Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[cooksmtn]

Have any of you bought the HF vacuum pump?

I bought one a couple years ago for some AC work. No problems with it.

 

[5030]

Have any of you bought the HF vacuum pump?

I bought one a couple years ago for some AC work. No problems with it.

Thank you. I needed some input.

 

[PhysAssist]

DeWalt, Milwaukee and Ryobi will all do the same.

Aaron Z

...and Hitachi/Metabo too.

 

[dragoneggs]

...and Hitachi/Metabo too.

Hey Thomas... good to hear from you. Haven't seen much posting by you lately.

 

[PhysAssist]

Hey Thomas... good to hear from you. Haven't seen much posting by you lately.

Hiya Boss,

Thanks for noticing both my absence and return!

Yeah, what with work issues, deaths in the family, surgeries, and of course the current Black Swan issue; I hadn't been posting, or even reading a lot.

Just recently though, I got to catch up a bit on the reading because, except for emergencies [of which there were aplenty], we weren't seeing a ton of patients sometimes, but because it's a govment gig, signing in and posting wasn't possible.

Anyway, tonight after I had finally caught up on reading my continuing medical education, I needed something a little less pithy to peruse, and came here.

I have been enjoying several of the usual threads- gun times, wood and tractor times, your tool/workshop tips thread, and a few others, but that "you know you're getting old" thread keeps me scratching my heads.

I guess I just don't get all those references those old guys keep dropping...

:laughing:

Seriously though, it's good to see a lot of both familiar and new names here, and while a lot has changed, it also seems like a lot has stayed pretty much the same...

I do want to take a moment to wish all my old and new friends and acquaintances here a happy, safe, and healthy rest of the year and beyond, because if I learned one thing over the past year or so, you never know when or if you'll see or be in touch with any given person ever again.

In the words of one of my favorite books- Man proposes- GOD disposes..

You're all in my prayers.

 

[Diggin It]

What's your limit at HF?

I've only bought a few things over $50 and maybe just a couple over $100. By far the most have been under $25

 

[5030]

I don't have a limit.

 

[California]

What's your limit at HF?

I've only bought a few things over $50 and maybe just a couple over $100. By far the most have been under $25

The one expensive thing I've bought there was their previous version of the 6hp garden chipper-shredder. Big disappointment. In contrast to the description its useless to shred any pruning debris that is too large to cut with pruning shears, so about 3/4 inch, and you have to feed that slowly so it doesn't gag requiring disassembly. The side opening will take anything to broomstick diameter but with vibration so severe it will give you carpal tunnel syndrome to feed it in. Slowly. Low oil sensor so delicate that you need to level the machine with a carpenter's level and then much frustration as it vibrates, gets imperceptibly off vertical, and kills the engine. Bottom discharge, you have to move the machine to pick up its discharge.

This thing must be an ignorant replica of a machine designed to shred fall leaves for bagging - its not really a pruning shredder at all. $350+ wasted.

But in contrast to that, I can't think of anything expensive not worth what it cost. The most recent over $100 purchase was the 1 ton foldable shop crane, it works as intended.

 

[John_Mc]

What's your limit at HF?

I've only bought a few things over $50 and maybe just a couple over $100. By far the most have been under $25

Most of the things I buy from Harbor Freight have ended up being under $100. IT was only a couple years ago that we got a store in our area, and I like to see more expensive things before I buy.

Things that exceeded $100 that I can recall:

• $110 - Badlands 3500# 12V ATV winch (stay away from the 2500# model. There is is huge step down in design/build quality between the 3500 and 2500# inches.) The old style 3500# winches are now on clearance at $90, which is a great deal. They have been replaced by the Badlands ZXR 3500# winch at $150. No idea what the difference is. There is a similar clearance going on for the old-style 5000# Badlands Winch: $130 for the old style vs $200 for new style. search for winch and scroll way down to find the clearance items.
• $209 - Dayton 3 Ton Low Profile Super Duty Rapid Pumpｮ Floor Jack
• $300 (?) - Hercules 12 in. Dual-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw

All of the above were on sale when I bought them. All have worked well.

 

[5030]

Only difference I can ascertain in the 3500 pound winches is the end bell freespool knob.

I see HF has another recall on the jackstands. This time the 'improved' model is faulty. It's a leg weld this time.