That's the trick with HF tools -- the tools themselves are fine, but the consumable media sucks. Buy legit cutoff wheels or sanding discs or whatever.

The air die grinder is pretty hit or miss, very loud and uses a ton of air. I finally gave up and got an IR max. Thing is so much better, as it should be for the price. I had to rebuild my HF one after light use, the cotter pin sheared off the drive gear.

[QUOTE=Alternative;1295954]Review?

3 in. Heavy Duty Electric Cut-Off Tool

Get the regular die grinder that uses 1/4" bits. Then you can use cut off/grinding disks. I have literately ground pounds of metal over the years. Replaced the cord, screws holding the case pulled out, held together with strapping tape. It's the Terminator cause I haven't been able to kill it yet.

I have one of the super cheap HF grinders, its sooooo loud.

The only quiet angle grinder I've found is a Makita unit.

I'm looking to pick up a digital torque wrench. Any good HF options or is it worth it to drop skrilla on the Snap On?

Why does it have to be digital? I have been very happy with my HF torque wrenches. My favorite thing about them is that they are cheap enough that I don't worry if friends fuck up and don't set them back to zero when they are done.

I have hf click type for day to day stuff. And 3 beam type for important things

I just wanted one. Never had a nice torque wrench and digital seems easier.

833 lb. Capacity 2 in. x 20 ft. Ratcheting Tie Down item#62364:

These are terrible. They bunch up on themselves really easily and one of of the belts wore a big hole on the 2 mile trip to bring home an engine.

My friend has one of those fancy snap-on digital ones that beep and vibrate. I think the vibrate part would really engage this crowd... anyway, once you use one you don't want to go back to a clicker, they spoil you.

Did I mention it vibrates?

Craigslist is a great place to buy tools.

I bought my MAC Tools Torque Wrench from some guy for like $40. Thing was pretty much brand new.

Coupon for 3 ton low pro jack. $80 right now. 1.5 ton aluminum is 60. Perfect shop/travel combination IMO.

For those pinching pennies, the latest catalog they sent me has a coupon for them at $78.38.


On another note, where does everybody get their tap and die sets? My 1st inclination is that they are a precision tool set, and thus, should be bought from a legitimate tool and die manufacturer. However, I am cheap and don't want to spend hundreds on a basic set.

Has anybody got any feedback on HF's sets?
45 Pc Titanium Nitride Coated Alloy Steel Metric Tap & Die Set

Yeah that. I just rounded to 80.

Are there any reasonably priced metric rivnut tools out there? I keep finding $100 sets.

Thinking about taking a chance on this and seeing if it will fit in my harbor freight tool.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/6mm-NUTSERTS...-/130919391294

I have this tap & die set: SAE / Metric Tap and Die Set - 60 Piece, Alloy Steel

I don't remember what exactly I bought it for, but it's only been used a few times and has not broken yet. Handles are very cheaply made otherwise seems decent for the price.

I have that same one. The assortment is very nice, but I have broken a small tap with very little effort.

I have the HF tap and die set, but have only used it once or twice. It worked for what I used it for with no problem. I have never had any other tap and die sets to compare it to, so I can't really say how good quality wise it is.

I used to have that same 60 pc tap & die set as well.

Used it infrequently, but I never broke a tap from it. They seem to perhaps be made from a slightly softer material than higher-quality taps.

I typically purchase high quality taps one at a time as I need them. Grainger, McMaster, etc keep them in stock if you have one close, or can get you one overnight for reasonable money. For all the taps/ dies I've ever bought, I don't think I've spent more than $100 and will probably never have to replace one. Worth it, IMO.