Harbor Freight Win-or-Fail Thread
06-29-2016, 07:51 PM
#781
SADFab Destructive Testing Engineer
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See my post in the PDX lounge. Good channel lock crimper+uninsulated crimps+heat shrink.
Don't use shitty crimper. I just had to strip apart my spark harness because I used a shitty crimper.
Don't use shitty crimper. I just had to strip apart my spark harness because I used a shitty crimper.
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06-29-2016, 07:52 PM
#782
Boost Pope
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Ratcheting Crimping Tool
I've used tools like it. There are better designs out there for $50 or so, but this type is still far superior to the non-ratcheting types that you get for free with a variety pack of equally worthless crimp lugs at the auto parts store.
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06-29-2016, 09:47 PM
#784
Boost Pope
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This is my everyday crimper:
I bought it about 8 years ago at a small, independent electronics shop in Sarasota, FL. Can't really read the manufacturer's name on the handle, but several different companies produce tools like this. It's nearly as good as the $400 Panduit crimper at work, but at a fraction of the cost.
I bought it about 8 years ago at a small, independent electronics shop in Sarasota, FL. Can't really read the manufacturer's name on the handle, but several different companies produce tools like this. It's nearly as good as the $400 Panduit crimper at work, but at a fraction of the cost.
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06-29-2016, 09:53 PM
#785
SadFab CEO
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Harbor Freight Win-or-Fail Thread
That's a "Proskit". It appears to be the "Perez" model, which im not familiar with.
Just bought one a few weeks ago for $40 on eBay i think it was.
Just bought one a few weeks ago for $40 on eBay i think it was.
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06-30-2016, 06:27 AM
#786
Senior Member
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Heavy Duty Self-Adjusting Wire Stripper
Since we are on electronics. I had to point out that the above wire stripper is the absolute best, hands down, best wire stripping tool I have ever used. Went to a friends shop and used it. He asked me my opinion and I said I loved it, but I wasn't willing to spend the few hundred bucks it probably cost to buy one. When he told me it was from Harbor Freight I about fell out of my chair. AMAZING tool.
Since we are on electronics. I had to point out that the above wire stripper is the absolute best, hands down, best wire stripping tool I have ever used. Went to a friends shop and used it. He asked me my opinion and I said I loved it, but I wasn't willing to spend the few hundred bucks it probably cost to buy one. When he told me it was from Harbor Freight I about fell out of my chair. AMAZING tool.
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06-30-2016, 06:39 AM
#787
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Lars just reminded me to post about air compressors.
In short, don't buy this.
Save your money and buy this.
It is barely portable, but it is significantly quieter and more powerful.
It drives my impacts, grinders, and framing nailers easily.
Anything smaller is only suitable for very limited use.
In short, don't buy this.
Save your money and buy this.
It is barely portable, but it is significantly quieter and more powerful.
It drives my impacts, grinders, and framing nailers easily.
Anything smaller is only suitable for very limited use.
Something like one of these.
Husky 60 Gal. Stationary Electric Air Compressor-C602H - The Home Depot
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06-30-2016, 08:22 AM
#789
Nope, not HF, but saw a Craigslist Ad of all places for this at my local Sears Repair Center. They've got a "refurbished/overstock/seconds" room and had about 15 of these in there. Every one had damage to the box in the exact same manner as this one, with a corner folded over. I'd been scouring CL daily for a used drill press because I didn't want to buy an HF one. $80 with my 10% military discount... makes this at least $30 less than any sale/coupon combo could ever achieve for the HF 10" model. The snake light is LED and about 50lm (damned bright for the need) and the laser "X" pointer is pretty cool. I am gonna grab a vice for it, but I like a lot of the Amazon options better than the HF ones.
