Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck #12,221  
Anyone have the Bauer corded jigsaw? The built in laser seams like a totally useless feature (an LED light would be useful).
I found the laser was a great help to follow a layout line with my Ryobi jigsaw.

HOWEVER - I ruined a battery when I stored the saw in a jumble of cords and chargers which bumped that light's 'on' switch. A costly mistake.
 
/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck #12,222  
I passed on the Lowes power tool set sale (just did not make it before they closed) but in part I am leaning towards HFT options. The wife has so many clapped out handheld vacs I should get her one so we can use the same battery/charger set up. I may pick up one Wed when I take her to the airport to fly to Germany where the daughter is studying this fall semester. They will be home in a couple weeks so it would make a nice Christmas gift so she can be more productive when cleaning. :)

Before we were married my wife told me " Never buy me a vacuum cleaner as a present, birthday,Christmas,or any other day". I have never forgotten this and we are happily married for many years now. Our son did get her a vac. once for Christmas,I believe, but that was fine because he can do no wrong. Except his first marriage, that was a wreck.
 
/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck #12,223  
Before we were married my wife told me " Never buy me a vacuum cleaner as a present, birthday,Christmas,or any other day". I have never forgotten this and we are happily married for many years now. Our son did get her a vac. once for Christmas,I believe, but that was fine because he can do no wrong. Except his first marriage, that was a wreck.

Because he buys women vacuum cleaners.
 
/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck #12,224  
Before we were married my wife told me " Never buy me a vacuum cleaner as a present, birthday,Christmas,or any other day". I have never forgotten this and we are happily married for many years now. Our son did get her a vac. once for Christmas,I believe, but that was fine because he can do no wrong. Except his first marriage, that was a wreck.

Think I can get away with buying her the vacuum. Been married 36 years and it'my 4th marriage...lol Could be vacuums ruined the other 3 but I don't remember.
 
/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck #12,225  
Before we were married my wife told me " Never buy me a vacuum cleaner as a present, birthday,Christmas,or any other day". I have never forgotten this and we are happily married for many years now. Our son did get her a vac. once for Christmas,I believe, but that was fine because he can do no wrong. Except his first marriage, that was a wreck.
I've bought my wife a scale & pots & pans. I only felt safe because they were explicitly on her short christmas list. Even then wrapping the scale felt like placing a claymore.
 
/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck #12,226  
Before we were married my wife told me " Never buy me a vacuum cleaner as a present, birthday,Christmas,or any other day". I have never forgotten this and we are happily married for many years now. Our son did get her a vac. once for Christmas,I believe, but that was fine because he can do no wrong. Except his first marriage, that was a wreck.

That is a fundamental difference between men and women. Men are practical and would welcome any gift that helped them accomplish a task quicker, easier, or in a better way, be it a vacuum, shop tool or kitchen appliance.
 
/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck #12,227  
Before we were married my wife told me " Never buy me a vacuum cleaner as a present, birthday,Christmas,or any other day". I have never forgotten this and we are happily married for many years now. Our son did get her a vac. once for Christmas,I believe, but that was fine because he can do no wrong. Except his first marriage, that was a wreck.

My wife explicitly asked for a Vacuum for Christmas last year, pointed out some cheap model at wally world... of course I stepped up a grade or two...

I just realized on my way home tonight that I could have gotten a 9000lb winch yesterday for $150 in box... that would really upgrade the main equipment hauling trailer and help around the house on the F350 (not for getting the F350 unstuck, that'd be on the small side)...
 
/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck #12,228  
I see HF dropped the price on their 12K winch because they have a snazzier model now. I bought the 5K one for my side by side, good puller. Plug and Play mounting too (other than running the power cables because the battery is in the back) but that is another story for another time.

With 10 cats and a big dog in the house, vacuums don't last too long. I don't contribute, I'm bald.
 
/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck #12,229  
Think I can get away with buying her the vacuum. Been married 36 years and it'my 4th marriage...lol Could be vacuums ruined the other 3 but I don't remember.

Each family starting out would get a new Electrolux for a wedding gift.

Going all the way back to the 1930's and all of them are still working except for the one my brother ran over with his truck forgetting he had not put it away after vacuuming the interior.

I was thinking of that today as I was buying new vacs for the hospital Housekeepers... seems 5 years is about it... before anyone says 5 years of daily use I would have to say nary a day went by where my Grandmother wasn't vacuuming something!

We actually had the same Electrolux salesman for over 60 years... no kidding... even in his retirement home he was still selling to longtime customers... still remember he always had an impeccable Cadillac and a trunk full of Electrolux... anything that broke he fixed.

I just thought that is how things were... but Grandma seemed to know everyone... the Overhead Door Man, the Plumber, the Painter, the Carpet man, the Electrolux man and of course her Appliance man... and they really did provide excellent service... and before he left he would always say "How are you fixed for bags?"

Visiting one of my friends when their refrigerator went out the Mom said no one was available to come and fix it until Monday... this was Friday... and she called the shop that new Grandma.... I called Grandma and she called and he said he would be out that day but it would be late... and he was.

It all goes back to when business was relationships with locals and service was King...
 
/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck #12,230  
I'd rather have something (especially a flashlight) with a standard, replaceable battery (even AA/AA) than one with some internal, proprietary non-replaceable one. Flashlight batteries ALWAYS go dead just before you really need it, and you may not have one of those USB power adapters handy. I know I never can find one when I need one.

