Technical Harbor Freight December deals

I was told long ago that the govt traded the warranty for a lower price. That's one of the reasons the govt ones are externally different, so the dealers can tell at a glance. I have a 40s version of the short 3/8 ratchet, looks nothing like a 'normal' one.

 

8877

No matter how many times you may have heard it, more money does not always equal higher quality.

In other words, you don't always get what you pay for. Sometimes less, sometimes more.

The trick is to know which is which, before buying!

 

Can't speak to the model, but I bought a McGraw pancake. Roofed one house and it broke a rod. But, they are so cheap I picked up another and lowered the cutoff pressure to reduce load on the rod and piston. So far, So good.

I really think the high pressure, low priced compressors have all the margin of error removed by the high setting.

edit: actually it was one and maybe 10% of a second. With enough time between to let the warranty expire.

 

I'm with you. Get my hand tools off eBay most of the time.

 

The only new tools I buy are specialty tools. What with all of the swap meets I attend, I constantly pick name brand wrenches, sockets and ratchets out of guys' dollar piles.

 

I have had one of the HF 1" bench top belt sanders for many years, and it gets used often. I buy belts to fit it online and have them from 60 grit to 2000 grit for polishing. In this 12 day sale there are at least a couple days where it's just a 15% discount on anything. Keep an eye out for the days when the discount applies. The 1" belt sander would be much better than converting a grinder to run a belt sander.

 

Try asking in store. I was in Redding awhile back(still 2025) and asked if they still carried English wheels, guy walked back with a tag and said they had one in back but not with the lower anvil set, just the 1 that comes with it. Did some research and found Jegs sells the anvils that fit but everything I saw here and other sites said they were pretty much ****. P***ed on it. Sooner or later I’ll run across a decent used one in my budget.

 

They have some decent long needle nosepliers I got the ones you can grab a hose with they were handy fixing my outdriveon my boat like 23 bucks

 

Will this 20 oz. $16.99 gravity feed paint gun move enough paint for a car?

 

I'm a carpenter I always scrounge though bins atag sales and buy old chisels that old metal sure holds a sharp edge much longer than new china chisels

 

I've been buying those cheap electric HF angle head grinders for probably 35 years. At one time I had quality, US or European made ones, but one by one they failed. A Metabo, Bosch, Milwaukee and Makita (this is a larger 'handled' unit). This was back before you could find everything online. The only one I still have is the Makita, it's been a very durable tool. The other three? Every one was a switch failure, generally after a year or so of steady use. The breaking point was the switch costs. At $25 to $45 each, it was far cheaper to buy the HF grinders as they lasted about the same amount of time (usually) and it was far easier and cheaper to just pop into their store and pick up a couple rather than ordering the switches and the h***le to install them. I did pick up one of their 'better' ones on sale last time I was there, so far it's been good.

Same with their air tools. I had a nice Ingersoll-Rand die grinder (made back when they were big $$$), some bearings went out, the rebuild kit was almost $200! Chicago Pneumatic was another high quality US-made brand, but beyond my budget. They've have since gone offshore for production. Anybody remember Rodac? A CP 'budget' compe***or, also US made, I bought some and those lasted for years, finally just wore out. They're still around, but only in Canada and also offshore production. Yeah, HF quality can be all over the map on their 'budget' tools, but at $10 - $20 each, who cares? I've got one 1/4" angle-head die grinder that I've worn the chrome plating off the handle down to the copper base, still going strong. It's gotta be 20+ years old. By and large, I've been happy with most all of their air tools with a few exceptions. Astro make some good airtools also; I'll recommend their air-powered pop riveter, it handles 1/4" steel rivets with ease.

Hand tools? I'm a retired electrician and worked mostly commercial/industrial jobs. Now, I was required to furnish my own hand tools like screwdrivers, various pliers, hacksaw frame, adjustable wrench, etc. No power tools. It didn't take long to learn which tools were worth buying and which weren't. Brands like Klein, Ideal and Channelock were the gold standard (if you're buying any adjustable plier other than Channelock, you're wasting your money. Kleins were 'OK', but barely). We'd get a brand-new apprentice come on his first job, and he'd have a tool pouch full of Craftsman tools. Those would be mostly gone within a year, having broken tools wasn't acceptable and they were told what to buy to prevent it.

