well, unless its a Veto
I rang them up as bananas on the self checkout. 
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So what else do you have in mind for your tools?
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The pointing finger is a nice touch.
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That’s a fantastic product review.
@Delajor That shot of your entire workshop looks like a catalog photo; lovely!
@SqualusAcanthias “The unmoving finger points; and, having pointed , points on…"
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Not sure if… (narrows eyes, shrugs)
Normally I keep that by the door in case of zombies or Jehovah’s Witnesses, I guess I forgot to put it back after… say… is that a Mormon coming up the street?
I’m kidding, I’m kidding. About the zombies.
The main thing that I make is traditional wooden archery equipment. In the middle of the bench you can see a bag of deer sinew for backing bows, also the beginning of a hickory crossbow prod. To the right of the lathe (or boat anchor if you’re a stickler for accuracy) are a bunch of failed bows.
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I calls ‘em like I see ‘em.
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My decision tree for Harbor Freight tools:
- Am I replacing a harbor freight tool that failed? (If yes, get better tool.)
- If this tool fails, will it cause a risk to life or limb? (If yes, get better tool.)
- How much precision do I need? (If “high”, do more research, probably get better tool.)
- Is this tool a machined lump of metal with few moving parts? (If no, do more research)
The problem is the cheap HF tools seem to be getting cheaper and worse. The real problem is all of the “consumer” tool vendors are getting cheaper and worse. But a lot of times the HF “better” tools are still pretty good, and still cost less.
Other than ratchets (which are a mixed bag anywhere, just don’t buy the cheap ones), all of the hand tools I’ve bought from HF have worked out great. If you buy the “Better” or “best” ratchets at HF they feel pretty descent; the cheap ones feel really cheap. (But they get the job done.)
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I think it’s helpful to keep in mind that ultra-cheap power tools will often makes things difficult and/or unpleasant to accomplish, but there is seldom any need for a non-professional to spend the money on the top-of-the-line gear. Hit the sweet spot of “good enough” by buying mid-range stuff on sale so it’s closer to the cheapo-price point, and you’ll probably be happy with what you get!
It’s easy to fetishize tools and sure, it would be pretty awesome to have a full set of Milwaukee M18 and Snap-On tools to go along with your Festool stuff, but the vast majority of folks will be perfectly happy with something in the middle that will work fine and not frustrate you.
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In Austin [Texas] at least, craigslist has long been a place where stolen bikes, stolen iPods, stolen laptops, stolen tools (think: construction boom + tools lying around + tools needed by building sub- and sub-sub-contractors etc.) are posted.
And yeah, these things sell. Oh do they sell…
I have long avoided buying these things from craigslist for this reason.
Do you have a method for separating out the original owners selling tools from those who are unloading ill-gotten gains? Seriously. I’d really like to know how, apart from asking if the seller still has the original receipts (in case I want to warranty one of the bigger, costlier items).
Thanks in advance for anyone with answers here.
ETA: punctuation
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If serious, then:
If you are fond of chocolate, I strongly recommend adding your favorite high quality cocoa powder to this. Plus, if you have friends/family who will freak out that there are avocados in their ice cream the chocolate tends to cloak the color nicely.
Garnish with toasted coconut or raspberry jam thinned with kirsch to a pourable-raspberry-sauce-like-consistency.
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Barter the avocados!
UPDATE 5/12 - I bought the 5 drawer tool chest when it came on sale again last weekend. It is far better quality than I was expecting. Bearings on the casters are a little exposed but the drawers lock individually and come with lining.
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Re: that bench, I don’t own one, but for the amount of hardwood you’re getting, it actually looks like a decent deal. So if you need something like that buy and shore it up with some metal bracing.
Which brings me to my next point:. Don’t be afraid to modify stuff from HF. Their Central Machinery brand is mostly the same as what you get from Eastwood or Grizzly and usually represents a decent value. If you can’t find it on CL, garage sales or thrift. HF is a good bet. There are a ton of YouTube videos showing how to modify their benders/band saw/drill presses into something pretty decent.
It’s also a great store to buy consumables, way cheaper than Home Depot or Lowe’s. So if you need anything for buffing, grinding or Sanding HF is a good bet.
Also their Vulcan branded Chinese inverter welders look pretty decent and are actually priced at a mid range… Not quite Lincoln or Miller but not bottom of the barrel import from Amazon.
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I was being a smart ass but this sounds tasty. 
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Many years ago, I had one of those mouthful-of-something-delicious moments in wHole Foods in downtown Austin. It was a rework of their flagship store, all shiny and new and perhaps operating in that location (the current one) for a month.
There was a gelato case.
It was pretty hot outside.
You can probably guess what happens next.
Having been fully aswoon by their enormous Food Themepark for the Rich and Beautiful, I decided to get some gelato for me and for my two year old son. I know a little about how gelato is made, and I wanted to avoid eggs as an ingredient (in a few recipes, sometimes, yes, there are eggs) and I explained this to the nice person at the counter.
“Well, these over here” (she gestured to half the refrigerator case) “are all vegan.”
I got a chocolate gelato, and my son got a brightly colored fruit gelato. “Wow, these are pretty rich,” I said after a few mouthfuls. “How can this be? Coconut milk? Or coconut butter?”
“Avocados. But usually we don’t tell people that unless they ask.”
Aha!
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Craigslist is usually my go-to for old iron. Drill press, band saw… If my shop were ever large enough for a Bridgeport mill… Also my harbor freight mini lathe came from a nice older gentleman who bought it to make an adapter to attach his camera to his telescope.
Usually you can tell by the posting. Older plugin tools are probably a safe bet?
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That’s my kind of avocado toast:
(Get it? avacado ice cream, Singapore ice sandwich, avacado toast. I’m here all day)
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I had to look that one up.
Dang! Nice. And looks Y3K-compliant.
We have a friend on the other side of our county with a CNC 6-axis laser mill (or some number of axes; I’m not that kind of maker but my family groks that stuff).
Yeah, this is a good guideline. I keep hoping that an old retiring electrician’s going to liquidate his or her Knipex tools on craigslist but so far nada.
We’ve got a bit-and-brace set, an old Craftsman router, drawknife, plow planes etc. from garage sales etc. Old iron seems to hold an edge better than the newer stuff. Maybe I am imagining this.
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I know everyone likes to hate on FB (with good reason), but I do like FB Marketplace as it removes some of the anonymous skeeviness inherent in the CL system. A quick look at the seller’s profile can usually reduce your chances of being named as an accessory.
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