Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[1-3-2-4]

The helping hands with the soldering stand is great.. I was thinking to myself why would I need it.. and I found out last week... made putting wires on the DB9 connector very easy.

 

[some zilch]

i'm going to have to stand up for the earthquake impact guns, specifically the 1" one. we have it at work, and run it off an engine driven-tow behind 185 compressor through a 3/4" hose. the gun hits like theres no tomarrow. it changes semi truck truck tires, does heavy equipment undercarriage work, track bolts, etc. there is absolutely no 1/2" gun out there that is going to overpower it. (i have a 1/2" IR 2135timax gun, and cannot match the brute strength of the 1" gun--as it shouldnt be able to).

i'll also stick up for the 1" non-earthquake gun. i have one personally, that i use at home. i run it through a 3/4" hose. i cant complain about it at all. i have tey to find something it cant take apart.

 

[patrick_g]

The helping hands with the soldering stand is great.. I was thinking to myself why would I need it.. and I found out last week... made putting wires on the DB9 connector very easy.

And the clips will help stop the soldering heat from wicking up the wire and melting insulation when doing splices and the like.

Pat

 

[patrick_g]

i'm going to have to stand up for the earthquake impact guns, specifically the 1" one. we have it at work, and run it off an engine driven-tow behind 185 compressor through a 3/4" hose. the gun hits like theres no tomarrow. it changes semi truck truck tires, does heavy equipment undercarriage work, track bolts, etc. there is absolutely no 1/2" gun out there that is going to overpower it. (i have a 1/2" IR 2135timax gun, and cannot match the brute strength of the 1" gun--as it shouldnt be able to).

i'll also stick up for the 1" non-earthquake gun. i have one personally, that i use at home. i run it through a 3/4" hose. i cant complain about it at all. i have tey to find something it cant take apart.

3/4 ID?? Now THAT is a hose. Since cross sectional area goes with the square of the ID that is 4 times the air supply of a 3/8 hose. No wonder you get good performance. What came to mind is someone buying an electric heater and running it on a 200 ft 16 ga extension cord and complaining about the lack of performance (while you run yours on welding cables.)

Pat

 

[1-3-2-4]

And the clips will help stop the soldering heat from wicking up the wire and melting insulation when doing splices and the like.

Pat

The only thing I wish is the base was a little bit bigger

 

[leeinMT]

Another HF item that I have been happy with is the I-beam push trolley. It seems very well made with good bearings and rolls easily. I have it set up in the lean-to part of my barn where I keep the tractor. Sure makes it easier to hook up the 3 point stuff. Just make sure the I-beam is level. (see photo)

 

[defed]

i started this group on yahoo (searched the thread, didn't see it mentioned):

rate_harborfreight_tools : Rate Harbor Freight - Tools

there is a database where you can enter (browse, search) items, part #, rating, comments.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

3/4 ID?? Now THAT is a hose. Since cross sectional area goes with the square of the ID that is 4 times the air supply of a 3/8 hose. No wonder you get good performance. What came to mind is someone buying an electric heater and running it on a 200 ft 16 ga extension cord and complaining about the lack of performance (while you run yours on welding cables.)

Pat

Actually, flow capacity is proportional to diameter to the fourth power. Head loss is proportional to velocity squared. Velocity as you said is inversely proportional to diameter squared so a 3/4" hose allow 8x the flow of a 3/8" hose.

In my experience, quick-connects with shutoff valves are the biggest restrictors. The twist-claw connectors used for jackhammers are valveless for a reason. Of course you can remove the valve from most QC,s pretty easy to convert them to straight-thru.

I ordered some 1/2" quick-connects with shutoff from Mcmaster and they were still really restrictive. The best valved QCs I found were 3/8" European style.

At home I use 1/4" european (Festo brand) connectors. I got a big box of them cheap as a surplus item. My 1/2" twin hammer (C-H) impact runs fine through them. I like to test quick-connects by coupling a pair and blowing through them (by mouth). Most are surprisingly restrictive. If you have one or (especially !) more standard 1/4" quick connects between the tank an impact gun you won't see much action and the cheap single hammer guns are the worst.

I have a DevilBiss air tool set I got from Sams club years ago. They are the same cheap Chinese tools sold at HF including the 1/2" single hammer impact gun that won't remove the lug nuts from a Corolla.


Here's a fresh review: I'm working on the front axle of my tractor and I had to remove some big internal snap rings. My really cheap set of combo snap-ring pliers (Homier Speedway Series) wasn't even close to capable. Searching online Northern was showing some 7" snap ring pliers that are made like needle-nose pliers for $7. I went to the store and they had the same thing in a 9" size for $9. I bought the internal bent style and they worked great! No hint of flex or weakness where the biggest pliers in the old set just bent apart when I tried to use them.

 

[sixdogs]

In case anyone wonders, I printed the discount Harbor Freight coupon and used it to buy an axle puller slide hammer that was on sale for $39 which was down from $49.
I used the 20% off coupon and got it for $31 or so. That price I can live with.

 

[woodlandfarms]

We just remodeled our bathroom. Couldn't swing the cost for granite. Went to the tile store, bought granite tile. Realized I had no way to edge any pieces. Saw in a flier the HF Stone grinding disks. Bought them and they worked great. I had two from a "pro" store and they were identical (pro store was at least 4 times the prices of HF).