This is pretty cool: Harbor Freight is opening a store here in Bellevue.
For those of you who don't already know, Harbor Freight is a discount tool retailer that sells on- and off-brand power tools are serious price cuts over places like Sears and the big-box home supply stores. Last time I was at an HF, I picked up two full 1/2" impact socket sets for less than $15 total. And even in Washington, its clientele is composed almost exclusively of middle-aged male redneck types, so walking through the front doors is like being magically whisked away to a store full of complete tools.
As it stands, HF sits somewhere below "pawn shops" and above "legitimate chain stores" in my hierarchy of finding cheap (and moderately quality) power tools. So having one close by will either save me money or effort—and that's totally approved.
about twice a year we get a visit from http://www.cumminstools.com. No relation.
I particularly like Cummins' 13'x10' Screeded Pavilion advertised on the front of their site.
I think I've gone to two of those Cummins Tools shows. The first time, I bought a $10 set of Chinese end wrenches that lasted about a week before they broke in half. The second time, I ended up with a set of nut drivers that only appear to fit some size of nuts that aren't SAE or Metric.
I've never been brave enough to buy handtools from them, but I did get a decent aluminum gun case and an angle grinder. The grinder works, but comes to a screeching halt when the trigger is released. I don’t think they used bearings so much as they did gravel and sand.
Gravel and sand? Consider yourself lucky—I've got a DeWalt that takes all year to spin down.