Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[5030]

Sorry, I was close at least. They offer replacement batteries (Li-Ion) for many different makes. I've purchased a couple items from them in the past and I haven't been disappointed with any of them.

 

[Tinhack]

I have a friend who is a welder. He buys the HF 4.5” angle grinders. He says that he gets a year’s use from them compared to about a year and a half with the Milwaukee grinder. But he says he can buy 3 HF grinders for the cost of one Milwaukee grinder.

I have four or five. I lost count. I also have a Dewalt battery version. I keep each one loaded with a different cut disk, flappy, grinding or wire buff. I used to often go from one to another. 1-2 must be over 10 years old. I've replaced the power cord on a couple but never replaced the brushes. Let the tool do the work--Don't push it and buy good disks.

I don't know what the "gasoline" comment is about. The couple I had apart had plenty of grease.

 

[BravoXray]

I have a friend who is a welder. He buys the HF 4.5” angle grinders. He says that he gets a year’s use from them compared to about a year and a half with the Milwaukee grinder. But he says he can buy 3 HF grinders for the cost of one Milwaukee grinder.

I bought a HF angle grinder a couple of years ago, I got tired of changing between grinder disks, cutoff disks, flappy disks and cup brushes. Used it for a year or so before it gave up, the gears wore enough that they no longer meshed and drove the spindle. I was going to pitch it in the trash, but decided to take it apart and examine it. I discovered that the ring gear could be shimmed to get the gears to mesh fully again. Bought a pack if 0.10" shims from McMaster-Carr and shimmed it in 0.70" and it worked like new. Been using it for over a year now and it's still going strong.
I now have five angle grinders, four 4 1/2" inchers, all DeWalt except the HF unit, and a 9" Makita monster from the '70s that must weigh 25# that I use on mower blades.

Update:
Of course after I bragged about getting the HF grinder working well again, Friday I was using it to grind the primer off the floorboard of my Nova project so I could weld in the bucket seat brackets, and it quit working, Wiggling the power cord at the handle would make it work again. Cheap ass power cord broke a wire. Took it apart cut off 6" of the cable, put new spade terminals on and reassembled it, and it works again. Then when I went to lock the spindle and put the wire brush back on, the little rubber button on the lock fell off and the spring fell out. Bah! Cleaned the parts with carb cleaner amd glued it back on with some JB Weld, and it's staying on, for now.

 

[mrfu]

Just got the spectrum universal paint system disposable set up for my spray gun. wow works great easy to use and can now spray in positions I never could with a cup on the gun. really cheap compared to the 3m system.
Tom

 

[rangerfredbob]

Just in case anyone is in the market, the tiny Titanium 125 inverter welder is I think $180 this month for inside track members, so technically it's probably cheaper to get the membership and that than buy it normal price... or even the recent sales price has been $200...

 

[California]

Today I bought the Earthquake (version 1) long-nose impact wrench (62746) that is on Closeout for $52. That's a great price. The same thing but short-nose, Closeout price is $85. Claimed 800 ft. lbs. of bolt breakaway torque. Whatever the real number is, is sufficient for the smaller tractors I own.

HF website yesterday and today showed several stores near my home have it in stock. Nope, the cashier's internal lookup showed none for 50 miles. Today I phoned all the stores in the (SF) East Bay near my route over to the ranch. Found one at Vallejo and bought it today. The clerk there said don't pay any attention to In Stock on the website, phone the store first. That store had one more, after mine.

I think this is the last of the good-enough HF gear at a reasonable price.

 

[California]

I bought a HF angle grinder a couple of years ago... .... shimmed to get the gears to mesh fully ... ...
... cut off 6" of the cable, put new spade terminals on ... little rubber button on the spindle lock fell off ... glued it back on.

You have the patience of a saint!

Those are throwaway tools, I would make a first repair myself but replace it with another cheap one if it failed again. Then retire the new one to lighter-duty work, a wire brush wheel to clean finished welds or something.

 

[5030]

I've landfilled more than a few in my time. I'm real good at finding the smoke in them and they always stink, smell like rice paper smoldering.

Why I bought the Chief 4.5" air angle grinder. If it pukes (highly unlikely) it won't stink up the shop. Chief is really top shelf stuff. When I took it out of the box before I even put an air fitting in it, I looked it over and was amazed it actually had a grease fitting for the gearbox. Not even the IR has that.

 

[5030]

"
Then when I went to lock the spindle and put the wire brush back on, the little rubber button on the lock fell off and the spring fell out. Bah! Cleaned the parts with carb cleaner amd glued it back on with some JB Weld, and it's staying on, for now."

Necessity is the mother of invention. Good for you. I never have the luck, I always smoke them.
"

 

[stuckmotor]

Years ago some other outfit sold angle grinders on the WWW for something like $4.95 a pop. I ordered five. I was lucky to get two hours of light intermittent use out of them. One failed in less than two minutes. After a while I quit bothering with them. There's probably an unopened one around here somewhere now.