Best "Cheap tool" you have ever purchased...

[kossuth]

What has been the single best cheap tool you have purchased that has performed flawlessly for you time and time again with little to no issue even though your care/maintenance has been subpar?

Bottom end Bolans weed-eater I bought over 10 years ago. Paid like $50 new for it 10 years ago and haven't had a lick of trouble from it. Always starts on the first pull and runs out strong. Definately got my money out of it.

 

[chipper]

Probably one of the composite ratchets from HF..not bad for $10 or so

 

[Jawn]

I didn't buy it, dad did... but I have a cheap (probably HF) 3/8" butterfly impact wrench that has been great.

 

[Farmall450]

Harbor Freight 3 lb sledge hammer!

 

[AndrewV]

Hf pick set.

 

[mudflap]

My HF #2 Phillips screwdriver...Quality steel shaft, the magnet tip fits good, and has lasted over a year of frequent use...I dont know what more you could ask from a $1.69 screwdriver....and whenever it does bite the dust, it will be replaced for free........... I have the fancy big $$$$drivers. But for some reason always reach for this one....????

 

[mr overdunne]

grey handled brake line bender from snap on truck. makes nice tight bends for 3/16th brake lines and hasn't let me down yet. 30 bucks.

 

[jim1987]

Agreed with hf pic set. But my top two favorite cheap tools I own are my Stanley ratchet screw driver and a great neck stubby comfort grip 3/8 ratchet. $13 at Walmart and $5 at a pawn shop respectively. Id be lost without them.

 

[adstock]

My bottle opener is probably the cheapest, most highly used tool I have

 

[duanedragon]

Probably the best $5 I have ever spent. The thing works great and beats digging at hoses with screwdrivers or trying to He-Man the darn things off.

 

[stage20]

While the hf plastic ratchets are my go to....that #2 hf phillips takes the cake. Ill put it ahead of any screwdriver I have. My matco long shaft would be my next fav.

 

[fiv216]

HF precision screwdriver set.. don't get me wrong, they break/snap on me all the time. But so did my craftsman & I use the suckers all the time.

 

[SweetD]

HF palm sander. It has sanded ablative bottom paint off of my boat hull for several seasons now, which is a nasty job. I do blow it out with compressed air afterwards. I've used it a bunch on wood sanding as well.

It was like $13 with coupon. I figured it would be a throw-away after one hull sanding, but it keeps on ticking...



Dave

 

[davesnothere]

HF 4lb dead blow hammer.

 

[kams1973]

HF cement mixer

 

[jeremy v]

I will say the best bang for the buck tool I have is my Harbor Freight dental pick set. The only thing I don't like about it is that HF has to be special and call it a "test probe set" just to make it almost impossible for me to find on their website when I want to recommend it to others. I use them almost every day for all sorts of things from cleaning dirt out of small engine carburetors, to rebuilding ratchets and removing o-rings.

http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-test-probe-set-1816.html

I have heard so much good press on those harbor freight screwdrivers, I am very tempted to buy a couple sets and sell off all my other more expensive screwdrivers. I upgrade whenever it is beneficial, but there is also always a pull in my mind towards having equal quality stuff that is cheaper, so I can then spend the monetary savings on something else that will provide a measurable benefit.

 

[jweller]

HF 10' tile saw. I got it on sale and stacked a coupon on top of that, so I only paid like $175 for it, put a Felker TM-7 blade on it and have done a mile of cuts with it. Doesn't owe me anything at this point.

HF LED light puck. $3 and it is awesome.

 

[BK13]

My Festool Tracksaw.

Just kidding I bought some 99 cent needle nose pliers at a truck stop, been fishing with them for over a decade.

 

[Bobcat753]

HF 10' tile saw. I got it on sale and stacked a coupon on top of that, so I only paid like $175 for it, put a Felker TM-7 blade on it and have done a mile of cuts with it. Doesn't owe me anything at this point.

HF LED light puck. $3 and it is awesome.

A 10 foot tile saw!

 

[Bobcat753]

My best cheap tool is a pair of vice grip 10r's use them every day and only cost $1 at a yard sale.

 

[stage20]

A 10 foot tile saw!

how do you think the pyramids were built?

