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HF Clones


Cr8ondt

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So it looks like Harbor Freight has launched some DeWalt clones, 

20V Lithium Cordless 1/2 in. Compact Drill/Driver Kit

Hercules 63380 20V Lithium Cordless 1/4 in. Hex Compact Impact Driver Kit

Hercules 63378 20V 5.0 Ah Hercules XP Battery

https://www.harborfreight.com/catalogsearch/result/index/?dir=asc&order=EAScore%2Cf%2CEAFeatured+Weight%2Cf%2CSale+Rank%2Cf&q=Hercules

 

There are some minor differences from the originals, mostly cosmetic but the drills seem to have metal chucks and the impact has a single LED.

I'm very curious if the batteries are actually cross compatible, from the images they look spot on. 

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the title is a bit misleading; I had to read it twice

(originally I thought the pictured dewalt drill was a clone, but now I understand the tought:

the hercules drill is supposed to be a clone / different color, etc.

If it is a "clone" the battery & charger would be compatible;

Not sure on this !!

 

well,

this dcd780 is a very old model, 3 Generations ago

 

cheers

midogrumpy

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2 hours ago, Claeg said:

It's cool to see that HF is improving/updating their cordless tools. However, at that price point I would just go with Ryobi.

Touche', sir. I couldn't agree more. Cool that they have that option, however, I would just rather go with a platform that has multiple tools, amps, etc. Not saying this system will be bad, but Ryobi has 70+ tools in their system... all at a reasonable price.

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I like the look, and the color is nice but I also agree about Ryobi.  

 

https://toolcraze.net/hercules-20v-cordless-power-tools-harbor-freight-selling-blue-dewalt-tools/

This was interesting.

Quote

What’s interesting is that like the Dewalt DCB101 charger, the Hercules charger can charge 20V batteries and 12V batteries. This makes me wonder if we might see upcoming Harbor Freight Hercules 12V slide pack battery power tools.

 

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Found this on garage journalec2a87f2f1a66c949e235f5a2a14f2a2.jpg

Apparently a slight bit of cutting but does fit, however it doesn't charge.......

Probably due to lacking...6b88d57affd152e6be2bbb841566c93d.jpg

a8e30ff163527c568f13d4ccf50c77d1.jpg

This grove needs to be removed for fitment.

More info: https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6596943

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21 hours ago, framer said:

these hercules drills are not worth it.  too expensive for harbor freight stuff.

heck i seen 18v white makita drill driver set at home depot for $155.  better off with a name brand.

 

The Makita sub-branches are no where near the quality. I have a maktec trimmer router and it is a piece of junk. I have only had it if for about 18 months and have already replaced a few parts on it. Went a bought a ONE+ the other week. Loving it!

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I went to harbor freight the other day and they had both Hercules and Bauer on display so naturally I started playing with them they actually look and feel nice.. not 100 dollar nice though like others have said would rather buy a name brand for that money, you can get the brushless DeWalt set for 269 right now and to get both of these would be around 220 I would def spend that extra 50$ or so all day.. but I do applaud the effort

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These do look decent, but I've yet to venture into HF to check them out.  One thing that I think a lot of us tool aficionados are overlooking is the demographic of Harbor Freight's customers.  While many of us may buy consumables, certain hardware, or tools that have positive reviews on one of the number of "Pass or Fail" threads and websites, the average Harbor Freight customer seems to enjoy their bargain prices and relative ease of shopping.  Brands like DeWalt are featured at home improvement and hardware stores, but I'd bet that many HF shoppers spend little time in those.  After all, though these tools are being compared to DeWalt, which we all know can be had for very little more at certain times of the year (not to even mention the added value of a combo kit), they are also competing against the myriad of lesser brands being sold elsewhere.

