HF 20% Off


Lee Bussy

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Zip ties.  I always buy my zip-ties there.  Pus there's some folks who start with that dust extractor setup apparently.

What else... I have a caliper set (that I checked with a reference) that's pretty good.  I also have a floor jack that's pretty good.

I stopped using HF tools a long time ago, but judicious use of imported stuff + 20% off does save money for the good stuff.

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Dust collector, air tools, rubber mallets and dead blows, clamps, "Mechanix" gloves, nitrile gloves, zip ties, extension cords, heat shrink tubing, electrical tape, tool storage (some of them)...lots of minor things of the same quality as your "Home Cheapo" are there.

I don't know about all that.  I've bought foam brushes there before...the foam fell off the sticks.  Zip ties that wouldn't stay zipped.  Tape that had no stick, gloves that came unstitched as I put them on for the first time...and a chain hoist rated at one ton that snapped under a 600 pound load.  Luckily I still have all my toes.

The one "machine" I've ever bought there was a die grinder because I was too cheap to spring for the Makita.  It worked okay for the first few uses.  Now I can't turn it on for longer than 30 seconds before it gets too hot to even hold.

I don't begrudge a beginner woodworker buying one of those DC units...they seem to get fairly universal positive reviews...especially considering the super low cost.

But everything in that store is...let's face it...complete crap.  I mean there's Chinese junk and then there's Chinese JUNK.  Even junk has a hierarchy.  

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I don't know about all that.  I've bought foam brushes there before...the foam fell of the sticks.  Zip ties that wouldn't stay zipped.  Tape that had no stick, gloves that came unstitched as I put them on for the first time...and a chain hoist rated at one ton that snapped under a 600 pound load.  Luckily I still have all my toes.

The one "machine" I've ever bought there was a die grinder because I was too cheap to spring for the Makita.  It worked okay for the first few uses.  Now I can't turn it on for longer than 30 seconds before it gets too hot to even hold.

I don't begrudge a beginner woodworker buying one of those DC units...they seem to get fairly universal positive reviews...especially considering the super low cost.

But everything in that store is...let's face it...complete crap.  I mean there's Chinese junk and then there's Chinese JUNK.  Even junk has a hierarchy.  

Oh, I agree there is certainly some worst-of-the-worst items there. I wouldn't buy anything I would depend my life on, such as a chain hoist. Brushes are also crap, both foam and bristle - though, I have had typical home center foam brushes completely disintegrate on me as well. If you have a rubber mallet or dead blow fall apart during normal use, well, then I will retract any HF advocacy whatsoever - there are some things that are nigh impossible to get wrong.

Can't say I have experienced issues with tape, zip ties or gloves, but I suppose anything is possible. That is the gamble you take with HF is that QC is left to the consumer, because heaven knows it isn't done at the factory.

The F-style clamps are fine, the squeeze-type are not. The bar clamps and pipe clamps seem to be alright as well.

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I noticed that my F style clamps from HF outlasted the ones I bought from Lowes. 

I have had good luck with the pipe clamps as well. I have to admit I'm tempted on their huge drill press for like $550. But I'm not sure I will ever pull the trigger on that.

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Acid brushes...funny you should say that.  It's one of those items you would think no one could possibly screw up and what difference could there be from brand to brand?  I thought that until my buddy brought me some from his work (he builds wing sections for fighter jets so they have the best of the best tools in that place).

The difference is all in the bristles.  First of all, they're evenly trimmed, so it makes for cleaner application...you don't get that one wild stray bristle that leaves that little string of glue outside your mortise.  And the bristles are softer and they don't fall out en masse like the HF brushes I had.

So again...there is a difference.  Maybe not big differences or even important differences depending on how frugal you are with your money.  But I like enjoying my shop time and working with junk just kind of puts a dark cloud over me.  I prefer to feel good about every activity I perform, and if spending an extra dime on a better acid brush makes for a better shop experience, it's worth it to me.

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HF is a good place to get gallons of evaporust, and throw away items. I buy gloves for finishing there. Every project I put finish on I got through about 10 pairs. I know my finishing schedule is insane since I'm only putting on 3-5 coats of a finish. However sometimes you gotta do things in stages due to size, or go back and realize you forgot a spot, just as you took the gloves off. 

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I don't know about all that.  I've bought foam brushes there before...the foam fell off the sticks.  Zip ties that wouldn't stay zipped.  Tape that had no stick, gloves that came unstitched as I put them on for the first time...and a chain hoist rated at one ton that snapped under a 600 pound load.  Luckily I still have all my toes.

The one "machine" I've ever bought there was a die grinder because I was too cheap to spring for the Makita.  It worked okay for the first few uses.  Now I can't turn it on for longer than 30 seconds before it gets too hot to even hold.

I don't begrudge a beginner woodworker buying one of those DC units...they seem to get fairly universal positive reviews...especially considering the super low cost.

But everything in that store is...let's face it...complete crap.  I mean there's Chinese junk and then there's Chinese JUNK.  Even junk has a hierarchy.  

A chinese junk is a sailing vessel. Mostly crap is a better definition.
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I didn't say the HF brushes were the shite' just that they  are good enough for me for what I expect from them vs the cost.. 

I do know these brushed you speak of though.. They even feel more ergonomic in hand.

I've gotta ask, what do you use that much break cleaner on/for? And I would have thought you would need a permit to buy it in Cal?

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I've gotta ask, what do you use that much break cleaner on/for? And I would have thought you would need a permit to buy it in Cal?

I work on cars, A Lot. A lot of my ho trodden buddies will bring their stuff over for help with difficult stuff, or jobs they don't have the tools for. 

 

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Back in the seventies, being that carbon tetrachloride was was used in our industry of fire protection, we used it to clean clutch plates and brake shoes. Until that told us that s*#t would kill ya! Hj another one didn't I? Sorry op!

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Back in the seventies, being that carbon tetrachloride was was used in our industry of fire protection, we used it to clean clutch plates and brake shoes. Until that told us that s*#t would kill ya! Hj another one didn't I? Sorry op!

When I was in the Army we got cans of that stuff.  Not sure what it was supposed to be for but we used it to clean our M16's.  I remember many a day sitting cross-legged scrubbing away ... ironic that at the same time I was killing my liver at night I was also killing it during the day.

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