Harbor freight to buy/not to buy list

[.sunlover]

Just though I'd start a thread for us cheap bastards to know what is quality and not at harbor freight.

 

I'm a diesel/body mechanic and have put these tools through hell, some stand up as well or better then the mack/snap on and definately the craftsman, some don't.

 

1/2" chicago pneumatic impact will beat anything rated 625 ft lbs torque or less, just keep it oiled

 

the 1/2" deep impact sockets seem to hold up better also. probably had 1000 hours on my 15/16 before it stretched too much. The mack on will crack down the side before that.

 

3/4 drive "cp" impact is a heavy mother fucker, but besides having to retorque the front allen bolts from time to time, is a good buy too if any of you ever need power like that.

 

1/2" air drill you need to buy elsewhere, I drilled semi truck frame rails up to 5/8 with mine, but they took a shit within a couple months even in the professional grade.

 

3/8" air drill, the trigger broke and spins on me, and the muffler broke out and it's loud as fuck, but is holding up just fine otherwise. up to you if you still want it.

 

just got the flux welder (90 amp) and for a light duty welder, it sure does the job. a friend used the shit out of his, and loves it. he did have to add a washer so the spin spring on the wire spool doesn't catch, and lock tite for the wire feed tensioner to keep it from backing off.

 

I've broken a 2' torque wrench, but had the cheater pipe on it. my 2nd has held up just fine.

 

The air palm d a sander is great.

 

I tear shit up with my air grinder, never 1 problem with it.

 

The welding mask is awesome (auto darken)

 

my buddys broke and almost gave him flash burn, but someone at work was welding with it on the ground, and it got burned with slag and still worked another month or two. The "designs" are just stickers though fyi.

 

The $1000 56" big daddy bottom rollaway tool box is high quality, I love mine, one drawer in a bumpy 25 mile trip in a 4wd truck with useless shocks made 1 drawer be unlocked when my box is locked, and locked when the box is unlocked until you open the drawer and lock/unlock the box. it holds BIG weight and opens/closes smoothly. there's no side to side lock like I think the macksimiser ($10,000) has though. means you can unevenly close the drawer and the mack will close evenly when you just push on one side. I don't see any practical purpose to this feature, but thought I should mention it.

 

I of course have more stuff from there in my bux, but either didn't remember them, or don't feel I use them enough to rate.

 

 

please feel free to chip in with your own experience with your harbor freight buys, that's what I started this thread for.

[yellowdatsun]

My experience with their hand held grinders has been really good.

 

I've had a 3/4" impact for years, and it still works great. Most of their air tools seem to be ok, I have chisels, a 3/8 drill, sanders, etc. None have broken yet.

 

Their "higher-quality" socket sets are actually pretty good. I've had my 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 inch sets for probably 7 years now.

 

The cheap socket sets are garbage, you'll be sad you wasted the money.

 

Ratcheting wrenches are good, I use them for work.

 

Their HVLP auto paint gun works great. Painted my 510 with it and it came out perfect, actually I've painted 3 cars with it.

 

The welders are junk. Garbage. Look inside and see what kind of crap materials they're made with. Plus, welders do break, and have normal wear items, so it's best to be able to walk into any welding shop and get replacements.

 

Their hydraulic jacks are good. I've had a few, and haven't broken any yet.

 

Chain hoists are good.

 

Drill presses are good, but the on/off switches can break.

 

Geared head mill is great, but mine leaks oil slowly from a seal. I'd buy it again though.

 

Welding mask is indeed awesome (auto darken). Mine finally died, after years of use, so I bought another one from them.

[BLOZ UP]

Good:

 

Some of their "US General" or whatever boxes have ball bearings as opposed to slides. I bought the $179/149/129 5 drawer roller box (can usually find a coupon) that didn't mention anything about ball bearings and it turns out they are. Not bad quality at all. One drawer is a little stiff, though. I could probably striaghten out the rails but I'm too lazy. Much better than paying $300+ for a Bluepoint, etc.

 

The impacts, while a little weak, work and are much cheaper.

 

Cut off saw is wobbly but been working well for the past 2 years. Replaceable brushes as well.

 

Auto-darkening helmet works really well. Battery dies after a couple years and it says it's "not replaceable" but you can pop it open and replace it. I've since picked up a nice Miller one, but it works well as a backup/one to give someone who wants to watch.

 

Bad:

 

The "high speed metal saw" sucks. Completely useless, not enough power to get the saw going some times, let alone cut through anything. Ok, it works well on plastic, and that's about it.

