Harbor freight stuff

[captin_insano]

I'm not associated with them and honestly never paid much attention to harbor freight stuff until one of their stores came to town. I've learned to love that place. I've spent a small fortune there and have made both good and bad purchases. This is some of the stuff I've bought or seen there that I think is worth passing on to others. I mostly buy when its on sale, you can make out if you watch for the deals. Anyone else find good buys there? I put this in the build thread because its tool stuff.

pintle hitch for 15 dollars and some change regular price. Hard to beat. I also bought the pintle rings there for about the same price. I've put them on 3 trailers.

cat I 3 point quick hitch. Bought on sale for $79.

7x12 band saw. This thing is so handy and much better quality than I expected. Bought it on sale for about $600. The 93" blades can be bought on sale for about $7 and actually seem to be decent quality. Not lennox quality but not bad at all.

They have real good prices on hydraulic line. I've used a ton of it on everything from log splitters to my case loader and backhoe. I was buying 1/2x60" standard pipe thread lines for about $6. They have an assortment of fittings as well to adapt it to jic etc. They dont list this on their website however. Another tool that turned out to be better than I expected was a 1/2" professional series impact wrench, purchased on sale for under $50. It replaced a worn out snap on and works every bit as well as the snap on ever did. I buy chain and hooks there too, the chain I bought was 1/4" x 35' and I paid about $20 on sale.

I also bought a roofing coil nailer that works great. I paid $49 on sale. I buy all my nails there for it and for my porter cable framing gun. best price i've found and again, seems like quality products.

I didnt buy this mower because I already had one when I seen it but it seems like a good deal. I have a farm pro finish mower that looks exactly the same but was a little more costly. Anyone own one of these HF jobbers? The regular price is $599. If you get one of their 25% off coupons you could get this finish mower real cheap.

 

[coreshot]

I buy all my consumables there. Grinding disks, cut off wheels, welding tips and wire. It's far cheaper than the steel store. Some of their tools are well worth the money, others aren't. I really want to buy a steel band saw from there, maybe not as big as yours, I think they have one for around $279 that I'm looking into.

Their tools with simple or no moving parts such as sockets (not ratchets), c clamps, and such are great.

 

[Stampeder]

I too buy quite a bunch of stuff from HF. My Chicago Mig 150 comes from there and I have pushed a lot of wire through it. It's made in Italy and works really well. I have one of their overhead crane that I bought on sale. It has been a god send for a ton of jobs (pun intended).
I bought a cement mixer (which I use to mix horse feed) which works great, a demolishion hammer which also works great on breaking up concrete on steel fence pipes when they come out of the ground.
My auto darkening welding helmet is the best thing that ever happened to my welding.
Just recently I bought two 50 foot automatice air hose reels. I tried to get the roof swivel mounts but they were out of stock.
Got a few good load binders as well. They sure come in handy for securing the tractor to the trailer.
I too buy a lot of consumables there.
The one thing that is wrong for me about HF is I have to drive 50 miles one way when I want things, so I usually save up for a while for the trip.

 

[coreshot]

The one thing that is wrong for me about HF is I have to drive 50 miles one way when I want things, so I usually save up for a while for the trip.

I was in the same boat until last year when a new store opened a couple blocks from me.

 

[Travelover]

You might find this thread of interest:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/parts-repairs/114176-harbor-freight-tools-dont-suck.html

 

[Scotty370]

I have also purchased items from them, and it can be like a candy store with the low prices. But, I'm reluctant to buy items, that if they fail, might have catastophic results! If my grinder burns up, so be it. If my Pintle hitch fails.......... Well you get the idea. ~Scotty

 

[czechsonofagun]

Chain saw sharpener. It sucks too - but for the price I can deal with it. Work gloves, some sockets and such - I used to be much more excited about them. Now we have a store 30 miles from us and I don't go there nearly so often. From what I have used, the framing air gun was a good deal and it worked swell too.