 

[Fordman7795]

Ace hardware screwdriver. I used it for everything but driving screws. Beat on constantly with a hammer while bending, prying and cutting metal. Never let me down

 

[drabe7]

I bought one of those Stanley 40pc socket sets from Walmart when I was 14. I have used and abused that set and its always ready for more. I still have it 5 years later. The ratchet did die a few months ago but for what I paid for it I would definitely buy another set

 

[powertrip]

My HF #2 Phillips screwdriver...Quality steel shaft, the magnet tip fits good, and has lasted over a year of frequent use...I dont know what more you could ask from a $1.69 screwdriver....and whenever it does bite the dust, it will be replaced for free........... I have the fancy big $$$$drivers. But for some reason always reach for this one....????

These are awesome drivers. Been using a Phillips at work for about 2 yrs and no wear. Most comfortable handle design I own. Usually reach for these instead of my cman pro's.

 

[jethro29]

a titan,3/8 and 1/4 flex head ratchet,i've had it 7 years now, with almost daily use all for $6.99.

 

[ssentt]

Hand held impact driver.

 

[mrborohachi]

120xp Gearwrench 1/4dr master set. Thanks Trident Industrial supply

 

[Brownsfan]

Mechanical claw lighted pick up tool. I use it for fishing wires through dashes and various other things.
http://www.generaltools.com/70399--Lighted-Mechanical-Pick-ups_p_1257.html

 

[Alienbaby17]

Around 20 years ago I was in need of some deep metric 1/2" impact sockets. I saw the Campbell Hausfield sockets at Walmart and picked up the 10 or 12 piece set for under $20. I probably use a socket from that set almost everyday and I have never had a problem with them. Pretty good investment for 20 bucks.

 

[IndyGarage]

Probably about 1990 I bought a 9 inch disc, 48 inch belt sander. Obviously made in China.

I've beat that thing to death for almost 25 years - changed the disc a few times, changed the belt a few times - it works great still.

I use it to sharpen mower blades, to sand wood and metal shapes down to a line. to remove burrs and burn marks - everything.

It rattles like it's going to fly apart, and someday it will, but I've definitely gotten my money's worth.

 

[RivennHewn]

One of the first tools I bought was a $5.00 Swanson Speed Square.

probably 30 years ago.

 

[Cadillac fan]

Bought a really cheap 1/2 drive socket set (about 40 or so pieces) for about $30. Best chrome sockets that I own, they are really thick and I have been really rough on them and none are broken.

 

[mattygee]

HF 1/2 breaker bar

 

[bareass172]

HF pick set, I constantly use them for EVERYTHING. I also have one of those magnets on a stick that I got for a buck years ago. It always bails me out when I drop something and my big hands can't get to it. I also recently bought a gearwrench mirror on a stick with an LED light. I think it will become one of my favorite cheapos as I have time to use it more. So much for the days of holding the mirror AND the light separate and trying to line everything up.

 

[southalabama]

Dollar Tree wire cutters and needle nose pliers.

I use them in the tackle boxes.

 

[DWise]

Mine is my HF multitool.

 

[top drive]

aldi(which is a budget supermarket in europe where cheapskates like me do their food shopping) pick set or aldi 4pc pry bar set - the small prybar is exactly the right tool for adjusting the manual winders on my trucks handbrake drums - they are internal adjustable through a slot in the backplate.

 

[wvrailroader]

Benchtop brand socket set bought at K-Mart years ago for about $15 on clearance. Despite repeated abuse, I have never managed to break a socket or any of the ratchets. They are tough as hell and I wish now I had bought the other three sets they had on the shelf at the time. I bought these about 15 years ago and the chrome still looks pretty decent on them.

 

[Stooge]

porter cable cutting wheel/grinder i bought for $40ish maybe 5 yrs ago has made me alot of money working on other people's hot rods and also allowed me to fabricate alot of stuff for my projects. the same goes for the $20 HF 1/2" metric impact swivels, a forgettable amount investment has yielded alot of money for when someones newer metric car makes it's way into my shop, must've paid for themselves 100X over

 

[mudflap]

HF 1/2 breaker bar

...+1..We have one on the service truck. I dont even know how it got there, somebody must have "donated" it. I have put a 4' pipe on it to get lug nuts off a backhoe when the compressor on the truck was down...and i know the other guys give it hell..It's a beast...