HF tools that don't suck

[steve45]

How well does the HF needle scaler work? It's about half price of others I've seen. I never have liked cheap pneumatics but it won't be used everyday, just wondering if it was worth it.

I have one that I've used for cleaning thin set tile cement from concrete. It works pretty well, but I've never used any other needle scaler to compare it to.

[Clay Walters]

What a great thread! Sorry if I haven't read every single post carefully and repeat something already said a cagillion times:

Am pleased with my Harbor Freight:
12 Ton Hydraulic Pipe bender
4" angle grinder (orange)
1/2" hand drill
3/4" benchtop drill press (have had to replace/retighten screws)
metal cutting circular saw (awesome)
c-clamps
auto-darkening hood
several squares & levels
springloaded centerpunch

Sorry I bought:
Tube notcher
drill bits
open end wrenches

Regards,

Clay
buncha junk in the various floor bins

[Cracker]

How well does the HF needle scaler work? It's about half price of others I've seen. I never have liked cheap pneumatics but it won't be used everyday, just wondering if it was worth it.
Has anyone bought anything from cumming tools? They suck!

I bought the $9.99 needle scaler attachment that fits onto an air hammer. Ive used it quite a bit while making bumpers and sliders for mine and my friend's 4x4s. It's well worth the $9.99. For the money,I would think the scaler youre refering to would be a decent tool as well.

[thumbs]

I've had very good luck with HF stuff.

The following work great for me;

Horizontal metal band saw
Mig welder(modified a pop up into a utility trailer with it) a lot of welding for sure
Paver wet saw
4" 90* grinder
brad nailer
12 volt lug wrench
auto darkening welding helmet
2 18 volt cordless drills( work better than both of my Dewalts)
I have a tire changer in the box for a while so I don't know about that one.
Didn't like there pen torch but the mini torch works fine.

I probably have more but they have all worked out fine for me. I don't use them for a liveing but I do use them a bit.

[Lanmanb4]

I like their 250 ft lb pneumatic impact wrench
and I LOVE the oil wrench .. I always had problems
with my oil wrenches slipping ... but not this one ..

[palealien]

Lately, our local HF has added a discount cart- with some surprising stuff on it quite often. I bought some of Amflo fittings and mini-regs & filters for half what I have seen, "real" Vise Grips at about 20% under the lowest discount- ChannelLocks, even my favorite name-brand wood glue. Norton abrasives. And yes, the rice cooker. I dont know how they get stuff to offer as cut-outs that I have never noticed in the store, but I must admit it keeps me coming back more often than I would like!

[crucible100]

I think harbor freight has just about reached critical mass as they seem to have more good enough tools than crappy tools . I am somber in mood lately because i just dont have the same thrill going into the store as i used to get due to the fact that i have bought just about one of everything that is "GOOD ENOUGH" from the chain and triples of things that are great .. I still buy craftsmen wrenches and sockets and name brand welders for home and HF stuff to go to the Pick a PART .. THe only ray of hope I have is to look forward to a Lathe or a Bridgeport knock off .. But thats a lot of $$$$ away for now ... meanwhile i might just buy another 4 1/2 grinder to add to the 8 or 9 i have already with everything from a diamond blade to a wire wheel on them ....... >>> cracking up as i post this <<<

[Lanmanb4]

Sitting here reading all these threads on HF tools ..
I wonder if anyone in the forum is good with MS access or Excel ..
Maybe a spreadsheet with description, SKU#, "rating" and comments
Then it would be all together in one document?

OR even a searchable database?

any takers???

Randy - N2CUA

[Lanmanb4]

Ok .. seeing as how I mentioned it .. I took all the posts and put them in a notepad text document .. but will try to isolate individual items as time permits.. would like to see SKU # in with the posts if people dont mind ..

Randy - N2CUA

[Brad-Man]

I have the 12 speed 20" swing floor drill press and am delighted with it. It was on sale for $339 and I had a 20% off coupon. Wish I had it when I built my automobile rotisserie....

[steve45]

Overall, I am pleased with my Harbor Freight purchases. I've made several posts in this topic.

However, I've noticed a trend in pneumatic system components is not good. I'm not referring to pneumatic tools, but pneumatic quick couplings, filter-regulators, inflation chucks, etc. I would have to say that at least half of these components have leaked badly enough to return or throw away.

[ZRx61]

I picked up the little air saw thingie today for $19.99 down from $39.99. V handy for trimming plastic auto parts before welding repairs etc.

Also picked up there version of the larger Whitney punch for $17.99, what a useless POS that is...altho it will punch holes in soda cans....

[harcosparky]

I went to Harbor Freight and I was really impressed with thier ...

EXIT DOOR !!!!!

[rloaircool]

What a great thread! Sorry if I haven't read every single post carefully and repeat something already said a cagillion times:

Am pleased with my Harbor Freight:
12 Ton Hydraulic Pipe bender
4" angle grinder (orange)
1/2" hand drill
3/4" benchtop drill press (have had to replace/retighten screws)
metal cutting circular saw (awesome)
c-clamps
auto-darkening hood
several squares & levels
springloaded centerpunch

Sorry I bought:
Tube notcher
drill bits
open end wrenches

Regards,

Clay
buncha junk in the various floor bins

What problems did you have with the tubing notcher? I know it's not going to be high quality, good enough to use all the time. But would it be ok to use every once in a while? I am looking for something to notch 3/4" hrew .120 wall tubing. I only have about 150 notches to make.

