Harbor Freight Comes to Maryland!

[Osprey Guy]

I just received a HF advertising flyer in my stack of Sunday newspaper inserts...(First time I've gotten one of these that didn't come by mail). It was a Grand Opening announcement for the Baltimore area...

This coming Tuesday, Harbor Freight is going to open a store right here in Baltimore...and it'll be just north of the city, less than 15 minutes from me! (On one hand this nearby store will save me shipping charges, on the other hand I know I'm gonna wind up hanging out there more than I should, and buying all sorts of things I could probably do without! I'm sure it's gonna cost me in the long run...but I'll try not to allow myself to suffer too much)


Over the past year or so, HF has been opening stores like crazy up in Pennsylvania...This is the first time they've ventured across the state line into Maryland. (Now if Grizzly would just open a store a little bit closer...Their incredible, great-looking, "football field-sized" store is in mid-state Pennsylvania, a full 3 1/2 hr drive north of here).



So guess where I'm gonna be 8:00am sharp, this coming Tuesday morning? (I want to check out the store first thing, so I'll need to stop by early on my way to the office).


Boy am I psyched!...


Dennis Greenbaum

Yeah Baby!

[SKIVIE]

Ya, my local HF wonders if I even have a home.

I always come out with way more than I went in for. Went in today for a thermometer and came out with that plus 2 extension cords.

Shane

[Gene Chapman]

Happy is having a lot of stuff.

Happpyness is using it to make knives.

[dart]

I live too far to get to the HF store so I called the phone # they have listed online. All I get is a busy signal hour after hour. So if they are that difficult to contact for ordering something then I'd hate to think of what it would be like if I did get some defective product from HF and had to return it. They lost another customer by not answering their phone. Jim

[AUBE]

they just opened a new harbor freight near me last year, i love it. only complaints i have about it is
1 its not open late enough
2 they only carry about 25% the products in store compared to online
3 their instore sales are different than their flyer sales.

but on the positive side, if they were open later id just spend way more, if their store carried everything id just spend way more, and as for the sales...they honor the mailorder sales as long as u bring in your catalog with you.
some of their stuff is pretty junky but other stuff is a real bargain (bought a zipsaw for $15 6months ago..use it all the time and works as good as the $100+ ones ive used) its nice to be able to see the quality firsthand before buying!

-Jason Aube

[Mr Mike]

Beware my friend. . . if your wife is complaining now about how little she see's you because of your knife "hobby", she will now have even more to complain about with HF moving in!!

On a positive note, they often have "local" sales with prices far better than their already super "regular" sale prices. . . keep visiting the store often and sign up for their local mail flyers.

Good luck my friend, and express my condolences to your wife for her loss.

-Mr Mike

[Osprey Guy]

My wife is the one who spotted the HF Grand Opening flyer stuffed in among all the other Sunday advertsing flyers. She seemed a little hesitant as she handed it to me...as if somehow she sensed this notice could be the harbinger of less-than-desirable news for her..."Uh, Honey,...Is this that same Harbor Freight place,...You know, the one where you buy some of your knifemaking tools? It says they're going to open a store here."







As it is, she knows all to well what it means when I say, "I'm gonna run over to Home Depot...I'll be back soon"...


Dennis Greenbaum

Yeah Baby!

[Osprey Guy]

I went to the store opening on Wednesday morning. The store opened at 8:00am...I got there at 8:20am and the place was packed! Mind you this is no small store...much bigger than the one I visited in Harrisburg, PA. Just outside the front doors, as I prepared to enter, they handed me my free set of screw####### (I was one of the 1st 1000 customers ).

I was floored by the sight that greeted me inside...There were two lines of customers on either side of the store, waiting to be rung up at the cashier. The two lines snaked up and down the aisles and had at least 50 customers standing in each line! Why anyone would wait in line for over two hours is beyond me. I asked, the current sale prices are in effect until the 1st week of May.

There was no way I was going to wait in one of those lines, but I still spent over an hour inspecting every nook and cranny of the store. I foresee many future visits for me...this place is a trip!

As I walked the aisles, someone called out my name. It was one a good buddy of mine, formerly of the local Woodcraft store (The same guy who helped me put up the frame for the wall and doorway, dividing my shop from the other half of my basement). He'd left Woodcraft and I hadn't heard from him in awhile. He's now working here at HF...He gave me real enthusiatic hello (it's easy to see he was having fun at this new store)..."If you need anything, or want me to set something aside, just let me know." It's good to have friends in the right places.

I spent awhile checking out their mini-mill, which is pretty much the same 4/5 HP version that everyone else has got (Grizzly and Homier come to mind). Unlike Grizzly's, this one's got the R8 taper...and as the store is a whopping 12 minutes from my house, there'll be no shipping charges

I figure the mini-mill will probably be good enough for my needs,... Don't get me wrong, I do understand that bigger is probably better, but my shop is fairly small, and besides, I don't relish the thought of trying to negotiate the larger, 600lb Mill/Drill into my basement...least of all, learning how to use it!

I've still got time to think about it...It'll be a little while yet before I'm ready to take that plunge (It remains to be seen just how long I can resist looking at the mill, considering how often I expect to be stopping by the store for a visit)...

I've still got a lot of ground to cover yet with the tools I have on hand...Hell, I'm still learning how to drill a truly accurate hole with my still relatively new, $200 drill press!


Dennis Greenbaum

Yeah Baby!