Harbor Freight tools thread.

Just go to the website and look. They have coupon on there.

 

Saweeeet!

 

Well I just bought the HF "Doyle" branded cable cutter--$15.99 w/a 20% off coupon ("Doyle" is not [yet] on the exclusion list).

They do not seem any different than my old $6 "Pittsburgh" cutter, when I get home I'll run a file across 'em and see what the steel feels like. With the coupon they were a couple bucks less than the Wiss brand at Home Depot. Time will tell...

 

I compared the old ("PIttsburgh") and new ("Doyle") HF cable cutters side-by-side last evening. The new tool's overall fit and finish is much improved, the forgings are much cleaner and the ground surfaces have much smoother finish. The steel is a bit harder per a quick file test. I would say they are on par with the name brand offerings--for $2 to $12 less with HF's 20% off.

Without the coupon I would have bought the Wiss cutters ($18) at Home Depot...

The cutting angle of the jaws is much steeper on the new tool, the older unit having much more of a shearing action--this would make the new tool less suitable for cutting steel cable as I have been doing with the old set.

old (HF # 61422) and new (HF # 63827):


Oh these not 10" long, they are 9-1/2" just like the "name brand" tools...

 

Careful with their 3/8 Torque Wrench nd4spdbh, I have purchased 3 and ALL 3 of them have not worked out of the box. Yet I have had great luck with my 1/2 until I recently got an upgrade.

 

A great tool to have is . Not for it's intended use as it is a bit awkward to use, but as a standard against which your clicker wrenches can be checked and calibrated:



I picked one up five years ago and after validating it's accuracy with dead weight loads (also had it checked by Mac Tools a couple years ago) have used it regularly to check and adjust my clickers. To do so I clamp a 3/4" male x 1/2" female adapter in my bench vise and set the digital unit to its "peak and hold" mode; set the wrench under test (WUT) to a value central (50%) to it's range--say 90 lb·ft for a typical 1/2" drive wrench--and then pull away 'til the wrench clicks.

If the captured torque value is within ± 2% of the setting the wrench is calibrated as well as it can be (most all clickers, even name brand, are rated at ± 4% of setting). If not then tweak the wrench's adjusting screw until it is. With that done check the wrench at 20% and 80% of its range; those values should meet the ± 4% spec. If not then once again tweak the adjusting screw and recheck the central, and high and low setting to reach a happy medium within the ± 4% accuracy that should be expected.

When torquing something critical, or if I have not used the torque wrench for a while I will often get out the digital toll and verify the wrench before going forward.

Here is a write-up of the device I did in early 2012. The same tool and some variants are available, in several brand names, from a number of vendors--just google "digital torque adapter"...

 

I clicked on your link CliffyK and saw you posted something about a torque limiting spark plug socket....where the hell can I get that?!?!?! That thing looks awesome!

 

This looks like a set of them...

Koch Tools KT20348 Torque limiting Spark Plug Socket Set

https://www.amazon.com/Koch-Tools-KT20348-Torque-limiting/dp/B01MYF5BNG

 

eBay--this is the same brand as I have...

 

I have thought about doing something like that!

Question, do the HF clicker torque wrenches have the ability to be adjusted?

 

Yup, yank off this rubber plug (if it's still there) and use an Allen key--use small increments and retest often during adjustment:

 

After I bought my truck we started going to the gym. So one evening I was waiting for the missus and walked into Harbor Freight. I have a truck and already had a money pit. Now I needed tools for the mods. This started my obsession with my garage. I have made it into my sanctuary. Work bench, tools beer fridge even some lawn chairs and a coffee table. I spend a fair amount of time here. On Sundays I set up a TV and watch the game.





This could be a Where’s Waldo seek and find. Can you find all the Harbor Freight tools.



Flags from Jamaica, Ireland, Arizona and Oklahoma University. Extra points for the beer fridge.





Where I mod… and check the mail. Oliver approved.



The lawn chairs and “coffee table” Yup…Harbor Freight's stool.



I have the service cart. It serves us well as a bar next to the beer fridge.

 

I dont think the HF ones have that but i shall take a look when i get home! If they do im going to grab one of the digital things to calibrate my wrenches.

 

A sanctuary is a much needed place. Esp when you're into working on cars. We bought a house without a garage last year, I really hate not having a man cave. Decided to make the back deck a "man porch" instead, haha. I'll take it for now.

 

They do, that's a photo of an HF wrench. I've never seen a clicker that did not have an adjustment port...

 

Don't we have a shop/garage thread? Looks like a great topic to start a thread on if we don't.

 

We do have a thread. The missus said that we pretty much have a Harbor Freight store in the garage, so I posted here.

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/show-off-your-garage-or-workshop.201114/

It also could go in the beer thread. The beer fridge is full of Longboard Big Wave, Lagunitas Brown Shugga' & Lil Sumthun', Dos Equis Amber and Yuengling.

 

Wood carving set. Good starter for my kid.

 

Can you use multiple coupons on the same transaction? Not on the same thing, but buy multiple items with separate coupons.

 

I used a Harbor Freight allen wrench today, it performed perfectly.