Pro Tip: If you don't have tools, buy the basics at Harbor Freight, whatever breaks you replace with a quality item because it means you actually use it.
HF is a private company. Every penny you spend there that does not go to China goes into the pocket of one man after expenses. That man is Eric Smidt. He spends much of that money on art and leftist causes. Remember that as you shop.
I'm a backyad youtube engine guy. I can't tell you how helpful it was when a harbor freight opened in my town. It was like a gift from heaven for guys like me who fix what goes wrong on my vehicles.
Glad to hear. Plus orileys or auto zone and your in business. I also have a manly thrift store that I use to save money on buying one hex socket to pull spark plugs.
I've had a socket wrench and needle nose pliers snap in two pieces very first use. Literally would have rather had nothing than this false sense of tools.
@@firebirdude2I'd rather be pissed at HF for selling crap than sitting on my thumbs because I can't afford better. I'm stuck either way, but at least I get to be annoyed at someone else.
@@nathankisner8332 my brother had an industrial supply company. He had a bunch of them , different sizes. Used to sell them to the steel mills. So he kept them in stock. Then on day nothing, no more sales of those . They just sat on the shelf takin up space.
@@stevehamman4465 thank you for the kind reply. The sites I work on now have outright banned knifes, chains, metal on metal hammering, any modified or homemade tools or even broken tools and will fire you if caught. I still have sluggers but like the offset tubular handle wrenches like snap on XH460 series. Strange to see there are trends in tools even more now with internet
I interact with car mechanics daily for my job, service manager's motto is "if you need a tool for something, buy it from harbor freight. If you use it enough that it breaks, *then* you get a better one." He says that to all the new guys and the snap-on people *hate* him for how much money he's helps his guys save
You don’t know the meaning of trust, until you’ve had to hold a slugging wrench while your buddy hits it! I used them many times when I was a Navy Boiler Technician from 82-86. ⚓️🇺🇸
Never heard of a "slugger" wrench, especially as a brand... we always called them slugging wrenches and Wright, Proto, Williams or Armstrong were the brand names. MM 87-92 P div.
Thakyou for your service sir! My grandpa was on The Boxing Lady outside Hong Kong in the fifties. god damn lung cancer got him, he always said it was from sleeping on the top bunk, he'd wake up with dust on him in the morning.
We use those when assembling, and disassembling tower cranes. I have always heard them called Knocker Wrenches, not Slugger Wrenches. Also if you swing a 16 pound beater, or sledge hammer on that, or a 20, you will destroy the teeth. Just like a normal socket would when to do heavy torquing with an impact, instead of impact rated socket. I have tried to beat a regular box wrench, and they flex and bounce off, and the the the part that grabs the nut is thicker and taller on a knocker. Try it hopefully you don’t hit your hand.
Thanks so much for supporting chinese imports and further running our country into the ground. Glad you could be so proud at the expense of people who do things right.
@@SuperKONR Buying Chinese products isn't the main cause for America going downhill. The real factor is out of control spending by both the government and consumers being in massive debt, which therefore causes consumers not to save for retirement and makes us taxpayers fund welfare programs for their retirement. Almost everything with a made in America label is somehow subbed out of America to be made. Don't blame people who buy Chinese products, instead blame government regulations on businesses and blame unions for placing such high pay burdens on American businesses causing them to have to take the work overseas.
@@billwhite5853yep that's what people don't understand. The government drove away American manufacturing. Even when it says "made in America" most if not all of the parts inside it came frome China.
@@billwhite5853 American businesses paying their employees too much is the opposite of the problem. Wages have been massively lagging behind inflation for the last 40 years. Most of the country couldn't save for their own retirement because they live paycheck to paycheck. Sure, there is some group in the middle that spend wastefully and could manage a comfortable lifestyle and still save money. But they are nowhere near the average or majority.
My good neighbor Mike & I are tool-a-holics and Harbor Freight is must frequent visit. Without uttering a word we walk every aisle in the same pattern and in zero hurry. There is ALWAYS something useful there, even when the use isn't immediately apparent. Our motto is: I don't need this but I will.
Weak. Go to estate sales for name brand stuff that lasts and is still cheaper than harbor freight price wise. When you find the right sale it’s awesome. Gotta break the cheaper fright chains dude. This guy is gonna hurt himself on the video. My advice to at least weld it up with braces and a slight weight on the end.
You must be a father because my dad is the same way. I used to make fun of him as a kid because of all the “unnecessary tools” he owned. Here I am as an adult asking him to borrow those same tools. Every tool comes in handy eventually, even if it’s only used once. Someone else you care about may need it later down the road too
I work on motorcycles in Argentina. Mostly small cheap bikes. I think most of the mechanics have very limited supply of sockets. Clutch and crank nuts (usually 19 mm or a notched nut) are always chewed up from using a hammer and chisel on them. Two basic tools: a hammer (or big rock) and wire cutters.
My dad was an aeronautical engineer and certified FAA mechanic and inspector. We would take trips to harbor freight to buy “blanks” so he could weld, file, cut sand melt grind and smith into specialty tools we needed to work on aircraft in all those hard to reach places. To this day I have a hard time dropping $$ on expensive tools without seeing if I can make it out of a POS
This is just what real mechanics do. Technicians buy the things they need. Mechanics will make what they need. Not talking down about technicians, just saying there is a different mentality. Also why a lot of techs don't like to work on things they aren't familiar with. A true mechanic will work on anything.
That is awesome, but time = money. If you take 5 hours to make a tool to save $20.... But I also get the fun and enjoyment from making your own stuff too.
@jekinneys try saving 4 or 500 dollars on specialty tools, not 20. And it often will only take an hour or less to fab a tool up if you are even remotely handy in the shop. If it takes 5 hours to make the tool, then you are already in a losing situation.
A tool has to serve its purpose. In 1994 I was working field repairs on equipment which could only be adjusted using a very thin and very short 1/2” and 9/16” to loosen and adjust simultaneously. The only source was a Snap-On truck which drove up; I bought two wrenches and cut them in half. Did the job and saved hours of driving around a remote country area trying to find something that might have worked. DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO!
@@kontrarien5721 - Exactly... Snap-On: "I'm going to use this tool daily as part of my profession". Stanley: "I'm going to use this tool at least a half dozen times a year while working around the house" HarborFreight: "I really need this tool today, but may or may not ever use it again".
Too many people bash their knuckles and break shyte with cheap tools too. If you value your time, running to HF to warranty the same crap over and over isn't cheap. The only thing cheap about that place are the people who shop there.
we had a box full of frankentools at my old job. wrenches bent at a 90 degree angle, shaved down for clearance, you name it. HF is a perfect source for the raw materials
I have many improvised tools. I once needed a tool called a Bearing Buster. They're not crazy expensive or anything, but during the height of covid I found it very difficult to get my hands on one. So I did what any sane technician would do and I busted out my welder and grinder. Took a piece of 1" SCH40 steel pipe, cut a 3/4" slot down the length of the pipe, and welded a piece of 1/2" SCH80 about halfway up the pipe horizontally. Worked like a charm and now I'll never have to spend $50 on a tool that I'll use once every 3 years. Not to mention I got paid for all the time I spent making it.
I read an article in a home handy man magazine many years ago where they interviewed a couple who remodeled homes for a living. The couple said they bought all their tools second hand to save money and would often misuse tools on the job (screw drivers as prybars and chisels, etc.). The way they saw it, if they destroyed a cheap tool in the process of getting the job done then the tool did its job.
Yes and no. While I prefer to use quality tools for most jobs, I hate to grind an expensive tool for an odd job or custom fit for a single use. Then I don't hesitate to grab the cheap tool, get the job done and throw the tool away.
If you work with tools for a living then you'll usually have a "good" set and a "throwaway" set. The throwaway set is comprised of cheaper tools and hand me downs from the "good" set and can be modified for special use if needed. I hardly ever throw away hand tools and try to repurpose them when broken. Take care of your tools and they'll take care of you.
I do a similar thing. I needed a short 7/8inch cone wrench for switching out a tap set. I went to my wall of tool, cut one from a yard sale to size and made the perfect tool for the job.
I started working at the dealership a couple years ago with 200ish piece Husky set. I still have almost all the 12 point sockets but replaced all the 6 point sockets and ratchets with MacTools. Saved sooooo much money and spaced out purchasing those expensive tools too!!
So Im a radio tower specialist and my climbing tool bag is full of little harbor tools. My colleagues all love them until i tell them where theyre from. My entire kit cost less than their cheapest tool. Tools we all end up dropping off the top and loosing in the woods eventually.
