# Trip to Harbor Freight tomorrow...



## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

taking my daughter to a cheerleading competition in Harrisburg tomorrow, and since there's a Harbor Freight 10 minutes from there, I'm making a stop. I'm gonna get that set of jeweler's files for sure. Any other recommendations for must-have tools while I'm there?

--rick


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## Hilltop Raceway (Feb 12, 2006)

Couldn't do without it!!! Hobby Lobby has them also, don't forget the 40% off coupon...RM

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=66384


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

ah so. and they just opened a Hobby Lobby here, too...


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

I also have one of those magnifier lights.. Very handy! :thumbsup:


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## Stevethelawyer (Mar 6, 2008)

Hey Rick, I'm in Hershey/Hummelstown. Where are you located? I know the HF you are going to. They have a lot of good stuff in there. While you're there, you may want to pick up an US cleaner - they have good ones for around $35 bucks. STL


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

Steve, I'm in Chambersburg, a little over an hour south of Harrisburg on I-81. just to hijack my own thread... do you know of any Tjet racing in the Harrisburg area?

i will put ultrasonic cleaners on the list of stuff to look at... thanks!

--rick


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## CJ53 (Oct 30, 2007)

add Hemostats to the list.... great for holding small parts... and bodies etc.. straight and curved tips Paint brush sets are cheap...but useable. 
The magnifying lamp.. is a great asset.,,, mine has a base it sits on..like a regular lamp got it at HT.
Helping hands set.. adjustable.. with alligator clips for holding parts. some have magnifying lenses on them as well... 
I go nuts when I get to a HT store..

CJ


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Absolutely! All of the above. Especially the helping hands. Here's a few more fairly inexpensive items that I find to be needful things.

1. A half dozen extra gator clips are nice to have for any number of silly reasons....cheapos are fine!

2. A Jewler's saw or the correct xacto handle to hold their saw type blades.

3. An xtra xacto knife handle so ya dont have to switch between yer favorite blades all the time.

4. Dental pics....just ask nicely at yer next check up.

5. A Jacobs style/quick release chuck for your dremel if ya dont have one.

6. Beef up yer dremel bit and doo-dad collection. I have several of the same mandrels, again so I dont have to change between cutting discs, buffing pads, sanding drums or what ever! For a coupla extra bucks productivity is only marginally interrupted when it's time to chuck up and go to work.


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## kiwidave (Jul 20, 2009)

Did some say cheerleading competition????


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## 1976Cordoba (Sep 20, 2000)

kiwidave said:


> Did some say cheerleading competition????


Right


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

Whoa, easy there... my daughter is 12... :freak:

anyway, here's what i got:










Those all-important files, needle nose pliers (what did you call them, Bill? noodle knees? lol), some little picks, alligator clips, a hemostat, and one of those extra hands dealies (that was only $2.99, wow!). total was just under 20 bucks. It' wasn't everything you all suggested, but knowing I'd have to tell the boss how much I spent when I got home, I figgered this was a pretty good start...

--rick


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## slotcarman12078 (Oct 3, 2008)

Exactly!! Making $20.00 disappear for the discretionary fund is always easy. Once you hit the $22.00 mark, The Accounting Dept. wants receipts!! :lol: I need a new set of files. Half of mine have fallen prey to the griffles... I guess they're shaping their claws!! :freak:


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## Stevethelawyer (Mar 6, 2008)

ParkRNDL said:


> Steve, I'm in Chambersburg, a little over an hour south of Harrisburg on I-81. just to hijack my own thread... do you know of any Tjet racing in the Harrisburg area?
> 
> i will put ultrasonic cleaners on the list of stuff to look at... thanks!
> 
> --rick


Hey Rick, I know Chambersburg well. But, it only takes me 45 minutes to get there from Harrisburg  Am I driving too fast? LOL. Yes, there is racing in Harrisburg - Chuck Sheaffer and his son Derek have a cool TKO track. They are in Lemoyne/Wormleysburg. Check out echorr.com website and you can see Chuck's track on there. STL


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## grungerockjeepe (Jan 8, 2007)

Micro Drills! HF has those, and you must own a full set.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

Oh jeez! Jeeper's right...

