Harbor Freight: Coupons, and recommended tools

[California]

We need a place to share HF tips and discount coupons. Here it is!

For hand tools, I think we've all heard that HF's stuff is third rate. Nuf said.

But some of their items are unique or priced far below other sources. I bought this 50 ft drain cleaner and it does everything I hoped for. It's sometimes on sale for $179. Not bad when Roto Rooter gets $120 minimum for a callout, $180 on holidays when my tenant always discovers a problem. I've paid for this unit several times over by now. Highly recommended.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=46769


HF's variety of small angle grinders is amazing. Everything from pro units, about 10 amps, down to 4 amp throwaways under $10.
http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=4-1/2+ANGLE+GRINDER&Submit=Go

That blue one is $8.88 in their Black Friday ad. I have a couple of those, mounted with a wire brush and a flap sander. I assume the $18 one is slightly more durable so that's what I use for grinding. I have one more cheap one installed in HF's cutoff-saw mount and that mount is a compete waste, near useless. It's so flimsy that the work won't stay in the vise, and crowding the cutoff blade forces it off line. I recommend the cheap grinders for casual work, not to earn a living. On the other hand that cutoff mount is Not Recommended.


For really removing metal I bought the 9 inch, 15 amp monster.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93179
I think I paid $29 on sale and it does everything I want. I recommend it.


I am thinking of going to their Black Friday sale to get their cheap flux-wire welder. It's $75 after a 15% coupon.
(For our overseas readers - the day after Thanksgiving traditionally has the best discounts and largest sales.)

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=94056
I got one of those a year ago and took it back. It would do nothing but spit. Since then I've read more, and concluded the greasy wire they provide with it was the problem. If I can't get it to run right with clean wire I'll take this one back and just get by with my 230AC stick welder.


Here's the 15% coupon if anyone wants to try it. (expires 11/23). I'm not sure this good everywhere. It was provided in an email that announced new store locations, with instructions to use it at those locations. But it's worth a try.
http://www.harborfreightusa.com/We_have_moved/coupon.html

(Note on this and all HF coupons: if the small numbers under the bar code are illegible when you print the coupon, they won't accept it. Take a pencil and copy that number onto the coupon. I've had coupons refused simply because they issued a coupon that couldn't be reproduced cleanly on my laser printer)


Here are more coupons. These expire 11/24. Remember to copy the # if it prints illegible. http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/emails/display.do?fname=47_RetailA.html
You can sign up (upper rt corner of that page) to receive these weekly in your email.

As you discover other HF coupons, please post them in this thread.

 

[goldchaser]

Hey CA....you are talking about my home away from home. The typical big boys toy store. Agreed, there is much they carry that is not that great, but for the price....you cant usually beat them...I mean...you get a tool that costs you 4 or 5 bucks....or maybe 10 or 20...and it works for what you need it for and it lasts even a dozen uses...and many times alot more, you have earned its cost back many times over. I am not ashamed to admit that I have alot of HF tools and equipment in my shop. Alot of them I bought years ago and they are still in my shop getting used when I need them. Will they last a lifetime , maybe not, but they work and the low cost makes them ideal. Sure, I could spend big bucks on tools that will last longer than me, but I am buying them for ME, not for leaving to my kids or grandkids. And I dont buy them to impress the neighbor or my brother.

For instance. I have a pipebender that I got from HF a few years back for a project I had in mind. I think I paid 30 or 40 bucks for it. Similar benders would have cost me a few hundred elsewhere. It worked perfect. I still have it and it still works and I have used it many times since. I didnt buy it for its looks or rep or because the dies are perfectly cast and pretty.

It sells now for about 79.00 bucks but it is sometimes cheaper.
I will admit it...I am cheap!!!

 

[shinnlinger]

You guys seem to have the right attitude. When I lived in Oregon there was an H-F right down the road and I passed over ALOT of crap in the aisles, but I bought more than a few things there and most turned out to be OK. Now I would have to have things shiped and I am not so keen about dealing with that on a POS.

