Still looking for a cheap-ass polisher for safe-and-easy knot-cup-brush use? Here’s one similar to the one I have, and it’s $30 right now at Harbor Freight. As I’ve said before, I like these for knot-cup brush use because they spin slow enough to keep the wire in the brush — and out of your belly/arms/etc.
For our Toolmongers to the North: Princess Auto is currently offering this 1,000-pound-rated furniture dolly for just $25 Canadian. It measures 30″ x 18″ and weighs just 15.3 pounds. Remember: having a furniture dolly is lots better than not having one. Sure, you can build a better one on your own. But why bother at this price?
We’re sorry, by the way, for the spy-camera photo. Princess Auto is big on discounts, but not big on photos.
1,000 Lb. Platform Dolly [Princess Auto]
I actually own one of these 1/4″ pneumatic die grinders from Harbor Freight, and it’s not too bad. It spins at 22,000 rpm when provided a steady stream of 90 psi air, and does its job quite reasonably.
This $6 bit set from Harbor Freight includes many of the crazy bits you only rarely use – like hollow hex, Pozi, hollow-tip Torx, and splined — but have to have when the need arises. As far as I’m concerned, that’s one of the prime applications for cheap-ass tools.
This inexpensive powder coat oven from Harbor Freight might be a good alternative to that “recovered” oven you’ve been thinking about installing in the shop. Why? It runs on 110V so you don’t have to drop 220V, it’s a lot more compact, and you need a range top in the garage like you need an extra hole in your head.
Harbor Freight is currently listing this four-piece set of locking pliers for $5 — cheap enough that you could lose them or foul them while welding and not worry much. And before you comment, understand that I’m fully aware that these are nowhere near the quality of a set of Vise-Grips or other quality locking pliers. But I know two things about locking pliers:
1) They’re easy to lose and foul, and
2) When you need more than two of them, you often need a lot of them.
This is especially true of welding clamps, which HF also sells. I have a drawer full of ‘em.
As far as these go, you get a 4-3/4″ needle-nosed set, a 4″ straight-jaw set, and two 5″ C-clamp sets. Maximum jaw openings are 1-1/2″, 1-3/4″, 1″, and 2″.
4-Piece Mini Locking Pliers Set [Harbor Freight]
I’m not sure I’d want to bet my ass on this — like hauling my Jeep up out of a ravine while I’m in it – but I can think of any number of projects that’d benefit from this tool. And it’d beat the living hell out of a come-along for loading a car up a relatively shallow ramp.
Features include a 1.5 HP 12V motor, and remote control with a 9′ cord, and 50′ of 5/32″ aircraft cable. But the best feature of all is the price: $49.99 at Harbor Freight right now.
2,000 Lb. Capacity Utility Winch [Harbor Freight]
If you’re a welder — even an amateur — you probably already own a great welding helmet. But what about friends who come over and want to “help?” Do you have a helmet for them? That’s a perfect time for a cheap-ass tool, and Harbor Freight has some deals that might interest you, like this auto-darkening helmet — complete with Discovery-channel-blue flames! — for $60.
It features a 1/25,000 second switching speed and a variable shade control that adjusts it between a #9 and a #13. It appears to be (like most of these) solar-powered, but it also has a backup battery.
Blue Flame Design Auto-Darkening Welding Helmet [Harbor Freight]
You really can’t have too many scales around the shop: a normal bathroom scale for really heavy stuff, a fish scale for medium-weight measurements, and a small scale like this one for gauging mixing measurements and such. And at $10, there’s really no excuse not to have one.
Don’t have the scratch for Stanley’s Mobile Project Center or Black & Decker’s Workmate? That doesn’t mean you have to go without. While we certainly wouldn’t claim that Strong Arm’s on-the-cheap solution measures up to the quality of those famous brands, it’s a hell of a lot easier on the wallet.
Sometimes convenience trumps micron-level precision, and for those times plastic vernier calipers rule. Their shape makes measuring inside, outside, and depth dimensions simple — much easier than with a standard tape measure and about as accurate — but I’m loathe to carry my quality dial calipers where they might get damaged, lost, or stolen. That’s why I keep a set of cheap-ass plastic vernier capliers in every toolbox.
For those whoe don’t have $400 bucks to drop on an evaporative cooler — or live outslide of Arizona — an old school oscillating fan is the way to go to bring some cool into the shop on the cheap.
If you enjoyed the technician’s bag we posted earlier this week, here’s a cheaper alternative we came across this weekend: a canvas tool bag for just $8. It’s not exactly feature laden, and it doesn’t come with a name brand label plastered on the side, but it will carry a set of tools around the house or in the car.
15″ Canvas Tool Bag [Carfood]
Street Pricing [Froogle]
Via Amazon [What’s This?]
What’s the most common first project for newbie welders? A welding cart. A really crappy welding cart. So why not save your self some dough — and hassle — by picking up a cheap one like this Clarke for around $50? You can always build the second most common first project instead: a BBQ grille.
Ever notice that when you drop a bolt or socket under the hood it always ends up somewhere both hard-to-reach and dark? Harbor Freight’s offering a tool right now that kills both those birds with one $7 stone.
David writes: “Harbor Freight now has a cheap and functional fix for this problem in the form of a magnetic light on a stalk. Nestled into the end of the flexible stalk is a high-power magnet and in the middle of the magnet is a white LED light. The stalk bends smoothly and stays in place while you’re maneuvering it toward your intended target, and the bright light helps you see what’s going on so you can nail it the first time. The handle doubles as a Mag-Lite-style battery compartment with a sealed on-off button. I’ve had no reliability problems with mine, and I’m a happy customer!”
Flexible Magnetic Pickup Tool [Harbor Freight]
These cheap-ass tie-downs from Kwik Tek look pretty slick. Unlike ratchet-types, they simply lock and unlock to hold the strap in place — kind of like the strap on a backpack. We’re not suggesting that you throw away your ratcheting tie downs, but in our experience you just can’t have too big a variety of gear to tie-down crap to your truck or trailer.
Tim writes: “Princess Auto carries basically the exact same thing as this Harbor Freight arbor press for around $35 Canadian — a great deal. I’d love to know from Toolmongers how good these really are, though. I’d be using it for things like pressing out/in suspension bushings, press-fit objects like brass bushings, pins, etc.”
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