Harbor Freight tools thread.

I think their prybars are made out of some new revolutionary material. somehow they've been able to combine rubber and metal. thats some NASA shit going on there......

 

Yep TTI (TechTronic industries) bought the Milwaukee brand.
They also own:
Ryobi
Homelite
Some Craftsman
Rigid

 

My bottom tool box is a harbor freight unit. Top is an older husky. All drawers are ball bearing and the bigger bottom drawers are dual ball bearing slider slider. Excellent quality. Have owned for 4 years now and no complaints.

 

This is a heads up to anyone here looking to buy a 3M 6001 ORGANIC VAPOR LOW MAINTENANCE REPLACEMENT CARTRIDGE FILTER (1 PAIR) on Ebay.

Don't buy these like I did => http://www.ebay.com/itm/3M-6001-ORG...022385?hash=item41b9f9aeb1:g:2kAAAOSwcUBYU1Gf

I bought them on 12/21 and noticed they were taking longer than normal to get shipped, so I checked his recent feedback and a person posted that these filters will expire in less than 4 months. I contacted the seller and told him, if you are sending me filters that will expire in less than 4 months, then please cancel my order and send me a full refund.

Today I get the filters from the USPS, with the package sealing the filters torn in 2 places and they will expire in less than 4 months, when I have the same exact filter at home with an expiration date of October 2021, so yeah an over 4 year life difference and he has them listed as "brand new".

 

Went to HF for some bungee cords. Left with a tool chest.

 

Got a good deal on it?

Kudos for using the "only going for X" routine!!

 

$320 on sale ( I realize they always go on sale). Fits my needs perfect and it seems pretty nice quality. Harbor Freight knows how to sucker me into buying stuff all the time.

 

Rolling tool boxes are all the same. Buy whatever is the best price or color.

HF makes great boxes. On par with other far more expensive brands.

 

This.

Another tip - line the drawers with shelf liner from WalMart instead of buying the identical but more expensive tool drawer liner at HF / Sears. Plus more colors to choose from.

 

Cmurder where did you get the bed tool box in your tacoma and did you have a part number?

 

Milwaukee ticked me off when they discontinued the V18 batteries, and made my older 5 pc. tool set (hammer drill, 1/4" hex impact tool, Sawzall, circular saw and work light that cost over $600 when new) obsolete. I tried using aftermarket batteries from eBay and Amazon but they were all junk.

OTH I can use Ryobi's latest lithium-ion batteries in tools purchased nearly 10 years ago...

Long story.

Time was when they are all I would buy, I have a Milwaukee "skillsaw" that's over 30 years old and cannot be killed (I've tried). But simply put they are no longer as superior to anyone else's as they used to be and are no longer worth the considerably extra cost...

 

Everything is built to fail.

Ryobi is still a bottom tier consumer brand and their manufacturing and price point represents that.

Milwaukee and Makita and the others aren't the same as they used to be, but still use better components with stronger designs and have a longer service life than the Ryobi products of the same type. They work great for a lot of folks, they just aren't built as nice or as heavy duty as the Ridgid/DeWalt


Not to pick on Ryobi, just using them as an example of the bottom rung consumer grade power tool. DeWalt and Ridgid are in the middle, and sit fine by me. If I had to start over, I'd likely go with a Makita or Milwaukee for my cordless impact and drill.

I don't buy into the cordless everything bandwagon, because like you experienced - battery designs can change overnight. Cordless is great if you use tools for a living and work on job sites, but working in my garage isn't comparable. I still keep a corded drill around for heavier work where I need more power for a longer period.

 

Has anyone tried the HF ratchet Box end wrenches?

 

I agree, after 60+ years of collecting tools I have a wide assortment of corded and cordless.

Milwaukee brought back the V18 batteries a year or so ago but I had by then moved on to DeWalt's pseudo 20 V system; their top-end brushless tools are very nice...

 

Batteries Plus (Batteries + Bulbs now?) rebuilt the batteries for my 7 year old Ridgid combo better than new - and with a two year warranty on the batteries.

 

If your 18V batteries are NiCd these videos may bring your old Milwaukee tools back to life. I don't know why this person made 5 separate videos and didn't just make one, but at least he is using a HF volt meter so he isn't all bad.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0dazPr12VM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkGV1ABefTM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUi7HNXFtTY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4QF6Nf4tUI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFT1DF2zbcE

 

I agree with this statement and prefer a corded tool most of the time for what I need it for, with the only exception being my cordless drill.

 

I have a set - So far they have held up well and I've been pretty hard on them.

 

My hydraulic jack started leaking the first time I used it. Won't buy anything with moving parts from them again

 

I've owned my HF jack for 10 years and haven't had a problem.

When I was a teenager all I could afford was HF, it got me by most of the time. As I got older I swapped out the HF tools that didn't work/broke with other brands. I wont buy sockets, ratchets, anything electrical from HF.

I will always use HF tool chests. I have a 44" that I've owned for a year and love it. Planning on buying another soon.
If/when my jack goes out. I'll buy another HF.