What gets me though is the number of people who COMPLAIN about the crap they buy from H-F or other off brands. If a deal is to good to be true, it probably is. If you pay $50 for a new chainsaw it probably isn't going to last you very long and when it doesn't work out I don't want to hear about it.

Buy with caution though and you can find some decent values.

Enjoy...I wish I still had one close by.

 

[goldchaser]

You guys seem to have the right attitude. When I lived in Oregon there was an H-F right down the road and I passed over ALOT of crap in the aisles, but I bought more than a few things there and most turned out to be OK. Now I would have to have things shiped and I am not so keen about dealing with that on a POS.

I have stuff shipped also from HF. The nearest one to me is about 140 miles away. But I am in the neighborhood of it every 4 months or so, so I get to look around then. If I have the money, I buy then. But at least most times I have seen what I intend to buy in the future and have shipped. So I know if its worth buying or not.

What gets me though is the number of people who COMPLAIN about the crap they buy from H-F or other off brands. If a deal is to good to be true, it probably is. If you pay $50 for a new chainsaw it probably isn't going to last you very long and when it doesn't work out I don't want to hear about it.

If you know tools, then, like you say, if the price is too good to be true..then it likely is. And if the price is such a bargain then you know that the quality isnt going to be the greatest or the best. But if it works for YOU then it was worth the cost.

Buy with caution though and you can find some decent values.

Enjoy...I wish I still had one close by.

Yes, you can. Some guys buy tools for bragging rights. The biggest and best and most expensive. I go for the least expensive that I can find as long as it does the job. I have bought used and I have made my own tools at times.

Like I said. I still have one that I get to every few months. So its great to be able to wander the isles. My wife hates it. But since I usually let her wander the mall while there she puts up with it.

 

[goldchaser]

Here is a little item I have found very useful. And can be removed and placed on any trailer, hitch, whatever.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95684
Magnetic Hitch Locator

 

[PBinWA]

Actually, the shipping from Harbor Freight is pretty reasonable. It's only around $10-12 for most items. I just ordered a brick saw (80lbs) and it was shipped to me (no tax too). I'm not sure the time and diesel for me to drive to the nearest HF would have been any less.

I try to save up my HF purchases and then do one big order so the shipping is less.

There are some good things at Harbor Freight and some odd things that are hard to find elsewhere. I also bought a brick chisel jig thing that I haven't seen elsewhere.

 

[shinnlinger]

California,

It is probably too late for this info, but about the above welder...what can it weld, 1/4"? Tops? Why I am asking is do you have need to weld stuff that thin?

And what I want to point out is that while $75 is cheap if that machine ever mafunctions you are SOL. No one can service it even if they wanted too. 100 amp machines are only good for sheet metal basically and you can find used flux core Lincoln/Miller/Hobarts for not much more than what you would pay for that H-F unit and you can get those serviced.

I also was talking with a guy at the burning Man festival a few years ago who bought one of those machines and he wasn't happy with only 2 amp settings.

I think I mentioned before that I miss my old AC buzzbox like the one that you have. While my 230 amp MIG is easier to use and makes nicer looking welds, it doesn't have the penetration of the arc. For structural welding your unit should be just fine.

 

[shinnlinger]

Oh and I should add those "Big Three" welders usually have the capability to be upgraded to gas.

I reccomend going gas over flux core as it will pay for itself after just a few spools of wire and they make nicer looking welds.

If your going to stay flux core you might as well stick with your AC unit as I don't see how you would gain anything as Flux core splatters as much as a buzzbox.

In fact it will be much easier to weld different gauges of steel with your current set up. Just grab a different rod vs pulling a bunch of wire out of your MIG gun, swapping tips and then re-running a different guage wire.

Long live the AC buzz box!!!!!

 

[California]

Long live the AC buzz box!!!!!

This one's already long lived! Mid-60's, I think. I found it at an estate sale with apparently very little use.

