Harbor freight needle scaler

SVcummins · Jan 22, 2019

Ivan in Mich · Jan 22, 2019

I bought one from there maybe 30 years ago. Mine came without the power head and it went on a pistol grip impact tool. I have used it a lot over the years and it still works rally good. I use to use it o remove built up dirt and grease where solvent would not get it off. It works great if you have to weld on rusty metal and I think it is faster that a disk grinder

Mutt and Jeff · Jan 22, 2019

So what is your opinion?
The presenter?
The tool?
should everyone have one in his box?
How much air does one consume?
A well laid weld might present a flux overlay as a long fingernail like affair that falls away
some amatuer? attempt to cold weld some crusty dirt filled joint with 6010 may present a flux puddle of spagetti and meatballs with ground meat, or bird poop affair as he improves,
does it replace a small grinder when doing cleanup for a second pass?

sms · Jan 22, 2019

I didn't watch the video but I bought one last year and used it on a couple very rusty truck rims and thought it did the job it was supposed to do, removing all the scale. I am happy with my purchase. My compressor did well suppling air but I have a pretty good one and a larger one if needed.

Charlie M · Jan 22, 2019

Same here - I have one and it worked well on a couple of rims that were rusted bad on the inside.

JF in MI · Jan 22, 2019

Ditto. Great for irregular shapes and hard to get to places. Got one last month and wondered why I didn't get one sooner. Used it to chip the paint off the grill on my 8N.

Hobo,NC · Jan 22, 2019

I have the larger one Its not strong enoufh for me... I have worn out several that go on a air hammer/chisel they will get'er done... Its on a good air hammer tho...

On a Ford tractor they make quick work removing gaskets on the lift cover and housing were the gasket has married the parts... Used with a air hammer they make quick work on runty parts...

Geo-TH,In · Jan 22, 2019

I have one. Needs a large compressor. Only used it once. Not impressed. Wish I saved my money.

Bret4207 · Jan 22, 2019

I have one, works great for me.

Ellis Kinney · Jan 22, 2019

Mine worked for a couple of years, and I pinched my hand with the lever and I got mad and threw it down on concrete, now it won't shut off and I have to disconnect it when I am finished. My fault. A tip. Occasionally take the tips out and grind a point on them to chip a little better. Ellis

steel · Jan 22, 2019

I didn't want to sandblast some awkward places on an old tractor before priming 6-7 years ago.
My experience has been.....if it's got a motor then don't buy HF....No motor so I went for it.
13.5 CFM compressor on it and it did the job then, and still does occasionally when I use it.

Stan in Oly, WA · Jan 22, 2019

SVcummins; A few years back when I had access to the welding shop at the local community college I did a side by side comparison of the Harbor Freight needle scaler I had recently purchased and the American made one owned by the college. That one was probably an Ingersoll Rand, but I can't remember for sure. Using the same air source and working on the same weld scale or rusty part, the shop's tool was better. It had more power at every setting than the Harbor Freight tool at its equivalent setting. I also used both tools on the surface of a brightly polished piece of steel plate. This was a technique I had done a lot of on art pieces to create a softer, stippled look. The Harbor Freight scaler produced a much lighter texture---too faint for my purposes, in fact. I wanted the Harbor Freight tool to be just as good as the American made one so I could do what I wanted with it at home, but it wasn't. It had less force using the same air supply, and I thought the steel of the needles seemed softer than the needles of the American made tool.

Stan

ericlb · Jan 22, 2019

i bought one last year to clean hard to get at tight areas of a trailer i was repainting, it did fine, got the job done and i got paid, it still works fine, so i figure any future use is a bonus

Dave Sherburne, NY · Jan 22, 2019

I bought one a couple of years ago, used it on one job it worked quite well. One of the grandsons borrowed it and I haven't seen it since.

Steve-Maine · Jan 22, 2019

I bought a cheap one from HF. It got a lot of scale off a tri-axle trailer before sanding blasting. Worked Ok, sure saved time on sandblasting. Just lasted long enough to do the job. I figured it was just a throw tool but got the job done.

circus · Jan 22, 2019

Found one on the shoulder while bicycling. Works fine for small, not worth the sandblast mess, spots. Also found a feed shovel, smart phone, vape (didn't know what that was), sheets of metal, misc trailer parts, hundreds of bungee cords, tools etc. Lost a few things too. Speedo, twenty pounds etc.

