I feel soooo Dirty!

SittingElf

SittingElf

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May 28, 2013
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Spending some quality time with my wife and son in Georgia rental where my wife is stationed in the Air Force,

Dragged the trailer from our permanent home in Florida, loaded down with Systainers and other items to take care of some repairs that my wife said were needed. Mostly small breakages etc...

So, my son has a new mini-pool table from Christmas and accidentally broke one of the small pool cue sticks. He's upset, but the stick broke nicely and Titebond would clearly get it back looking and performing as new...at least for a 7-year old.
Titebond set out, protective wax paper to protect the table, glue brush ready, cue stick prepped and ready for glue, then... OOPS! Despite bringing half of my portable workshop with me.... I neglected clamps....of ANY kind! What to do...what to do?

Hmmm..... Lowes? Nah... all they have is overpriced Irwins, and I already have plenty of Besseys, so I don't want to confuse them with the color differences. Home Depot?  Nope, same problem. Walmart..don't carry clamps.

Long story short, I find myself driving to ..... (I find this VERY difficult to confess)..  Harbor Freight Tool Store. OMG!  Really??  I went into the store with my hat pulled low over my eyes, trying to disguise myself, not that anyone would recognize me, but you never know!  Sneak quickly around the store, and Yup.... there's the little squeeze clamps that'll work perfectly; just the right size for the Pool Cue.  Hmmm... $.99 ea. OK I'll buy a few more than I really need.  Oh!  Look at that....Acid Shop Brushes on sale, $1.99 for a dozen! OK, I gotta get outta there...  Unfortunately, it's a long way to the cashier, so $47.00 later, I exit the store feeling dirty and ashamed! [crying]

This confession is being posted as a warning to all my fellow Festoolians. Stay away! Stay away!  It's like waking up with a horriblel hangover and telling god that if he'll just make your head feel better, you promise to NEVER touch a drink again! Yeah...right!

Got the pool cue fixed.. [smile]

Cheers,

Frank
 
I know it's cool to hate on Harbor Freight, but they carry a lot of things that exceed the quality you can find in HD/Lowes/Sears, etc., and much more application specific tools as well.
 
Great tools for limited use. I actually bought a 23 gauge pin nailer there for around $20. For the amount I used it, it worked great. I've since bought a better one but the Harbor Freight version was still very useful and I certainly got my money's worth out of it. I can't say that for the more expensive one I bought nor some of my other tools.
 
Burn the clothes that you wore into HF...fill the tub with tomato juice and soak for 30 minutes...

Shampoo your hair with apple cider vinegar..otherwise the odor will stay forever

HTH
 
Trosey said:
Burn the clothes that you wore into HF...fill the tub with tomato juice and soak for 30 minutes...

Shampoo your hair with apple cider vinegar..otherwise the odor will stay forever

HTH
Click to expand...

LOL!!! [thumbs up]
 
Glad you got the stick fixed. Sometimes a few rubber bands will the job if it is a split. [wink]
 
Joking aside... HF is actually very good for a number of things.

Cheap tarps, zip ties, 2-part epoxy, dental picks, crafting blades, air hose, and some other things.

It's hard to meander through their aisles without picking out some hard to find items...and they're cheap...and disposable.

Northern Tools is a step up but similar. I bought a pallet jack at NT that has been flawless and cheaper than anywhere else, and their sale bins are always worth perusing through.

Cheers,

Frank
 
Frank

I agree that they have some good things that are in the use and dispose class.

Some of the hidden gems in my opinion is the f clamps, especially when using my clamping cauls. 

I also like the wet dry sandpaper for sharpening. 

The chip brushes and rubber gloves for finishing an glue ups.

 
One of the real gems from HF are their rolling cabinets and service carts. They are well built - very sturdy, nice finish, pretty well-designed. No, they aren't Snap-on material - but at 1/10th the price they were perfect for me.

I have all of my mechanics tools in their 5-drawer shop cart and a 56" roller. If something happened to mine I would buy another one in an instant, without hesitation.
 
this was exactly what that stumpy guys video was talking about. i love hf, i go there for gloves and towel supplies
 
Morris bimetal Portaband blades, 3 for $20. CRC cutting fluid. Digital calipers. Casters. Pneumatic nails. Air tool fittings. Zip ties. Abrasive tumbler.

Lotsa good stuff there, especially if you watch the ads and buy @ > 50% off normal prices. At least, that is what I've been told...  8)

RMW

PS - They also run teaser ads in various magazines, NRA, Home Shop Machinist, etc. Those ads typically target stuff relevant for that paticular demographic and the prices can be ridiculous.
 
It's a good thing I have limited funds available when I break down a go their for a particular item it's hard not to pick up a lot more than you went for. They are very close to me so is hard to resist. I know it's all made up but I like it when my receipt says I saved more than I spent. It's like I came out with more than I went in with. They tricked me again.
 
In my neck of the woods Harbor Freight is right next door to Rockler. Needless to say I hit Harbor freight first.
 
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