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06-30-2016, 07:39 PM
#790
Nope, not HF, but saw a Craigslist Ad of all places for this at my local Sears Repair Center. They've got a "refurbished/overstock/seconds" room and had about 15 of these in there. Every one had damage to the box in the exact same manner as this one, with a corner folded over. I'd been scouring CL daily for a used drill press because I didn't want to buy an HF one. $80 with my 10% military discount... makes this at least $30 less than any sale/coupon combo could ever achieve for the HF 10" model. The snake light is LED and about 50lm (damned bright for the need) and the laser "X" pointer is pretty cool. I am gonna grab a vice for it, but I like a lot of the Amazon options better than the HF ones.
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07-01-2016, 12:12 PM
#791
I don't have the proper gauge to measure, but I'll try some practice holes in some aluminum today and see what the results are... good excuse to go buy some decent new bits. My current bit "collection" is sorry. First project is to drill out my solvent trap cups when the Form1 comes back.
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07-01-2016, 05:57 PM
#793
I almost bought that sander. After talking to a few machine shops though that make manifolds and use the sanders to make sure flanges are true they highly recommended that I get a bigger more powerful one. So I ended up getting an ENCO huge *** belt sander last fall on cyber monday.
As for the press, I figure I need to do all my bushings soon and that alone will make the cost worth it. Also using a press to squish things seems to be getting people all the Karma on reddit recently.
As for the press, I figure I need to do all my bushings soon and that alone will make the cost worth it. Also using a press to squish things seems to be getting people all the Karma on reddit recently.
I bought a Taiwanese one (about the same as the Jet but branded by an American importer 15years ago) from craigslist and replaced the bearings, replaced the rollers,added an anti-vibration belt, reinforced the table, replaced the motor with an old compressor motor (twice the speed and HP), and bought some 80 grit and 36 grit ceramic abrasive belts and disc. It is now amazing and runs at about 2200-2400 sfpm. Removes material so reliably and quickly. I recommend buying the replacement parts from grizzly for your import sander, they are nicer than the ones I pulled off from 15 years ago..
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07-01-2016, 09:04 PM
#794
A couple weeks ago I was desperate and just couldn't look past the horrific reviews of the HF disc/belt sanders... would have loved a JET via Prime one-day-shipping, but had to be realistic about price. I settled for the Ryobi from HD. On soft pine, the disc cuts at a very reasonable "homeowners pace", but I'd hate to see it on white oak or ash or beech... just about any "hardwood" would be very slow going. The belt is great with whatever the grit is that shipped with it... need to get something real aggressive and lay into it just for shitz. My Black&Decker 1/4 sheet sander it total **** and has been going strong for about 10 years (I use 60grit and abuse myself regularly)... but my Black and Decker 3" belt sander needs about double the power, although I make due.
In the end, I should probably be hitting Pawn Shops with cash for my power-tool needs... otoh, I have never ever ever ever been let down by any Craftsman tool that I've ever owned, not that I'm building houses or anything.
Ryobi 120-Volt Bench Sander, Green-BD4601G - The Home Depot
In the end, I should probably be hitting Pawn Shops with cash for my power-tool needs... otoh, I have never ever ever ever been let down by any Craftsman tool that I've ever owned, not that I'm building houses or anything.
Ryobi 120-Volt Bench Sander, Green-BD4601G - The Home Depot
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07-02-2016, 08:05 AM
#795
Elite Member
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I'm gonna need to go ahead and disagree with you there. I have the smaller of those in my race trailer. It works great for it's intended purpose. But if you are wanting a compressor for the shop.,,,spend the extra 150 or so bucks and get a "real" air compressor.
Something like one of these.
Husky 60 Gal. Stationary Electric Air Compressor-C602H - The Home Depot
Something like one of these.
Husky 60 Gal. Stationary Electric Air Compressor-C602H - The Home Depot
The comparable model by husky puts out less air and costs about $100 more.
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07-03-2016, 02:08 PM
#796
Chicago Electric safety guard for angle grinders
Safety Guard for Angle Grinders
This is great for making long straight cuts in sheet metal. You can also adjust cut depth for more reliable scoring.
