New Harbor Freight mini mill - does not work

[mechatronic]

Good point KDN Tool,

Here's my email to HF customer service. I'll tell you what they think of my request for 'additional consideration'.


Dear Sir or Madam,

The mini mill did not work when it arrived. The green light came on when the main power switch was closed (switch cover opened), but he motor did not come on when the speed potentiometer was turned. After several hours of discussion with online groups and inspection of the machine I found that the transformer on the speed control board was loose. I desoldered it and the plastic frame was broken as were 4 of the 5 leads. I soldered the leads and re-installed the board and now the mill works.

Your technical help line put me on hold for 45 minutes and their suggestion was that the thermal switch or switch was broken. They offered no other help or replacement parts.

I would like you to send me a new controller board because the transformer still has a broken frame which leaves it overly succeptable to shock. Also, I would expect some additional consideration given that I had to spend four hours troubleshooting and fixing a product which should have worked out of the box, and because my efforts have saved you considerable time and money.

[JFettig]

Have you tried harborfreights online chat thing? I used it once and it was a lot easier getting through than trying the phone, I personally really do not like harbor frieghts setup and they way they opperate.
When I first was about to buy this mill, they tried hard to have me convinced that this thing would be able to hog a ton of material with no problem..... good thing I did some reading


Jon

[trubleshtr]

I'm betting there's a guy at harbour frieght shrugging his shoulders...
Glad you got it working.

[mechatronic]

Our story so far:
The mill arrived DOA because the transformer on the motor control board was loose due to a broken frame. Somebody must have whacked it before closing up the plastic box. I re-soldered the leads and got it working again. The mini mill been out of commission for the last month because the vibration of using the machine broke the new solder joints. Let's face it, a solder joint is no match for a 3 oz transformer bouncing back and forth.

I finally got the new motor control board from HF on Tuesday, three months after I originally requested it.
The Harbor Freight service was the worst that I have ever encountered. It takes at least a half hour to get anybody on the phone. They ignore emails. They did not keep me updated on the status of the replacement under warranty. Overall I spent 8 hours fixing a mill that arrived DOA, and another 6-8 writing emails or on the phone, and too many just fuming over the situation. I will never use them again,
even for a tarp or electrical tape.

I would advise everybody to avoid using Harbor Freight, they just don't give a damn about their customers.

-Alex

[Bloy2004]

I like Harbor freight! When I bought a floor model drillpress on sale, it had a table with the channels for catching and draining oils used in drilling. Since i use it for wood often, I wanted a "flat" type table for interchanging. Noticing another model had the table I wanted, and that it had the same size insert stem, I ordered one knowing that it would be several months to get here from china... total cost for the extra table? $15.00...

..of course I called HF occasionally just to see what was up, but I knew they wouldn't be able to give a decent answer other than that the order was still active.....
I usually joked with them that it maybe had just passed Hawaii..

Prior to ordering, they even checked to see if there were damaged/returned presses that maybe a table could be taken off of. ...At least the local store did.....

Another time I ordered a "slide" type 10" miter box.... it came in the mail all busted up....a quick call and I had authorization to return for full refund...shipping included. ...and in return they sent the 12" slider(on sale) for the difference in cost....that one came through in GOOD shape!

[voltsandbolts]

Isn’t it wonderful to have the skill and tools (CNCzone) to take a mediocre Chinese made mill (substitute any tool you want here) and make it your own custom work of art!

[NC Cams]

If you want a mill, buy a BPT or some other high $$$ machine.

IF you want a work in progress and you are price sensitive, the imported stuff serves the purpose.

Heard it said once, ".... buy the best, you won't be disappointed..."

Having said that, caveat emptor.

BTW, I bought an import lathe from Grizzly (see price concious qualifier note above that I did heed).

Anyway, my partner dropped it of the fork lift while moving it. Called them, did inventory check while on phone, got parts in 3-4 days and the parts were definitely odd ball, non-typical, they should never need replacement parts.

Some suppliers are simply better than others for some products