I had a lot of old pipes and rebar to cut up and from what I read ru-vid.comUgkxPDBfLu68o58Aw85O_J-zIFfjJARBhp-3 this would be the tool for the job. Since I had never used one, I watched a couple of youtube videos and I'm so glad I did. Some really good safety tips, which I followed, and this tool did a splendid job. One good thing to know is the weight of the tool puts just about the right amount of pressure on the metal I was cutting, so I didn't have to use a lot of pressure, which is more likely to jam the tool. It made fast work of my job.
I agree, if i use it everyday or alot i might buy a better tool but if i only use it once in awhile i go harbor freight. Most of the time now its harbor freight and their tools are getting better and their prices are staying the same.
You're the first guy I have seen tell it like it is and you don't have your nose in the air about the tools you have. I have the same situation you do and I know what I'm buying at Harbor and why I'm buying it and treating tools properly is half of their use. Us working stiffs' have to spread what money we have around to the whole family. Thanks for keeping it real~!!!
Yup! And if you get the cheap Pittsburg Pro versions, they are lifetime warrantied... I've broken one before, and you can literally walk in, hand them the broken one and they'll let you take a brand new one; no charge. It's neat.
Christopher Engel I can't believe you broke one. I've seen them endure pressure test and hold up better than the snap on one they are awesome breaker bars
Check out the safety recall on the jack stands, make sure yours aren't the same model. Bad things have happened. images.harborfreight.com/hftweb/recalls/Jack-Stand-Recall-56371_61196_61197.pdf
I had my first HF engine hoist for 15 years. It probably pulled an engine a year and was used for countless other things, was left outside all the time and abused. I wound up buying a new folding one a few years ago and gave the old one to a friend of mine and he still uses it lol.
Yes mine is 30 yrs. old and lives outside also with plastic covering and using it now to hold up the front end of a car off the ground to work on suspension with blocks under frame for safety.
I appreciate your honesty. Most mechanics swear that the Harbor Freight stuff is nothing but junk. In all reality, the price is very low for the quality that you actually get. If you're a shade tree Johnny, go with the cheap stuff and pay attention to the things that matter.
3:15 I have 3 from Harbor Freight that I keep one with a wire wheel, another with a grinding disc, and the 3rd with a cut off wheel. Saves time.... Plus I have a Porter and a Makita.
Absolutely, Harbor freight is the average man's go to these days. Made in America is great but lets face it, making ends meet in more ways than one is our passion and end game.
I've used the Floor jacks, jack stand, sockets, engine hoist. Now I think I'm going too get the floor press. And save my self a lot of money on have the rear axles done on my Jeep.
You got that right. Finding an older Wilton vise is gold. I'm surprised the impact sockets have held up for you. I've heard others say they are not good at all. Good to hear.
I used to work at harbor freight and everyone who I asked about the sockets loved them. I've only used the 3/4 socket for my lug nuts but it's held up to breaker bars and impacts with no problem. I would get the full set but it skips some sizes I am opting for a different brand with a full set for now
@@Twizter68 I've considered doing that swap when I eventually purchase one, but, while greatly increasing the efficiency, that also eats into the cost savings, which is kind of the point of buying HF tools.
Thanks Tyler. Nice to hear from guys who know and use tools. Some stuff from Harbor Freight you literally couldn't give to me for free, but it's nice to know about the stuff that's decent for the money. We'd be interested in the faster way to use that press...
I work with 2 DeWalt's (20 yo) and a harbor freight (about 15yo) angle grinder. My deep impact sockets are HF. 15yo. Another HF item I've had a long time is a 60 pound anvil. I'm not a blacksmith but I've shaped plenty of sheet metal on it for years.
The Bauer portable bandsaw is great for $100. The blade that comes with it is great for thick metal. I used mine to cut down a 16' 5x8 I-beam so I could haul it.
I have the 6 ton stands and two harbor freight floor jacks. The stands can hold up a 5000+ lb bronco no problem. One of my floor jacks has been through hell and back, yet it still works. I’ve only had one issues with the aluminum jack after 2 years of use, but the steel ones kick ass.
