Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[lostcreekranch]

Why do they call their 4 pound hand sledge an 'engineer's hammer'? That would be a mechanic's hammer. Mechanics get bigger hammers. Engineers get sharper pencils.

I bought the HD 4# drilling hammer to use with my kindling cracker. Perfect size with the short handle.

4 Lb. Drilling Hammer

 

[Diggin It]

I used my HF portable crane to lift my HF 20 ton press. I built a mobile base for the press so, was going to lift it up, onto the mobile base. I decided, while it was in the air, to remove the angle iron bases and drill them on my HF 13" drill press.

Mine came with holes. I set it all up on the driveway. I decided to put it on a wood base to make the footpint wider to reduce the tilt risk. Cut a couple of 2 x 12s, then manhandled/tilted the assembled unit onto them, then drove lags. Used a hand truck to move the whole thing into the work area.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Mine came with holes. I set it all up on the driveway. I decided to put it on a wood base to make the footpint wider to reduce the tilt risk. Cut a couple of 2 x 12s, then manhandled/tilted the assembled unit onto them, then drove lags. Used a hand truck to move the whole thing into the work area.

I've had mine for several years. The drilling was easy on the drill press. I wanted the base to make it easy to move around and the 5" swivel casters, with brakes, raised it by 7 1/2" which I also wanted.

 

[dragoneggs]

I've had mine for several years. The drilling was easy on the drill press. I wanted the base to make it easy to move around and the 5" swivel casters, with brakes, raised it by 7 1/2" which I also wanted.

I like the look of those casters. They don't appear to be HF? I have bought and used a lot of HF casters for mobile base builds. I usually just weld them on to the bottom of cabinets or other frames I have built.

 

[lostcreekranch]

I like the look of those casters. They don't appear to be HF? I have bought and used a lot of HF casters for mobile base builds. I usually just weld them on to the bottom of cabinets or other frames I have built.

I wanted casters I could lock with my foot and got them from Amazon ... $30 for four rated at 400# each.


GloEra 5 Inch Swivel Caster Wheels Heavy Duty 1500 LBS Capacity with Safety Dual Caster, 4 Pack All with Brake No Noise Lockable Wheels (Black) GloEra 5 Inch Swivel Caster Wheels Heavy Duty 15 LBS Capacity with Safety Dual Caster, 4 Pack All with Brake No Noise Lockable Wheels (Black): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

 

[Fallon]

Just curious, why do you need to lift that big woodworking equipment? And whatcha got that weighs 1000 pounds, big planer or something? All my woodworking equipment is on mobile bases but I don't think I have anything that heavy. I think my 16" planer is my heaviest and about 450 I think.

I've got a 1,000lbs lathe. Metalworking not wood. My old L3200 would fit in the shop with the ROPS down. The new cabbed L4060 wont. Borrowed a friends HF engine hoist to put it on its stand.

The table saw is probably 300-400 lbs. But I have it mounted on a mobility base already.

I'd love the L3200 to mount a furnace & some other stuff to the ceiling.

 

[dragoneggs]

I wanted casters I could lock with my foot and got them from Amazon ... $30 for four rated at 400# each.


GloEra 5 Inch Swivel Caster Wheels Heavy Duty 1500 LBS Capacity with Safety Dual Caster, 4 Pack All with Brake No Noise Lockable Wheels (Black) GloEra 5 Inch Swivel Caster Wheels Heavy Duty 15 LBS Capacity with Safety Dual Caster, 4 Pack All with Brake No Noise Lockable Wheels (Black): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

That looks to be a good price. How do the brakes work? I am looking for some solid HD casters for my solid wood work bench. It weighs about 400lbs but I want it to be equally sturdy to a hip budge with casters on.

 

[BukitCase]

Mark, for what you describe I would either expect to spend more for casters (these are what I use when things REALLY need to stay put

WoodRiver - 5" Caster, Double Locking, Swiveling with 4 Hole Mounting Plate

They're double locking, so wheels neither roll or swivel when they're locked. Most of my shop is on either these or the Rockler mobile bases

Rockler Power Tool Mobile Base Hardware

Instead of the 1-1/2" wood connections on the rockler stands, I use 1-1/2" square tube - My PM66 saw and 2 of my router tables are on the Rocklers along with my woodworking DP and a dead upright freezer with a small light bulb in the bottom for things I want totally rust and dust free - the third router table, band saw and a couple other stands use the woodriver casters.

