Okay, okay...I've taken my first step toward the perigee of life, the great crevasse of doom where lives are at risk and reputations are at stake. I broke down and bought a Harbor Freight brand Portaband.
I've been lusting after the real Portaband, but its two hundred some odd price tag put it on the back burner. Today I saw somebody using that Harbor Freight one and I asked him what it was. He seemed happy with it. "$65 on sale right now!" he said. After work I jetted to Harbor Freight, combed the aisles and finally broke down and bought the Chinese version of the Portaband. It was 1/2 off of its normal price, which was 1/2 off the real Portaband price! I could buy 4 of these things for the price of one Portaband. Or...I could buy that big Ryobi set with the chain saw and everything, plus this Portaband wannabe, and still be money ahead of a DW hammer drill and a battery!
Am I bad? I do like cutting pipe with a Portaband, rather than my DW recipro saw. The company has a real Portaband on the job to compare the Harbor Freight version to tomorrow. Porter Cable VS. Harbor Freight! THE BATTLE OF THE CENTURY!!! HAR HAR HAR...Stop...my sides are hurting...
I might not have the Portaband, but my Central Machinery P.O.S. might be like a free tool if I buy the Ryobi set instead of the DeWalt stuff. $65 for a wannabe Portaband, how could I go wrong? It looks halfway decent. If the band stays aligned, etc. it might make a few cuts. Hey, I look at it this way: eventually I'll get a real Portaband, but for now I'll be able to buy a lot more tools and still have a wannabe Portaband. I don't make a million cuts, so it will probably last a while.