Safety Guard for Angle Grinders
This is great for making long straight cuts in sheet metal. You can also adjust cut depth for more reliable scoring.
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07-04-2016, 05:33 PM
#797
Elite Member
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Manual Tire Changer machine
Manual Tire Changer
Win, with reservations. It works, but it's a hell of a lot of effort to save a few bucks. Unless you're changing tires every week, it's probably not worth the hassle.
I was changing ATV tires, and because of the smaller diameter, they are MUCH harder to stretch on than a regular car tire. Took two of us lots of muscling to get them on.
Bolted to some scrap plywood was barely adequate. Would have been much better bolted down to a concrete floor, but you've gotta want to change a lot of tires to make it worth the floor space.
I still have to pay to discard the old tires.
Manual Tire Changer
Win, with reservations. It works, but it's a hell of a lot of effort to save a few bucks. Unless you're changing tires every week, it's probably not worth the hassle.
I was changing ATV tires, and because of the smaller diameter, they are MUCH harder to stretch on than a regular car tire. Took two of us lots of muscling to get them on.
Bolted to some scrap plywood was barely adequate. Would have been much better bolted down to a concrete floor, but you've gotta want to change a lot of tires to make it worth the floor space.
I still have to pay to discard the old tires.
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07-05-2016, 12:27 PM
#798
They make internally-threaded flush-mount floor anchors that accept a regular bolt. Once you remove the bolt you're just left with a threaded hole in the concrete, with nothing sticking up. I just bought one of those HF tire changers and will be using those anchors to temporarily bolt it down in the center of the garage after rolling the car outside.
I did a bunch of reading and started to make my own changer from scratch, but the HF changer is so cheap that I decided to just buy it as a starting point and modify it into what I really want. Here's the final plan that I posted on a different forum:
I did a bunch of reading and started to make my own changer from scratch, but the HF changer is so cheap that I decided to just buy it as a starting point and modify it into what I really want. Here's the final plan that I posted on a different forum:
I decided to give this a try since the only tire shop I trust in town upped their price to $100 to mount and balance 4 bare wheels with brand new tires. It's even higher if they have to dismount old tires, and they won't do used tires for insurance reasons.
Classic Model Motorcycle Tire Changer | No-Mar Tire Changer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9EgCq8d84
That one is the easy button that seems to have stellar reviews from all corners of the internet. The only complaint I've seen with that setup is one guy saying he sold his because the wheel would slip in the clamping blocks while mounting stiff race tires. I almost said **** it and spent the $700 on that one, but the biggest benefit of it is the ability to do basically any wheel/tire combination with no scratching, which isn't really a benefit to me. I only want to do 15" 4x100 track wheels.
Next in line was a homemade setup like this. Cheap and super easy to make, but you also have to come up with a solution for a bead breaker. Not that hard, but more work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhLFSmHqvlQ
And finally, what I settled on:
I'm starting with the harbor freight changer, just as a starting point, since it's only $44.99 before 20% off coupon. I'll use the press brake at work to make a new, much more rigid bead breaker arm, probably with some delrin strips to keep from scratching the wheel. I'll also modify the base and add a delrin base plate so the face of the wheel doesn't get scratched while breaking the back side bead. And finally I'll drill a 4x100 M12 pattern into the round plate so that the wheel can be bolted down with lug nuts instead of using the super shitty harbor freight clamping system. I can add other hole patterns later too if this works well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J_2SD-snd0
Then I ordered the soft-tip Mount / Demount Bar from the No-Mar changer, plus their "yellow thing" and a couple other little accessories.
Mount / Demount Bar | No Mar Tire Changer | Cycle Hill Tire Changer | CH200 Tire Changer
That's it. A little over $200 for a setup that I think will work really well, that I can use myself at any time day or night. Still undecided about balancing, but I'll probably buy the harbor freight bubble balancer or a similar one from a higher quality brand. I definitely don't expect the bubble balancer to do a perfect job, and I don't plan to use it for street tires, but I think it will be plenty good enough for track tires. They always end up slightly out of balance anyway after they pick up rubber from the track, or after the weights get too hot and fall off.
