The second installment of this series is out now! View it here: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/ftWTY66HrK_Fn5c.html

I can't be the only one using their clamps. AMAZING for the price imo.

Great video, but totally missed their F-Clamps, price is 100 times better than anyplace else and they work well.

I use my garage as my wood shop. Space is always a premium. I drew up elaborate plans to build a storage shed. My wife is an engineer. I showed her my elaborate plan with great pride. She opened her phone. She had a plan for a 10 X 17 shed for $179.. it was the Harbor freight 10 X 17 tent carport.. it was an epiphany. I put the tent up in a few hours. I put it on a floor from free decking boards I had. I live in Indiana it snows, high winds, it has not shown any wear after 5 years. I recommend this.

I've gotten a lot of great stuff at harbor freight, love all my cordless Bauer tools and Pittsburgh pro mechanics tools, I have had good luck with Chicago electric tools as well, the circular saw,jig saw and reciprocating saw work great,had them for a couple of years now and their doing great 👍

I love my central machinery lathe. Got it as a Christmas gift a couple years ago and it’s great.

I cannot say enough about their dust collector. Its knocked my dust issues back 95%. I also recommend their drum sander

Good tips, thanks. I bought a belt sander at HF for $39, and it is fantastic!!! Figured I would give it a try, since it was so cheap, glad I did.

I really appreciated your video considering how many snub their nose at Harbor Freight. Now, I’m not saying everything is worthy but things you don’t use on a frequent basis or use frequently like the consumables you pointed out are perfect reasons for going there. I would also enjoy other videos on what not to buy at high end stores or not worth paying the extra money.. meaning you’re paying for the name more than anything. Helps newbies like myself.

I have an old, hand held drill press. As a kid (1970's) I can remember it being setup with a B&D drill ready to go. When my father gave me the press, the old drill had been taken out of it. One $20 HB drill and the press is back in business. HB might not have the best tools, but sometimes they fill a roll as good as just about anything else out there.

I have purchased boxes of their "chip brushes" in 1 inch and 2 inch sizes. Ideal for finish application followed by disposal. I also bought a dial indicator and magnetic base to set the table of my table saw to parallel. There are a lot of good items there!

I’m a contractor and I pick a few things up from there from time to time. I appreciate your video and might have to check a few items out because of this video.

I agree with your list. Especially the clamps. I have several of them.

I have 2 of their dust collectors in my shop, the "big" $180 one that I upgraded with a Wynn filter, and a smaller one that I vent to the outside. I also have a bunch of the f style clamps, the bench top 12 speed drill press, the 1" belt sander, the saw blade sharpening tool, and the 6" grinder. All have given me years of service.

Thanks for the heads up, I just got a miter saw from them and worked wonders

Perfect analogy to the Dollar Store assessment. You have to pick and choose Wisely what to purchase. I use them as the disposal tool store.

I am a Woodturner and use the angle drill to sand bowls with great results.

High Agrrement! I have been seletively buying at Harbor Freight for nearly 15 years. When we moved to our current location, I was bummed besuse rhe closest HF locations were over 20 miles away. I kept mentioning that whenever I was in, and now there is a new store only 5 miles away! Probably just coincidence. I agree with you on getting consumables there - I do that and have not been disappointed. I have also purchased a number of select mechanic's tools there, and air hoses, ang again I'm satisfied with them - but also, I'm retired from paid work. A recent find was a small folding step-stool for only a few dollars. It holds 300 pouns (safe for me) and folds to a small flat pack easy to slip into a tiny space. I have one in each car, one in the workshop and a couple in the house. I use a number of the cargo straps to bind my stickered lumber - but not for actual cargo on an actual vehicle. Bungee cords and tarps are always useful, and at prices low en ough tha I treat them as a consumable as well. (A few months ago I was at a deep-discount chain store (no name, to protect the guilty, but the name starts with "O") & saw a woman puzzling over their selection of flimsy "tarps". After asking if I could help, I quietly tolder that if she went two stores down to Harbor Freight, she would find much better quality ones, in more sizes, and for LOWER prices. All true! I did look at some HF routers a while ago, and was NOT impressed. Among other things, I could not find any with 1/2" collets, there were a few for 3/8" collets. Three-eights inch??? I only know of one US manufacturer that makes bits in that size, and only a few of them. Luckily, Woodcraft recently had a Skil router set on sale that uses both 1/4 and 1/2 collets, so that need is solved. Like you, I have no problem suggesting Harbor Freight for a lot of things useful in the woodworking shop.

