Been getting a ton of emails from HF about blow out sales on tools blah blah.. I know lots of peeps here have HF stuff and have served them well. I thought it would be a good idea to share / list some of the good stuff people have bought from HF with good experiences.. Tools, compressors, winches etc.

I for one have bought THIS 3/8" ratchet and have used it for almost everything -- certainly became my main tool while doing my HG job not to long ago. Been bullet proof this far and would highly recommend it to anyone.

I am in the market for a compressor of sorts for mild air tool use and inflating tires.. Thoughts?

 

The yellow and now orange Daytona 3 Ton jack is a beast and well worth the money.
They sell for $200 but sometimes you can catch them on sale (like I did) for $175.
The little 6 Gallon/1.5HP 150PSI Central Pneumatic air compressor is very good for odd jobs at $120. Me personally, I should have gotten one with a bigger tank.

 

I have a engine hoist from there, and a hodge podge of limited use hand tools as well. Also ran one of their low end MIGs served me well for a few years before I overworked it and it caught fire

 

Their Bauer drill is actually passable. For the price I think it's fine. I used mine for nearly a year before upgrading to DeWalt. It still works fine and I keep it in my other truck.

Good deals on extension chords, too. And I've had generally good luck with their pneumatic tools what little I use them.

If I think of anything else I'll add it. Might go later and walk through to stir up some ideas. Their freebies are always good.

Oh! And I've heard good things about their Badlands winches. I'm gonna be picking one up when I have the dough.

 

I have several things from HF, and without a doubt their 3/8 socket wrench that has a handle you can position is indestructible!!!!!!!!! I have used a large pipe on it (ya gotta do what ya gotta do sometimes), I've used it as a hammer, and basically everything you aren't supposed to do lol. It has never stopped working. Yes I've had to remove the allen head bolts that secure the pivot points and re-install with some loctite, but I can't kill it. HF also has a lifetime warranty on their tools so you really can't beat it. I've some ratcheting box end wrenches from them as well and they work great and a Manual Impact Driver.

The one thing I DO NOT recommend are their jack stands. I bought a set because I was basically doing two lifts at one time and was in a hurry. I got the work done, and when I went to use them a second time I was about to release the jack to rest the frame on the jack stand when I saw a piece of a roll pin laying on the ground.... The pin that held the lever into place has completely snapped. Had I lowered the jack it would have just shot to the floor. I took them back and the ones I had just bought were orange. When they ran back with replacements the box was different and they were grey, so not so sure about the orange jack stands.

Besides that the hose clamp kits are a good deal (not SS clamps), but for the price you really can't beat em. I also have the small portable air compressor and while it doesn't sound so wonderful it does work (gift from the inlaws).

I got their 12K winch for 270.00 out the door with a coupon (older grey style), the newer ones are black like a Smittybilt Winch. It doesn't have the line speeds of say a Warn or Superwinch, but it works without a fuss. The 12k has a rather funky looking spring setup on it, but it does indeed work to keep the cable tight and from getting all wound up messy. A lot of people make fun of the HF winches, but I'm sorry to say it even Warn stuff is now being made in China from their remotes, wireless kits, covers, and the VR Series for sure. I owned a Smittybilt XRC8 back in the day and it was HORRIBLE vs the HF winch. The finish looked nasty in 3 weeks, cable rusted badly, and the remote in/out switch broke not to mention it was extremely SLOW. The new Smittybilt winches have evolved, but for 270.00 for a 12K you can't really beat it. I was going to get a 9K winch for around 180, but of coarse that day they were out of stock so I went home with the 12K.

 

Nice.

I'll have to go take a look at the compressors and see whats what this weekend

In other news, talk to me about bottle jacks. MagPie didn't come with one but after doing some research, seems HF's 8 ton bottle should do the trick and fits in the stock location.

https://www.harborfreight.com/automo...ack-69475.html

I know that the "foot" of the piston isn't curved like the OEM one but I can make something super easily to fix that.

 

 

I've had good experiences with Harbor Freight tools. The Pittsburgh Brand impact sockets, etc. have been durable, and outlived my Masterforce 1/2' Socket from Menards.