Harbor Freight: Coupons, and recommended tools

Followup on the Eagle giant-window helmet: that was the closeout. The weldingweb thread I mentioned said they advertised it again briefly, but the posters said their order got canceled - Not Available.

I'm happy with their Blue Flame helmet, I used it several times over the last few days.
 
Another new toy!

HF's handheld bandsaw.

The plus - it works like a dream. Imagine a hacksaw that cuts an inch per second effortlessly. And it's very accurate after you get it set up.

The negative: Poor assembly. Some Assembly Required, as they say.

The blade runs through a slot you assume you should use as a guide to follow the cut line you drew on the workpiece. Surprise! the slot is 10 degrees out of parallel with the blade!!

I wondered why my first two cuts went off line. After looking it over I added two square nuts of different thicknesses under the slot-shoe where the two attachment screws hold it on. This brought the shoe parallel to the blade. Now it's dead accurate. Keep the slot parallel to the pencil line where you intend to cut and it's as accurate as a Skilsaw.

Mine had another Assembly Required feature: on both sides of where the blade is visible, it runs through roller assemblies (left/right/top) that align the blade. Both assemblies were attached to the chassis with the screws barely finger-tight.

And the included blade is for wood. I put on a Milwaukee blade from Home Depot.


I like mine. This opens up a whole world of potential projects.

Dargo on the other hand posted uh - elsewhere that he destroyed three of them immediately trying to cut railroad rail and bridge girders. So it's not for everyone.
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Good post Cali , I just bought one myself a week ago or so . I didn,t have the problems you stated & I figured the blade was not the best quality So I never thought much if I ruined it , As I had my wife get a good one just in case .

I cut several lengths of 2 & 3/8 drill pipe with it though , So I,m wondering how many come with wood cutting blades or if you got a fluke . So far I,m really happy with mine . :tiphat:
 
Mine had a sticker on the aluminum 'bridge' between the two orange handles. Something like: "Equipped initially with 14 tooth blade, for wood, aluminum, other soft materials. Get an 18 to 24 tooth blade for hard metal". Or something like that.

The same statement is in the owner's manual, I think in the Setup section.

I don't have much faith in HF cutting tools in general so I went immediately and bought a standard Milwaukee blade for it.

The shoe on yours is parallel to the cut line? Maybe I should ask for a replacement shoe.
 
Hey California

Have you seen any 20% off coupons as of late? I haven't come across any except at the barber in a mag. Have you seen any online?

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I found one in the Sunday newspaper ads last week. Also got one in a flyer in the mail the week before that.
 
Have you seen them on line like they used to? I get the flyers but never a generic coupon that they use to have off any one item.
 
I have not seen any online in a while. I also see some in some mags like you already mentioned.
 
First one a little old but shows they still put them out. Second one is a keeper thanks. How did you get this? I'm not in the insider club are you? Maybe that's how it came. I haven't seen any %age coupons for a while on line.
 
WeldingWeb had a thread with a generic address for 20% coupons. So I experimented a little based on that.

Originally Posted [on WeldingWeb] by jones6780
There is always one online just print one when you need it.

http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/...e=magurl1.html
Click to expand...
What I discovered was there were different 20% coupon pages 1-7, ie magurl3 etc. Each version of the page also had some different coupons for specific items.

I was looking for the 3/8 torque wrench coupon and found it on magurl4.

However ... the 'magurl' series of coupons have all expired now. There must be a replacement series but I haven't discovered it yet.

I think Ohio's second link is the hot deal of the moment.
 
My latest HF toys -

I have various socket sets, Craftsman, Thorsen, etc, good stuff from the Made in USA era, no HF in the past. But I seem to dig out 2-3 separate socket sets for the simplest tasks. I finally bought HF's 'junkyard set' (52 piece socket set, $8.99 with the coupon on the second page of Ohio's link). This is to leave on the non-secure workbench at the ranch where I can reach it in an instant. It is both Metric and SAE from really tiny up through 7/8" (and 7/8's Metric equivalent whatever that is).

I've already found it handy. I took apart my pruners to sharpen and grease. The socket set was right there, no unlocking the tool cabinet then guessing Metric or SAE. Minor tasks I would put off due to complexity I can now do immediately, in an instant. (Yes they look cheap. Time will tell if the steel is good. HF claims 'Lifetime 'Warranty').

And another 'I didn't know I needed that!' new toy. I also bought HF's 1/2" Bandfile Belt Sander
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, $21.99 in their mailed sale brochure. Again, it looks cheap, but I found it extremely handy. Definitely a keeper.

This tool takes the place of a file at far greater speed. I used it to sharpen the pruners. It did a wonderful job. It is easy to control precisely, and the sharpening result on the pruners looks fully professional.
 
Coupons

Received a Harbor Freight brochure in the local paper today. Had a FREE 9 LED light and the 20% off coupon - good until 10/10/2010. Had received brochure PAGES in some of my mags this month - no free light but good until10/10/2010. Jerry
 
Thought I would reserect the dead here.

Anyone find any 20% off coupons on line? I was wondering if they went back to them. I see them in the paper once in a while but it would be nice to see them on line.
 
I've bought several things at HF over the passed several years. The quality has definitely improved over the last 10-12 years. I've really only had a problem with one item, and they gave me my money back. As for "hand tools" (wrenches, sockets, etc), I've broken WAY more Snap-off tools then anything I've ever bought at HF. In MHO - Snap-offs are a waste of money.

Back in my USMC days, I was in charge of the Squadron Tool Room. We, naturally, had little money, so bought as cheaply as we could. We had all kinds of "off brand" tools - Lobster, Blackhawk, Echo, Lodge, Bonney, Pronto, and several others. Since we were a "Guinea Pig" training Squadron, we were tasked with converting our old tool set to Snap-On as an experiment. After 6 months, we were VERY glad the experiment was over, and dug out the old tools.

We went from breaking 2-3 "cheap" wrenches a week to 4-5 Snap-On tools A DAY.
Everyone one the entire BASE got wind of the situation. We'd see the truck heading toward the hangar and someone would yell "Here comes the Snap-OFF guy!"
 
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