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View Full Version : Harbor Freight tool reports from customers..........



Dirtcrasher
11-19-2010, 02:27 PM
Some of their stuff is garbage, yet some of it does the job and as well as tools 2X,3X the cost. My blast cabinet, jack stands, pry bars etc have all served me well. Wish I new the 3" cutoff blades were junk, I'll spend the money from here on for quality ones.......

I'll just add that my mig welding "auto-darkening " helmet lasted less than a year at 59.99$ a good Miller ot other is about 3X that cost and they no longer offer "lifetime warranty" these for life; You can only pay extra for a year or 2.

Long read, but you can do a little at a time.

The results posted are very close to spot on from the tools I've purchased........

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27192

Feel free to add your own if you believe it's helpful!

rdlsz24
11-19-2010, 02:33 PM
I have their 12 ton shop press. It does the job. Can't really go wrong with a press. It's iron and a hydraulic jack. I have some other of their specialty tools that I needed to use once and they did the trick as well. I didn't care for their atv tire changer

Rob

300rman
11-19-2010, 02:36 PM
I agree. some stuff is awesome, some stuff is total garbage.

SYKO
11-19-2010, 07:03 PM
hey dirtface what size blast cabinet did you get? is it the floor model or the table model? im looking at the floor model. Oh and for the body shop guys here harbour freight sells the exact same EXACT same spor weld cutter that snap on sells... HF= $5 snapon= $115..... do the math! Stay away from there electric tools there all junk Ive bought alot of air tools there air nibbler is one of the best working ones Ive ever had over mac/snapon and even ingersolrand! only problem it has a weak inner arbor and they break, but only after makor abuse, my mac's and snapones turned to junk way before the HF model did and I had a better warrenty with the HF one then the high brands! and there are some other good deals if your not a complete dumbasz then you can navigate one of those stores and know whats good and what isnt.

NINJA
11-19-2010, 09:29 PM
I've used the same air rivet gun from HF for 7 years with no issues whatsoever. It sees plenty of use with Rhino floorboards, and snowmobiles every winter. I don't even remember how much I paid for it, but it was cheap. My Snap-Off prior to it only lasted through one snowmobile season at the Yamaha dealer.
I can also vouch for the effectiveness of their shop presses. They have a decent brass hammer also. Those are the only things I have from HF.
Now for some of you Northwoods folks, FleetFarm sells some pretty awesome tools. I used to buy Allen brand (invented the allen wrench) sockets and wrenches when I lived in WI. I'll tell you, nobody makes a better hex wrench then Allen.

Dirtcrasher
11-19-2010, 09:33 PM
^^ It's Dirtcrasher, Skamo.........


Mine is the one on wheels (floor model), the lower legs are so weak that they need to be braced... Does the trick though.

SWIGIN
11-19-2010, 10:19 PM
I use a HF digital claiper and it always checks out to my $100 unit. I also use a HF dial indicator and stand....works well.

Twilight
11-19-2010, 11:22 PM
Use a HF atv ramps, motorcycle electric lift and jack stands. All have lasted 2 years now.

Only the safety chains on the ramps failed, cheap things broke off the mounts!

goump1995
11-20-2010, 12:54 AM
Not to be picky but the only brands I will use are Snap-on, Starret, Armstrong, Williams, Proto, and Craftsman.

blue27
11-20-2010, 11:49 AM
Not to be picky but the only brands I will use are Snap-on, Starret, Armstrong, Williams, Proto, and Craftsman.

