Rant: Why, Home Depot, Why?!

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So I figured I’d do a little project, I need 500mm panels for. Home depot says they wont guarantee better than 1/8" accuracy for their cuts, so I figured I’d ask for 20" (508mm) which should allow plenty of leeway, so I can cut the 500mm on the CNC, and still bring home the panels in the car.

And they’re 20" – provided you measure at the correct place.

I checked at the panel saw when the sheet was put on. No debris or scraps under it, the panel was jn good contact with the rollers at the bottom… when I got home, stacked the panels against the wall, and noted that they didn’t align like I thought they should… each panel is at a different angle!

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This one is nearly square, it’s only about 4mm out by the opposite side.
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This one is nowhere even close. More than 15mm out at the other side of the 4’ run.

As far as I can tell, no 2 crosscuts are actually parallel. I had it cut to 5 pieces, and all 5 have a discrepancy measured at the top and bottom. The only 4 square corners are the panel’s original corners. A couple of pieces have opposite slants off square on each side.

I can still use this, and I will, but next time, I’ll spend the $10 extra to get cut panels from a different shop. I might need to change my width dimension from 500mm to 490, though.

This is the second time I’ve had off-square cuts from Home Despot. My LR3 table wings are off square, too.

I can only surmise because the cuts aren’t parallel that the rollers on the bottom are somehow loose and able to move. The sheet seemed to stay in contact with the rollers as it was being cut, but the results speak for themselves. Oh and the saw blade seems dull, lots of chipping on the melamine…

Good thing I didn’t need square corners for a table saw!

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Wow… Hornbach does “millimetergenauer Zuschnitt” (they guarantee it’s to the mm) and they really do.

I’d not accept this wood there. They told you they can’t guarantee the size, next time, ask if they can guarantee squareness. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I was just back there today.

Short answer, once it’s through checkout, they guarantee nothing.

If I’d checked before I left, they would have cut another, and put this in the bargain bin.

Well, I can use it, but not for what I initially wanted it for. I need square corners for that, so a redesign was necessary.

This was to be used for a bartop arcade with Capcom style controls, after ripping it to the exact 500mm, and cut most of the angles on the table saw, but that needs square corners or else the panels will remain off square, and nothing will fit.

Instead, I have a design that is entirely for CNC cutting featuring the GRS / Thunderstick flight yoke. It’s narrower, not needing 2 player access, so only a bit wider than the intended monitor. Being narrower, the off square cuts will matter less.

But that will be delayed, I have another project with a deadline for next week.

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HD and Lowe’s panel saws (and their operators) can really only be trusted as far as getting pieces small enough to fit in your vehicle.

On the rare occasion I’ve needed them to make a cut for me, I give myself an extra 2” for my own sanity.

I’ve been known to take a track saw with me and make a cut in the parking lot when I’ve been without a pickup truck…

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I have done this. The flat carts they have work pretty well as a table and I bring my own or also buy a piece of purple foam.

I don’t have a track saw, but my circular saw and door board works fine.

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This episode had me seriously considering buying a cordless circular saw…

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The new generation of cordless, brushless circular saws are extremely capable and extremely light weight. Very worth the purchase, in my opinion.

As for the thread topic, both big box stores by me - orange and blue varieties, are hit or miss.

I had one fellow that I suspect had been in the trades and who cut stuff near perfectly and even asked about whether I’d thought about kerf and what my downstream plans were.

I also have had some bad experiences.

I have also done the trick where I brought a circular saw and I now keep a sheet of purple foam insulation in the bed of my truck specifically for breaking down materials. I also have a cordless shop vac and a broom.

I’m not alone either- I’ve had a couple of times where both I and a parking lot neighbor were cutting something to fit our tucks’ beds.

A good saw guide and some decent clamps to keep the material from doing anything squirrely are worth it.

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Yeah, it’s the hump of buying batteries and chargers that have kept me out of the cordless market. Then of course you’re “locked in” to that particular brand for tools.

So, I’m choosing carefully.

The cheaper brands are of course cheaper, but maybe not as good. I can’t imagine that I could really go wrong with Makita, but then I’d have to pay Makita prices, even for tools I’d seldom use.

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Yes, true.
In my case, a family member gave me a starter set as a gift something like 20 years ago. Then another family member gave me a charger and battery set, and I started down a path where I now own a bunch of tools and batteries in that family.

