Harbor Freight Win-or-Fail Thread
12-01-2015, 01:55 PM
#581
Boost Pope
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That, and you really do need a lot of compressor (and a lot of tank) if you want to get any reasonable use out of a big impact wrench. While I had a couple of 'em (3/8 and 1/2), they gathered dust most of the time.
If I really wanted an impact wrench today, I'd probably get an electric one.
If I really wanted an impact wrench today, I'd probably get an electric one.
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12-01-2015, 02:10 PM
#582
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I love my electric impact from HF. It has been going great for about 6 years now. I would never consider replacing it with a pneumatic impact in a home garage. Hell I can't find a compressor for less then $500 that is not loud as ****.
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12-01-2015, 02:29 PM
#584
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I agree, anything at HF with moving parts inside is questionable. I did get the torque wrench, impact sockets, regular 6 point sockets, gear wrenches, and a couple ratchets and have no complaints there.
Yeah I don't expect continuous use out of the little compressor, I'm guessing I'm going to be waiting on it a lot to get the pressure back up with a big impact like that, but it should get by for the small things I do occasionally.
What I want eventually is a nice cordless impact. The torque of an air impact (sometimes more) and no cords, can take it to the track. The Milwaukee line kicks *** right now https://www.milwaukeetool.com/power-...rdless/2764-22
Yeah I don't expect continuous use out of the little compressor, I'm guessing I'm going to be waiting on it a lot to get the pressure back up with a big impact like that, but it should get by for the small things I do occasionally.
What I want eventually is a nice cordless impact. The torque of an air impact (sometimes more) and no cords, can take it to the track. The Milwaukee line kicks *** right now https://www.milwaukeetool.com/power-...rdless/2764-22
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12-01-2015, 02:52 PM
#585
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I have the compressor below. It is loud as **** and can't keep up with my die grinder. The whole experience has turned me off the pneumatic tools. I am not in the mood to drop $1000 on a compressor or build an enclosure outside.
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12-01-2015, 07:19 PM
#590
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I'm sure that if I had a 220v compressor with a massive tank, then it would be awesome. Well, relatively awesome...
On the other hand, that kind of setup represents a very large investment in both money and space for something that, in >90% of home-hobbyist use, can easily be equaled or outperformed by electrically-powered tools which cost far less, consume vastly less space, and can be used instantaneously and continuously without having to air up the tank.
I owned a cheap 5 gal HF compressor for about 12 years. It operated reliably and never gave me any trouble, but nearly every tool I bought for it wound up gathering dust. In the end, I really only ever used it for two things. Filling tires, and using the air nozzle to blow dust out of things. I could do the filling tires job just as well with a $30 tire pump, and while there's no 100% substitute for the nozzle, a shop-vac in reverse is nearly as good for most uses.
For wheels, a breaker bar and a cordless drill were much faster and easier (and I'm the kind of guy who *always* uses a torque wrench to tighten lug nuts.) For drilling / grinding / sanding, the compressor was utterly useless and even the best compressor wouldn't have outperformed cheap electrically-powered tools. The air ratchet, IMO, is a gimmick.
My take: for the home user, air compressors and air tools are vastly over-rated. The *only* reasons I'd buy another would be if I had a specific need to use an air-nailer for framing / roofing work, if I was doing high-volume riveting, or if I were to get serious about painting. And, ironically, the very cheapest compressors are perfectly adequate for two of those three uses.
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holy ***** that's weak
12-01-2015, 10:36 PM
#593
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This way my experience as well.
I'm sure that if I had a 220v compressor with a massive tank, then it would be awesome. Well, relatively awesome...
On the other hand, that kind of setup represents a very large investment in both money and space for something that, in >90% of home-hobbyist use, can easily be equaled or outperformed by electrically-powered tools which cost far less, consume vastly less space, and can be used instantaneously and continuously without having to air up the tank.
I owned a cheap 5 gal HF compressor for about 12 years. It operated reliably and never gave me any trouble, but nearly every tool I bought for it wound up gathering dust. In the end, I really only ever used it for two things. Filling tires, and using the air nozzle to blow dust out of things. I could do the filling tires job just as well with a $30 tire pump, and while there's no 100% substitute for the nozzle, a shop-vac in reverse is nearly as good for most uses.