I said that also and still use and buy snap on, but a air powerd grinder for 6.99 that last a year or two is way cheaper then snap on and craftsman that last three years, so I buy two or threem and keep them on hand. Hand tools I will use the better stuff due to the tolerances are better but if I am going to abuse it then its HF for me. The Ball joint C clampis only 39.99 on sale and lasted 10 years fo rme Snap on was 500.00 and I did not feel bad when I had to modify it to fit GM torsion bars (which OTC wants 150 for the torsion bar tool) and I only need to use it twice so far. BUT if Iwas doing ball joints everyday I would buy a better one,you need to look at it from a profit side befor you spout off what is junk, ex: if you do a ball joint job and make 100.00 on it but had to buy a500.00 tool then you need to do alot of ball joint work before you ever make a profit, I buy most of my tool for myself or for some side work, I do not work in a garage full time anymore so spending money for something that is going to get used once is not a cost effective option. This hread is about what HF tools work so

unibits drill bits work good, regular drill bits are not so good.
Air powered grinders
funnels for a doller (cant go wrong)
Dark Blue Nitrile gloves, great for cleaning carbs

Tommy2
11-20-2010, 01:31 PM
I post a lot in the garage journal thread. Very good information in it.

Basically - if you want something of good quality that will last your lifetime - I'd stay pretty far away from the hand tools. Just ends up costing more and lots of aggrevation when you have to buy things over and over again. Some great deals though. Definitely a mixed bag.

SWIGIN
11-20-2010, 01:39 PM
I said that also and still use and buy snap on, but a air powerd grinder for 6.99 that last a year or two is way cheaper then snap on and craftsman that last three years, so I buy two or threem and keep them on hand. Hand tools I will use the better stuff due to the tolerances are better but if I am going to abuse it then its HF for me. The Ball joint C clampis only 39.99 on sale and lasted 10 years fo rme Snap on was 500.00 and I did not feel bad when I had to modify it to fit GM torsion bars (which OTC wants 150 for the torsion bar tool) and I only need to use it twice so far. BUT if Iwas doing ball joints everyday I would buy a better one,you need to look at it from a profit side befor you spout off what is junk, ex: if you do a ball joint job and make 100.00 on it but had to buy a500.00 tool then you need to do alot of ball joint work before you ever make a profit, I buy most of my tool for myself or for some side work, I do not work in a garage full time anymore so spending money for something that is going to get used once is not a cost effective option. This hread is about what HF tools work so

unibits drill bits work good, regular drill bits are not so good.
Air powered grinders
funnels for a doller (cant go wrong)
Dark Blue Nitrile gloves, great for cleaning carbs



Well said, I have a few other things I bought at HF that have been great to me for the few times a year I'll use them. Buying top dollar stuff is not always needed. My lathe came with HF digital calipers and I have to admit, I would of never bought them thinking they would suck, but they are really nice and hold true.

Dirtcrasher
11-20-2010, 02:01 PM
Depending on how you work, some mechanical calipers can be throw-a-ways, trapped with chips. Calipers get you close, Micrometers get you spot on.

Many things like the blast cabinet and jack stands seem to work very well. The cutoff wheels are crap and the drill bits are hit or miss. I have some that are excellent and others that snap very easy.

The angle Iron chuck backing plate, the iron mounting square 9x9 works excellent for me on my BP mill, as well as the 1/2/3 and 2/4/6 blocks and the clamping set.

I'm not gonna buy that stuff from Snap On, it just isn't necessary........

I believe I put it in the 1st post, but the Auto-Darkening helmet lasted me less than a year and there isn't a lifetime warranty any longer. 11.99 for a year so they'll be getting my old one back in the new ones box :D

SWIGIN
11-20-2010, 02:17 PM
I'll even post a pic of my 3 top things I bpught at HF. 2 of these i have talked about, the 3rd is the crapy little grinder. This crapy little grinder is perfect for grinding HSS bits for my lathe. It has a very fine grinding wheel and a 3M/scotchbrite type wheel, both make my bits as fine as the $500 tool grinder we had in metal shop.

Hammer is for scale
http://i54.tinypic.com/xfsww0.jpg

I added the side table to my crapy little grinder to grind on the side of the wheel. This little gem even is ajustable from 0rpm to 10,000 rpm and it is a year old and working great. When it burns up I'll toss it and buy another, just dont get one and try to use it for your main grinder.

