HF coming to Lufkin TX

[Scottw]

I guess this is a bargain alert for some of us toolahaulics!
Saw the sign "coming soon" above the location and is now on the website.

Mods: move if you must.

[jtrcy]

After walking around one of those stores - I'd say it's not a whole lot to get excited about.

That oily cheap tool smell makes me nauseous...

JT

[Nilt]

I'm jealous. There's no HF in Seattle; closest one is a good 45 minutes away. I wouldn't buy everything there but there are times when a cheap tool works just as well as an expensive one. Wish I had the option.

[nickg]

Hf

My theory for HF stuff - never buy anything with an electric motor!! I've learned that the hard way

But HF has a lot of merchandise - I've even bought stuff for my tractor there.

[Nilt]

My theory for HF stuff - never buy anything with an electric motor!! I've learned that the hard way

But HF has a lot of merchandise - I've even bought stuff for my tractor there.

Heh, I discovered HF when I was in Spokane visiting a friend a couple years ago. While I agree with your theory in general, I did buy my then 9 year old kid some low end power tools (just a basic drill/screwdriver and a Dremel knockoff). Worth every penny; you'd have thought I bought him a sports car from his reaction. They still work just fine, too.

If I provided tools for my employees, they'd probably be HF tools. Of course, those are just hand tools, not power.

[Uncle Cracker]

I get a lot of my consumables there, along with an occasional hand tool (if I'm not planning on horsing something heavy around with it). Also good for tarps, bungees and brushes. I also avoid anything electrical, or anything where close tolerances are needed. Ya just gotta know what to trust, and what not to. They're good at what they're good at (and cheap), and very, very bad at what they're bad at.

[cabinetman]

They just opened a new HF only 7 miles from me. I took a buddy of mine there who had never heard of HF. He was speechless. So, thinking that he was even listening, gave him the "caveat emptor".

I've had both good and bad luck with their products. I must say they do stand behind a return/exchange policy.
.

[cgallery]

Many of the tools are worthwhile even if they don't work for their intended purpose.

Case in point: I recently needed to cut some HSS tool bits into bandsaw guides. I dug out the table saw blade sharpener that didn't work so hot for table saw blades (because the "wheel" is too coarse) and found it worked perfectly and pretty quickly at cutting through the bits.

I don't have a grinder so I'm naturally thinking of permanently modifying the blade sharpener into a small grinder.

[Scottw]

I think that is blast, bringing someone in who has never been in one before!
The initial response is like the first time you take a three year old to a big toy store! I, of course never acted like that!

I remember when I was a boy, a long long time ago. There was a place in Wheeling Illinois that my Dad and Uncle would go to every once in a while just to browse. It was a dark old barn type warehouse with tools and hardware everywhere. Some organized, some in piles. Everything from cheap import stuff to high precision instruments locked up in cabinets. Lots of industrial surplus items. In some dark corners you never knew what you would find. They even had some surplus electronic and military hardware. To a young boy, looking at cool tools, trying to figure out what they were for, digging under piles to find buried treasure, was just plain FUN!
Going to HF stores remind me of that place. Just better lighting!