Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[3v0]

How long can you blast with a full hopper ?

 

[Luremaker]

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_13512.jpg

... I use standard grocery store baking soda with good results. The only caveat is needing to adjust the lever to control the flow of powder. I think this is only because the "grocery store" powder is so fine as opposed to actual blasting soda. ...

You may want to drop by your local feed mill and see if they sell agricultural baking soda. It works much better than grocery store baking soda. At my local feed mill I can purchase a 50lb bad for around $12.00.

 

[CBW1999]

Re: Harbor Freight Laser Levels that don't suck ?

How long can you blast with a full hopper ?

I'm guessing about 5 minutes of fairly constant blasting. I'm working on a throttle body and intake right now- so not very large areas. Keep in mind, I'm still working on dialing in the flow rate. When I get a better idea, i'll let you know. Should be in a day or 2.

You may want to drop by your local feed mill and see if they sell agricultural baking soda. It works much better than grocery store baking soda. At my local feed mill I can purchase a 50lb bad for around $12.00.

I'll look into that. The grocery store stuff is really fine although it cuts through fairly well. I'm sure the coarser stuff will work better and quicker. never would have thought of a feed mill as a possible source- THANKS!

 

[daugen]

Re: Harbor Freight Laser Levels that don't suck ?

I'm guessing about 5 minutes of fairly constant blasting. I'm working on a throttle body and intake right now- so not very large areas. Keep in mind, I'm still working on dialing in the flow rate. When I get a better idea, i'll let you know. Should be in a day or 2.



I'll look into that. The grocery store stuff is really fine although it cuts through fairly well. I'm sure the coarser stuff will work better and quicker. never would have thought of a feed mill as a possible source- THANKS!

Isn't there some way of recovering/recycling the blasting media, or is there a very good reason why you can't, other than cost.
I asked my BIL, who used to rebuild super expensive old racing cars, to blast off the layers of paint on my boat's anchor.
not quite his usual job for sure. When he was done he said he spent more than a hundred bucks in baking soda on the anchor.
Wow. Made my case of beer pretty inadequate....
I know baking soda is the number one choice here for certain work, but seems the consumables will eat you alive, no pun intended.

 

[CBW1999]

Isn't there some way of recovering/recycling the blasting media, or is there a very good reason why you can't, other than cost.

Baking soda- no. it is water soluble and so fine, there is no way of filtering it. Some say other media can be filtered or sifted to be reused. Would also need to have large metal particles magnetically removed I suppose. might be ok for rough blasting where you don't care about the surface Either way, sifting to the proper size is key or you will gum up the works.

I asked my BIL, who used to rebuild super expensive old racing cars, to blast off the layers of paint on my boat's anchor.
not quite his usual job for sure. When he was done he said he spent more than a hundred bucks in baking soda on the anchor.
Wow. Made my case of beer pretty inadequate....
I know baking soda is the number one choice here for certain work, but seems the consumables will eat you alive, no pun intended.

Probably not the best technique (media) for the anchor. I'm no expert but I would think starting with a really aggressive media and working finer might have save considerable cost. I'm trying to clean up some painted pieces and ended up chemical stripping first to get rid of most of it.

As for cost- "grocery store" baking soda is about 60 cents per pound. Commercial blasting soda is roughly 75 cents per pound. Not a huge difference but, I don't have to worry about keeping a 50 lb bag dry.

Again- no expert here, just sharing what works for me (right now).

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I have a "sucks" entry...

Heavy Duty Chain Breaker

The description says that it will work for bicycle chains. It will not without some modification. I had to take the pin to a grinder and reduce the size of it in order to fit the chain I was working on. It seems solidly built, but the design is poor. It's heavy and awkward. There is no good way to align or hold the chain. The pin does not fully retract into the bolt without some outside pressure.

In general it was clumsy and hard to use. I should have spent the extra few bucks and waited the extra day to get a nice chain tool from Amazon.

 

[Travelover]

I have a "sucks" entry...

Heavy Duty Chain Breaker

......

That thing looks like it was made by a blacksmith. :laughing:

 

[Iplayfarmer]

That thing looks like it was made by a blacksmith. :laughing:

In person it looks like the blacksmith was a large burly guy with meaty hands that look like catcher's mits. Or maybe he was actually wearing catcher's mits. The quality of the workmanship conjures the image of a big guy wearing a soiled leather apron in a dimly lit wood shack with a coal fire and a tattered bellows. In the background are various handmade tools hanging on rusty pegs.

The alternate image is a young 20-something chinese entrepreneur wearing trendy clothing standing outside his newly (cheaply) built factory full of new (untrained) employees. He's talking to his friend about how he's going to make a fortune off of some sucker in Idaho who will buy the chain breaker because it's a few dollars cheaper than the the Taiwanese alternative.

It reminds me of a comment my dad made to me about a trailer I had bought that had a few questionable welds on it. He said, "That looks like it was welded with a shiny new welder."

 

[California]

The alternate image is a young 20-something chinese entrepreneur wearing trendy clothing standing outside his newly (cheaply) built factory full of new (untrained) employees.

I like this alternative.

The next thing he says is "I can clone anything Harbor Freight sells, and offer mine to them cheaper".

And that's why HF often has several stock numbers for the 'same' item - they keep getting lower bids from different vendors and need to keep straight who sold them what.

 

[Travelover]

.........
And that's why HF often has several stock numbers for the 'same' item - they keep getting lower bids from different vendors and need to keep straight who sold them what.

When I started out in the car business in the early 80's, this is the way American car parts were sourced, too. Multiple manufacturers for the same part - some good and some ..ah...not so good. :laughing: It turns out that price isn't everything.