As you noted, penetration of these bigger welders is awesome. In the right photo I wanted to secure a hinge rivet that had pulled through the garage door arm. This is the smallest thing I've welded with it. I had to work fast - I could see the puddle getting wider and deeper real fast.




I would buy a proper mig welder if I had a need for it. This new $75 HF cheapie is just to play around with. I just got an urge to see what lies beyond my present experience. It should be ok for making stuff out of the old bedframe angle iron etc that I've been saving. But I'll stick with the AC unit for making tractor stuff!

I got a chance to try the new welder today and it works fine. On a hunch I used electronics solvent to clean the rollers and the wire before feeding it through. A lot of grease came off on my rag. I think that grease explains why the welder I tried last year just spit gobs. This one makes a proper puddle. Now I need to learn to get good with it.

 

[shinnlinger]

If you can lay a bead with an arc welder (and I can see you can) you can easily make it stick with a MIG...any idiot can make it stick with a MIG...it is like a glue gun that stays stuck...just pull the trigger and go

 

[olcowhand]

Heading out to Harbor freight right now! Christmas lists get filled quickly there. I usually avoid stuff like drills & other electrical stuff. The motors tend to be cheaply made. Their air tools are super! Wrenches, etc are pretty decent. I likely will come home with a good load of gifts.....some of which will be for ME! lol

 

[Dougster]

Warning... RANT mode on...

I believe I am the only person here... and perhaps in the entire tractor world... who thinks that just about everything at HF is junk... pure, crappy, disgusting, ugly, cheap, Chinese-made junk. The few things they sell that are any good at all are all Made in Taiwan. Everything else is total and complete crap.

There... I said it. Someone had to say it. I know this is considered sacrilege if not worse... ... but I had to get it out before I exploded.

I feel much better now. Thank you for listening and sorry to anyone I've offended.

Exiting RANT mode and returning to normal conversation.

Dougster

 

[California]

No, that's not sacrilege. Lots of people have related finding worthless items at HF. I've bought a few duds myself. The most recent one was the 'Heavy Duty Pry Bar'

that I got when I couldn't find my old Craftsman and Stiletto flatbars. I bent the hook out straight the first time I put my weight on it. And it was a couple inches shorter than a real flatbar.

Another disappointment was the $10 'Vivitar binoculars'. Absolutely worthless, so bad you just had to laugh the first time you looked through them. I see they only sold them for a couple of months. I expect every single one went back.

But that drain cleaning tool in my first post above offsets these little nuisances. I have no idea where I could buy or rent a tool like that at twice the price. I have a few hundred dollars of their stuff that works fine and that I would never buy at other's much higher prices. For example the $15 click torque wrench. I verify it with my two beam torque wrenches at least once per project and it's always right on.

Lose some, win some. And don't be bashful about returning stuff that doesn't meet your expectations.

 

[Bindian]

On aircraft, we need a lot of special tools. If it is a large tool, the tool room in the hangar has it. On small tools, if it isn't in someone's tool box, a cheap auto supply or harbor freight tool makes a dandy starting place to heat, bent, grind, weld, and tweak to fit your job. Of course usally this special tool is used once and then forgotten until the next blue moon. I cringe at all the times I had to take a Craftsman or Snap-On tool and modify, because a "cheap" wrench wasn't around. But you do whatever it takes. To me, it all depends on what I am using it on. Harbor freight pry bars (look like large bent straight slot screwdrivers) are just as strong as my Snap On pry bars. Unless you don't want the handles to melt when it is dropped into a bucket of hydraulic (Skydrol) fluid. If I use the tool everyday, it is name brand all the way. The right tool for the right job saves busted knuckles and time hunting for a replacement when you break it and the aircraft departure time is near. Tractor Supply Co. (TSC) has always had good enough tools for home use, like the 3/4 inch socket set I bought for tractor use. They are close to home and one place I love to window shop!
hugs, Brandi

 

[blacksmithman]

New member of this form.
I have a good set of tools in my garage., but I bought a HF socket and open end set for my barn. If it is a major job out comes the good set but a quick tighten of a nut HF is there. I have a miller thunder bolt AC welder but I bought a HF cheap tig welder for under $200. I have a need to weld thin steel and stainless steel. I can weld up to 1/4" with the machine. This unit fits the bill. The only thing I do not like is it is scratch start. Here is a sample of my work. A close up of a plant stand and the last is a wine rack, all thin material.