TimV · Jan 22, 2019

Got one a number of years back--the style that attaches to your air chisel. Put it on a cheapie air chisel I'd picked up at a garage sale and it worked very well. Made short work of rust and scale on several projects including truck frames and similar places. Well worth the money and still being used today. Of course, I'm sure one that cost several times what mine did would work even better, but that's to be expected, and this one has paid for itself many times over. Wear plenty of eye, ear, and skin protection--it will send stuff flying in every direction, and it's not for sheet metal--you can bend, stretch, and even tear thin metal very quickly with it.

john *.?-!.* cub owner · Jan 22, 2019

I have had one of the older versions from HF for 15 to 20 years, and only use it occasionally on real scaly rust, such as inside tractor rims, etc. It works great on that, but is an air hog. Also if you want it to keep working strong it needs oil on a regular basis. On mine you can adjust the impact strength by pushing in the barrel and turning it to different notches.

1948CaseVAI · Jan 22, 2019

(quoted from post at 17:07:27 01/22/19) I bought a cheap one from HF. It got a lot of scale off a tri-axle trailer before sanding blasting. Worked Ok, sure saved time on sandblasting. Just lasted long enough to do the job. I figured it was just a throw tool but got the job done.

Don't know what you mean by didn't last long. The needles are soft so they don't damage anything you remove paint or rust from, but they are intentionally easily replaced. Not really much more to go wrong.

JD Seller · Jan 22, 2019

I tried one of HF ones and it did not last a year. The pneumatic part quit hammering. I replaced it with a needle scaler attachment for an air hammer. It works better and is much easier to control. Also if the air hammer quits just switch it over to a different one.

Ingersoll Rand has one of these attachments that you can buy on Ebay for $42 delivered. You just screw in on any air hammer.

Russ from MN · Jan 22, 2019

Did you oil it?

Ivan in Mich · Jan 22, 2019

That is like the one I bought at HF. Mine works good and I have used to on a scout frame to remove rust when I rebuilt one years ago. The needles on mine are not real soft and if you really get on it you can leave little dents in the metal

Butch(OH) · Jan 23, 2019

I have owned both IR and a Harbor Freight units for quite some time. The HF unit definitely hits lighter but sometimes that is what is needed. I use the HF primarily for weld clean up. I added flow controls to mine and highly recommend them.

Bret4207 · Jan 23, 2019

(quoted from post at 16:25:00 01/22/19) SVcummins; A few years back when I had access to the welding shop at the local community college I did a side by side comparison of the Harbor Freight needle scaler I had recently purchased and the American made one owned by the college. That one was probably an Ingersoll Rand, but I can't remember for sure. Using the same air source and working on the same weld scale or rusty part, the shop's tool was better. It had more power at every setting than the Harbor Freight tool at its equivalent setting. I also used both tools on the surface of a brightly polished piece of steel plate. This was a technique I had done a lot of on art pieces to create a softer, stippled look. The Harbor Freight scaler produced a much lighter texture---too faint for my purposes, in fact. I wanted the Harbor Freight tool to be just as good as the American made one so I could do what I wanted with it at home, but it wasn't. It had less force using the same air supply, and I thought the steel of the needles seemed softer than the needles of the American made tool.

Stan

But what is the purchase price difference? Lets face it, people don't buy HF because of quality. We buy it because we can swing $19.00 on sale China made stuff vs $260.00 (Grainger) for an Ingersoll. I've had mine for 3 or 4 years and it does a fantastic job for what it is.

sammydwm · Jan 23, 2019

Had mine for several years and very happy with its performance.

thdrduck · Jan 24, 2019

Have had one for about 10 years, got a spare set of needles when I got it. I have used it a lot and have loaned it out and the thing works just fine and I still havn't replaced the needles. Most of what it has been used for is cleaning used bricks, thousands of them. Havn't found anything that works as well to take off old mortar without breaking them. Money well spent.

Last use was stripping a 1943 fire plug, couldn't even guess how many pounds of paint that poor thing had on it.

Mule Meat · Jan 24, 2019

Like the other videos..

The first F. U. C. K word..

I was gone..

Never did understand why people thinks what could be good information to a lot of people have to be done using a fowl mouth.

Bret4207 · Jan 25, 2019

Mule, well said. I don't care for those who can't communicate, especially in a video, without resorting to gutter talk. I'm as bad as anyone else when with "the guys", but not on line or in public or in front of strangers, kids, ladies, etc. That's just basic manners.

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