Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[PJSprog]

Went to HF for a couple of things yesterday and let myself get pulled into that pit of despair. I originally went for a set of nut drivers (needed SAE, but got metric as well), and The Wife asked me to get a new tarp to cover the chicken coop extension (original one got beat up pretty good by a couple of storms). While I was wandering around in there, I grabbed another pack of the rubber bungee cords. Used the HFQPDB coupon for a free 5.5' x 7.5' tarp. Saw the small right angle ratchet screw driver again, and decided to get one. Then, oh, look, a mini rotary tool kit for $9.99. May as well grab another of these little tool bags for it, too. Picked up some small casters to make a dolly for our basement humidifier, on which the plastic casters broke at the base mounting points.

Picked up and put down a lot of other stuff that didn't come home with me. Probably spent 45 minutes in there. I hate that place. :laughing:

 

[Rock Crawler]

Do any of you have opinions of the Earthquake 12V ratchet? I'm thinking about buying one today. I'm going down the path of minimizing air tool use and the inconvenience if the hose if lithium battery power can do similar work. I'd really prefer to stay within a battery family, and since Saturday I grabbed the Hercules mini impact, I'm going marry Hercules going forward as they release more tools. But in this instance, there is only one option and it's that Earthquake with it's unique battery.

12V Max Lithium 3/8 In. Cordless Xtreme Torque Ratchet Wrench Kit

 

[reb]

Rural King sells a "Heavy Duty" tube that's the size required for most of the HF tube type leakers and I've had great results with it.

Heavy Duty Wheelbarrow Tire Tube 4-6 AE291G

This is what the box looks like but the one I use has a bent stem and called wagon tube or something like that. The straight stem is supposedly for a wheelbarrow but I have used it interchangeably. Anyway, the tube works for me and has not gone flat nor lost pressure. It's thicker and feels way better made but it's probably still foreign made.

The one review at that link makes one wonder...

 

[sixdogs]

Made me wonder too but that's not been my experience. Had I not tried the tube first I might not have not made the purchase. But I did and all was OK so it worked for me.

 

[Travelover]

.........., a mini rotary tool kit for $9.99. ......

If it is one I'm thinking of that does suck - really powerless

 

[PJSprog]

If it is one I'm thinking of that does suck - really powerless

It probably is. It's this one.



I don't need a whole lot of power out of it. When I do, we have a couple of real Dremel tools.

 

[KubotainNH]

If it is one I'm thinking of that does suck - really powerless

The one that uses a wall mount adapter? Kinda useless to me, no power but may be good for light intricate work. I contemplated hooking it up to something that puts out more amperage, like a lawn tractor battery.

 

[KubotainNH]

I was asked to report on this Northern Tool Angle Grinder Holder after I got it set up:

I like it. It's solid, precise, just what I need. It's a valuable addition to my tools.

I mounted an old $10 HF DrillMaster angle grinder (4.2 amps) in it. That has plenty of power for driving the thin cutoff blade. It continues to cut precisely when weight is applied to work the grinder harder. It simply works. It's better than I expected.

If you buy one: Setting it up precisely is like the many adjustments you do to make a table saw cut true - adjust, measure, adjust some more, repeat. After considerable tinkering, it makes cuts that are as true as I can evaluate by comparing a finished item to a carpenter's square.

My cheap DrillMaster angle grinder isn't as fat as this was designed for. So that meant more tinkering to get the cut moved over, to not nick the vise and baseplate. I notched the washers that mount the superstructure to the base, to get the Allen screws even closer to the upright part. See the photo below.

The manual says it's for 4.5" and 5" angle grinders. My grinder is 4.5" but I have a 10-pack of 4 inch cutting discs. They are too small. After their diameter is ground down 1/8" smaller they wont reach the bottom of a cut. This needs 4.5" cutting discs.

I can't think of anything else. In summary -just buy it.

Thanks California, good info. This goes on my wish list.

 

[KubotainNH]

I asked here about flare wrenches with not much info on the HF ones. Last week I was looking on the Lowes site and their Kobalt one rates 5 stars or close to. I was at Lowe's this weekend trying to get some Craftsman tools replaced (fail) and ended up buying the 9mm/10mm Kobalt flare wrench, did not need to buy a set. That wrench is a quality tool, fits tightly and removed every rusted brake line nut I put it on.

 

[Rock Crawler]

Well I am now going to implement a full-on ban of myself from Harbor Freight. My marriage will not last, it's not going to take too much more at this pace. so Harbor Freight and I have now officially broken up after today. Well, except for maybe again this coming weekend.