If I recall correctly, the batteries are replaceable on the light KubotainNH linked does have a replaceable battery. It just happens that it's also a rechargeable.
 
/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck #12,231  
Back to the vacuum thing. My daughter got me a vacuum for my birthday last year, I was tickled pink!! Its one of those Roomba robotic vacs.. I got it set to go off at 3 in the afternoon everyday. A year later and I still love it!
 
/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck #12,232  
Back to the vacuum thing. My daughter got me a vacuum for my birthday last year, I was tickled pink!! Its one of those Roomba robotic vacs.. I got it set to go off at 3 in the afternoon everyday. A year later and I still love it!

Don't last here with 10 indoor cats. They beat them up until they no longer operate. been there , did that. Gave it to my renter gal. I don't allow pets in my rentals.
 
/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck #12,233  
Before we were married my wife told me " Never buy me a vacuum cleaner as a present, birthday,Christmas,or any other day". I have never forgotten this and we are happily married for many years now.
I've bought my wife a scale & pots & pans. I only felt safe because they were explicitly on her short christmas list. Even then wrapping the scale felt like placing a claymore.

I hear ya! I'd be reluctant to get my wife something like that unless she made it known that she really, really wanted one and even then I'd tread softly. Better to have her pick out a couple sweaters, etc. and let me choose which one to actually get.

If I recall correctly, the batteries are replaceable on the light KubotainNH linked does have a replaceable battery. It just happens that it's also a rechargeable.

Good to know. Are these a standard battery you might be able to find a replacement for down the road?

A few years ago when I was looking for a new digital camera, I intentionally chose an older model that took AAs as opposed to one of the often pricey custom rechargeables. Maybe I'm just old school, but I'm not a big photo-taker and chances are when I do want to take one the battery will be dead or close to it. Hate to miss a shot because the camera is on the charger (no I don't have a cell phone).

Don't last here with 10 indoor cats.

Yikes! I'm definitely a cat person, but not sure I'd want that many, 2 or 3 tops.
 
/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck #12,234  
Here's an item I discovered over the weekend falls into the "kind of sucks" category, their LED trailer lights. I'd put some on a small utility trailer a year or so ago, used the trailer last week and no brake/turn signal lights. Some troubleshooting revealed wires broken in 4 places (and not necessarily where they get any stress/flex). The insulation on the wiring kit was hard, brittle and almost impossible to strip without breaking the tinsel conductor inside. I did manage to cob it together enough to be legal, but come spring all that wiring is gonna get replaced with real wire.

The lights themselves seem to be good, the Chineseium wire, not so much.

I bought those same lights several years ago. When I pulled them out of the box, I was dismayed to see the cheap wiring. The gauge was so small it seemed it would be trashed in a matter of months. I replaced the included wiring harness with a heavier gauge one I bought at the local hardware store. The lights worked fine - up until a month ago, when someone smashed into my trailer, destroying it and the lights.

I'm sure the stock wires were large enough to to handle the low current demand of LED lights. They just don't have any mechanical strength. Couple that with the poor insulation you noted, and the wire isn't going to last long.
 
/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck #12,235  
Here's an item I discovered over the weekend falls into the "kind of sucks" category, their LED trailer lights. I'd put some on a small utility trailer a year or so ago, used the trailer last week and no brake/turn signal lights. Some troubleshooting revealed wires broken in 4 places (and not necessarily where they get any stress/flex). The insulation on the wiring kit was hard, brittle and almost impossible to strip without breaking the tinsel conductor inside. I did manage to cob it together enough to be legal, but come spring all that wiring is gonna get replaced with real wire.

I bought those same lights several years ago. When I pulled them out of the box,

Those are on a recall. I got a full new blister pack free in the mail a few months back. Check to see if you're eligible: https://images.harborfreight.com/hftweb/recalls/Trailer-Light-Recall.pdf
 
/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck #12,236  
Interesting. Would it be recycling it's own juice? I guess you would need a "start up" batch to get it going.
And just how fine will the disposal grind the apples? Will one trip through the disposal be enough?

get the waste king 1 hp. we processed about 75 lbs of apples this year into cider with one and it works amazing. never tripped anything and you get a great consistency of the mash. found a used stainless sink to install it in and build a stand for the whole thing. no need to run extra water through it. we built a cider press out of a HF hydraulic press and some 1x2, a sheet pan and some other bits. works brilliantly and we get very good yield. apples go in muslin clothes in a form, and get stacked up with wood lattices in-between. the stack gets pressed and you receive delicious cider. we have 4 gallons of apple/crab apple and 4 gallons of pear aging in the basement, soon to be bottled. one turned out 10% and the apple 15% alc. content! the harvest was terrible this year, last year we sorted and used about 250 lbs of apples from our trees, and est. that we left about 50% on the trees/ground.
 
/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck
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/ Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck #12,238  
Back to the vacuum thing. My daughter got me a vacuum for my birthday last year, I was tickled pink!! Its one of those Roomba robotic vacs.. I got it set to go off at 3 in the afternoon everyday. A year later and I still love it!
I have a different brand of robot vacuum. No matter the brand though I cant run it automated. I have pets & a wife that knits. Yarn often everywhere to strangle it. You can also Google (or just use your imagination) "Roomba poop spiral". Actually Dad's Story Of Roomba Running Over Dog Poop Goes Viral has a good test only rendition. Always check the house before unleashing the Roomba. I usually kick it off as I leave the house.
 

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