There are certain circumstances that I have found HF to be quite
handy. For years I sneered at their quality, the origin of their
tools, and the lack of support for their products. What a difference
a few years make. Now nearly every tool I see anywhere is made in
China, or from sourced parts from there so I am buying Chinese whether
I like it or not.

I thought it would be fun to see what TO buy, and what NOT to buy from
everyone based on personal experience. Not a Googled experience, but
hands on.

So, here's few from me on the "buy list". Their multitool kicks ass.
I have absolutely used the snot out of mine for about three years now,
and it is still a very stout machine that works as well as it did when
I bought it. I have found the blades to be nearly the quality of
the Fein blades, which was a shocker. I have bought them and given
them away as gifts and all the owners have had the same experience as
mine.

Their 4 1/2" grinder. This tool was bought as an emergency to replace
a Bosch grind that crapped out on the job. This one can't be killed.
I have had it for about 6-8 years now, and use it to grind metal for
finishing, grind off bolts and screws on burglar bars when painting,
and use the masonry blades on it to cut bricks, pavers, stone, and to
inlet flashings into masonry chimneys. Paid $13 for this tool.

Halogen light bulbs for my stand lights. Everywhere else, these bulbs
are 6 - 10 bucks each. When they have a door buster, I buy them for
99 cents. Last better in the lamps than the more expensive
offerings.

Foam sanding blocks. These are $6 for ten, not one for $6. They have
worked every bit as well as the 3M offerings for me, and now I only
use them when I need a foam block to conform to an irregular shape. I
used these by the bucket when I was doing a lot of refinishing.

Nitrile gloves. You can get 100 5 mil gloves for what you pay for a
set or two from the paint store. I use 3 mil, 5 mil, and for using
caustic materials (like MEK, etc.) I use their 7 mil. I mix and
spray, take the gloves off and toss them. I may use ten sets of
gloves a day, which means it costs me a little over a buck. Best of
all, the gloves work great for me. And if I tear one from material
handling, I have so many in the box I just get another. It isn't a
tragedy as it is when using the paint store gloves that are sold as
two to three pairs in a $10 pack.

HVLP guns. I only used these to try out new finishes and experiment
with mixes, but after I screwed up my expensive finish gun I was
forced to use my practice guns on the job. What a bone head... if it
was good enough for me to determine my mixes and be satisfied with the
end results, why wouldn't I like it on the job? I have had several of
these guns, and the only thing to consider is the build quality can be
spotty.

Paint gun stuff. They have great prices on HVLP gun filters, material
filters, inline moisture removal filters and cup liners. Literally,
their prices are about 1/10 of Sherwin Williams. This is a big deal
for me because as is he case with sand paper, these are all
consumables for the guys that do it for a living. Being extremely
affordable means I am in the habit of changing gun filters every job,
changing line filters every job and always having cup liner on hand at
a whopping ten cents a piece.

Woodworking hammers. Good stuff, and while I use my Plumb (made in
China of course), these are great hammers for helpers or for certain
tasks like roofing where you don't want tar and gunk on your wood
working tools.

Bulk drill bits. NOT the crap in the indexes, not in the special
sets. But once upon a time they had bits from manufacturing that had
been reground. They were all different lengths and sizes and were
sold by the pound. I tried a pound, and while I have little idea or
concern exactly what size they are (for me bits are almost exclusively
for pilot holes or rivets) these bits have out lasted my Blue Mol and
Bosch bits by a pretty long stroke. Sadly, they are in store only and
it is catch as catch can. The bits are something like $5 a pound, and
I look for the bags that have the 1/8" and similar sizes in them. You
get a lot of 1/8" bits in a pound.

So some things NOT to buy there. First, they used to have a line of
air nailers that were perfect back up guns. No longer so. Blew a
seal on my Bostitch brad nailer, and since the seals weren't in stock
I bought their 18 ga. It was OK for base and some other work, but
marked up the wood unless you got it just right. The gun would drive
a 2" brad into white oak with no problems. It crapped out before the
job was finished. Three weeks ago, same scenario with my 16 ga
straight nailer. Piston bumper in the gun broke and it is special
order. Bought the 16 ga at HF on sale for $39, and it wasn't worth 39
cents. It jammed up solid after about 1/2 clip of nails. The guns
are junk and they cost me a lot of down time.

Squeeze clamps. At $2 for a 12" clamp, I couldn't resist. I bought
four. Two work and two don't. They wouldn't clamp a sock on the
clothesline. HF told me they had problems with them and they were
changing manufacturers.

Screwdrivers. Forget it.

Most drill bits. Forget them, too.

Chisels of any type. Cold, or for wood or anything else, a no go.

Hand saws. Nope.

Measuring tapes. No way, they break in minutes.

OK, that's my take on HF after waaay too much coffee and a 3 hour long
session in the waiting room of the doctor's office typing this out
with nothing else to do.

Any thoughts?

Robert

wrote:
There are certain circumstances that I have found HF to be quite
handy. For years I sneered at their quality, the origin of their
tools, and the lack of support for their products. What a difference
a few years make. Now nearly every tool I see anywhere is made in
China, or from sourced parts from there so I am buying Chinese whether
I like it or not.

I thought it would be fun to see what TO buy, and what NOT to buy from
everyone based on personal experience. Not a Googled experience, but
hands on.

The things I have or have had that come to mind...

lathe, $240? - works fine, had it now for about 10 years. Drive belt broke
about a year ago, easy to order new one from HF

hammer drill, $32 - works fine but the chuck rusts easily

4 1/2" grinder, $15 (now 9.95) - I have a better one too but I bought this
because it had an accessory shoe (like a saw) and I needed to cut a lot of
slots in concrete to the same depth with a diamond blade; it works fine but
gets pretty warm and the slide switch has gotten hard to slide. I suspect
disassembly and cleaning out the concrete dust would free it up. OTOH, I
can buy another for $9.95

7" tub tile saw, $100 - nothing wrong with the saw but I was cutting
Saltillo which makes a lot of mud. In short order the mud would gum up the
slides so the table was very hard to move. Gave the saw to a contractor
friend who was doing some work for me.

7" radial tile saw, about $100 - it replaced the above and I have used the
hell out of it. My only complaints...
1. only about 3/4" from table to motor bottom, wish there were more
2. it is steel, steel rusts
3. the water tray is also steel, don't care if it rusts, but it is hard
to get to and once there it is hard to remove for cleaning

12" bar clamps, $1.99 each - they clamp well. Only complaint, a couple of
the rivets holfing handle to screw had rough heads. A moment with a file
fixed it.

18" bar clamps, $2.99 each, same as above. I also have some smaller German
ones, don't like them as they have no clutch and the teeth on the bar are so
fine that a spot of dried glue makes them inoperable.

assorted hand screws, dont recall the cost but not more than half that of
Jorgensons

assorted pipe clamps, both 1/2" with a toggle and 3/4" with a crank handle.
I prefer the 1/2". Again, don't recall the price but less than $5.00 each.
Probably less than $4.00.

chip brushes by the bundle, great for epoxy, polyester and contact cement

nitrile gloves

Probably other things but that's what I recall off the top of my head. I've
been buying things from HF for 30 years or a bit more, never understood why
it was so popular to beat them up. True, the finish of some items is not as
great as on more expensive ones but you are paying much less, what is
expected? And, IME, the *utility* of their offerings has been just fine.
The same holds true for Chinese goods in general and I'm sure it will
improve with time; better hope so, the Chinese hegemony is a-coming...

--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

" wrote in news:a43a6c1f-
:

*snip*


Any thoughts?

Robert


The multimeters are great. At less than $10, you get a multimeter that
hits the most important functions and is cheap enough that you don't have
to worry too much about it. Beware readings taken with a weak battery.
I've got 4, but need a few more. (With as much as they cost--especially
on sale--there's no reason not to have one within easy reach... Even if
just to check batteries.)

I bought one of their more expensive ones that read capacitance,
temperature, and frequency, but it was still less than $20. Try finding
a capacitance meter elsewhere for that price. There are some negatives
to this one, though. The temperature bottoms out at 0C (32F), so it's
useless for cold measurements, and the capacitance function requires you
to stick the capacitor in two slots instead of reading it with probes.

The multitool was loud, noisy, and vibrated a lot. I upgraded to the
Bosch version, and "donated" the old one to my local model railroad club.
Believe it or not, I've actually used the old one more recently than the
Bosch.


The 13-Drawer tool chest is a winner. It's built extremely well, with a
good solid feel and drawers that slide nicely. Apparently, it was a
Snap-on design that they acquired the rights to and gave the plans to a
manufacturer and said "build this."

Not sure if that's what really happened, but the only thing low quality
about it was the packaging. The packaging was absolutely horrible. It
was the cheapest of the cheap, the junkiest of the junk. It did protect
the tool chest enough to get it home, but practically fell apart on the
way. (It's only notable because it's so bad.)

Look for a coupon. (I found one in Motortrend.) The "regular" price
seems to have gone up quite a bit recently.



Avoid the 12V window heater. Don't even pick it up, it's not worth it.
By the time it makes any difference at all, the car engine is warm enough
to defrost the windows and start warming the cabin. The employee at the
store told me it was one of their most returned items and it wasn't any
good. I thought it'd be good enough to start defrosting windows while
waiting for the car to warm up enough to do so, but it wasn't.

Their mini chop saw is a pretty decent tool. I'd rather see a
traditional fence setup like a CMS instead of that little clamp that
doesn't sit flush with the base, but that's only a minor issue. I should
look in to getting better replacement blades somewhere, though. (I
wonder if I can get abrasive cut off wheels instead... Might work better
for small tubing.)

Avoid the cheap little hobby airbrushes. I bought one a few years ago
for less than $10, and it was useless out of the package. The only nice
thing about it was the flask.

Their lead-acid battery float chargers seem ok. I can't say it's harmed
the battery, and it's probably helped delay the purchase of a new one for
that machine.

