Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[DFB]

That reminded me that I had a pair of HF magnetic vise jaws. The first use crumbled the ceramic magnets and they fell out. The holes in the AL jaws were shallower than the magnet thickness, so the magnets took the full clamping force.

Bruce

You have to love that quality control


I have had same set on my vice for years now

 

[Deere Dude]

I needed some grinding goggles for years but kept putting it off. I finally got a 3 pack at HF for a few bucks and threw them in the cabinet. A few days later I had to weld and grind but was to lazy to go get them. I ground a freshly welded joint and a hot speck cam up and landed on my eyelid. It tickled a little but I kept on grinding. Shortly after that my eyelid swelled up and turned red. n a week or so it is back to fair with a little burn mark, but after that incident I tried on a pair and did some grinding and welding.

Those goggles are pretty nice and comfortable. They don't steam up very fast because of the vent holes and they fit nice.

 

[JRobyn]

I can't stand goggles. Always fog up in less than a minute and are then useless. The cheap HF face shield looks like just that; cheap. But their better one (Adjustable Face Shield) IS better. MUCH better. So much so that it doesn't suck! I think it's made by AOSafety. Very solid. I used mine just today while grinding the nubs off a plastic office chair floor protector. Light weight. Easily adjustable. Flip up. Comfortable. And DOESN'T fog up, unless maybe you let it get real cold and use it outdoors.

- Jay

 

[Travelover]

Here is a 25% off coupon, ending today.

http://view.harborfreightemail.com/?j=ff031572776502&m=fe9512717066027874&ls=fec815707c6d067f&l=ff9c1572&s=fec715707c6d0478&jb=ffcd16&ju=fe8a13707c600c7970&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5015b_fd&utm_source=1051&cid=mEmail_s1051_c5015b_fd&r=0

 

[zombie]

Here is a 25% off coupon, ending today.

http://view.harborfreightemail.com/?j=ff031572776502&m=fe9512717066027874&ls=fec815707c6d067f&l=ff9c1572&s=fec715707c6d0478&jb=ffcd16&ju=fe8a13707c600c7970&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=5015b_fd&utm_source=1051&cid=mEmail_s1051_c5015b_fd&r=0

Thanks! I must be due to buy something.

 

[California]

Here's a good one. The $40 Blue Flame auto-darken welding helmet.

Mine is at least 5 years old and it's been in a dark cabinet for the past year. Yesterday I set it outdoors (overcast) for a few minutes, put it in use and it works perfectly. I'm not sure it even needed that daylight exposure.

The pro's of this one are the double size window. I need this to watch the puddle through the lower half of my bifocals. And no maintenance - battery etc - needed.

Cons: This helmet's manual says minimum 125 amps when using flux core. It is barely light enough to see the puddle using my 110 volt Century 130 flux wire welder, which is similar to the HF 90 except it has DC. When I used this helmet with a HF-90 this was too dark. It works great with my 220V stick welder.

 

[CNC Dan]

Here's a good one. The $40 Blue Flame auto-darken welding helmet.

Mine is at least 5 years old and it's been in a dark cabinet for the past year. Yesterday I set it outdoors (overcast) for a few minutes, put it in use and it works perfectly. I'm not sure it even needed that daylight exposure.

The pro's of this one are the double size window. I need this to watch the puddle through the lower half of my bifocals. And no maintenance - battery etc - needed.

Cons: This helmet's manual says minimum 125 amps when using flux core. It is barely light enough to see the puddle using my 110 volt Century 130 flux wire welder, which is similar to the HF 90 except it has DC. When I used this helmet with a HF-90 this was too dark. It works great with my 220V stick welder.

Eventualy the internal batteries will no longer hold a charge. It's good to hear that yours is still going after being in the dark for a long time. I also like that it has a grind mode.

 

[PILOON]

Eventualy the internal batteries will no longer hold a charge. It's good to hear that yours is still going after being in the dark for a long time. I also like that it has a grind mode.

Broke open an older failed auto helmet to discover that they simply used a 'quarter sized' 3 volt lithium battery as power source.
My guess was that the charge circuit was faulty or I left it too long in the dark.
I always store my newer one near a window now.

 

[PILOON]

Eventualy the internal batteries will no longer hold a charge. It's good to hear that yours is still going after being in the dark for a long time. I also like that it has a grind mode.

Broke open an older failed auto helmet to discover that they simply used a 'quarter sized' 3 volt lithium battery as power source.
My guess was that the charge circuit was faulty or I left it too long in the dark.
I always store my newer one near a window now.

 

[CNC Dan]

Broke open an older failed auto helmet to discover that they simply used a 'quarter sized' 3 volt lithium battery as power source.
My guess was that the charge circuit was faulty or I left it too long in the dark.
I always store my newer one near a window now.

Yup. Two 3 volt coin cells in series to give 6 volts. You could add an external battery pack that takes common AAA cells, and wire it to where the coin cells are wired to the circuit board.

I just leave mine faceing the window when not in use, and treat myself to a new one in 4-5 years.