/diy/ - Do It Yourself

>>1650756
>What are some things you like to get from HF?
Cancer when I open the packaging.

>>1650757
>Cancer when I open the packaging.

only if you have shitty genetics, my buddy's grandma smoked a pack of cigs a day and drank a six pack almost every day, she is in her late 80s

>>1650756
>What are some things you like to get from HF? Discuss.

I like to get the invoice to see how much money my job wasted on shitty tools.

>>1650764
>I like to get the invoice to see how much money my job wasted on shitty tools.

not all their stuff is bad fren, of course I would never buy a multimeter from them but their holesaw kits and unibits are bretty gud

I only like the shit they accidentally give to me for free from there because the employees are braindead. Got a free jigsaw, adjustable roller stand thing, a bunch of Brad nails, tool bags...

Oh and I'm cool with those $5 shitter power tool sales they do. Never even wanted one of those multi vibrator things before, but for $5 I figured it was at least worth the fun of trying out.

>>1650766
>would never buy a multimeter
Duh, they give them out for free.

I wonder how out of square HF's lathes are?

>>1650756
Serious business
301 pc toolset is amazing for the cost

>>1650766
The unibits shit out after 2 holes

My DeWalt unibit just snapped in half today. I was drilling 1/2 inch steel. Last month quarter inch. Must have 1000 holes.

Hole per hole harbor freight is way more expensive.

Rolling tool chest
Bar clamps
Air nailers
Impact sockets
Earthquake impact wench

They used to carry cheap versions of specialized tools like hollow chisel mortiser but seems like thats slowly going away. Now theyre raising prices to with $20 of name brand shit and then whats the point.

When you get the coupon for the $10 angle grinder ONLY buy the 60625. It's actually well made for the price but the 69645 is pure shit.

Also do not use cutoff wheels on a $10 grinder. These are great for flap disks and cup wheels, though. Saves time having a few laying around ready to go instead of swapping disks all the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1keZFiKQhPc

>>1650798
What you said at the end, pretty much. I got a long blow gun, Central Pneumatic was $3, their new Merlin brand was $8. I was going to get the more expensive one because it’s still only $8, yet it looked literally exactly the same aside from a logo stamped on the newer one and one small part was polished versus brushed on the other.

New Icon breaker bar is $50, compared to Pitt Pro at $20 ($15 w/coupon) which seems to be the same aside from a stamp.

The better power tools aren’t worth the money compared to name brand either. Brushed basic model tool (although the Hercules seems to be built to the same standard as basic DeWalt) costs $120 with one battery compared to $149 for DeWalt with 2, but that DeWalt goes on sale for $99 all the time and has a 3 year warranty compared to 90 days on the Hercules. Earthquake is $299 I think with one battery and charger, always coupons for $240. Home Depot has had a sale on the M18 Fuel impact with a free 5.0 battery for $220-$240. The M18 is objectively better in every aspect and has a 5 year warranty. If you don’t have a charger, you can get one off Amazon for $15.

>>1650775
All of them.

>>1650802
Crap, I ended up with the 69645

>>1650775
Bought the 10x18 the other day, was square and level out of the box, headstock and tailstock were perfectly lined up, doesnt vibrate even at the max RPM and its actually pretty damn quiet. All in spent $250 for the lathe and a 2 year guaranteed replacement warranty.

>>1650802
cool. what do these grinders grind? what do you do with them?

>>1650826
Sorry to hear. :(

>>1650840
Like I said, I keep one laying around with a cup brush on it and another with a 80 Grit flap disk on it, that way I don't have to pull a cutoff disk off my DeWalt to just do rust removal.

>>1650775
they are the same midi lathes as everyone else sells, same cast iron fram, same head stock, same tail stock, hell you can use the excelsior bed extension on the central machinery model, just a different color paint and different name plate riveted on.

CM isn't even the lowest motor on them, it's a 1/2 hp some others are quarter horse

>>1650756
10mm sockets
funny thing is that I haven't lost one since I just said fuckit and bought 5 each in 1/4 and 3/8s drive

>>1650908
Based Gearwrench came up for a plan for people like you

>>1650756
got a 200w or 300w inverter for my truck so I can run/charge a laptop when there is no power on site.

>>1650946
>got a 200w or 300w inverter for my truck so I can run/charge a laptop when there is no power on site.

I wonder what is more efficient: buying a car charger that uses a DC-DC converter or buying a 300 watt inverter to convert DC to AC.

I’ve bought a magnetic floor sweeper, small clamps, their electric winch (wish I would have bought the hoist so I don’t have to keep a battery on a tender), race ramps, those are my recent purchases that I can remember. Next will be their floor jack which I’ve heard is good.

>>1650773
Their free DMM's are great for the price.
I keep one in my trunk, one in the shed, one in the garage, and I gave one to my little nephew. My benchtop power supply display went out so I stuck another one inline on the output as a display.
I use my Fluke for important stuff but it can't be everywhere at once, you know?

>>1650908
>>1650911
Just what are you people doing with all these 10mm sockets?

>>1650762
Tough shit zoomer

>>1650963
probably the car.. the inverter from HF is really cheap but works.. plus with the inverter you are really going 12v dc to 120v ac then with the laptop charger back to 19.2 dc

>>1650802
Nice. I should pick up one of these to cope stuff at my wage slave.

