightenment in reverse) The guy talking about proper "set-up" must have been full of hot air.
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