What's your favorite "man-church"/tool-store?

[festergrump]

This is so far the best place I have ever found for buying just about any tool known to man... for dirt cheap. It's www.harborfreight.com (http://www.harborfreight.com) and you can order online or check for a location near you. There are several in most (of the united) states, it seems.

Lucky for me there's a store a mere 30 miles away and I checked them out last Saturday to get some new tools for my new job. I picked up a decent cordless/keyless chuck 14.4 volt drill for $12 US. Decided I'd be needing a spare battery ($10) and opted for another drill intead (with battery and charger) for the $2 more. The Dewalt I like lists for around $189 and they have them hanging for $69!

Mind you, I also noticed that the prices differ from store shelf to internet-- and catalog prices are often beaten online in many cases...

Now for the reason this thread might relate to this Forum:

The drilling/milling machines and lathes they also offer at a very affordable price [about $700 US for the combo milling/lathe I have a hard on for, but the range is from around $325 for a nice jewelers lathe (10 inch between centers) to around $10k for the ultimate metal turners dreamboat (no, it's manual, folks. As far as I know they offer nothing computerized) with a 36 in. center to center.].

I dream at night again. But these days it's of nicely blued barrels and less of the damsels I used to torment.

Notes:

1 Electric Emu has mentioned Harbor Freight in THIS (http://www.roguesci.org/theforum/showthread.php?t=783&highlight=harbor+freight) thread, but at the time they were probably not online, hence not adding a nifty link to it. :D . They are an American based company, so you'll have to check on cost and possibility of shipping overseas.

2 Searching for another thread with the same idea returned nothing. I place this thread in the water cooler with the hope that if it generates enough interest and links the Mods will move it to "Tools, Techniques, and Plans" or wherever it best fits.

3 If my search was not extensive enough and this has been posted before, I ask that I be shot then beheaded (in that order!) much in the fashion of Nick Berg. (my appology will be pending...).


Anyone care to share their secret toolstore/ "MAN-church"?

[megalomania]

Ah ha! I have been racking my brain trying to rememebr the name of this place. I get a flyer from them every now and then, and last time they had a cheap rock tumbler for only $10. I was just thinking I could use one for powdering coal, but I could not remember what the company was.

There prices are quite unbeliveable, but beware of some of those tools made in China as their quality is lacking.

[Hang-Man]

Ebay!!! Tools to chems to weapons. Ebay rules.

[Bert]

This is so far the best place I have ever found for buying just about any tool known to man... for dirt cheap. It's www.harborfreight.com (http://www.harborfreight.com)

================<snip>========================

Anyone care to share their secret toolstore/ "MAN-church"?

Harbor Freight has some good stuff- And some really crappy tool look alikes too!

Seven Corners Hardware (http://www.7corners.com/) for power (and other) tools that DON'T break halfway through the job. They will meet any other US companies advertised sale prices.

For woodworking hand tools, I worship at Lie-Nielsen Toolworks (http://www.lie-nielsen.com/)

For pyro tools, Rich Wolter (http://www.wolterpyrotools.com/) - If he doesn't allready make it, just tell him what you want.

[festergrump]

Harbor Freight has some good stuff- And some really crappy tool look alikes too!

Yeah, this is apparent, and I should have mentioned... but any man should know what he's looking at. (EDIT:The lathes/milling machines/drill presses, ect. are of sound structure, though. That's my main concern for posting HF here).
The drills I bought have a 30 day warranty and will more than likely crap out after 31 days. (but I will have more than gotten my money out of them by then, no?) :cool:

I'm only filling in as a cabinet "slapper-together-er" (yes, I made my own job title) since I'm all caught up on the ACAD work. The CNC is down for a week or so, but I am to be trained on that ASAP (yeah, C'mon!) :D

As for 7 Corners Hardware and Lie-Nielsen Toolworks, thanks a bunch for the links. I am sure they will come in handy (I'll add them to my favorites "for work" links). I'll just dream about what Mr. Wolter can do for me in the future... (muhahahaha! This goes under "school links" as I am but a student in this field.).

Good work, Bert!

[nbk2000]

One thing that got my eye at the harbor frieght store in my town (very convenient for me! :D) is the 1 ton arbor press. Perfect for pressing detonators, and at only $40. :)

There's another place, like harbor frieght and also a chain, but I don't remember the name, that sells the same kind of stuff for even less, but the quality of it is even worse, if such a thing is possible!

These places are a criminals dream. Cheap, disposable, unserialed tools, bought at a place too cheap to have video cameras recording the crim..uh, customers...faces for possible later incrimination. :p Though you'd still want to wait a month before using anything bought, just to give them time to rotate through any tapes they may have.

Almost everything there is made in china, so I know it's cheap crap-ola that's going to break soon after using it, but that's OK because all tools get destroyed and disposed of after a mission anyways, so no sense investing huge dollars in premium tools that are only going to be used for 5 minutes anyways, right?

Though that's not to say that you'll never have to spend big bucks on such premium tools, as it's sometimes neccessary to properly invest in them to make sure that the tool doesn't break half-way through a job, leaving you with nothing to show. :mad:

Industrial supply catalogs are your friend. ;)

[A-BOMB]

Mega, I know who your talking about, McCulin tool sales, they drive around western PA in a semi with a bunch of crap chinese made tools selling them at fire halls and the like. Though I did get a nice multi axis vise at one so I could use my drill press as a milling machine.

[tiac03]

http://www.busybeetools.com/

Always have sales, and they have soe good stuff.

[festergrump]

A-BOMB, I know exactly the bunch you're talking about, but I don't think they are affiliated with HF...

I drove a tractor/trailor around for about a year before delving back into the manufacture trade. They like to hang out at the truckstops around Youngstown Ohio, as well (my favorite place to get "layed-over" pardon the pun :D ). The greatest thing about them is they often are willing to barder and trade for stuff. A band of gypsies is what I think of them (and that's not a BAD thing, especially if you collect the gear from a down and out driver [who's ready to hang up the spurs and get the hell on home] for really cheap! CB radios, DVD's and 12 volt fridges go a long way sometimes instead of the $$$).

Fact is: USING a CB radio at the right place and time can get you just about ANYTHING for cheap! ;) Just be mobile and don't put a big antenna on your car. It's harder to find a "smartass" in a car than you think unless you're a dumbass about it...

[tmp]

It depends on what I need. In most cases, any major hardware store or
agricultural supplier. eBay and amazon.com are good if the price is right.
I look around constantly to improve my sources.