Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[hunt4570]

I was just there a month ago for the first time picking up a Nova (Australia design) drill press. 2.5hr drive vs. paying for shipping.

What a huge grand showroom! Of course they are primarily a mail order house but I was flat out amazed at their showroom... I had no idea. Weird thing was that I was the only person in the store. I felt like a VIP.

Well you ARE a VIP dadgummit!!

 

[hunt4570]

The two HF's near me seem normal.. shelves stocked and all. They haven't had face masks or nitrile gloves as there sign says the were donating them to front line workers, but everything else seems just like normal.. plenty of hammers and such!

 

[Ford850]

Couple years ago they closed their PA showroom and distribution center. I think Baloloa realized that he needed to keep his operations closer to the west coast container ports. All his stuff (except the domestic stuff which really isn't competitively priced, comes in containers.

Don't have any Grizzly machine tools. All mine are domestic, Bridgeport, LeBlond, Cincinatti, K&T, etc.

He is a big fan of F Class precision shooting and is a Grand Master F Class (308) 1000 yard competition. I've met him in the past at the Camp Perry Nationals. Interesting bird.

I was at the PA showroom a couple times... very impressive. My son and I made a couple trips there to haul tools home saving shipping costs, and made camping trips out of it too. The showroom was unique with the odd combination of woodworking and machinist tools, along with gunsmithing and guitar building supplies. But when we drove across the street to the shipping center to load the truck we were amazed at the scale of the operation. We have some good memories from those trips, and we were sad to see that location close.

 

[dragoneggs]

Still a little off topic but on Grizzly... here is their other showroom in Springfield, MO. Worth a visit to either IMO.

YouTube

 

[KubotainNH]

Got a Braun LED foldable LED worklight for my birthday (next month) early from my wife. Nice light, well made and charges with a USB cable. Was on sale (what is new there, everything at HF is always on sale) for 30 bucks.

Has a magnetic base and the light bar is flexible and has a built in LED flashlight at the end. Much better alternative than the old school corded trouble / work light. very bright too.

She ordered it direct in as much as my local store is picked pretty clean lately. Shipping was cheap too. Much less than the usual ship cost. Came USPS parcel post in about a week.

I have 2 of those and bought one for both of my sons. All 4 working fine except for my son that restores cars. He broke the charger port somehow so he took the battery charger I have so he could pull the battery and charge it outside the light. I like that the battery is a standard battery that can easily be replaced. The cheapest I've seen these is $20 with a coupon when they first came out but most recently the lowest has been around $23. The regular price of $40 seems high.

 

[5030]

I have 2 of those and bought one for both of my sons. All 4 working fine except for my son that restores cars. He broke the charger port somehow so he took the battery charger I have so he could pull the battery and charge it outside the light. I like that the battery is a standard battery that can easily be replaced. The cheapest I've seen these is $20 with a coupon when they first came out but most recently the lowest has been around $23. The regular price of $40 seems high.

I believe she paid 25 bucks. With tax, almost 30. I took the battery out and examined it. Looks to be a Panasonic cell.

How long does the battery last in normal use? Any idea?

 

[5030]

Still a little off topic but on Grizzly... here is their other showroom in Springfield, MO. Worth a visit to either IMO.

YouTube

I will say, nice drone footage. Someday I hope to put together video's like that myself.

 

[Wasmeneh]

Went to my local store today, it's only about three miles away, aboit as close as my nearest hardware store. I couldn't believe how empty the shelves were. Even,the hammer section looked empty, won't be headed back anytime soon.

 

[crazyal]

I was at the PA showroom a couple times... very impressive. My son and I made a couple trips there to haul tools home saving shipping costs, and made camping trips out of it too. The showroom was unique with the odd combination of woodworking and machinist tools, along with gunsmithing and guitar building supplies. But when we drove across the street to the shipping center to load the truck we were amazed at the scale of the operation. We have some good memories from those trips, and we were sad to see that location close.

I think they closed it down because of the shipping deal they have. I've noticed that they don't like to ship items from their west coast warehouse to the east coast. They ask for your zip even though they charge a flat rate depending on the item no matter where it's being shipped to. It's too bad as I would have made the trek to PA but their MO location is too far away.

 

[hunt4570]

Went to my local store today, it's only about three miles away, aboit as close as my nearest hardware store. I couldn't believe how empty the shelves were. Even,the hammer section looked empty, won't be headed back anytime soon.

Interesting, the 2 near me are fully stocked..