 

So, Joe Consumer shops around for a new drill while avoiding the oftentimes busy and confusing (to those who only visit a handful of times each year) home improvement big box.  He hits up the local hardware store, where he might see Craftsman, DeWalt, Milwaukee, or other brands at near full retail price (a local store near me sells the Flexvolt grinder kit for $379--the same one that is currently $249 at Home Depot).  He then sees Bostitch and Black and Decker at Walmart, noting that the Bostitch is almost $100.  Finally, he heads to Harbor Freight to claim his free measuring tape and use his 20% off coupon and notes a prominent display comparing their new cordless line to that DeWalt drill that cost $180 at the hardware store.  He's seen how much cheaper they are on a lot of tools and has heard of or witnessed their liberal return/exchange policy, so he figures that these new cordless tools must be the "real deal".  If they cost so much more than other HF tools and compare to DeWalt in terms of performance, they must be super premium by Harbor Freight standards and far surpass all of the off-brands and cheaper brands sold elsewhere for the same price.

 

I stalked a DCK286D2 kit for a few weeks while in Drill Sergeant School last year.  Watched it drop from the holiday price of $299 to around $250 and finally snagged the last one for $222 out the door (after .mil discount and taxes).  Not everyone has the patience, luck, desire, or money (even after the price drop).  Then too, not everyone realizes that Harbor Freight does make a hefty profit off of what it sells.  Those "free" goodies are paid for via other means.  I bought a dirt tamper from there a few years ago for what I thought was a decent price only to find that while it worked it was very poorly made.  A few weeks later I ventured into a local big box store and found a US-made Collins Axe (I believe) tamper with a nice hickory handle that would have cost less after my discount. 

 

TLDR: I think these will find moderate success and that sales will continually grow so long as the product is good enough for the average Harbor Freight shopper.  Not everyone knows that the professional brands are so diverse in features and price (DeWalt alone currently offers no fewer than five regular 20v Max drills from $99 on up).  They also don't realize that all of this stuff lures them deeper into HF's version of hell: that free flashlight and small purchase turns into "oh, but the price!" and could turn into a $100+ excursion.  Finally, you truly do get what you pay for.  If something has a regular price of $8.99, is on sale for $3.99, and capable of being purchased with a 20% off coupon, then it is worth $3.20 at most--even if you paid regular price for it.  Factor in a free flashlight and it's worth even less.

 

Disclaimer: Staff Duty, rambling post after 24 hours of being awake with at least three more to come, sorry for appreciably lengthening the thread with only one post! 

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It does seem that HF is putting out a slightly higher end product to compete with the Home depots and Lowes of the world. But it's still HF and when something is sold there and is not a lot cheaper then they will have a hard sell for a consumer that has some experience with tools. There may come a day that HF will sell a comparable product and it looks like they are heading that way. But the price will reflect that to be sure. And after all the price is the only real reason to go to HF in the first place. 

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So, I walked through HF earlier and they definitely have these displayed prominently.  Besides the large display at the entrance, Hercules and Bauer also have end caps devoted to them, a couple of standalone displays, plenty of stock in the overheads, and their normal display in the power tool section.  I picked up the drill for a few seconds and noted that while it feels pretty powerful, the rubber overmolding just feels off compared to that of every DeWalt tool I own (the number of which is starting to get ridiculous).  

 

As usual, I walked out after debating on the wooden work bench or the five drawer service cart.  I never seem to have coupons on me, but rarely make a purchase even with one.  

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15 minutes ago, DR99 said:

I don't get the point of Having 2 new brands now though why not just one?

 

I can only figure that they want to compete against brands like Porter Cable (which the Bauer tools do slightly resemble) and Ryobi.  I can see them putting a hurt on the former, but Ryobi has a much more diverse platform and outstanding value.  It makes little sense to me, but I suppose HF wanted to sell a lithium powered line of tools at a decent price as well as attempt to cut into more premium markets.

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2 hours ago, DR99 said:

I don't get the point of Having 2 new brands now though why not just one?

They had shit for drills and stuff before so guess two is better then one lol. At least the Bauer tools are priced more like harbor freight tools should be.. but they don't have numbers near the Porter Cable or ryobi... 1300 on the torque of the impact isn't very good that's barely over the number Makita puts on the sub compact impact they sell..

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