I've been looking at woodworking as a hobby for the past year and it's great to find videos like this where I can find some great advice on where cheap is good and when buy once, cry once is best. Thanks!

Thanks for the video! I'm going to look for those countersink bits! I am a Luthier and string instrument repairman. I have a Harbor Freight band saw, that I have used for everything from intricate cuts to resawing. I upgraded it with cool blocks, and a Kreg fence, and it never fails to work great. I was going to buy one at the local Sears- but it was well over 400 bucks and made in China. I paid $219.00 for mine, also obviously made in China.. a while ago now. I have a number of power tools from them as well, a heavy duty corded drill with tons of torque, a small rechargable drill, a jigsaw, heat gun, and many smaller things like a couple of dial calipers and screwdriver sets. Overall, HF tools have improved in quality over the years. I have a LOT of HF clamps, and really, no one has better prices on a wide variety of clamps- and as you know, there's some things you can never have too many of- clamps being one of them.

Was at HF today and got a few odds and ends. I like their sanding siscs for my random orbital sander. I have a bunch of the 4' LED shop lights in my shop, 5000 lumens so nice and bright. The switch is prone to breaking but easily replaced with a toggle switch. Have two of the roller stools. C clamps, good and cheap. Heard the F clamps were good so got a few today. I use the 7 mil gloves for paint/staining and they last multiple sessions. Dead blow hammers are good.

The 1x30" belt sander is great for occasional knife grinding and repair and sharpening, if you feel confident enough to freehand on a belt grinder, and if you load it with 3M silicon carbide grinding belts in progressive grits. (These are much finer than typical aluminum oxide wood sanding belts.)

Agreed on all the items. For sure the paint brushes. Learned that while repainting my house.

I bought the 1x30" belt sander and he's right you'll use that for so many things. It works great for me making pipes and knife handles especially

I agree on the sander especially. I had one for years. Even used them with metal oxide belts for sharpening machetes.

I have the HF 16" drill press, no complaints and no problems!!!!

I love their screwdrivers. The blue handled ones just feel good in my hands.

Peg board hooks are a deal too. Zip ties too. I’ve bought more than a few and never had an issue. Heat shrink tubing, and they have a trailer kit my buddy bought that is super nice. the 4x$15 orange ratchet straps-I used these for years when hauling fine furniture up and down the east coast. If they hold a 15k Black Walnut Amoire securely in a box truck going over the Cross Bronx, they’ll do well for most things you need within its scope.

I love the belt sander personally. I use it all the time for so many things like profiling a knife or tool I am making or restoring. Their angle grinders aren't great by any stretch of the imagination but they work very well. At the price they charge, you can look at them as a consumable. I have been pleasantly surprised by how long they actually keep going!

new sub here! I agree with the belt sander. I have lost some of the plastic stuff but it keeps on humming.

I get all kinds of clamps at Harbor Freight. Spring clamps especially. The ratchetting bar clamps I found just break if you tighten them too much, but they're also super cheap, so you can buy twice as many and just deal with the losses.

And as always, their brands are terrific for first-time purchase of a new power tool. You don't know how much you'll need it, and you don't know what you'll eventually want from it. I had a $20 HF reciprocating saw that lasted me for a decade, and when it finally gave up the ghost, I knew exactly what to look for in the high-end replacement.

I have a set of HF wood turning chisels, the less expensive ones, and I've turned plenty of wood using them without ANY problems. Also, their poly handled wood chisels will surprise you. Whenever I get a set of wood chisels the first thing I do is look for spooning in the flat. I did this with the HF chisels and was VERY surprised to find the flat was, indeed, very flat. In fact after coloring then sanding to spot the spooning, ALL the marker came off evenly..

Got the 1" strip sander/disk sander for dirt cheap. Got a high quality pack of super fine abrasive belts from Amazon, again for cheap. That's how I sharpen my knives, etc. Super sharp very quickly. Love it.

I have the three piece countersink bits and they work great.

