Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[bcp]

I've had the 12 ton A-frame press for years. No complaint, except sometimes it isn't enough.

Bruce

 

[Rich B1]

I have a "Tool Shed" brand engine 6.5 HP on my tiller. Same engine as the Predator, different paint job and name. It has been flawless. I am not sure it has ever taken more than 2 pulls to start.

It was on sale at Rural King for $89.95 a number of years ago.

 

[California]

The four AAA LED 'Tactical' flashlight is on closeout for $9 using the emailed coupon. These are excellent, recommended, and don't cost more than buying the same thing on Ebay then waiting a month for China shipping.

And - yesterday I was looking for something I dropped in the weeds and used the wand metal detector I bought a long time ago. (Same as an airport TSA wand). I see they are more expensive now but I recommend this. For shop use I would first get the bar magnet that looks like a push broom with wheels, then this.

 

[Diggin It]

Anyone have the 12T hydraulic press? Reviews?

Press went together OK. Couple of small glitches and may need to shim it some. Picture on the user guide shows some 45 degree cross braces at the bottom, but they weren't included and the base plate isn't drilled for them. I may try to add something later as it seems to twist some under pressure. Did the trick though. Only a few minutes between the pictures. Not really what the tool was made for, but it worked for me.

View attachment 623628


Yeah, I know the pictures are from different angles, but it was bent both ways.

Used it for a few things since. Do NOT let it free stand. The footprint is too narrow to support it. Mount it to the floor, make a wider base, or brace it from the top or sides.

 

[dragoneggs]

Anyone have the 12T hydraulic press? Reviews?

I have the 20T and modded it by replacing the included jack with air over hydraulic jack. So much more easier and less effort to use. Very happy with it for the occasional use it gets.

For the additional $80 for the 20T you get a far more capable unit.

Edit: And the 20T weighs about twice as much... a good thing.

 

[newbury]

And - yesterday I was looking for something I dropped in the weeds and used the wand metal detector I bought a long time ago. (Same as an airport TSA wand). I see they are more expensive now but I recommend this. For shop use I would first get the bar magnet that looks like a push broom with wheels, then this.

As I age I find it less and less enjoyable to bend over to find a bolt or other steel part I dropped which invariably rolls under a table. So I've got about 4 or 5 of the magnetic tool holders scattered around the workshops (I've ~ 2,500 sq feet). Each with a strong piece of twine. So I can usually just grab one and swipe it under the table or cabinet and recover the offending item. The magnetic sweeper on wheels doesn't fit under a lot of things.
View attachment 736911

 

[crazyal]

Anyone have the 12T hydraulic press? Reviews?

I bought one of these from a company called Greg Smith (that's now ToolTopia). The ram slides side to side making much easier to line up and will work on odd shaped projects better. It can be pumped by hand or by air. It's actually cheaper than the 20 ton HF bottle jack version. For a few extra bucks you get almost twice the power and more flexibility.

 

[jjeff]

I bought one of these from a company called Greg Smith (that's now ToolTopia). The ram slides side to side making much easier to line up and will work on odd shaped projects better. It can be pumped by hand or by air. It's actually cheaper than the 20 ton HF bottle jack version. For a few extra bucks you get almost twice the power and more flexibility.

Nice it has a gauge and a Air hydro jack.

 

[erikjohn67]

Anyone have the Bauer 4x24 belt sander? I was thinking of getting a Makita but I do have a Bauer jigsaw that has worked just fine.

I picked one up this weekend after returning the Central Machinery one. It blows the doors off the CM unit as far as user friendliness and overall operability. Belts are a snap to change if you do sharpening whereas the CM unit makes you take half the machine apart, the Bauer it just slips off the side nothing to undo just flip the belt tightener to loose.

Used it for a bout an hour this weekend on various woods and metals. Very happy with it so far.

 

[KubotainNH]

Nice it has a gauge and a Air hydro jack.

But out of stock as most of the less expensive ones are on that site. Neat setup though.

 

[Travelover]

Some pretty good deals here for $5 when you spend $50 LINK

 

[lens12]

I have a farm & use tools hard . I was buying tools from Harbor Freight when they were only mail order. the quality of wrenches has improved a lot. I used to buy them to put a set in every tractor. I'd rather loose a cheap wrench than an expensive one.

I've bought quite a few of the 4-1/2' angle grinders. If you don't push them to hard they last quite a while. Sometimes I paid less than $10 for them.

I have 2 porta powers. work great.

14" chop saw. I'm on my fourth one. One of them didn't cut square. They have brushes so you can't force them very hard. They give you a second set of brushes but I usually burn them up before they need new brushes.

I bought an hammer drill for concrete 15 years ago. My employee borrowed it & burn it up before I had a chance to use it. They have different ones now.

I think a lot of Menards brand tools are the same as Harbor Freight.

 

[5030]

The Merlin extended reach blow gun is on sale with an ITC card for 4 bucks and it's a very nice blowgun even at the regular $9.95 price.

 

[5030]

Sometimes I paid less than $10 for them.

They are again... On sale in the Black friday flyer. I gave up on them a while ago. I was finding the smoke in them way too often and stinking up the shop. They really stink when they expire. Typically, they get overly hot, then start slowing down accompanied with stinky smoke and finally the stop entirely. Never trip a breaker, just expire to nothing and the gearboxes are always noisy too.

 

[IndyJay]

 

[Root Cause]

View attachment 738861

No doubt a lot of truth to this saying above.

Parallel to this, it has been stated that it takes, on average, 3 attempts to perfect a product.
-The inventor develops the original and needs to get it to market to recoup the investments.
-The Copycat sees a way to make it a bit better or simpler
-And the 3rd producer makes the best product as they have now had time to learn from both the producers and the consumers.

I think both perspectives have their place.

 

[IndyJay]

No doubt a lot of truth to this saying above.

Parallel to this, it has been stated that it takes, on average, 3 attempts to perfect a product.
-The inventor develops the original and needs to get it to market to recoup the investments.
-The Copycat sees a way to make it a bit better or simpler
-And the 3rd producer makes the best product as they have now had time to learn from both the producers and the consumers.

I think both perspectives have their place.

The meme references the fourth producer.

 

[Travelover]

The meme references the fourth producer.

The whole purpose of this thread is to highlight some of the tools at Harbor Freight that are good VALUES. They might not be the best, but some are well worth the money. Anyone can stand back and sniff that their Snap-ons are better. Undoubtedly they are but that is not the purpose of the thread.

 

[jyoutz]

The whole purpose of this thread is to highlight some of the tools at Harbor Freight that are good VALUES. They might not be the best, but some are well worth the money. Anyone can stand back and sniff that their Snap-ons are better. Undoubtedly they are but that is not the purpose of the thread.

Years ago I bought some of the cheap Pittsburgh plyers sets (needle nose, water pump, et…) to use around the house and so the kids would leave my good shop tools alone. I thought they would need replaced after a few years. Twenty years later after lots of use, they are still good tools.

 

[5030]

I'm going to have to say (from experience) that the HF Icon line of hand tools is as good as (and sometimes even better) than the tool truck tools. So are the Chief line of air tools. While not loss leaders, they are still less than say Snap-On or SK Wayne or MAC.

I'm 100% satisfied with them and have had zero issues.