[Z-train]

Thier creepers are use-less if you're not a skinny girl. :blink:

[nismo dr]

The OG Harbor Freight buy/don't buy

 

The Good Enough, Bad, and Abysmal

 

http://www.toolcrib.com/blog/2008/08/buyer-beware-a-harbor-freight-buying-guide-the-good-enough-the-bad-and-the-abysmal

[Shonuff]

BAD

 

any dremel they sell, the real tiny blue one over heats in 5 min, take the cover off and use it to drill vents in its own case to use it for more then 5min.

 

2ft aluminum tire spoons, break on first use before you get the bead over the rim

 

blue tarps might as well be saran wrap

 

tire plug kit, the important T bar thingy always breaks on me

 

drill bits last 1 use

 

crimp on insulated electrical connectors just suck, plastic falls off after crimping

 

3 out of 10 zip ties wont hold

 

BFH one whack and the head was loose, keep feeling like its gonna disappear on a back swing one day.

 

vice grips

 

 

 

GOOD

 

tube bender is awesome at a killer price for all the dies you get

 

expendables: cut off discs, wire wheels, grinding discs, masking tape, ect.

 

bearing pullers

 

glow in the dark rope, yes it is as awesome as it sounds and will glow all night

 

auto welding helmet +10

 

tap and die set (available in metric)

 

vice's

 

jack stands (check before you leave the store that they actually sit level on the ground)

 

magnetic trailer light kits

 

silver heavy duty tarps

 

mechanics style gloves, you'd be surprised

 

2ft breaker bar, flexes a little bit but hasnt broke or bent yet with a 3ft cheater bar

 

"heavy duty" air compressor that plugs into your cig lighter. fills a 35 to 30psi in about 10min and seems to work forever with no maintenance, had mine about 2yrs.

 

wiring shrink wrap

 

spring compressors

[dennis]

I usually buy tools from them when I only need that tool one time. I did buy a couple of grinders from them. They were so cheap that I use one for grinding and another for a cutoff wheel.

[metalmonkey47]

+1. This is a GREAT idea for a thread.

 

 

BAD:

The dremel they sell that shonuff mentioned above is absolute garbage. Theres literally no torque and heats up very fast.

 

 

 

 

Good:

The 90 Amp Flux welder they sell is awesome for the price. I've had mine for about 8 months and use it a ton for exhaust, body repair, etc. It's not the best or strongest welder by any means, but it's great for little jobs. I wouldn't trust it on anything structural though.

 

 

I also have the auto-darkening welding hood they sell, which is a big plus with the welder. It's cheap and makes a welding job easier to do since you're not constantly lifting the hood to inspect welds.

[motavated]

Digital calipers are good. I bought one for like 12 dollars and my father was really pissy about buying it. He brought over one of his 100+$ digital caliper from work and it read the same.

[ktm]

I've only had good experiences with the tools I've bought from them, but I've only bought a few:

 

Electric die grinder - works very well. I've yet to have an issue with it, but considering that it spins up to 30,000 rpm if it does go watch out.

 

Drill press - not the most accurate, but it does what it needs to do. The bits tend to wobble slightly.

 

About the Dremels tools. Only buy the Dremel brand. I bought a B&D version and burned the motor up in 2 months. I've gone through one Dremel unit after 3 years of hard use. I burned up that motor as well. They'll last longer, you just have to watch out when the bit gets stuck and stops spinning.

 

Do yourself a huge favor and buy the flexible attachment. Yes its pricey, but use it once and you'll forget about the price. Hell, I snapped the cable on mine after 3 years of hard use.

[Hardwyre]

I buy my hookers at HF. I think DatsunMike gets his cheap asian trannies there as well.

[angliagt]

Their wheel dollies are junk!Hauld a car (MG TD) up to Salem,Oregon

a little while back.It had a stuck rear wheel.We just needed to get it off of

the trailer,& up a short driveway & into a garage.

The owner bout four new dollies.We a a wheel break off on two of them.

 

- Doug

[510kevin]

my piston on my good floor jack went out, so i was in a pinch and needed a jack when i did my ka swap in my 510.

 

saw a harbor freight ad for their $69 aluminum low pro floor jack. i bought it because i was low on cash.

 

 

its great for a 510, but wouldnt use it for anything heavier. i lifted the front of my wifes quest minivan and it was a little sketchy and made me nervous.

 

would be a good track day jack for a 510, 210 or roadster i think

[Laecaon]

I love my angle grinder. Only a 4 inch, but works well. Reviews say it lasts for years with moderate usage.