I've had pretty good luck with their acid brushes, but they do drop the
occasional bristle. Fortunately, it's easy to see against the yellow
background of the glue.

That's all I can think of at the moment...

Puckdropper
--
Make it to fit, don't make it fit.

"dadiOH" wrote in :

The things I have or have had that come to mind...

lathe, $240? - works fine, had it now for about 10 years. Drive belt
broke about a year ago, easy to order new one from HF

Link belt. About $25 for 5' last I knew. Cheaper than anywhere else, and
works quite well too.

*snip*

Puckdropper
--
Make it to fit, don't make it fit.

wrote:

There are certain circumstances that I have found HF to be quite
handy. For years I sneered at their quality, the origin of their
tools, and the lack of support for their products. What a difference
a few years make. Now nearly every tool I see anywhere is made in
China, or from sourced parts from there so I am buying Chinese whether
I like it or not.


To me, it's really not so much whether something is made in China or not,
but to what standard. For a long time now, China has been manufacturing a
lot of things in our lives, and has produced the quality that we expected
from reliable brands of products. It's about the specifications provided by
the host company, it's about the host company's involvement in the process
(QA, QC), and whether the host company is committed to quality or simply
looking for cheap manufacturing and does not care about quality. The
Chinese will and do manufacture to specifications if required to do so - and
they take every shortcut if allowed to do so.


Their 4 1/2" grinder. This tool was bought as an emergency to replace
a Bosch grind that crapped out on the job. This one can't be killed.
I have had it for about 6-8 years now, and use it to grind metal for
finishing, grind off bolts and screws on burglar bars when painting,
and use the masonry blades on it to cut bricks, pavers, stone, and to
inlet flashings into masonry chimneys. Paid $13 for this tool.

I have a couple of these in the garage at all times. I first thought of
them as throw aways too, and in fact they are at those prices, but I have
gotten a lot more life out of them than I ever expected when I bought them.
I roached a SnapOn grinder and had to get a quick replacement - that's how I
got into using the HF grinder. Now I won't ever spend the crazy amounts of
money that SnapOn or anyone else wants for their grinder. Just no good
reason to do so. For those who would say "just wait until that cheap
grinder fails just when you need it most, or that repair parts are not
available"... that's exactly what happened with my expensive SnapOn grinder.
Repair? Warranty? Sure - hand over $175 and they'll put a new grinder in
my hand to replace it.


Halogen light bulbs for my stand lights. Everywhere else, these bulbs
are 6 - 10 bucks each. When they have a door buster, I buy them for
99 cents. Last better in the lamps than the more expensive
offerings.

Never noticed these - I'm going to have to look for them.

Nitrile gloves. You can get 100 5 mil gloves for what you pay for a
set or two from the paint store. I use 3 mil, 5 mil, and for using
caustic materials (like MEK, etc.) I use their 7 mil. I mix and
spray, take the gloves off and toss them. I may use ten sets of
gloves a day, which means it costs me a little over a buck. Best of
all, the gloves work great for me. And if I tear one from material
handling, I have so many in the box I just get another. It isn't a
tragedy as it is when using the paint store gloves that are sold as
two to three pairs in a $10 pack.


I use the crap out of these too. Absolutely no reason to pay any more than
this for them.

HVLP guns. I only used these to try out new finishes and experiment
with mixes, but after I screwed up my expensive finish gun I was
forced to use my practice guns on the job. What a bone head... if it
was good enough for me to determine my mixes and be satisfied with the
end results, why wouldn't I like it on the job? I have had several of
these guns, and the only thing to consider is the build quality can be
spotty.

Yup! My good guns are all reliable brand name guns, but I do have HF guns
as well. The only time they have not performed well was when I used the
wrong gun for the task at hand. You just can't throw a heavy build primer
through a little touch up gun and expect a mirror finish out of the gun...


Paint gun stuff. They have great prices on HVLP gun filters, material
filters, inline moisture removal filters and cup liners. Literally,
their prices are about 1/10 of Sherwin Williams. This is a big deal
for me because as is he case with sand paper, these are all
consumables for the guys that do it for a living. Being extremely
affordable means I am in the habit of changing gun filters every job,
changing line filters every job and always having cup liner on hand at
a whopping ten cents a piece.

About all I use for supplies from them is gun cleaning kits, and in-line
(gun attach) water filters. Both are dirt cheap, and work as they should.
In both cases, these are 10% or less, of the amount that other retailers or
paint supply houses charge for the very same items.


Bulk drill bits. NOT the crap in the indexes, not in the special
sets.

I have one of their indexes and I kinda like it. The sharpness is
inconsistent, and the first time you use a particular bit, it may work like
a top, or you may have to take it to the grinder and put a good edge on it.
I can sharpen drill bits by hand just fine, so it really does not bother me
to have to do so, considering the price of the index. Once sharpened, they
work just fine, and hold their edge as well as any other drill bit I've ever
owned.

Bought the 16 ga at HF on sale for $39, and it wasn't worth 39
cents. It jammed up solid after about 1/2 clip of nails. The guns
are junk and they cost me a lot of down time.

I don't know which one you bought, but my pin nailer has worked just fine
for years now - though I do not put the volume of nails through it that you
do.


Squeeze clamps. At $2 for a 12" clamp, I couldn't resist. I bought
four. Two work and two don't. They wouldn't clamp a sock on the
clothesline. HF told me they had problems with them and they were
changing manufacturers.\

Just looked at these a couple of days ago. I tried a couple in the store -
clamped them down on the shelves, and over squeezed them to see if they
would slip, or fail in some other way. Both clamped well. Might be one of
those hit or miss items that is worth checking in the store before walking
up front to pay for.


Screwdrivers. Forget it.

I have a lot of screwdrivers. I have a couple of HF sets, and a mismatched
selection of what are supposed to be very good screwdrivers. I have never
found any difference in any of them. I am fanatic about not using my
screwdrivers as chisels, or pry bars, or any other similar tool, but I'm not
otherwise delicate with them. Just never had any problem with them.


Hand saws. Nope.


The only hand saw I have from them is the Japanese flush cut saw. Very
sharp, cuts like a hot knife through butter, and leaves no mark on the wood.

Measuring tapes. No way, they break in minutes.

I bought a couple of these when they had 30' tapes for $2.99. Figured it
was worth the time to check them out. Again - I don't put mine to the use
that you do, but I've not had any problem. The one thing I did discover is
that they don't extend out without flexing as well as some tapes do.
Thinner blade or something. As long as I don't try to get more than about
6' (or so...) out of them unsupported, they work just fine for me.


Any thoughts?

None that I can think of...

--

-Mike-

" wrote:
There are certain circumstances that I have found HF to be quite
handy. For years I sneered at their quality, the origin of their
tools, and the lack of support for their products. What a difference
a few years make. Now nearly every tool I see anywhere is made in
China, or from sourced parts from there so I am buying Chinese whether
I like it or not.

I thought it would be fun to see what TO buy, and what NOT to buy from
everyone based on personal experience. Not a Googled experience, but
hands on.

Any thoughts?

Double sided tape, and 18 ga brads.


--
www.ewoodshop.com (Mobile)

On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 02:06:58 -0800 (PST), wrote:

There are certain circumstances that I have found HF to be quite
handy. For years I sneered at their quality, the origin of their
tools, and the lack of support for their products. What a difference
a few years make. Now nearly every tool I see anywhere is made in
China, or from sourced parts from there so I am buying Chinese whether
I like it or not.

I thought it would be fun to see what TO buy, and what NOT to buy from
everyone based on personal experience. Not a Googled experience, but
hands on.

So, here's few from me on the "buy list". Their multitool kicks ass.
I have absolutely used the snot out of mine for about three years now,
and it is still a very stout machine that works as well as it did when
I bought it. I have found the blades to be nearly the quality of
the Fein blades, which was a shocker. I have bought them and given
them away as gifts and all the owners have had the same experience as
mine.

Their 4 1/2" grinder. This tool was bought as an emergency to replace
a Bosch grind that crapped out on the job. This one can't be killed.
I have had it for about 6-8 years now, and use it to grind metal for
finishing, grind off bolts and screws on burglar bars when painting,
and use the masonry blades on it to cut bricks, pavers, stone, and to
inlet flashings into masonry chimneys. Paid $13 for this tool.

Halogen light bulbs for my stand lights. Everywhere else, these bulbs
are 6 - 10 bucks each. When they have a door buster, I buy them for
99 cents. Last better in the lamps than the more expensive
offerings.

Foam sanding blocks. These are $6 for ten, not one for $6. They have
worked every bit as well as the 3M offerings for me, and now I only
use them when I need a foam block to conform to an irregular shape. I
used these by the bucket when I was doing a lot of refinishing.

Nitrile gloves. You can get 100 5 mil gloves for what you pay for a
set or two from the paint store. I use 3 mil, 5 mil, and for using
caustic materials (like MEK, etc.) I use their 7 mil. I mix and
spray, take the gloves off and toss them. I may use ten sets of
gloves a day, which means it costs me a little over a buck. Best of
all, the gloves work great for me. And if I tear one from material
handling, I have so many in the box I just get another. It isn't a
tragedy as it is when using the paint store gloves that are sold as
two to three pairs in a $10 pack.

HVLP guns. I only used these to try out new finishes and experiment
with mixes, but after I screwed up my expensive finish gun I was
forced to use my practice guns on the job. What a bone head... if it
was good enough for me to determine my mixes and be satisfied with the
end results, why wouldn't I like it on the job? I have had several of
these guns, and the only thing to consider is the build quality can be
spotty.

Paint gun stuff. They have great prices on HVLP gun filters, material
filters, inline moisture removal filters and cup liners. Literally,
their prices are about 1/10 of Sherwin Williams. This is a big deal
for me because as is he case with sand paper, these are all
consumables for the guys that do it for a living. Being extremely
affordable means I am in the habit of changing gun filters every job,
changing line filters every job and always having cup liner on hand at
a whopping ten cents a piece.