My 12" helical head jointer weighs right at 1000 lbs and the beds total 85" long, I'll have to fab some "underslung" 6" casters for that in order to keep the tables low enough to work for my plan to have 10' minimum in and outfeeds for the bandsaw, 2 jointers (other one's a 6" powermatic) and one of my planers in minimum floor space (I'll only have enough room for the base of that jointer to be 1/2" off the floor.)

I made the mistake of believing Shop Fox on one of their "1000 lb" mobile bases quite a while back; dang thing wouldn't even roll good when it was EMPTY. It's still sitting in a scrap pile somewhere I think. Never again...

If you're gonna "cheep out" on casters for a work bench, better plan on some kind of drop-down feet, or else wear roller skates so you can keep up with the bench

Just my :2cents: - Everybody's got their pet peeves, one of mine's crappy casters/wheels... Steve

 

[5030]

Tractor Supply has a good selection of casters of all sizes and designs in the store.

 

[5030]

Kind of wondering the same. I have several tools and a solid workbench that are in the 400lb range. Still nice to have an engine lift to move stuff around occasionally. I too try to have most everything on wheels due to the limited shop space.

I built a 4 x 6 welding table from a sheet of 3/8" hot rolled I was given with heavy angle iron legs and I bet it weighs at least 1000 pounds, maybe more. I used HD locking swivel casters with hard rubber wheels on one end and rigid mounted casters on the other end that came from Ford motor via my BIL that must have taken them out in his lunch box.....:laughing:

 

[crazyal]

Just curious, why do you need to lift that big woodworking equipment? And whatcha got that weighs 1000 pounds, big planer or something? All my woodworking equipment is on mobile bases but I don't think I have anything that heavy. I think my 16" planer is my heaviest and about 450 I think.

My 20" planer is over 900lbs. It resides in my shop (was a bear to get it through the door) but there are times when I have a lot of rough cut lumber I want to plane where it would be nice to have it outside and the dust collector just blowing the shavings onto a trailer to dump. My jointer isn't much lighter. I never bothered putting either on a mobile base (because they are too heavy for a couple of guys to lift) but will someday. My PM66 is on a Shop Fox base but it's no where near the weight.

My plan is to weld up something to make it easy to lift the planer.

 

[Ford850]

My 20" planer is over 900lbs. It resides in my shop (was a bear to get it through the door) but there are times when I have a lot of rough cut lumber I want to plane where it would be nice to have it outside and the dust collector just blowing the shavings onto a trailer to dump. My jointer isn't much lighter. I never bothered putting either on a mobile base (because they are too heavy for a couple of guys to lift) but will someday. My PM66 is on a Shop Fox base but it's no where near the weight.

My plan is to weld up something to make it easy to lift the planer.

You need a small gauge rail tracked to the outside for those projects. That would be cool.

 

[Fallon]

You need a small gauge rail tracked to the outside for those projects. That would be cool.

Pallet jack's are wonderous tools. Rated for a couple thousand lbs & maneuverable. A lot more flexible than an overhead track or anything You just need to lift stuff 3-4" to get under the load. A lever or bottle jack & some 2x4 cribbing usually gets you there. Or the afore discussed engine hoist.

I couldn't move my lathe on the stand so my pallet jack wasnt an option. Would have been trivial to use the loader & pallet forks to lift the lathe onto the stand & pallet jack, if it would have fit & been stable.

 

[mjgreck]

I had one of the harbor freight really cheap grinders. It survived about 10 minutes of tough use before it melted. My other grinders take the same use just fine. I知 not one to grind especially hard unless it痴 a big grinder that値l take it but this thing was junk.

harbor freight is really hit or miss (I've had many that actually lasted quite some time and others that bit the dust quickly)
it really depends on the grinder version i found

 

[Travelover]

harbor freight is really hit or miss (I've had many that actually lasted quite some time and others that bit the dust quickly)
it really depends on the grinder version i found

Some Chinese prisons make better stuff than others. :laughing:

 

[5030]

harbor freight is really hit or miss (I've had many that actually lasted quite some time and others that bit the dust quickly)
it really depends on the grinder version i found

Chinese motors stink real bad when the smoke comes out too. The smell like dead fish sort of...

