Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[BigE_]

Weld a piece of angle iron on top and it will be better than new. That's why they sell the $89 welder - So you can make their stuff into something usable!

BTDT.

I think I'll just take it back. The bar is only 1/16" square tube stock. I'd have to weld up the entire handle.

I'll go and get some 1/4" square tube stock and make my own. I have the $89 welder. I also have the Hobart 185 and it works much nicer. I keep the old HF welder around because it is 120v and can still get the job done. It just doesn't weld as nice...

By the way, on the HF welder, if you really crank down on the feeder pulley tension, you'll get less spatter and it will feed much nicer.

 

[California]

I have the $89 welder. I also have the Hobart 185 and it works much nicer.

Is it the advantage of gas over flux, or is this comparison flux/flux and the welder just works better? (which wouldn't surprise me).

 

[nvkubot]

This t post puller worked great... for the first 3 posts. Broke on the fourth. So, it moved quickly from the don't suck column to the suck column.

<img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=329874"/>

I've been using one for 2 years, over 100 posts pulled out. Zero problems.

 

[BigE_]

Is it the advantage of gas over flux, or is this comparison flux/flux and the welder just works better? (which wouldn't surprise me).

Flux to flux comparison. Feed is smoother, voltage is more stable. Voltage selection range is much wider. I went through quite a few spools on the old HF welder, though.

I will say that I always used HF wire on the HF welder. The new Hobart is still on the spool that came with it. That also makes a big difference.

 

[BigE_]

I've been using one for 2 years, over 100 posts pulled out. Zero problems.

Sure wish mine worked that long. Different shift at the factory, or my clay soil is just too hard in the summer.

 

[BukitCase]

I think it's mostly our good ol' Willamette brand of clay - I'm a ways east of Albany, and I've pulled a few posts with a full-size backhoe that made it almost work for a living - pulled a couple in late summer that, when they finally DID come up, had a glob of the stuff still attached that was just a bit larger than a basketball... Steve

 

[RichZ]

I've pulled hundreds of T-posts with my HF T-post puller over the past 10 years. It's starting to wear out, and I'll get a new one the next time I'm at HF.

 

[NHmitch]

I didn't realize that HF had one. I bought a High-Lift t-post puller about 8 years ago, and it is indestructible, but 3 times the cost. Another good option for pulling t-posts in the HF farm jack. I have two of them, and I recently lifted our barn with them, and they work very well. You could easily use a chain, and one of these jacks, and then you have a multipurpose tool: Farm Jacks - 42" 3-1/2 Ton Farm Jack

They make an adapter that you can use to pull t-posts that will work with both your tractor or the jack: Amazon.com: Speeco Farmex S16110400-PP161104 Metal T-Post Puller: Patio, Lawn & Garden

I've pulled hundreds of T-posts with my HF T-post puller over the past 10 years. It's starting to wear out, and I'll get a new one the next time I'm at HF.

 

[BigE_]

I think they must be making the t post pullers out of thinner, cheaper metal now. My wife, who weighs all of 120 lbs soaking wet, is the one who broke it. When I got the puller, I thought about the farm jack, but the puller seemed easier to operate, and my wife is the one who would be using it.

Already took the puller back and would not bother with a new one, but maybe I'll try out the jack. It's on sale right now, and I can stack a 20 percent off coupon on top of that.

 

[California]

Careful with the HF Farm Jack.

I don't own one, but I have two of the original Hi-Lift jacks that this is a clone of. These have lots of ways to hurt you. Last time I used my Hi-Lift, to turn my rotary mower up on edge to wash under it, the jack (and the mower) fell after I lowered it a couple of clicks. Think Safety before doing anything, like a construction worker would who still has all his fingers. I wouldn't let my wife or daughters use mine.