One thing I learned along the way and which has kept me with my current brand is that the batteries have integrated BMS, which means I can make adapters and use those batteries to run other stuff and not have to worry about starting a fire or killing an expensive battery pack.

That’s the one recommendation I’d make- whatever ecosystem you choose, you may find a battery system with integrated BMS to be favorable if your use case is like mine. Some lines have different types within the same family. As an example HF tools (not my primary brand) have Bauer and Hercules. Bauers appear to be pack only, where Hercules have integrated BMS.

If all you ever do is swap batteries in one product line, then it probably doesn’t matter as much.

It’s a shame there isn’t a battery interchange standard, and more than a little surprising no regulators have stepped in to mandate such.

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I have a battery powered grinder with a cut off disk for this very reason. They won’t/can’t cut Unistrut at the store.

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I agree. I wish they would do this. Even though my whole family uses Dewalt there are some tools they don’t have.

Option

I haven’t used this specific one before but I’ve used similar. They aren’t perfect but they do work.

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I use a TON of battery tools. I had a bunch of rigid stuff but their lifetime warranty is a crock. So about 5-6 years ago I started transitioning to Milwaukee and I couldn’t be happier. Have not had a problem with a single tool and they all perform amazingly

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I bought the cordless circular saw because I tripped over the cord, which threw the saw to the ground and it never cut straight or square again.

I went with makita. I have about 4 batteries now and a bunch of tools. I thing the obscure tools are actually more expensive than buying a new tool, battery, and charger sometimes. But I make do with the limited tools I have. I want to get a cordless jigsaw, for example, but the brushless one from makita has terrible reviews. So I just don’t have one.

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I grab my jigsaw all the time for cutting out a piece of scrap to easily put on the CNC. One that has all kinds of unusable areas all in the way. And I use my Oscillating saw for cutting tabs the rare ocasions I use them. Both are great to have for sure!

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My ryobi set has been most accomodating. I buy new batteries “after” Christmas, the BIG sets usually go on a decent sale.

There is always this place too.
https://www.directtoolsoutlet.com/brand/ryobi

I have had my ryobi set for almost 20 years I believe. Drill just went bad. I use Circular saw more now, and got rid of chain saw, that thing was useless.

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These have BMS integrated in every battery pack, so can be used for other things.

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I just went down the rabbit hole on this in regards to adding Ryobi batteries to power wheels for that reason! Most others seem to add it in the tool. But Ryobi having it in the battery means we can get “Super Power Wheels” without destroying the battery. :laughing:

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I got into DeWalt because over a decade ago a tradesman helped me at the orange big box. I was looking at cordless drills, and he convinced me to purchase a smaller, lighter set that would do 85% of all the drilling I needed. For the rest I had a corded drill.

He pointed out that a heavy drill is heavy all the time, even when you don’t need it, working overhead on a ladder. Super cool guy when we talked. At that point I asked what he recommended, and I bought that. I think that drill/driver set lasted 12 years.

But the lack of battery standardization is awful at multiple levels. Once in, that brand doesn’t really have competition, so can set the prices on their battery. And, when a different maker has a tool that might be better at a given task, I often balk because I don’t want a whole second battery setup. So I force some other tool (I already own) to do the job.

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Haven’t tried battery adapters, but am mentioning incase they’re the right option for people looking to hack their way out of being trapped within a given manufacturers tool-battery eco system/trap… https://www.amazon.com/s?k=battery+adapter+dewalt+to+makita

EDIT: Nevermind, just saw @Sabotage37 mentioned something like this already.

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Yeah, it’s a problem.

I look at the corded tools I have. Bosch drill, Makita router (And of course trim router on the LR) B&D circular saw, DeWalt hammer drill, Craftsman jigsaw… they were the best “bang for the buck” in the particular tool category, usually because they were on sale at the time I bought it. (The hammer drill, for example was the same price to buy as it was to rent the exact same model for a weekend that I needed it. That was a no-brainer purchase, even if I liked another brand more.

The circular saw gets used to cut small pieces for the CNC often,

Then I think… How many tools to I really need to be cordless?

Okay a circular saw or the like would be good for the Home Depot case, where I need stuff cut and basic square cuts are apparently beyond the capabilities of the saw operator. (Never mind dimensional accuracy!) but do I need a cordless saw at home when I have a corded one?

So, maybe tools that I would plan to use outdoors. The only outdoor power outlet that I have is on the garage. I could maybe use a reciprocating saw, leaf blower, and a couple of things for outdoor use.

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