[510kevin]

I love my angle grinder. Only a 4 inch, but works well. Reviews say it lasts for years with moderate usage.

 

 

 

i have a 4" angle grinder i bought 4 years ago at hf. it just wont die. has hundreds of hours of use on it

[VintageRice]

I have ton of HF stuff. By far the best tool I have is my 3 inch pneumatic cut off tool. Was cheap and works perfect. Just oil your air tools. Also have the good pneumatic rivet gun for working on my sleds. Works awesome. Impact sockets and most hand tools are good.

 

Electrical tape is junk. Broke the tooth off my air shear in about 5 minutes.

[VintageRice]

^^^^^ LOL that is kinda funny.

[Madness]

Pittsburgh rubber coated ratchets are awesome. Have one in every size, the tooth count is high and they're smooth as silk. I've put some torque through them and they've never slipped.

 

The air powered 3" cut off grinders always get effed up and spin even when you're not on the trigger. (3 of them have done it to me.)

 

Heat shrink tube gets brittle after a few months if they're in the weather at all.

 

Presses are good just dont trust the blocks they come with. They will explode long before the hydrolic ram gives way. Trust me.

 

The blue rubber casters are great. They hold up well beyond their rating.

 

Benchtop grinders are good just replace the wheels with ones that are actually round.

 

4 1/2" grinding disks are a bit sketchy. I've had one blow up so ill spend the extra amount for a dewalt (dewalt cut off wheels last forever)

 

Zip ties break when tightened.

 

The honkin pry bar they sell is worthless. Doesn't take much to snap them.

[DRIVEN]

I use this cart on a daily basis.

http://www.harborfreight.com/five-drawer-service-cart-95272.html

It's almost a direct knock-off of a coworker's Snap-On. The only obvious difference is the textured finish. Same slides, wheels, hinges.

[elmerfudpucker]

air saw good

zipties, sucks

watch the butt connectors, the plastic splits

brad nailer, sucks

blue cordless drill sucks

GET A REAL DREMEL!

[jesusno2]

harbor freight of whats decent and can be used.

 

Hand tools, anything else is pretty much junk, and will make your life hell if not the same day, 6 months down the road when i fails at the worst possible time! Why ya think china is getting richer repeat customers! they have some decent quality stuff but ya pick your battles. I have some Hf sockets and high tooth count ratchets they work great. harbor freight drill press, works ok. Just dont expect to bore 1/2 or larger holes accurately without babying it. I also got a compressor that has been ok exept the pressure switch is a pile of junk and it wont shut off now unless i unplug it.

[mklotz70]

I could spend about 2 days on the list. Anyone that has come over to my place has seen that it's another HF showroom. I've nearly run out of things to buy from them. I've definitely gotten some bad stuff from them. Some tools are a bit finicky and need to be babied a bit. Others....most that is....work as hard as I need them to. My shop is just a hobby shop so I don't rely on them for a lively hood, nor do I beat on them everyday. I'd much prefer to have five $14 4.5" grinders on the shelf...each with a different disc or attachment....then one porter-cable grinder. I love my Ryobi($40) grinder....it's my favorite and is definitely better/nicer than the HF ones....but never having to change discs/attachments is awesome!

 

When I was working in a shop, I cracked a couple of their impact sockets. I replaced those with snap-on or mac...but each of those replacements cost as much as the entire set of HF impacts. I've used the rest of them for years and never had a problem.

 

As for the china part of things.....yep, I agree that I'm helping to run the US economy into the ground, but if the government can sell off trillions of country's dwindling future earnings to the Chinese.....I'm not going to be too worried about trying to save myself a few bucks. Most of the tools are made over there anyway and rebadged. I'm glad someone worries about that kind of thing, but I can't possibly keep pace with corporations and the gov when it comes to selling out this country. Haha.....Harbor Freight is usually hiring because they're growing so fast....so buy more tools from them so your buddy can get a job there! LOL! :)

[mklotz70]

Well....time to unsubscribe to this bullshit. And people wonder why they see me on Ratsun so much less than before.

[elmerfudpucker]

Is that douche bag crap really needed Nathan? contribute to the topic or hush. And Sunlover, dont feed a troll ;)

[datzenmike]

 

 

 

 

 

This is why you don't have nice things. Knock this shit off!

 

 

 

 

Well....time to unsubscribe to this bullshit. And people wonder why they see me on Ratsun so much less than before.

 

I hear ya mike.