FWIW, those calipers are about 5 years old ( might of been $15) and work like new still. The dial indicator I just bought last year (on sale $7) but it seems as nice as my luffkin.

dksix
11-20-2010, 03:11 PM
This has proven to be a great vise, it's seen plenty of abuse and I think I got it on sale for about 39.99.
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-inch-multi-purpose-vise-67415.html
I've had all the HF blasting cabinets. The cheaper ones I've worn through all the blasting guns and eventually replaced the gun with one from TP tools. I currently have to big bottom pick up cabinet. It's been flawless once I understood the pickup system (bottom mixing valve) http://www.harborfreight.com/industrial-blast-cabinet-with-3-doors-94274.html . I got it on sale last year for 599.99. I tried a couple of the HF MIG welders, didn't like them at all. The wire is always hot and the button on the wire feed only controls the wire feed motor, not the power. I ended up going with a MillerMatic 135 MIG and I see the reason the Millers cost so much.

Tommy2
11-20-2010, 05:39 PM
I have the standup blast cabinet and 110# pressure pot. I've been very satisfied with both. Both items are quality units and with the right coupons I got them dirt cheap.

xxllmm4
11-20-2010, 11:09 PM
I buy lots and lots of stuff from Harbor Freight :p A lot of their hand tools suck, screwdrivers, hammers, "vice grips" but some are decent.

All of the sockets I have bought have been good, even with me abusing them with breaker bars. I got an ATV jack, works great, same with jackstands and the 3 ton jack. The Ceramic kitchen knives are sweet!

I think the best deal in the store is the 6.5HP Honda clone engine. They go on sale for $100 and with the coupon you can get them for $80! Best thing is there is a lot of aftermarket support for them, headers cams rods ect.

ironchop
11-21-2010, 01:59 AM
I buy the higher priced ratchets from HF (cuz my boys lose them in the yard alot) and they work fine even when I smack the handles with a deadblow to break stuck bolts loose

the Pittsburg socket sets both regular and impact are good quality and have lasted me a long time even though I beat on them alot when i don`t feel like getting the air hose and impact out right then

Prybars and hammers are good...and my HF has Vice Grips (the real ones)

screwdiver tip sets are pretty good...allen wrenches...torx driver sets

Compression tester was good and still works three years later as does the brake bleeder vac but the voltmeters are junk (Centech)

Powertools suck...never bought any from HF but have recieved a few from family as gifts and I destroyed the drill and the angle grinder in under one hour each

I did buy angle plate fixture for machining and some other machining fixturing items with no problems but as for the measuring instruments I have all Mititoyo and Starret and Browne and Sharpe, Interapid for work and I won`t count on junk for precision measuring ( we make .50 cal machinegun parts among other things with extremely tight tolerance ranges and some stuff measure in .0001 (ten thousandths)) however J&L and MSC sell junk too for machining like Fowler brand and SPI, both of which are total crap

I have a few airtools from HF and they all still work great but I do add air oil everytime i use them and after buying an expensive stapler that wouldn`t punch through a 200X seatpan, I bought an airstapler from HF that will drive a staple clean through an X seatpan if you don`t turn it down ALOT...if you`re gonna recover a seat or two, i suggest the heavyduty airstapler from HF (I think it`s a Chicago Pneumatic or something) at 19.95 for the gun and 5 bux for the staples

the gravity feed paintgun sprayer was a great buy....on sale for 14.99 and I bought it to shoot primer only but ended up painting six bikes with it so far with no issues whatsoever

I used to buy only Craftsman and SK....that was before they both jacked their prices way up and Crafstman started wanting to "repair" my ratchets with a new head guts (new is junk) instead of replacing them and they got picky about replacing stuff...my SK stuff is BULLETPROOF but I have two wrenching teenagers at home and I supervise a machining plant where employees and coworkers have helped "lose" half my stuff as well as break my stuff....Not fun to run across the shop to stop the guy on a millcenter from firing up the spindle after he forgot to remove your $350 Interapid indicator from the spindle and it flys off into a block wall @ 10,000 RPM...I keep cheap indicators on hand just for loaners

I try to find a balance between "investing" in a good tool and "buying" a reasonable facsimile.