But if a tool that was needed wasn't on our tool list, the contractor had to supply it. If you were working for a small local outfit, it could be anything. I can't tell you how many cheapo socket sets I threw away when they failed... but if it was an industrial job, one tool brand was a constant. For wrenches and sockets, it was invariably Proto (or occasionally Challenger, the same tool but without the nicer polished finish. But the Challenger ratchets weren't quite as good). The reason why was simple; they didn't break. In 40+ years of using them, I can count the number of Proto tools I've broke on my fingers (and not need all of them) and all but two was under extreme abuse. A 3/8 drive short extension can't be expected to live when you put a 4' cheater pipe over the end of the ratchet, or using an 1/2" impact wrench on a 1/2" twelve-point socket for a couple of examples. Up until the late '50s, Proto tried to be a 'everything' tool company, but they abandoned the consumer/automotive market and concentrated on the industrial/governmental markets.

Like most guys here, I had a tool collection consisting of 'stuff' I'd picked up over the years. Lots of Challenger, some Proto, Industro (the very first tool set I ever bought, from JC Whitney), S-K, New Britain (used to be a NAPA brand), JC Penny, Williams (Snap On's industrial line, now gone) and even a few Craftsman, probably a few I've forgot. No Snap On, I'd used those when I worked briefly as a mechanic and didn't like them; too damn slippery with that full polish when your hands are greasy/oily/coated in antifreeze. Pretty though. But I always coveted Proto, but their new prices were as eye-bleedingly high as Snap On.

Then I blew out my back about 20 years ago. No more field work for me, so I went into the office. While I did my job well, there was dead time and I discovered Proto tools on eBay. Over the course of about a year, I bought all the Proto tools I could find for pennies on the dollar. Seems the industrial/government boys would buy tools for specific contracts, and when that ended, sell them off for peanuts. The buyers would list them on eBay. I don't know if I just hit it at the right time or not, but I figure I bought well over $25K worth of tools for under $3K. I even have a torque screwdriver that does inch-ounces. For automotive diagnostic gear, Mac, Matco, and Snap On were choices. I had my tool box of my dreams...

There are a couple of downsides however. Proto sockets are not thinwall and there's been a few times where they won't fit into tight spaces. And Proto was bought out by Stanley, who IMO cheapened some of their tools, specifically their screwdrivers. The old-style yellow handle ones I love... you'll have to pry those out of my cold dead hands... LOL

With all that said, if I need a Specialty tool, HF is the first place I'll look. So far, I've been happy every time.

 

Didn't see a price but definitely helpful for us shade tree mechanics

 

Same here, ebay, building salvage stores, and tools I've purchased over the years. Might be a few pilfered from the gov't when I was in the Navy. Can't resist picking up anything with Made In USA on it. I think I have every American tool manufacturer represented at least 4 times over.

 

I used to hit pawn shops for tools, back in the last century. That can be depressing.

 

Its funny one of my oldest electric hand tools is a corded Makita drill, I cannot kill it. Of course I have an even older Black and Decker corded drill but we all know those are zombies that simply cannot be killed!

 

I bought my first Snapon tool in 1957 when I was 14. By the time I was 18 I had what would be called a bare minimum set. Back in 1957 Snapon was the gold standard and I drank the KoolAid. Over the years I added more, a bit at a time as I could afford it. I can’t recall ever buying on credit. I started with the smallest Snapon tool box and gradually upgraded over the years. The last new box I bought off the truck was in 1986. By then I had most of the tools I needed and if I lost one I would go to a pawn store.
I was so dedicated to Snapon that I had a road box with a backup set. Drinking that KoolAid scarred me for life. I’m now 84 and I have a huge Snapon box(bought used for about 30 cents on the dollar). I just can’t bring myself to replace lost or stolen tools with anything but Snapon. All that being said I got tired of replacing Snapon tools in my roadbox and now have very little but HF for my road box. I have to admit my Snapon obsession is nothing but an addition. My toolbox is a masterpiece but honestly the top of the line HF is close enough and waaaaay cheaper. I honestly can’t see any difference between the HF Icon tools and Snapon. In fact, I’m disappointed to see the bean counters at Snapon have decided to sell out their brand to Walmart, Tractor Supply, etc etc. The final bottom line is that HF has improved their quality and is in fact a better buy for the money than the Gold Standard Tool Trucks IMHO. But, I will still replace any missing tools out of my home box with nothing but Snapon. That KoolAid was strong stuff.

 

They do not have HF inCanada. I wish they would. I have only been into one in Denton TX and did not have time to peruse the place being in a hurry.

 

I watch a number of youtube creators that live there. They equate HF here with this company there.
https://www.princessauto.com/en/
I don't know how accurate this is, but one of these might be near you.
https://www.princessauto.com/en/locations

 

@34Phil I've painted two cars (53 Stude and 27 T Roadster) with that gun, it was probably as good (or better quality) as my limited skills. I have painted some of the current 62 Unibody with the same gun. I recently purchased their hi priced gun but haven't used it yet. My paint jobs are not show quality Just serviceable.