Do you keep your tools attached to you somehow - like on a big keychain or something like that? If I was crazy enough to have your job, I would be dropping tools constantly.
Used these often in Steel Mills. My favorite tool was a 4 foot long Cresent adjustable wrench. We used a sling and overhead crane to pull on the handle.
Current oilfield here. We use them daily. Called Hammer Wrenches here. Used to break/make up 5k and 10k studs on annular BOPs. The sawwed wrench idea is something I strongly advise against. You will miss, it will deflect off. You need the wide striking face. Not only that, but on the rigs we have one guy hammer and one guy pull the wrench with a rope tied to it so that all the lost energy due to vibration and bounce back is eliminated. PRO TIP: if the hammer wremch dings and bounces when you hit it, you're doing it wrong. get a guy with a rope and have him pull directly back, not up or down - you should here a dim thud with each strike. that's max energy transfet right there...
You should see the tap and die set my buddy bought off an old widow woman about 20 years ago, she said it was her husband's who'd died years before, judging by the wooden case and the lettering on it I'd place it from the 20's or 30's. The tap and die handles were color case hardened and would easily rival the color case hardening on the finest presentation grade Winchester you'd ever see, it's just unbelievable, even the wooden case has a finish that looks like the stock of an expensive high end firearm.
@@scootergeorge7089 Damascus steel, named after the place. The exact recipe for true Damascus steel is no longer known, but modern Damascus, also known as pattern welded steel, is a method of layering steels with different carbon content during forging, so that after the metal is put into an etching solution it shows brilliant patterning thanks to the different etching rates of the steels.
Years ago, my dad was pounding the crap out of a giant wrench, trying to get a ball joint to pop loose. Wasn’t budging! So he went and chatted with our neighbor, a master tractor repairman. He took some measurements and a while later showed up with a “socket” that he fabricated. Popped it on a 1/2” socket wrench, grabbed a long cheater bar, and popped that ball joint right out! It pays to have good neighbors………and Harbor Freight.
@AUS-Reviews Is that not what they're called? That or breaker bar but that can also be one of those big ass chisels they use to break up rock/concrete.
Sounds like my buddies and myself the other day, we were doing the CV axles on an 07 grand Cherokee and the driver side cup didn't wanna pop out. We ended up welding a metal rod with 2 spent rotors and a 5 pound weight to make our own redneck slide hammer lol, thing had to be like 15-20lbs on the slide, thing still didn't move, we ended up dropping the front diff and pulling out the plasma cutter 😨
In Australia we call them flogging spanners or floggers. Because you flog it with a hammer. Use them all the time at work, sometimes we gotta do up to 75/80mm nuts but usually around the 30s and 40s
Whoa. Well, now you tickled my curiosity. Like, I want to know the context and back story to that. Also, it took me a min to figure out what you meant. If I understand correctly, the plate stock pieces were each a facet?
@@dylanbjugThat's usually how it's done. Take pieces of plate steel, cut them so you can lay them out to form whatever size hex you're needing then weld together.
@@FinalFront Wild. I'm usually all about using the "right" tool for the job. I had to learn that lesson the hard way a few times in my life. Early on, I made wayyy more work than was necessary for myself because I was too lazy to crawl back out from under the car...you know...like using things as hammers or trying to use the edge of a flat head in a phillips screw. But, making a tool, that's interesting. If you made a video showing the process, I'd be interested in watching that.
Good for you, you're in excellent company! Walter Chrysler applied to a steam-powered railroad to become a locomotive mechanic when he was still in his teens. The hiring manager took him over to a forge, anvil, hammers, tongs, raw metal stock and told, "see those tools hanging on the rack? It's a complete set you'll need to do the job we do here. Duplicate that set and you're hired. Can't do it, turn around and get out." Teenaged Walter made the set of tools, was hired on the spot, and that was the beginning of the road to the mighty Chrysler Corporation that helped produce the valuable materiel that won WWII.
The difference between a 10 pound hammer and a 20 pound hammer; a 10 pound hammer will do anything that a normal person should do. A 20 pound will make you look like a bitch in front of your colleagues lol
@Nathan Dorman sure sounds like you walked around 20 lb hammer a lot on turnarounds looking busy yet never actually using it. I prefer the 12lb hammer it's not so cumbersome. But you use whatever the tool room provided.
@Joseph Mac nowadays, everyone uses the hydra torque machines. In my plant, hammer wrenches are actually banned because of people hurting each other with them and hammers even with wrench holders. I don't remember ever hurting myself or anyone else when using them.
Yup, I've spent a small fortune on striking wrenches over the years. Last one was 4-1/8" and cost a little over $750. Some sizes are almost impossible to find in a striking format, so we usually will take one like in this vid and modify it with a few wraps of plate steel around the head, along with a split/filled section of pipe around the handle. An old 2lb sledge makes a good impact zone for striking, but you gotta plate it up and build the rest of the wrench around it.
This is great! I constantly see TH-cam videos and articles telling me not to buy My tools from harbor freight because everything is junk. Yet, every professional I know has a bunch of high quality name brand tools right alongside a whole lot of Pittsburgh tools from harbor freight.
Same difference between regular sockets and impact sockets, the steel impact sockets are made out of isn't as brittle, it's meant for that kind of use so it doesn't shatter, plus that striking wrench has a nice big fat end for hitting which lowers the chances of a glancing blow when you hit it. That's obviously going to be used on heavy equipment, the way I always looked at it is I'm not gonna use a homemade $10 wrench on a $1,000,000 piece of equipment.
There has to be some kind of hydraulic wrench set up for that right? Like they're really having dudes just beating a ships propeller on with giant hammers? There's a torque setting on my caliper bolts but not a ships propeller? Just beat the piss out of until it stops moving and another quarter turn?
Back before I retired I would always carry two types of wrenches, screw drivers, and other tools. The cheap ones that came out of the bargain bin and could easily be replaced, and then my high quality expensive tools.The cheap ones I called my "Beater Tools" for obvious reasons. The good ones I treated like gold because they were't as easily replaceable. This system worked well for me all through my working years and saved me a lot of money as well. I highly recommend it unless you have money to burn.😊
Slugger is the brand but the real name is hammer wrench. We used them all the time in the oilfield, forsay on the BOP, (Blow out preventor) for tighten bolts. They make them in all different sizes. It's really a two man job. Tie a rope around the handle and put on bolt that is snug. Pull on rope while second man hits the hammer wrench with a 12 pound sledgehammer till tight.
I bought 2 welded them together and used some half-inch flat stock to beef it up. Got the welder from Harbor Freight for $99 two wrenches for $75, and the wrench I needed was over $400. That was over 10 years ago, and I still use the welder all the time!
Snap On sucks. They are all smoke and mirrors... and... profit. The amount of wealth they unnecessarily suck from the hard work of automotive mechanics should be a crime.
Got myself a beat up Mac box for 950 thinking it was expensive. Until I started as an auto tech and worked with dudes who had 3-5 year plans for a Cornwell or snapon box at the same price as my gc8
Auto mechanic for 10 years. Once we stopped buying new tools from snap on every week we didnt see them again for 6 months. Broke a harbor freight socket and drove down to the store to replace it. We had a collection of snap on tools broke we kept in a corner if we ever saw the guy again. Finished turning wrenches in the end before the snap on guy came back.
@@SnurkleMcDurkle just looking at their website, $11k for ONE stationary 10 drawer set is just smoking crack. I was able to get an end of year special on a set of 2 garant 40" roller bearing 7 drawer set (70kg capacity) and a 2" by 6 foot bamboo worktop for $2500 delivered. Very high quality and will last my lifetime, but some people equate cost to quality and just don't shop around.
I call them knocker wrenches at work. We use them often at my natural gas storage facility when working on a lateral on a well. Didn’t know they cost that much
Actually, science has shown that expressing aggression (beating on things, braking things) is not effective. There's a number of interesting studies you can look up.
@@jbsegrest yep, and this guy has never had one shatter on him. i wouldnt trust that wrench for a single strike. cheater pipe though. had a several wrenches shatter on us offshore till we had none the right size. all labeled china. turned into 2 million in down time, and 2 hotshots later, before we got back on track. turns out someone was buying knockoffs from a cousin. we where like, yeah weve been telling yall that. hes in prison now.
My great grandfather was a bus mechanic. My dad had a ton of his old tools that had been cut, welded, bent, etc to be used for a specific job. Sure, there was probably a special tool that did the same job, but likely cost 10x what his modified tool did.
