What Harbor Freight Tools do you like/dislike?

[tnmike]

I thought this might be an interesting topic. I know you have to be selective at Harbor Freight but I have had good luck with some things.

The ones I like are have gotten good service from are:
6 inch digital calipers
IR Digital Temperature Probe (600F max)
4x6 metal bandsaw
24 inch breaker bar
one dollar files..
4" C clamps
12" bar clamps
10 ton porta power (This thing is great)

The ones that I do not like are:

ANY blue cordless power tool. Pure junk. The batteries will not hold a charge.
Black spring loaded mini clamps. The plastic broke on one before I used it.


Any others out there???? I am about to purchase a 2 ton folding shop crane/engine hoist. Its on sale for 147 bucks and I have a 15% off coupon. Has anyone used one of those????

[Brianstick]

I have a hf 2 ton engine crane that i bought back in 1990. The one i have does not fold but i think it is great. The welds on it look good too. I have used it for all kinds of engines including pulling snowmobile engines all the way up to cast iron big block automotive engines. I have lent it out to numerous freinds to help them out with their problems also. It's going on almost 20 years now and for $229.00 i couldn't go wrong. Think how much i would have spent to rent one all those times.

[tnmike]

This is a link to the hoist Im talking about. With the sale and the coupon it will cost about 125 dollars. Seems like a good deal to me

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=35915

[Brianstick]

Are they going to give you free shipping?

[1990notch]

Originally Posted by tnmike

Any others out there???? I am about to purchase a 2 ton folding shop crane/engine hoist. Its on sale for 147 bucks and I have a 15% off coupon. Has anyone used one of those????

I bought the folding 2 ton hoist about 2 years ago. Same deal, I think it was $135 plus tax. The one I got was red & black. Has a spring loaded hand knob on the valve, which I like a lot. All in all, it's well worth the money for what you get. The ONLY thing I didn't like about it and I think this goes for all of them from China anyway, is the cast wheels are thin in the ribbed section and not exactly concentric to the axle. I may make my own wheels for it some day but the existing ones have held up so far.

Even though it's rated at "2-Tons", I don't think I'd try to lift anything even close to that with it. I think it's fine though for even a big block and trans.

[Mr Jimi]

You might want to take a look at the pneumatic 2 ton folding hoist at TSC
http://beta07.tractorsupply.com/weba...g=true&cFlag=1
I hate to pump one of those things
Jim

[tnmike]

There is no shipping..I am picking it up at a retail store about 20 miles away.

[Hotfoot]

I am on my third HF 2 ton hoist,having sold the others as I moved a couple times. I have never had a problem with them. I have lots of HF tools, mostly non-power. I have never had problem taking any hand tool back for an exchange (they balked on my "exploded vise", but I tried!). I regularly scan the new coupons and the flyers. That's where the bargains are! I almost bought the English Wheel and planishing hammer last week while I was in there, but, thankfully, the were both sold out, and would be in right after Christmas...gave me time to cool down...I get so revved up every time I'm in there!!

[stevinator]

So far I have a 4'' orange angle grinder that works well,a small benchtop drill press the 39.99 one.I just purchased the 14'' chop saw for 49.00 plus 15% off and haven't tried it yet.I have quite a few of the c-clamps in various sizes as well as their welding magnets.Also some of the bar clamps for wood projects.

[yorkiepap]

Hey guys,
Like tnmike, I have gotten some exceptionally good items from HF, and you gotta do some homework to find them thru others' usage and recommendations. Here are some purchases I made that have been great:

1) 9 X 20 bench lathe: Our company bought this from my recommendation. In the 8 years we've used it, had to replace the drive belt once. We turn smaller items, so this is not a unit for severe/heavy turning. Works great.
2) Bandsaw Blade Welder: I bought this 2 yrs. ago & have fabbed 200-300 1/2"W blades, & got it on sale for $109. Paid itself off 10 times.
3) Orange paddle switch 4 1/2" grinders....absolutely great. These are the best ones as I have one in the mobile unit & one in the shop and I have used them, at times, ruthlessly.
4) (2) 4 1/2" air grinders: In 4 years, only had one that broke the pinion gear & they replaced it.
5) 1/4", 3/8". & 1/2" air ratchets: Work great. Been able to loosen some nasty rusted bolts with the additional help of my trusty can of PB.
6) 1/2" drive deepwell impact sockets(black ones): These are exc. sockets. Also been used brutally at times....no failures.
7) Air body saw: Works great for sheetmetal. Only had to do some slight deburring on the blade jaw to remove some burrs where blade inserts.
8) Central Machinery 21 gal. vertical air compressor: This unit resides in my mobile unit and has performed flawlessly.
9) 2 lb. spools of solid MIG wire: Got 12 rolls, .023, .030, .035(4 ea.), labeled "Century" for $2.99/spool. Made in Italy.....welds excellent.
10) 6010, 6013, 7018 & 7024 stick rod: Labeled "Weldit", made in Taiwan. Welds exc..
11) 10 ton Porta-Power: This is a great tool & has performed superb. Really handy to straighten some nasty repairs I encounterd.
12) (2) 12Ton & (1) 20Ton air/hydraulic jacks: These are used on (2) vertical presses, & (1) horizontal press. The (2) presses at work(V & H) have been in daily use for 5 yrs. without a problem. My home(12T) has been in use for 2 yrs. without a hitch.
13) Air inflators w/ circular gauge: work great.
14) (2) Blue Flame helmets & (1) New Large Window helmet: Not one problem with the B/F in 3 yrs, & the Large Window works superb for TIG.

