Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[IslandTractor]

I looked at the plates, I referenced on eBay, as a suitable replacement for the cast iron arbor plates that came with the older 20 ton presses. The ones, from SWAG, are indeed larger and for higher than 20 ton capacity presses so, not really germane to the conversation about the cast HF plates. Kinda like putting load range E tires on a 1000 lb. HF trailer?

Actually, SWAG sells these specifically for the HF 20t press. Again, I'm not sure it's necessary but that is what they built them for. I only use my HF 20t press to bend 10-12 gauge sheet so I'm not so worried about the cast plates exploding. If I were trying to press big bearings I might be more interested.

 

[lostcreekranch]

Actually, SWAG sells these specifically for the HF 20t press. Again, I'm not sure it's necessary but that is what they built them for. I only use my HF 20t press to bend 10-12 gauge sheet so I'm not so worried about the cast plates exploding. If I were trying to press big bearings I might be more interested.

1.5" x 50 ksi steel is overkill for a 20 ton press?

 

[IslandTractor]

1.5" x 50 ksi steel is overkill for a 20 ton press?

No disagreement here.

 

[crazyal]

I'll give a 4/5 star review for the HF pipe/tube notcher, model 42324. Tubing Notcher & Pipe Notcher. About $32 with coupon.

It's a copy of a US made notcher that sells for about 4x the price. Main body is 0.223" steel and sturdy enough. Base needs to be bolted to a workbench or drill press. Adjustment range from perpendicular is 0-60 degrees left. The pipe clamp hold up to 2.25" pipe. The spindle is 3/4" with 1/2"-20 threads and a 5/8" adapter is included. Worked fine with my HF Warrior bimetal hole saw set although you need a skinny 7/8" wrench to dismount the adapter once the hole saw is tightened. There isn't enough space to fit a standard thickness wrench between the mounted hole saw and the washer. I ended up using pliers.

The spindle support is machined aluminum. The machining seems true but there is more play than desirable.

I used a HF 1/2" low speed drill and it had way more power than needed to notch 16g tube. Virtually any drill press would have even more power.

I used it to notch the ends of 1 3/8" 16g fencing tube. The notches were consistently slightly off center and after examining the tool I can see that the clamp requires shimming (such a surprise with a fine quality HF device!!). Needs about a half to one millimeter shim which will be easy to insert. Otherwise the tool functioned fine. No plastic bits to break and nothing much to wear out except the aluminum block which seems beefy enough though a bit sloppy. I'd imagine the tool will last quite a number of cuts.

Overall a useful device for non critical notching though in typical HF fashion it isn't true right out of the box.

I've had one for over 10 years now and what I do is use a 1/2 drill (not a drill press). The adapter's threads stopped too short so when the hole saw was screwed on all the way it would actually go past the end of the threads and slip. By adding a washer between the saw and the arbor it fixed the problem. I removed the base on the bottom plate and I clamp the notcher in a vice. Over the years the bushings have worn so it now has plenty of slop and the arbor has damage from the metal bits from cutting the pipe getting caught between the arbor and the bushing. But I've made dozens of roll cages with it and it still gets the job done.

 

[crazyal]

I got some flat steel bar from one a local steel supplier. It's 1 1/8"x 4". I got a piece that was 40" which made five 8" long pieces. It has nice well defined edges so I'm thinking it's cold rolled. I paid something like $50 for it. My 20 ton press doesn't flex them pieces at all. I've thought about cutting notches like the SWAG ones but I haven't needed them plus my press came with two arbor plates. I got them for the finger press brake I got from SWAG. 5 of them fit perfectly on my press (from Greg Smith). I think the ones Swag sells are overkill for a 20 ton press.

 

[IslandTractor]

I've had one for over 10 years now and what I do is use a 1/2 drill (not a drill press). The adapter's threads stopped too short so when the hole saw was screwed on all the way it would actually go past the end of the threads and slip. By adding a washer between the saw and the arbor it fixed the problem. I removed the base on the bottom plate and I clamp the notcher in a vice. Over the years the bushings have worn so it now has plenty of slop and the arbor has damage from the metal bits from cutting the pipe getting caught between the arbor and the bushing. But I've made dozens of roll cages with it and it still gets the job done.

There is one washer between the saw and arbor now but you are right that the problem of getting the saw off can be prevented by adding a second (or third) washer so that a wrench can be inserted. I'll do that.

 

[crazyal]

The biggest problem is that you want to put some sort of lubricant on the bushings inside the aluminum block to keep it from wearing out. But when you do it attracts all the tiny little bits from the saw.

 

[MossRoad]

hate to act dense but what is SWAG?

It used to stand for:
Scientific
Wild
*ss
Guess

 

[IslandTractor]

It used to stand for: Scientific Wild *ss Guess

SWAG can be an acronym but even that possibility is confusing (Secretly We Are Gay!!?).

I suspect it entered slang use from and archaic English word that referred to draperies or the fabric that hangs from a curtain rod. Fluff. Decorations. SWAGOffRoad started as a company producing attachments for Jeeps to allow mounting of ice coolers and things like that. Look at their website. They expanded and now have a weird collection of metal working tool enhancements (?swag for tools) but they still produce their early products which can generally be characterized as swag for jeeps.

Swag can also be seen as a contraction of swagger and in that sense means "cool" or "cool stuff".

In Australia it means bundle of personal belongings as in luggage.

Check out Oxford English Dictionary for even more definitions.

Whatever they were thinking, naming your metalworking equipment company swagoffroad is pretty odd.

 

[Ford850]

From the SWAG website:

About Swag

Swag Off Road?..What is Swag?

It's an abbreviation for Scientific Wild *** Guess, however the products sold at Swag are anything but a wild *** guess.

I graduated from College at OIT with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I have always had a life long obsession for making sparks in the garage, designing, creating and coming up with a bigger and better mouse trap. Having worked for a couple of industry leading off road companies I realized they all share a common goal, building great products with even better customer service.

We continually strive to be on the front lines of ground breaking modifications for the Jeep and off-road industry while focusing on the unique and innovative fabrication tools that make your shop and off road vehicle run smoother.

We specialize in off road products as well as unique and innovative fabrication tools, where our motto is DOING ORDINARY EXTRAORDINARY.

Sincerely, Troy Rutherford