Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[Dargo]

No problems Pat, I'm just stating my opinion on HF stuff. And, actually, I came far closer to being seriously injured when the HF spring compressor broke with a compressed spring in my lap and with the exploding cut-off saw wheels. Thus, from experience, I will buy nothing from HF that has more than a fair chance of creating serious bodily injury. A jack or jack stand certainly falls into that category. My angle is this; do I know for sure what metals are used in HF's $15 set of jack stands, no. However, I am not willing to bet my life that they are structurally sound. In other words, my family won't be the family suing HF for selling junk that killed me. Somebody else can have that honor. I won't touch anything like that from HF with a ten foot pole. They have proven to me more than once that their materials are substandard.

 

[patrick_g]

Dargo, If you aren't comfortable the rest of the discussion really doesn't count. If you can get a comfort factor by spending a few bucks more it is definitely worth it to you and I'll not say you are wrong.

I'm sort of a belt and suspenders kind of guy. I use HF jack stands but typically use two where most folks would use one. Even when I was an "invincible" teenager working in a filling station and did lube jobs and cleaned oil field mud and crud out from under cars and trucks with a high pressure gun with a stock like a tommy gun, I always had my eye on an escape route for just in case the hydraulic lift got tired.

Not that I am paranoid mind you or claustrophobic I just don't usually feel comfortable under heavy things supported by just about anything. I can reason with myself and get the job done but part of the convincing process is doubling up on security.

The best situation I ever saw was in Baja California where a guy had an 18 wheeler cab and trailer washing business and did oil changes and lubes. He had pairs of concrete ramps onto which you drove your rig. It elevated the rig high enough for the average Mexican to stand erect under the engine and tranny. I suppose it is possible that the solid concrete ramps sitting on a slab with footers could fail like say in an earthquake or nuclear attack but it sure looked like a confidence builder for the guys getting under the trucks. I have considered making something like that for my personal use. No pit to fill with water and have to be filtered for oil and such contamination when pumped out. I have 2 cars (if you count a street legal dune buggy), a tractor, and three trucks. Having a set of trustworthy ramps would be nice and HF stands would not enter into it.

Pat

 

[Bedlam]

Link to DO'S

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/p...ools-suck.html

 

[CurlyDave]

I have never had a problem with HF jack stands.

In fact, their design is different than most of the ones from auto parts stores and IMHO vastly superior.

I have two pairs, one is a 3-ton pair I use under cars, and one is a 6 ton pair I use under my tractor.

Now, if I put one end of my 2-ton car on a pair of 3-ton jackstands, I am only holding 1 ton with the stands. This is a pretty decent safety factor, in addition to the one designed into the stands. Same thing for my 4-ton tractor and putting one end on a pair of 6-ton jackstands.

I also agree with patrick -- if I have to get under the vehicle, I use a backup. Usually the floor jack I lifted the car with.

 

[patrick_g]

I have never had a problem with HF jack stands.

In fact, their design is different than most of the ones from auto parts stores and IMHO vastly superior.

I have two pairs, one is a 3-ton pair I use under cars, and one is a 6 ton pair I use under my tractor.

Now, if I put one end of my 2-ton car on a pair of 3-ton jackstands, I am only holding 1 ton with the stands. This is a pretty decent safety factor, in addition to the one designed into the stands. Same thing for my 4-ton tractor and putting one end on a pair of 6-ton jackstands.

I also agree with patrick -- if I have to get under the vehicle, I use a backup. Usually the floor jack I lifted the car with.

Dave, An added benefit to having the jack in place is if something goes wrong then the jack is already in place and someone can jack the load up off of you. I too frequently leave the jack in place if it isn't in the way, even if I have multiple jack stands in place. Did I mentioin being a belt AND suspenders kind of guy?

Pat

 

[gemini5362]

When I was a very young person I had a friend of mine that was in a hurry and did some work under a car supported by a bumper jack (if you know what that is it dates you) The jack fell and I went to his funeral. The amount of wax that they used to repair his features for the funeral is something that I have never forgotten I am also a belt and suspenders kind of guy when it comes to crawling under something

 

[tallyho8]

For many years most of us in the area did little work on our tractors because we had a mechanic in our area who was so good and so cheap that we let him do all our work. One day he worked under a bus with a jack only and no jack stands. Now we all have to learn how to repair our own tractors.

 

[patrick_g]

When I was shopping for my first tractor back in 2001 I stopped at an auto glass shop that shared a parking area with a tractor maint shop. A guy was unloading his old tractor (daily user not a show tractor---it had NO ROPS) He missed one of the tie down chains and when he was cautiously (fairly slowly anyway) backing down the trailer ramps the tractor INSTANTLY flipped over 180 degrees pinning him to the pavement with the steering wheel.

No he didn't "JUMP CLEAR", he didn't even have time to put his foot on the brake and or clutch to stop the loop the loop. The tractor went from right side up to upside down in a fraction of a second. Even if he had fast reflexes and hit the clutch the momentum would have carried him over the top anyway.

He left in an ambulance on a back board with a cervical collar, an IV, and a breathing tube down his throat. He was pretty well crushed. I didn't follow the case but if he didn't die it is a miracle.

Later that week a guy in his 80's who had farmed all his life was cleaning stuff out from under his brush hog when it fell on him crushing him to death.

This was while I was shopping for a tractor with my wife in tow. I didn't want to spend the $ on a cab and she had approved a backhoe BUT she insisted on a cab and that excluded a backhoe on my model. Best argument I ever lost. I think cabs are even safer than ROPS.

Pat

 

[gemini5362]

Chain saw sharpener - something like $40 bucks when I bought it.

Screwdrivers - Can never have enough of them cause they seem to walk off into the woods when I am not looking.

I am thinking about buying the chain saw sharpener. Does it work well for you. How does it stack up against the 99.00 one that northern tools sells ?

 

[Skyco]

I have their chain saw sharpener, works very well. Don't know about long term durability but so far I've already gotten my money's worth out of it.
Last week I bought a combo air powered crown stapler/brad nailer for one specific project, for $13 on sale Glad I hesitated at the $90 ones at Lowes/HomeDepot...I may never need it again, it was certainly worth the $13 for just the one job as I couldn't really get a hammer into about 80 ft of F channel for vinyl soffit on a storage building...