Harbor Freight aircraft tools

wrote:
It was bound to happen sooner or later

Dog-leg Deburring Tool, $8, item# 98262-0AZH
4-piece countersink set, $15, item# 98263-0AZG
Microstop Countersink cage adapter, $15, item# 98264-0AZG
(The above items may be found on page 36 of Catalog 163-B)

Cleco Pliers, $4.50, item# 97346-1NYH
(see pg 21 of Catalog 663-B)

However... (you knew that was coming, right? :-)

When I tried to order the deburring tool Harbor Freight said it didn't
recognize the number. So I sent a message to their Customer Service
people to make sure they knew there was a market for virtually any
aircraft-related tools they might care to offer.

The squeaking wheel DOES get the grease... eventually. If enough of
you guys will follow suit we could probably get Harbor Freight to
offer virtually everything needed to fill an aviation metalsmith's
toolbox.

Yeah, I know what you're thinking -- I'm not a big fan of Harbor
Freight''s quality either. But in some cases Good Enough is all you
need. For example, I've found that a Chinese cleco costing a nickel
works just as well as one costing six-bits.

-R.S.Hoover
For me, the ultimate problem with HF is that they seldom have the stuff
they advertise. We have a local store (meaning about a 25 mile drive
each way) & the hit rate for sale items is about 1 in 10. A few months
ago, I decided a few months ago that I was fed up with driving for a
sale item only to not find it & I'd just order on line. They had a great
deal advertised on a 4" grinder/cutoff tool at about $9, plus the cutoff
wheels for it at a good price. I ordered the tool, the wheels, & enough
cheapo odds & ends to justify the $10 shipping cost. After a couple of
weeks I received the odds & ends, the wheels, & no tool ('deleted' on
the invoice) for the wheels. But they did include their latest catalog,
advertising the tool at that great price.

Charlie