a (very) short tool review...

[s4TT]

hey all,

a while back i asked for a tool suggestion for an impact gun. cordless would've been preferable, but i opted for a corded impact because I figured I'm too forgetful/ADD to charge batteries and have them ready all at once. I also usually do all my work at my dad's house or the GF's parents garage (heated FTMFW). anyways, i recently went back to school and spent all my cash on books, so needless to say, I was broke. BUT DAMNIT i wanted an impact gun.

I was bored one sunday afternoon, and headed to harbor freight for some tool storage ideas when I stumbled upon this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=45252

now i know the deal with harbor freight, you get what you pay for (the general rule with all things in life) and my tools are all craftsman (i'll wait for a real job to buy snap-on). i fully understood that this thing would suck and get progressively worse, but after talking to the manager, I got the price down to $40 bucks, and he threw in a full set of metric impact sockets for only 9 bucks more. I couldn't pass it up.

This thing is sweet! I'm sure its just having impact to take of lugnuts and everything is sweet, but it certainly does the job everytime without any fuss. Do i think its actually 240 ft/lbs of torque capable? Probably not, but I haven't had anything it can't get through just yet.

I will be dropping suspension and brakes/wheel bearings all at once soon (as soon as my clutch is broken in) and will see the real test when it comes to the axle nut. I'm 99.9999% it won't be up to the task, and I'll break out my breaker bar with a long steel tube to crack the nut.

However, if you keep your eyes peeled this thing does drop in price a lot to about 49.99 and you can take in your BB or iPhone or whatever, show it to the manager, and they will price match on the spot.

I think it's worth it, and for those strapped on cash, it will get the job done until the good times roll in and we can all deck out our tool sets with snap on.

Just need a serious torque wrench, and I'll be set on tools for a while

[RusS4]

Bought one, returned it the next day. But I also bought a cordless one from snap-on and returned it like the next day. Neither of them could take the axle nut off my honda so I had no need. But they do help out with some small jobs.

[black99.5a4]

my axle nut requires my 1/2" breaker bar with my jack handle for leverage to bust loose.

[jibberjive]

my axle nut requires my 1/2" breaker bar with my jack handle for leverage to bust loose.

Me too. I've got an 18" 1/2" breaker bar and a 4ft cheater bar.

On another note, I love my cordless Makita impact for everything bug lug/axlebolts. Saves so much time on almost every job I do.

[b5isalive]

+2 for the harbor freight tools. When i got my first job building engines i needed tools. Being 16 i didnt have much money besides some saving bonds my grandpa left me, i decided to try the harbor freight stuff. I broke one or two impact sockets but they have a lifetime warranty just like snap-on, matco, mac, craftsman, etc.

However my 1/2" and 3/4" pneumatic impacts have never had a single problem. I still have them and work flawlessly. Every time i use them i put a drop of air tool oil in them too. When and if they break, ill buy some snap-on ones but until then, ill stick by my very cheap investment. Maybe i just got lucky

[Audiophyle]

I have the same corded impact you pictured, its 4 years old and has paid for itself thousands of times over.

I have also had better luck with Harbor Freight air impacts than Craftsman's air impacts.
Ive got a Matco air impact that barely keeps up with the HF one & it was almost 6 times the price. lol

Get what you pay for? Some of their tools are very hard to beat, even at twice the price.

[jibberjive]

...and sorry you have a very short tool;)

[kbS42001]

(random tool comment)
got craftsman tap & die set, 1/2" drive torque wrench and 30-50 torx bit socket set for an "early V-day present" from the lady to put on my JHM DTS tonight...felt like pretty good quality but its all a toss up, harbor freight sometimes puts out a decent product esp at the price...

now i gotta think up somthing good to get her