Back when they were a thing, distributor wrenches were like this. The car companies would shove the lock bolt into the tiniest little hole and I swear it felt like you needed a wrench folded up like an origami swan to reach it and every car took a different one. I don't miss that.
My grandfather Troy was DOING this back in the late 60s. He was HELPING to fix a transmission on a 63 Chevy Nova. He CUT wrench to size He needed! Some of the SECRETS my grandfather employed with His GENIUS mind COULD have MADE him GLORIOUSLY rich!
You're right on point. When you pay for tools from companies like snap - on, youer only paying for the name . If you use tools to make money, most Harbor Fraight tools will put more money in your pocket .
That there is a hammer wrench, for obvious reasons. If you see one in your workplace and someone tells you to go get the 12lb sledge, you're about to have a shoulder day workout.
I use this logic. I have a box that I have my “Throw away” tools in. They’re cheap or second hand tools I can beat the snot out of and not worry if they get trashed in the process. Example being my old, chunky, flat blade screwdriver that gets used as a chisel, a mini pry bar and even a screwdriver occasionally. The plastic moulded handle is long gone but I still haven’t managed to destroy the rest of it yet!
I have a large collection of HF vise-grip-like tools which exist only to be sacrificed in forging, welding, or similar activities. HF is great for stuff like that.
Yeah in the oilfield we use those alot for different things like pump jacks and other very BIG nuts, hacking a Pittsburgh wrench aint gonna cut it when you have to apply so much torque you have to beat it with a 10 lb sledge... but for little things like cars i guess it would work fine
@@GlitterGlitchy Yeh but on an oil field you use it daily or weekly so shelling the real money on one makes sense, but for a car or even on a professional service job where you need one ONCE it to fix the ONE weird forklift on your patch then why spend a fortune on it
@Simon-ho6ly yeah so thats pretty much what i said, truth is we wouldn't even use them that much, most of the times they be thrown in the back of the gang truck in the forgotten fittings basket, the pros like nipple up use hydrolic wrenches that makes it faster and safer
@@justinbenjamin4651 I am a boilermaker/tube welder and work in power plants all the time. We did on one occasion use a knocker that was huge like that, 16 inch if I remember right. What a f*cking pain in the a*s! we had to use a pile of rigging just to get the f*cking thing in place. Then 3 of us beating on it all day with the biggest beaters we could find. Being a welder I don't often get stuck doing sh*t like that, but I'm also a pretty good rigger. Needless to say I don't tell bosses that I can rig anymore 😂
Used to be a mechanic. My rule for specialty purchases was : if you need it 3 seperate times you better buy one. .. also, used to make speciatly tools for myself & the water dept. where I worked out of steel blanks.
Buying tools is the Worst part about being a mechanic besides dealing with customers and engineers that have to be so high when they forget to design a part well and you gotta pull the bumper , remove the radiator , take down the timing cover and all the accessories just to change a flipping sticking thermostat and coolant temperature sensor.
I was a pipefitter and shipbuilder (female if it matters) and I never thought about the cost of a slugging wrench! I was fortunate enough to have had access to some great industrial tools, tools going back to pre-war USA, before the company finally retired them. I love Harbor Freight because I brought in a broken die grinder in and they replaced it on the spot! Just like Sears used to do! I considered myself lucky to have been doing the kind of work I did. It was hard work, but my brothers and sisters in the shipyard were the greatest! I still have a 1/2 HF Impact wrench that still works. It's almost 20 years old. I oil it and it produces about 50lbs torque, perfect for flanges!
I have a 1948 All aluminum housing, Miller Falls brand "Monster hand grinder"The cord just gets more electrical tape . As the power cord is that old cloth wrapped style. and i'm afraid to change it."If it aint broke don't fix it." The power switch slides through the rear handle. IT RUNS YOU FOR 4MINS. it's a 27lb beastThen you set it down. Best 30 dollar yard sale buy i have ever made.
@@ryanparmley5605I have a few of the old power tools with the aluminum housing. Unfortunately they changed the blade insert style on the jigsaw and I can't get the right blades anymore. If I had known I would have stocked up on several dozen of each type because the jigsaw still works great.
I needed an extra long 10mm wrench the other day. Didn't want to ruin a good wrench. Bought a cheap wrench, cut it in half and welded an extension in the middle
We call em hammer wrenches down here and i had no idea they cost that much. i used to use em all the time at work doing bolt up on big flanges before our company broke out the pocket book and bought some of those hydraulic torque wrenches! They’re a game changer! Whoever invented those janks is my hero! Lol
Unless you absolutely NEED a high dollar version of anything, harbor freight should always be your first pick. Those guys are goated, best damn hardware store in the world.
I still have the wrench I modified to do valve adjustments on my 79 merc diesel I owned, car is long gone but that 50 cent wrench is still in my tool box.
"Saving some money for retirement is pretty cool too" Hey fellas start saving NOW! I retired last year and I wish I had used Harbor Freight more often before I did GREAT VIDEO!!!
Best part is , you can take that cut in half wrench into harbor freight in two pieces no receipt and get a free new one no questions asked. That’s why they’re the best
Love harbor freight for what I call consumable / rarely used tools …. Things like Allen wrenches , tools that I’m gonna let people borrow , various size wrenches I’ll hardly use , or something I want to fabricate a specialty tool out of . Personally I’m currently working in a glass factory so anytime I’m working above the 3,000 degree furnace I know I’m gonna be sweating and dropping tools into the furnace . I’m a little less angry about sacrificing a tool when it cost me a few dollars lol
I bought a set of six pipe threading dies from HF, to fix a plumbing problem. I only needed _one,_ but the set cost less than calling a plumber out _once._ 😁
I use harbor freight the same way. As tools I don't care about or hardly ever use. If I use it everyday, im going to invest in something higher quality like Snap On, Cornwell, Sunex, Koken.
Or if it's a tool you aren't sure you are going to use a lot. Buy the harbor freight/cheapo and if it breaks that means you use it enough to invest in something nice.
Our guys use those knocker wrenches every day putting tower cranes up. Then, you have to come back with a hy-torque after the crane is up and torque the nuts to several thousand pound feet. Gotta half inch gap between tower sections on the side opposite the counterweights before you torque 'em. All the way down. You can feel it when you're up there and it's leaning like a mo fo. Swing the crane right/ left and you can feel the whole tower gyrating. Good times.
Oil Field set up the BOP Blow out preventer 2 inch nuts 30 of them Hammer Wrench 20 pound sledge beat it till none of them turn 8 years of that . 2 times a week we moved the rig every 7 days .
Had a similar tool for 36 mm VW rear axle nut. Had slot for 1/2” breaker bar so 4’ pipe and a big whammer and bam, rear drum break job started. Less than 30 bucks but worth it.
You missed the part where he said something you may only use 1 time. Not use quite often If you use quite often makes sense to buy correct tool If your only gonna use once the Pittsburgh wrench is all good. Could weld stock on it too make it easier to hit
That is what I’m talking about! A large percentage of my tools are less expensive ones. If I needed something special, I never hesitated to modify. Cut, grind, bend, weld… get the job done!
HF definitely has its place for one off tool usage. They also have some very useful tools for it's market. Thank you for sharing, great idea. Everyone stay safe, warm, happy and healthy. From Henrico County Virginia
What if you have 5 lumbar fusion, one done twice, RFA, 9 epidurals with non-particulate steroids and 1 with, three pair the spinal cord simulators electrode leads, one left behind and still can't walk without a cain? Even the SCS company rep & engineer quit. Must be the 60 blue pills I took last week!
@@elizabetholiviaclark I should clarify, the things actually are damaged and it's company policy to discount them but we get a heads up whenever that happens
I havent bought alot from harbor freight but the few things i did were pretty worth it. A mitre box for 100$, dual bevel and a slide, lasted about a year and a half. Sawzall that lasted around a year, dont remember the price, maybe 40$. And the biggest life saver was a 7$ angle grinder that lasted over 2 years.
It’s crazy this even needs to be said😂 I mean your right for pointing it out! I can’t tell you how many times a coworker will be like “ we can’t do it, we need THIS tool” Then I’ll just walk around to the scrap pile and find something to make it happen… But why do you NEED to even cut it? I’d just use it with the other end still on
Growing up, dad always called it the cheap tool store and I didn’t know it had a name or was a chain venue. I just always called it the cheap tool store
I absolutely love harbor freight. When I go in there I’m like a kid in a candy store and most of the time I’ll go in for one thing and end up walking out with a cart full of stuff.
