Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[Jim Nelson]

And they are great fun with the grand kids.

 

[rangerfredbob]

To bring this back up, a week ago I picked up a Bauer 20V angle grinder open box for $20, hadn't used it until today and I have to say that is the smoothest running angle grinder I've ever used... I was just doing a simple project so I figured I'd try it out and I'm glad I got it... I did apparently push it too hard once where it hit the over amp cutoff or something and stopped but for quick little things I'll probably use it more than I anticipated...

Oh and on the Bauer 20V stuff, I also gave the dual inflater thing a test run last weekend, I have the one with the inflater and tire compressor, with the big battery I was able to inflate 3 31x10.50-15 tires from 9psi to 32psi and it took the 4th tire to 22psi all on one battery, and it had 5 minutes of use before that.

I also picked up the "workshop blower" to play with on the camp fire, it works pretty good, and comes with air mattress and raft inflating tips. I see myself using that for small cleanup jobs and once I get a wood stove in the shop it will work good for starting fires...

 

[Diggin It]

I'm more interested in longevity than initial impressions. Will it still work 5 or 10 years from now, or will it be sitting on a shelf because there are no batteries available?

 

[5030]

I'm more interested in longevity than initial impressions. Will it still work 5 or 10 years from now, or will it be sitting on a shelf because there are no batteries available?

Good question but in defense of that, The Bauer batteries are Li-Ion so they should be long lasting. I would prefer LiPo but they are cost prohibitive. Was always my big issue with DeWalt, the batteries. High cost and not too long life.

I've never gotten 10 years from any DeWalt cordless tool. About the best I've gotten was 5 and they expire, usually the motor lets the smoke out. I will admit I use them (Bauer and Dewalt). No Milwaukee stuff here, Too pricey for my tight wallet.

 

[5030]

"To bring this back up, a week ago I picked up a Bauer 20V angle grinder open box for $20, hadn't used it until today and I have to say that is the smoothest running angle grinder I've ever used... I was just doing a simple project so I figured I'd try it out and I'm glad I got it... I did apparently push it too hard once where it hit the over amp cutoff or something and stopped but for quick little things I'll probably use it more than I anticipate"

I'll second that. Mine is extremely smooth. I will say, with a 4.5" metal grinding disk, run time is fairly short even with the higher amp hour battery. I suspect with the smaller battery, run time would be maybe 2 minutes. I like the superb balance too. The tool just feels good in my hands, good ergo's.

One thing I always do with any angle grinder made offshore (aren't all of them today), is, before use, I pull the right angle drive apart and add some high quality synthetic grease to the existing grease which is usually a marginal amount anyway.

Compared to my Porter Cable 110 volt corded one (my latest grinder purchase, the HF cordless is quiet as a mouse. The PC is and always has, sounded like a bucket of loose bolts. Lots of gear noise and lots of freeplay between the motor pinion and the helical gear that drives the spindle.

 

[hunt4570]

"To bring this back up, a week ago I picked up a Bauer 20V angle grinder open box for $20, hadn't used it until today and I have to say that is the smoothest running angle grinder I've ever used... I was just doing a simple project so I figured I'd try it out and I'm glad I got it... I did apparently push it too hard once where it hit the over amp cutoff or something and stopped but for quick little things I'll probably use it more than I anticipate"

I'll second that. Mine is extremely smooth. I will say, with a 4.5" metal grinding disk, run time is fairly short even with the higher amp hour battery. I suspect with the smaller battery, run time would be maybe 2 minutes. I like the superb balance too. The tool just feels good in my hands, good ergo's.

One thing I always do with any angle grinder made offshore (aren't all of them today), is, before use, I pull the right angle drive apart and add some high quality synthetic grease to the existing grease which is usually a marginal amount anyway.

Compared to my Porter Cable 110 volt corded one (my latest grinder purchase, the HF cordless is quiet as a mouse. The PC is and always has, sounded like a bucket of loose bolts. Lots of gear noise and lots of freeplay between the motor pinion and the helical gear that drives the spindle.

Old Porter Cable stuff was pretty good before Black and Decker bought them out!

 

[5030]

Old Porter Cable stuff was pretty good before Black and Decker bought them out!

Old = USA New = China....

 

[5030]

Well, have not found the smoke in the PC corded grinder yet, but give me time. I can fond the smoke in just about everything with enough effort.

 

[Diggin It]

I can fond the smoke in just about everything with enough effort.

I'm pretty good at finding the smoke between my ears and letting it out.

 

[5030]

Found the smoke yesterday in the corded electric hedge trimmer (and I didn't cut the cord which I'm good for...)... Was a B&D and stunk like rice paper. She started smoking and kept on trimming until it expired. Landfill time.

Bought the HF (Bauer) shop vacuum a while ago (before they came out with the real big one). It's just ok. It sucks fine but the pickup hose is an odd size and it's impossible to find any attachments for it and...The inside filter is also an odd size so you have to order it from HF. Finally, it don't come with much in the way of accessories like a crevice tool or brush, just a chintzy floor nozzle and 2 sections of wand. I'd say, not a good buy, get the big one they have now. It comes with everything.

and... the shop vac don't take regular bags either.