>>1650772
Oscillator/multi-tool/Fein saws are a must for tons of cuts you can't get to with other saws.

Even at full price ($10) that Chicago Electric is perfect for cutting drywall, siding, making notches, etc. These things even sand in a pinch.

Name brand stuff has battery power, a throttle controlled trigger, and a little higher rpm. They're just over 10x the cost though for both blades and tool.

Bought this piece of fucking shit from the Harbor.
2 car washes later, the pump burnt out. Returned it, got a 2nd one.
The 2nd one still works, but the handle broke at the valve. I promptly returned that POS as well.

>>1651008
sockets for the socket god

>>1650908
Huh, until now, I thought I was the only person to experience this phenomenon.

>>1651076
that feeling you have in your genitals when you look at an attractive dude isn't unique to you either.

>>1651084
The only time I ever felt a tingle in me mingle for a dude was pics of that ridiculously good looking Finnish cop in front of Naughty BRGR during the Helsinki Terror Attack.

>>1651087
nigga u gay

Pop quiz hot shots. Which one of these mongoloids owns harbor freight. Extra credit who donated to the Clinton campaign?

>>1651092
Nah, we all would probably have sex with any Finn that offered. They're just so magical.

>>1651095
I really can't hate on Smidt. He is a true America Self-Made Millionaire story.

>>1651006
I keep the free DMM in my car too. The first time I went to use it (which was only a couple months after getting it) the battery had exploded.

>>1651057
Really? Their cheap ass yard tools like the chainsaw seem to be well liked. I got the hedge trimmer and I don’t use it much besides for the stuff the landscapers are too lazy to do, but I like it so far.

>>1651099

>Self made

I mean if you count daddy giving you money to start a business....

>>1651106
>Dad loans him a couple grand to sell liquidated tools out of the back of Popular Mechanics when he's 17
>850+ stores in CURRENT YEAR -2 + (1 x 2)

Yeah, I think that counts. Stop being jealous of success, Hillary.

>>1651114
He's like a little Donnie drumf self made my ass

>>1650766
Do not listen to this man. Unibits are shit and the holesaws moreso. Maybe good for wood and plastic at best. Metal lathe in a plaster wall takes the teeth right off.

>>1651114
AvE has criticized the way dude is growing the business. He keeps leveraging up on everything. I think they have spent a lot more money than they’re making in profits. It’s AvE though so I’m not sure what to make of it.

It’s an interesting case though. In the Days of Amazon, HF is one of the only brick & mortar retailers growing. I’m not sure what will happen. The home improvement stores will always survive the internet because you can’t wait 3-5 business days for lots of jobs, but HF is a tool store. And they used to be the cheap tool store where you could get crappy stuff for less than name brand Home Depot or Lowe’s, but they’re changing all of that with their new brands that cost just as much as Husky and only a couple dollars less than well known name brands like Milwaukee or Channellock. And if I don’t need the stuff today, I can get the Chinesium stuff for 20% less on Amazon and it will be at my front door tomorrow afternoon.

As they grow, as they open up a store right down the street from my house, I haven’t been shopping there much because I can get an Autel for $120 that does as much as their $200 Zurich and the tool cart that was a steal when it was on sale for $100 has gone up to $170 and sale prices only bring it down to $150.

>>1651154
Keep us posted on what's going on with the AvE channel.

It's also good to get updates on how much you love niggers and voting for Trump. Go ahead and tag Bepis back in as our resident tripfag when you get a chance.

>>1651172
I haven’t watched any of his videos in awhile. He got that CNC machine and the videos are all about that. Let me watch AvE learn how to use his new $50k machine so I can follow along on my $50k machine at home and make the same mistakes! The only ones that hold my attention are the teardowns and him trying to fix worn out tools, but it’s hard to listen to armchair engineer for very long.

It was in some random tangent where he was bitching about Chinesium and how your lifetime guarantee doesn’t matter when a company like that is built on such a shakey foundation.

Has anybody here tried to warranty a discontinued tool at HF? If they discontinue the $20 breaker bar and replace it with the $50 model that is exactly the same, what happens when you go in with a broken $20 breaker bar? Are they going to tell you to pay the extra $30?

>>1650756
One time I got hemmorhoids when i sat outside an harbor freight on a bench

>>1651185
Also was the only thing I ever got fron there that lasted more than 2 days

>>1650795
What kind of hack drills half inch with a uni-bit?

>>1650756
A tool you only want to use once.

>>1651104
I have the pole saw. It works well enough. I also have the 2 ton low profile jack. It is good.
But some some reason or other, both of those power washers were junk

this is what harbor freight is becoming. A $28 power strip with a magnet and cool paint job on it. If i wanted to live it up I'd go to Lowes and have the nice lesbian lady help me.

>>1651326

this.

I bought a 30' tarp, it's pretty good

>>1651326

Humor a novice here, the only large thing Ive ever bought from HF was a lathe. As pointed out earlier in the thread is actually a pretty good lathe, practically identical to a model made/sold by Jet and Rockler for less money.

But my question is this, what the fuck is the major difference between HFs cheaper shit and quality tools? Say a wrench, socket set, hammer, or saw blade? Its all steel, you'd have to be massively misusing a lot of these tools to actually break them. Might strip a socket or a wrench but you shouldn't be trying to loosen a 50 year old rusted nut without penetrating oil anyways. Keep in mind all my tools are handmedowns from me father/grandfather, only thing I really buy from HF these days are nitrile gloves, heatshrink, and tape.