For wheels, a breaker bar and a cordless drill were much faster and easier (and I'm the kind of guy who *always* uses a torque wrench to tighten lug nuts.) For drilling / grinding / sanding, the compressor was utterly useless and even the best compressor wouldn't have outperformed cheap electrically-powered tools. The air ratchet, IMO, is a gimmick.
My take: for the home user, air compressors and air tools are vastly over-rated. The *only* reasons I'd buy another would be if I had a specific need to use an air-nailer for framing / roofing work, if I was doing high-volume riveting, or if I were to get serious about painting. And, ironically, the very cheapest compressors are perfectly adequate for two of those three uses.
I'm sure that if I had a 220v compressor with a massive tank, then it would be awesome. Well, relatively awesome...
On the other hand, that kind of setup represents a very large investment in both money and space for something that, in >90% of home-hobbyist use, can easily be equaled or outperformed by electrically-powered tools which cost far less, consume vastly less space, and can be used instantaneously and continuously without having to air up the tank.
I owned a cheap 5 gal HF compressor for about 12 years. It operated reliably and never gave me any trouble, but nearly every tool I bought for it wound up gathering dust. In the end, I really only ever used it for two things. Filling tires, and using the air nozzle to blow dust out of things. I could do the filling tires job just as well with a $30 tire pump, and while there's no 100% substitute for the nozzle, a shop-vac in reverse is nearly as good for most uses.
For wheels, a breaker bar and a cordless drill were much faster and easier (and I'm the kind of guy who *always* uses a torque wrench to tighten lug nuts.) For drilling / grinding / sanding, the compressor was utterly useless and even the best compressor wouldn't have outperformed cheap electrically-powered tools. The air ratchet, IMO, is a gimmick.
My take: for the home user, air compressors and air tools are vastly over-rated. The *only* reasons I'd buy another would be if I had a specific need to use an air-nailer for framing / roofing work, if I was doing high-volume riveting, or if I were to get serious about painting. And, ironically, the very cheapest compressors are perfectly adequate for two of those three uses.
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12-01-2015, 11:42 PM
#594
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True, but not every electric grinder is a puny little dremel, and there are electrically-powered alternatives available at a far lower cost (and far greater efficiency) than an air grinder.
For heavy work (eg, head porting) there are heavy-duty electric grinders such as this one, with Harbor Freight and Kawasaki versions at half the price for casual use:
And for delicate work, nothing beats a hanging flex-shaft grinder with foot-pedal control:
I get that air tools have their place. In a production environment, where you can justify the cost of a rotary screw compressor and a big aftercooler, they're the ****. When I worked at Harris, we had a shop-air system rivaled only by Boeing. And when you were building TV trucks that required endless grinding and cutting (including chopping the frame of a Ford F-450 in half and lengthening it), or assembling a big 300lb, 64-fader audio console which required a metric ****-ton of rivets to assemble, it was an awesome thing to have.
But air tools in the home environment are little more than a trophy. Air is a horribly inefficient means of transmitting power, and the capital cost to install a compressor capable of doing useful work is extremely high as compared to the cost of direct-powered alternatives, without providing any meaningful benefit.
For heavy work (eg, head porting) there are heavy-duty electric grinders such as this one, with Harbor Freight and Kawasaki versions at half the price for casual use:
And for delicate work, nothing beats a hanging flex-shaft grinder with foot-pedal control:
I get that air tools have their place. In a production environment, where you can justify the cost of a rotary screw compressor and a big aftercooler, they're the ****. When I worked at Harris, we had a shop-air system rivaled only by Boeing. And when you were building TV trucks that required endless grinding and cutting (including chopping the frame of a Ford F-450 in half and lengthening it), or assembling a big 300lb, 64-fader audio console which required a metric ****-ton of rivets to assemble, it was an awesome thing to have.
But air tools in the home environment are little more than a trophy. Air is a horribly inefficient means of transmitting power, and the capital cost to install a compressor capable of doing useful work is extremely high as compared to the cost of direct-powered alternatives, without providing any meaningful benefit.
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12-02-2015, 01:33 PM
#596
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Harbor Freight Win-or-Fail Thread
My HF Earthquake 1/2" impact has been great for 7 or 8 years of use so far. It will make enough torque to break factory lug studs if you turn it up. I tighten lug nuts on setting 3 out of 6.
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12-02-2015, 04:50 PM
#598
Boost Pope
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Given that Chevy V8 heads are cast out of pure osmium, if it's good enough to port one of those, it's probably good enough to port a turbine housing.
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