Does anyone have a thermoplastic premelter for sale?

Asphaltman-Your last post mentioned Harbor Freight tools. I just received their latest flyer and noticed they had some electric tools on sale for a good price. Have you or anyone else had any experience with their "Chicago" brand power tools?

A Harbor Freight Store recently opened in my area. I have bought a few items from them. I think for the money that their Elec. tools are okay. I don't use them that much and saved a few bucks over name brands. For the most part they have worked great. I bought a circular saw, small hammer drill, reciprocating saw, and a rechargeable drill. Just my 2 pesos. Domingo

I have purchased their Heavy Duty 1/2" Drill, 14" Chop Saw and SDS Hammer Drill and they have held up well. For the Price you cannot beat it. You could get the "Insurance" for a year at a cheap price. Most of these tools I do not use all the time but for occasional use they have been good.

I bought a 4" angle grinder and wire wheel to do some touchup and it lasted 5 minutes before the motor shorted out. They replaced it, but the guy at the store told me not to expect their Chicago brand to do the work that a name brand will.

I love them, however you get what you pay for. I like them, because obviously in the asphalt biz, tools don't stay nice, and that's if they even stay around Anyways, you cant beat their prices, we bought a large hammer drill, comparable to one Bosch sells for $1,300, at HF it was $399 and this thing is identical, but I also don't have expectations that it would last as long as the Bosch. The biggest thing to remember, save your receipts, most of the tools come with a year warranty and some longer if not lifetime, but you have to have the receipt, and they are jerks about that policy. Their hand tools are OK as well, we can spend a $100 and have more than enough tools, then by the end of the season, I don't have to worry if they guys have used the screwdrivers as a pry bars, or the tools walked off the job.. I always say keep the Craftsmen tools at home in the garage, and the Harbor Freight tools at work in the shop..

Asphaltman wrote on Jul 1, 2006:Go to #5

I love them, however you get what you pay for. I like them, because obviously in the asphalt biz, tools don't stay nice, and that's if they even stay around Anyways, you cant beat their prices, we bought a large hammer drill, comparable to one Bosch sells for $1,300, at HF it was $399 and this thing is identical, but I also don't have expectations that it would last as long as the Bosch. The biggest thing to remember, save your receipts, most of the tools come with a year warranty and some longer if not lifetime, but you have to have the receipt, and they are jerks about that policy. Their hand tools are OK as well, we can spend a $100 and have more than enough tools, then by the end of the season, I don't have to worry if they guys have used the screwdrivers as a pry bars, or the tools walked off the job.. I always say keep the Craftsmen tools at home in the garage, and the Harbor Freight tools at work in the shop..

Totally agree!

I have done alot of carpentry in the past and had a neighbor who told me his H/F nail gun, circular saw etc. was just as good as my portar cable and dewalt tools. NOT! If it's a tool you will use once in a while for a few minutes maybe but not a frequent rough use tool.

Hey guys we want to know if anyone has an effective way of recovering thinner to be used again. Is there a way to seperate it from the paint when cleaning a machine for color change? Any suggestions? Thanks RB StripealotLV

There highspeed drill bits brake in wood, there chisels wont take an edge, there "T" handle Allen wenches twist in the plastic handle, there needle nose pliers brake at the hinge, there steel files loose an edge on wood, There band saw wont track. There drill press has an off center chuck. I like there wire ties.

Sometimes you can get by with a cheap tool, but if it's something that's making you money, you shouldn't cut corners. The other day I placed 16 handicap sign posts in a mall parking lot. They were 4"x4" square tubing 1/4" wall. We had to pre-drill the holes for the sign mounts. I had a set of drill bits that I bought at Sam's Club that had a half dozen bits the size we were using. We wore out all of them drilling the holes, so I walked over to Sears and bought a couple of Craftsman bits. I couldn't be live how much faster the Craftsman bit drilled, and I didn't need the second one. The cheap drill set not only didn't save any money, but it caused us to loose time, and caused a lot of extra wear on the drill. Check out Ebay. You can find new or slightly used name brand tools as cheap as the HF junk. I would rather spend $100 on a used Milwaukee than $100 on a new Chicago.

Do a search, we have discussed this before, but you can let the solids settle out and re-use to a point.

Hilti tools are best we ever used...cost most also...

Thanks to everyone for their advice. I think I will head down to my local HF tomorrow and pick up a reciprocating saw for occasional use. It may not be up to Tim Taylor's specs, but for $36.99, how can I go wrong?

We have an angle grinder from HF that was $14, we beat the heck out of it, and it still works great. I agree to buy the right equipment for the job, but in the case of some tools, cheaper doesnt matter. We also bought an air chisel for $5, we use it to chip the paint of from our machines and also the sealer from our seal tanks, this little $5 tool has worked wonders, and in that case there would be no reason to spend $60 for one from Sears. Just my two 1/2 cents...

leave it in a bucket for a few days, then use your suction tube to suck the clear thinner from the top of the pail, being careful not to disturb the paint that settled on the bottom.

We by the tools especially ones that we don't use all the time. We like all of the kits they sell for the shop, like o-ring set, hose clamp set, drill bit, hole saws, wrenches, screw drivers... also good for truck tool kits in the field. We set up little tool boxes with t-handle allens, wrenches, screwdrivers, pipewrences, hammers etc...

We are looking for thermoplastic premelters... dual tanks 500-1200 lb each. propane or diesel skid mount or on a trailer...

We buy our thinner in clear 2.5 gallon containers. I pour the dirty thinner back into the original containers and after a couple weeks the paint will settle to the bottom and it becomes clear again.