>>1651373
I'm sure the internals, the accuracy of a Jet, or Rockler are worth the added cost. Also the materials, and quality control going into the production are worth the added cost.

>>1651373
Casting errors, cheap materials, general poor quality control, etc

I don't think it'd be that hard to knock loose the cheapest hammer or even knock a chip off. You can look up reviews of the HF anvil for all the problems that can happen with something from HF you wouldn't expect to be much different from a more expensive item.

>>1651380
Lathe I bought has absolutely no accuracy issues, and the cast iron frame is literally the exact same one used in the Rockler Excelsior and a few other more reputable models. As mentioned by another anon you can use bed extensions for other lathes on the harbor freight model as if they were made specifically for it.

>>1651384
Are you turning wood? Or Metals? I mean there is a actual difference

>>1651382
Not gonna lie, the harbor freight anvil is a bit of a cherry picked answer, seeing as its cast iron instead of steel like it should be.

>>1651190
This shit works bitch. How else am I gonna get 1/2 inch holes in half inch steel at home. It took less than an hour for 24 holes.

>>1651392
The larger issue is quality control in general. You might get something good and cheap, but you might also get a dud.

>>1651391
Wood turning of course, HFs metal lathe uses plastic gears and it in no way recommended in the community, unlike their wood lathes.

>>1651396
If you bought a Jet or Rockler. You could turn both. Hence the additional cost.

>>1651399
Not true, you're an idiot. You could get away with turning soft copper or brass/bronze on damn near any wood lathe. But you don't turn metal on a lathe intended for wood, not only is it not safe but its nowhere near as accurate as event the cheapest metal lathes.

>>1651384
There is a reason Harbor Freight is cheaper than others, even if the castings are the same. Have a look at the casting grade this anvil is at 2:50.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=170&v=quL14Csmi_Y

The LittleMachineShop and Sieg branded metal lathes and mills have the same castings as the Harbor Freight ones, but are vastly different machines.
Granted, wood turning is retarded and doesnt require a nice or accurate lathe, but dont act like youve pulled one over on the world. You get what you pay for, whether you can see it or not.

HF is good for toolboxes

The biz is changing and the shit's becoming as expensive as Kobalt & Husky, fuck HFT and there lessening of coupons being able to be used

>>1651455
As far as the harbor freight lathes go its more along the lines of everyone else overpaid, the wood lathes are highly recommended for starters.

>wood turning is retarded
Sorry to hear you have no creativity in your entire body.

>>1651459
>As far as the harbor freight lathes go its more along the lines of everyone else overpaid

Or that you are trying to convince yourself that you are buying tools at cost pricing, instead of getting second rate components.

Its the same story across the board with their drill presses and air compressors and everything else. Every single corner that can be cut has been, whether they share similar castings or not.

>Sorry to hear you have no creativity in your entire body.

What sort of creative stuff have you turned on your mini lathe there buddy?
A few pens, a mini baseball bat, and dollhouse table legs?
Upper echelon of creativity and diy right here!

>>1651462
Except as mentioned a few times by multiple people, their lathes are part for part almost identical to more expensive models from high end brands, on top of the fact that they are recommended by people that have used them and upgraded to higher end stuff.

>upper echelon of creativity
Sold a zebrano and walnut vase for $300 last week. Dont worry bud, you'll be good at something some day.

>>1651466
>Except as mentioned a few times by multiple people, their lathes are part for part almost identical to more expensive models from high end brands,

Except you are literally wrong. The Excelsior has change pulleys instead of a shitty variable speed motor like the HF ones. Its like you didnt even look into the tool before you bought one, then regurgitated what all the reviews said.

>Sold a zebrano and walnut vase for $300 last week.

Would LOVE to see pics of that anon!

Harbor Freight Scroll Saw.

There's an infamous problem with the rear work table support being broken off when you get them out of the box but if you get a non-broken one, these are great with the 20% off coupon.

When I exchanged the broken one (they were closed when I got it out of the box) the next day, they insisted I check the replacement before leaving the store.

It comes with the adapters for the pinless blades and works just fine at half the price as the next cheapest I could fine.

>>1651469
You're one to talk, didn't even look into the machine you're trying to argue for/against. The Excelsior and HF 10x18 both use a belt system, and my some miracle of god somehow run the exact same RPM per belt position. On/Off switch is in the exact same spot, plastic handles in the same places, exact same drive spur and live center. You just like to hate on something you have no clue about like some stupid shill.

A lot of people mention their tool boxes/bags but does anyone have a specific model they're referring to?

>>1650756
The 25 gal air compressor is tits.

I've bought some Bauer stuff to play around with and it's actually really good. I've been intentionally right with the impact and it's still great at three months.

I think the chinks manufacturing has just caught up to the point that even cheap tools can be used semi professionally now

I wouldn't advise buying HF tools though. Ryobi is cheaper than Bauer and had an infinitely better warranty. It's about the same price as Ridgid, but Ridgid still has a better warranty. The Hercules brand is more expensive than Milwaukee and DeWalt, and had no warranty.