[Jim Stabe]

I recently purchased one of their electric winches. It has real possibility as especially for somebody who need a project motor with a gear reducer. It is 1-1/8 hp. It spins at 60 rpm. It has forward and reverse remote control. It has a brake. The shaft is 18mm hex.

It cost 76 dollars total with 15% coupon. It was on sale for 79 dollars.

I used it on a pyramid roller I built. Definitely worth the price for how much I use the roller. I was looking at paying $300 plus to purchase motor and gear reducer for this project. So price was right and only minimum modification was needed prior to use.

I used one of their small 12 v winches to power my HF bead roller. I use one of their starter booster packs to power it. It makes for a real nice set up if you do sheet metal fabrication.

Jim

[steve45]

Boy, Jim, that MGB project sounds like FUN! The MGB was certainly one of the most fun cars I've ever driven. Fortunately, I didn't OWN it, so I didn't have to maintain it!

[jmcalli]

Cen-Tech 6" Digital Caliper #93940

This caliper did indeed suck when I first received it two weeks ago - it didn't work. The digital display was going crazy, so before pitching it into the trash I disassembled it and removed the paper shims between the reader board and the shell. Cleaned everything (filthy from the factory), reassembled without the shims, adjusted the gib screws, and it works great. I checked it with my DoAll Gage blocks and it consistently reads -.001" over the entire 6" scale, within the +/- .001" advertised error range. The black-on-dark blue scale is nearly impossible to see but the extra large LCD is easy to read. It has auto on/off and comes with a spare battery. At about $15.00 on sale, I can buy ten of these for less than the cost of one Mitutoyo digital caliper and I don't have to worry if I drop them. I no longer see this item on Harbor Freight's website but they do have the 8" version for more money.

Central Pneumatic Professional HVLP Gravity Feed Spray Gun #43430

I went nuts and bought three of these things recently. I'd read good reviews and they were on sale so cheap I rationalized it was cheaper to buy multiple guns than buying the lacquer thinner and spending the time to clean them. I do clean them though, and they work very well.

[Woodshed]

I put tools into 3 area. Tools I use everyday I buy the best. Tools that are used but not everyday I buy average grade. Tools I might only use once a quarter I buy cheap tools and also figure what they will be used for. You have to be careful about the tools you buy from HF cause they sell off brands and also for the weekend homeowner. Also the old saying come to mind here and that is you get what you pay for.

[runchman]

I bought their 1/2 inch impact wrench a while back - it wouldn't take the lugs off my car!! Broke down and bought a 'real' chicago pneumatic (not to be confused with 'chicago' electric)

But the bandsaw, and the angle grinders, I'm very happy with.

- John

[littlefuzz]

Yeah I had one of those 1/2" impacts (if that's what you'd call it) You'd have to loosen the lugs by hand first then use the impact. It might would be a good addition to my daughters little tool set.

[guilow]

I bought one of their SDS hammer drills. I'm getting new countertops installed and the company wanted $1100 to remove the old counter.

Instead.....I spent $34.99 on sale priced hammer drill. I used the hammer-only mode and took of the entire countertop myself in about six hours. If the drill fails tomorrow, so what! I still saved over $1000!

[goodfellow]

I bought one of their SDS hammer drills. I'm getting new countertops installed and the company wanted $1100 to remove the old counter.

Instead.....I spent $34.99 on sale priced hammer drill. I used the hammer-only mode and took of the entire countertop myself in about six hours. If the drill fails tomorrow, so what! I still saved over $1000!

Ditto on the SDS hammer drill. I bought one for a one-time project and thought that if it breaks after the job it was well worth it. Well after almost two years of hard use, the darn thing keeps right on working.

Other tools I'd buy again from HF

4.5" orange angle grinders (w/ paddle switch) -- have six of them and some are eight years old -- GREAT!!

14" (4-speed) woodworking bandsaw -- made in Taiwan -- best saw I've had

Almost forgot -- I like the heavy duty combo sander (6x48" belt and 12" disc). It gets used everyday and we've had it for almost four years now.

4X6 vert/horiz metal cutting bandsaw -- never had a problem with that saw (HF blades are not good, so I use ENCO of Grizzly bi-metal)

12" Sliding Compound Miter Saw -- Love it! It's used to cut wood and light gauge aluminum -- works great

20 gal. parts washer -- good for the home garage, but HF's cleaning solution is awful. Switched to NAPA solution and now everything gets nice and clean.

[Jim Stabe]

Boy, Jim, that MGB project sounds like FUN! The MGB was certainly one of the most fun cars I've ever driven. Fortunately, I didn't OWN it, so I didn't have to maintain it!

The secret to maintaining a British car is to take out all the British stuff that fails or doesn't work right: engine, trans, suspension, Lucas electrics, etc.

Jim

[3 weelin geezer]

Lets see...I have bought one tool that DOES suck but I haven't verified it. It is a a/c atmosphere remover. It does what those $200 pumps do but without any moving parts to wear out so I figger it should last at least the first time use. I also like getting those rolls of emery cloth there. I was thinking of getting a mig welder but apart from the fact that it only has 2 settings I think I shall pass on the lack of quality . I would say this store is the equivalent of 'PIC N SAVE' or 'BIG LOTS' or 'THE DOLLAR GENERAL' of the tool industry. Everything is made in China by some Bengledashi that works for the Mission Impossible team or what?

[TIGBOY]

ive got a good bit of my stuff at hf,bench vise 8inch,drill press,bench grinder,tons of little things,but 2 things that ive had that suck out loud are,needle scaler it fell apart and the 10.99 drill bit sets in a red box they are sh_t