TheSamba.com :: View topic - Official Harbor Freight win or lose thread

Sun Apr 27, 2014 4:28 pm

Their 20ton shop press has been a huge win so far. However I found out the hard way that it lacks a safety feature.... I was trying to press a torsion bar out of a spring plate for a friend "real quick". Not really rusty, just frozen solid like you wouldn't believe. So I just kept applying pressure and it wasn't budging even a little and BAM it popped it out - but the press recoiled and flew apart when it got to the top lol! Huge explosion when the torsion gave and lots of noise and stuff flying everywhere.

Tue Apr 29, 2014 10:22 pm

Whoa. Keep in mind to be careful with those cast plates, lots of horror stories on the net about those things shattering.

Sat May 03, 2014 12:11 pm

Think I'll add safety cables inside the springs on mine (ala garage door safety cables). Thanks for the heads up!

Tue Jun 24, 2014 3:25 pm

My wife gave me a gift certificate at Christmas so I bought the atv/motorcycle lift. Sat in the box for 6months, Just used it last week to install an engine in a buggy. Worked great ONCE. Tried to use it again no go. Okay it's out of warranty I'm not happy but I'll replace the bottle jack. Called HF. THEY NO LONGER SELL REPLACEMENT PARTS. WTF.

Wed Jun 25, 2014 1:04 am

So I have always been hand sanding and wire wheeling paint off until my buddy got one of these. I was really surprised at what it could do. It takes paint off pretty quick with 80/120 grit hf sells. I also use it to take down bondo, which is super fast. I know its meant to be used as polisher which is does good at but its feathers paint good and stripes paint and bondo fast and evenly if using correctly. So I bought one today. I usually don't spend money on stuff like this ever but for how much time its saving I needed it. For the price I think its a steal. Its doesn't shake and vibrate the shit out of your hands and the quality is pretty good. My buddys seems to be holding up well and he uses his for work a lot. I know there are better ones out there but for how cheap it is its great. Just giving my personal take on this product.

P.S. if you use a 20% off coupon the total price is only $59 :lol:

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-variable-speed-dual-action-polisher-69924.html

Wed Jul 02, 2014 9:22 pm

CoastalAirCooledVW wrote: Motorcycle/ATV jack-WIN

I was trying to re install my engine with just a floor jack and almost dropped it. Thats when I decided that $80 was worth the easy engine install. FYI the 25% off coupons can be printed off from harbor freight's website at any time (never buy anything over $20 without one)

I'll second that WIN! They are also handy for dropping and installing a fwd transmission, too! Just pick up a couple ratchet straps to hold the trans to the jack so it doesn't fall off (learned that lesson the hard way!). Have not used it to drop a Beetle transaxle, yet...

Sat Jul 05, 2014 5:08 pm

I've been pretty happy with HF stuff, and I like the little free LED flashlights.

Sat Jul 05, 2014 6:00 pm

Yeah, those flashlights you get for free are great!

Wed Jul 23, 2014 8:28 am

scrivyscriv wrote:
12 ton Shop Press, Item #33497: LOSE. All the parts have a very sloppy fit, and my idea of a good shop press is not one that has 1" or more of lateral slop at the press head.

I purchased this last week to do wheel bearings, ball joints and bushings on my DD (2002 Hyundai).

I was a bit concerned because the store display was all messed up, but... So far, it's done everything asked of it with ease. I still need to press in the new bearings, but I don't expect any major issues. Yes, it's got some slop, but once the press head makes contact with a little pressure it stays put. A bit of extra care is needed to keep things straight, but it works well. Make sure you drill holes in the legs (I would deduct a star for this) and bolt it down.
I'd call this one a WIN. For the shade-tree mechanic who doesn't have $500+ to spend on a press, it does the job. I probably wouldn't buy it for regular, heavy use though.

However:

5 piece Retaining Ring Pliers Set - item #610 - LOSE
Needed these to remove the wheel bearing snap rings. Two in the set were the correct size, one straight, one 90 deg. The 90 degree pliers bent of first use and a pin broke off the straight one. Junk, already returned.

Wed Jul 30, 2014 12:22 pm

Hot VW's had a Harbor Freight ad which included 28% off for the 1000 pound engine stand which made it $49.95. The add also had a coupon for 20% off any single item! Needless to say, I got it cheap! I also wanted to be able to use my bench mount engine stand yoke and be interchangeable. My yoke measured 1-1/2" outside diameter and the inside of the Harbor universal yoke was 2". Down to my local hardware store and I found two 1-1/4" galvanized couplings to use as bushings. A little grinding and filing and they all fit together. The only thing left to do was mark the location of the rotational lock pin through my old yoke, drill it on the ole drill press and I have a new engine stand for under $50.00! I did have to shim on caster to make it level like a previous poster.

Tue Aug 19, 2014 6:17 pm

1/5 HP 58 PSI Oilless Airbrush Compressor Kit--Good and Bad

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-5-hp-58-psi-compressor-and-airbrush-kit-95630.html

It's not a bad little compressor for airbrushing, but they've changed it since the reviews I read, and it no longer comes with an adjustable regulator. It never had much of a regulator, just an adjustment screw at the bottom of the water trap (a bleeder valve more than a regulator), but even that was gone (never had one) from the one I bought. They still show the one with the regulator in the ad, so maybe check before you buy.