Woodworking hammers. Good stuff, and while I use my Plumb (made in
China of course), these are great hammers for helpers or for certain
tasks like roofing where you don't want tar and gunk on your wood
working tools.

Bulk drill bits. NOT the crap in the indexes, not in the special
sets. But once upon a time they had bits from manufacturing that had
been reground. They were all different lengths and sizes and were
sold by the pound. I tried a pound, and while I have little idea or
concern exactly what size they are (for me bits are almost exclusively
for pilot holes or rivets) these bits have out lasted my Blue Mol and
Bosch bits by a pretty long stroke. Sadly, they are in store only and
it is catch as catch can. The bits are something like $5 a pound, and
I look for the bags that have the 1/8" and similar sizes in them. You
get a lot of 1/8" bits in a pound.

So some things NOT to buy there. First, they used to have a line of
air nailers that were perfect back up guns. No longer so. Blew a
seal on my Bostitch brad nailer, and since the seals weren't in stock
I bought their 18 ga. It was OK for base and some other work, but
marked up the wood unless you got it just right. The gun would drive
a 2" brad into white oak with no problems. It crapped out before the
job was finished. Three weeks ago, same scenario with my 16 ga
straight nailer. Piston bumper in the gun broke and it is special
order. Bought the 16 ga at HF on sale for $39, and it wasn't worth 39
cents. It jammed up solid after about 1/2 clip of nails. The guns
are junk and they cost me a lot of down time.

Squeeze clamps. At $2 for a 12" clamp, I couldn't resist. I bought
four. Two work and two don't. They wouldn't clamp a sock on the
clothesline. HF told me they had problems with them and they were
changing manufacturers.

Screwdrivers. Forget it.

Most drill bits. Forget them, too.

Chisels of any type. Cold, or for wood or anything else, a no go.

Hand saws. Nope.

Measuring tapes. No way, they break in minutes.

OK, that's my take on HF after waaay too much coffee and a 3 hour long
session in the waiting room of the doctor's office typing this out
with nothing else to do.

Any thoughts?

Robert
I have:
Finish nailer
multitool
nitrile gloves
some clamps
small tires(chinese have somehow learned to make tires from cat ****)

No problems from any of the above, most all the small hand tools are
near junk, IMO.

Even though HF has a good return policy, I live so far away from
them that it is moot. If a 20 dollar item doesn't work, I'm just out 20
bucks, I am cautious buying anything that may not work out.

Online ordering and returns aren't practical, Fedex and UPS
think I am on the Dark Side of The Moon.

basilisk

On 2/15/2013 7:06 AM, basilisk wrote:
On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 02:06:58 -0800 (PST), wrote:

There are certain circumstances that I have found HF to be quite
handy. For years I sneered at their quality, the origin of their

Following the pack...

nitrile gloves
acid brushes
chip brush and others - I HATE cleaning brushes
other miscellaneous consumables
digital micrometers

Many things that they have on sale as doorbusters (I'll have to give
those drill bits and halogen bulbs a check next time...)

I'd also recommend some of their tools (on a case by case basis where
you can at least do a hands on inspection) that will be used once and
then sit on a shelf collecting dust. I had a kitchen and bath job to do
and so needed a tile saw. Bought the cheapest one they had - on sale,
no less - for about $30 -$35 and used it for those jobs and one other.
It performed as good as I needed and it's still like brand new. I could
not have rented one for that kind of money. One of these days I'll get
around to posting it on Craigslist and I'll recoup at least part of the
cost - maybe buy another box or two of chip brushesg

So, consider doing the same with one of their tools that fits your shop
for a "special project" and not much else. Compare buying something
that, with luck, will carry you through that project and maybe not much
else vs. renting the same thing. Frankly, I'd just as soon spend $100
on such a tool at HF than to rent one for, say, $45/day but with the
latter, having a "gun to my head" to finish the job in one day.

Puckdropper wrote:


I bought one of their more expensive ones that read capacitance,
temperature, and frequency, but it was still less than $20. Try
finding a capacitance meter elsewhere for that price. There are some
negatives to this one, though. The temperature bottoms out at 0C
(32F), so it's useless for cold measurements, and the capacitance
function requires you to stick the capacitor in two slots instead of
reading it with probes.

I have one of these also, and it is great. I don't care that it may not be
as precise as a Fluke, because I don't need that precision. For what it
gets used for, it is precise enough.


The 13-Drawer tool chest is a winner. It's built extremely well,
with a good solid feel and drawers that slide nicely. Apparently, it
was a Snap-on design that they acquired the rights to and gave the
plans to a manufacturer and said "build this."

I own one of those tool cabinets and I agree - it is a real winner. I paid
right around $300 for mine, and there is just no reason at all to have
purchased anything more expensive.


I've had pretty good luck with their acid brushes, but they do drop
the occasional bristle. Fortunately, it's easy to see against the
yellow background of the glue.

I use a bunch of these also. Aside from the entire head falling out, what
in the hell can be better or worse about an acid brush? They are cheap, and
they work.


That's all I can think of at the moment...

Well - you caused me to think of some others...

I own a self darkening welding helmet from them. I like it so much that I
bought my son one for Christmas. I've had mine for years and it has never
failed me once. I noticed that it is currently on sale for $39. Try to
find one of these anywhere near that price someplace else.

My torch set came from HF. It operates smoothly, develops the heat as
advertised, and cuts cleanly.

My bench vise came from HF so long ago that you had to order things from
them mail order - there were no local stores. What can I say... it still
sits there on the bench where I bolted it down years ago, still clamps down
on things, and it still thinks it's a vise after all these years.

I have digital dial calipers and a dial indicator from them. They work.

I have misellaneous socket sets from them - both deep and shallow, both
impact and standard. Never broke one yet.

I have hand wrench sets from them. Never broke one, and never found one
that did not fit a bolt head properly.

I have a ton of welding clamps from them. These are a fraction of the price
of name brand stuff. They work as good as any other clamp I own or have
used. I did notice that the local store does not carry the same selection
of these clamps that they used to - must not have been that big of a seller.
Likewise for their visegrip type of tools.

Stay away from their waterpump pliers though. Like all cheap models, these
will only work for a short time and then they begin to slip - at the point
where they adjust for size.

Stay away from their $10 self draining compressor blow off (the sniffer that
evacuates a small amount of air and moisture from you compressor tank on
each cycle). I've tried two of these, and after getting rid of the junk
plastic hose that comes with them and installing brake line in its place,
they still only lasted a few weeks at the most. They will start leaking at
the seal in the blow off valve.

I have a bunch of their bar clamps, and they just simply work. Going to buy
some of their squeeze clamps.


--

-Mike-

On 02/15/2013 03:06 AM, wrote:
There are certain circumstances that I have found HF to be quite
handy. For years I sneered at their quality, the origin of their
tools, and the lack of support for their products. What a difference
a few years make. Now nearly every tool I see anywhere is made in
China, or from sourced parts from there so I am buying Chinese whether
I like it or not.

I thought it would be fun to see what TO buy, and what NOT to buy from
everyone based on personal experience. Not a Googled experience, but
hands on.

So, here's few from me on the "buy list". Their multitool kicks ass.
I have absolutely used the snot out of mine for about three years now,
and it is still a very stout machine that works as well as it did when
I bought it. I have found the blades to be nearly the quality of
the Fein blades, which was a shocker. I have bought them and given
them away as gifts and all the owners have had the same experience as
mine.

Their 4 1/2" grinder. This tool was bought as an emergency to replace
a Bosch grind that crapped out on the job. This one can't be killed.
I have had it for about 6-8 years now, and use it to grind metal for
finishing, grind off bolts and screws on burglar bars when painting,
and use the masonry blades on it to cut bricks, pavers, stone, and to
inlet flashings into masonry chimneys. Paid $13 for this tool.

Halogen light bulbs for my stand lights. Everywhere else, these bulbs
are 6 - 10 bucks each. When they have a door buster, I buy them for
99 cents. Last better in the lamps than the more expensive
offerings.

Foam sanding blocks. These are $6 for ten, not one for $6. They have
worked every bit as well as the 3M offerings for me, and now I only
use them when I need a foam block to conform to an irregular shape. I
used these by the bucket when I was doing a lot of refinishing.

Nitrile gloves. You can get 100 5 mil gloves for what you pay for a
set or two from the paint store. I use 3 mil, 5 mil, and for using
caustic materials (like MEK, etc.) I use their 7 mil. I mix and
spray, take the gloves off and toss them. I may use ten sets of
gloves a day, which means it costs me a little over a buck. Best of
all, the gloves work great for me. And if I tear one from material
handling, I have so many in the box I just get another. It isn't a
tragedy as it is when using the paint store gloves that are sold as
two to three pairs in a $10 pack.

HVLP guns. I only used these to try out new finishes and experiment
with mixes, but after I screwed up my expensive finish gun I was
forced to use my practice guns on the job. What a bone head... if it
was good enough for me to determine my mixes and be satisfied with the
end results, why wouldn't I like it on the job? I have had several of
these guns, and the only thing to consider is the build quality can be
spotty.

Paint gun stuff. They have great prices on HVLP gun filters, material
filters, inline moisture removal filters and cup liners. Literally,
their prices are about 1/10 of Sherwin Williams. This is a big deal
for me because as is he case with sand paper, these are all
consumables for the guys that do it for a living. Being extremely
affordable means I am in the habit of changing gun filters every job,
changing line filters every job and always having cup liner on hand at
a whopping ten cents a piece.

Woodworking hammers. Good stuff, and while I use my Plumb (made in
China of course), these are great hammers for helpers or for certain
tasks like roofing where you don't want tar and gunk on your wood
working tools.

