Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[shovelmike]

So long as my local HF don't close, all is well with me... Need a new 1/2" cordless drill (Bauer), found the smoke in my DeWalt the other day. Interestingly, smelled like rice paper.

I bought the Hercules cordless drill about a year ago for $100, I t has been great, I used it quite a bit installing a garage door opener. It's got serious torque which helped to drive a lot of drill point hex head screws into the insulated steel door
We later bought our granddaughter a DeWalt for the same price at Lowe's, but who knows...they might come from the same factory.
I also have one of the magnetic dishes, came in handy when I was up on the ladder shooting a bunch of screws...stuch it to the air duct next to me, popped the screws into it till I needed them.
I also bought a 95 Lb pull magnet, has a hole for a bolt, will be handy.

 

[rangerfredbob]

Nice. Open box, slightly dented? Why so cheap?

Was in the returned from inspection area that they do on sidewalk sales, I've found many stellar deals out of that stuff... From what I can tell someone used it somewhat lightly and took it back for some reason. The tip and nozzle that were installed in it were shot, it cut at about a 30* angle to one side but still cut fine, changed it with extras that were included with it and it cut a nice narrow line that was square... There were two used tips/nozzles with it but everything else was with it... Anyway, on the sidewalk sales they put out different stuff every day, Friday is whatever is on the orange sticker, Saturday is 25% off the orange sticker and Sunday is half off the orange sticker, when I found it it had $450 on the sticker so still not a horrible deal... but half that is better . That's also how I got my Titanium MIG 175 for $125... and my Lynxx pole saw for $50 and I think $45 for the blower and maybe $65 for the chainsaw... oh and the Bauer 20V 1/2" impact for $65. That stuff is all 5 day warranty and marked with 3 0's engraved on it somewhere so they know not to warranty it.

 

[dragoneggs]

I have scored a couple of great deals at the sidewalk sales. Not the advertised stuff but usually there a few items along the store front. My last deal was the 5 drawer mechanics cart. Usually around $229. They had it marked down to $175 and the manager was outside telling one of the employees to sell it at 50% off. I overheard and asked what was the matter with it. She said the customer that bought it said there was water damage.

I examined the box and it had gotten soggy on the lower part but appeared never to have been opened. Before I said I would take it, she said if there was an issue, I could return it. Sold! $87.50 plus tax. :cool2:

3 in. 5 Drawer Blue Mechanic'''s Cart

 

[KubotainNH]

Sounds likes some sweet deals, thanks for the info. I may need to check out some Sunday deals.

 

[Diggin It]

Do the 30 degree nails work in the older style 28 degree nailers?

 

[LS Tractor Owner]

Do the 30 degree nails work in the older style 28 degree nailers?

I do not think they would without jamming at one shot or another. I could be wrong

 

[John_Mc]

I'm looking at buying a Daytona 3 Ton Long Reach Low Profile Floor Jack. One of my purchase criteria is the high lift height - this one goes up to 24 1/4". I'm curious what the reactions are from anyone who has actually used this model. The only real negatives I've heard are that it has a small jack saddle. However, that is removable, so perhaps I could find or make something to replace it.

An alternative I'm considering is the Daytona 3 Ton Super Duty Floor Jack. The advantages to this are: probably longer life (3 year warranty, vs 90 days for the 3 ton long reach jack listed above). Currently has a coupon for $199. The only disadvantage I see is that it has a little over 1" less lift height (to 23 1/8"), which I guess I could live with. It does not mention where the jack saddle is removable or not. Since I might need to replace the jack saddle with something with a custom profile, any feedback on whether or not it is removable would be appreciated.

So what's the verdict? Has anyone used either of these extensively? How have they held up for you? Do they work OK i cold weather (I have an unheated garage.)

 

[rangerfredbob]

I mentioned some of these before, but have had more time with some of them...

PLASMA CUTTER, I used this some more today, cut several feet of 1/4" plate that was rusty as heck and it was magical... Part of the magic was using their MAGNETIC TOOL HOLDER as a guide for the straight lines, nothing else needed, just stick that thing 10mm from where you want the cut and go for it. As someone else mentioned when I said the dross was hard to get off, I went faster with higher amps and that was it.

Also got a chance to use the Bauer 1/2" impact this weekend, was able to take off the lug nuts from both my 8 lug trailer (9/16" lug nuts I think) and my Ford Ranger without having to resort to a 4 way lug wrench or breaker bar or dragging out an air impact. Won't replace air impacts completely but for quick projects I'm sold... The 3/8" impact is extremely handy as well, I used it for at least an hour on the same big battery a few weeks ago, the 1/2" won't last as long since it's bigger (there's more gear stuff going on in that thing, it's almost twice as heavy)

 

[KubotainNH]

Also got a chance to use the Bauer 1/2" impact this weekend, was able to take off the lug nuts from both my 8 lug trailer (9/16" lug nuts I think) and my Ford Ranger without having to resort to a 4 way lug wrench or breaker bar or dragging out an air impact. Won't replace air impacts completely but for quick projects I'm sold... The 3/8" impact is extremely handy as well, I used it for at least an hour on the same big battery a few weeks ago, the 1/2" won't last as long since it's bigger (there's more gear stuff going on in that thing, it's almost twice as heavy)

Do you think the 450lb breakaway force seems accurate? I love my C3 cordless impact and would like to get an impact gun for my son's birthday. I shy away from HF cordless tools but hoping they are better than they used to be. The next model up is just too costly for me to buy. He has some NiCad Dewalt tools so was also looking at the bare tool in that brand. Costly and not as powerful unless you hop up to the lithium ones.

 

[3Ts]

The difference between the NiCad and Lithium powered tools is like night and day. The NiCads I had (not many) have all been replaced with the lithium. I was never impressed with the performance of the NiCad powered tools. Now that I've used the lithium powered tools, even my corded tools are getting shelved. Not getting rid of the corded tools just yet, but the lithium does 90% of the corded tools and I reach for the lithium before anything else.