Anyway, these are some of my purchases I am quite satisfied with and have saved a substantial amount that allows me to get something else I may need. It is an absolute we cannot get away from Chinese products. You just gotta do some homework.

On a final note: I have a Miller 3035 Spoolgun on my 172 Challenger(shop) and have a Riland M250L Spoolgun Mig welder in my mobile unit and they are identical and every part will interchange. There is no designation on my Miller 3035 that indicates "Made in USA". The only difference is the cable sheath covering(nylon) on the Miller & rubber on the Riland. Anyway, I hope this may help others to investigate the units I have had good luck with & may be considering purchasing....Denny

[Brianstick]

I like the HF 1" dial incators. The last time I was in there they were on sale for $6.99 each so I grabbed a handful of them. I use them in a harsh environment so the life expectancy is only about a year anyway.

[Brianstick]

I have a HF wood lathe that I bought in 1994. The on/off switch and the drive belt only lasted 6 months, which I replaced. Other than those 2 things it has been a good machine. I even went and bought a 3 jaw and a 4 jaw chuck for it to make it more versatile. The machine is made in china but it has a 3/4-16 spindle thread so many things will fit onto it. I've made some wonderful things on it and I wouldn't even sell it at this point. I've had the motor so hot that you couldn't rest your hand on it, but it never failed.

[Rocket Flier]

My favorite is any I couldn't possibly afford or maybe even need. The auto-darking helments is the first come to mind. Hard to justify $200 over my full faced 12 shade. Also have a 4" grinder which I leave a wire brush on. Nice to not have to change THAT out.

What I like most is there are things I don't have to make. Need a wrench to leave at the gas grill? Buy a $1 wrench and leave it there. Need a wrench which can get under something, but has to get over something else? Buy a wrench, heat and bend. I have a jointer which I couldn't loosen 1 nut to adjust a blade. The cheap wrench that came with the machine rounded the nut. Bought a thin nose vise-like pliers and ground the nose thin enough to fit the narrow space. Worked great!

I've several of the $3 voltmeters. Always losing the blasted things at a launch or whatnot.

Best thing is probably having 20-30 clamps at hand. Everytime they're a buck or 2, I'd buy a couple. Working on the trailer I had most of them in use several times.

CRANE: I know PepBoys has been selling some sub-$100. Not sure if they are 1 ton or 2, but you might check it out.

[whateg0]

Well, gosh, lemme see...

I have a $39.99 drill press that I finally had to replace the chuck about a year ago. I have had very good luck with the orange angle grinders. I have the bigger belt/disc sander which sands effectively.

I have the dial calipers from there. The 24" breaker bar hasn't broken yet, though a couple of times I was bracing for it to. I have a few of the yellow heavy duty tie-down straps and use them often. I've been impressed with the fact that even after being used heavily and dropped and kicked and such, they still freewheel easily when unrolling them. I also have a come-along that works very well and also unwinds easily when I want it to.

I just bought the planishing hammer and it seems to be good for a starter. (It's not as nice as some of the more expensive ones I've used, but it'll planish and I was able to stretch some aluminum sheet very easily.) I would probably stay away from the e-wheel, though it may be okay for a starter also. What I've read about it is that the anvils really need to be turned to fix the radii, and that they use a non-standard bearing size. Oh, and I have access to a really nice e-wheel about 15 minutes away.

I have their body hammer set but haven't really abused it yet. I do have a bunch of socket sets and wrenches from there. I've used MIG wire from HF and it didn't seem too bad, but I'm not an expert on wires either.

I have some bar clamps that have served me well, though they have also seen limited use. Then welding magnets work well enough that I try to buy a couple each time I'm there, although I don't always make it to the register with them.

I have a Mityvac pump that will pull a decent vacuum, though I did have to clean it out once, which was pretty easy to do. And I have a couple of impact wrenches, a die grinder, and air rachet, and hoses, as well as a filter/drier and air fittings from HF.

I guess I've never bought a tool at HF that I was disappointed in. Then again, if you set your expectations low enough, any kind of success will seem great. And I do buy carefully there. I wouldn't touch any of their cordless tools.

And the steering wheel puller seems sufficient, although I did have to do a little modifying to get it to fit the steering wheel in my truck. I would stay away from the pulley pullers, though - the one with 3 reversible arms that hang off of a short link. The link, which looks like a piece of small strap, is very weak. It might be okay with those replaced with some MS strap, though.

Dave

[whateg0]

Oops, forgot about the welding hood. My HF AD hood worked well for me while I was using it and I never felt bad if it fell of the bench or got some spatter on it. If I didn't have the Satellite, I wouldn't hesitate to buy another like the one I have.

Dave