Harbor Freight tools thread.

THey arent five times the cost.

 

https://www.hobby-machinist.com/threads/harbor-freight-bandsaw-help.57959/

 

This^. I found an old craftsman on c/l years ago. 6” wide, 9” opening. Love it. Another great place to look is garage sales. I passed up a solid old Wilton last weekend because I don’t need it but wanted it anyway. Now I regret it and will buy the next one I see and refurb it up all nice and pretty.

 

I’ve been watching OfferUp and CL for over a year with no luck.

 

Actually managed to snag an old display of one yesterday and im fixing to go give it a run here in a few

 

That's too bad and surprising. There's plenty around here. I just looked quick and might go pick this up; https://newjersey.craigslist.org/tls/d/glenwood-wilton-5-shop-king/6968542533.html . Maybe I should find you one and ship it.

edit - and another https://newjersey.craigslist.org/tls/d/south-hackensack-wilton-bench-vise/6961707539.html

 

I agree. I drove over an hour and paid up for my vice, but I'll have it the rest of my life. It was just one of those things I didn't want to cheap out on.

 

Picked up some 1/2 inch drive swivel sockets last week.. An absolute must if you ever plan on dropping the driveshaft. Or just carry the 14mm if you wheel hard enough you think you might need it trail side

 

For reference: this is my Westward vice with rotating top. I paid 100$ for this and it retails between 3-500$. This hoss is solid.

 

Does HF scan from the phone or must they be printed out?

 

They scan from the phone.

 

They usually ask me for the code.

Or they can scan.

 

Before using the hfqpdb, I used to save the code on my phone as text and read it to them.

 

Vises- I've had a HF 4" vise on my welding table for 20 yrs and it has held up fine under aggressive use. The casting is not beautiful, it has body filler to cover flaws, but the machining is pretty good- nicer than what they sell now. For primary use, I have a Wilton (USA) and a Yost ADI 6" (China). The Yost is really nice, great machining, everything lines up, slide is tight. I got it on Amazon when they had a ~50% price drop. Almost everything Wilton makes is now in China.

There is a great bench vise torture test on YouTube and the results were surprising- even the really cheap vises are quite durable. The DeWalt and the Yost ADI were the best for buying new. But for normal use, just about anything is fine if you're not going to beat the crap out of it.

Edit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcbTopj5u7A

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i saw a video on Yost and i believe snapon. The Yost looked pretty good for the money. i still enjoy my old Craftsman (USA) i bought a couple months ago. i need a nice bench grinder. Was eyeing up the delta in Lowes. decent reviews for the money

 

For a bench grinder, go high amps. For an 8" grinder, something like 3A is not going to be enough if you lean into it.

 

When searching CL or other ad sites for a VISE, spell it correctly (VISE) and incorrectly (VICE). You'll be surprised how many hits you get when spelled incorrectly.

 

got it. i mean im only doing minor things. mostly want to install a wire wheel so i can clean up hardware.

the 6" Delta has 2.5A the 8" has 5A...maybe the 8inch would be ideal then

 

Looks like I need to change out some bad wheel bearings on the family 2005 Nissan Altima so I am looking at using that as an excuse to purchase a shop press. Anyone have any experience with the 12 or 20 ton versions at HF?

 

Knowing Americans today, you'll get more results with the incorrect spelling.