HF is trying too hard to compete at the high end. They need to embrace being a shitty think DIYer brand

>>1651501
>I think the chinks manufacturing has just caught up to the point that even cheap tools can be used semi professionally now

I think a lot of the Chinese shit is intentionally just made shittier to cut cost, no necessarily just shit because the manufacturing is shit. Chinese carbide inserts for lathe tools, saw blades, and other applications are practically identical to the ones you can pay $20 a piece for in the states.

25 gallon oiled compressor is the shit. Break in with included oil for 30 min and promptly replace oil with Royal purple compressor oil. Shits cash.

Centech battery chargers are shitty and dangerous.

Viking 2/8/12 amp charger almost fucked up my dual purpose marine battery. Caught fucker starting to boil during maintenance cycle but didn't evaporate below fill line. Caught it in time. Bitch charger showing 60% charge Everytime it is hooked up. Finally dropped fucking charger on floor and the fan spit out a piece of fucking plastic. Replaced with a Schumacher sc1360 on sale at Lowe's. Battery charged in 3 hours and is now trickle charging for use tomorrow.

Quinn electric torque meter is amazing. Use it for torquing flywheel on the boat 105ft/lb where the Pittsburgh torque wrench fails.


Free multimeter gets the job done.

Color coded deep well sockets are great so far.

Drill to socket adapters great

Highest priced anvil gets the job done.

Brad nailer/stapler worked for a moulding repair.

Redid a whole fiberglass boat floor with the cheap angle grinder and appropriate wheels.

Anything free coupon that is magnetic I will get. They just work.


My rule is if it breaks not due to my misuse I replace with an expensive non HF alternative. So far only replace a pair of dikes and upgraded wire strippers.

I never buy serious power tools from there. Everything handheld battery powered is Makita

>>1651373
>nitrile gloves, heatshrink, and tape
Buy that shit from AirGas. You can get better quality stuff that costs about the same. Don't cheap on PPE.

>>1651535
I only use nitrile gloves to avoid getting superglue and wood finishes on my hands, I dont need actual protection more than its a bitch to get superglue and poly of your hands. As for heatshrink and tape other than electrical tape its so cheap to make these days its all practically the same no matter where you buy it.

>>1651180

No it is still a lifetime warranty. They should upgrade you to a comparable unit. I can tell you that the $20 breaker bar is not going anywhere anytime soon. The new ICON line is "supposed" to give snap on a run for its money.

>>1651537
I wouldn't be so sure that all heatshrink is the same. It depends on what you're using it for, but if you actually expect it to protect against electrical shorts and resist degradation I'd stick with known brands like 3M. It's not as if name brand heatshrink is particularly expensive anyway.

>>1651096
Finn here, you made an entire country feel dirty.

>>1651556
All the top rated stuff on Amazon is Chinese, per rating its just as acclaimed as harbor freights. To be frank you guys are assuming just because some of Harbor Freights tools are bad that everything they sell is bad because its cheap. As has already been argued the 10x18 lathe harbor freight sells is the EXACT same lathe as Rockler's Excelsior, but $40-$100 cheaper. I would honestly guess that Harbor freight sells this stuff at a lesser profit more than lesser quality. That's their business pitch and at this point they're known for it which makes them the money.

>>1651561
>ratings
>on Amazon
Let me laugh harder. Amazon ratings have been useless for 5 years because they get stuffed by Chinese rating shops

>>1651562
Part of my point to be honest, Chinese products are more likely to have this issue, when you consider that the harbor freight stuff is a decent bet. That being said there are a few sites you can run Amazon products through and it can tell you if the reviews look fishy. At that this isnt Banggood, Amazon has actually sued quite a large number of fake review contractors, if you're at least smart enough to run them through one of those sites or look through a few reviews you can usually spot the 200 reviews that all say "good product, quality great, am recommend".

Last I checked harbor freight doesn't delete shitty reviews. If they did that cast iron anvil would be 6/5 stars.

>>1651546
Nah they have been dipping lifetime warranties by changing brands constantly and discontinuing lines of tools. If the item number doesn't show under the description on the site they decline warranty as it is now out of product lifetime.

>>1651604
>“Lifetime” means lifetime of the tool, not lifetime of you!

>>1651565
HF does default to “Sort By: Top Rated” but a lot of websites do that.

>>1651501
This is what I said here >>1650816

The main difference is the batteries. DeWalt doesn’t profit on their $149 drill + driver sales, they profit when you have to buy new batteries for $100ea. Harbor Freight is the opposite, the Bauer batteries are only $20ea for a 2.0Ah pack. But if you wanted tools for that reason, you would be better off walking down to Lowe’s and getting yourself a Kobalt setup since they have a good warranty on their tools and they’re all pretty high quality brushless tools.

>>1651240
I saw this. I have been in the market for one of those with the USB chargers, but I can go get a Yellow Jacket for the same price.

>>1651373
Quality control. The extra manufacturing steps taken to make sure the tool won’t die after one or two uses.

>>1650756
Cheapo sockets and wrenches I can leave in an ammo can in the trunk and not give a fuck if they get lost or stolen. And zip-ties. Also pic related, if you only have $10 it's the most gratifying thing you can spend it on. I get my tools at estate sales now, get that quality old man shit for hf prices.

>>1651777
> get that quality old man shit for hf prices.

Trips of truth. Craigslist > Harbor Freight > Buying new name brand.

The flow chart is pretty simple.

