In the belief that you can never have too many tools or enough places to
keep them, I was interested to see this 11-drawer 3-piece tool chest in a
Harbor Freight coupon flyer that came a couple of days ago. I wondered if
the usual in-store price really was $300, and apparently it is. When I got
to the local HF to check it out there were several other guys trying to get
one too, and of course HF had run out. The weird thing is there is another
flyer out there advertising the same set for $200, the display model in the
store (which they wouldn't sell) had a sale tag for $180, but I was the only
one there with a coupon with the double secret probation price of $150.
Since I was the only one not being rude to the HF employee taking hits over
them being out of stock, guess who he was willing to phone around to other
locations for? So while it meant a 20-mile drive to another HF store the
chest was waiting for me. I'm very pleased with the quality, it might not
be for a heavy-duty diesel mechanic, but to clear some of the tool clutter
that had been getting out of control around here it's just fine. Hey, even
my wife likes it. If you have or can get your hands on their current coupon
flyer this seems to me to be one of the better deals at HF for awhile. An
added bonus is I discovered the store where I picked up the chest is twice
the size of my local HF and appears better-stocked too, fewer wasted trips
for out-of-stock items in future.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=39421

DGDevin wrote:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=39421



Be discerning when picking it out.
The one *on display* at my local store about as thick as a tin can
and is all crooked like a trapezoid.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

-MIKE- wrote:

Be discerning when picking it out.
The one *on display* at my local store about as thick as a tin can
and is all crooked like a trapezoid.

Mine came in three boxes, the handles and wheels went on with no problems
and it is on the job in my garage as we speak. As I said, it isn't a
heavy-duty professional piece of gear that will be bashed around in a shop
that repairs bulldozers. But for organizing a bunch of woodworking tools in
a hobbyist's garage it's working out just fine. And at 140lbs it's maybe
just a bit thicker than a tin can.

DGDevin wrote:
'm very pleased with the quality, it might not
be for a heavy-duty diesel mechanic, but to clear some of the tool clutter
that had been getting out of control around here it's just fine.

I've found "consumer duty" rollaways to be great for me, too.

Good find!

Be discerning when picking it out.
The one *on display* at my local store about as thick as a tin can
and is all crooked like a trapezoid.

Mine came in three boxes, the handles and wheels went on with no problems
and it is on the job in my garage as we speak. As I said, it isn't a
heavy-duty professional piece of gear that will be bashed around in a shop
that repairs bulldozers. But for organizing a bunch of woodworking tools in
a hobbyist's garage it's working out just fine. And at 140lbs it's maybe
just a bit thicker than a tin can.


Maybe just a little. :-)

I'm sure it's about the same quality as the little jobbie I picked up at
walmart. But for 200 bucks, I wish this HF one was one sale at the time,
because it's about 4 times the volume. And yours very well may be a
little more heavy duty than the one at my store. I've seen variation in
quality on the same model and parts number, from store to store, state
to state, heck even in store year to year.


--

-MIKE-

"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com

---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 10:25:41 -0800, "DGDevin" wrote:

B A R R Y wrote:

I've found "consumer duty" rollaways to be great for me, too.

Good find!

Exactly, I didn't think I was getting Snap-on quality, but then I didn't pay
a Snap-on price either.

Which exactly why HF is a good place to shop, IMO..
You get what you pay for, and most of the things that I've bought at HF have
been better than I expected, for the price..


mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 10:25:41 -0800, "DGDevin"
wrote:

B A R R Y wrote:

I've found "consumer duty" rollaways to be great for me, too.

Good find!

Exactly, I didn't think I was getting Snap-on quality, but then I didn't
pay
a Snap-on price either.

Which exactly why HF is a good place to shop, IMO..
You get what you pay for, and most of the things that I've bought at HF
have
been better than I expected, for the price..


mac


I think that is exactly where the whole beef with HF lies. People think
they are going to get a $150 tool for $19.99, or a $1000 tool for $149.99.

If you go in expecting a $20 for $20, and if you realize that some jobs call
for a $20 tool, you'll be pleasantly surprised. In my experience.

Ed

Ed Edelenbos wrote:

I think that is exactly where the whole beef with HF lies. People
think they are going to get a $150 tool for $19.99, or a $1000 tool
for $149.99.
If you go in expecting a $20 for $20, and if you realize that some
jobs call for a $20 tool, you'll be pleasantly surprised. In my
experience.
Ed

I'm never under any illusions about what I'm buying at HF. But there are
things like glue brushes or spring-loaded clamps or bench dogs where
top-quality doesn't seem to be an issue. With power tools--which I select
and purchase carefully--I'm willing to pay the price of U.S. or European
mfg. because in the long run it's more economical to pay for quality. So
while I'm well aware that my new tool chest wouldn't be up to the demands of
a professional mechanic, it's going to be tough enough for the limited
demands I'm putting on it. I've almost run out of tools to put away, two
benches are now clear enough to be used without first moving a bunch of
stuff! And with approval from SWMBO that's a good use of a hundred and
fifty bucks. ;~)

Andrew Barss wrote:

How did you get this coupon?

-- Andy Barss

It was in a flyer mailed to me, I apparently got on their mailing list by
doing a return awhile back. The other guys trying to get the same price in
the store were told there were no more of those coupon flyers, however I
noticed a stack of them under the counter behind a checkout stand. That
might be the case at your local HF, perhaps it's worth checking out.

"DGDevin" wrote in message
m...
Ed Edelenbos wrote:

I think that is exactly where the whole beef with HF lies. People
think they are going to get a $150 tool for $19.99, or a $1000 tool
for $149.99.
If you go in expecting a $20 for $20, and if you realize that some
jobs call for a $20 tool, you'll be pleasantly surprised. In my
experience.
Ed

I'm never under any illusions about what I'm buying at HF. But there are
things like glue brushes or spring-loaded clamps or bench dogs where
top-quality doesn't seem to be an issue. With power tools--which I select
and purchase carefully--I'm willing to pay the price of U.S. or European
mfg. because in the long run it's more economical to pay for quality. So
while I'm well aware that my new tool chest wouldn't be up to the demands
of a professional mechanic, it's going to be tough enough for the limited
demands I'm putting on it. I've almost run out of tools to put away, two
benches are now clear enough to be used without first moving a bunch of
stuff! And with approval from SWMBO that's a good use of a hundred and
fifty bucks. ;~)


I think we're on the same page, here. (grin)

Ed

-MIKE- wrote:

I'm sure it's about the same quality as the little jobbie I picked up
at walmart. But for 200 bucks, I wish this HF one was one sale at the
time, because it's about 4 times the volume. And yours very well may
be a little more heavy duty than the one at my store. I've seen
variation in quality on the same model and parts number, from store
to store, state to state, heck even in store year to year.

Could be, the display model in the first store looked like hell, in the
second store it looked so good it was gone when I went back in two days for
some other stuff. I checked out some of their better tool chests on the
second trip, certainly nicer quality but also way more money for the same
number of drawers. I just couldn't justify $700 to store chisels and planes
socket sets unless I was planning on sleeping out in the garage with the
shiny new stainless steel tool chest if you know what I mean.