A glaring omission from the stocking stuffer list. Pickem up on your next trip after you get yer allowance. :thumbsup:

Dont forget to get a good pin vise to drive them. They are not all created equally AND there's nothing more annoying than hand drilling tiny holes with a cockeyed pinvise. :freak:

Noodle knees pliers! Yes of course. Something a colleague of mine mumbled one hungover monday morning. Still makes me giggle.


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## kiwidave (Jul 20, 2009)

What's a hemostat??


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## ParkRNDL (Mar 20, 2002)

kiwidave said:


> What's a hemostat??


It looks kinda like a pair of scissors at the handle end, and like a pair of needle nose pliers at the business end, and it locks closed to clamp things together. It's actually a medical tool that we've found other uses for...

--rick


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## kiwidave (Jul 20, 2009)

Roger that. Thanks Rick.


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## NTxSlotCars (May 27, 2008)

Hey, they also have a great deal on micro fiber cloths. Sometimes they run their go cart motors on sale for $119 for a 6.5 hp.


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

kiwidave said:


> What's a hemostat??


Hemos are a surgical clamp...great for clamping or holding thin stuff...becoming near useless as thickness increases over a few 32nds.

Although I have a coupla pair of hemos; I find a small pair of noodle knees "vicegrips" to be more useful/versatile because they are adjustable.


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## jack0fall (Sep 8, 2004)

Bill Hall said:


> I find a small pair of noodle knees "vicegrips" to be more useful/versatile because they are adjustable.


I need to know... What noodle knees brand do you use? I have two brands and both have a problem with the tips of the jaws flexing (not holding solid). When doing plastic I don't "clamp" the jaws real tight which adds to the lack of holding power IMO.

Jeff


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## bobhch (Apr 22, 2007)

*Don't need it but, WANT do it...*



NTxSlotCars said:


> Hey, they also have a great deal on micro fiber cloths. Sometimes they run their go cart motors on sale for $119 for a 6.5 hp.


Rich,

I want that Honda Clone motor from China for our Mini Bike. Some day the kids ( and me ) will want something a little faster ( or a lot ) Dang no money now.  

Hey I can dream of the day when Mini Bike Massive HP will be mine...Bu-hahahahahahahahaahahah...Mine all Mine! 

Bob...can't have it all right now...zilla


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Lesser of the evils*



jack0fall said:


> I need to know... What noodle knees brand do you use? I have two brands and both have a problem with the tips of the jaws flexing (not holding solid). When doing plastic I don't "clamp" the jaws real tight which adds to the lack of holding power IMO.
> 
> Jeff


I generally use ...gulp..."Vise-Grip" brand Jeff. I'm kinda fussy and if they're not well made I take them back and whine right away. I'm a tool store's nightmare customer. Vice-grips that slip through and are "pre worn out", assembled on friday, or sloppy jointed off brands; find their way out by the welder for a slow death by fire.

For the most part I tend to shy away from using any toothed clamping device for plastic. If I have to, I use card stock, wood or metal shims, er what have you to help decrease the chance of leaving a scar. Ideally when using solvent based styrene/plastic glue or CA the bond time is so fast that complex or aggresive clamping is not required. 

When unavoidable, I just say screw it and let the scars occur and take them out during the later stages of body work.


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## CJ53 (Oct 30, 2007)

*I can see it now!*




Future mini bike for Zilla: poor little bike..... 454 blown chevy ,, and Zilla w/his spiked helmet goin down the road , Rear tire up in smoke,, fire shooting from the headers..... zilla swinging a chain like Ghostrider! 
Butt bleeding from the chewin he got from the TM for ,,, (uh) Modifying it so the kids could have more fun.. !! 

C (save your money for the hospital bills from the beating your gonna get from Ginger) J


<<<<<< = Zilla


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

*Sounds obvious ....but....*

Afterthought: Things we take for granted that might not be found at Harbor Freight.

I use a small piece of masonite (place mat sized) as a work mat/cutting board. I'd be lost without it. I stab it....I drill into it.....I scribe on it....hammer....solder...slobber and spill on it. A virtual Cat in the Hat of carnage occurs on a regular basis on this little brown rectangle. It takes darn near everything I dish out. The beauty being that it is somewhat soft yet resilient. My blades and tools dont skip off it wildly or dangerously, as it would on a harder surface. 

You'll note that ordinarily I work on a paper type blue shop towel with the masonite underneath. When things start to get too messy, crunchy or crispy; I just wad up the towel, wipe my mat off into the trash can and put down a freshy.


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