Bulk drill bits. NOT the crap in the indexes, not in the special
sets. But once upon a time they had bits from manufacturing that had
been reground. They were all different lengths and sizes and were
sold by the pound. I tried a pound, and while I have little idea or
concern exactly what size they are (for me bits are almost exclusively
for pilot holes or rivets) these bits have out lasted my Blue Mol and
Bosch bits by a pretty long stroke. Sadly, they are in store only and
it is catch as catch can. The bits are something like $5 a pound, and
I look for the bags that have the 1/8" and similar sizes in them. You
get a lot of 1/8" bits in a pound.

So some things NOT to buy there. First, they used to have a line of
air nailers that were perfect back up guns. No longer so. Blew a
seal on my Bostitch brad nailer, and since the seals weren't in stock
I bought their 18 ga. It was OK for base and some other work, but
marked up the wood unless you got it just right. The gun would drive
a 2" brad into white oak with no problems. It crapped out before the
job was finished. Three weeks ago, same scenario with my 16 ga
straight nailer. Piston bumper in the gun broke and it is special
order. Bought the 16 ga at HF on sale for $39, and it wasn't worth 39
cents. It jammed up solid after about 1/2 clip of nails. The guns
are junk and they cost me a lot of down time.

Squeeze clamps. At $2 for a 12" clamp, I couldn't resist. I bought
four. Two work and two don't. They wouldn't clamp a sock on the
clothesline. HF told me they had problems with them and they were
changing manufacturers.

Screwdrivers. Forget it.

Most drill bits. Forget them, too.

Chisels of any type. Cold, or for wood or anything else, a no go.

Hand saws. Nope.

Measuring tapes. No way, they break in minutes.

OK, that's my take on HF after waaay too much coffee and a 3 hour long
session in the waiting room of the doctor's office typing this out
with nothing else to do.

Any thoughts?

Robert


I have quite a bit of their stuff including most of what "works" for you.

The one I really like is the infrared non-contact thermometer. I use it
at every stop while towing the 5th wheel to shoot all the hubs and
drums, which was prompted after losing a wheel a few years ago. I also
have their small pancake compressor that was about $40 after coupons.
It has been used quite a bit to air up tires while traveling and will
even run off the 1000W inverter in the 5th wheel.

Their auto compressor drain has worked fine on my shop compressor for
about 10 years after replacing the plastic tubing with copper.

--
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure,the creed of ignorance, and the
gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery"
-Winston Churchill

On 2/15/2013 5:06 AM, wrote:
Squeeze clamps. At $2 for a 12" clamp, I couldn't resist. I bought
four. Two work and two don't. They wouldn't clamp a sock on the
clothesline. HF told me they had problems with them and they were
changing manufacturers.

I've only bought a few things from HF, but this was the item that made
me swear off anything else that looked "too good to be true". I use
Quick Grip clamps all the time. They don't have high clamping power, but
they are so convenient that I find myself reaching for a couple on
practically every job I do around the house. Working alone, I love when
I don't have to devote three or four of my two hands to the task of
keeping something in place while I work on it.

I had a bunch of the 6" Quick Grips, but sometimes something a little
longer would really have been handy. Along came an HF ad for 12"
no-brand clamps with the Hallowe'en color scheme. I think they might
have been $4 each. I bought two.

I broke the orange handle on the first one within minutes of getting the
clamp out of the package. Damn near put a gash in my finger doing it
too. I had simply squeezed the clamp in the usual way around a 2x4 to
test it. I used one hand; one regular, normal hand not known for its
exceptional grip.

It wasn't worth my time to ship the units back, so I kept the second
one. I thought it might be of some use if I babied" it. Hey, maybe the
first one was a fluke. Nope. The first time I found a need for a longer
one-handed clamp, I applied it very gingerly to the task. Same result: a
jagged shard of orange plastic broke off.

Having said that, I may take your advice on one or two of your "tested"
items. I could us a cheap grinder, for instance. BTW, HD had 12" Quick
Grips on sale 4 for $25 around the holidays.

On 2/15/2013 4:06 AM, wrote:
There are certain circumstances that I have found HF to be quite
handy. For years I sneered at their quality, the origin of their
tools, and the lack of support for their products. What a difference
a few years make. Now nearly every tool I see anywhere is made in
China, or from sourced parts from there so I am buying Chinese whether
I like it or not.

I thought it would be fun to see what TO buy, and what NOT to buy from
everyone based on personal experience. Not a Googled experience, but
hands on.

So, here's few from me on the "buy list". Their multitool kicks ass.
I have absolutely used the snot out of mine for about three years now,
and it is still a very stout machine that works as well as it did when
I bought it. I have found the blades to be nearly the quality of
the Fein blades, which was a shocker. I have bought them and given
them away as gifts and all the owners have had the same experience as
mine.

Their 4 1/2" grinder. This tool was bought as an emergency to replace
a Bosch grind that crapped out on the job. This one can't be killed.
I have had it for about 6-8 years now, and use it to grind metal for
finishing, grind off bolts and screws on burglar bars when painting,
and use the masonry blades on it to cut bricks, pavers, stone, and to
inlet flashings into masonry chimneys. Paid $13 for this tool.

Halogen light bulbs for my stand lights. Everywhere else, these bulbs
are 6 - 10 bucks each. When they have a door buster, I buy them for
99 cents. Last better in the lamps than the more expensive
offerings.

Foam sanding blocks. These are $6 for ten, not one for $6. They have
worked every bit as well as the 3M offerings for me, and now I only
use them when I need a foam block to conform to an irregular shape. I
used these by the bucket when I was doing a lot of refinishing.

Nitrile gloves. You can get 100 5 mil gloves for what you pay for a
set or two from the paint store. I use 3 mil, 5 mil, and for using
caustic materials (like MEK, etc.) I use their 7 mil. I mix and
spray, take the gloves off and toss them. I may use ten sets of
gloves a day, which means it costs me a little over a buck. Best of
all, the gloves work great for me. And if I tear one from material
handling, I have so many in the box I just get another. It isn't a
tragedy as it is when using the paint store gloves that are sold as
two to three pairs in a $10 pack.

HVLP guns. I only used these to try out new finishes and experiment
with mixes, but after I screwed up my expensive finish gun I was
forced to use my practice guns on the job. What a bone head... if it
was good enough for me to determine my mixes and be satisfied with the
end results, why wouldn't I like it on the job? I have had several of
these guns, and the only thing to consider is the build quality can be
spotty.

Paint gun stuff. They have great prices on HVLP gun filters, material
filters, inline moisture removal filters and cup liners. Literally,
their prices are about 1/10 of Sherwin Williams. This is a big deal
for me because as is he case with sand paper, these are all
consumables for the guys that do it for a living. Being extremely
affordable means I am in the habit of changing gun filters every job,
changing line filters every job and always having cup liner on hand at
a whopping ten cents a piece.

Woodworking hammers. Good stuff, and while I use my Plumb (made in
China of course), these are great hammers for helpers or for certain
tasks like roofing where you don't want tar and gunk on your wood
working tools.

Bulk drill bits. NOT the crap in the indexes, not in the special
sets. But once upon a time they had bits from manufacturing that had
been reground. They were all different lengths and sizes and were
sold by the pound. I tried a pound, and while I have little idea or
concern exactly what size they are (for me bits are almost exclusively
for pilot holes or rivets) these bits have out lasted my Blue Mol and
Bosch bits by a pretty long stroke. Sadly, they are in store only and
it is catch as catch can. The bits are something like $5 a pound, and
I look for the bags that have the 1/8" and similar sizes in them. You
get a lot of 1/8" bits in a pound.

So some things NOT to buy there. First, they used to have a line of
air nailers that were perfect back up guns. No longer so. Blew a
seal on my Bostitch brad nailer, and since the seals weren't in stock
I bought their 18 ga. It was OK for base and some other work, but
marked up the wood unless you got it just right. The gun would drive
a 2" brad into white oak with no problems. It crapped out before the
job was finished. Three weeks ago, same scenario with my 16 ga
straight nailer. Piston bumper in the gun broke and it is special
order. Bought the 16 ga at HF on sale for $39, and it wasn't worth 39
cents. It jammed up solid after about 1/2 clip of nails. The guns
are junk and they cost me a lot of down time.

Squeeze clamps. At $2 for a 12" clamp, I couldn't resist. I bought
four. Two work and two don't. They wouldn't clamp a sock on the
clothesline. HF told me they had problems with them and they were
changing manufacturers.

Screwdrivers. Forget it.

Most drill bits. Forget them, too.

Chisels of any type. Cold, or for wood or anything else, a no go.

Hand saws. Nope.

Measuring tapes. No way, they break in minutes.

OK, that's my take on HF after waaay too much coffee and a 3 hour long
session in the waiting room of the doctor's office typing this out
with nothing else to do.

Any thoughts?

Robert



Nice Review Robert, Thanks!

On 2/15/2013 6:23 AM, Puckdropper wrote:
"dadiOH" wrote in :

The things I have or have had that come to mind...

lathe, $240? - works fine, had it now for about 10 years. Drive belt
broke about a year ago, easy to order new one from HF

Link belt. About $25 for 5' last I knew. Cheaper than anywhere else, and
works quite well too.

*snip*

Puckdropper



Excellent! I be getting one soon. Seems I need just over 4' and
typically 4' is $20~$30.

On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 07:11:25 -0700, Doug Winterburn
wrote:

On 02/15/2013 03:06 AM, wrote:
There are certain circumstances that I have found HF to be quite
handy. For years I sneered at their quality, the origin of their
tools, and the lack of support for their products. What a difference
a few years make. Now nearly every tool I see anywhere is made in
China, or from sourced parts from there so I am buying Chinese whether
I like it or not.

Unless you spend 40x prices for a Cherman Festool, you're right.


I thought it would be fun to see what TO buy, and what NOT to buy from
everyone based on personal experience. Not a Googled experience, but
hands on.

