Back in the early nineties, I harvested a rear window defogger from a 68 mustang in a salvage yard. Got the defogger, wiring and switch for a $15 dollar bill.....

3/8 right angle drill and a stepped bit. It was the only tool that would do the job. Probably never use it again, but I fell in love with stepped bits.
Yes, I also used it on a Mustang.  
 

Back in 89 I bought a red 79 mustang hatchback with 2.3 stick for $15.All it needed was a timing belt  Both our girls learn to drive with it, and still prefer a manual today. Had close to 300K when the youngest hit a deer.   The deer won.

$20 THATS EASY, Wife's wedding ring. Just don't tell Brenda.

All of you except 50vert have missed the point of this thread!  Question was what was the best $20 you've ever spent at HF!  LOL!

Chaplin wrote:

All of you except 50vert have missed the point of this thread! Question was what was the best $20 you've ever spent at HF! LOL!

Well, I missed the point for sure. I do not frequent HF as cheap crap goes against my grain. I do have 4 HF car dollies that I bought at a garage sale for 20-30 bucks. 
 

Chaplin wrote:

All of you except 50vert have missed the point of this thread! Question was what was the best $20 you've ever spent at HF! LOL!

Didn't miss nothing. Where do you think I bought Brenda's ring?

Barry you keep that between us!

Last edited by wsinsle (12/22/2020 4:32 PM)

Best $10 I ever spent was, after putting up with improper performance of my car for ten years, when I finally bought the proper power valve for my Holley, making the Mustang drive like a new car.

Last edited by MS (12/22/2020 7:05 PM)

Buzz saw (oscillating saw) was $20 when I bought it.  Only complaint was that the blades also cost about $20 and I go through a lot of them.  I did keep burning that tool up though, but HF always just allowed me to grab a new one off the shelf w/o any paperwork.  Eventually I broke down and bought a Dremel one that's lasted for years, but if nothing else the HF one opened my eyes to what a useful tool it is.

If we increase the spend to $30 its the 20 ton bottle jack I bought there.  I use it all the time to move structural members around doing framing, and have several times picked up entire 2 or 3 story houses with it to replace damaged or bowed beams.  A couple pumps on that thing fixes a lot of bad stuff. 

RV6 wrote:

In my defense the title of the thread is: 

• What's the best twenty bucks you ever spent ay
•  

 
Ya....that was a typo.  Transitioning into late model tech I find I had much better spelling when I didn't have the help of artificial intelligence.    I've also come to learn that cheap tools have their place.  And for the most part, their air tools have been a good buy.  The absolute two worst air tools I own, one is a 3/8 Huskey impact given to me at Christmas.  Even when it was new, when you pull the trigger most times it would just blow air.  Home Depot refused to stand by it.  I researched the model online and found I wasn't alone.  I even took it apart a few times trying to figure out what was the cause.  I thought maybe the air vanes were swelled because of oil and sticking in the rotor, but I never figured it out.   The other was a 1/2 impact that Cummins tool store were giving to customers when they opened a retail store.   That was junk new in the package.   I've had good luck with the Air tools I've drug home from HF.   I have that earthquake 1/2" that was the IR knockoff they got sued over.  That thing is a beast!  and still going strong. So that tells me the thundergun must have been a heck of a tool in its day.   The other cheapo I'd brag on is their 3/8 butterfly impact.  I've used the neck out of that thing too and still going strong.  I think that one was about twenty bucks also. 

I also have their hole punch but I never used it much.  It punches 3/16 holes and I prefer larger ones.  This is where I sprung the dough out and bought a Malco. It punches 5/16 holes.   I think I got it on Amazon.  But it was worth it!

That oscillating saw is unbeatable for trimming tapered shims used when installing door frames.  How else could you trim them?

I buy blades from amazon or ebay.  Best deals are on amazon, and they show up the next day.

When I built my garage, I used plywood on the walls instead of sheet rock. The HF oscillating saw was perfect for cutting out all of the holes for the outlets and switches.