Harbor Freight isn't half bad if you know what your looking at. Some stuff ain't worth taking back to the shop but videos like this one give you a fighting chance of making a good choice. I got one of their one inch belt/disk sanders, little tiny thing, still using it to sharpen lathe tooling 20 odd years later, I got my thirty nine bucks worth. But the best buy are the angle grinders, I bought two at ten People's Republic of Oregon spondoulic's each. After nine or ten years and not just a few hot suppers and a cord replacement they are still hard at it. ( My daughter says AvE is a bad influence, I hadn't noticed) A spondoulic is worth about 14 cents Canadian.
I work in a shop full of guys that have $5000 Matco tool boxes full of Harbor Freight tools. Yes they have select Snap On and Matco things they spend large coin on, but ratchets, sockets, wrenches they use the heck out of them. My favorite is the guy with the $250 flashlight! hahahha
LOL. I have a second -hand $1000 Matco tool box full of Harbor Freight tools. I work in a large shop (50 mechanics) for a trucking company. We have all the tool trucks come around (Mac, Matco, Snap-On, Cornwell). I started 5 years ago on a budget with HF tools and always figured I'd work my way up to the more expensive ones when these broke or wore out. I haven't had to yet.
I have that low end angle grinder and we’ve given it a few hot suppers. It’s let the smoke out once or twice but it still works great. I just picked up two “Bauer” cordless angle grinders. I can’t wait to use the crap out of those and see how long it lasts. In total I have 4 angle grinders and like you said, having different attachments one each grinder saves so much time.
Thanks for the good info! Harbor Freight gets a bad rap but I've actually had pretty decent luck with most of my purchases! My best advice, don't buy anything DrillMaster or anything that's too plastic!
Was the engine hoist the 1 ton or 2? I have a couple of the angle grinders. Yup, they work. I keep a cut off on one and a flap on the other. Rarely have to change. A good addition on the 3-ton floor jack is putting a hockey puck on the lifting disk. Spreads the weight and won't slip. Thanks for posting.
My pivot adjustment on my vise broke like yours. Took it apart heated up the cast and rewelded it back on... still staying on... I think they do a weld without heating it up first and it is a cold joint with hardly any penetration. I use that pivot to hold the angle I want while I'm tightening the vise for welding, working on mower transmissions. This was my second one... The first one I broke the handle jaw off the center while trying to press out suspension bushings... Tried a quickie weld job on it... didn't work... So I bought another one and a real press to finish what I needed to get done... Finally got around to fixing it... went back heated both pieces up and beveled and rewelded (with 3 passes to fill in the bevel) the jaw back on the old one... Still working perfect... Have it on the other corner of my work bench. I like Ryobi angle grinder with the trigger handle you can turn... makes it nice if you are grinding at a weird angle for a long time... Seen them as low as 27.00 I have the same silver jack... 3 ton... Working great. I use impact sockets too, however on some bolts and nuts, like lug nuts on some aluminum wheels, engine and suspension the walls are too thick to fit into the hole they give you, so you have to have some thin walls laying around. Love the press... Did mod my release handle. Have the same engine lift... and bought the load leveler at the same time... you will love it... makes it so easy to pull and install a motor by yourself...
I have all of these tools, except the engine hoist, and more from HF. Their breaker bars, and torque wrenches are a good investment too. The only modification I've done to my 20 ton press, is swapped the bottle jack for an air bottle jasck. Makes life a helluv'a lot easier!
Great video ! Those cheap angle grinders are well worth the money. I broke the paddle switch on my black&decker industrial, a replacement switch costs $22 on ebay. I bought a paddle switch grinder from harbor freight for $21 dollars, it's working great.
great video. i love harbor freight. you just have to research the things you want to buy from there. there are a lot of bargains at harbor freight and a lot of garbage. be smart when shopping there and it is worth spending the money
@@mikefinto4048 like butter, I used it to cut the radius arm castings off my 08 superduty Dana 60 front, those things are about 2-3 inches thick. It won't break a sweat on the small stuff.
At 8:00 you bought the weaker welded together shop press like I did. They say the bolted together ones stay more true and don't bow while pressing out things due to being bolted together everywhere
I concur that the HF angle grinders are a steal, and when there's a good sale, I do buy extras to use different wheels on, and keep spares on the shelf. It's come to the point, I only use paddle-trigger grinders, like the dark blue one, but I also "splurged" for a $65 Vulcan grinder, and it's an impressive beast. (comparable to my DeW..) I'm also impressed at how a lot of HF tools come with an extra set of brushes, since that's probably what sends a lot of electric motor tools to the rubbish bin. I've only had to use the extra brushes once, after I let a dummy borrow an angle grinder, and he burnt it up.