I play ice hockey, and I buy the 10 pack of electrical tape to use for my socks. I don't how much money I've saved over the years when sock tape is damn near $5/roll.
You have to go in when they give away the free flashlights! :) Those free flashlights have cost me hundreds of dollars. :( (I have poor self control and should not be left unsupervised.)
I used to be a Millwright in the oilfield, I have had no choice but to buy the Slugger before because we just kept breaking cut in half wrenches till one went flying through a window. Sometimes stuffing box nuts get really really really tight.
for some you needa ask how bad is this gonna hurt when it skips a gear with me giving it a ton of force in a small ingine bay. sockets harbot frieght all day, the socket wrench im willing to pay the money for. also when cheqp ratchets take like force to get to click, so the bolt is too tight to hand remove and too loose to have the action on the cheap wrench work properly...
One time in Hollywood I left one of my tool bins unlocked for about fifteen minutes at a motel I was working on. Unfortunately it was a a bin filled with some of my best power tools. He didn't get all of them but it still cost me about fifteen hundred dollars to replace them. I was told someone saw a guy running down the street with all the power tools he could carry. Just about broke my heart.
I work for John Deere and the amount of mechanics here that have BOXES full of specialty Snap-On tools they use once every few years is astounding. Thousands of dollars worth of stuff that barely gets touched
Harbor freight is literally the best thing, they literally warranty everything, I buy stuff use it break it and return it with no questions asked, absolutely the best Costumer service
At a maintainance job i had, when the fifty ton punch press set up men would screw up and get the ram locked at TDC, we would take a 41/2" wrench we had bought from Harbor Freight and put on the ram adjustment screw , add an 8-10 ft. piece of pipe and push on it with a forklift while cycling the press in reverse to break the pressure on the die table, we did break some wrenches on occasion but for "cheap" tools they held up surprisingly well to such punishment.
That is so funny my close friend works at Harbor Freight and he's been there for about 10 years and he absolutely loves his job he always comes home and tells me the cool things that they get in
My dad was a engineer on cargo ships. The torque rating for the giant cylinder head bolts was whenever you got tired of smacking these wrenches with a sledge hammer!
Yeah, I just inherited a house and needed mostly yard tools. I don’t need professional tools, because I’m not taking on a career of maintaining a somewhat small front and backyard. Many of my indoor projects will be one off and short lived. And some of the other tools and parts I might need? Temu.
I'm always surprised at how often Harbor Freight has just what I need. After all the Harbor Freight "saving the day" situations, I should not be surprised anymore.
brake-line wrenches are 29.99. and regular wrenches are 9.99 so i bought the reggies and cut a gap in the closed ends. im sure every mechanic has done this but at 17 years old i was proud of myself
Pro Tip: If you don't have tools, buy the basics at Harbor Freight, whatever breaks you replace with a quality item because it means you actually use it.
I just told this to my son yesterday.
Exactly! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Exactly what I did when I had to buy tools for my job.
HF is a private company. Every penny you spend there that does not go to China goes into the pocket of one man after expenses. That man is Eric Smidt. He spends much of that money on art and leftist causes. Remember that as you shop.
Facts most people brag about their name brand tools yet barely ever wrench
Local HF management said that if I cut a wrench in half and I happen to break an end that he would warranty it.
I think they would refund it even if you cut it in half and it didnt break.
A lot of big box stores only really care about proof of purchase. It's just a write off for them. What they don't like is giving away free tools.
@@richardmoore609 have you ever had to warranty something at HF?
@@notme6071 I've had to warranty stuff at Lowes. I've had to throw away perfectly working merchandise because a customer just said it didn't work.
As a former employee I half encouraged these shenanigans because I wanted to tell people that this is what we mean by lifetime
You just defined Harbor Freights business model. And it works. I'm not cheap, I'm practical.
I'm both
Until they are the only one in town.
China #1 dont forget it!@willywonkachevy
I'm a backyad youtube engine guy. I can't tell you how helpful it was when a harbor freight opened in my town. It was like a gift from heaven for guys like me who fix what goes wrong on my vehicles.
Glad to hear. Plus orileys or auto zone and your in business. I also have a manly thrift store that I use to save money on buying one hex socket to pull spark plugs.
There's really not much variety anymore when it comes to auto parts stores. Oriellys and auto zone.
Got a napa but it's far away and closed on Sunday.
@@Petesworkshop2225I have like tons of Autozones and Oreillys, a few Napas some advance autos and 7 HFT
If you need a tool for a job, anything from HF is better than a tool you don't have because you can't afford it.
Exactly.
I've had a socket wrench and needle nose pliers snap in two pieces very first use. Literally would have rather had nothing than this false sense of tools.
@@firebirdude2You should just be able to bring it back if that happens and you're out nothing.
That’s not ridiculous, that’s not ridiculous to say that. 🥹
@@firebirdude2I'd rather be pissed at HF for selling crap than sitting on my thumbs because I can't afford better. I'm stuck either way, but at least I get to be annoyed at someone else.
Imagine getting one of these off the Snap On truck. I'd have to put a second mortgage up on my house 😂.
Sluggers are cheap, even new. Used $30-50 used. Very few people use them anymore because Hytorc
@@nathankisner8332 my brother had an industrial supply company. He had a bunch of them , different sizes. Used to sell them to the steel mills. So he kept them in stock. Then on day nothing, no more sales of those . They just sat on the shelf takin up space.
@@stevehamman4465 thank you for the kind reply. The sites I work on now have outright banned knifes, chains, metal on metal hammering, any modified or homemade tools or even broken tools and will fire you if caught. I still have sluggers but like the offset tubular handle wrenches like snap on XH460 series. Strange to see there are trends in tools even more now with internet
I did buy one off the Snappy truck. Then stuck in the bandsaw and cut it into a line hammer wrench.
Snp tool as Lowes tool
Ex oilfield worker here , I was the unlucky bastard using those constantly lol
That's what I came to say. On a work over we used them anytime we had to take off a well head and many other times.
hell yea brother. we used to rent em. when we rented BOPs
Easy work
@@texas4325 Ok Timmy toughnuts 👌
I interact with car mechanics daily for my job, service manager's motto is "if you need a tool for something, buy it from harbor freight. If you use it enough that it breaks, *then* you get a better one." He says that to all the new guys and the snap-on people *hate* him for how much money he's helps his guys save
You don’t know the meaning of trust, until you’ve had to hold a slugging wrench while your buddy hits it! I used them many times when I was a Navy Boiler Technician from 82-86. ⚓️🇺🇸
BT myself I'd rather hold it myself and slug myself with a 12 lb sledge with a sort handle. I was be B Div arm wrestling champ on the Lex in 84 :)
Never heard of a "slugger" wrench, especially as a brand... we always called them slugging wrenches and Wright, Proto, Williams or Armstrong were the brand names. MM 87-92 P div.
You said it yourself - you used it MANY times.. He's talking about a one time use purpose.
@@MrRightNow I was talking about the trust factor involved when using one in a true heavy duty scenario not a “one time use”…
Thakyou for your service sir! My grandpa was on The Boxing Lady outside Hong Kong in the fifties. god damn lung cancer got him, he always said it was from sleeping on the top bunk, he'd wake up with dust on him in the morning.
The real slugger wrenches are the ones we made along the way
I mean usually you need a slugger on a water or septic fitting!
We use those when assembling, and disassembling tower cranes. I have always heard them called Knocker Wrenches, not Slugger Wrenches. Also if you swing a 16 pound beater, or sledge hammer on that, or a 20, you will destroy the teeth. Just like a normal socket would when to do heavy torquing with an impact, instead of impact rated socket. I have tried to beat a regular box wrench, and they flex and bounce off, and the the the part that grabs the nut is thicker and taller on a knocker. Try it hopefully you don’t hit your hand.
@@joshuathorpe3808
Yup. Knocker wrenches.
Putting them BOP's and double-studs
together. "Hammer Wrench"
@@joshuathorpe3808 Knocker wrench👍
I ran my shop same way this guy does does. We had a 30 ton crane and a 400 ton horizontal press. HF allowed me to retire at 56.
Thanks so much for supporting chinese imports and further running our country into the ground. Glad you could be so proud at the expense of people who do things right.