jeswinehart
11-21-2010, 08:21 AM
The best part of Harbor Freight and another tool discount store I frequent is if I break it it is so easy to get a replacement.
I have returned several items and with no questions asked or receipt, simply go get another one.
In most instances, it was my own fault they broke like using 12 foot plus cheater bars on 36 and 48 inch pipe wrenches and so on.
On a side note S+K tools in Defiance, Ohio has ceased operations (bankrupted) as of April 2010. The "new" owners had run it into the ground for the last several years. It was a intended plan to do so for some silly arse reason. Straight from several employee's mouths and some in the management aspect of the company.

dksix
11-21-2010, 02:49 PM
HF started getting my business after the 3rd trip to Sears trying to get a 1/4" drive ratchet replaced. A couple more good items I use from HF is the http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/wrenches/11-piece-metric-highly-polished-long-handle-combination-wrench-set-47067.html . I bought the wrenches for 17.99, they fit well and I've had little problem with rounding off bolt heads. And the http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-tools/screwdrivers/22-piece-screwdriver-set-95114.html . They fit good and seem to be well tempered, not so hard they break but hard enough not to bend. I think I've bought the screw drivers for 9.99 . Just another note, allot of the magazines are having 20% off coupons often.

Dirtcrasher
11-21-2010, 05:45 PM
S+K is out of business, Bridgeport (bought by hardinge) is now made in China.

Man, this Country is a big pile of suk... They're doing a great job of making the middle class, lower class.

Soon, I'll I'll be able to buy is Harbor Freight tools :rolleyes:

Louis Mielke
11-22-2010, 09:35 AM
Ah but who's to blame? The people buying the cheaper items made by poorly paid and treated foreigners because they can't afford to pay for the high dollar items that are specifically high dollar so the people who are making them here in the states get paid a decent wage?

It's an ugly cycle. Buy cheap foreign because you can't afford "made in the usa". Get paid less where you "make in usa" because your company can't afford to pay you because you bought cheap. Now yes I know I'm playing devils advocate because a lot of "big american business's" are greedy and charge way more than what they need to make a profit.

300rman
11-22-2010, 11:00 AM
Stay away from there electric tools there all junk

I have to disagree here Syko. We have a Heat gun, variable speed buffer (use it for boat hulls), and a Miter-Saw style cut-off saw. still have the blade that it came with, and we have cut a LOT of metal with it.

The spray guns are garbage....did 3 exchanges before giving up, none worked. (wanted to spray POR-15, didnt want to use the $500 gun, as im sure you can imagine)

the Pittsburg impact sockets are pretty good stuff. same with all other hand tools, and you dont feel bad when you have to cut or bend one up to work for a specific job. The rachets are good for abuse, but if you work on stuff regularly, buy a GOOD rachet/socket set.....cheap sockets/wrenches are made of cheap metal, which means the sockets/closed end of wrenches are thicker. Which means they will NOT work for many tasks working on ATV's and stuff, as the socket wont fit over the bolt when the case is right next to it.

ironchop
11-22-2010, 02:17 PM
Ah but who's to blame? The people buying the cheaper items made by poorly paid and treated foreigners because they can't afford to pay for the high dollar items that are specifically high dollar so the people who are making them here in the states get paid a decent wage?

It's an ugly cycle. Buy cheap foreign because you can't afford "made in the usa". Get paid less where you "make in usa" because your company can't afford to pay you because you bought cheap. Now yes I know I'm playing devils advocate because a lot of "big american business's" are greedy and charge way more than what they need to make a profit.