I use the blue paddle switch grinders. I buy when on sale. I set each of mine up with 3 different things also. One thing I do is test run them at the store BEFORE buying. Have had a few spark and burn out right there instead at home but if good then I can count on them lasting awhile. they cost about $20 on sale. Cut-off wheels on sale also, 10 for $6 that I max out the coupon limit. I have the 3 ton floor jack and it lifts everything I have here. I have the Bauer porta band saw, that I go to HD for blades, and I love it. Made a micro back-hoe last summer with it. I picked up the 2 ton engine jack and a engine stand (800lbs-1000lbs?) used for $100. Have had the impact sockets deep and shallow for years and I too beat the snot out of them. The Pittsburgh hand wrenches are great when you don't want to customize a Snap-on wrench. Just grabbed the 20 ton press this spring during a parking lot sale for $130. Also picked up the Bauer electric impact gun. Damn I've spent alot there LOL And I still want the tool box!!!
I have the 4" Chicago Electric angle grinder from gee at least 10-12 years ago still works great and I've beat on that thing pretty hard several times. I do have the 4-1/2 and 7 inch versions as well and both of them work great too. Its nice to have different grinders setup for different tasks so you don't have to swap wheels all the time. I also have the 10" compound sliding miter saw from about the same age range as the 4" angle grinder, back when their basic power tools were all orange. The miter saw still works great and I've used it for several flooring projects and wood working projects as well. I added an irwin arbor mounted laser which works great just changed the batteries in it last spring it was put on a couple days after I bought the saw. I do have the 12" compound sliding miter saw as well, that came with a laser guide, I can tell you the saw works great the laser guide is a joke, after a couple cuts the laser lens is covered in sawdust so its pretty useless after that...I cannot find the irwin laser guides otherwise I'd fit that saw with one as well. I haven't purchased the Hercules 12" model but looks to be an even better one than the 2 I have, but the 2 I have work great nothing to complain about, took the time to lubricate and adjust everything out of the box to make sure they're accurate and haven't had any trouble with either saw. I of course have several of their air tools, and screwdrivers, wrenches, sockets, etc....all work great especially for the price you can afford to equip each of your vehicles with its own tool box. I have a tool bag setup just for going to pick a part yards, if I lose a Harbor Freight tool it wouldn't bother me nearly as much as losing an expensive one for sure.
I got a few HF tools and they have been pretty good air tools and hand tools.i bought that same kind of vise you talked about first and mine broke not to long after I got it. It was that round peace that runs through the middle that is connected to the outside jaw it broke in half only thing holding it together is the long bolt used for tightening or loosening.
i have a HF jack, jack stans, and an air compressor all bought in 1993. and countless other tools from HF over the years that still work. like a 3 pound wooden handled hammer. Pittsburg sockets break less than craftman
Bought a vise from them about 6 months ago, had to return it and a few others before I got one that would actually keep tension on anything, so not sure if the newer ones are as good as the older stuff. Have bought bottle jacks, and other hand tools that have been solid though.
You know the vises=especially the smaller ones=are one of their faults and I studied why mine failed and noticed their sand casting is very porous and they fill in all the holes with something like bondo and if you man handle the tightening on the vise and it sits on one of these holes in the casting then it will fail quick. This is one of the only items I might spring for a quality cast vise as it is the most used tool in the shop and I'm one of those guys that will reach for a small breaker bar to give it that little extra grip. But as you say all the other stuff I have from them I get real good service out of for the price.
We have that same press in our shop and it's been great but unfortunately we had a new guy that didn't take the snap ring out when he was trying to remove a wheel bearing and bent the stud on the press slightly. Not the press fault though and it's still useable and worth the money. Would love to see the upgrades you mentioned.
i bought a 41/2 '' grinder from a car show for 5 quid ,must be 25 years ago now and its still going strong only thing ive changed is discs ,,,it's outlived my 70 quid Bosch one by about twenty years up to now ..i know trailmater swears by their snatchblocks
I have the mid level grinder and I have had no problems. And most of my other tools are HF too. But small things like trigger/switch placement are...weird.
