About to place order from Harbor Freight and CMA; looking for input...

[CRXSi90]

I'm going to make an order tomorrow and wanted to check and make sure everything added up.

I'm going to get the Chicago Electric Polisher from Harbor Freight and the 6" velcro backing plate from CMA to go with my 6" [Buff & Shine] and 7.5" w/ 6" velcro back [Lake Country MFG.] pads from Top Of The Line. That'll all work out right?

In some of my looking, I found a bunch of 6.5" velcro backing plates, but they wouldn't fit either of my pads because they are absolutely 6", no more.

I know everybody loves CMA, and I'll probably be ordering anywhere, but does anyone know of a place to get a 6" velcro backing plate for a rotary for less than $16.95?

The loving CMA part sounded kinda strange; I was thinking about Harbor Freight in the back of my mind...I haven't heard the same affection for them, but nothing bad here either. Is there any reason why I should hesitate to buy from them?

BTW, TOL is great, these are the pads and product I got from them...oh, and a nice little box I got from Menards for $2.50!

Thanks a bunch, I'll be checking back in the morning if not sooner.....I really gotta go do my homework now.
[AP English....making my own inferno...I'm being guided by an English teacher...yep, its a suck-up!]

[Jimmy Buffit]

I think you have a good plan.

Is there a Harborfreight retail store close to you? Their ground/regular shipping has a reputation for being quite slow... I bought from them online on at two occasions - seemed ok.

Jim

[Mosca]

Harbor Freight's reply to my "where's my order" type inquiry (I still don't have it)...

"Your order was shipped to you via UPS on 12/09/03. Please allow up to 14
business days for delivery from the ship date.
The items 34136 and 34137 are on back order until approximately 01/01/04.
They will be shipped to you once they come into stock. Back order dates are
only estimate dates and are not guaranteed."

I guess as long as you don't need anything for Christmas, huh?


Tom

[Doc96]

APPLETON,WI 3325 WEST COLLEGE AVE 920-733-8424
GREEN BAY,WI 1301 BROSIG ST 920-465-6871
MADISON,WI 4617 VERONA ROAD 608-276-7934
MILWAUKEE,WI 4698 S. WHITNALL RD 414-744-0955

The above are the WI retail stores in WI as posted on the Harbor Freight site. If interested go to their site and see if there are others in areas that you may be visiting.
Doc

[Dude]

Harbor Freight's shipping worked okay for me. I ordered the DeWalt from them earlier this month and had it in about a week.

Unlike most other retailers, Harbor Freight does not email you wiht updates on the status of your order. No automatic "your order shipped today, the tracking number is..." email is sent. A package just shows up at your door.

[Bill D]

Last time I checked, TOL should have everything you are looking for. I would go with TOL over CMA, better service, better prices. I always felt CMA didn't appreciate my patronage especially after they charged an 85 cent difference on my credit card when I redeemed a gift certificate.

[CRXSi90]

Thanks for the replies, I was worried I wouldn't get any help here.

Since there's not a retail store close to me, I guess I'll be ordering by phone or net. I'm glad to hear reports of what ordering from them is like so I won't be too surprised when it isn't as quick as other places.

The polisher is for a Christmas present, but it is for me, so I don't mind waiting.

Bill D, I'd order from TOL if I could, but it seems that they don't have a 6" velcro backing plate for a rotary. I just got the pads in the picture from them which are 6", so I figured I'll start there so I can use them on both my PC and rotary, then upgrade if I see the need later.

Did I miss the 6" backing plate on their site?

Thanks again,
Kevin

[Bill D]

Hi there Kevin,

I see what you mean about the site. I should have mentioned I ordered by phone with TOL, I think I spoke with Irene personally. Seems to me the 6" rotary backing plate should be a comon item.Because I had such a pleasant expereince speaking to TOL by phone, I'll order that way again. This was the only site I ever called.

I would give them a call, 1-800-533-5743.

I'm sure they will go out of their way to help you out. Let us know how it turns out.

[CRXSi90]

Thanks a bunch, I'll call monday. (tried earlier today, but apparently not open saturday ...no prob.)

I'll let you know how it turns out!

Kevin

[CRXSi90]

Well, I haven't gotten the chance to call yet, but I'm wondering if this is what they intend for use with 6" type pads...
http://www.topoftheline.com/5velbacplat.html
The plate measures 5.5" in diameter and they say it is for use with their "7.5" Lake Country DuraFoam, Wool, and DuraStrand pads." I'm thinking this might be what I need, but I'll probably call just to make sure.
It has a centering tool and the hole for that which is nice.
The cost is $12.95 and their shipping seems to be pretty honest, so I'm not disappointed here.

Also, I thought I'd give an update, I ordered the polisher on the 20th of December. I can't wait until it arrives!

Kevin

[CRXSi90]

I thought I'd knock this back to the top with an update...

I just ordered the 5.5" backing plate and Hi-Temp's Terminator Paint Sealant - 16oz. I had been curious about that, and I've promised myself that I'll use it up so I don't have a ton of stuff that I don't use lying around.

The polisher was ordered on the 20th of december and still isn't here as of the 1st of Jan., but I'm not surprised and will be patient. I wouldn't be surprised if the TOL order and HF order got here at about the same time.

It looks like they recieved the order 12-22 and was shipped 12-23 via Parcel Post, so I'm counting on it coming sometime before the 6th of january. [10-14 days shipping]

blah, it'll arrive when it does, I'm just giddy.

[bet993]

Here is an interesting read on Harbor Freight


Ok I could not fix this link for some reason, scroll down to my next post.