>>1651604
I have been a manger there for years. Whoever is doing the exchange should give you a comparable model.

>>1651777
Paid 4 bucks for the box. Most of the sockets don't have a brand name. There's some old craftsman, and SK.

Got all of this for pretty cheap with those coupons. I use to rotate my tires on my 8 lug truck. I use a 2 gallon compressor, so I have to go back and hand torque the lugnuts.

>>1651777
Actually harbor freight zip ties are surprisingly better than most according to project farm on YouTube

>>1651843
Sweet score!

>>1651561
You shouldn't buy safety-critical electrical components (i.e. electrical tape, splices, or heat shrink) based on what's "acclaimed" on Amazon. You should go directly to the pro brands that have to answer to commercial installers and code inspectors.
I bought some cheap wire-wrap wire on Amazon because it had good reviews. It was crap: thinner than spec, brittle, and the insulation wore off easily and wasn't heat-resistant. The reviewers didn't know it was crap because they were just using it hack Xboxes.

tl;dr If you buy cheap sockets at harbor freight and they fail you know it. If your heat shrink degrades after a few years you won't know it until the damage is done.

>>1651844
Why would you even run that off a 2gal compressor? Put a socket adapter on a cordless drill or impact driver and it’s the same thing. Hell, a 1/4” hex impact driver would probably get them all tighter and faster than that gun on a 2gal compressor.

You’re not supposed to slam the lugs back on with the impact and your 2gal isn’t anywhere close enough to remove the stubborn shit you would want the Earthquake for. Also you’re probably going to burn up the motor on your compressor. You woulda been better off getting the Bauer 20V 1/2” impact or that newer Bauer coded one if you aren’t going to buy a big compressor like immediately.

>>1651844
I'm almost ready to buy the 20v dewalt 1/2" impact. I already have the impact driver & drill.
I bought the sockets and impact for maybe 60 bucks?

>>1651843
I wouldnt use any of them honestly, those old sharp sockets round off fasteners badly

>>1651883
A vast majority of what I use heatshrink for is non electrical or things that something else would break/wear before the heatshrink and Id replace it anyways.

>>1651902
Make sure you get the big XR or it will kinda be worthless, or at least it won’t be what you are expecting. There is a big non-XR brushed model that doesn’t come close. I think Home Depot sells the good one for around $320 with a big battery and charger.

Also remember that a big 1/2” cordless impact is going to suck balls if you try to use 1.5Ah battery packs. Use 3.0Ah or larger if you expect to come anywhere close to its potential. A 1.5Ah might take off lugnuts with the good XR gun, but it’s not going to bust a stubborn axle nut.

>>1651916
Depends how old they are too. The flank drive technology isn’t that recent of a concept.

>>1652024
I have a XR brushless kit. 3.0 batteries. Only way to go

Igt thi ke ugh bo azad rd from harbr feiet

>>1651957
Oh using the wrong thing for the job

Solid argument

>>1652035
You think heat shrink is solely for electrical purposes?

Solid case of stupid you got there.

>>1652035
>>1652044
You ever roll a blunt with shrink wrap?

>>1652051
Cant say it sounds like a solid plan, wonder if heat shrink can be made of hemp plastic?

You ever smoke a bowl with a magnifying glass?

>>1650756
The aluminum 'earthquake' impact in 1/2". They good.

>>1652113
What is with these little 4 inch grinders all over the place? If your grinder isn't loaded with at least 7 inch discs and has a 15 amps motor it will take you forever to get shit done. Preferably, 9 inch discs. Put your back into it.

>>1652055
You ever shoot heroin with a garden hose?

>>1652024
This. My dad got the non-xr drill set and I was completely unimpressed. Meanwhile the XR 20v shit I use for work is insanely powerful. I've had my hammer drill catch a few times and it jerked my wrist around almost as bad as a corded sds drill.

>>1650802
>10$ angle grinder

Enjoy picking shards of plastic and resin out of your face when that shit blows up.

>>1651114
A small loan of a million dollars

>>1652214
I had the brick colored $20 one and it overheated and died in a few hours of hard use. I wish it would have blown up. That would have been cool.

>>1651666
>DeWalt doesn’t profit on their $149 drill + driver sales, they profit when you have to buy new batteries for $100ea.
so does anybody here buy batteries?

I always say i'll just buy another driver/drill kit and toss the tool in the drawer

belt sander

Bought this several years ago when it was on sale for $100. I use it for reloading ammo. Fucking love it.

>>1652731
Literally the best deal at HF. Fucking love this workbench. They go for $150 now but it's still a great price.

>>1652731
>>1652735
>not buying more than one

>>1652678
That’s what I try to do too. Or wait for a sale to get a free battery with the tool or something. But not everybody is a cheapass with the time or patience to wait for those sales.

>>1652184
There’s also a big difference between the super cheap drills that go on sale for $99 with two batteries and the non-XR brushless drill that might be $150 for the bare tool. Some of those starter kits are almost homeowner tier tools.

>>1650832
Do you know if their metal lathes are of similar quality? I've been looking at getting one for a couple years but can never really find one for a good deal and I'm not sure which one to start on. Don't want one too small.