So, here's few from me on the "buy list". Their multitool kicks ass.
I have absolutely used the snot out of mine for about three years now,
and it is still a very stout machine that works as well as it did when
I bought it. I have found the blades to be nearly the quality of
the Fein blades, which was a shocker. I have bought them and given
them away as gifts and all the owners have had the same experience as
mine.

Their 4 1/2" grinder. This tool was bought as an emergency to replace
a Bosch grind that crapped out on the job. This one can't be killed.
I have had it for about 6-8 years now, and use it to grind metal for
finishing, grind off bolts and screws on burglar bars when painting,
and use the masonry blades on it to cut bricks, pavers, stone, and to
inlet flashings into masonry chimneys. Paid $13 for this tool.



Halogen light bulbs for my stand lights. Everywhere else, these bulbs
are 6 - 10 bucks each. When they have a door buster, I buy them for
99 cents. Last better in the lamps than the more expensive
offerings.

Foam sanding blocks. These are $6 for ten, not one for $6. They have
worked every bit as well as the 3M offerings for me, and now I only
use them when I need a foam block to conform to an irregular shape. I
used these by the bucket when I was doing a lot of refinishing.

Nitrile gloves. You can get 100 5 mil gloves for what you pay for a
set or two from the paint store. I use 3 mil, 5 mil, and for using
caustic materials (like MEK, etc.) I use their 7 mil. I mix and
spray, take the gloves off and toss them. I may use ten sets of
gloves a day, which means it costs me a little over a buck. Best of
all, the gloves work great for me. And if I tear one from material
handling, I have so many in the box I just get another. It isn't a
tragedy as it is when using the paint store gloves that are sold as
two to three pairs in a $10 pack.

Their latex, leather (roping), jersey, and other gloves are really
great, too.


HVLP guns. I only used these to try out new finishes and experiment
with mixes, but after I screwed up my expensive finish gun I was
forced to use my practice guns on the job. What a bone head... if it
was good enough for me to determine my mixes and be satisfied with the
end results, why wouldn't I like it on the job? I have had several of
these guns, and the only thing to consider is the build quality can be
spotty.

Paint gun stuff. They have great prices on HVLP gun filters, material
filters, inline moisture removal filters and cup liners. Literally,
their prices are about 1/10 of Sherwin Williams. This is a big deal
for me because as is he case with sand paper, these are all
consumables for the guys that do it for a living. Being extremely
affordable means I am in the habit of changing gun filters every job,
changing line filters every job and always having cup liner on hand at
a whopping ten cents a piece.

Woodworking hammers. Good stuff, and while I use my Plumb (made in
China of course), these are great hammers for helpers or for certain
tasks like roofing where you don't want tar and gunk on your wood
working tools.

I've had mixed luck with those. The newer ones aren't fitted, the
handles are hacked to standard size and the heads epoxied on. Some
last forever, while others break within minutes.


Bulk drill bits. NOT the crap in the indexes, not in the special
sets. But once upon a time they had bits from manufacturing that had
been reground. They were all different lengths and sizes and were
sold by the pound. I tried a pound, and while I have little idea or
concern exactly what size they are (for me bits are almost exclusively
for pilot holes or rivets) these bits have out lasted my Blue Mol and
Bosch bits by a pretty long stroke. Sadly, they are in store only and
it is catch as catch can. The bits are something like $5 a pound, and
I look for the bags that have the 1/8" and similar sizes in them. You
get a lot of 1/8" bits in a pound.

So some things NOT to buy there. First, they used to have a line of
air nailers that were perfect back up guns. No longer so. Blew a
seal on my Bostitch brad nailer, and since the seals weren't in stock
I bought their 18 ga. It was OK for base and some other work, but
marked up the wood unless you got it just right. The gun would drive
a 2" brad into white oak with no problems. It crapped out before the
job was finished. Three weeks ago, same scenario with my 16 ga
straight nailer. Piston bumper in the gun broke and it is special
order. Bought the 16 ga at HF on sale for $39, and it wasn't worth 39
cents. It jammed up solid after about 1/2 clip of nails. The guns
are junk and they cost me a lot of down time.

Squeeze clamps. At $2 for a 12" clamp, I couldn't resist. I bought
four. Two work and two don't. They wouldn't clamp a sock on the
clothesline. HF told me they had problems with them and they were
changing manufacturers.

Screwdrivers. Forget it.

I've had good luck with the Pittsburgh 7pc set in my backup kit.


Most drill bits. Forget them, too.

I break more (due to hard handling) than I wear out.


Chisels of any type. Cold, or for wood or anything else, a no go.

I've had excellent luck with their transfer punches, hollow punches,
nail sets, and 4T porta-power set. I tried re-hardening some of their
chisels but the steel just isn't there. They must be made from rebar
remelts. =:0


Hand saws. Nope.

Measuring tapes. No way, they break in minutes.

I think I've bought a dozen there (some freebies) in the last decade
and I'm down to 3 or 4 now. They seem to last as well as other brands
I've bought.


OK, that's my take on HF after waaay too much coffee and a 3 hour long
session in the waiting room of the doctor's office typing this out
with nothing else to do.

Any thoughts?

Robert


I have quite a bit of their stuff including most of what "works" for you.

Ditto, guys. I've been buying there since the early Seventies, so
I've had most of their worthwhile stuff. I'm still beating the crap
out of their 5" swivel vise. Their bar and pipe clamps work well if
not flawlessly. I often use one of their wood clamps to hold work
vertical while I repair it.


The one I really like is the infrared non-contact thermometer. I use it
at every stop while towing the 5th wheel to shoot all the hubs and
drums, which was prompted after losing a wheel a few years ago. I also
have their small pancake compressor that was about $40 after coupons.
It has been used quite a bit to air up tires while traveling and will
even run off the 1000W inverter in the 5th wheel.

I had their little pocket job for years but it died and I didn't
replace it. I'll buy a pistol grip next time.

Another thing to avoid is their metal panel punch set. I later eBayed
a Greenlee and the difference was night and day. The wee HF beastie
stripped before I could -blink-. If you see the number 91201 knockout
punch set at HF, RUN AWAY! They're truly ghastly. I tried 3 other
sets in the store that day before getting my money back.

--
If government were a product,
selling it would be illegal.
--P.J. O'Rourke

I am a wanna be wood worker. Only a few HFT tools were pathetic to me.
The hand powered water pump, the 16" scroll saw (the issues could have
been the operator) and I forget what the other was (it was many years
ago, cheap and I throw it away.)

All the other items I bought at have done what I need (drill press, hand
drill, 1/3 sander with holes, sawsall-esque, car jack, car stands,
biscuit slot maker, the biscuits themselves, a level, triangles aluminum
and plastic, my tape measures get lost, but not broken.)

On 2/15/2013 5:06 AM, wrote:
There are certain circumstances that I have found HF to be quite
handy. For years I sneered at their quality, the origin of their
tools, and the lack of support for their products. What a difference
a few years make. Now nearly every tool I see anywhere is made in
China, or from sourced parts from there so I am buying Chinese whether
I like it or not.

I thought it would be fun to see what TO buy, and what NOT to buy from
everyone based on personal experience. Not a Googled experience, but
hands on.

So, here's few from me on the "buy list". Their multitool kicks ass.
I have absolutely used the snot out of mine for about three years now,
and it is still a very stout machine that works as well as it did when
I bought it. I have found the blades to be nearly the quality of
the Fein blades, which was a shocker. I have bought them and given
them away as gifts and all the owners have had the same experience as
mine.

Their 4 1/2" grinder. This tool was bought as an emergency to replace
a Bosch grind that crapped out on the job. This one can't be killed.
I have had it for about 6-8 years now, and use it to grind metal for
finishing, grind off bolts and screws on burglar bars when painting,
and use the masonry blades on it to cut bricks, pavers, stone, and to
inlet flashings into masonry chimneys. Paid $13 for this tool.

Halogen light bulbs for my stand lights. Everywhere else, these bulbs
are 6 - 10 bucks each. When they have a door buster, I buy them for
99 cents. Last better in the lamps than the more expensive
offerings.

Foam sanding blocks. These are $6 for ten, not one for $6. They have
worked every bit as well as the 3M offerings for me, and now I only
use them when I need a foam block to conform to an irregular shape. I
used these by the bucket when I was doing a lot of refinishing.

Nitrile gloves. You can get 100 5 mil gloves for what you pay for a
set or two from the paint store. I use 3 mil, 5 mil, and for using
caustic materials (like MEK, etc.) I use their 7 mil. I mix and
spray, take the gloves off and toss them. I may use ten sets of
gloves a day, which means it costs me a little over a buck. Best of
all, the gloves work great for me. And if I tear one from material
handling, I have so many in the box I just get another. It isn't a
tragedy as it is when using the paint store gloves that are sold as
two to three pairs in a $10 pack.

HVLP guns. I only used these to try out new finishes and experiment
with mixes, but after I screwed up my expensive finish gun I was
forced to use my practice guns on the job. What a bone head... if it
was good enough for me to determine my mixes and be satisfied with the
end results, why wouldn't I like it on the job? I have had several of
these guns, and the only thing to consider is the build quality can be
spotty.

Paint gun stuff. They have great prices on HVLP gun filters, material
filters, inline moisture removal filters and cup liners. Literally,
their prices are about 1/10 of Sherwin Williams. This is a big deal
for me because as is he case with sand paper, these are all
consumables for the guys that do it for a living. Being extremely
affordable means I am in the habit of changing gun filters every job,
changing line filters every job and always having cup liner on hand at
a whopping ten cents a piece.

Woodworking hammers. Good stuff, and while I use my Plumb (made in
China of course), these are great hammers for helpers or for certain
tasks like roofing where you don't want tar and gunk on your wood
working tools.

