Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[California]

California, You still here?

OK, Power Auger.

Eh? I can't remember what we were talking about. What post # are you referring to?

 

[Travelover]

What do you guys do to keep the HF air tools working? It seems like half the time when I pick one up to use it all it does is hiss until I disassemble it, lube it and curse it. Then it works until the next time. :confused2:

 

[paulharvey]

What do you guys do to keep the HF air tools working? It seems like half the time when I pick one up to use it all it, does is hiss until I disassemble it, lube it and curse it. Then it works until the next time. :confused2:

I put a few drops of hydraulic fluid in the air chisel, to help with rust.

 

[Parkanzky]

I have their air die-grinder. I am sure I paid $5-10 for it and the way I treat it reflects that. That means that I've never put a drop of oil in it (except maybe the first time I used it). So far, it's run great for the ~10 years I've had it. I just used it to remove some finish from the inside of holes in a piece of plate so that I could do plug welds.

 

[flyerdan]

I use Marvel mystery oil for air tools; when I'm done with them I put a few drops in the inlet, reconnect the air and give it a blip to coat the insides with fresh oil.

 

[PILOON]

Every air tool I have gets frequent squirts of WD40 and have for at least the last 20 years or so.
To date I have had no problems with any of my 30 or so air tools that span from grinders, drills rivet guns onto about 12 nail guns.

The only problematic tool has been an air hacksaw but even that one generally obeys after some persuasion.(it may not be 'broken in' yet).

 

[sixdogs]

I have several air tools and always add a couple drops of tool oil when I'm done with it. They get abused frequently ad I've ever had one fail in more than 10 years. I always figured oil was the key.

 

[California]

Finally - a top quality tool at HF, their Pocket Screw Jig. I looked at reviews of this tool and the industry-leader Kreg on Amazon and HF. Several experienced owners recommended the HF version. It cost under $55 after a coupon compared to the plastic Kreg @ $100.

I needed to make a frame for an artist friend to stretch his canvas over. This jig did a great job, better than any other technique I could think of.

Example of a pocket screw joint like the ones I made. (stock photo).

HF's Pocket Screw Jig

A couple of tips for using this thing: Several reviewers said buy the Kreg screws, HF's cheap screws included in the kit aren't up to the quality of the rest of the kit. They are threaded all the way to the head which prevents drawing tension on the joint - and are so cheap the heads sometimes snap off. I bought a box of Kreg screws.

And a tip of my own: Reviewers recommended clamping the joint while screwing it together so the screws don't disturb the alignment as they tighten. I recommend this design of clamp, but HF's $3 version of the clamp was so cheap that it didn't make a perfect 90 degrees. I secured the opposite ends of the boards to make 90 degrees before tightening the clamp. The finished frame was perfectly flat and square. Later I found my Stanley clamp that HF copied. Next time I'll use that one.

Summary - The jig is a quality precision tool. Discard the screws that come with it. Use a good clamp while inserting the pocket screws to make perfect alignment.

 

[Mike from MI]

Finally - a top quality tool at HF, their Pocket Screw Jig. I looked at reviews of this tool and the industry-leader Kreg on Amazon and HF. Several experienced owners recommended the HF version. It cost under $55 after a coupon compared to the plastic Kreg @ $100. I needed to make a frame for an artist friend to stretch his canvas over. This jig did a geat job, better than any other technique I could think of. Example of a pocket screw joint like the ones I made. (stock photo). HF's Pocket Screw Jig A couple of tips for using this thing: Several reviewers said buy the Kreg screws, HF's cheap screws included in the kit aren't up to the quality of the rest of the kit. They are threaded all the way to the head which prevents drawing tension on the joint - and are so cheap the heads sometimes snap off. I bought a box of Kreg screws. And a tip of my own: Reviewers recommended clamping the joint while screwing it together so the screws don't disturb the alignment as they tighten. I recommend this design of clamp, but HF's $3 version of the clamp was so cheap that it didn't make a perfect 90 degrees. I secured the opposite ends of the boards to make 90 degrees before tightening the clamp. The finished frame was perfectly flat and square. Later I found my Stanley clamp that HF copied. Next time I'll use that one. Summary - The jig is a quality precision tool. Discard the screws that come with it. Use a good clamp while inserting the pocket screws to make perfect alignment.

Has the jig got the dept settings like the kreg.

 

[California]

I see the Kreg comes with a stepped depth guide. No, on this you adjust the collar on the drill bit for each size screw, to place half the screw in each side of the joint.