50 Harbor Freight TOOLS I Actually Use

[@jessiestrickland4366]

Cutting the side of the zip tie bag is genius. Thanks for the idea!

[@-DIYPRO-]

Anytime!

[@jdubb200]

Buy the HF nailer but don't buy the nails. Get name brand nails from Lowes or Home Depot.

[@ST-0311]

I use their nails. Framing, finish, brad, pin, roofing, and crown staples. Never had an issue with any of them.

[@jdubb200]

@@ST-0311 Cool. They may have updated them from when I used them. It's been some years.

[@SLO-Ride]

@@jdubb200 In Iraq, we had to use nails from India. They were soft enough, to bend by hand!

[@-DIYPRO-]

I do seem to have more feeding issues with the cheaper ones.

[@ThugMuffined]

Completely disagree, most cheap nailers don’t even sink them to full depth, you can watch this on any comparison

[@gardenfork]

Set your audio levels higher, when YT plays a commercial, it’s much louder. Great HF info. 😀 Eric.

[@NikolozKobakhidze1402]

I live in Georgia(not US state, it is small country), and sometimes I desperately wish to have something like Harbor Freight in my small country, why you will ask me? Because shops that we have here are expensive as hell and sell low quality stuff in some of them, like if those impacts in video costs like 100 buck, here in my country it will cost like 150-200, so it is really pain in our ass.

[@-DIYPRO-]

Parking Lot Sale this weekend! Most of these tools are in the sale, like the Titanium 125 for $129!!

[@chevystewart2333]

Yes! Got me one!

[@SLO-Ride]

That's how much I paid full price for mine! For all the amateur welding needs I have, I love it!

[@katnerd6712]

The Hercules Impact is pretty good. I work on cars for a living and bought it to replace my stolen Dewalt. Pretty satisfied with it. Apparently it's just a Milwaukee with a different battery plug :P

[@-DIYPRO-]

Right on.......Not that you got robbed but that you found a good replacement.

[@willb3018]

Years back I got a cheapo HF $10 grinder for $5 on sale. I couldn't see how I could lose. Still using it. It was limit one or I would have bought a couple.

[@-DIYPRO-]

Those were the days!

[@grunwode]

Splurge on yourself and convert old fluorescent lighting to some ballastless type B LED lighting. You can use the same fixtures by looking at rewiring guides, and adding in a 1 amp linear fuse in case someone tries to install the wrong thing in them later on. It'll be the last ballast you ever have to change. We did it in our shop, and the cost was practically the cost of new bulbs, about $7 each, and it's paying for itself in lower electric costs. Extension cords will always be a safety weak point.

[@-DIYPRO-]

I'll have to look into those!

[@logangiller7812]

love the video! as a note on the paint guns, that one is not great for automotive but I have seen some AMAZING paint jobs come from that purple black widow gun

[@-DIYPRO-]

Right on, thanks!

[@davidpatriot1082]

i have almost all of these and highly recommend them all also I HATE calling a "professional" for anything that doesnt involve the roof, and even then ill go up there to check it out at least first when a plumber costs 350 to switch out a valve, its far smarter to invest in the tools at freight and do it yourself same with an electrician 350 to troubleshoot an outlet just get the meters, watch a few videos, gain a bit of knowledge and fix it yourself often times, its even less time consuming than having to sit at home during the day waiting around for a repairman to show up

[@-DIYPRO-]

Right on, thanks David!

[@Kevin-xn2oj]

Funny how you say we’re not building houses with those hammers. Well they certainly do well at building a house

[@firewaterforgeofarizona4304]

With all their welders, replace the ground clamp with a high quality one. It will make your welding experience 90% better.

[@-DIYPRO-]

Right on, thanks!

[@BasedMace]

The yellow pair of safety glasses are for cutting through fog

[@-DIYPRO-]

Excellent!

