Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[5030]

Project farm likes it too. Until my old one poops out, there won't be a Daytona in my garage.

 

[5030]

I generally hate most HF tools,

I don't hate anything except maybe my ex wife. Don't care for the cheaper HF tools but the Icon stuff is top shelf.

 

[jjeff]

The 4x36 belt sanders ok for wood only, was pretty inexpensive a few years ago, it does seem underpowered though.

 

[scootr]

I did a search for the best grinder. Without spending a fortune ( because you can) I wound up at HF. I got this little gem withvarable speed, a light, and shields. I put it on a small table next to my 30 yr old HF 4" belt and side disc sander. Neither one of these will disappoint.

 

[5030]

The 4x36 belt sanders ok for wood only, was pretty inexpensive a few years ago, it does seem underpowered though.

had one and found the smoke in it pretty quick. Got the 12" disc machine and never looked back, it's a beast. Problem is, I don't believe they offer it now.

 

[jjeff]

had one and found the smoke in it pretty quick. Got the 12" disc machine and never looked back, it's a beast. Problem is, I don't believe they offer it now.

Bought a used Porter cable 4x36 use aluminum oxide belts on it, use it or trying to use it for sharpening dull drill bits using the miter gauge, sharpen blades, also nice to round edges and run burrs off steel. Anyways it was about the same price as a new hf one and it's at a completely different level of quality+ no smoke ever .

 

[5030]

I actually prefer offhand sharpening of dull twist drills on the flat faced 12" HF disc grinder, for me it's easier to use that than a bench grinder though I still have to use the bench grinder to relieve the heels on the drills, something I do all the time because it allows better chip clearance and requires less power from the drill.

I'm off the HF tomorrow to pick up some tools, one never has enough tools. I really need new tool boxes, both mine are stuffed and my Waterloo is on borrowed time anyway.

 

[Pixguy]

I actually prefer offhand sharpening of dull twist drills on the flat faced 12" HF disc grinder, for me it's easier to use that than a bench grinder though I still have to use the bench grinder to relieve the heels on the drills, something I do all the time because it allows better chip clearance and requires less power from the drill.

I'm off the HF tomorrow to pick up some tools, one never has enough tools. I really need new tool boxes, both mine are stuffed and my Waterloo is on borrowed time anyway.

The US General is a good tool chest cart and they're on sale this week

 

[California]

Today's email "Savings on Welders So Bright, You’ll Have to Open the Email to See" -

Don't bother reading it. The black flux 125 AC 'mig' is offered at $150! Recently was $129, no?

I paid $72 with coupon for the 15 years ago same thing and discovered those are near impossible to do decent work with.

AC, only two voltage settings, would need a 30 amp 110 volt circuit to do the claimed output.

 

[jjeff]

Today's email "Savings on Welders So Bright, You’ll Have to Open the Email to See" -

Don't bother reading it. The black flux 125 AC 'mig' is offered at $150! Recently was $129, no?

I paid $72 with coupon for the 15 years ago same thing and discovered those are near impossible to do decent work with.

AC, only two voltage settings, would need a 30 amp 110 volt circuit to do the claimed output.

Probably a repeat post/experience but a buddy bought a HF flux core welder a while back, had me come over to help him on his project it involved using his hf flux core welder. The lead for the torch touched some hot steel melted right through it. I was familiar with Lincoln, even higher end Hobart's, the liner the wire travels through is steel, not a freaking cocktail straw. I've posted a bit of HF stuff I use and like on a diy basis mostly but I'll never buy or own a HF welder.

 

[gstrom99]

I've posted a bit of HF stuff I use and like on a diy basis mostly but I'll never buy or own a HF welder.

Same here. I have a bunch of HF stuff that work great, or at least "good enuff", but welding something (usually important) should never be "good enuff". If it's worth welding, it needs to be fixed right.

 

[rangerfredbob]

Their welder prices are silly now, the Titanium welders are a far cry from the blue or black versions of old... when I was broke I made a 100A Chicago Electric flux core welder work and once I figured it out it did just fine but you had to know that welder and ignore normal settings... I ONLY had good luck with .035" wire, too much voltage for .030" wire... but you could do whatever with that, need to weld up a rusty muffler? go to the min and crank the wire speed up, need to weld single pass on 1/8"? go to max and crank the wire speed down... like I said, backward, but it worked when I didn't have any other options... is it worth $150? no, I paid $50 from a coworker and got more than my money out of it. For the money the Titanium MIG 170 isn't bad though, I've beat the SNOT out of mine and it keeps asking for more, all the welds sound like cooking bacon. But if in the market check the used market first...