Classic Model Motorcycle Tire Changer | No-Mar Tire Changer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX9EgCq8d84
That one is the easy button that seems to have stellar reviews from all corners of the internet. The only complaint I've seen with that setup is one guy saying he sold his because the wheel would slip in the clamping blocks while mounting stiff race tires. I almost said **** it and spent the $700 on that one, but the biggest benefit of it is the ability to do basically any wheel/tire combination with no scratching, which isn't really a benefit to me. I only want to do 15" 4x100 track wheels.
Next in line was a homemade setup like this. Cheap and super easy to make, but you also have to come up with a solution for a bead breaker. Not that hard, but more work.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhLFSmHqvlQ
And finally, what I settled on:
I'm starting with the harbor freight changer, just as a starting point, since it's only $44.99 before 20% off coupon. I'll use the press brake at work to make a new, much more rigid bead breaker arm, probably with some delrin strips to keep from scratching the wheel. I'll also modify the base and add a delrin base plate so the face of the wheel doesn't get scratched while breaking the back side bead. And finally I'll drill a 4x100 M12 pattern into the round plate so that the wheel can be bolted down with lug nuts instead of using the super shitty harbor freight clamping system. I can add other hole patterns later too if this works well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_J_2SD-snd0
Then I ordered the soft-tip Mount / Demount Bar from the No-Mar changer, plus their "yellow thing" and a couple other little accessories.
Mount / Demount Bar | No Mar Tire Changer | Cycle Hill Tire Changer | CH200 Tire Changer
That's it. A little over $200 for a setup that I think will work really well, that I can use myself at any time day or night. Still undecided about balancing, but I'll probably buy the harbor freight bubble balancer or a similar one from a higher quality brand. I definitely don't expect the bubble balancer to do a perfect job, and I don't plan to use it for street tires, but I think it will be plenty good enough for track tires. They always end up slightly out of balance anyway after they pick up rubber from the track, or after the weights get too hot and fall off.
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07-05-2016, 03:45 PM
#799
Another vote for WIN for the a/c manifold gauges.
However, the box makes the ***** appear to be metal, but they are just plastic with a really convincing "anodized aluminum" finish on them.
Also, once you take the hoses out, you will never get them to coil up in the box just right to close the box again.
And you will need to buy a can tap-valve separately, as one is not included.
However, the box makes the ***** appear to be metal, but they are just plastic with a really convincing "anodized aluminum" finish on them.
Also, once you take the hoses out, you will never get them to coil up in the box just right to close the box again.
And you will need to buy a can tap-valve separately, as one is not included.
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07-05-2016, 07:04 PM
#800
Manual Tire Changer machine
Manual Tire Changer
Win, with reservations. It works, but it's a hell of a lot of effort to save a few bucks. Unless you're changing tires every week, it's probably not worth the hassle.
I was changing ATV tires, and because of the smaller diameter, they are MUCH harder to stretch on than a regular car tire. Took two of us lots of muscling to get them on.
Bolted to some scrap plywood was barely adequate. Would have been much better bolted down to a concrete floor, but you've gotta want to change a lot of tires to make it worth the floor space.
I still have to pay to discard the old tires.
Manual Tire Changer
Win, with reservations. It works, but it's a hell of a lot of effort to save a few bucks. Unless you're changing tires every week, it's probably not worth the hassle.
I was changing ATV tires, and because of the smaller diameter, they are MUCH harder to stretch on than a regular car tire. Took two of us lots of muscling to get them on.
Bolted to some scrap plywood was barely adequate. Would have been much better bolted down to a concrete floor, but you've gotta want to change a lot of tires to make it worth the floor space.
I still have to pay to discard the old tires.
Reply
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0