@@SuperKONR Buying Chinese products isn't the main cause for America going downhill. The real factor is out of control spending by both the government and consumers being in massive debt, which therefore causes consumers not to save for retirement and makes us taxpayers fund welfare programs for their retirement. Almost everything with a made in America label is somehow subbed out of America to be made. Don't blame people who buy Chinese products, instead blame government regulations on businesses and blame unions for placing such high pay burdens on American businesses
causing them to have to take the work overseas.
@@billwhite5853yep that's what people don't understand. The government drove away American manufacturing. Even when it says "made in America" most if not all of the parts inside it came frome China.
@@billwhite5853 American businesses paying their employees too much is the opposite of the problem. Wages have been massively lagging behind inflation for the last 40 years. Most of the country couldn't save for their own retirement because they live paycheck to paycheck. Sure, there is some group in the middle that spend wastefully and could manage a comfortable lifestyle and still save money. But they are nowhere near the average or majority.
@@SuperKONRBe mad at yourself for buying Made in China just like everyone else. It’s demand not supply
My good neighbor Mike & I are tool-a-holics and Harbor Freight is must frequent visit. Without uttering a word we walk every aisle in the same pattern and in zero hurry. There is ALWAYS something useful there, even when the use isn't immediately apparent. Our motto is: I don't need this but I will.
I, as another tool guy, salute you.😊
Weak. Go to estate sales for name brand stuff that lasts and is still cheaper than harbor freight price wise. When you find the right sale it’s awesome. Gotta break the cheaper fright chains dude. This guy is gonna hurt himself on the video. My advice to at least weld it up with braces and a slight weight on the end.
You must be a father because my dad is the same way. I used to make fun of him as a kid because of all the “unnecessary tools” he owned. Here I am as an adult asking him to borrow those same tools. Every tool comes in handy eventually, even if it’s only used once. Someone else you care about may need it later down the road too
Yeah and 90% of the time that Chinese garbage sits on a shelf for the next decade after one use, or never gets used.
@@scaven09you dont just find the tool you need at estate sales.
Sometimes all wrenchs are slugger wrenchs 🤷♂️🤣
They are in my garage!
Facts 💯
Truer words have rarely been spoken.
I work on motorcycles in Argentina. Mostly small cheap bikes. I think most of the mechanics have very limited supply of sockets. Clutch and crank nuts (usually 19 mm or a notched nut) are always chewed up from using a hammer and chisel on them. Two basic tools: a hammer (or big rock) and wire cutters.
and all wrenches are sluggers
My dad was an aeronautical engineer and certified FAA mechanic and inspector. We would take trips to harbor freight to buy “blanks” so he could weld, file, cut sand melt grind and smith into specialty tools we needed to work on aircraft in all those hard to reach places. To this day I have a hard time dropping $$ on expensive tools without seeing if I can make it out of a POS
It's the only way to do anything tool related these companies want a truck payment for a peice of steel that I might use twice a year
This is just what real mechanics do. Technicians buy the things they need. Mechanics will make what they need. Not talking down about technicians, just saying there is a different mentality. Also why a lot of techs don't like to work on things they aren't familiar with. A true mechanic will work on anything.
Harbour freight is based asf.
That is awesome, but time = money. If you take 5 hours to make a tool to save $20.... But I also get the fun and enjoyment from making your own stuff too.
@jekinneys try saving 4 or 500 dollars on specialty tools, not 20. And it often will only take an hour or less to fab a tool up if you are even remotely handy in the shop. If it takes 5 hours to make the tool, then you are already in a losing situation.
A tool has to serve its purpose. In 1994 I was working field repairs on equipment which could only be adjusted using a very thin and very short 1/2” and 9/16” to loosen and adjust simultaneously. The only source was a Snap-On truck which drove up; I bought two wrenches and cut them in half. Did the job and saved hours of driving around a remote country area trying to find something that might have worked. DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO!
The flogging spanner will impact at least 50 percent more force so if you need it, you need it ,the cut down one will bounce
I love your perspective on this. Cheap tools have their place and too many people bash them.
In this case, bashing is exactly what he's promoting.
@@kontrarien5721 - Exactly...
Snap-On: "I'm going to use this tool daily as part of my profession".
Stanley: "I'm going to use this tool at least a half dozen times a year while working around the house"
HarborFreight: "I really need this tool today, but may or may not ever use it again".
Too many people bash their knuckles and break shyte with cheap tools too. If you value your time, running to HF to warranty the same crap over and over isn't cheap. The only thing cheap about that place are the people who shop there.
Finally a mechanic that knows how a successful business runs.
Except it's still down to whether or not dude can fix something right.
What a bizarre comment
Which comment brother?
The person who has been searching for a mechanic who can run a business
It's also weird to equate someone who is clever and frugal to being a businessman. Sure, they are helpful qualities, but what? Haha
we had a box full of frankentools at my old job. wrenches bent at a 90 degree angle, shaved down for clearance, you name it. HF is a perfect source for the raw materials
I have many improvised tools. I once needed a tool called a Bearing Buster. They're not crazy expensive or anything, but during the height of covid I found it very difficult to get my hands on one. So I did what any sane technician would do and I busted out my welder and grinder. Took a piece of 1" SCH40 steel pipe, cut a 3/4" slot down the length of the pipe, and welded a piece of 1/2" SCH80 about halfway up the pipe horizontally. Worked like a charm and now I'll never have to spend $50 on a tool that I'll use once every 3 years. Not to mention I got paid for all the time I spent making it.
I read an article in a home handy man magazine many years ago where they interviewed a couple who remodeled homes for a living. The couple said they bought all their tools second hand to save money and would often misuse tools on the job (screw drivers as prybars and chisels, etc.). The way they saw it, if they destroyed a cheap tool in the process of getting the job done then the tool did its job.
That’s how a lot of low end contractors think, just ask anyone that works in the equipment rental industry.
Yes and no. While I prefer to use quality tools for most jobs, I hate to grind an expensive tool for an odd job or custom fit for a single use. Then I don't hesitate to grab the cheap tool, get the job done and throw the tool away.
Although I do understand, and can sympathize, using the wrong tool can lead to a serious injury or cause damage, if it fails.
If you work with tools for a living then you'll usually have a "good" set and a "throwaway" set. The throwaway set is comprised of cheaper tools and hand me downs from the "good" set and can be modified for special use if needed. I hardly ever throw away hand tools and try to repurpose them when broken. Take care of your tools and they'll take care of you.
I do a similar thing. I needed a short 7/8inch cone wrench for switching out a tap set. I went to my wall of tool, cut one from a yard sale to size and made the perfect tool for the job.
I started working at the dealership a couple years ago with 200ish piece Husky set. I still have almost all the 12 point sockets but replaced all the 6 point sockets and ratchets with MacTools. Saved sooooo much money and spaced out purchasing those expensive tools too!!
I’ve seen pump bases that required these. They used these for disassembly, but then used a multiplier for assembly to get proper torque.
Good tools are better than cheap tools, cheap tools are infinitely better than no tools.
So long as the cheap tool does no damage like rounding a nut or breaks and causes injury or damage.
So Im a radio tower specialist and my climbing tool bag is full of little harbor tools. My colleagues all love them until i tell them where theyre from. My entire kit cost less than their cheapest tool. Tools we all end up dropping off the top and loosing in the woods eventually.
So I guess all of your work buddies are just hiding their remorse at being deeply in debt to the red and white truck?
nothing worse than "loosing" something
Do you keep your tools attached to you somehow - like on a big keychain or something like that? If I was crazy enough to have your job, I would be dropping tools constantly.
I would also loose plenty of tools in the woods if I had your job.
Wrenches, screw drivers, pliers, pry bars, hammers, and a few other items are better off being cheap stuff than name brand expensive stuff
Used these often in Steel Mills. My favorite tool was a 4 foot long Cresent adjustable wrench. We used a sling and overhead crane to pull on the handle.
Current oilfield here. We use them daily. Called Hammer Wrenches here. Used to break/make up 5k and 10k studs on annular BOPs. The sawwed wrench idea is something I strongly advise against. You will
miss, it will deflect off. You need the wide striking face. Not only that, but on the rigs we have one guy hammer and one guy pull the wrench with a rope tied to it so that all the lost energy due to vibration and bounce back is eliminated.
PRO TIP:
if the hammer wremch dings and bounces when you hit it, you're doing it wrong. get a guy with a rope and have him pull directly back, not up or down - you should here a dim thud with each strike. that's max energy transfet right there...