 

[eazyduzzit]

I'm a hobby woodworker, and have bought a jointer, drill press, lathe, 2 different belt sanders and 2 different dust collectors. All these tools were less than half the price of name brands, and I'm satisfied with all of them.

 

[captin_insano]

I've had good luck with most my purchases there. I did buy an electric impact wrench for wheeling trips that wasnt very good. It had good power but the brushes went quick and then the shank twisted off. I replaced it with a cheap HF air impact for wheelin trips but it was junk, didnt work well from day one. The professional series though is a fine impact.

You might find this thread of interest:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/p...dont-suck.html

holy big thread batman.

 

[have_blue]

Anyone own one of these HF jobbers? The regular price is $599. If you get one of their 25% off coupons you could get this finish mower real cheap.

I have the 6 footer (but not from HF). It appears 100% identical except the width. If anyone has questions, I would be glad to help.

The good: It's simple and reliable to maintain, has huge spindles and bearings that should last. All the pulleys look heavy duty. Nice chain guard. Real expensive units usually don't even come with a chain guard.

The bad: The wheels and wheel forks are weak. Had to weld the 1" swivel pins back on to 2 of the forks when my wife ran it into some washed out clay banks.


I've bought great, good, fair, and poor tools from HF. My latest tool is great.

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

It's a 1/4" electric die grinder. Man, this thing is big, smooth, and powerful. You can cut a 2x2 angle iron in half in 20-30 seconds. Got it for $29, and it's worth 3x the price.

I use their $49 auto-darkening welding helmet, and it's just fine. So are their welding rods.

 

[RussMan]

I noticed the nice pic of the Cat I quick hitch you bought for $79. Never having owned a quick hitch but thinking they would be very handy, I have a simple question. How do you know that the width of the quick hitch pins will match up with your particular blade, disk, etc pins. Are all blades and disk the same width where they attach? Or is the quick hitch adjustable?

 

[teg]

Not adjustable, but sometimes you can change your implement to fit the QH. It's also somewhat a crap shoot... It worked on my chipper, brush hog, box blade, rake and a few others but it did not work for a spike roller, KK tiller, my carryall, or yardtool . I was happy with mine as long as it worked on the first 2 things mentioned . I will continue to try and modify ALL my attachments so that they will work... or die trying.

There are MANY older threads about this Quick Hitch that you can search for...

***ANOTHER THING... LOOK INTO GETTING THE ADAPTER... NOT LIST BUT IF YOU TYPE THE NUMBER IN (search on TBN) or call and ask about it.

 

[SARG]

Just for the info .......... HF coupons now appear inside the back cover of Readers Digest .... of special interest is the 20% off any one item coupon.

 

[captin_insano]

I noticed the nice pic of the Cat I quick hitch you bought for $79. Never having owned a quick hitch but thinking they would be very handy, I have a simple question. How do you know that the width of the quick hitch pins will match up with your particular blade, disk, etc pins. Are all blades and disk the same width where they attach? Or is the quick hitch adjustable?

Like teg mentioned, I'll just assume it fits all my attachments and those that it doesnt fit I make fit. So far I know it fits my rake.

 

[SARG]

Best to take a tape measure with you ..... I have read that there are two widths out there available.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

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[captin_insano]

The hitch was on sale for $59 until today at my local HF. I was there to get a tarp today. Came home with said tarp, pack of bungies and mouse traps. The cat isnt holding up to his end of the bargain.

 

[Mgrove]

there is a adapter you can purchase for the quick hitch, they don't sell it in the stores, Don't know why. It makes the top bracket more universal. I called on the item once, I think the part number is 29309, but you have to mail order it. It's in your quick hitch manual. I think it was around 9 or 10 dollars plus shipping.
Mgrove

 

[gilbertmsg]

I have the finish mower (labeled under another name that I can't remember), it will start it's 4th mowing season this spring. So far so good, I have also had to weld the 3 out of the 4 wheels. I also have the 3 point hitch. Had to grind out the adapter grooves, but it was not a big deal. Works as good as the $200.00 from Tractor Supply.

