What's worthwhile at Harbor Freight?

Whit

Whit

Joined
Dec 27, 2001
Messages
729
I'm planning on stopping in to the Harbor Freight in Atlanta next weekend. I've seen a few tools posted on here that are considered decent quality. I'm interested to see what you all have purchased there that is actually worthwhile? In general, I prescribe to the "you get what you pay for" mindset, but surely there are some things that would make my life easier.

Recommendations? Thanks.
 
7$ box of 100 nitrile gloves. They hold up to paint, MEK, gas, soaps. Great to keep away the cancers.
 
I've got and am very happy with a Harbor Freight lathe, milling machine, band saw, buffer that I quit using cause it's too darned powerful, and a blast cabinet. Don't buy thier cheapest models of anything cause they are elcheapos! Everything I've gotten from them I've had to tighten almost every nut bolt and screw on the tool but once that and all the adjusting was done I've gotten good service from them. One item I do not recommend is thier multi tool, the lathe, mill, drill. I bought one of those years back and it couldn't do either job worth a crap!
Just my opinion from my experience with them.
 
Keep in mind that there's free shipping on orders over $50 last time I checked, and eventually just about anything they have goes on sale, so for any equipment over $50 you just might want to sign up for their mailers and bide your time.
 
If you know your tools and prices you can get good deals, if your not carefull they will skin you. Some of what they sell is utterly worthless, some pretty good, you just have to know what your looking at.

Last iteam I got from them was two of the Russian cast steel anvils. A little on the soft side but I bought them with the intention of dressing on for general blacksmith work and cutting the horn off one for a bladesmith anvil. An if they batter up too quik I'll re-heat treat them. For the money they are no more expensive than mild steel will cost.
 
I buy my MIG welding wire there for about 1/2 what the welding shops sell their wire for AND it is marked made by Hobart :thumbup:
 
I have a tabletop drill press from there that works fine for the little bit I use it. One of my angle grinders is from there and works fine. I have a bench vise from there that seems OK, but I haven't used it a whole lot. The heat gun that I use on Kydex is from HFand works good. I got a 1/8" steel stamp set for about three bucks that I've marked the blade steel on a few stainless blades with, and they work really good., if you don't hit them too hard. I also got one of the Russian anvils. It's pretty soft, and it took a lot of work(and sanpaper for my palm sander) to round off the horn and get rid of the milling marks on the face, but I'm well satisfied with it for the money. Two of my work tables are from HF. They are real sturdy, were pretty cheap, but they were a pain in the a$$ to put together. Oh, I also bought some brazing rod from there that I use for pinning material, and it was about 1/2 the price of the local welding supply store.

Todd
 
L6steel said:
I've got and am very happy with a Harbor Freight lathe, milling machine, band saw, buffer that I quit using cause it's too darned powerful, and a blast cabinet. Don't buy thier cheapest models of anything cause they are elcheapos! Everything I've gotten from them I've had to tighten almost every nut bolt and screw on the tool but once that and all the adjusting was done I've gotten good service from them. One item I do not recommend is thier multi tool, the lathe, mill, drill. I bought one of those years back and it couldn't do either job worth a crap!
Just my opinion from my experience with them.
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Man I could've written that! Just what Michael said, in every regard.

Someone else recommended the box o' latex gloves and I'll second that. Leather gloves are really cheap there too. I haven't used my HF anvil enough to have an opinion but I'm not sorry I have it. For the little bit of stuff I've done on it it's been fine.

One thing no one's mentioned, and maybe for good reason - but I've bought a whole lot of files from HF. They're so cheap you can make a lot of special duty safe sides on bunches of them and so far I'm happy with their performance. The diamond needle files can go either way, but I still buy them there. Other sets of needle files are just fine by me and I have tons of them. I've also bought sets of diamond burrs for the Dremel and they are just great. Usually they're about $3 for, I think, 20 burrs on sale and I'm still using the first set I bought (have a couple back up sets that will probably last until they have my estate sale). I don't recommend the little cut off discs for a Dremel, they are worthless.

The larger vises seem to do well too, but I've never seen a smaller vise there that I thought was sturdy enough to work from.

The absolute best thing I ever bought there was my metal cutting band saw; without it I probably wouldn't still be making knives - I'm just too lazy to cut steel with a hack saw. But their bandsaw blades suck the big one. So do their abrasives.

I bought a regulator for my forge there that works great and all the air compressor fittings I've bought there were fine.

I've often said I have the largest collection of HF tools this side of the Missouri river and that's probably not much of a stretch. :D
 
HF? I hate them very passionately right now. Their shipping is the cheapest anywhere, but you'll have a long grey beard by the time it gets to you. Their newer batch of machinery is for sucks, with the exception of the mini-mill and the 9x20 lathe. Even those need an incredible amount of work to make right. There is a fine line between equipment to perform the job and affording good equipment that doesnt break down. Thats where I am stuck. :grumpy:
 
Yeah, but Jeff: You're a pro, making your living off machine tools. I think that's a different requirement than simply making knives. And given the rate most of us work for, we can spend a lot of time tuning up HF machine tools and still be ahead! :D
 
I have a whole shop of stuff from HF. Not all my tools came from there but many did and they are not new either. I've been very impressed and happy with how well they have held up. I have the grinding wheel/buffer combo, the 4x36 sander, w/6" disc and metal cutting saw, and angle grinder plus more. Everything gets used a bunch and has travelled with us when we moved in many cases. I have a small band saw from them too but it has been retired since I got my Rockwell/Delta 14" floor model.

I know some real fine knife makers that use their Mini milling machine also. It is most likely my next purchase from them.
 
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