>>1652735
Coupon for $119 right now

>>1653086
I dont know if this is standard on metal lathes in that price range but the harbor freight metal lathe uses metal gears to drive the stock from the motor. So to be honest no, they arent of the same quality. Albeit there are a few places that sell replacement gears made of metal for it, they cost ~$250 which at that point you may as well buy a lathe that comes with metal gears or is belt fed. Depending on what you want to turn Id look at the Grizzly 4x6 metal lathe in the very least. At that Grizzly also makes a 7x12 that's around $100 more than the HF without the coupon. If you ask me Id fork out the extra cash for a metal lathe, far more precision and quality is needed for metal.

>>1653135
>but the harbor freight metal lathe uses metal gears to drive the stock from the motor

That was supposed to say plastic gears, had a brain fart trying to conglomerate thoughts on that lathe. It uses a shitty set of molded plastic gears to drive the headstock and change gear ratios. I suppose you could just get the 1-2 year replacement warranty and it may be worth it to get your feet wet with metal lathes but it wouldn't surprise me if those gears stripped incredibly easy. I doubt you could turn metal much harder than plain ol steel on that thing, forget about tungsten or certain alloy steels.

>>1653137
The limiting factor on a minilathe isn't usually the drivetrain, it's the rigidity.

>>1653162
That may be true but metal gears wear over time when used at the RPM those gears would be turning at, I may not have a ton of experience with metal lathes but I simply cant see those plastic gears lasting more than a year, if that.

>>1650890
>CM isn't even the lowest motor on them, it's a 1/2 hp some others are quarter horse
Central Machinery generally lies about the HP of their motors. I bought the 4x6 bandsaw, claiming it has a 1hp motor on it, and there's no way that's true. Compared to the 3/4hp motor on my drill press, their "1hp" motor is a rickety anemic piece of shit. Bought a 1hp motor from Grizzly, and that thing is about double the weight and size of what Central Machinery is telling me is 1hp. Not that it greatly matters, the bandsaw doesn't really need much more torque than it already has. Just don't buy into their hp claims.

>>1651057
Dang, me and my roomate have used the same one of these for 4 years now. Several uses and much abuse later it still holds up pretty well. Guess different batches

>>1653086
>Do you know if their metal lathes are of similar quality?

Their metal lathes are of the same exact quality as their wood lathes.
Suffice to say, you dont want their metal lathes.
Be patient and dont buy chinkshit. Its not worth the money or heartache.

>>1653171
Its the power feed system, they arent spinning very fast and they arent under very much load. They dont break unless you crash the machine hard.

>>1653222
Yep, thats why I've been saving and waiting. I'm very close to just just taking shop classes at the local tech college to see if I can get an in somewhere till I get to a skill level worth buying a full lathe.

>>1653229
The HF metal lathes cannot have a coupon used on them, they are excluded now. And they are $599 plus tax so pretty much a $700 price point. Not to mention the several hundred dollars of tooling you need right away for it.

You are already near that 1k mark which I see a lot of decent lathes near me for.. Dont convince yourself to make a poor purchase. It is a pain in the dick to buy a machine on craigslist and lug it home, but in the long term you are way better off.

>>1650911

It's beautiful.

>>1651511
>Color coded deep well sockets are great so far.

Fucking love those things.

>>1653222
>their metal lathes are the exact same quality as their wood lathes
Considering their 10x18 wood lathe is part for part exactly the same as lathes sold by companies you guys shill you should probably avoid wasting your time typing a response when you have no clue what you're talking about.

>>1651057
That's odd, i have the older model, and has been working great for 5 years

>>1653252
Those mid lengths give me a chubby. I want a tool box that has one of those rails for every size socket, plus add some swivel sockets to each rail.

Is the plunge router they sell worth it? I need tocut a long groove in wood that's .5 inch by 1 inch deep and 8 feet long

>>1653255
Why?
>Oh I need x socket
>check conversion chart
>ok x size is y color
>find y colour socket

Its just extra steps.

>>1653776
Wat? Mine are literally labeled with size and we can start associating which color is needed for which application.

>>1651393
With a 1/2 inch carbide bit you mongoloid.

>>1651470
VERY true. I bought mine 6 (yes, SIX) years ago and it still runs like the day I got it out of the box. Minus the little air pump thing, I removed that immediately after I bought it. It cuts 2×4s, PVC, cow bones, sheet metal, and the occasional ¼" steel plate with a lot of oil and patience. The blades are cheap, too.

>>1653957
I'd forgotten about those HANDYMAN stickers.
I got one about 25 (or more) years ago.
I don't know what happened to it.

>>1650772
>the shit they accidentally give to me for free
How? Enlighten me please

>>1653776
You shouldnt be handling tools

>>1654006
>Didn't learn colors in school
>Didn't learn fractions or metric system either
>MFW I think I need a color to socket size conversion chart because I can't read the size right off of the socket itself

I buy sandpaper and sanding sponges there, far cheaper than anywhere else.

Everyone seems to be talking about big things to buy there, but I think the small things are some of the best deals.

These are probably the tool I use most out of any that I own, just because they're so versatile. I use them a lot with shop towels and degreaser/alcohol to clean into crevices and holes. They're also good for scraping in grooves and larger threads to get muck out.

>>1654058
Also these needle files are super useful for removing tiny amounts of material, and the football-shaped one is good for cleaning up damaged threads.