I love my US General boxes, other than the latches on the 56" box, I could live without those... for the money I'd probably go with the Husky as two of my friends did in the last couple years, same money with more better features and seems same metal thickness, unless you are dead set on a color other than black...

 

[Gregster613]

rangerfredbob, Where did your friends find/buy the Husky boxes? Home Depot or Lowes? I'll go look at some if so. Thanks.

 

[California]

Wow - I see a lot of great Black Friday discounts on welders at Amazon. CamelCamelCamel shows lowest prices ever, by a substantial margin, on ones I looked at.

 

[sea2summit]

I generally hate most HF tools, but the 4 ton Daytona jack is very well built and works well. Not a problem lifting the front or rear axle on my F450.

That's what I use for my F800 as well, amazing jack for the price.

 

[jjeff]

Their welder prices are silly now, the Titanium welders are a far cry from the blue or black versions of old... when I was broke I made a 100A Chicago Electric flux core welder work and once I figured it out it did just fine but you had to know that welder and ignore normal settings... I ONLY had good luck with .035" wire, too much voltage for .030" wire... but you could do whatever with that, need to weld up a rusty muffler? go to the min and crank the wire speed up, need to weld single pass on 1/8"? go to max and crank the wire speed down... like I said, backward, but it worked when I didn't have any other options... is it worth $150? no, I paid $50 from a coworker and got more than my money out of it. For the money the Titanium MIG 170 isn't bad though, I've beat the SNOT out of mine and it keeps asking for more, all the welds sound like cooking bacon. But if in the market check the used market first...

I love my US General boxes, other than the latches on the 56" box, I could live without those... for the money I'd probably go with the Husky as two of my friends did in the last couple years, same money with more better features and seems same metal thickness, unless you are dead set on a color other than black...

Not saying hf welders can't weld, I was saying you need to treat some of the darn things like fine china. Repeat of a comparison I probably mentioned before. I accidentally ran over the lead to torch on a cheaper Home Depot big box store Lincoln mig with about a 3.5 k forklift to my disbelief it still shot wire out of it like nothing happened. To me anyway the higher quality components used on some brand-name recognized tools with more than 2 moving parts is worth the extra cost. Plus imho if your just learning to weld the extra cost if you can afford it is worth it. Not to mention resale if you ever upgrade. Happy Thanksgiving.

 

[newbury]

Wow - I see a lot of great Black Friday discounts on welders at Amazon. CamelCamelCamel shows lowest prices ever, by a substantial margin, on ones I looked at.

Post links please.
/edit
I bought a YESWELDER Digital MIG-205DS MIG for $319 (after $70 coupon) on Oct 25th, now it's only marked down to $329.
For some reason CCC shows "We can't find data for the requested product"

 

[jjeff]

Wow - I see a lot of great Black Friday discounts on welders at Amazon. CamelCamelCamel shows lowest prices ever, by a substantial margin, on ones I looked at.

Whoa some of those 3in 1s on Amazon look to good to be true at that price, haven't looked at welders in quite awhile but if I can't even pronounce the welder manufacturers name I'll pass.

 

[jjeff]

Here's a 200 amp $hitbox??
3 in 1 for less than $200 on Amazon with prime.

 

[California]

Post links please.

Black Friday welders.
(Upper left of the page under 'Deals & Discounts').

Amazon.com : welder

Just be sure to buy the third-party 3 or 4 year warranty if you choose a cheap one! And read the user comments.

That said, I bought the $149
Amico MIG-130A, 130 Amp MIG/Flux Cored Wire Gasless Welder, 110/230V Dual Voltage
a year ago today and it's fantastic. I see that one of the several listings for it is $139 now. With free shipping. All of those several listings ship from the Amico warehouse in Los Angeles, and Amazon guarantees free return through the end of January. Little risk to try and see if you like this or another of the cheap hobby-grade welders. And - I advise dual-voltage, some of those don't cost any more than 110. A 110 volt welder limits what you can do.