I got a few at garage sale for basically nothing because they thought the open end had been cutoff😂
You should see the tap and die set my buddy bought off an old widow woman about 20 years ago, she said it was her husband's who'd died years before, judging by the wooden case and the lettering on it I'd place it from the 20's or 30's.
The tap and die handles were color case hardened and would easily rival the color case hardening on the finest presentation grade Winchester you'd ever see, it's just unbelievable, even the wooden case has a finish that looks like the stock of an expensive high end firearm.
@@dukecraig2402 I bet those are sexy! I'm a big fan of case hardened anything and Damascus
why even cut the wrench, unless space requires you to. and sometimes you can extend the wrench with a pipe for more leverage
@@american7169 - The capitol of
Syria?
@@scootergeorge7089 Damascus steel, named after the place. The exact recipe for true Damascus steel is no longer known, but modern Damascus, also known as pattern welded steel, is a method of layering steels with different carbon content during forging, so that after the metal is put into an etching solution it shows brilliant patterning thanks to the different etching rates of the steels.
Years ago, my dad was pounding the crap out of a giant wrench, trying to get a ball joint to pop loose. Wasn’t budging! So he went and chatted with our neighbor, a master tractor repairman. He took some measurements and a while later showed up with a “socket” that he fabricated. Popped it on a 1/2” socket wrench, grabbed a long cheater bar, and popped that ball joint right out! It pays to have good neighbors………and Harbor Freight.
"cheater bar" lol
@AUS-Reviews Is that not what they're called? That or breaker bar but that can also be one of those big ass chisels they use to break up rock/concrete.
Sounds like my buddies and myself the other day, we were doing the CV axles on an 07 grand Cherokee and the driver side cup didn't wanna pop out. We ended up welding a metal rod with 2 spent rotors and a 5 pound weight to make our own redneck slide hammer lol, thing had to be like 15-20lbs on the slide, thing still didn't move, we ended up dropping the front diff and pulling out the plasma cutter 😨
@@cloak5857 Cheater bar is a decent length of 1" pipe on the end of your breaker bar...
The handle on a high lift jackworks well.
Why didn't he just put a cheater bar on the wrench? This makes no fucking sense.
That’s a true “impact” wrench.
In Australia we call them flogging spanners or floggers. Because you flog it with a hammer. Use them all the time at work, sometimes we gotta do up to 75/80mm nuts but usually around the 30s and 40s
Some sockets we needed were so expensive I literally welded plate stock together to make the sockets.
Whoa. Well, now you tickled my curiosity. Like, I want to know the context and back story to that. Also, it took me a min to figure out what you meant. If I understand correctly, the plate stock pieces were each a facet?
I've made my own sockets and specialty wrenches using a plasma table and a welder.
@@dylanbjugThat's usually how it's done. Take pieces of plate steel, cut them so you can lay them out to form whatever size hex you're needing then weld together.
@@FinalFront Wild. I'm usually all about using the "right" tool for the job. I had to learn that lesson the hard way a few times in my life. Early on, I made wayyy more work than was necessary for myself because I was too lazy to crawl back out from under the car...you know...like using things as hammers or trying to use the edge of a flat head in a phillips screw. But, making a tool, that's interesting. If you made a video showing the process, I'd be interested in watching that.
Good for you, you're in excellent company! Walter Chrysler applied to a steam-powered railroad to become a locomotive mechanic when he was still in his teens. The hiring manager took him over to a forge, anvil, hammers, tongs, raw metal stock and told, "see those tools hanging on the rack? It's a complete set you'll need to do the job we do here. Duplicate that set and you're hired. Can't do it, turn around and get out." Teenaged Walter made the set of tools, was hired on the spot, and that was the beginning of the road to the mighty Chrysler Corporation that helped produce the valuable materiel that won WWII.
Everyone should use a hammer wrench and 20lb sledgehammer for 12 hrs straight. It builds character and respect.
The difference between a 10 pound hammer and a 20 pound hammer; a 10 pound hammer will do anything that a normal person should do. A 20 pound will make you look like a bitch in front of your colleagues lol
@Nathan Dorman sure sounds like you walked around 20 lb hammer a lot on turnarounds looking busy yet never actually using it. I prefer the 12lb hammer it's not so cumbersome. But you use whatever the tool room provided.
No people are too lazy today to do such work. Especially the 18 to 25 year olds
Bringing me back to my quarry days swinging a 20lb sledge at a lock ring for the bearing on our jaw crusher. Always a fun 2 day job
@Joseph Mac nowadays, everyone uses the hydra torque machines. In my plant, hammer wrenches are actually banned because of people hurting each other with them and hammers even with wrench holders. I don't remember ever hurting myself or anyone else when using them.
Yup, I've spent a small fortune on striking wrenches over the years. Last one was 4-1/8" and cost a little over $750.
Some sizes are almost impossible to find in a striking format, so we usually will take one like in this vid and modify it with a few wraps of plate steel around the head, along with a split/filled section of pipe around the handle. An old 2lb sledge makes a good impact zone for striking, but you gotta plate it up and build the rest of the wrench around it.
This is great! I constantly see TH-cam videos and articles telling me not to buy My tools from harbor freight because everything is junk. Yet, every professional I know has a bunch of high quality name brand tools right alongside a whole lot of Pittsburgh tools from harbor freight.
Just keep those safety glasses on when you hit that thing
Their the same as matco...so, yeah. Eye protection for both.
Maybe a hardhat for good measure
Real talk in this reply thread
Same difference between regular sockets and impact sockets, the steel impact sockets are made out of isn't as brittle, it's meant for that kind of use so it doesn't shatter, plus that striking wrench has a nice big fat end for hitting which lowers the chances of a glancing blow when you hit it.
That's obviously going to be used on heavy equipment, the way I always looked at it is I'm not gonna use a homemade $10 wrench on a $1,000,000 piece of equipment.
@@HmmmmmLemmeThinkNoand if you reverse it your strength will be at its peak
The biggest wrench i have ever used was on a 25 inch propeller nut and weighed 800 lbs. We needed a 2 ton chain fall and a 25 hammer to tighten it
and let me guess, you had 15 of those to tighten..? Lol
There has to be some kind of hydraulic wrench set up for that right? Like they're really having dudes just beating a ships propeller on with giant hammers? There's a torque setting on my caliper bolts but not a ships propeller? Just beat the piss out of until it stops moving and another quarter turn?
@@metalman6708 You tighten until it starts to get easier, then back it off a hair, and then never speak of that again.
@@Keifsanderson 😂😂😂
The nut weighed 800 pounds? 😂
Being a mechanic is just a series of garage innovations made when you need something very specific that could only ever be custom made.
Back before I retired I would always carry two types of wrenches, screw drivers, and other tools. The cheap ones that came out of the bargain bin and could easily be replaced, and then my high quality expensive tools.The cheap ones I called my "Beater Tools" for obvious reasons. The good ones I treated like gold because they were't as easily replaceable.
This system worked well for me all through my working years and saved me a lot of money as well. I highly recommend it unless you have money to burn.😊
Slugger is the brand but the real name is hammer wrench. We used them all the time in the oilfield, forsay on the BOP, (Blow out preventor) for tighten bolts. They make them in all different sizes.
It's really a two man job. Tie a rope around the handle and put on bolt that is snug. Pull on rope while second man hits the hammer wrench with a 12 pound sledgehammer till tight.
Yeah we called it a hammer wrench in the industrial field the years I worked as a fitter helper, learned it wasn't my calling very quickly lol
Define tight, that could mean a lot of things when a 12lb sledge is getting thrown around
I use to eat threw brass hammer wrenches 😂. Gotta use brass even ate threw my fair share of sledges to 😂
What size? 12lb sledge sounds like these are really large nuts
@@de0509Deez nutz
I bought 2 welded them together and used some half-inch flat stock to beef it up. Got the welder from Harbor Freight for $99 two wrenches for $75, and the wrench I needed was over $400. That was over 10 years ago, and I still use the welder all the time!
You are one of the few lucky ones. Most of what I tried worked ok once. Maybe all right for cars but their tools are complete s**t for construction
I always said the Snap On truck is the mechanics version of a student loan.
Snap On sucks. They are all smoke and mirrors... and... profit. The amount of wealth they unnecessarily suck from the hard work of automotive mechanics should be a crime.
A lot of Snap-On groupies refer to those trucks as "the rape van".