I`m gonna strongly disagree with you there Louis, or rather the Devil you are advocating for as I think you don`t truly believe that hype but are only reiterating what crap has been fed to the public

I`ve been managing manufacturing plants and machining for years now.....what you are saying is the bullcrap propaganda that is being fed to you by American retailers to guilt you into buying their product

first off, Manufacturing and Machining have been on steady decline for wage average for decades now...Greedy fools at the top of the Pyramid cut OUR wages/benefits and their supply costs to boost profit margins...pure and simple...when that doesn`t quite work or they figure they can get an even bigger margin of profit, they move operations overseas (You can thank your Federal Gov for that(NAFTA) NOT the folks who buy cheap tools at HF, Louis)

high quality expensive parts does NOT translate into "decent wage or salary"

If anyone actually knew how much stuff was manufactured overseas by cheap labor while the price HERE does NOT reflect the labor or parts savings (like Harley Davidson having ALOT of Japanese made parts on their machines whereas Honda Goldwing is 98% manufactured, and built by American workers)

"Made in the USA" isn`t what it used to be...as a matter of fact it was printed on the Harley Davidson box for the new brake rotor I bought for my 93 Softtail while the rotor inside the box was stamped "Sunstar made in Japan"

If I`m gonna buy overseas "junk", I sure as hell aint gonna pay big bux for it when I only make American manufacturing wages which have been killed by GREED

I can tally factual evidence to this all day, but I`d rather not get myself worked up

Specifically high dollar parts DOES NOT indicate high wages for the plant workers....you are being lied to....this is nothing personal to you, Louis as it`s only a sign of the bull that consumers are being led to believe by the Wall Street crowd who are looking for an angle to guilt the American Consumer into paying more than some stuff is worth while making one believe that good American jobs are at stake if you don`t pony-up the extra ching.....all you are really helping is to line the pockets of investors, NOT the common laborer

Dirtcrasher
11-22-2010, 04:26 PM
Like I've said before, when I was in manufacturing (8years ago), we couldn't buy the glue and cardboard for the same price we could order a completed photo storage box. This was true also with the pages we made and jewelry boxes.

We had a line of Asian temps taking them out of the China corrugated boxes and placing them on our company's named boxes with a nice sticker on it stating "Made in the USA". Any obvious indicators of where they were made we removed and re-shrink wrapped. Some days we had 150 temps in there; they took over the fridge leaving raw out in the open fish/octopus etc in there.

Then I lost my job and 7 years later the company went bankrupt. We had so many people upstairs getting bonuses it was ridiculous; one time we got a 25$ Shaws grocery gift card, that was all the employees got.............

Louis Mielke
11-23-2010, 12:40 AM
I`m gonna strongly disagree with you there Louis, or rather the Devil you are advocating for as I think you don`t truly believe that hype but are only reiterating what crap has been fed to the public

I`ve been managing manufacturing plants and machining for years now.....what you are saying is the bullcrap propaganda that is being fed to you by American retailers to guilt you into buying their product

first off, Manufacturing and Machining have been on steady decline for wage average for decades now...Greedy fools at the top of the Pyramid cut OUR wages/benefits and their supply costs to boost profit margins...pure and simple...when that doesn`t quite work or they figure they can get an even bigger margin of profit, they move operations overseas (You can thank your Federal Gov for that(NAFTA) NOT the folks who buy cheap tools at HF, Louis)

high quality expensive parts does NOT translate into "decent wage or salary"

If anyone actually knew how much stuff was manufactured overseas by cheap labor while the price HERE does NOT reflect the labor or parts savings (like Harley Davidson having ALOT of Japanese made parts on their machines whereas Honda Goldwing is 98% manufactured, and built by American workers)

"Made in the USA" isn`t what it used to be...as a matter of fact it was printed on the Harley Davidson box for the new brake rotor I bought for my 93 Softtail while the rotor inside the box was stamped "Sunstar made in Japan"

If I`m gonna buy overseas "junk", I sure as hell aint gonna pay big bux for it when I only make American manufacturing wages which have been killed by GREED

I can tally factual evidence to this all day, but I`d rather not get myself worked up

Specifically high dollar parts DOES NOT indicate high wages for the plant workers....you are being lied to....this is nothing personal to you, Louis as it`s only a sign of the bull that consumers are being led to believe by the Wall Street crowd who are looking for an angle to guilt the American Consumer into paying more than some stuff is worth while making one believe that good American jobs are at stake if you don`t pony-up the extra ching.....all you are really helping is to line the pockets of investors, NOT the common laborer

Oh trust me, do not confuse my devil's advocate with my true knowledge. I know that the rabbit hole is way deeper than any of corporate America would have us believe. In reality its scary, and whats even worse is that we're pretty much fundamentally unable to do anything about it without everything getting ugly. Thats the really sad part.