That said, $12 got me a nice little regulator on ebay, and once it's hooked up the compressor isn't bad. I think all the little airbrush compressors are made at the same factory in China, so why pay 2X the price for the Paasche or Badger name?

It'll run just under 30psi with the cheap airbrush included in the kit, and with my old Hansa with a .2 nozzle it'll do a constant 38-40psi. It's very quiet, I'll give it that much, and it's a cute little Devil, especially after you peel off the ugly Central Pneumatic and Harbor Freight stickers.

Comes with a nice fabric covered 10ft hose, and an airbrush. The airbrush is a lot better than I thought it would be.You're not going to do detailed work with it (it's probably a .6mm), but it goes together nicely, the trigger is adequate, and it sprays paint cleanly. My biggest complaint is that it's a bottom feed (which I hate to begin with), and the nozzle on the paint cup isn't anywhere near the bottom of the cup. You're stuck with a strong 1/8" of paint trapped in the cup. I have a lot nicer airbrushes, but I'll definitely keep this as a spare, and it'll get some use.

Even having to buy the regulator, it's worth the $89, and I used a coupon so it was about $60 at the register.

Tue Sep 16, 2014 8:05 am

27 LED flashlight/worklight (#67227 or #69567) WIN. Although these are available at other places, HF has them for the cheapest. You can get them really cheap with a coupon, or even free sometimes! Really handy since they have a hook and a magnet. Good for sticking to the underside of your deck lid when working at night.

Be forewarned though- if you order online, they just get thrown in the box- they don't have any packaging or anything.

But regardless, buy as many as you can get!

Wed Sep 24, 2014 11:05 am

Here's my HFT tool:
1000 lb. Capacity Engine Support Bar
http://www.harborfreight.com/1000-lb-capacity-engine-support-bar-96524.html
Product code: Pittsburgh Automotive - item#96524

Photo of it in Action:

Diagnosis: WIN

there are lost of alternatives... a hoist, a sawhorse, cynder blocks and a pipe, even 2x4's, but if you want a safe device that is smaller than a hoist AND allows independent fore and aft adjusting (REALLY handy for getting the bolt holse aligned between the engine and the transmission) this thing works great. It beats the hell out of using a jack and trying to get the engine into place and works great for both lowering and raising the engine. Of all the tools i bought for doing this rebuild i should have bought this one the first time i lifted the engine... but having done the job with and without this tool, i can really appreciate using it.

It contains the beam, the adjustable risers, the threaded hooks, and the chain - the only thing i needed in addition was the 2 clevises

Fri Oct 03, 2014 6:42 pm

satterley_sr wrote: My wife gave me a gift certificate at Christmas so I bought the atv/motorcycle lift. Sat in the box for 6months, Just used it last week to install an engine in a buggy. Worked great ONCE. Tried to use it again no go. Okay it's out of warranty I'm not happy but I'll replace the bottle jack. Called HF. THEY NO LONGER SELL REPLACEMENT PARTS. WTF. That's too bad.. I've got quite a bit of use out of mine.

Mon Nov 03, 2014 10:32 am

bought one of these on sale for $135 plus I had a $100 gift card from work.

It was awesome for installing the new engine.

http://www.harborfreight.com/1500-lb-lightweight-aluminum-motorcycle-lift-60636.html

Sat Jan 31, 2015 11:00 pm

Stud Welder - item#61433
http://www.harborfreight.com/stud-welder-dent-repair-kit-61433.html
I've never used this type of tool before. Pretty straight forward and although the studs would come off, I found myself applying a long "one thousand-one" count rather than the recommended 1/2 to 1 second in holding the trigger in the instructions. This kit also came with some 2mm and 3mm studs. I used both when I first started learning how to use the tool to see which would do the better job on a dent I placed in some scrap metal. I opted for the 3m size. What sucked about the tool in the kit was the slide hammer. I spent time trying to unlock the little wheel when the studs would come off and that got old. At times I had to unscrew the end and work the stud out from the threaded end. However, when things lined up and the tool got on a good stud, It did it's job.

I did have a few studs come off leaving a hole in the metal while working the slide, not like I was forcibly pounding on it. This was covered in the instructions and was due to the trigger being held a little too long while welding the stud in place. Lesson learned. :? All in all, I'd give this a WIN.

Sun Mar 29, 2015 8:08 am

1/2 inch impact socket set - win
1/2 inch impact extensions - win
Cheapo electric grinder - win
$20 18v cordless drill - lose. Failed relatively quickly and doesn't have much strength.
90 amp flux core welder - based on how much I have used it I have to reluctantly give it a win. I bought it to learn on. But eventually used it for my whole project. The HF wire is absolute CRAP. I used Lincoln wire from lowes and it worked MUCH better. The adjustments on the machine are not great for the panel thickness on VW's but with enough patience it is useable especially since I bought it at one of their parking lot sales for $75.

Mon Mar 30, 2015 7:43 pm

mr white wrote: Has anyone tried the 110 volt spot welder? Thinking of buying one.

Yes, win. I've been using mine for about a week and am very happy with it.

Fri Apr 03, 2015 6:32 am

Spot welder is item 61205 at HF.

Fri Apr 03, 2015 11:48 am

I recently bought a torch head and 50' welding hose. I'm quite happy with both. Still use Victor regulators though.

Also got the big, bad 20 ton porta power, the case is junk but the tool works well.