Racing Southwest » Harbor Freight http://www.racingsouthwest.com woot! Wed, 16 Jun 2010 16:54:54 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Cheap Tools Can Still Be Good Tools http://www.racingsouthwest.com/index.php/2009/07/14/cheap-tools-can-still-be-good-tools/ http://www.racingsouthwest.com/index.php/2009/07/14/cheap-tools-can-still-be-good-tools/#comments Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:30:40 +0000 admin http://www.racingsouthwest.com/?p=109 Being a car enthusiast is an inherently expensive hobby to begin with.  Taking your car to auto shops to get work done can increase the amount of money you spend by hundreds of dollars.  By working on your vehicle on your own and doing the things that are within your own mechanical ability, you can save that money you’d be giving to someone else to do the work and in turn have more money to spend on your project!

When it comes to doing your own work on your car it is nice to have the right tools.  Not everyone can afford a full set of Snap-On or Matco tools. Many professional technicians have over $20,000 invested in their toolbox and tools.  For the “shade tree mechanic” you can often cut a few corners and save quite a bit of money in the process while still having a good set of tools at your disposal.

Most agree that it is safe to cut corners when it comes to good old American Chinese steel. How hard is it to make a rubber mallet or pry bar?  Below we have listed a few tools that should last 12 rounds in the driveway without needing to be replaced.

Harbor Freight is a great local place that has plenty of cheap tools.

Engine Stands

Cherry Picker

Pry Bar Set

Ratchet Extensions

Angle Grinder

Heat Gun

Hammer

There are some tools where precision is important or that you will be using more often.  For items such as these you probably want to buy a more reputable brand.  Some times it is easier to spend the money once versus spending more money to replace broken tools down the road.  Items that would fall under this category are

  • Torque wrench
  • Tire pressure gauge
  • Socket set
  • Ratcheting wrenches

Another extremely smart way to save some coin on tools is to buy used.  Craigslist is a great resource to do just this.  Albuquerque’s Craigslist Tools For Sale section usually has a wide variety of tools and sometimes you can find high quality items for dirt cheap prices!

Cheap Tool sources:
Harbor Freight (Weekly Sale Page)
Jc Whitney
Albuquerque Craigslist

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