I bought their 12 inch disc sander for one job 3 years ago and after many jobs later it is still running like a champ, very impressed with it

I have been shopping at Harbor Freight since they were mainly a catalog contractor supply. I haven't bought their more expensive products like a table saw or miter saw (I haven't needed to buy one) but 95% of their products have did the job well enough for me including sockets, ratchets (I had one bad ratchet out of about seven, they replaced it), breaker bars (one broke abusing it, they replaced it no questions asked) and titanium coated drill bits (work fine in wood and 16 gauge metal). Especially for something you likely only need occasionally like a 1/2 inch drill why pay twice the price at Lowe's or Home Depot (before they started eliminating the Chicago Electric line the competition was three times the price). Their Warrior 18 volt cordless drill is great for the price, I have had mine since November and use it several times per month. My brother just used it to drill 3/16 inch holes in concrete and it worked fine. I have a couple of the old Drillmaster cordless drills and at least five of the battery packs for them (I had one of the battery packs apart, they will also be easy to refurbish now that HF doesn't sell them anymore), they will do 85% of jobs and were well worth the $16 that they used to sell for but the Warrior is a much more powerful drill.

I went there this morning great deals for tools I might use every now and then... but need at those moments of need! Good Video... funny I looked at that sander... good to know!

Great tips. There are plenty of other things that are great there too. I have a Central Machinery combo 4x36" belt/6" disc sander and it's never met me down. I also have one of the 8 inch drill presses which is also great. Full disclosure, I bought both used for a total of $80 and they worked perfect. Their sandpaper is also pretty good, especially the metal sandpaper. Things like heat shrink tubing, electrical tape and O rings are a no brainer too. For the price, their drill bits are not bad. You can buy a new set for a job and either sharpen them or buy more. They're that cheap. I have good bits but when I think I might break one, I read for Drill Master bits because I do not care. I'll save my DeWalt and Woodriver bits because they're great but they're expensive. Hot tip, those counter sink bits work great on aluminum too.

I picked up a Portland brand electric pole saw, on a black Friday deal, for about $35. I've used it to remove 3 large trees and keep the rest of the trees in my yard trimmed up. Still runs as good as the day I bought.

I appreciate the perspective. I have items from HF that I like and others I wouldn't buy again. I look forward to more videos.

I'd add their 6 In. Fractional Dial Caliper if you work in imperial, not metric. It directly reads to 1/64", and it is easy to read 1/128". Not nearly as accurate as a metalworking dial or electronic caliper, but great for woodworking. If your tools are calibrated in fractional imperial increments this is a great tool.

This is a great list. I have many HF buys in my shop. By far my most used items are my various clamps. I have a variety of F clamps and bar clamps. I have to be super frugal and for what they do I find these clamps to be completely adequate. I also like my pocket hole jig with the exception that it has zero dust collection. But as far as pocket holes go...it does a pretty nice job.

That green framed belt grinder is on its second year of grinding bone and steel. But, I gotta say Harbor Freight is where I go for clamps! Bar clamps, C clamps, spring loaded clamps! It's amazing what you can do with enough of them, and they're economical at HB.

I'm happy with the clamps I buy there. The aluminum bars are lighter than pipe clamps, and don't slip when tightened. Good price. Only problem is glue squeeze out sticks to them. I fixed it by putting saran wrap between the piece and the clamp-problem solved!

The countersinks you showed are also fantastic on aluminum if you predrill the hole first. I use them everyday at work. They cut thru sheet aluminum flat bar and 6061 like butter.

Great video!! Yeah I need some clamps, thanks again!!

I needed a 10 inch compounding mitre saw for a few home projects and bought the harbor freight brand and put a better blade on it and it has been great

The 1" sander is absolutely the best thing ! I lost all my tools in a flood, but when shopping one day at HFT, I walked by this 1" belt sander and it said it was on close out. WOW ! I bought mine with a coupon on closeout for $29 dollars ! I love this thing. It sands wood, and metal easily. I've learned that having a stationary sander like this, is great for lots of projects. And this is so small, I can pick it up and take it other places, like my shed to sharpen mower blades. It just works ! Extra belts are low priced to. 😀

i have a harbor freight trim router that i have used and abused for 6 years .. still going strong. i caught it on sale for 20.00. actually bought 2.

Good information! I get my toggle clamps from Menards. Currently they are $.50 CHEAPER than HF. I also get most of my consumables at HF, great savings!

Great job! Thank you for the information on these products.

Excellent video! My shop is being built right now and this was helpful.

I love the hook, I have several. I hang my ladders, cords, even my weed eaters from them. They have the Atlas and Hercules Brands now, I bought an Atlas Pole saw, and its a beast its even cordless. spent a good 6hrs cutting limbs up to 6 inches thick on one battery.

I bought their clamps there almost 2 years ago and they're still going strong. Not a single one broke so far. Also, I needed an inexpensive router as my second one. I got one for about 35 bucks. Works great.