>>1650756
An air compressor. I want to buy an air impact for working on my car

>>1654095
Electric shit's the future desu. They're pretty sweet and as or more powerful. Milwaukee makes a good one. Dunno about HF's tho

>>1654039
>need a 15mm
>grab blue or whatever color it is without having to check any chart because I'm not a retard with the memory of a goldfish
Stay away from tools

>>1654039
need a 15mm,grab blue or whatever color it is without having to check any chart because I'm not a retard with the memory of a goldfish
Stay away from tools

>>1654095
Air compressor is good for a lot of things, but if you mostly want it for the impact wrench, go cordless. You need a big compressor with big, high quality hoses and fittings if you ever want to get close to the rated numbers on any of those guns. A 6gal compressor with a shitty 1/4” hose won’t even compete. The good cordless guns are more powerful than most 1/2” air guns and you aren’t tied to the compressor, they’re worth their weight in gold when a friend gets a flat on the side of the road.

I wouldn’t buy the Earthquake though. It’s good and only $239 with a battery and charger, but it’s an older brushed design. You can find the M18 Fuel on sale, Home Depot had it on sale for months and months @$229 with a free 5.0Ah battery, you would have to grab a charger on your own but Amazon and Ebay have new ones for like $15. Plus HF gives you a 90 day warranty compared to 5 years on the Milwaukee.

The DeWalt XR is really good too and that one you can find on sale all the time for ~$300 with a big battery and charger. Makita makes a nice brushless one as well. If you already have one of those brands, get that impact.

>>1654000
Incompetent employees mostly. I got a second bench grinder stand because the employee grabbed a box they ship in from the back and didn't see it was marked two per box. Also when the cashier has to scan in an additional coupon for each item in your small ass cart on their small ass cashier counter with other customers waiting, it's easy to miss one of the items being piled up.

>>1653313
Everyone look at this man and laugh.
The only one shilling is you, shilling for trash chinkshit harbor freight lathes

>>1654147
so you didn't tell the cashier, or immediately bring it back when you notice your ill gotten gains?

yeah, you're a nigger or a jew.

>but it's not my fault if they are too incompetent to run a business
shut up nigger jew. a white man would still return it as it would sit poorly on his conscience.

>>1654179
If I noticed it at the register, sure. Really my time is too valuable to volunteer to Harbor Freight store #69573695.

>>1654184
>I only like the shit they accidentally give to me for free from there because the employees are braindead. Got a free jigsaw, adjustable roller stand thing, a bunch of Brad nails, tool bags...

>goes to HF all the time and steals shit
>can't return stolen shit because too busy stealing more shit?

>>1654188
apologies... forgot to call
>>1654179
a fucking nigger

>>1654184
shut up nigger

Do you also get mad at people taking advantage of Chinese resellers' Amazon coupon codes?

>>1654184
Nigger detected
>>1654188
Dubs called t. nog out

Batteries, whatever they are giving away for free with a coupon.

>>1654415
thats jus.. Wacist .. but very true lel

>>1652731
>>1652735
Yup. My dad saw mine when I put it in my new garage. First thing he asked me was of we could pick up another.

Great babe for the buck. Especially when they've got their super coupon.

titanium coated drill bits

>>1654415
+1. Free batteries and mag dishes are great.

>>1654474
The $10 index? That’s one of those few things that will get me in the store anymore. Unfortunately I have so many drill bits that I put it back on the shelf every time I’m about to get one.

>>1650756
step bits because fuck spending 30-40 each when i can get two sets of sizes for 30

>>1651057
buy nice or buy twice

Got them to honor that 25% off fasteners coupon on every fastener in my cart instead of just one box because the dumbass I asked over the phone told me it worked that way.

>>1654537
you're also a nigger

you're stealing from someone.

>but but the person i'm stealing from isn't really a person

shut up nigger.

>>1654539
You even talk like you have the IQ of a harbor freight employee.

Maybe you guys should just stop fucking up so often or miscommunicating with customers instead of complaining about them benefiting from your mistakes or arguing with them when they get burned by misinformation. If you just did your jobs right there wouldn't be a problem.

People's time is worth a lot more than the lost pennies of a giant corporation. Do you drive back to McDonalds to return the extra fries that were in your bag?

>>Steal from HF
>>Get mad at them for still not giving you 20% off of free
>>will be angry when the close down because they lose so much product out the front door from "accidents"

Got a 15 dollar trim router but I got a good bit for it from somewhere else and made a custom jig to use it. Same with their router table, except the jig is to convert the router itself into a plunge router. Bench sander I got there works fine after fixing the belt tension. up ties, no name threadlocker, nitrile gloves, drywall anchors etc all seem to work fine.

>>1653957
I look at that scroll saw every time I go in there. Maybe I'll pick it up.

When I first got into diy I got basically a full workshop of tools including a work bench for about 500 bucks. Since then as things wear out or prove insufficient I've been replacing them with quality tools and what I can I give to my friend who's just getting into diy. Honestly starting out I didn't even know what to look for in most tools so I'm glad I did it this way. Also unlike the guitar stuff I actually made sure I was serious about the hobby before investing real money.

Harbor fake*

>>1654654
This is good planning.

Later on there are rough tasks where the budget tool is preferred to beating up a quality tool.

>>1654165
>everyone look at this man and laugh
Were already laughing at you. The 10x18 is EXACTLY the same lathe as the Rockler Excelsior and a few other "high end" brands. I challenge you to prove me wrong, you fucking cant.

