The Good, The Bad and Ugly from Harbor Freight

[Chad215]

Originally Posted by Chad215

I've rarely had problems with anything I've bought from HF. I don't consider them high quality tools, but generally if I use them for what they were designed for, I don't have problems

Good-

Drill press
Angle grinder
nail guns
1.5 hp pancake compressor (abused for years, works great)
heat gun

BAD

HVLP paint gun- got the one with a can to do some painting around the house and nothing sealed properly, splattered horribly and after about 5 min the gun wouldn't stop spraying and ended up with a large mess.

I've been debating getting the little sandblaster with the 50lb hopper.

I got the little sand blaster last weekend-
Works fine for what it is designed for. I wouldn't try to do a whole frame with it, but it is called a spot blaster- I'm happy with it so far. Should save me a trip when I need some small parts cleaned.

[flamingbig10]

I bought a few things from harbor freight over the years, some work great, some work some what, and some don't work at all
the good
us general 56" roller tool cabinet, works great I use it at work for my every other day tools
us general 5 drawer service cart, Ive been using it every day loaded down with tools for a year and half, the only problem ive had is the floor has buckled, and it looks like the casters need a 4 wheel alignment
us general 4 drawer service cart, I purchased it for truck parts storage last month works great so fare
earth quake 1/2" impact works great it work just as hard as a snap on
bad
wire strippers I stripped about 5 12 gauge wires and they broke
1.5 ton aluminum floor, tipped over on me while I was changing a flat on the right rear on my truck dented the gas tank and bed
ugly
1/2 drive metric swivel sockets I broke two with one hit of the impact pieces went flying
I purchased a lot more thing then this oh its reminds me I haven't been since last month I'll have to make a run tomorrow

[blime81]

The magnetic parts dishes are the greatest! Never drop, kick or lose a bolt or nut again. One for each side of the vehicle for things like brakes plus a couple for your bench.

Has anyone else noticed that some of the Jegs tools are re-branded HF?

[rpmerf]

I purchased a couple tool chests. My first was something like 5 drawers, large open area at the bottom, locking top. Its held up perfectly. A few months ago, I purchased a 13 drawer chest for about $350. I wish the drawers were a tiny bit deeper, but the overall quality is very good. Certainly worth what I paid for it.

[Mxracer202]

Thinking about getting the 400ft wire store house cause it comes with wire. Anyone tried? Im thinking too good to be true?

[ETsC10]

Probably better than I had...replaced my cheap, broken HF 1,000# wheel skates with these
new 1,500# skates (also HF). Reg price was $160 for 2 pair. Paid $126 with discounts (+ tax).

I'll post a review after loading a mid-70's Charger on them!

[Cue-Ball]

Originally Posted by ETsC10

Probably better than I had...
I'll post a review after loading a mid-70's Charger on them!

Don't hold your breath. I've read that even the 1500lb versions are very weak and that the casters are pretty poor. Supposedly, even very light cars refuse to roll. Keep your receipt handy.

[ETsC10]

Originally Posted by Cue-Ball

Don't hold your breath. I've read that even the 1500lb versions are very weak and that the casters are pretty poor. Supposedly, even very light cars refuse to roll. Keep your receipt handy.

Thanks for the heads up. Guess I should have built some years ago.

[k1rodeoboater]

I used the mini movers dollys on my truck...worked fine so long as you faced the wheels prior to moving. A pickle fork was an easy way to face the wheels in the correct direction. I also checked through the stack for good ones, and added grease before I put the truck onto them.

[FrankieD]

I bought 2 of the 3ton steel jacks they had on sale for $49 gave one to my cousin for letting me use his pole barn. Just bought the portable winch mount ($44.95) haven't used it yet but I can beef it up if I need to. I just found out that if you go through their on line site and click on something you want with in a few weeks it will show up on their on line sales flyer they send out. They will also take the coupon from your phone.

[Torrey72]

Picked up a 20 Ton press. The frame is well built but I understand the jack might fail me some day. I bought it with that understanding and already have a 20 Ton jack that I would trade it out with. I added casters to it so I can roll it around the shop. The casters are $4 each from HF. It rolls easy.

[ole dollor]

sinister: try taking the spray nosiel off the gun and see if there is a small o'ring on the needle behind the spray nosiel, if so take the o'ring off and throw the o'ring away, not the paint gun...dont ask me how i know this...its a secret....

[ole dollor]

All i can say is everyone be real careful going to Harbor freight: you may not know this but "it is addictive", and as of this date and time their is no cure. and no you can never take enough money with you....be careful...

I know first hand

[butch86]

my biggest issue with HF is its to easy to stop in and drop 30 or 40 bux every day. i have lots of HF tools my favorite by far is the auto darkning welding helmet. i also have one of the 90dollor wire welders that use flux core wire. my biggest issue wit it is the wire is 100% hot all the time whenthe unit is on. i wish the wire was energized when you pull the trigger.

also have the 180 stick welder. i love it for anything you need to weld with a stick. mine is 8 years old now and i have to crank up the heat to full power for thicker stuff but it works great.

now HF welding wire and sticks SUCK big sweet potatos. i also love my HF $5 heat gun. and all of my junk yard tools came from HF. there channel lock type plyers suck too.

