Please sticky this thread!!!!!
I've never believe the day would come when I'd go out of my way to say HF is selling anything I'd honestly recommend, but truth be told I have a couple dozen purchases from there and I bet half have survived the test of time.
My #1 absolute favorite item at this point is the
ITEM 95659-AAA 580lb 5 drawer tool cart.
It took an hour of slow moving to put together and a second set of hands made doing so easier without damage, as someone else mentioned it takes a little oil to silence the squeaks caused by the bars that drop for the drawers to stay locked and the drawer latch "detent" is a little stiff (less than 2 weeks of use currently) and easy to shut the lid without the drawer being fully locked in, but this was a concern I noticed at the store and decided to gamble with it anyhow thinking it would "flow" closed easier with weight in the cart which is the case as it feels like you're going to push it over in the store trying to close it the whole way empty. I purchased it not aware of the $99 coupon so I paid $149 as the current sales price less 20% via the coupon (see other post below about coupon help) and felt it was $119 wisely spent. Having just found the $99 coupon, it may have swayed me from buying another model for lighter duty purposes,
ITEM 90428-AAA and just getting a second one of these.
Pros:
- price
- ball bearing drawers
- sturdy when assembled correctly
- good quality casters / size
- 5 swivel casters instead of two fixed ones found on other carts making it more mobile for in/out of my storage location
- comes with drawer liners vs. paying
Cons:
- method used to attach the casters results in exposed bolts coming up into the bottom tray which holds the mat up, gets in the way of a true flat surface but can be corrected with hardware and creativity (bumper style bolts) if time allowed or allows in the future
- Claims to be powder coated - if it is, its the thinnest I've ever seen - time will tell.
- Holes need drilled in the tray that holds the box as the rest on the bottom sides so that longer items like breaker bars, pry bars, etc can be placed in the holes on the side of the upper compartment. Currently the length is limited to the top of this tray but easily corrected without affecting strength I feel.
#2
18 Gauge 2in1 Brad/Stapler ITEM 97525-DAA
I purchased this tool when I decided to start doing upholstery in my then only canvas, canvas & upholstery shop (as in marine canvas). I would have kept using it had I known of a source to buy the staples for it to included stainless steel since they were hard to find at the time two years ago, it didn't fire quite as many blanks as i was experiencing after a few months of use on indoor upholstery, and the complete lack of a safety led to a misfire that came too close to an injury for my comfort. Its still in my box as a backup in case my Fasco fails or goes into the travel box when I go to do a quick repair on a boat since I'd rather see it sink than the better one. If you need a source for replacement staples of better quality than HF,
this company has severed my industry well based off reviews on other boards as well as my own experiences.
#3
ITEM 30224-NDD External Mix Spray Gun - used for spray adhesive purposes. Better spray guns exist for contact adhesive in the industry, but for $29 most who use this don't even clean it and just top it off at the end of the day since the external mix keeps it from clogging if the lid sealed good. I just found a coupon in Road & Track in a waiting room the other day that has this for $9 so the thought of buying several to shelf and use over wasting a half hour cleaning it when it finally fails is a no brainer in my production shop.
#4 Creeper seat (sorry, no image - site experiencing problems due to my review apparently). Bought the display model and expect my issues were the result of someone not as concerned with it lasting being the one who put it together as I would have been. Unfortunately I wasn't bright enough at the time to disassemble it and add thread locker to the bolts, especially the caster wheels. They are an oddball caster design with a hex head on the flange of the caster that installs into the frame with a unique (junk) hex head "female threaded bolt" that is an inch of so long. After 1-2 quick tries with blue thread locker, eventually the frame cutout for the caster was stripped, the oddball bolt deal was junked, and I spent more for two new casters than I did the creeper seat. Use red thread locker to make it a one time assembly if you purchase one and even after doing so, if yours breaks down, throw it away and buy a new one for $19 - the foam inside is good for a year before its a block on mediocre wheels, but it did last me quite a bit before it should have been replaced. The closest store to me is 40 miles so I only go when I'm in the area, but I found out afterward that they sell these casters for a few bucks if I recall correctly. Either way... it was time when I gave it a longer life and since I have the means, it will probably get a new piece of foam and vinyl next time someone is standing around with nothing to do...
Some other somewhat less descriptive but fair reviews:
6" Magnetic Parts Tray Good buy on sale for a couple bucks, strong magnet can hold parts in the tray while vertical. Downfall is the ribbed rubber backing on the magnet traps metallic shavings in the grooves after being exposed to shavings of some sort on my bench then scratched the hell out of my toolbox when i put it back in it's storage location... remedied by putting clear packaging tape over the bottom and the 1/2" area outside it, then folded over the edge and held with a zip tie or hose clamp. Honestly, the rubber cover may be removable - but I didn't even try for fear of having to glue it on afterward and tape was in my hands at the moment.
The 4" magnetic parts tray isn't worth the savings over the 6" one - the magnet is half as weak and the same rubber bottom issue applies to this one when it comes to trapping shavings in the grooves of the magnet.
The $7 cutoff wheel (sorry, no site for item number) referenced several times already needs a spin once in a while to get going - been that way since new and oiled religiously but once warmed up works fine.