For a good floor Jack, go to Costco and pick up one of the Arcan brand 3.5 ton service Jack's they sell. I have 3 of them. They used to be blue and now they're red. They are VERY high quality and come with a pump seal kit in case the seal blows out, which I have never had happen to me. They raise up really fast till you get to the point it starts to lift weight. Best part is they are under 100$!!! I think I paid 80$ each for my newer two Jack's which are the red ones and that wasnt that long ago. The older one I have looks about the same but is blue and it's been going strong for 15 years now. I highly reccomend it over the harbor freight Jack. Liked and subscribed! I just started a jeep MJ project so I'll be watching the channel a lot! Doing long arm up front, triangulated 4 link rear, 9" front and rear axles with disc brakes, air shocks front and rear, TDI swap, AX15 with dual t-cases, etc. Gonna start this summer in Hope's its ready to wheel summer of 2020.
Expensive tools are great when you have do a professional job over and over, but occasional jobs on a budget only require cheap tools so you can afford to have fun when you're done! Plus you don't have to freak out if you lose cheap stuff in the field.
I like Harbor Freight. Like you I’m a hobbies on a budget. For the occasional or light use Harbor Freight tools seem to hold up. Obviously these are not meant for everyday hard industrial use. Any opinions on their transmission jacks?
Niner 8 Tango Juliet I have their tranny jack, if I remember, they have 2 of them, I have the higher rating one. I used mine to swap the transmission from my 7.3 diesel , the trans weighted like 400 pounds with the transfer case. If you need one, then it’ll be a good buy.
The small jack stands from HF are trash. Poor welds are common and most of them don't even sit level. Your life can depend on a jackstand. Poor quality control on an important item? Buy the stronger stands or go elsewhere for them. Their impact sockets are extremely good for the price. Probably no point in spending more. Their cheapest power tools are just plain junk. You can find something much better for just a little more especially on sale. Power tools can hurt you bad when they fail in an unexpected way. Not worth the risk even for a one-time use.
I have used the HF one you have closest to you. Bought it in about 2014 and have beat the hell out of it. It looks just as dirty as yours. It still runs great. I think I paid about $18 back then.
A couple of other HF winners are their Breaker Bars and Pry Bars those have been put to the tests comparing them to name brand ones all ove You Tube and i have beaten the crap out of many of their air tools in more details the die grinders and rotary cut off saws i definitely agree with the items you. Picked as well years ago KMart used to carry a decent lie of hydraulic jacks branded. Under their name I liked the bottle jacks the most because they came in a blow molded case that. Housed the handle. As well it was a cheap case but it worked. I. Owned and pulled lots of trailers ove the years from boat,car, and Campers and ive kept one of those KMart bottle jacks in the bed of my Dually truck bed for over 20 years that has. Helped me get out of a few jams over the years as well as I don’t. Hesitate to pull over if i see others on the side of the road pulling a trailer as i also keep A variety of trailer hubs, bearings, caps and grease in the truck. One time my son and i pulled over and helped a family with a blow out on their camper. I just so happened to have a little Honda generator in my truck that my son got running and ran extension cords just in case we needed power tools the fairly couldnt beleive how fast we were and they kept saying they though a NASCAR team pulled up to help them with all my trailers. I liked to keep numerous sizes of wood blocking. To level things up or chocking the loads to keep them from shifting plus i was a carpenter by trade so that didnt cost me anything as they were off cuts from whatever job i was on i would often. Block. Up that bottle jack to. Do whatever i. Needed to get done my brother in law used to call me the McGuyver of trailers after he blew out a couple of bearings on his boat trailer one State away from where. Lived with the parts i had. I couldnt get him road worthy at 10 o clock at night but i did get hi to the point that we could load him onto. A roll back to get home safely an old trick of my Dads was to keep the old parts That were worthy of reusing o at least that you could repair at your leisure plus many of the parts were smalls and easy to box up together in the replacement parts boxes on those I typically. Wrote in a magic marker what trailer it was for
The $8 fluid transfer pumps (mechanical) are great to have in a few places for water, oil, fuel. Jacks are great. Toolboxes are exquisite. Impact sockets are a killer deal. Bauer flex light is great.....and, and, and....(but times are a’changing...I’m not a fan of their new business model with the "premium" brands).