Bulk drill bits. NOT the crap in the indexes, not in the special
sets. But once upon a time they had bits from manufacturing that had
been reground. They were all different lengths and sizes and were
sold by the pound. I tried a pound, and while I have little idea or
concern exactly what size they are (for me bits are almost exclusively
for pilot holes or rivets) these bits have out lasted my Blue Mol and
Bosch bits by a pretty long stroke. Sadly, they are in store only and
it is catch as catch can. The bits are something like $5 a pound, and
I look for the bags that have the 1/8" and similar sizes in them. You
get a lot of 1/8" bits in a pound.

So some things NOT to buy there. First, they used to have a line of
air nailers that were perfect back up guns. No longer so. Blew a
seal on my Bostitch brad nailer, and since the seals weren't in stock
I bought their 18 ga. It was OK for base and some other work, but
marked up the wood unless you got it just right. The gun would drive
a 2" brad into white oak with no problems. It crapped out before the
job was finished. Three weeks ago, same scenario with my 16 ga
straight nailer. Piston bumper in the gun broke and it is special
order. Bought the 16 ga at HF on sale for $39, and it wasn't worth 39
cents. It jammed up solid after about 1/2 clip of nails. The guns
are junk and they cost me a lot of down time.

Squeeze clamps. At $2 for a 12" clamp, I couldn't resist. I bought
four. Two work and two don't. They wouldn't clamp a sock on the
clothesline. HF told me they had problems with them and they were
changing manufacturers.

Screwdrivers. Forget it.

Most drill bits. Forget them, too.

Chisels of any type. Cold, or for wood or anything else, a no go.

Hand saws. Nope.

Measuring tapes. No way, they break in minutes.

OK, that's my take on HF after waaay too much coffee and a 3 hour long
session in the waiting room of the doctor's office typing this out
with nothing else to do.

Any thoughts?

Robert

On 2/15/13 4:06 AM, wrote:
So, here's few from me on the "buy list". Their multitool kicks ass.
I have absolutely used the snot out of mine for about three years now,
and it is still a very stout machine that works as well as it did when
I bought it. I have found the blades to be nearly the quality of
the Fein blades, which was a shocker. I have bought them and given
them away as gifts and all the owners have had the same experience as
mine.

Their 4 1/2" grinder. This tool was bought as an emergency to replace
a Bosch grind that crapped out on the job. This one can't be killed.
I have had it for about 6-8 years now, and use it to grind metal for
finishing, grind off bolts and screws on burglar bars when painting,
and use the masonry blades on it to cut bricks, pavers, stone, and to
inlet flashings into masonry chimneys. Paid $13 for this tool.

I have their multi-tool and bought their grinder for out tile work and
have had the same great experience. I will add their tile bridge saw to
the list. Bought it with a 20% coupon for $200, sold it for $150.



Foam sanding blocks. These are $6 for ten, not one for $6. They have
worked every bit as well as the 3M offerings for me, and now I only
use them when I need a foam block to conform to an irregular shape. I
used these by the bucket when I was doing a lot of refinishing.


I haven't found their sandpaper to hold up at all, plus it clogs in
seconds.
I may try some of the foam blocks per your recommendation.



So some things NOT to buy there. First, they used to have a line of
air nailers that were perfect back up guns. No longer so. Blew a
seal on my Bostitch brad nailer, and since the seals weren't in stock
I bought their 18 ga. It was OK for base and some other work, but
marked up the wood unless you got it just right. The gun would drive
a 2" brad into white oak with no problems. It crapped out before the
job was finished. Three weeks ago, same scenario with my 16 ga
straight nailer. Piston bumper in the gun broke and it is special
order. Bought the 16 ga at HF on sale for $39, and it wasn't worth 39
cents. It jammed up solid after about 1/2 clip of nails. The guns
are junk and they cost me a lot of down time.


I have their orange air stapler and I'm pleased with it.
I don't see it on their site, so maybe they're done with it.
I'm considering their 23ga pin nailer.


--

-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

I am glad to see this get some traction as it is apparent that HF can
be hit and miss.

On the other hand, what tool brand (not saying this facetiously)
besides Festool, Metabo, etc., isn't? And I mean that regardless of
price. Whether it is a piano player, a baker, a welder or anyone else
that uses their tools for a living, the trick is always to match the
price to the utility value.

I wound up at HF to replace tools that I didn't use frequently and to
buy consumables. Since their return and warranty policy is so damn
easy, I find myself looking at their site or latest ad before buying.
When the new 16 ga nailer broke after 1 day on the job, I went back
and got my Bostitch 15 ga angle nailer to use. A bigger nail hole is
the reason it doesn't see much inside trim use, but I gave my latex
slinger a heads up and he was fine. Took the broken gun back to them
and they gave me back the purchase price, the $10 in store replacement
warranty I purchased and they took back the nails too, even though
they knew I used a half clip. These guns are the newer silver/black/
red models.

I have their 23 ga pin nailer that is the old purple model. When I
bought it, I wasn't sure I would use a pin nailer and still don't use
it for much. So when I saw it for $12 - $13, I bit. It occasionally
missed a pin and would shoot nothing, then it might grab a pin and
shear one a the same time. I took the gun apart and found the nose of
the driver blade had a burr on the tip. Removed the burr, polished up
the driver with a bit of emery cloth, put on a tiny spot of vaseline
in the driver guides and it works like a champ and has for a couple of
years.

Their extension cords are nice, too. I only buy 12 ga, so I don't
have any weedeater type cords. A quick price check from HF with their
ubiquitous 20% off coupon got me to $32 for a new cord recently. HD
generic brand price was a made in China offering as well, but was
$50!! (Over 30% price saving...) These work extremely well, have a
great hard vinyl cover on them, and the overmolded plugs stay on.
Their pricing is even better on three taps and 10 ga cords where they
fall to about 50% less than a competitor.

Sounds like most have had better luck with the grip clamps than I
have.

I wouldn't be afraid to try one of their compressors. Our local air
compressor repair shop has a great guy in the back that works on
them. Almost always with any foreign made carry around compressor,
his advice is to throw them away as one part can cost more than the
machine when new. He also told me that their are only a couple of
companies over there that make the head/piston assembly whether oiless
or not. He showed me some of the compressors he had that were the
same head assembly and in some cases were just painted differently
with a badge on them. The ones in his shop he showed me were Sears,
Senco, Makita, Hitachi and Campbell Hausfield. He assured me that was
just the tip of iceberg. However, it is important to remember the
bigger companies carry different quality of lines as well, so YMMV
from actual model to model. I have the $99 Sears hot dog oil splasher
that goes to the job with me for trim jobs and repairs, and at 5 years
or so old, I have gotten back my $99 several times. Same parts as is
found on almost all compressors that size.

I agree with MIKE, their sandpaper is crap unless used for metal, but
you need to try those sanding blocks. Detailing out door panels,
cabinet doors, trim profiles, etc., for painting or refinishing is
much easier with foam, and better when you don't have to break the
bank to buy the right tool.

No luck with their Chinese nail and pin punches. I mushroom out both
ends in no time, so back to Stanley. I mushroom the strike side on
these too, but never the tip. Luckily, HF sells a brand of pin punch
(oddly... made in the USA) that I like at a good price. I like pin
punches to set larger nails on outside trim work when needed, and for
tool repairs.

This is an interesting thread. I had no idea so many folks here used
HF products.

Robert

On 2/15/2013 1:04 PM, wrote:
....

This is an interesting thread. I had no idea so many folks here used
HF products.
....

When the 1x30 sander shows up, I'll have _one_ HF device...

Never been anywhere where there was a local store and when have walked
thru them on occasion nothing ever grabbed that seemed to be on the "too
good to pass up" list so have never bought anything in a store...

There's one of the traveling-trailer shows that comes around about 2-3
times a year--there's more than enough of that kind of stuff available
from it/them if have the urge...

--

On 2/15/2013 9:08 AM, Leon wrote:
On 2/15/2013 6:23 AM, Puckdropper wrote:
"dadiOH" wrote in :

The things I have or have had that come to mind...

lathe, $240? - works fine, had it now for about 10 years. Drive belt
broke about a year ago, easy to order new one from HF

Link belt. About $25 for 5' last I knew. Cheaper than anywhere else,
and
works quite well too.

*snip*

Puckdropper



Excellent! I be getting one soon. Seems I need just over 4' and
typically 4' is $20~$30.


Ok! I bought that $25 link belt, made it into two belts and replaced
the slightly used ones on my DP. No more vibration so to speak unless I
crank it up to 2700 RPM. I am sure the pulleys are to blame for that.
Any way running at about 400 RPM the belt guard no longer vibrates like
crazy, not even at 2700 RPM.

Bought the 5 mil XL Nitril gloves too. Finally a throw away glove that
fits my hand.

On 2/15/2013 2:01 PM, Leon wrote:
On 2/15/2013 9:08 AM, Leon wrote:
On 2/15/2013 6:23 AM, Puckdropper wrote:
"dadiOH" wrote in :

The things I have or have had that come to mind...

lathe, $240? - works fine, had it now for about 10 years. Drive belt
broke about a year ago, easy to order new one from HF

Link belt. About $25 for 5' last I knew. Cheaper than anywhere else,
and
works quite well too.

*snip*

Puckdropper



Excellent! I be getting one soon. Seems I need just over 4' and
typically 4' is $20~$30.


Ok! I bought that $25 link belt, made it into two belts and replaced
the slightly used ones on my DP. No more vibration so to speak unless I
crank it up to 2700 RPM. I am sure the pulleys are to blame for that.
Any way running at about 400 RPM the belt guard no longer vibrates like
crazy, not even at 2700 RPM.

Bought the 5 mil XL Nitril gloves too. Finally a throw away glove that
fits my hand.


