Topic: All kind of Harbor Freight goodies...

[fmctm1sw]

Man, I hit HF hard over the holidays.  Motorcyle tire changer, 2 HP/125PSI air compressor (and accompanying 2 yr warranty since I know it will die a premature death), leakdown tester and a tire balancer.  I had two 25% off coupons I usd today for the leakdown tester and balancer...

[chrima]

Where did you get the coupons?

I was looking at getting the leakdown tester they had there myself. Let me know how the leakdown tester is. Hey, does the leakdown tester also test engine compression as well? Harbor Freight has some good prices on their tools.

Thanks,

Chris

[Don R]

Drag racer mag has coupons in it. They didn't even make me tear out the page. Making me think about the bike lift.

[shizzomynizzo]

also handed coupons out at the store over the last few days at my local HF

[bucky katt]

i got my ride on lift from them a few years ago. best money ever spent in my shop, except for the 5 dollar beer fridge.

[GammaFlat]

Unfortunately, the 25% off coupon was only good for Jan 1.  The one I used was handed out over the counter.  15% off single item is common but you need to be on their mailing list.  They send out the 15% off via email and USPS fliers. 

[fmctm1sw]

Yeah, I was there twice over the last week or so and ended up with two.  I took the balancer out to my car and came back in with the other coupon and asked then if they saw my evil twin brother in the store earlier.  That tire changer & accompanying cycle attachhment was on sale for $50 each (through the 4th at my store).  I ended up buying them before the 1st because I was scared they would be gone. 

[olskoolcb500]

there's a 20% coupon in the current issue of THE HORSE, HOT ROD, GRASSROOTS MOTORSPORTS and numerous other mags.. the current issues are good til April '10

[GammaFlat]

I wanted to buy a band saw with the 25% off coupon but read terrible reviews of it.  A 12 ton shop press was also on my list but I had second thoughts because of the infrequency of use and floor space occupied.  I wound up with the 2 pc. automotive spray gun kit.  Another guy here on the forum has had good luck with an hvlp gun from HF. 

[slowjo]

I hate going there. Spend way to much money every time I go.

[OldSchool_IsCool]

I hate going there. Spend way to much money every time I go.

I know the feeling Slow    If I wrenched for a profession, I'd prolly skip most of the stuff there.  But for a casual wrencher like myself, their stuff is acceptable.  I do have some quality tools for the more delicate work (6-point combo wrenches, JIS drivers, torque wrench, calipers, etc).  Things where the HF tools break, strip out or are too inaccurate. 

[paulages]

i always ask for the lowest sale price with or without a sale or coupon, and they always give it to me. they can look up the cheapest something sold for the previous year and sell it for that, which means that if someone used a 25% off coupon on top of a sale, it's gonna be pretty damn cheap.

[ofreen]

Well, I am as guilty as anyone about this, since Harbor Freight has a lot of my money.  But it is getting hard to find tools anywhere that aren't made in China.  I was out yesterday looking for a particular item.  It being New Year's, a lot of places were closed.  Lowe's and Home Depot were, and nothing in there other than Chinese stuff.  Even the Kobalt stuff in Lowe's is Chinese.  Irwin is now Chinese. 

[Bodi]

China is a big place. They make some absolutely excellent tools, but they're not easy to find and cost almost as much as the good German stuff.
The name brand China-made tools you get at Lowes are probably equal to the older USA origin ones, but the ridiculous cost of labor in the USA has sent most factory jobs overseas.
Tell that to a union man and you'll get a lecture and/or a fat lip. I suppose it must be better to lose (forever) a $30/hr factory job with a full pension and medical insurance than keep the same job for $15/hr with way fewer benefits... and keep some manufacturing capability in this hemisphere. Once China has eliminated their competition you'll see their prices go way up.

[ofreen]

Once China has eliminated their competition you'll see their prices go way up.

And what quality there is will go down.  The current Kobalt stuff doesn't appear to be as well finished as the older stuff.  I don't know about the dimensional part, but I can't be particularly optimistic.

[chrima]

there's a 20% coupon in the current issue of THE HORSE, HOT ROD, GRASSROOTS MOTORSPORTS and numerous other mags.. the current issues are good til April '10

Cool, thanks!

I found the 20% off coupon in a motorcycle mag.

Hey, does anybody know if the leak down tester will also do compression, or do I need a separate guage for that?

[fmctm1sw]

there's a 20% coupon in the current issue of THE HORSE, HOT ROD, GRASSROOTS MOTORSPORTS and numerous other mags.. the current issues are good til April '10

Cool, thanks!

I found the 20% off coupon in a motorcycle mag.

Hey, does anybody know if the leak down tester will also do compression, or do I need a separate guage for that?

I don't think it will do compresion, it isn't designed that way.  This is supposedly a better device to use anyway.

[MötleyRöx]

fmctm1sw

I have my doubts that you'll find the correct metric fittings included with your tester... have you looked into that?

[Deltarider]

MötleyRöx, can I ask you a personal question?
(Well, if it's not too personal )
Are you from the Isle of Man?

[MötleyRöx]

Delta, no, I just have three legs so I fly the flag like it is my own.   

Actually, my father visited the island for IOM-TT this year and that is a portion of one of the thousands of pictures he took.  I just like the image.   

[Deltarider]

Tree legs would be 'handy' when you struggle to get home after the pub has closed.
Strange we never developed that third leg to stay fit. Even Darwin never explained.

[Simpson]

I picked up this sucker yesterday with a 55% off coupon. Plan is to try to tune the carbs using heat temperatures.
If it doesn't work, I can go back to shooting it at my dogs nose to get his temperature readings.
Think it was about 26 bucks with discount. Not bad!
Better than touching pipes, burned myself 10 times last season.

[bucky katt]

I picked up this sucker yesterday with a 55% off coupon. Plan is to try to tune the carbs using heat temperatures.
If it doesn't work, I can go back to shooting it at my dogs nose to get his temperature readings.
Think it was about 26 bucks with discount. Not bad!
Better than touching pipes, burned myself 10 times last season.

thats basically what i'm going to be doing in the next few days. i've got the valves adjusted to make all 4 cylinders have the same compresion and now i need to do some fine tuning with the pyrometer.

[Laminar]

There's a 20% off coupon on the latest issue of Motor Trend - the Car of the Year edition. It's right in the Car of the Year article, too, opposite of the four door Porsche. For anyone looking to buy a big tool soon the price of the magazine would be well worth the savings.

[edbikerii]

Check the "jetting" link in my sig.  That thread contains whole lot of tuning/jetting information, including a substantial discussion of cylinder head temps and the effects of jetting.

I picked up this sucker yesterday with a 55% off coupon. Plan is to try to tune the carbs using heat temperatures.
If it doesn't work, I can go back to shooting it at my dogs nose to get his temperature readings.
Think it was about 26 bucks with discount. Not bad!
Better than touching pipes, burned myself 10 times last season.