My personal outlook is to buy quality where ever it comes from ,but that's another direction for the conversation to head in.

I really didn't mean to hi-jack the thread, just being a smart ass.

As far as HF. I spent a about an hour in there checking things out. Walked out with a orange dead blow. Lasted way longer than expected but I bought it mainly because it was orange. HAHA!

bigbadktm
11-23-2010, 08:01 PM
lol i also bought that dead blow and only kind of because it was orange....ok because it was orange and I am a diehard KTM fan, if only they made 3 wheelers

Dirtcrasher
12-13-2010, 03:36 PM
Where did Swigins little grinder go, that looks perfect!!

racer....X
12-13-2010, 05:05 PM
I have the same little grinder as swigin, it works great but i cant find replacement scothbrite wheels for it. I got an air op. reciprocateing saw and it was junk from the beginingI got a 3/8 air drill at the same time and it works great.I have the 20 ton shop press and it works great.I have to go to St. Louis or Evansville In. to go to a store, i wish they had one closer.

Cave Rider
12-13-2010, 06:02 PM
i would like to buy a harbor freight boring bar and line bore machine.i will use it to fix all of the DIM (did it myself !!!) racers 350x top ends..hahahaha..jk.. i will use a northern tools products instead...seriously though,the blasting cabinets are pretty damn nice for the price $149.00

firehart
12-14-2010, 09:22 AM
I love Harbor Freight. My son is a manager for them.

probed_out
02-02-2014, 02:54 AM
I've got a few awesome things there but I got lots of garbage too

vices are junk broke in a few days

tool boxes are okay the drawer rollers aren't the smoothest but are not the worst

2 ton rapid pump floor jack works great but the threads stripped out in the handle so the bolt wouldn't tighten up and the handle would fall off when rolling it so I welded a nut to the jack and put a bolt in it works great now

chop saw junk motor burned up in 5 minutes

ratcheting end wrenches work okay but to thick so they don't fit in a lot of places I have had them for 2 years working as an auto mechanic and I have only broke the 10mm (go figure the one that gets used the most)

valve spring compressor is awesome feels comparable to a snap-on one

fabiodriven
02-02-2014, 04:51 PM
I didn't read the entire thread so I apologize if it's already been said. Their impact sockets seem to hold up well and are obviously cheap.

DohcBikes
02-02-2014, 06:03 PM
12 ton hydraulic pipe bender works great, ridiculous value with the coupon.

Warrior brand magnetic nut drivers, some of the best I've ever had.

The single drawer rolling cart that comes up on special for $50 in the magazines, added 4 holes and bolts right off the bat and it has been awesome so far.

czac
02-02-2014, 06:28 PM
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27192

Feel free to add your own if you believe it's helpful!

Hey im a member there.... Lol great board for tool info.

kb0nly
02-02-2014, 06:31 PM
I have a good amount of HF tools here as well, some have been great, some have sucked, but its the luck of the draw. Last time they sent out a sale flyer they had torque wrenches on sale for $9.99 in 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2 drive. I bought one of each and compared to some high dollar units they seem to be right on! I bought some of their socket sets, the ones that i abuse or sacrifice for that one special job that i will never need that tool for again, or at least not in many years.

I have impact sockets and a few other things from them. One that worked out really good was a bolt cutter i bought to cut stainless steel antenna whips to length, the blades have held up well and its a lot easier then sitting there grinding away with a cutoff wheel. You don't want to put heat into them otherwise they soften and will bend at the base with wind resistance going down the highway, so the bolt cutter does a quick and easy job of it without any damage.

I also have a pair of their digital calipers, works pretty good, i use it for really basic stuff like measuring a part to find the right replacement or doing some light fab work. Hasnt let me down yet.

The local Menards here has stuff thats just as cheap or worse then HF, so i can't really complain that HF is worst then others, etc.