OBTY link belts are directional and the Harbor Freight Accu-Link belts
are Italian.

http://www.jasonindustrial.com/Produ...6&Type=Product

I'm very happy with the 12" ratcheting clamps at $1.99 each when they are on sale (which seems to be always). I bought their combo disk/belt sander and was disappointed with the fit. I also have the HF wet grinder ($67 on sale) and it is OK. No Tormek, but a fraction of the cost. I also bought a passle of the 300/500 watt halogen bulbs. Some work great and seemingly last forever. Others have died with only a couple of hours of use.

Larry

wrote:

However, it is important to remember the
bigger companies carry different quality of lines as well, so YMMV
from actual model to model.

Indeed. In addition to HF, Sears and Black & Decker are popular no-no
sources.

I have a 7" disk sander, two speed, from Sears that I bought in the late
60s; I have used it and used it and used it. I dropped it on a concrete
floor a few years ago and was heartbroken when the aluminum clam shell
casting broke. I liked it so much I had a local shop weld the casting; that
and a bit of JB Weld and it is still getting used with great frequency.
(Less so since I got the HF 1/2" hammer drill because years ago I bought a
1/2" chuck for the sander and used it for a drill too. I'd use it more if I
could find a decent 8-9" softpad; they all seem to turn to mush in a few
years)

Two of my favorite tools are Black & Decker. One is a 7/8 HP router, 1/4"
collet, that is about as old as the Sears sander, Been used at least as
much too, still do. Used it today AAMOF. The other is more recent - a 3/8
VS drill with a clutch as well as straight drive, circa 1988, from their
industrial line. I use it nearly every day.

This is an interesting thread. I had no idea so many folks here used
HF products.

It's called "closet frugality"

--

dadiOH
____________________________

Winters getting colder? Tired of the rat race?
Taxes out of hand? Maybe just ready for a change?
Check it out... http://www.floridaloghouse.net

Gramp's shop wrote:
I'm very happy with the 12" ratcheting clamps at $1.99 each when they
are on sale (which seems to be always). I bought their combo
disk/belt sander and was disappointed with the fit. I also have the
HF wet grinder ($67 on sale) and it is OK. No Tormek, but a fraction
of the cost. I also bought a passle of the 300/500 watt halogen
bulbs. Some work great and seemingly last forever. Others have died
with only a couple of hours of use.


I'm guessing you know the rule about halogen bulbs? That you can't touch
them with your fingers? If you do touch the glass with your fingers, you
need to wipe them off very well with a napkin or the oils from your fingers
will burn them up in a very short time. Very short.

--

-Mike-

wrote:

OK, that's my take on HF after waaay too much coffee and a 3 hour long
session in the waiting room of the doctor's office typing this out
with nothing else to do.

Any thoughts?


This very evening I'm off to HF to take advantage of about 20 coupons I've
cllipped from their recent advertisement. In addition, I plan to pick up:

* 1/2" bandfile belt sander (92158 $30) for a pending project.
* 6" stainless pocket rule for a cabinet remake (93684 $2)
To augment my new MIG welder (also HF but bought off of Craigslist):
* Leather gloves (97033 $4)
* Leather apron (45193 $10)
* 0.035 welding tips, pack of 10 (98108 $7.50)

I'm waiting for the sale at Northern Tool to start this Sunday where I plan
to buy a welding helmet for $8.99.

I've been pleased - or at least amply satisfied - with everything I've ever
bought from HF, the sole exception being the Halloween-colored clamps.

On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 02:06:58 -0800, wrote:

So, here's few from me on the "buy list". Their multitool kicks ass. I
have absolutely used the snot out of mine for about three years now, and
it is still a very stout machine that works as well as it did when I
bought it.

I bought one and returned it. The blade kept coming loose. And yes, I
*really* tightened it. Others have reported the same problem. You must
have gotten the rare good one.

I've had good luck with their Pittsburgh bar clamps. Anywhere from 6" to
24". The 30" are a bit too flexible, but OK for light clamping.

Single edge razor blades. Not for woodworking, but model building and
cleaning aquarium glass.

Barring future problems, the 1"x30" belt sander I just bought seems well
worth the money.

Agree on the nitrile gloves.

I've also bought the occasional odd size socket wrench there. They don't
get heavy use, but none have broken yet.

--
When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and
carrying a cross.





--
When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and
carrying a cross.

On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:17:09 -0600, dpb wrote:

There's one of the traveling-trailer shows that comes around about 2-3
times a year--there's more than enough of that kind of stuff available
from it/them if have the urge...

But HF has a liberal return policy - the trailer leaves town :-).

--
When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and
carrying a cross.

On 2/15/2013 5:06 AM, wrote:
There are certain circumstances that I have found HF to be quite
handy. For years I sneered at their quality, the origin of their
tools, and the lack of support for their products. What a difference
a few years make. Now nearly every tool I see anywhere is made in
China, or from sourced parts from there so I am buying Chinese whether
I like it or not.

I thought it would be fun to see what TO buy, and what NOT to buy from
everyone based on personal experience. Not a Googled experience, but
hands on.

So, here's few from me on the "buy list". Their multitool kicks ass.
I have absolutely used the snot out of mine for about three years now,
and it is still a very stout machine that works as well as it did when
I bought it. I have found the blades to be nearly the quality of
the Fein blades, which was a shocker. I have bought them and given
them away as gifts and all the owners have had the same experience as
mine.

Their 4 1/2" grinder. This tool was bought as an emergency to replace
a Bosch grind that crapped out on the job. This one can't be killed.
I have had it for about 6-8 years now, and use it to grind metal for
finishing, grind off bolts and screws on burglar bars when painting,
and use the masonry blades on it to cut bricks, pavers, stone, and to
inlet flashings into masonry chimneys. Paid $13 for this tool.

Halogen light bulbs for my stand lights. Everywhere else, these bulbs
are 6 - 10 bucks each. When they have a door buster, I buy them for
99 cents. Last better in the lamps than the more expensive
offerings.

Foam sanding blocks. These are $6 for ten, not one for $6. They have
worked every bit as well as the 3M offerings for me, and now I only
use them when I need a foam block to conform to an irregular shape. I
used these by the bucket when I was doing a lot of refinishing.

Nitrile gloves. You can get 100 5 mil gloves for what you pay for a
set or two from the paint store. I use 3 mil, 5 mil, and for using
caustic materials (like MEK, etc.) I use their 7 mil. I mix and
spray, take the gloves off and toss them. I may use ten sets of
gloves a day, which means it costs me a little over a buck. Best of
all, the gloves work great for me. And if I tear one from material
handling, I have so many in the box I just get another. It isn't a
tragedy as it is when using the paint store gloves that are sold as
two to three pairs in a $10 pack.

HVLP guns. I only used these to try out new finishes and experiment
with mixes, but after I screwed up my expensive finish gun I was
forced to use my practice guns on the job. What a bone head... if it
was good enough for me to determine my mixes and be satisfied with the
end results, why wouldn't I like it on the job? I have had several of
these guns, and the only thing to consider is the build quality can be
spotty.

Paint gun stuff. They have great prices on HVLP gun filters, material
filters, inline moisture removal filters and cup liners. Literally,
their prices are about 1/10 of Sherwin Williams. This is a big deal
for me because as is he case with sand paper, these are all
consumables for the guys that do it for a living. Being extremely
affordable means I am in the habit of changing gun filters every job,
changing line filters every job and always having cup liner on hand at
a whopping ten cents a piece.

Woodworking hammers. Good stuff, and while I use my Plumb (made in
China of course), these are great hammers for helpers or for certain
tasks like roofing where you don't want tar and gunk on your wood
working tools.

Bulk drill bits. NOT the crap in the indexes, not in the special
sets. But once upon a time they had bits from manufacturing that had
been reground. They were all different lengths and sizes and were
sold by the pound. I tried a pound, and while I have little idea or
concern exactly what size they are (for me bits are almost exclusively
for pilot holes or rivets) these bits have out lasted my Blue Mol and
Bosch bits by a pretty long stroke. Sadly, they are in store only and
it is catch as catch can. The bits are something like $5 a pound, and
I look for the bags that have the 1/8" and similar sizes in them. You
get a lot of 1/8" bits in a pound.

So some things NOT to buy there. First, they used to have a line of
air nailers that were perfect back up guns. No longer so. Blew a
seal on my Bostitch brad nailer, and since the seals weren't in stock
I bought their 18 ga. It was OK for base and some other work, but
marked up the wood unless you got it just right. The gun would drive
a 2" brad into white oak with no problems. It crapped out before the
job was finished. Three weeks ago, same scenario with my 16 ga
straight nailer. Piston bumper in the gun broke and it is special
order. Bought the 16 ga at HF on sale for $39, and it wasn't worth 39
cents. It jammed up solid after about 1/2 clip of nails. The guns
are junk and they cost me a lot of down time.

Squeeze clamps. At $2 for a 12" clamp, I couldn't resist. I bought
four. Two work and two don't. They wouldn't clamp a sock on the
clothesline. HF told me they had problems with them and they were
changing manufacturers.

Screwdrivers. Forget it.

Most drill bits. Forget them, too.

Chisels of any type. Cold, or for wood or anything else, a no go.

Hand saws. Nope.

Measuring tapes. No way, they break in minutes.

OK, that's my take on HF after waaay too much coffee and a 3 hour long
session in the waiting room of the doctor's office typing this out
with nothing else to do.

Any thoughts?

Robert

One thing you didn't mention is their plastic storage containers..
I made a cabinet for mine and replaced my old parts bin. This is much
easier to find things in. http://imgur.com/a/YbWt2#5 I give these
storage bins a higher rating than the plano (usa made) units. 2.99 on
sale vs 7.99 at home depot.

Dial fractional caliper
http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-...per-92437.html
Wish I had bought this before I bought all my digitals... I bought the
blind mans unit from Lee Valley, good but digital is hard to work with
if you are not a machinist, and the HF is accurate w/fractions. I paid
$17 on sale.. it was $19 plus 20% off coupon.