[@SLO-Ride]

Well, there goes the savings account....again. 🤣 I'm a DeWalt fan-boi, so I go there instead of the Hercules or Bauer. However, the Hercules battery bandsaw is on the list of "gotta gets", as is a larger air compressor. I have a full set of older Craftsman tools (screwdrivers, sockets etc), but also have a more than full set of Pittsburg and Quinn that I use much more often, including the big 1/2" Quinn torque wrench, which was used heavily when I rebuilt the Harley. After that chore, I had it calibrated at my old job, and it was still well within military specs (26 years Army. I still know a lot of guys in the shops). 'Ol Harbor Freight has come a long way since their "disposable" tools selection. It's now my first choice when a glitch in the project arises.

[@-DIYPRO-]

I know, right, haha!

[@MarcS-mp1je]

Those angle grinders are great. I use mine at least a few times per week and I’m only on my second one. The first one lasted over 10 years.

[@-DIYPRO-]

Right on!

[@jefferysill5539]

Have both HF grinder, and Dewalt, HF one will give Dewalt a run for its money, use HF with diamond wheel and or sanding wheel to knock down sharp edges after using cutoff wheel in Dewalt

[@batmansprotege1569]

Woah! You sound a lot like Project Farm

[@wildbill23c]

I wish they still sold those Chicago Electric 4" angle grinders, I've had mine for about 18 years, it still works great. I have the Earthquake 1200ftlb impact, works great, plenty of torque for many DIY projects. Those organizer boxes are great, I wish they would lock to each other though to make moving them around easier. I do the same thing with my angle grinders. I keep different cutting/grinding wheels on them so I'm not swapping wheels all the time. I have a few Bauer and Hercules tools, both seem to be just fine for my needs for DIY projects and homeowner stuff. The framing nailer I got has the adjustable magazine so you can adjust for different nail angles....not sure why there are so many different nail angles for nail guns, but there are like 4 or 5 I think. I also have the coil roofing nailer, pin nailer, wide crown and narrow crown staplers, brad nailer, and finish nailer. They all work great, and my brad nailer has got to be around 20 years old, it was the first tool I bought from Harbor Freight. It still works great. The Central Pneumatic Gravity Feed HVLP spray gun works great, and many people have videos painting their cars with them, with great success. I painted my garden trailer with one a few weeks ago and it turned out great. The biggest issue is people don't take the time to do all the prep work before painting stuff, they automatically blame the paint application device, rather than their lack of time spent prepping the area to be painted, and not properly setting up the paint gun is another common problem. I haven't picked up one of those portable bandsaws, or the mount they have yet, but its on my list. I have the Hercules 12" dual bevel sliding compound miter saw and the Hercules 12-1/2" thickness planer. Both work extremely well. The miter saw didn't require any adjustments out of the box, and the thickness planer uses 3 knives rather than 2 like many other more common name models. I have a Bauer 6 gallon wet/dry vac, and it works just as well as my Shop Vacs have....and you can get bags for the Bauer vacuums as well as replacement filters.

[@-DIYPRO-]

Right on, thanks for sharing!

[@beardo_M.D.]

6ft box level for $18 (15 years ago) was my favorite Harbor freight tool. Hole saws and sawzall blades will save you $ too

[@-DIYPRO-]

Right on!

[@williamhaines7752]

Lineman's and diagonal cutting pliers. The brands to use are Doyle and Quinn

[@-DIYPRO-]

Right on!

[@ThorinOakenshieldGSD2023]

Can I ask where you purchased the orange wrench hanger behind you on the peg board? Thank you.

[@-DIYPRO-]

I 3d printed it! I think I got the file from thingiverse.

[@ThorinOakenshieldGSD2023]

@@-DIYPRO- thank you

[@fcschoenthal]

Admittedly, I own most of these. Some real bargains to be had. - Chris

[@-DIYPRO-]

Right on!