Eddie

 

[oughtsix]

1. 6" jointer - $150 - Excellent.
2. 15" planer - $600 - complete junk. (Returned)
3. 16 speed floor drill press - Mine has treated me well but the runnout is very loose compared to a quality drill press. Mine is an old drill press with the 3 spoke handle instead of the 1 piece 3 lump cast iron handle.
4. Impact wrenches - got me started but I really appreciate the quality of a MAC or IR now!
5. Truck bed unloader - Best fricken thing ever! Hauled literally tons of $h!t! (for tilling into my garden).
6. 4 1/2" angle grinder blue body. Quite Good!
7. 4 1/2" angle grinder orange body. Junk!
8. 6" angle grinder - Junk. Grind for 2 minutes cool for 5 minutes.
9. Wrenches, screwdrivers, and other small hand tools - Great! I use them like toilet paper (I generally don't use toilet paper more then once before throwing it away). Great for taking to the junk yard! (I use Proto, Stanley and MAC in my shop).
10. Creeper - Great!
11. Mortising Machine - Good for the price. Immediately made my own stand for it and junked the original stand.
12. 30" metal bender / roller / brake - Complete junk! (Returned)
13. Orange pumice hand cleaner - Great! Good price!
14. Heavy double line come-a-long - Great!
15. 14" Chop saw - Mediocre. Got me started but is loose and troublesome.
16. 14" abrasive blades - Lousy! - Take over twice as long to cut the same piece as a brand name. But Cost less than half as much!
17. 4 1/2" flap disks - Love them.
18. 4 1/2" grinding wheels and cut off wheels - like them - have never tried name brands.
19. .035 MIG wire - bad - Oxidized.
20. Clamps - good and bad. I always cycle any clamp I buy from them through the whole screw length before putting them in my basket. Put many back (seems like everybody else does too). I love having a dozen hand screw wooden clamps for every imaginable project.
21. Crimp on terminals - Bad! Buy AMP and save yourself the headache.
22. Most of the electronic related items I have tried (connectors, soldering irons, switches, wire) Junk - cause more problems than they fix.
23. Air hoses, reels and fittings - They work but generally leak pretty quickly.
24. Paint guns - Work fine and are disposable.
25. HF Lockem-tite - Works for me!
26. TIN Drill bits - Great - Another toilet paper item!
27. Router bits - Great! - And they actually last! I can not tell the difference between HF and brand name router bits.
28. Bench grinder / buffer - Gets the job done but loose bearings - OK.
29. Extension cords - Great - I cut off one end and use them as power tool cords!
30. LED Flashlights - Very cool - I have one stashed just about everywhere. Some the family doesn't find and are actually there when I need it!
31. Batteries - DEAD - or almost so when new!
32. AC Power / Battery powered hand tools - Not worth the hassle for the most part. (Milwaukee for drills and sawzall- Porter Cable for sanders - Skill for worm drive saws - Dewalt for battery powered tools)... I guess it just depends on how much you use them.
33. Sand paper - Takes twice as long to sand - wears out twice as fast - but costs 1/4 as much.
34. Florescent work light - I love it!
35. Jack stands - Great!
36. Floor jack - Great!
37. Any tool I need to use only once - Generally pretty good.
38. Red welding gloves - Great!
39. Lamb skin welding gloves - Great!
40. Auto darkening welding helmet - Great! I probably couldn't weld without it.
41. 6" bench vises - Great and I don't worry about welding splatter very much because they are cheap.
42. 4" wide ratcheting straps - GREAT!
43. 2" wide ratcheting straps - JUNK!
44. 2 and 3 jaw pulley removers - OK - Buy them - bust them - buy another...

Most of the time buying from Harbor Freight or not comes down to whether I am buying a capitol asset or a consumable. HF tools I look at as consumable and they usually don't disappoint me.