Harbor Freight Heat Gun and Third Arm

[Luckydevil]

Stopped by the local Harbor Freight today to pick up some new toys. I've been in dire need of heat gun and they just happened to have a nice one on sale as part of a kit for $20.

I've used it a few times already and the thing works great. No more burnt heat shrink from using lighters.

I also grabbed a Third Arm for soldering while I was there. This thing makes soldering much easier because it holds the wires for you. The magnifying glass is removeable and I took it off immediately, it just gets in the way. Not too shabby for $7 when I see these all over the web for $20+.

 

[imported_banzaitoyota]

Did the heat gun come with the deflector tips?

 

[Luckydevil]

Did the heat gun come with the deflector tips?

Yup, came with a few of them and a wooden tool that has a circle, square, or triangle heat guard on it. I've been using the hell out of it for the last week and its definitely worth the $20 I paid.

 

[Runner94]

Luke,
Great buy. I have the third hand also but I don't use it much as my father was a tv repair man from years ago when you had to solder all the parts in and I learned how to use all my fingers to hold wires. But in general I find the HF stuff to be adequate for the non-pro user. I have a lot of their power tools (buffer, hammer drill, air finish nailer, reciprocating saw, etc.) and find they're all pretty solid and get the job done. If you used them every day with heavy use they would probably not stand up but for the home owner who does more than the average I think they are fine.

I also didn't know that HF was this far east. Your in FL. I really wish someone would open one up here in Mass. I think they would do well.

 

[indyjps]

ive got the heat gun, worth the $, but i only use it a couple of times a year.

 

[red caddy]

I bought the same kit, to carry in the racecar hualer, my high $ bosch will stay in it's case in the shop. Kind of a "just in case" thing at away races and if the road pounding kills it, I aint out much. LOL RED

 

[GearHead_1]

Hold on there big boy! That wouldn't be a Chinese heat gun now would it?

 

[Elky]

i agree with Runner..we need a HF up here!

 

[Bill K]

Luke the wooden handle tool with the interchangable heads is a paint scraper for detailed moldings and woodwork. Used by lots of restorers of old homes and furniture

 

[stimpy]

and luke if you have to dry a pair of undies out in a hurry it works great for this too. ( ok !!I have to fix the dryer.....)

 

[Luckydevil]

Luke the wooden handle tool with the interchangable heads is a paint scraper for detailed moldings and woodwork. Used by lots of restorers of old homes and furniture

Good info, I had no clue what that thing was.


Stimpy- Just make sure you have a fire extinguisher nearby.

 

[Whatsit]

I bought a Clarke heat gun from a local tool store (kinda of a HF) for $20, and used it for four daysstraight , 8 hours per day removing floor tile.
No problems.

 

[OldOneEye]

I got that HF heat gun, paid $10... was paranoid about keeping the reciept (the place is about 20 minutes away.. figured I would buy one, if it was DOA I would buy another if I lost the reciept... knowing my luck I would lose it again).

For $10, it works great. I had it one for a good couple hours each day two days straight working on stripping some paint from the side of my house. I think they have a kit at HF with the scraping tools which would be something I wish I would have gotten for a few more bucks.

I also bought the third arm, never used it yet (just added it to the collection).

Juan

 

[cc_rider]

I had a very similar heat gun for many years until the little fan finally stripped off the motor shaft. It got HOT and stripped paint quite well. Had to be careful around heat shrink and such because it'd burn through.

Bought the larger, 'hair dryer on steroids' type heat gun for a much larger paint stripping job. About $60 at HD. Works well and blows more air than the smaller one. Harder to use on small jobs like heat shrink but it's not that big a problem.

I've found the best tool for soldering and heat shrinking is Weller's 'Portasol' butane-powered soldering iron. It's perfect for car wiring since you don't need an outlet. The tip gets hot faster than an electric, and the side 'exhaust' is perfect for shrinking tubing after soldering. I swear by mine; I hardly ever use the electric even at my workbench. I need to get a new tip though; mine is nearly worn out.

c.

 

[Luckydevil]

Well, I finally killed my heatgun. Got a hell of a lot of use for only $20.

I forked over $40 for my new one though. It is a digital Wagner HT3500. I actually prefer the feel of the Harbor Freight heat gun (especially the switch location), but the Wagner is definitely superior in quality.

 

[kartracer55]

Luke, The heat from the HF gun is the thing actually burning up in your hands. Dont be fooled into thinking its really working

hahahaha

Jim

 

[Luckydevil]

Don't laugh Jim, that damn thing started shooting out smoke the last time I used it.

 

[wrigh003]

I bought one of those HF SuperChina heat guns the other day, looking to get 23-year-sun-baked-on-pinstripes off my project RX7. Haven't used it yet, but it's coming, I can feel it. Good to hear that it's not a total paperweight, and ALSO good to hear that it might work to strip paint, as I have some paint on my deck that needs to come off...

I don't like buying stuff from HF (since it's mostly total ****), but on things that I'll only use once or twice a year (if that) I don't have the budget to blow a bunch of extra money on a pro-grade tool. So it has its purpose, I suppose.

 

[Jay H 237]

I bought one back in April to keep at work and it allows me to keep my good Milwaukee at home. I got it when it was on sale for $14.99 figuring I wouldn't be out much if something happened to it or it went missing. The problem I had is if I was using it near the end of the day it would be too hot to lock up in my toolbox so I would leave it out on top. I don't worry about leaving the cheap HF out. It's gotten quite a bit of use and so far has had no problems. I don't expect to get the life out of it like I would my other one but when it craps out I'll just replace it with another.

With the HF stuff, if you keep your expectations low you won't be disappointed, and in some cases like this heat gun, you may be pleasantly surprised.

 

[imported_banzaitoyota]

I bought one of those HF SuperChina heat guns the other day, looking to get 23-year-sun-baked-on-pinstripes off my project RX7. Haven't used it yet, but it's coming, I can feel it. Good to hear that it's not a total paperweight, and ALSO good to hear that it might work to strip paint, as I have some paint on my deck that needs to come off...

I don't like buying stuff from HF (since it's mostly total ****), but on things that I'll only use once or twice a year (if that) I don't have the budget to blow a bunch of extra money on a pro-grade tool. So it has its purpose, I suppose.

What model RX-7? I'm doing a P-Port in an 86 Base

 

[OldOneEye]

I can confirm that it does take paint off. Cedar shingle, the previous owner had issues with the paint, so they paid someone to scrape the loose paint off, and then paint (no primer, just paint), over the bare wood in a color that looked like Ray Charles had done the color matching. Here is a shot after a few hours with the HF $9.99 gun (got a deal in the store)

I bought one of those HF SuperChina heat guns the other day, looking to get 23-year-sun-baked-on-pinstripes off my project RX7. Haven't used it yet, but it's coming, I can feel it. Good to hear that it's not a total paperweight, and ALSO good to hear that it might work to strip paint, as I have some paint on my deck that needs to come off...

I don't like buying stuff from HF (since it's mostly total ****), but on things that I'll only use once or twice a year (if that) I don't have the budget to blow a bunch of extra money on a pro-grade tool. So it has its purpose, I suppose.