[@harrynj22]

The heat gun works but breaks if you use it often I do auto body repair so it was used a lot had to upgrade to a Milwaukee found it at a pawn shop and it heats up faster and just feels better but I do love hf

[@dog4702]

What's a good Paint for hiding dents? I am making a table I am tired of trying to get it perfect

[@arfreeman11]

I've got the Titanium 125 and love it. I've had a 23 gallon air compressor for more than 10 years. I don't think they make it anymore, but I'd definitely buy a similar model. My jack is about 10 years old and still working great with frequent use. Last I knew, that Earthquake impact is just an IR 2235 and if you need to rebuild it, you can order all the parts from IR. I've got three different angle grinders from HF and they gave me a free one last week, so even if they aren't the most amazing grinders, they all work well enough and I've only hit the price of one name brand tool. My 1/2 in drive impact sockets held me through 12 years of being a professional mechanic and I only managed to break the 19mm. I have those folding utility knives all over the place. I have a few of the minis from next to the register in tool boxes, junk drawer, and cars. They're just handy. I have several sets of those ratchet straps. Can't complain. I did some automotive paint with the $15 HPLV sprayer. Can't complain. I didn't bother cleaning it after doing clear coat and just threw it away. Next time I do automotive paint, I'll probably do the same. It's the kind of thing I do so rarely that I don't want to store the supplies.

[@-DIYPRO-]

Right on!

[@haydenpatstone2849]

If your gonna be doing a handful of jobs on and off not everyday buy harbor freight tools if it breaks up grade to makita or Milwaukee

[@davidpatriot1082]

the shop stool is the only thing I would say for me was too small, I wish I bought a taller one

[@-DIYPRO-]

Very true!

[@m.t.v.7934]

I always wondered and sorry if this is a stupid question but how can you tell quickly if you should use a 14mm or a 9/16? Is the shape of the bolt head different on metric over SAE?

[@-DIYPRO-]

Yes, bolt heads should all have markings. You can google search, "metric vs standard bolt head markings" and there are tons of charts OR just try both and see which has the better fit!

[@m.t.v.7934]

@@-DIYPRO- alright, thanks for the tip. that last one is what I tend to do just try them both and see what one fits the best and use it.

[@unionse7en]

@@m.t.v.7934 SAE has radial lines, the number indicates the tensile strength of the bolt. Metric uses a one decimal place number, first number is nominal tensile , number after decimal represents a ratio that indicates brittleness/yield strength characteristics ... I'm summarizing google for deep dive.

[@m.t.v.7934]

@@unionse7en Thank you for the research, so if I understand this, SAE has lines and Metric just has numbers with no lines. Trying to make it easy to remember. Thanks for the tips.

[@LordSStorm]

So the entire store?

[@-DIYPRO-]

Haha, pretty much!

[@hunterjones7426]

Do not buy those $10 angle grinders. I have the scare on my hand to prove it. One time while cutting I messed up a cut and the grinder kicked back so hard the grinder split into 2 pieces, with the spinnging side somehow catching my work glove and spinning the broken blade inside my glove. It left a 4in gash across my hand bleeding perfusely in the middle of a clients yard. I 100% blame user error because I was practically falling asleep as it was my side hustle after work on a Friday evening. However if the angle grinder didnt literally split into 2 pieces none of that would of happened.

[@mysteriousoklahoma777]

Don’t buy their automotive orbital polisher buffer. Used it once buffer wheel came off smfh junk

[@-DIYPRO-]

Haven't tried that one, good to know!

[@FoxyBuildsDIY]

Interesting. I detail for a living and actually have used the long throw DA for at least 20+ vehicles without an issue. It's not my go to but I like testing different ones so I have a better perspective to give people when they ask for a recommendation.

[@boxerpig6109]

Drill bits show up…… oh no not for metal! Oh he mentions that. Ok

[@JaredBarishian]

That compressor sucks

[@johnleca]

Americans should do their BEST to avoid buying Harbor Freight products. They are an anti American CCP company and anti firearm company although they sell related safes and such. I am not against the Chinese people just their government which is who you would be supporting. Do you best to support Americans. Thanks.

[@ONWOTE]

Hello DIY PRO, this is ONWOTE, a manufacturer of PoE and Wireless Security Camera Systems. We sincerely invite you to join us to install and test our camera system. Security is everyone concerned about and you can make an honest review for your viewers. I have emailed you more details and am waiting for your reply. Thanks