Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[5030]

I'm always serious about welding as I fabricate and sell a product to the motorcycling public and it has to be right.

 

[jjeff]

Well Miller owns Hobart or at least their parent company does.

Hobart's like millers equivalent of snapons blue point line imo. I own a few Hobart's never had any problems with any of them.

 

[jjeff]

another TBN member recommended this, has a 95 percent 5 star rating. Not a cheap tool but clearly a good one.

1200 Lumen LED Rechargeable Underhood Work Light

Amazing deals on this 1200L Underhood Rechargeable Work Light at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

I like rechargeable battery work lights, another good alternative is this rechargeable led Menards "smart electrician" rebrand had it for a couple years always works, reasonably priced, I believe it has a built in smart usb charger meaning you can plug it in and forget about it when it needs a recharge.

 

[jjeff]

Isn't Craftsman tools made in China?

Probably these days, a decade or so ago just electric tools were Chinese made.
My old table saw, China,
Hand tools, wrenches, ratchets, most sockets , nut driver's, screw driver's "forged" in USA anyway.

 

[5030]

I have some of the old 'Made in USA Craftsman stuff as well. I believe Williams made them for Sears and Grabuck Craftsman.

I also have a lot of SK Wayne (Dresser) and Snap On and a smattering of Matco as well.

 

[Tinhack]

Isn't Craftsman tools made in China?

Yep. Same as many of the "Name Brand" tools. I've seen Korea, Vietnam, Tiwan, China and Thailand on DeWalt tools and accessories. The only Stanley tools I have are old and they were made in USA. All of my old Craftsman tools say made in USA too.

 

[Tinhack]

I have some of the old 'Made in USA Craftsman stuff as well. I believe Williams made them for Sears and Grabuck Craftsman.

I also have a lot of SK Wayne (Dresser) and Snap On and a smattering of Matco as well.

I have a list somewhere that identified the maker of tools and equipment based on the 3-digit prefix of the part number. As I recall, there were about 100 entries on that list. But that includes all tools and equipment. Even rulers. Appliances and other home goods were on a different list.

 

[jjeff]

Zr 13 obd scanner had for several years now, I'm not a mechanic so it does more than what I need it for and capable of but has multiple test parameters on top of scanning/ resetting check engine lights. Anyways it's paid for itself and then some especially when you have intermittent trouble lights that don't log the codes. In fact just 2 weeks ago I "fixed" my wife's car it has a capless fuel fill that I dislike, cleaned and lubricated inner and outer seals reset CE light and it's been off and stayed off ever since.

 

[John_Mc]

When looking at hand tools, which tends to be the higher quality HF tool, Quinn or Doyle. (There is no Icon version of what I'm looking for.)

 

[LouNY]

Well Harbor Freight got a bunch of my money today;
Just bought one of their Atlas 80 volt chainsaws and a battery and charger.
Been tossing things back and forth in my mind for quite awhile as I have quite a bit of Milwaukee M18 tools
and have used the little M18 saw it was good for small limbs and such.
I also have some of the Bauer 20 volt stuff which works decently.
But anymore I very seldom use my chainsaw, it will often sit for 6 months or more between uses, but then it will often get a workout
taking care of downed trees and I don't think the M18 would do the job if needed after a storm.
So went with a much more expensive setup of course the battery cost more then the saw did.
We shall see charging the battery tonight!

 

[daugen]

Lou, the ad for that saw says Cuts Faster Than Gas
I chuckle to think about the test guy saying We are going to test that!
looks sturdy
don't forget to lube the bar sprocket

 

[daugen]

I looked under HF for this but didn't find it
everyone with a chain saw needs a tube of this
I went for years not even knowing that front sprocket was greasable

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Oregon-Oregon-Chainsaw-Guide-Bar-Grease-Gun-Single-Use/5013057751?cm_mmc=shp-_-c-_-prd-_-sol-_-ggl-_-LIA_SOL_239_Handheld-OPE-_-5013057751-_-local-_-0-_-0&gclid=CjwKCAiAy_CcBhBeEiwAcoMRHDM50rvjqdz7mVbON4WZwkK-JCWFSJ4XnOrUpbBHU5U8mBtpS2ghdRoC9jwQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[LouNY]

One of my older pistol grip grease guns has a needle tip on it.
If I go down to my shop today I'll have to get it and the winter grade bar oil for it.
Not even really looking forward to using it but after this storm goes through I at least go cut a little bit with it to be sure it's in working order.

 

[thepumpguysc]

I’ve been tossing around getting one.. that is until UPS showed up w a Dewalt 60v chainsaw and blower.!!!
The wife bought them for me for Christmas.!! She was PIZZED that they were in the Dewalt boxes and not in a plain box.!!! I thought she was gonna cry.. I made a big deal over the “presents” so that made up for it..
(I seriously thought she was gonna kick the UPS drivers azz)

 

[gstrom99]

I looked under HF for this but didn't find it
everyone with a chain saw needs a tube of this
I went for years not even knowing that front sprocket was greasable

Not all bars have that grease hole for the sprocket tip.

 

[daugen]

Not all bars have that grease hole for the sprocket tip.

agreed, that one does
I was trying to oil it before I understood what that little hole was for

one more thing to drip from the chain saw.
those oilers seem as leaky as an old British motorcycle.
greasable sprocket does seem like a good idea if no way for chain oil to get in there

 

[John_Mc]

Not all bars have that grease hole for the sprocket tip.

Not really necessary on a number of bars (even some of the ones that have the grease hole).

 

[daugen]

Not really necessary on a number of bars (even some of the ones that have the grease hole).

why? because the chain oil gets in there?
not doubting what you say, just curious

 

[daugen]

Harbor Freight used to give good discounts for showing up on a holiday.
I think an extra 10 percent off the illusionary 20 percent off.

Anything we all should be looking at?
Christmas flyer reminded me they sell an increasing amount of name brand stuff, like WD40. Curious how that compares to Walmart.
Usually this stuff is retail loss leaders. Big can of WD40 now ten bucks. I easily remember when it was half that.
They have Blaster oil spray, with teflon I think, for five bucks. That stuff works nicely

Bonus is in my pocket (ha....I'm long retired), actually more like retirement account is most unhappy, which cuts down on impulse buys.
Ho ho ho

 

[John_Mc]

why? because the chain oil gets in there?
not doubting what you say, just curious

Yes. I regularly greased the tips on my bars when I first started using a chainsaw years ago. I probably have not greased a bar tip in 10 years and have not had a problem with premature tip failures - no evidence of lubrication failures.

It could depend on the bar and chain used. I generally use the OEM bars that came on my Husqvarna and Jonsered saws, or Oregon replacement bars. I also use Oregon chain, though have also been trying out the Husqvarna X-Cut chain lately. However, I've never seen a lube issue even when using other brands of chain. I did have a tip fail on a Tsumura bar once, however, those bars are known not to hold up well to bore cutting, which I do a lot of; it did not appear to be a lube issue, the sides of the tip just started to spread.