Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[MoArk Willy]

I wonder where HF's prices will go with Trump hammering on the tariff's. In as much as 90% of the stuff they sell is Chinese, I expect serious price increases in the very near future. May even put them out of business...

Despite the daily diatribe "sky is falling" crap you hear daily from the media, the tariffs will hardly be noticed by consumers.
China, on the other hand is definitely noticing.
Surely a couple of pennies or even dollars is worth it for the good of the country.

 

[lostcreekranch]

I wonder where HF's prices will go with Trump hammering on the tariff's. In as much as 90% of the stuff they sell is Chinese, I expect serious price increases in the very near future. May even put them out of business...

Probably a subject .... better taken to "Friendly? Politics"?

 

[PhysAssist]

Quote Originally reb:
I am having difficulty getting my lawn mower to run. One thought was to replace the engine with the predator vertical shaft engine. Not sure how much hassle that would be. I get the impression that the hole pattern is pretty much a standard. Has anyone here tried that?

I have the old Greyhound version, several years old now. Bolted right on, no issues. Had to run a choke cable up the handle, not sure if that's needed on the new ones. Mine runs fine. It can be tempermental to start, has to be choked even when hot, but runs strong and smooth.

I replaced 2 Horizontal Briggs& Stratton engines [splitter and DR Brush mower] with Predator engines- there were a lot of available mounting hole to choose from, so on the splitter, it bolted right on, but I needed more clearance for the pulleys on the mower, so I had to fab some new [thicker] mounting points- both are still running well now- approx 8-10 years later.

In both cases they were more than a little more vigorous than the same rated HP engines they replaced.

 

[PhysAssist]

Quote Originally Posted by dragoneggs
Okay gravitating to the HF 2T folding shop crane... is this tool on the 'don't suck' list?

I recently bought the 1 ton version when I had to replace an axle housing. It was ideal, including for wiggling the ROPS past obstructions and into the precise position I needed to get the bolts started. Photo Photo. With a coupon from that coupon database it cost $100.

Some other projects were made simple by having the crane. Quality of the crane seems fine. Recommended!

One tip: I made a second, short 10 inch jack handle for adjusting height quickly when there is no or minimal load. The handle is visible in the second photo.

Plus it looks like it you don't get enough reach as is, you could bolt some square channel in thru the end of it for a longer moment arm.

 

[PhysAssist]

How about a lovejoy cuppler type with the right size for both shafts.

Second this emotion- it worked great on my splitter.

 

[Gordon Gould]

I went in to AirGas to swap out my empty Acetylene tank. They didn't have the AC3 size I needed so they gave me the next size up for this time which wouldn't fit on my little torch cart. So I went into HF and found an el-cheepo hand truck to use as a temporary cart. It will be handy to have around when I don't need it for a torch cart any more. Not a big fan of HF but for somethings w/o too many moving parts they make sense to me.



gg

 

[Diggin It]

The HF store is too far away for me to get to on a casual basis. But at that price, I would make the drive. So I have to ask the question before I make the drive....

Will a 25% coupon be excepted on the gantry crane purchase?

There are many things excepted on the coupons, but I don't think the gantry crane is one of them so the coupons should be accepted for it.

Always watch the dedicated coupons though because they tend to be bigger discounts than either the 20% or 25% coupons would yield though it doesn't always work out that way. The dedicated coupon right now is for $599 and the 20% off of the regular $799 make it $591.

 

[Diggin It]

How about a lovejoy cuppler type with the right size for both shafts.

Second this emotion- it worked great on my splitter.

For this question?

One issue is that the Predator engines have 7/8" output shafts and the shredder impeller is 1". There are a few sellers out there making adapter collars in their home shops and listing them in the $10 range. A few years back, I asked one of them if they thought it would hold up under the torque/stress of a shredder and he wasn't sure if it would or not.

Has anybody tried that kind of combination?

No clearance. The shredder impeller sits an inch or two behind the engine and mounts direct the the engine output shaft. I'd have to find a way to move the engine forward a few inches to use something like that.

 

[bigtiller]

There are many things excepted on the coupons, but I don't think the gantry crane is one of them so the coupons should be accepted for it.

Seeins how you are gooder a spellin than I am, tell me why the word pneumatic begins with the letter "p"

 

[California]

tell me why the word pneumatic begins with the letter "p"

Ever heard of pulmonary - (some medical condition)?