 

[shinnlinger]

Blacksmith man,

Nice stuff, do you smith as well? I used to mess with metal alot more, but I think I have collected enough crap to build a gas forge...I just need to put it all together now but unfortunatly it is a little low on the priority list.

 

[Mith]

Welcome BSM, I've always wanted to see more of your work, and very nice it is too
Please share any more pictures you have with us

I know what you mean with the scratch start TIG. It seems very hard on the tungsten. My arc welder has the ability to do scratch tig, but I also have access to a tig welder with HF start, which is much more user friendly!

 

[California]

Coupons through 12/8

Here are couple of pages of HF coupons good through 12/8. Includes:

• The auto darken welding helmet for $39.00. (They must be closing them out, usual 'sale' price is $59). These work great.

• The gas line magnet. I'm not joking, but they must be.

• 20 oz gravity feed spray gun, $11. Has anyone used this? I bought one but haven't tried it. I'm not expecting much.

• 8 gallon compressor. Specs match that gun. However - it mentions everything else, but not painting, in the suggested applications. $89. Any advice?

See: http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/emails/display.do?fname=49_RetailAv2.html

 

[goldchaser]

Here are couple of pages of HF coupons good through 12/8. Includes:

• The auto darken welding helmet for $39.00. (They must be closing them out, usual 'sale' price is $59). These work great.

I agree with you on the helmet. Works great. Only problem I had was the glass temper wasnt as good as it could have been.

• The gas line magnet. I'm not joking, but they must be.

Its an old theory but doesnt do anything but line the sellers pockets.

• 20 oz gravity feed spray gun, $11. Has anyone used this? I bought one but haven't tried it. I'm not expecting much.

Good call. It works ok, but its not great. I have one as well. Plus unless you already know how to adjust one, the instructions are limited for a newbie. Good if you are painting a fence or just spraying down on some metal that doesnt matter but for good painting...yuck.

• 8 gallon compressor. Specs match that gun. However - it mentions everything else, but not painting, in the suggested applications. $89. Any advice?

See: http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/emails/display.do?fname=49_RetailAv2.html

Forget using the compressor for anything but what they say. I have the same one except in pancake form. Same power, etc. I ended up just putting it in the garage for my wife to use to air up her tires when needed. Nail guns...maybe a palm gun or a small one. And dont plan on doing a bunch of nails in a row. Thumbs down on this one.

 

[California]

I finally tried the little $75 HF welder

#94056 that I described above.

This one works flawlessly.

I think the difference from the one I returned last year is that this one comes with decent wire. Also the feed tension spring, shown disengaged in my photo above illustrating the wire, is professional looking while last year's version was a leaf spring that looked like it was made from an old pc expansion-slot cover.

My very first weld with the unit was a difficult application, 1/8 steel to thinwall tubing. This is the gas lift cyinder for an office chair. The cylinder collapsed right after the warranty expired so I put a piece of pipe over the cylinder to hold the chair up and put it back in service. After another year the cylinder was so dead that it slipped out of the bracket under the seat cushion and left the chair teetering on my outer pipe. It nearly dumped me on the floor.

I welded the cylinder to the underside of the seat, reinstalled my outer pipe over the cylinder to elevate the chair, and put it back in service. Grinding my welds to let the pipe slip all the way up indicated good adhesion to the 1/8, while I avoided burning through the thin cylinder, except for one little pfft.

This welder is a keeper. If I can do a difficult weld like this with no experience and no practice it's just what I need. Another chair would cost $50 or more so I've half paid for the welder with this first project.

(but I'll still use the 230AC stick welder on anything large enough for it).