Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[daugen]

sounds like you need to excercise a little more if you can't run a saw more than a couple times a day ,
last week I bought one of these Dewalt saws at a local pawn shop for $100.00 easily replaceable brushes and like new condition , never ceases to amaze me why people won;t use pawn shops to buy equipment View attachment 301113

seriously good deal there. Just think Grumpy, you could have bought that in Las Vegas and got on tv! Grumpy takes on the Pawn Stars and wins! And the crowd at TBN roars.
one can dream...
you must live near a larger urban area. I don't go down to Philadelphia much, and there aren't any pawn stores within close distance of our area, maybe at the bottom of Bucks
County. We do have a used tool place that's pretty neat, but I worry about getting rejects there.

getting a bit off track, someday I would love to have hour meters put on every piece of electrical or powered machinery. Some cheap tech, why should it cost more than a buck?
I know people can abuse things, and my problem is that I don't have the mechanical or electrical background most of you do, it appears..., and I could get really suckered by
a shiny paint job when buying used. If the seller offers a full return if dissatisfied within a short time period, I'd be fine. If it cuts crooked, smells, smokes, knocks, rattles, whines, whatever,
I can figure that out, it's obvious. But would I know I'm getting full power? No way. Even using tools all my life.
ok, off my soapbox, but if someone would invent a really cheap hourmeter, boy I'd buy a bunch of them.

If you don't make a living with your tools, and use them every day, I think most homeowners don't put many hours on their table saws or their Sawzalls.
So I'd sure expect to see low hours on that good looking Dewalt you bought.

Getting a warranty becomes important for sure when dealing with HF. 90 days is sure skimpy though, though I'm sure that's reflected in the price.

 

[sixdogs]

...

...Last week I bought one of these Dewalt saws at a local pawn shop for $100.00 easily replaceable brushes and like new condition , never ceases to amaze me why people won't use pawn shops to buy equipment ..

Indeed, one of the great mysteries of our time. Some of my best deals have come from the pawn shop.

 

[Gary Fowler]

sounds like you need to excercise a little more if you can't run a saw more than a couple times a day ,
last week I bought one of these Dewalt saws at a local pawn shop for $100.00 easily replaceable brushes and like new condition , never ceases to amaze me why people won;t use pawn shops to buy equipment View attachment 301113

I have got a few good deals in pawn shops, like the 60# anvil (just guessing)for $60 but for the most part, I find the majority of times, the pawn shops want new prices for their goods.

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

...

...Last week I bought one of these Dewalt saws at a local pawn shop for $100.00 easily replaceable brushes and like new condition , never ceases to amaze me why people won't use pawn shops to buy equipment ..

Indeed, one of the great mysteries of our time. Some of my best deals have come from the pawn shop.

recent (last month) pawn shop buys husky 22 ton logsplitter $450.00 18 volt dewalt hammer drill and sawzall combo kit $75.00 milwaukee 1 1/2 inch hammer drill with new bits $100.00 Master cool a/c vacuum pump and gauges $35.00 also new in box Echo cs-400 chainsaw $140.00

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

seriously good deal there. Just think Grumpy, you could have bought that in Las Vegas and got on tv! Grumpy takes on the Pawn Stars and wins! And the crowd at TBN roars.
one can dream...
you must live near a larger urban area. I don't go down to Philadelphia much, and there aren't any pawn stores within close distance of our area, maybe at the bottom of Bucks
County. We do have a used tool place that's pretty neat, but I worry about getting rejects there.

getting a bit off track, someday I would love to have hour meters put on every piece of electrical or powered machinery. Some cheap tech, why should it cost more than a buck?
I know people can abuse things, and my problem is that I don't have the mechanical or electrical background most of you do, it appears..., and I could get really suckered by
a shiny paint job when buying used. If the seller offers a full return if dissatisfied within a short time period, I'd be fine. If it cuts crooked, smells, smokes, knocks, rattles, whines, whatever,
I can figure that out, it's obvious. But would I know I'm getting full power? No way. Even using tools all my life.
ok, off my soapbox, but if someone would invent a really cheap hourmeter, boy I'd buy a bunch of them.

If you don't make a living with your tools, and use them every day, I think most homeowners don't put many hours on their table saws or their Sawzalls.
So I'd sure expect to see low hours on that good looking Dewalt you bought.

Getting a warranty becomes important for sure when dealing with HF. 90 days is sure skimpy though, though I'm sure that's reflected in the price.

an hour meter would just tell you how long they used it not how hard ,I could cut gras for 25 hrs or tie a chain and jerk logs out lifting the front end off the ground for 25 hrs which is worse ? my tractor had 641 hrs when I got it if I changed the hr meter now and ran it up to 650 hrs over the next year how would you know ? especially if I did my own repairs and never took it to any repair shop that would write down the hrs when repaired ?

 

[daugen]

an hour meter will not tell if the tool or piece of equipment has been submerged in a flood. Good deal on ex-Katrina tools...
an hour meter will not tell if the unit was used way past its capacity but is not showing visible effects.
and looking at your spic and span 855, I bet you could do exactly what you are talking about Grumpy. Put a coat of paint on a 10,000 hour machine
at 1000 hours and you sure can say it looks like a 500 hour machine. Salesman use that lingo at times in ads.

Ok, taking your point, on my dollar hour meter, a little submenu please for the log on engine overheats... Now it's up to two bucks.

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

an hour meter will not tell if the tool or piece of equipment has been submerged in a flood. Good deal on ex-Katrina tools...
an hour meter will not tell if the unit was used way past its capacity but is not showing visible effects.
and looking at your spic and span 855, I bet you could do exactly what you are talking about Grumpy. Put a coat of paint on a 10,000 hour machine
at 1000 hours and you sure can say it looks like a 500 hour machine. Salesman use that lingo at times in ads.

Ok, taking your point, on my dollar hour meter, a little submenu please for the log on engine overheats... Now it's up to two bucks.

add an engine over rev and complete engine self diagnostics also fuel system quality monitor and tire pressure recorder and of course the seat weight recorder to make sure someone like me wasn't overloading the machine !:laughing: P.S. that picture was in the driveway it's at the property and alot dirtier now

 

[Gale Hawkins]

I have got a few good deals in pawn shops, like the 60# anvil (just guessing)for $60 but for the most part, I find the majority of times, the pawn shops want new prices for their goods.

It is new price for old stuff that stopped me from even checking with pawn shops any more. Back in the days of Sear Surplus stores I did much better.

HF works out well for our equipment needs since some of them are still in the boxes years later.

 

[leeinMT]

Has anyone tried out HF's powder coating kit?

 

[Grumpy Old Man]

Has anyone tried out HF's powder coating kit?

I want to but not yet and they have limited colors like red/yellow/black if i remember right