One good thing about the cheapo HF grinders, if you save your receipt and it's under 30 days, take it back and get another one and smoke that and repeat....

Better yet, get a couple and smoke them all and repeat...

 

[California]

Chinese motors stink real bad when the smoke comes out

Oh man. I have the previous version of the horizontal-tank 10 gallon, 2.5 claimed hp, compressor. Claimed CFM output (not SCFM) 5.0 CFM @ 90 psi.

I bought HF's little die grinder that spec'd substantially less CFM required. First time I used the die grinder, the air pressure bogged down and at the same time the motor smelled like it was on fire. I turned around and heavy choking smoke was coming out of the compressor shroud. The thermal cutout never tripped.

I was sure I had burned up the compressor but it survived. After about year 10 I had to replace the pressure regulator switch (its common and generic), otherwise no problems. It still has a trace of that smell when it runs.

 

[Diggin It]

If you have a pallet jack and the need to move larger tools often, why not mount them on one of the more substantial Oak pallets? Even beef one up if necessary. Maybe a sheet of 3/4 plywood on top.

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Back to HF --- free tarp coupons are back, as are the 30% off items under $10. Two versions there, one for up to 5 items, another for up to 9 items - potential $30 savings. What happened to the free coupons for the small black tube flashlights? I still like those, easy to stuff in a pocket.

 

[5030]

Oh man. I have the previous version of the horizontal-tank 10 gallon, 2.5 claimed hp, compressor. Claimed CFM output (not SCFM) 5.0 CFM @ 90 psi.

I bought HF's little die grinder that spec'd substantially less CFM required. First time I used the die grinder, the air pressure bogged down and at the same time the motor smelled like it was on fire. I turned around and heavy choking smoke was coming out of the compressor shroud. The thermal cutout never tripped.

I was sure I had burned up the compressor but it survived. After about year 10 I had to replace the pressure regulator switch (its common and generic), otherwise no problems. It still has a trace of that smell when it runs.

It's the rice paper they use for lamination insulation. It stinks...:laughing:

 

[lostcreekranch]

Mark, for what you describe I would either expect to spend more for casters (these are what I use when things REALLY need to stay put

WoodRiver - 5" Caster, Double Locking, Swiveling with 4 Hole Mounting Plate

They're double locking, so wheels neither roll or swivel when they're locked. Most of my shop is on either these or the Rockler mobile bases

Rockler Power Tool Mobile Base Hardware

Instead of the 1-1/2" wood connections on the rockler stands, I use 1-1/2" square tube - My PM66 saw and 2 of my router tables are on the Rocklers along with my woodworking DP and a dead upright freezer with a small light bulb in the bottom for things I want totally rust and dust free - the third router table, band saw and a couple other stands use the woodriver casters.

My 12" helical head jointer weighs right at 1000 lbs and the beds total 85" long, I'll have to fab some "underslung" 6" casters for that in order to keep the tables low enough to work for my plan to have 10' minimum in and outfeeds for the bandsaw, 2 jointers (other one's a 6" powermatic) and one of my planers in minimum floor space (I'll only have enough room for the base of that jointer to be 1/2" off the floor.)

I made the mistake of believing Shop Fox on one of their "1000 lb" mobile bases quite a while back; dang thing wouldn't even roll good when it was EMPTY. It's still sitting in a scrap pile somewhere I think. Never again...

If you're gonna "cheep out" on casters for a work bench, better plan on some kind of drop-down feet, or else wear roller skates so you can keep up with the bench

Just my :2cents: - Everybody's got their pet peeves, one of mine's crappy casters/wheels... Steve

The $30 caster set I linked .. lock both wheels and rotation.

GloEra 5 Inch Swivel Caster... GloEra 5 Inch Swivel Caster Wheels Heavy Duty 15 LBS Capacity with Safety Dual Caster, 4 Pack All with Brake No Noise Lockable Wheels (Black): Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

4 x 400# rating under a 200# press.