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Thread: Harbor Freight: the good, the bad, and the ugly

  1. #1
    Arky-X is offline Just Too Addicted Arm chair racerJust too addicted
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    Harbor Freight: the good, the bad, and the ugly

    You know you've done it. Bought something from the Wal-Mart of tools.
    Share your experience here.........

  2. #2
    Arky-X is offline Just Too Addicted Arm chair racerJust too addicted
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    I bought a Chicago Electric 6 amp reciprocating saw because I didn't think I would need it beyond my one project. I've definitely found other uses for it and so far, so good.

    Then I bought a Chicago Electric jig saw and it was a piece of p o o p. It would barely move like the motor was froze. I sprayed it and got it working but definitely not like it should. It sat in the box for months before I opened it to use it or I would have taken it back.

  3. #3
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    Scootertrash is offline Just Too Addicted: Protecting Our Community The day begins with 3WW
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    I have some of their Pittsburgh hand tools. They have a lifetime warranty, the couple of sockets that I broke and I think one extension that I broke took them in and they gave me a brand new one. No hassles. The tools don't really seem to be that bad. I put my tools through pretty rigorous work.
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  4. #4
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    I bought one of their orange "Earthquake" 1/2 air impact guns used from a pawn shop for $15.
    I really like it.

  5. #5
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    I also bought a pneumatic 1/2” impact gun & it works good enough for me. Also bought a big toolbox for the garage, it has ball bearings on the drawers.....pretty good imo.

    Was considering buying their ultra sonic cleaner for small carbs.

  6. #6
    fabiodriven's Avatar
    fabiodriven is offline Aspiring romance novel cover model, and the Official 3WW slayer of thieves and swindlers. Catch me if you can
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    Best place for impact sockets, especially big ones. You can get an entire kit for the price of just the one stupid socket you'd need.
    Last edited by fabiodriven; 12-14-2017 at 02:25 AM.
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  7. #7
    86125m is offline Got The Holeshot Arm chair racerJust too addicted
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    As others have said harbor freight is great for certain things. especially tools that you may only ever once in awhile. That being said the 8 hp motor we bought for our go kart from them has been nothing but great starts first pull every time and has lots of power.

  8. #8
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    I've always liked their tools.

    I purchased their big drain snake/cleaner/router/unplugger for half of what HD wanted for something similar and far better.

  9. #9
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    I know the guy that makes their combination wrenches and have been in the factory. The only difference between the ones sold at Harbor freight and the higher end ones you may see in auto parts stores that look better and cost more is the finishing process. The cheap sets Harbor Freight, Princess Auto and others sell skip a lot of polishing stations, but the base steel and tooling that determines the strength and fit is the same as the premium brands out of India. But if you want the best import wrenches and sockets look for “”Made in Taiwan” and not India.

  10. #10
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    had the red chicago electric oscillating saw that was junk out of the box and burned up, went back and got the blue "pro" model of chicago electric oscillating saw and have been using it for years, at 1/3 of the cost of the dremel...their wrenches are great, I've never had one break on me, and they're cheap enough that i don't mind making "specialty" wrenches out of them if i need to...if only they made rappelling gear it would be a one stop shop for me
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  11. #11
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    I bought the inverted predator 3500w generator. Works fine so far. For 700$ vs 3000 for the Honda.


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  12. #12
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    I love Harbor Freight. Ours is always packed with lines so I guess everyone else here does too.

    My nephews and son lost alot of my good stuff over the years but I have a few Pittsburgh ratchets and socket sets that I abuse and they held up fine. All my impact sets came from HF. Half of my impact guns are from HF. I lube them alot and they've lasted for a decade. I also have Brad nailers and my seat recovering stapler is from HF. All my DA, jitterbug, and longjohn air sanders came from there. Good quality for the price.

    Their electric power tools like saws, drills, grinders, etc. are junk in my experience so I stay away from those.

    Best part about HF in my town is that they have the best inventory over any other local store. If you need an obscure tool or size, harbor freight has one in stock probably. And even if it's a cheap tool, as long as it works the once or twice I need it, I'm happy.

    The counter workers are always up on what's on sale, remind you of it, and have coupons at the register in case you left yours at home. Great staff too.

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  13. #13
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    [QUOTE=Shawn Powell;1466911]I bought the inverted predator 3500w generator. Works fine so far. For 700$ vs 3000 for the Honda.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro[/QUOTE

    Have you ever loaded it real good? We've been looking at those too
    If its on the internet its got to be true they can't put any lie's on the internet

  14. #14
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    Harbor Freight: the good, the bad, and the ugly

    [QUOTE=big specht;1466915]
    Quote Originally Posted by Shawn Powell View Post
    I bought the inverted predator 3500w generator. Works fine so far. For 700$ vs 3000 for the Honda.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro[/QUOTE

    Have you ever loaded it real good? We've been looking at those too
    I have a 28 ft toy hauler , with the ac and the microwave running it was about 2800 Watts, (ac is about 1800 microwave is 900 plus lights battery etc) in 90 degree heat it worked flawless. And quieter than my old 200w Honda. Not by much but still quieter. So far so good. I did buy the extra warranty 140$ covers it for 2 years anything goes wrong they replace or refund. From the reviews I’ve read you either get a good one or a junk one straight out of the box. Apparently I got a good one. Typically with there tools I only buy them if it’s something I’m only going to use once. If it doesn’t break immediately then great. If I only get one use that’s fine also.


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    Last edited by Shawn Powell; 12-14-2017 at 12:39 PM.

  15. #15
    Join Date
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    They have 2 product lines on the wrenches and sockets. If you step up to the pitsburg "PRO" line up, they aren't bad at all.
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