Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[ronjhall]

School me on the SDS Max. Is it the type of motor or just a rating? Are the others too light to drive rods?

Here is a link to the different bits for hammer drills.
I have the Bauer 10 amp hammer drill. I purchased it to drill holes in a 20" footing with a 3/4" bit. Drilled like it was a piece of wood. I used a Bosch drill.
I went cheap because I did not think I would ever need to drill anything bigger. Price of SDS-Max bits are higher than SDS-Plus.
I will have to get a rod driver bit for it.

 

[John_Mc]

You guys are saying "hammer drill", but aren't you really referring to a "rotary hammer". There is a difference, and the latter tend to be much more powerful.

 

[ronjhall]

You guys are saying "hammer drill", but aren't you really referring to a "rotary hammer". There is a difference, and the latter tend to be much more powerful.

I get lazy typing. Yes, rotary hammer. The HF’s have three settings. Drill, hammer drill and hammer.

 

[Alan W.]

Its not HF but I like it. Got it at TSC yesterday. Bendable, lighted, magnetic pickup tool.
$5.00

 

[farmer2009]

Thanks. Think I’ll be using that super coupon this week to pick up the SDS-max Rotary Hammer.

 

[PJSprog]

Has anyone here used the sanding sponges? Thinking of grabbing some of those this weekend to work on a guitar body I'm building.

I have, the ones I used were pretty hit or miss. I was doing drywall and the media seemed to wear down/ off pretty quick. Went back to 3M ones and found them a lot less frustrating, didn't seem to wear out or load up as quick.
This was a few years ago so maybe the quality has changed.

My experience too. Worthwhile for sanding curves. Used wet, I went through several, they wore out faster than I expected.

I would use them for a guitar project. But if I were paying someone hourly wages I might look for similar in 'pro' quality.

Thanks, guys. I didn't expect them to be 3M quality, just wondering whether or not they are a complete waste of time.

Appreciate the input. I'll give them a try.

Picked up a pack of the 150 grit sponges this weekend and used them to prep sand the guitar body. All previous assessments here were correct; they did load up fast, and started coming apart at the edges (all the routed edges on the top contributed to this, of course). In the end, though, they worked OK for the job. I went through two for prep sanding, and one more to sand some paint runs on the first coat.

My general assessment is ... eh, they're OK. Not great, but they don't suck.

 

[California]

Has HF's new 4 Ft. LED Hanging Shop Light been discussed in this thread? They are presently $25 with coupon.

120 volts, 1.1 amps, 60 watts, huh ???

5000 Lumens sounds good, that's brighter than the similar $40 lights at Home Depot. I see a HF review complaining the color is closer to an incandescent bulb than to the daylight white of standard fluorescents.

What is everyone's experience with these? Will two on each side adequately light up my barn stall (photo, there are also workbenches down both sides) which is sized to work on one vehicle?

 

[dragoneggs]

Has HF's new 4 Ft. LED Hanging Shop Light been discussed in this thread? They are presently $25 with coupon.

120 volts, 1.1 amps, 60 watts, huh ???

5000 Lumens sounds good, that's brighter than the similar $40 lights at Home Depot. I see a HF review complaining the color is closer to an incandescent bulb than to the daylight white of standard fluorescents.

What is everyone's experience with these? Will two on each side adequately light up my barn stall (photo, there are also workbenches down both sides) which is sized to work on one vehicle?

If you are a Costco member get their LED shop lights when they are instant rebate price of $19.99 (fixture and two bulbs) They vary in pricing between $29 and $19 throughout the year. I now have a bunch and they have been awesome. Running the first ones for a couple + years now. No radio interference. Nice bright light (more than fluorescents) and instant on in the cold.

 

[California]

Wish I belonged to Costco.

Home Depot has similar, by Feit, but not near the price, and not near the claimed 5000 Lumens output of these HF lights.

The HF lights aren't quite as energy efficient as the box-store brands. This would be significant in many cases. But my use would be a few hours occasionally, so the 60 watt draw isn't an issue.

I just found a coupon for $19.99 for these HF shop lights at: HF Coupon Database. HF here I come!

 

[ultrarunner]

If you are a Costco member get their LED shop lights when they are instant rebate price of $19.99 (fixture and two bulbs) They vary in pricing between $29 and $19 throughout the year. I now have a bunch and they have been awesome. Running the first ones for a couple + years now. No radio interference. Nice bright light (more than fluorescents) and instant on in the cold.

Yep... can't say enough good things about these and I have a few years use now...