[Weasel Diesel]

OK,... I lost my Snap-on snap ring pliers. Stopped by HF and got the 4 set of Pittsburg snap ring pliers. All 4 broke within first 5 minutes of use.

[BarryB]

Originally Posted by ole dollor

All i can say is everyone be real careful going to Harbor freight: you may not know this but "it is addictive", and as of this date and time their is no cure. and no you can never take enough money with you....be careful...

I know first hand

isn't that the truth! When the HF store first opened up here. I got accused of knowing how many tiles were on the floors. Yes I visited there a lot. I've bought several tools from there. I like being able to go to the store and actually look at the stuff before you buy it. When you could only order from their catalog it was a guessing game what you were getting.
I have the 220v 151 dual mig welder. I built my little utility trailer with it. only problem I have with it, is the duty cycle is lower than I normally like.

[NONHOG]

Originally Posted by Weasel Diesel

OK,... I lost my Snap-on snap ring pliers. Stopped by HF and got the 4 set of Pittsburg snap ring pliers. All 4 broke within first 5 minutes of use.

The only good thing about those pliers is you can twist them and wad them up like a pretzle before tossing them in the garbage.

[bean]

i just bought their foldable engine hoist cause i had a coupon from classic truck. It was only $99 because of that. Used it twice without a problem.

[67lowered]

Quote: butch86; my biggest issue with HF is its to easy to stop in and drop 30 or 40 bux every day. i have lots of HF tools my favorite by far is the auto darkning welding helmet.

I got one of those helmets too, hopefully yours works better than the one I got. Even after turning it to the fastest darkening, still too slow! I would see the initial arc, Then it darkened! saw 1 white spot for awhile. ya get what ya pay for

[ERASER5]

My $70 "Eagle" HF auto darkening helmet works great. As long as I lower the helmet first, I get no flash.

[Weasel Diesel]

Originally Posted by 67lowered

I got one of those helmets too, hopefully yours works better than the one I got. Even after turning it to the fastest darkening, still too slow! I would see the initial arc, Then it darkened! saw 1 white spot for awhile. ya get what ya pay for

Sooooo.... Ya saying it's no good for the Nuclear Apocolypse either? That initial flash may be a tad bright??

[El Campo]

I have some things from there. Some I love Some I hate

Good: air die grinders (as long as you oil them these 9 dollar things go and go)
mini air saw (the first one didnt work straight out of the box but the next one works as well as the 190 dollar one my friend has from Cornwell
Multimeter (cheap and works great, my friend who is at MMI [motorcycle mechanics institute] says they recommend this 40 dollar one from HF over the Snap On one)
Calipers

Bad: air fittings are complete crap and all leak soon
any wrench of theirs is horrible and does not fit as tight as it should, rounds off, breaks. Will never buy another wrench cheaper than Craftsman again (and I just got a set of 9 wrenchs from Sears on sale for 14 bucks how do you beat that?)
ratchets are equally terrible. I have definitely decided that Snap On and Proto ratchets or the premium Craftsman at the least are WELL WORTH the money.
cutting discs especially cut off wheels are junk, burn them up in 1/4 of the time that others take.

Many times when I use a tool from here I remember this: "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of a cheap price is forgotten"

[67lowered]

Originally Posted by Weasel Diesel

Sooooo.... Ya saying it's no good for the Nuclear Apocolypse either? That initial flash may be a tad bright??

Blinding! not sure what shade I would need for that couldn't get it at HF

[1774btcrew]

Let me start off by saying I have a parts locating business and spend the full day at the wrecking yard pulling parts. I have NO cheap tools in my junkyard bag at all with the exception of the harbor freight pick set. The fact is, I cannot afford to be at the wrecking yard and either mess up the part or not be able to get it because a cheap tool didn't work right. I also cannot afford to wait until the next day as I risk someone else getting the part before me. My tools are Snap On, Matco, Proto and Craftsman. That being said I NEVER pay retail on my tools and have had great luck scouring swapmeets, and yardsales to come up with some really incredible deals on quality tools. I am not one of those guys that has to have all of the newest, most expensive Snap On tools just to say I have them. What I will say is Snap On makes the best wrenches hands down.
The good
Screwdriver sets. These aren't bad and cheap enough to put in a tool box in each vehicle.
Gloves, good and cheap. It is hard to screw up gloves!
Their small 4 piece pick set. I use this on a daily basis. Literally! I am more than happy with these!
The bad
Pickle forks, these are JUNK! The fork spreads and flexes. Buy a good one. It will save a lot of headaches.
Snap ring pliers, these too are not worth owning! First time I squeezed the handles they bent!
Bearing seperater. This was on sale for $40 and I figured it would be fine for the occasional use. WRONG! The first time I used it one of the side bolts bent and the jaws chipped.
Steering wheel lock plate tool. These are junk as well. Too thin metal and bends/flexes with any tension at all on it.
Drill bits, weak and dull right away
Wrenches are a joke. These flex and never tight enough around the bolts.

[FrankieD]

bought an 8oz touch up gun worked great for spraying the inside of the fenders and rockers, also bought the little butane torch for soldering and putting wire shrink on works great