Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[kenmbz]

Newer Craftsman, finished the job with the HF one, no problem, just the ratchet head was useless

 

[Runner]

Yeah. My good USA-made Craftsman tools, Stiletto framing hammer, etc stay locked up until I start a project.

But cheap stuff like the $10 HF socket set live in drawers at the open-air workbench beyond the tractor in this photo.

Immediate access is more important to me than the risk of something being taken by the orchard laborers who congregate there for breaks and lunch. These immigrant farm laborers are great people. Nothing has ever disappeared.

Same for the boat toolbox. Not quite so worried about HF or garage sale stuff being dropped in the lake.

 

[stuckmotor]

Today I lament that my USA made craftsman tools are no longer complete thru my own negligence, they just disappeared. Cheap tools seem to “stay home”.

A building contractor once told me "buy cheap" expensive tools walk off.

 

[rangerfredbob]

I talked myself into a HFT arbor press the other day and I don't think it's bad for the money. It only took me one use to realize I don't want to use the locking collar on the end of the pinion shaft, it would be way handier to index it for each use instead of having the handle vertical... looking at the reviews on their site it looks like when they increased the price they addressed some of the complaints, the rough lathe work on the rotating plate doesn't bother me one bit, it's cast iron, you'll get that... With the 15% coupon this weekend it was only like $68 so not shabby... most on Amazon and such are around $100...

 

[kenhar]

Any tool is no better than the guarantee. They all break.

 

[Fallon]

I talked myself into a HFT arbor press the other day and I don't think it's bad for the money. It only took me one use to realize I don't want to use the locking collar on the end of the pinion shaft, it would be way handier to index it for each use instead of having the handle vertical... looking at the reviews on their site it looks like when they increased the price they addressed some of the complaints, the rough lathe work on the rotating plate doesn't bother me one bit, it's cast iron, you'll get that... With the 15% coupon this weekend it was only like $68 so not shabby... most on Amazon and such are around $100...

A common mod on the cheap arbor presses is to remove 1 or 2 teeth at the very bottom of the shaft. That way you can rotate the handle without moving the rack when it's all the way up. So you can index the handle so it's at the optimal angle to lean on it where you need it.

 

[1Mech]

62% is over 6 years. That amounts to about 8.4% per year. The company had offered 50%. The union had been seeking 77%.

Heck of a lot better than any raise I received working at the Post office! Usually less than 2% per year. I imagine their benefits are better too!

 

[Tinhack]

A common mod on the cheap arbor presses is to remove 1 or 2 teeth at the very bottom of the shaft. That way you can rotate the handle without moving the rack when it's all the way up. So you can index the handle so it's at the optimal angle to lean on it where you need it.

One video on this subject is informative as well as entertaining happens to be by This Old Tony. Skip to about the 12:00 mark to bypass some needless comedic drivel.

 

[rangerfredbob]

One video on this subject is informative as well as entertaining happens to be by This Old Tony. Skip to about the 12:00 mark to bypass some needless comedic drivel.

That's interesting, I'll keep it in mind, I have a dumb idea for the stock lock collar involving a magnet... not sure why that guy removed the front plate to pull the rack instead of just pulling out the pinion shaft and lifting it out? whatever . modifications are for later, I have much bigger fires to fight currently but they're good ideas I'll likely do sometime.

 

[rangerfredbob]

My dumb idea worked as good as I'd hoped... I had these magnets sitting around that are basically small magnet fishing magnets and they're the same diameter as the collar, loosened the set screw and put the magnet on and you can pull the magnet/collar off or pull the pinion shaft out but you have to be deliberate... the ratcheting method is neat and I might do that later but this was easy...