On November 7, 2024, Harbor Freight showed three new HERCULES cordless shop tools at SEMA in Las Vegas. SEMA is the Specialty Equipment Market Association show, the big annual trade event for the automotive aftermarket, so the audience was people who build and modify vehicles. The three tools are a 12-volt angle die grinder, a 20-volt compact band saw, and a 20-volt jig saw.
These were previews and not products on shelves. Harbor Freight says they "will be available in stores and online early 2025," sold only through Harbor Freight, with a five-year limited warranty. No price was printed, and the release doesn't narrow "early 2025" to a month. HERCULES is Harbor Freight's professional power-tool brand, and showing it at an automotive trade show puts hardware in front of mechanics and fabricators without putting a tool on a local shelf yet. TMWB hasn't handled any of these tools, so the details here are the announcement's wording.
What is the angle die grinder?
A die grinder is a small, fast rotary tool. It spins a mounted stone, a carbide burr, a sanding drum, or a polishing bit, and the operator brings that abrasive to the metal: a weld to clean up, an edge to shape, a spot a larger grinder can't reach. The collet (the small chuck on the nose) takes 1/4-inch shanks on this model. "Angle" means the head is turned so the bit sticks out sideways, which lets it into a bracket, a frame pocket, or a short tube where a straight tool would hit surrounding metal first. Harbor Freight says it's for grinding, sanding, polishing, and machining in small spaces.
The HERCULES Brushless 12V 1/4 in. Angle Die Grinder runs from 10,000 to 24,500 RPM. A four-speed selector sets the range, and a variable-speed paddle lets the speed ramp up with pressure instead of jumping to the maximum. It also has an LED to light the work and a rubber overmold on the handle. The release doesn't say whether a battery or charger comes in the box.
All three tools are brushless. In a brushed motor, carbon blocks called brushes ride on the spinning part to carry current into it, and they wear and spark lightly as they go. In a brushless motor, electronics fire the coils in sequence, so nothing rubs the rotor. The release doesn't attach an efficiency figure, a runtime, or a brush-life comparison to the word, so here it simply names the motor type.
What is the compact band saw?
A band saw runs a loop of toothed blade in one direction, so it cuts continuously instead of stroking back and forth. The HERCULES Brushless 20V 2-1/2 in. Variable Speed Compact Band Saw is a hand-held version, meant for stock that doesn't justify setting up a chop saw. Cut capacity is 2-1/2 by 2-1/2 inches, and a variable-speed trigger lets the blade ramp up gently.
Harbor Freight lists an adjustable blade guide (it supports the thin blade close to the cut so it doesn't twist), a tool-less blade change, a rafter hang hook, and an all-metal gear housing. It also calls the saw OSHA-compliant. As with the company's dust extractor announced a few weeks earlier, the release names no specific rule, so I'd treat that as marketing. The rafter hook is a small detail that says a lot about the intended user: a trades worker on a ladder or a joist, not someone at a bench.
What does the jig saw offer?
A jig saw drives a short blade up and down while the operator steers curves, notches, and cutouts by hand. The HERCULES Brushless 20V Variable Speed Jig Saw is rated for up to 2,900 strokes per minute (one stroke is one full blade cycle). It has an LED on the cut line and an on/off blower that clears dust from the pencil mark. Harbor Freight says it cuts wood, metal, laminate, and tile, but those materials need different blades, and the release names no blade type or shank style. Jig saw blades come with more than one kind of mount, so that's a real gap.
The saw also has four-position orbital cutting. A plain jig saw blade moves straight up and down. Orbital action adds a forward scoop, with the blade swinging into the work on the cutting stroke and easing off on the return. In wood that clears chips and cuts faster but leaves a rougher edge, while in thin metal or laminate a scooping blade is more likely to grab or chip the surface. Harbor Freight doesn't say which position suits which material, and it doesn't print the orbit distance.
What does the release say about price and where to buy?
Harbor Freight's newsroom text names two things about availability: the tools "will be available in stores and online early 2025," and they're sold only at Harbor Freight, including harborfreight.com. It doesn't print a price, item numbers, or battery details, and separate product pages hadn't been posted at the time of the announcement. The dateline is the November 7, 2024 show date, and the newsroom post is the only specification available, with no individual pages for the grinder, band saw, or jig saw.
What's missing from the announcement?
Batteries are the big open question. A 12-volt tool and a 20-volt tool don't share a pack, so the die grinder lives on a different battery platform than the two saws. Harbor Freight didn't give amp-hour ratings, say whether batteries or chargers are included, or say which existing HERCULES packs fit. The release also leaves out prices, weights, the jig saw's blade mount, and the band saw's blade length and tooth count. A five-year limited warranty is stated, but not its conditions, and a limited warranty usually covers defects in materials and workmanship while excluding wear items.
For a trade-show preview, that's normal. The tools are aimed at tight-space finishing work, cutoffs on rod, strut, and small tubing, and steered cuts in panels, and the real details arrive when product pages do.
Sources and image credits
- Harbor Freight newsroom announcement, November 7, 2024
- Harbor Freight
- Product images: Harbor Freight newsroom
