Harbor Freight

CaptKimble

CaptKimble

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Jul 29, 2017
169
Catalina 380 Los Angeles
MaineSail - I totally agree with you, but I did buy their small hydraulic crimper but I find I have to inspect each crimp afterward. The trick is to not oversqueeze the unit since it will only develop leaks. I also went to the expense of purchasing a large manual unit to crimp larger sizes ( 0-0000 0 ) from a reputable local tool dealer. With tools you usually get what you pay for. My 30+ yr old bench grinder died and I needed one quick. I was at HF buying sandpaper and so I picked up a bench grinder they had on sale. It was a complete failure. Crappy hardware, braces etc and to put it mildly, it stalls with the least bit of pressure. Most of my hand tools are Craftsman or Snap On - quality tools. I have a set of Husky hand tools on the boat that I won't bitch too much if I donate a socket to Neptune. I bought a sandblasting kit from HF to do one little job and that is all it was good for. I threw it away when I was done. Complete garbage but the quote I had from the sandblasting company was over $200 and the kit with the sand was $75 so I still saved money. Again, if it's something you are going to use rarely it makes sense but anything you are going to use a lot or put heavy use on... go with quality.
 
RussC

RussC

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Sep 11, 2015
1,680
Merit 22- Oregon lakes
I have quite a few things from HF, but one of the most used are the air die grinders. at ~ $10.oo each I just buy enough to never have to swap rotary burs, or whatever tool I need to use in one. I actually have a few more than shown around here somewhere ;) . several of them must have thousands of hours use by now and I've never had one fail yet.
P1050688.jpg
 
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CaptKimble

CaptKimble

.
Jul 29, 2017
169
Catalina 380 Los Angeles
pateco - just don't try to overcrimp with that tool. I squeeze until it gives me pushback and then stop. Otherwise it will start to leak. At least they include the o rings to rebuild it as part of the kit. When I misplaced my regular crimpers I used it for my smaller stuff until I discovered where the Admiral had stuffed my regular crimper. As an aside, I bought a dremel type tool from HF and it lasted all of an hour. HF took it back no questions asked.
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

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Feb 26, 2004
23,136
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
I buy from this site when I can. I stopped referring to other vendors in posts, since our hosts are in the supply business.
 
chuckwayne

chuckwayne

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Mar 20, 2004
1,749
Hunter 356 and 216 Portland, ME
What Mainesail said.... but some of their stuff is decent, you have to look carefully at the tool. I've had good luck with their hydraulics, including a race jack, a 2-ton engine hoist, and a 12ton gear puller. The gear puller is a fantastic prop puller for my autoprop and has served me well. Their bolt cutters also do the job.
 
jviss

jviss

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Feb 5, 2004
7,090
Tartan 3800 20 Westport, MA
Oh, nice. Can you give me more to go on, on the puller, please?
 
Captmayhem

Captmayhem

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Mar 31, 2013
234
O'day 23 Pa
when my outboard lower unit ate itself, I used the HF slide hammer puller to remove the inner rear bearing, took under a minute. I have lots of HF tools, but only buy from there for stuff that won't see a ton of use.
That said, I bought a 9" angle grinder to cut blocks when I did my paver patio, it did mine, the neighbors and another friends, damn thing refuses to die
 
jibes138

jibes138

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Jan 27, 2008
3,092
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
Have any of you used their larger power tools like table saws, drill presses, lathes, drum sander, etc?
 
Daveinet

Daveinet

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Sep 20, 2014
1,330
Rob Legg RL24 Chain O'Lakes
LeslieTroyer said:
Don’t forget the optical tach so you can calibrate yours.
Click to expand
Don't bother. You can download one for your cellphone.
Ned Ludd said:
The best part of Harbor Freight tools is you can afford 2, 1 for Neptune and 1 for the boat.
Click to expand
I thought that was so you could buy two, so when one breaks right when you desperately need it, you have a second one handy.

While there have been a few things I have bought at HF, I would not buy hand tools there. If the wrench is of poor quality, you will round off the bolt, which prevents you from ever removing it with a quality tool. I've learned a lesson over the years, good tools save time and improve the quality of your work.
I have bought a few things from HF - like the 3 ton floor jack that began to fade and fall after about two years of ownership. About the only thing I have bought that have turned out well have been the trailer LED lights kit. Those seem to work and hold up well. I also have a 2kw inverter that seems to work well.
 
Sumner

Sumner

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Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
jibes138 said:
Have any of you used their larger power tools like table saws, drill presses, lathes, drum sander, etc?
Click to expand


Some years back I bought a large variable speed mill like the one above and also a 12" X 36" metal lathe like above from them but don't think they sell the larger tools any more. They have both performed flawlessly.

I have stuck with Lincoln and Miller welders but have a lot of other tools from them, hand and power,

Sumner
===========================================================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Canada, Florida, Bahamas
 
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J

jwing

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Jun 5, 2014
503
ODay Mariner Guntersville
I bought a corded impact wrench from HF to be able to take off the blades of my grass mower/small twig chopper/rock slammer. The cost of that wrench was about the same as I would pay a landscape equipment shop IF I took the mower deck off the tractor and carried it down to the shop. So I knew that if it worked once, I'd break even and if it works twice, I'll have made a profit by buying it. That is the criterion that I have for buying at HF.
 
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