>>1651008
>Just what are you people doing with all these 10mm sockets
There are 3 inside the fenders of my Equinox.

>>1651154
>1651114 #
>AvE has criticized the way dude is growing the business. He keeps leveraging up on everything

Me, personally, I'm not going to take accounting advice from Uncle bumblefuck. He's awesome, but it's not his bag.

>>1654654
Pretty much the same for me when I got into knife making. But after several years, I have yet to replace the 1 x 30 and 4 x 36 I got from HF (but I admit to modding the hell out of them).

>>1655301
Just moved houses and when I cleaned the garage I found exactly zero of the missing 10mm sockets I know fell on the floor at some point

>>1652731
God damn.. I thought I was the only one. Freaking awesome bench.

>>1651008
they're retards that know nothing about tool control

>>1655304
I didn’t read into it a ton, but it sounded like they went along the Netflix route. They were going to move tons of cheap Chinese crap for high revenue numbers but not a ton of profit, take out loans and get investments to build more stores to sell more cheap Chinese crap, and eventually they hope they gain enough popularity to sell their $50 Icon breaker bars instead of the $10 Chinesium and $15 Pitt Pro Taiwanesium and actually profit. The whole time the founder-CEO guy pays himself a nice salary and even better bonuses so he will be totally set if the entire ship sinks since people like me aren’t about to pay $50 for a breaker bar that i bought for $15 a couple years before.

>>1655370
Pic related

>>1651240
>I'd go to Lowes and have the nice lesbian lady help me.
KEK this has happened to me at more than one lowes

>>1655457
You should see the electrical specialist at my Lowe’s. I was checkin out the cable tie selection and szhe was helping (reluctantly) some couple with outlets or something and I think I could’ve done a better job helping them despite knowing barely anything about household electrical.

stopped at Harbor Freight the other day to just take a piss
had to pee so bad, figured is was easier than stopping at a gas station that might have a toilet

ended up buying some double-sided tape, a charger cord for my Smart Phine ($8) and a pair of needle nose pliers

and no I'm not on their mailing list

>>1655457
Lowes is German for lesbians

What do you guys think of this guys reviews? Are they honest?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1swTDW8JQXU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyJxKUVLipA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmvK7h7ZL2A

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MDjgY8Vwgo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1qgHtIujGw

>>1650756
Should I buy their engine hoist for a couple quick jobs, or should I go with a craigslist special?

>>1655959
I have one that I bought used but basically new in a lot of toolboxes. I like it. Ball bearing drawers, very smooth. Rolls around easily, my only complaint is that the casters aren't level so there is some wobble but idk if that's from the store or previous owner. Either way it's an easy fix I'm just too lazy.

>>1654146

as far as air tools go, impacts are one of the few that don't need a compressor with a high flow rate. the tool is only loaded for a short period of time when you break the bolt or perform the final torque. it's possible to outflow the compressor but it generally won't be an issue for the DYIer.

you're right that you'll need the largest hose and shortest run to the compressor to get the most out of the gun.

>>1656653
Absolutely untrue high CFM is needed

>>1655968
Craigslist special is the Harbor Freight special.

>>1650756
Nothing because its all shit.

>>1656653
See >>1656657

Have you ever used an impact on stubborn nuts and bolts? They don’t remove fasteners the first time the hammer hits the anvil. The max torque is a product of hundreds or thousands of hammer hits over time, and that overall torque will be significantly lower if your small compressor is at 40psi after a couple seconds on the trigger.

>>1651106
>I mean if you count daddy giving you money to start a business....

>>1655444
>I didn’t read into it a ton, but it sounded like they went along the Netflix route.

found the brainlets and isn't ave in fucking canada where there isn't any HF lol?

>>1650756
I have the 4x36 grinder, it's really good for small wooden parts. I started selling small woodcrafts at the Farmers Market, I have a bunch of little wooden toys and coffee scoops, storage boxes, that sorta thing.

I can touch a piece to the belt and it takes off my pencil marks and gouges, etc. Great for production work where you have to make and finish a bunch of small things.

Their benchtop drill press is fine but underpowered and the vertical travel isnt much. The $10 Japanese saw and the flush cut saw are both great. I have their higher end wood chisels and they arent good. Bad QC, one broke out of a set of 8 or so.

I like their simple red and blue flat and phillips screwdrivers. Cheap enough that i can have a pair at each table i work at, plus a handheld broom from dollar tree

>>1657165
He compares it to Princess Auto. Also they get internet in Canada, it may be slow but it’s the perfect fit for canucks. And I think he lives somewhere right over the border, there’s a whole lot of leafs right over the bridge from Michigan or New York and it’s not much for them to take a little drive to get glorious American Chinesium.

>>1657167
>handheld broom
Another prime choice was this big metal dust pan I snagged on sale for like $4 at Northern Tool. I think it’s 15” across and the best part is that it’s not made of shitty fucking plastic that will crack the first time you actually get your toe near it.

Anyone have their $30 trim router?
I have a beefy porter cable but want a smaller one for simple roundovers

>>1651142
>Metal lathe in a plaster wall takes the teeth right off.

yeah no shit, thats why you need carbide bits for metal plaster

>>1650798
Those earthquakes are absolute bangers for the price. It's a great step between a breaker bar and lugging out the torque multiplier.