I don’t mind a little hf, but lowes has crazy tool sales sometimes around the holidays I got a two pack porter cable grinder set regularly 50 bucks for 25. 12 bucks a piece. And he goes for three...
I buy a lot of Harbor Freight tools for home use. Of course the price matters, but I am not a pro and my usage doesn't equal theirs. It doesn't make sense to buy top of the line, then let it sit idle for weeks or months. Harbor Freight allows me to have all the convenience without spending big bucks. I use the angle grinder and small drill press constantly and know they are durable. I also love the air tools. I have a nail gun and several brad nailers and staplers. They are a must have, even though I dont need them often. I also use the half inch and 3/8 air ratchets and I love the little 3/8 butterfly impact. Like another guy said, HF is the best for consumables. If you are a pro, maybe you can afford the big name tools.
Good video Buddy ill agree on most of those tools as well i am a Woodworker by trade With many other interests as well and i will say ive had pretty good luck with any od their pneumatic tools like ratchets impacts , die grinders and sanders too especially when you factor in the low cost i do personally prefer Senco branded nail and staple guns and that. Is largely due to a local Senco mobile dealer. That is spot on with repairs and parts for anything needed ive also found most tool repair facilities can work on them and turn them around pretty quickly. Which is important for meeting deadlines and keeping a high production company flowing sometimes its just nice to have many options. Instead of taking the time out to rebuild a gun yourself I know a couple of guys that. Have the HF. Nail guns in their personal garages and shops and they say they are fine for that use and a old business partner bought a couple to remodel his own home and he claims the flooring nail gun is actually a exact clone of the Stanley Bostich and those repair parts work perfect as far as O rings and pistons !
I like your vids but if you bought something 20 years ago....the chances of that product still being manufactured by the same group and still high quality is slim in my opinion.
I had a tour of the Toyota factory in Japan about 4 years ago. I noticed every person using machine power tools was using Makita. I asked how long they last on a 24 hour schedule with constant use and they said three years. SOLD.
well the grinders are a great deal economically even if they dont last as long, im just not interested in them i like to lean into the grinder and get cuts or welds ground in a hurry, i bog down my 12 amp rat tail makita so id smoke the 6amp paddle switch first use
Nice shop buddy I have lots of Chinese hand tools sockets and ratchets and pry tools and even a sweet tube bender 1/4 the price of a jb2 bender I just bought a Chinese 200amp acdc tig welder to try out tig welding lol The good expensive tools are in my work trailer and I'm happy with Chinese in my garage
Good tools but like it should be a top 10 with some Jeep/offroad specific stuff: HF's SAE and metric bolt/nut extractors (Amazon has a set for $35ish "Maximum Impact 13 piece set" in a locking blow molded box that is tempting also mainly because there's flats on it to put a wrench on it if needed. Do I need it? But I'd hate to need it and be without). I'd call your list "shop tools". A top 10 of "tools you should have in your Jeep" or "in your toolbox while offroading" would be cool.
that makita cost around 60 i have one. the makita 9557 is stonger but it doesnt feel as good in the hand. the 9557 cost less than 60$ at home depot i have had mine for 2 years still working good i had to replace the brushes one of them broke
With that angle grinder Remove the plastic case and reseat the brushes . (0 percent of the time they dont put the brushes in properly causing them to ground out pretty quickly. I have taken apart friends to see why they went bad and out of 15 of them they all had a brush not properly seated. I then took the ones that they had just bought and reseated the brushes they use them for detailing and cutting and they work fine.
What kills HF grinders is lack of internal lubricantion, I found out the hard way, the second one I bought was dry inside, I lube it up, that was 15 years ago and still running strong, that’s something HF needs to address.
Sorry guys, I love your channel but I saw 0 thumbs downs and I...I just had to do it...First?!... Just kidding, I love you guys and gave the video a thumbs up as soon as I clicked on it! 😎
Your engine hoist---did you replace the bottle jack/ram in it? It doesn't look like the original. I was just curious how easy it is to get replacements. The 12 ton press sucks. 20% off no longer applies to Central Machinery, unfortunately.