Thanks for the information!

Another thing to get at Harbor Freight is wheels. Not the kind you need for moving things that way a TON, or go on a highway, but casters, carts and wheelbarrows. If you are not loading them to the max, they were really well.

For me, the number one item to buy from Harbor Freight is their 1,000 lb. capacity Hydraulic Lift Table. At its highest setting, it is even with the tailgate of my full-size pickup truck. It makes unloading heavy, bulky items much easier. I also use it as an out feed table for my table saw or as an extension of my work bench. I use it to move my lathe. Originally, I bought it because it was cheaper than lift-gate service for a delivery I was expecting. Since then, I've found so many uses for it I'm not sure how I got along with out it. Second on the list is Harbor Freight's line of Fortress air compressors. These are high quality air compressors that cost a lot less than others of similar quality.

I bought a compound miter saw 20 years ago at HF - still working great .. and let me tell you i have abused the crap out of this thing..

That one inch sander is the best. I've had mine for years now.

I got my oscillating multitool from them and it’s been the best corded tool ever. I don’t use it a lot, but each time I do, it pays for itself. Same for my 4” right angle grinder. I paid $10 for it at their sidewalk sale and it’s been a trooper. If you know what to look for, you can find great stuff there.

I have a HF chain saw sharpener. Paid $49 on sale. I’ve sharpened chains maybe forty times. At $8-10 per sharpening at the hardware store I’ve saved a ton. Plus, it only takes about ten minutes rather than multiple trips into town and waiting 7-10 days. It’s Not heavy duty commercial grade, but great for a home owner, Farmer, etc.

The 1” belt sander is THE BOMB! get an jig for sharpening knives and chisels (Amazon), soeme belts 80-1000 grit, and a leather strop belt, and you CANT BE STOPPED! There is nothing you can’t sharpen…💥👍🎉

Step bits for drilling sheet metal and the (used to be free) 4inch magnetic trays. I also have the Daytona 3 ton jack and love it.

Their step drill bits is something worth the cost and yet not too expensive. I’ve used the same two (that come in a set) for 3 years now, 90% of the time drilling mild steel, and they’re still going strong.

I like their anti-fatigue mats & moving blankets.

Harbor Freight Rocks!!! And the sales unbelievable, granted power tools are a bit like he has claimed in video. However; if it's a power tool you use from time to time or you need one quick & cheap they work, a bit noisier than most but yeah if your not using it every day it's worth it because it will last if your gentle lol awesome video dig the sander. I saw they have a lot of wood working machines like laves and miniature build yourself kits for kids or me, like table saw, router tables. Which to me as being kinda new to all this it's perfect and fun and fun for my son but really gives those guys who lack vision atleast an idea of where to start when jumping into a project like building real table saws, band saw, router tables whatever. Love Harbor Freight clamps clamps clamps clamps wood glue wood glue wood glue clamps and more glue and another clamp. Maybe one more for the road. Love Harbor Freight!great video

i got there thikness planer and 10 inch bauer miter saw ,bauer glue gun , hercules table saw been pretty happy with them all

harbor freight is good i have allot of their machines and clamps and pin nailer a 12 inch disk sander the one inch sander and many more items the magbet bar is great to put screwdrivers and bits on so allot of good stuff there

F clamps should have been on this list. I have tons of them, and yes, every once in awhile one of the ones you buy are junk. But consider the price. I have both the 12 speed drill press and a vertical belt sander that have both served me well for over 20 years each. Like he says, generally don't buy power tools from HF unless you plan to have them fail. I bought a corded drill that didn't have enough torque to send a 1/8th inch drill through a pine 2x4.

I watched this video on the same day that I was using the Ryobi countersink set, and your holes looked a lot better. I went ahead and grabbed that countersink set from HF and dang... its much better. The problem with the Ryobi ones is that it came out uneven most of the time, but this ones mentioned here make it pretty consistent.

I use them for Tarps, Bungee cords, Sandpaper & Rope. The hand truck isn't bad and also their dolly's

Check out their router guide bushings. They are made of brass and work great. Had my set for years!

Really good vid. Throw in other consumables like tape, zip ties, heat shrink tubes etc. thanks for posting. Subbed.

I love my little 1” belt sander. Actually got it on sale for $49. Good vid

Great video. Some shop tools like the Bauer oscillating belt sander or thickness planer are pretty much the same as all the other sub-professional variants. In general, it's better to get budget tools and get experience than wait to get the more expensive tools.