I have some old drill bit index from them, pretty good. I agree about
the modern, the grind doesn't look as good.
Tape measures... the free one's are worth the coupon. I also have a
fostner bit set from them about 12 years old. Very good.

The 4 1/2 grinder is awesome... I regreased mine and glad I did, it will
last forever.

I have an older Staple /brad gun, I wanted it for narrow staples.. never
had a problem with it. Thanks for the info on the new ones.
I have both the cheap hvlp conversion and more expensive hvlp
conversion. both are good, the more expensive is a little better, the
holes are drilled finer, and more... very well worth it.

My experience with their sandpaper is mixed. I didn't like their sponges
bought 10 years ago... I did like the 6x48 coarse belt that I just bought.

I like their old blue flux welder... works great with lincoln tips and
lincoln wire.

The welding mask was $34.99 when I got it. The same thing in other
places is over $100 , and no different. I love being able to see before
I strike.

I bought a beam cutter for my drill press. Great for $10 and I saw a
hint online that made sense. Reverse one cutter and cut inside and
outside at the same time... Damn if that wasn't the ticket. The carbide
cutters are great.

The gloves.... well like you said... I want to grab the 7mil next time
since the older light blue were stronger in the past.

I bought the alloy tap set, I wanted metric and for the price I couldn't
go wrong, its good, not great, but good and acceptable.


I normally buy the higher end wheels for carts, but a few carts didn't
need them so I tried their blue wheels, They work better than the rubber
crap wheels of old, and seem to be carrying the load. At $2.99 on sale I
could not beat it.

Their F clamps are good for the price, but were even better when I first
encountered them, I notice the rubber covers not fitting and some of
them are twisted (casting). But I have bought a load of them since one
can never have too many clamps... the wood ones are ****.

Their old Aluminum bar clamps were very good, and so were their pipe
clamp 3/4 heads.. One day I'm going to make a roubo bench top for my
bench so I can raise my work and I'll use those to tighten the vise.

I have a bunch of their free lights.. small and don't cost anything, so
you can put them all around, and when you drop something you don't have
to look far to find a light.

Locking vise grips (Kreg style) 4.99 a piece, bought a couple and are
great. Not as great as Leon's auto sizing clamps (NICE).


LINK BELTS... used to be USA made, now made in Italy They are green, but
as good as the red ones. A little wider, so I am replacing my drill
press one so I can get the two belts closer when needing that in between
speed. But I use these everywhere else. Awesome.

Step drills. The small set was great for $6.99 the larger set for $8.99
I had to return two sets to get a sharp one. Great for cheap sheet metal
cutter. You need the better sales.

Automatic brake bleeder, awesome..
Drifts... bought years ago... awesome

Movers dolly, pick the right one, because most are crap... check the
wheels.... make sure they swivel with weight.. only 9.99 on sale. Should
have gotten another.

Metal hand punch... no longer stocked, worked great, spent $19 looked
elsewhere before hand, same setup was close to $100. Has lasted 13
years. Great for sheet metal work and preparing rivet holes.

Ground fault plug in (used to identify backward wiring and whether the
ground fault trips). The best for next to nothing, compared to name
brands selling at easily 4 times as much.

Glue bottles... $2 easy to squeeze and haven't blown one yet. Take your
gallon and divide it up.



--
Jeff

On 2/15/2013 2:04 PM, wrote:
Sounds like most have had better luck with the grip clamps than I
have.
Gotta say I had the same luck you had.
I have a few, a few hold better, but all of the quick grip type have
sucked from them.

I don't trust them for clamping. I use one with a carriage bolt through
to hold my hvlp gun near where I am shooting. But other than that I
don't use them.

Their model size ones did work though.

--
Jeff

HeyBub wrote:


I'm waiting for the sale at Northern Tool to start this Sunday where
I plan to buy a welding helmet for $8.99.

Holy **** Batman! That can't be auto darkening for that price is it? Have
you ever used auto darkening? If not - buy one. $39 at HF. You will never
regret it and you'll whine and **** and moan if you ever have to put on a
conventional helmet again.


--

-Mike-

Hey, I forgot one that I'm quite pleased with -- the $30 right angle drill, which I use for sanding on the lathe. Corded, variable speed and works great.

Larry

"HeyBub" wrote in
:

wrote:

OK, that's my take on HF after waaay too much coffee and a 3 hour
long session in the waiting room of the doctor's office typing this
out with nothing else to do.

Any thoughts?


This very evening I'm off to HF to take advantage of about 20 coupons
I've cllipped from their recent advertisement. In addition, I plan to
pick up:

* 1/2" bandfile belt sander (92158 $30) for a pending project.
* 6" stainless pocket rule for a cabinet remake (93684 $2)
To augment my new MIG welder (also HF but bought off of Craigslist):
* Leather gloves (97033 $4)
* Leather apron (45193 $10)
* 0.035 welding tips, pack of 10 (98108 $7.50)

*snip*

Their bench brushes are on sale for $1.99. I bought a couple of them so
I can keep one on my bench and another somewhere else in the garshop.

They had mini torpedo levels for $.99, but I tried 3 and none of them
gave me the same reading. I think they should be on the "avoid" list.

Puckdropper
--
Make it to fit, don't make it fit.

woodchucker wrote in
:

*snip*

Dial fractional caliper
http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-...per-92437.html
Wish I had bought this before I bought all my digitals... I bought the
blind mans unit from Lee Valley, good but digital is hard to work with
if you are not a machinist, and the HF is accurate w/fractions. I paid
$17 on sale.. it was $19 plus 20% off coupon.



*snip*

How have the batteries lasted? For some stupid reason, many models don't
turn off when you press the OFF button. The display goes blank, but it
keeps using battery.

Puckdropper
--
Make it to fit, don't make it fit.

A boat yard presents a totally different challenge to tools than
you would normally see in a woodworking shop.

Tried HF 4" right angle sander/grinder and burned it up in less
than an hour.

Tried a 2nd one, it lasted about 1/2 hour.

About the only one that survives has been Milwaukee.

Sanding fiberglass is a different world.

Also use a right angle sander/grinder for hours on end.

Sander/grinder gets blown out on a weekly basis.

When it comes to corded tools in the boat yard, there
is Milwaukee and those that want to be Milwaukee with
the exception of Fein and Festool.

Have no experience with Festool.

Fein multitool is a sweetheart.

All that being said, buy a lot of consumables at HF.

Chip brushes by the box.

Non sterile surgical gloves.

Quick connect plugs and sockets for air lines.

Air line blow guns.

Air operated drills.

1/2" air hoses.

Once upon an time, 24" bar clamps, haven't looked lately.

Spring clamps.

Feather boards.

Tried and returned a sand blaster.

Lew

"Puckdropper" wrote ...
woodchucker wrote

Dial fractional caliper
http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-...per-92437.html
Wish I had bought this before I bought all my digitals... I bought the
blind mans unit from Lee Valley, good but digital is hard to work with
if you are not a machinist, and the HF is accurate w/fractions. I paid
$17 on sale.. it was $19 plus 20% off coupon.

How have the batteries lasted? For some stupid reason, many models don't
turn off when you press the OFF button. The display goes blank, but it
keeps using battery.

I got one of those digital calipers from HF when I had a job that needed it.
Since I only use it occasionally, I always take the battery out when I put
it away. It seemed like the prudent thing to do.

This is a decent set of HSS lathe tools. A good spindle gouge, two skew chisels, couple scrapers, and a couple roughing gouges.

http://www.harborfreight.com/garage-...set-69723.html

On Feb 16, 1:22*am, "
wrote:
This is a decent set of HSS lathe tools. *A good spindle gouge, two skew chisels, couple scrapers, and a couple roughing gouges.

http://www.harborfreight.com/garage-...d-lathes/8-pie...

I have actually seen and used those tools. When giving a sharpening
class to my old wood turning club, I had a chance to sharpen them up
and try them out. They are a heckuva value and were very well made.
Nothing wrong with that M2 HSS either, it is the same steel used by
Penn State on their branded tools. I have a bag full of those PSI
tools and like them.

Robert

On 2/15/2013 11:23 PM, Lew Hodgett wrote:

Tried and returned a sand blaster.


LOL! Saw one of the sand/bed blasting cabinets in the nearby HF that
just opened in the last couple months. Both of the rubberized gloves
attached to the cabinet had failed. Appeared to have disintegrated (in
part) as opposed to being purposely ripped or torn by some juvenile
delinquent.

HF is caveat emptor playland but as we've all noted they do some things
well - sometimesg

On 2/15/2013 6:43 PM, Larry Blanchard wrote:
On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 13:17:09 -0600, dpb wrote:

There's one of the traveling-trailer shows that comes around about 2-3
times a year--there's more than enough of that kind of stuff available
from it/them if have the urge...

But HF has a liberal return policy - the trailer leaves town :-).


Not to the extent of pay return shipping liberal, is it? That's been
the primary kicker most of the time in decisions against risking HF
stuff since no local (200 mi "local", anyways) outlets...

W/ the trailer you've got a chance to touch'n smell it first, anyway.
Altho I rarely buy any of it, either...

--

I look for the sale prices and/or coupons of course...

Chip brushes 1", 2", and 3"

Acid brushes for glueups

Foam sanding blocks (only have used the coarse grit)

cheap work gloves

metric combo wrenches to keep in the vehicle.

Air compressor accessories (good prices on the Milton couplers)

$20 dado blade set

4-1/2 diamond angle grinder blade sets

14" metal chop saw blades

The list seems endless.....

-Bruce

On Fri, 15 Feb 2013 06:06:30 -0700, basilisk wrote
(in article ):


I have:
Finish nailer
multitool
nitrile gloves
some clamps
small tires(chinese have somehow learned to make tires from cat ****)

No ****! (pun intended)
I've replaced my hand truck wheels due to goat head punctures and the HF work
great..

Their large 5-6" castors are aok
-Bruce

basilisk