Got myself a beat up Mac box for 950 thinking it was expensive. Until I started as an auto tech and worked with dudes who had 3-5 year plans for a Cornwell or snapon box at the same price as my gc8
Auto mechanic for 10 years. Once we stopped buying new tools from snap on every week we didnt see them again for 6 months. Broke a harbor freight socket and drove down to the store to replace it. We had a collection of snap on tools broke we kept in a corner if we ever saw the guy again. Finished turning wrenches in the end before the snap on guy came back.
@@SnurkleMcDurkle just looking at their website, $11k for ONE stationary 10 drawer set is just smoking crack. I was able to get an end of year special on a set of 2 garant 40" roller bearing 7 drawer set (70kg capacity) and a 2" by 6 foot bamboo worktop for $2500 delivered. Very high quality and will last my lifetime, but some people equate cost to quality and just don't shop around.
I call them knocker wrenches at work. We use them often at my natural gas storage facility when working on a lateral on a well. Didn’t know they cost that much
I love how excited you are about sledgehammering a wrench.
We call them "Striking Wrenches" in the Navy... and they're great for getting out your anger issues.
In the oilfield, they’re hammer wrenches.
In Australia they would be called a "Flogging Spanner".
I need one of these for my printer. It won't fix it, but it'll feel good.....
Actually, science has shown that expressing aggression (beating on things, braking things) is not effective. There's a number of interesting studies you can look up.
@@jbsegrest yep, and this guy has never had one shatter on him. i wouldnt trust that wrench for a single strike. cheater pipe though. had a several wrenches shatter on us offshore till we had none the right size. all labeled china. turned into 2 million in down time, and 2 hotshots later, before we got back on track. turns out someone was buying knockoffs from a cousin. we where like, yeah weve been telling yall that. hes in prison now.
My great grandfather was a bus mechanic. My dad had a ton of his old tools that had been cut, welded, bent, etc to be used for a specific job. Sure, there was probably a special tool that did the same job, but likely cost 10x what his modified tool did.
Back when they were a thing, distributor wrenches were like this. The car companies would shove the lock bolt into the tiniest little hole and I swear it felt like you needed a wrench folded up like an origami swan to reach it and every car took a different one. I don't miss that.
My grandfather Troy was DOING this back in the late 60s. He was HELPING to fix a transmission on a 63 Chevy Nova. He CUT wrench to size He needed! Some of the SECRETS my grandfather employed with His GENIUS mind COULD have MADE him GLORIOUSLY rich!
You're right on point. When you pay for tools from companies like snap - on, youer only paying for the name . If you use tools to make money, most Harbor Fraight tools will put more money in your pocket .
That there is a hammer wrench, for obvious reasons. If you see one in your workplace and someone tells you to go get the 12lb sledge, you're about to have a shoulder day workout.
Or 16 pound.
You can get smarter or stronger. Sometimes the solution is to get stronger.
The more and more I learn about HF, I realise that's pretty comparable to a store we have up here; Canadian Tire.
Yep. Canadian tire & Princess Auto. They are trying to put out some nicer "pro" tools now too. Those are all right.
Cambodian tire 😁
I use this logic. I have a box that I have my “Throw away” tools in. They’re cheap or second hand tools I can beat the snot out of and not worry if they get trashed in the process. Example being my old, chunky, flat blade screwdriver that gets used as a chisel, a mini pry bar and even a screwdriver occasionally. The plastic moulded handle is long gone but I still haven’t managed to destroy the rest of it yet!
I have a large collection of HF vise-grip-like tools which exist only to be sacrificed in forging, welding, or similar activities. HF is great for stuff like that.
Was working at a power plant and they had literally like 40 of those. From 3/4 all the way up to 18" it was insane how many tools they had.
Yeah in the oilfield we use those alot for different things like pump jacks and other very BIG nuts, hacking a Pittsburgh wrench aint gonna cut it when you have to apply so much torque you have to beat it with a 10 lb sledge... but for little things like cars i guess it would work fine
@@GlitterGlitchy Yeh but on an oil field you use it daily or weekly so shelling the real money on one makes sense, but for a car or even on a professional service job where you need one ONCE it to fix the ONE weird forklift on your patch then why spend a fortune on it
@Simon-ho6ly yeah so thats pretty much what i said, truth is we wouldn't even use them that much, most of the times they be thrown in the back of the gang truck in the forgotten fittings basket, the pros like nipple up use hydrolic wrenches that makes it faster and safer
18"? Worked in a lot of power plants and hit plenty of knock wrenchs, never seen one like that
@@justinbenjamin4651 I am a boilermaker/tube welder and work in power plants all the time. We did on one occasion use a knocker that was huge like that, 16 inch if I remember right.
What a f*cking pain in the a*s! we had to use a pile of rigging just to get the f*cking thing in place. Then 3 of us beating on it all day with the biggest beaters we could find. Being a welder I don't often get stuck doing sh*t like that, but I'm also a pretty good rigger. Needless to say I don't tell bosses that I can rig anymore 😂
We use them to take stubborn nuts off of streetlight and traffic poles. When the hydraulic impact won't budge them.
Used to be a mechanic. My rule for specialty purchases was : if you need it 3 seperate times you better buy one. .. also, used to make speciatly tools for myself & the water dept. where I worked out of steel blanks.
Buying tools is the Worst part about being a mechanic besides dealing with customers and engineers that have to be so high when they forget to design a part well and you gotta pull the bumper , remove the radiator , take down the timing cover and all the accessories just to change a flipping sticking thermostat and coolant temperature sensor.
I was a pipefitter and shipbuilder (female if it matters) and I never thought about the cost of a slugging wrench! I was fortunate enough to have had access to some great industrial tools, tools going back to pre-war USA, before the company finally retired them. I love Harbor Freight because I brought in a broken die grinder in and they replaced it on the spot! Just like Sears used to do! I considered myself lucky to have been doing the kind of work I did. It was hard work, but my brothers and sisters in the shipyard were the greatest! I still have a 1/2 HF Impact wrench that still works. It's almost 20 years old. I oil it and it produces about 50lbs torque, perfect for flanges!
I have a 1948 All aluminum housing, Miller Falls brand "Monster hand grinder"The cord just gets more electrical tape . As the power cord is that old cloth wrapped style. and i'm afraid to change it."If it aint broke don't fix it." The power switch slides through the rear handle. IT RUNS YOU FOR 4MINS. it's a 27lb beastThen you set it down. Best 30 dollar yard sale buy i have ever made.
@@ryanparmley5605I have a few of the old power tools with the aluminum housing. Unfortunately they changed the blade insert style on the jigsaw and I can't get the right blades anymore. If I had known I would have stocked up on several dozen of each type because the jigsaw still works great.
I needed an extra long 10mm wrench the other day. Didn't want to ruin a good wrench. Bought a cheap wrench, cut it in half and welded an extension in the middle
We call em hammer wrenches down here and i had no idea they cost that much. i used to use em all the time at work doing bolt up on big flanges before our company broke out the pocket book and bought some of those hydraulic torque wrenches! They’re a game changer! Whoever invented those janks is my hero! Lol
Unless you absolutely NEED a high dollar version of anything, harbor freight should always be your first pick.
Those guys are goated, best damn hardware store in the world.
I still have the wrench I modified to do valve adjustments on my 79 merc diesel I owned, car is long gone but that 50 cent wrench is still in my tool box.
"Saving some money for retirement is pretty cool too" Hey fellas start saving NOW! I retired last year and I wish I had used Harbor Freight more often before I did GREAT VIDEO!!!
Thanks for the great comment!!
@@dansproshop no prob just keep up the great work you do Bud!!
@@dansproshop you can also make your own wrench out of plate steel and a cutting torch
Best part is , you can take that cut in half wrench into harbor freight in two pieces no receipt and get a free new one no questions asked. That’s why they’re the best
"But it's also great to save for retirement."
Why you got to come out swinging bro? I felt that!
Haha. The truth cuts deep…
Love harbor freight for what I call consumable / rarely used tools …. Things like Allen wrenches , tools that I’m gonna let people borrow , various size wrenches I’ll hardly use , or something I want to fabricate a specialty tool out of . Personally I’m currently working in a glass factory so anytime I’m working above the 3,000 degree furnace I know I’m gonna be sweating and dropping tools into the furnace . I’m a little less angry about sacrificing a tool when it cost me a few dollars lol
I bought a set of six pipe threading dies from HF, to fix a plumbing problem. I only needed _one,_ but the set cost less than calling a plumber out _once._ 😁
I use harbor freight the same way. As tools I don't care about or hardly ever use. If I use it everyday, im going to invest in something higher quality like Snap On, Cornwell, Sunex, Koken.
