Ok, well I fell to temptation and went up to HF on my lunch break. I was going to check out the SS with one body for $99 but they didn't have any so I ended up checking out the 2 body set. They looked really solid and from looking at the I couldn't justify spending $300 for a good set when I would be using this very little. Also I really haven't been able to find anyone that actually has a set that didn't think they were any good. Everyone that didn't like them never actually had a set. Anyway I bolted the shrinker to a board and tested it on some scrap I had and I'm pretty impressed how easy it is. Within seconds I had the "basic" curve of what I need. I will need to play with it some more to get to where I could actually make the piece that I need and have it ready to weld in. Also from what I have read in reseaching the HF set is that the Eastwood versions jaw set will also fit the HF body and if that's the case then when these do wear I can upgrade to one of their sets if I can't get the HF set. Oh, the best thing was that I had a 20% off coupon so I got the $180 set for less than $150. For that price and combined with the fact that this set will get used very little and I can get replacement jaw sets I think this should be fine for the "hobby" user like me.

 

Get yer replacement jaws now cus when ya do finally wear yers out they wont have them any more. I've run into that with a lot of my specialty tools.

 

I'm going to look into replacing them with better jaws because if they will fit then that would be a good upgrade. From looking at the set they do look and feel very solid and are a basic design. From what I can see the only weak point would be the jaws. Like I always tell my friends, I wouldn't try to make a living using HF tools but for the ocasional user they have some decent tools for the price. All my hand tools are name brand but for the specialty stuff that will see minimal use HF is definately an option to look into. Well I'll see how they turn out in the long run. Now I just have to figure out how to make the piece I need to finally get this corner projet going.

 

I was reading this thread and find the negative comments about Midfiftys to be unsettling.I have been working with 53-56 trucks since the early eighities and remember the time when it was difficult to get the parts I needed for my projects.There was mainly only Carpenter,Socal and a few others back then.
Sy at Midfifitys was a force and has brought many parts to the F100 community that would have never been available.Many other vendors have similar items now but she was the brains behind the whole movement.
Just had to say my peace......

 

Make sure you keep a piece of oiled cardboard between the jaws when not using them and avoid anyone clamping down on the bare jaws by removing the handles when stored.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Eastwood set were the same product since they are also imported.

I agree with old uhaul about Sy and MidFifty, she has always been honest and helpful, but some parts she sells are the best available, not necessarily the best possible. No vendor can afford to have many parts made exclusively for them at a significantly higher cost than what others are selling at a lower price, they would be stuck with a major investment that just sat on their shelves. If Sy has two similar parts available at different prices, she and her staff know what the differences are and will be honest in explaining that difference. Other suppliers often have clueless order takers.

 

Of all the parts I've purchased thru MF, I think the rear cab corners are the only ones i wish were better. And I like MF FAR better than any other vendor I have ever dealt with for ANY part.

EVERY single person I have talked to knows there stuff, goes and GETS the part to look at if you have questions. And I've had a couple where they referred me to their supplier.. with contact info..

Sam

 

You are right,they are very helpful and know thier stuff.In their catalog,under cab repair there is stuff written that you would never see anywhere else.For one rear cab corner it says that it is "made from a very old die and only the curved section of this piece is any good,the door jam is unusable".Nobody else would ever write that.i feel the newer repair panels coming from China are what you would expect from aftermarket sheetmetal.

 

I had basicly the same problem fitting my driver's side cab corner replacement. When I got the door to line up right, the rear vertical recesses didn't align. I bought another patch panel (Mid-Fifty) and used 2 panels to make one that fit. Worked like a charm for me. Only 1 small weld where I joined the panels. I agree with the comments about original fit on our trucks. They were just that-TRUCKS. Most left the showroom for a lifetime of abuse. I'm sure all our trucks never loked as good when they left the factory as they do now. Just my $.02 (and I too much prefer Mid-Fifty for my parts) Steve

 

You guys are leaving one big thing out don,t forget the free tootsie rolls. The people at Mid Fifty seem to be some great people to deal with. I,ve worn out at least two of their catologs just looking.Been putting off my corners for a long time.

 

Thanks for the good tip Ax. I'm sure my son's friends would have a good time working that handle when I wasn't around. Yep I will be pulling the handles off when not in use.

Well from this site I had learned a while back that these parts aren't exact fitting replacements and I really don't hold it against MF. In fact I would still order other parts from them. Hopefully I can get this corner in over the weekend if the wife will give me some "garage" time since she's not working this weekend. Between that and me figuring out how to work my new toy we'll see how it goes. I'm sure you will be hearing from me for some more tips and advice.

 

Well, I've been playing with my HF SS and so far it's pretty easy to get the hang off. I had some scrap a/c duct galvanized metal strips in my garage from a vent I put in a few months back and I figured I would find some use for the cut off strips eventually and I did. I used those to practice making my piece. I pretty much made it in the third try and I'm thinking this maybe one off my coolest tools so far. I'm going to try it on some real steel tonight and see if I can finally get it done. I'm going to use some scrap from the patch panel itself which is a little bit thicker so I'll see how it handles it. So far I've been using one body and switching the jaws back and forth since I only have one mounted to play with it but I can see where switching could be a PITA after a while. I'm going to get the other one mounted before I really get into making the filler piece I need. I'm actually looking forward to putting this SS to work.

Thanks again for all the great advice!!!

 

Does anyone know if the jaws from the US made S/S will fit the bodies of the offshore brands. I purchased the US brand with only 1 body and was thinking of buying the cheaper set just to have the extra body as it is a PITA to change the jaws all the time. In the eastwood catalog they look very similar but not sure of dimensions.

 

I had read somewhere where someone said the Eastwood brand would fit. Eastwood's looks the same and is also imported (china) so it very well maybe the same thing with Eastwood branding. I bought a set of welding pliers from Eastwood when I first got my welder for around $20 and ended up losing them so I went to HF and bought the same exact pair for $8. I eventually found mine and wasn't too happy when I campared them and they were in deed the exact same pliers for twice as much. I'll try to find the site I read the jaws were the same and post it.

 

found this doing a quick search on replacement jaws. This is 8 posts down on the thread. So far this set works well for me and I even made my patch last night (I'll post pics when I get home). This set should get minimal use so I'm expecting to get my moneys worth. For the price of replacement jaws for the more expensive brands I can just go out and buy another set. I do truely expect get my money's worth out of this set though since I'm just a hobbiest. Anyway there are some opinions in this thread so you can see what is being said.

Harbor Freight Tools Shrinker/Stretcher? - KillBillet.com "The Rat Rod Forum Dedicated to fun, low budget, traditional, rusty, patina Rat Rods and Old School Hot Rods built with junk yard parts."

""The shrinker stretcher is an awsome tool! Make sure you pick up the foot operated stand to make it a kick ss. After you replace the worn out jaws with a true lancaster replacement set you will have the cheepest ss on the market that is almost as good as a erco for 18 gauge or less(a erco will do 16 gauge). The shrinker jaws for my pullmax were 1600 bucks of course I can shrink out in the middle of a panel though with the same abilities of an overpriced craftformer.""

 

Thanks for the link, the KillBillet site looks interesting as well and will have to check it out. The stand that guy built for his S/S looks good and fairly easy to build