I’m a Pro tradesman and I admit that there is a place and time that Harbor Freight tools fill the bill. Trick is to have a keen eye for what is a gimmicky knockoff and what is an actual serviceable tool. I used to avoid anything that had a electric motor, but HF has really made a big stride forward in recent years in some of their power tools. The Bauer brand stuff is actually pretty good stuff. Case in point my brother bought their surface planer (Bauer) a few years back it has performed flawlessly even on 1000’s of feet of hardwoods.

I'm big on the cordless power tools they have. The newer Hercules line does very well and for less than half of the cost of the big names. Great for personal use and several vendors I have worked with also use them. A couple had both a DeWalt and Hercules 12v screw gun. The Hercules has performed just as well as the DeWalt and the only replacement was due to someone walking away with it on a site. But at roughly $70.00 that is much better than the $149.00 of the DeWalt.

They have a really good quality 6" F clamps on the cheap. I bought a pair and use it daily.

Great video! Thanks for the advice!

I’ve had my $89.99 10 gallon compressor for at least 12 years and still going strong!

Harbor Freight sells a T-handle tap ratcheting wrench. I bought one back when i was working in a hydraulic fabrication shop. Everything we made was custom. It was not uncommon to have to tap threads in 1/2 and 5/8 plate metal 25 or more tines a day. That ratcheting tap could not be destroyed. You could break a tap off in the hole but that tool never gave out. There are other things form harbor freight that were equally awsome. Some other things like their red and black pnumatic die grinder was awsome for the price. It has a dial at the base to regulate air flow. Most other die grinders must be controlled by airflow to the tool. Guys who had ingersols were borrowing my HF die grinder all the time. Hand tools....ratchets and sockets were well worth what they cost...on and on. What i am hearing of the bauer tools is that they are worth the price HF is asking on them. HF has alot to offer. Its not all junk. Those Bremen wood clamps are good clamps. They're close to the Irwins and DeWalts at a lower price. C clamps....casters for workbenches....there's alot of good stuff there!!!

Will have to go check things out

Great video I love harbor freight I was thinking about buying a tool box

I have been going to get one of those belt sanders for awhile, but it seems like they are very popular since they have been out the last few times I have gone into HF to get one.

When I needed a new sliding miter saw, I went with the Harbor Freight Hercules with all the features of the top of the line DeWalt, but at half the price. Dead accurate out of the box: I’m very happy with it.

Great VIDEO bro Thank you !!!!!

I bought a angle grinder for every disk/wire brush/flap disk. Saves time on switching out disks. At 14$ they work flawlessly

I love this i have a small business woodworking shop and I find that HF is great to get started yeah the tools don't last forever but they are great to get started and buy you time till you can upgrade and there are some great gems there and I know that I have a lot of stuff that I use on a regular basis from HF. Keep up the great work new sub!

Great list. Thanks for sharing.

Years ago, I got a 16 speed floor model drill press that weighed 187 pounds for $187. Best money I ever spent in my shop. A set of 9 Pittsburgh screwdrivers with green handles and through-the-handle square shanks cost me $7, and they are still my favorites. Their cobalt drills are excellent, their air tools are "just OK", their corded tools are awful.

Nice & informative. Thanks.

Good video, those hooks are awesome! I highly recommend their Hercules power tool line, just wait for a coupon though!

You have earned a subscriber. Great stuff bro.

Awesome video! Thank you. Subscribed.

I also go to Harbor Freight to test out a type of tool I'm not sure I'd need. First tool to be tested? A trim router. Their trim router helped me see I would use one a lot, but I didn't think so at the time. I did the same with the multitool osculating tool. Two other tools I do have are the osculating drum sander and the 1 HP Dust Collector. I'm very happy to have HF close so it is a bonus as well.

Great info. Thanks for sharing!!

I have their 23 gauge pin nailer and it's great.

Harbor Freight has come a long way. DOn't have to think of everything as throwaway, you can actually get some quality if you are careful. Be a little careful on some of the small things, most are cheaper than the big stores, but don't assume, there are exceptions. Have to say, I REALLY like my Hercules 12 inch mitre saw, broke down and got if when my old, smaller craftsman bit the dust. Price/quality comparisons, bit the bullet on the Hercules, am extremely happy with the purchase, saved a boatload over a DeWalt and in my opinion, equal quality.

To clean the Sander belt use a n eraser!! Run it against the face of the grit an it clears the wood debris