Or if it's a tool you aren't sure you are going to use a lot. Buy the harbor freight/cheapo and if it breaks that means you use it enough to invest in something nice.
Our guys use those knocker wrenches every day putting tower cranes up. Then, you have to come back with a hy-torque after the crane is up and torque the nuts to several thousand pound feet. Gotta half inch gap between tower sections on the side opposite the counterweights before you torque 'em. All the way down. You can feel it when you're up there and it's leaning like a mo fo. Swing the crane right/ left and you can feel the whole tower gyrating. Good times.
Yes sir I work for a crane company local 324
Respect
Fear of heights will keep me off these things 😂
@@LadyAnuB I am been in one plane crash and survived, i will not have another
You guys working in the air like that should be getting paid your weight in gold..
A three pound mini sledge and shiny wrenches is the poor man's impact wrench.
I bought 1 of them once, its still in a friends workshop and he just shouts me beer when i visit for it.
Oil Field set up the BOP Blow out preventer 2 inch nuts 30 of them Hammer Wrench 20 pound sledge beat it till none of them turn 8 years of that . 2 times a week we moved the rig every 7 days .
I work in the cement industry- I use these daily. We call them Kerrigans.
What did you use them for
Nancy approved!
@@EO.studios Specifically to secure the doors on the roller mills. The nuts are usually 1-3/4” to 3, so they’re pounded down with a sledge
Had a similar tool for 36 mm VW rear axle nut. Had slot for 1/2” breaker bar so 4’ pipe and a big whammer and bam, rear drum break job started. Less than 30 bucks but worth it.
Mechanic since about 16, going on 46 plus now! Over 30 years wrenching and yep this man is right on! Just stay away from the cheap impact sockets
We used to use these quite often and having the hammer wrench is so much better than a cut wrench. The little wrench is somuch harder to hit
You missed the part where he said something you may only use 1 time.
Not use quite often
If you use quite often makes sense to buy correct tool
If your only gonna use once the Pittsburgh wrench is all good.
Could weld stock on it too make it easier to hit
Couldn’t you just weld on a thick and flat end onto it though?
For a one-and-done job, it'll do good enough.
Now, the more you expect to need it again, the more you should consider getting a proper one.
@@galaxel1494 You could also cut it longer, heat the end, and fold it over.
Assuming you have access to an anvil.
@@TheAttacker732 excellent idea
That is what I’m talking about! A large percentage of my tools are less expensive ones. If I needed something special, I never hesitated to modify. Cut, grind, bend, weld… get the job done!
I know someone who worked for a farm equipment company and he said that the big Chinese-made wrenches are tough.
HF definitely has its place for one off tool usage. They also have some very useful tools for it's market. Thank you for sharing, great idea. Everyone stay safe, warm, happy and healthy. From Henrico County Virginia
Retirement? *Laughs in American* That ain't never gonna happen
Ain’t that the truth?..
Like, do I look like a dang boomer? I'm getting pretty gray in the face, but...
What if you have 5 lumbar fusion, one done twice, RFA, 9 epidurals with non-particulate steroids and 1 with, three pair the spinal cord simulators electrode leads, one left behind and still can't walk without a cain? Even the SCS company rep & engineer quit. Must be the 60 blue pills I took last week!
My home and working kid are my retirement.
@@deankay4434 cane
I have a family member who works there and we are handy so I get a lot of good deals on things that have been. "Scratched"
Sounds prosecutable.
@@elizabetholiviaclark I should clarify, the things actually are damaged and it's company policy to discount them but we get a heads up whenever that happens
"Wink Wink" 👀 😉
I havent bought alot from harbor freight but the few things i did were pretty worth it. A mitre box for 100$, dual bevel and a slide, lasted about a year and a half. Sawzall that lasted around a year, dont remember the price, maybe 40$. And the biggest life saver was a 7$ angle grinder that lasted over 2 years.
It’s crazy this even needs to be said😂
I mean your right for pointing it out!
I can’t tell you how many times a coworker will be like “ we can’t do it, we need THIS tool”
Then I’ll just walk around to the scrap pile and find something to make it happen…
But why do you NEED to even cut it? I’d just use it with the other end still on
I've also cut cheap wrenches in half just to make it fit in a tight spot on one given situation.
You're not kidding about being unlucky enough to have experienced a slugger wrench.
Growing up, dad always called it the cheap tool store and I didn’t know it had a name or was a chain venue. I just always called it the cheap tool store
As a submarine engineer I can confirm we have many cut spanners 😂.
I absolutely love harbor freight. When I go in there I’m like a kid in a candy store and most of the time I’ll go in for one thing and end up walking out with a cart full of stuff.
I play ice hockey, and I buy the 10 pack of electrical tape to use for my socks. I don't how much money I've saved over the years when sock tape is damn near $5/roll.
You have to go in when they give away the free flashlights! :) Those free flashlights have cost me hundreds of dollars. :( (I have poor self control and should not be left unsupervised.)
All of us tool guys think alike. 😊
I used to be a Millwright in the oilfield, I have had no choice but to buy the Slugger before because we just kept breaking cut in half wrenches till one went flying through a window. Sometimes stuffing box nuts get really really really tight.
I’ve always heard them called Knock wrench’s. We always put a strap on it, so one guy can hold it on, while another guy hits it.
The question you have to ask yourself when buying tools is "how much will I be out of pocket if I loose this or it gets stolen?"
for some you needa ask how bad is this gonna hurt when it skips a gear with me giving it a ton of force in a small ingine bay. sockets harbot frieght all day, the socket wrench im willing to pay the money for. also when cheqp ratchets take like force to get to click, so the bolt is too tight to hand remove and too loose to have the action on the cheap wrench work properly...
One time in Hollywood I left one of my tool bins unlocked for about fifteen minutes at a motel I was working on. Unfortunately it was a a bin filled with some of my best power tools. He didn't get all of them but it still cost me about fifteen hundred dollars to replace them. I was told someone saw a guy running down the street with all the power tools he could carry. Just about broke my heart.
This guy is a pro and he gets the whole pic.. snap-off guys must hate him
Oh I don't doubt it. Doesn't matter what field or hobby you are into, there are always gear snobs.
I work for John Deere and the amount of mechanics here that have BOXES full of specialty Snap-On tools they use once every few years is astounding. Thousands of dollars worth of stuff that barely gets touched
Trust me on this though, they exist for a reason and when you need it you REALLY need it
Harbor freight is literally the best thing, they literally warranty everything, I buy stuff use it break it and return it with no questions asked, absolutely the best Costumer service
At a maintainance job i had, when the fifty ton punch press set up men would screw up and get the ram locked at TDC, we would take a 41/2" wrench we had bought from Harbor Freight and put on the ram adjustment screw , add an 8-10 ft. piece of pipe and push on it with a forklift while cycling the press in reverse to break the pressure on the die table, we did break some wrenches on occasion but for "cheap" tools they held up surprisingly well to such punishment.
Imagine showing this comment to your wife. She would be so lost
Oh yes scrap steel also works well weld an old socket on it and go to town!! Can’t say I haven’t done that a few times. 😂
Then you have never actually had a need for knock wrench.😂
@@jpolish420 many times while working on heavy equipment.
@@jpolish420 sometimes you have to make do
I would weld a tick plate on the back to add some weight and a place to hammer to it doesn’t flight away after you hit it.
That is so funny my close friend works at Harbor Freight and he's been there for about 10 years and he absolutely loves his job he always comes home and tells me the cool things that they get in
Sometimes a tool only needs to last a single job.
Have custom made tools in shop. Boats need odd tools. Wrench made from 1/2" plate, through hull tools (including one to walk on)
My dad was a engineer on cargo ships. The torque rating for the giant cylinder head bolts was whenever you got tired of smacking these wrenches with a sledge hammer!
Yeah, I just inherited a house and needed mostly yard tools. I don’t need professional tools, because I’m not taking on a career of maintaining a somewhat small front and backyard. Many of my indoor projects will be one off and short lived. And some of the other tools and parts I might need? Temu.
I'm always surprised at how often Harbor Freight has just what I need. After all the Harbor Freight "saving the day" situations, I should not be surprised anymore.
brake-line wrenches are 29.99. and regular wrenches are 9.99 so i bought the reggies and cut a gap in the closed ends. im sure every mechanic has done this but at 17 years old i was proud of myself
As you should be!
As long as the brake line fittings aren't ridiculously tight/rusted, that'd work jus fine
Now when you strip things out you can be even more proud of yourself 😂