Harbor Freight for tools?

WannFly

WannFly

Final Approach
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Priyo
some people say they are junk some say they are great for the job especially for the price. almost everyone says, you cant beat them in price... what does POA say?
 
HF is good for hobby type tools. If your business depends on your tools then go to a quality outfit. If you wrote software, would you buy a computer from them? I have a heat gun that I use for shrink tube now and then. I think it is fine. I go to Ace for things like drill bits and saw blades. Always use the 20% off coupon. I think that is built into the price.
 
Garagejournal has pretty extensive "HF good/junk" threads. It's item-by-item.

I love the storage, but wouldn't buy hand or power tools there. Some other stuff is decent; inexpensive air compressors and the like.
 
Some are absolutely junk. Some are great for the price. It's a mixed bag.

I have had a 100% failure rate on anything from Harbor Freight that has an electrical cord... bad enough that I won't even consider things like drills, polishers, etc. On the other hand, the furniture pads and moving dollies are fine. I sometimes buy zip ties from them for household stuff. Storage bins have been fine. Their $20 spray guns work fine for primer. You really just have to go look at the stuff and figure out what's junk and what's not.
 
scottfromboston said:
Garagejournal has pretty extensive "HF good/junk" threads. It's item-by-item.

I love the storage, but wouldn't buy hand or power tools there. Some other stuff is decent; inexpensive air compressors and the like.
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yah i am eyeing an sir compressor and a tools chest, both on sale right now..
https://www.harborfreight.com/21-gal-25-HP-125-PSI-Cast-Iron-Vertical-Air-Compressor-61454.html

and
https://www.harborfreight.com/44-in-x-22-In-Double-Bank-Red-Roller-Cabinet-64133.html?
 
I have a bunch of vintage craftman, and some newer Snap-On.
the hand tools from Lowes are pretty nice too.
 
ejensen said:
I've had good luck but only buy things I need a couple of times and consider them disposable.
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This.

A couple of warnings: my Dad needed a particular sized drill bit on a job and didn't have one. Since Harbor Freight was nearby he bought a set of bits. Drilled the hole and went to tap it. Turned out the sizes of the bits were off. I had a friend who bought a couple of sets of impact sockets from them and had several shatter while using them.

That said, I bought an electric impact wrench and two sets of impact sockets. They've worked fine for the occasional use I give them.
 
WannFly said:
yah i am eyeing an sir compressor and a tools chest, both on sale right now..
https://www.harborfreight.com/21-gal-25-HP-125-PSI-Cast-Iron-Vertical-Air-Compressor-61454.html
Click to expand...

I assume that you know that the horsepower number is meaningless. Also, with a 21 gallon tank - that is fine for something where you leave it plugged in and turned on all the time. If you plan to use it intermittently, you will be waiting forever for the tank to fill. My larger compressor (Craftsman) has something like a 10- 15 gallon tank and one of the reasons I don't like it is the wait time every time I want to use it. You can run tools longer before the pressure drops too far, but then it just takes that much longer to catch up.

My other compressor (California air tools) has a 2 or 3 gallon tank and I can just plug it in and go.
 
I buy them when I need a tool for occasional use, or tools that I am likely to lose. For tools I need on a regular basis, I get them elsewhere (more money).
 
ejensen said:
I've had good luck but only buy things I need a couple of times and consider them disposable.
Click to expand...

That's it. If you only use it occasionally and don't push it too hard, it's OK to get from Harbor Freight. If you're going to use it on a regular basis or it's for a tough job, get a better one from somewhere else.
 
There are rules that are useful in life. One of them is: Do not buy cheap tools.

I think HF is a fine place to buy shop rags. I would not consider buying a screwdriver there.
 
Capt. Geoffrey Thorpe said:
I assume that you know that the horsepower number is meaningless. Also, with a 21 gallon tank - that is fine for something where you leave it plugged in and turned on all the time. If you plan to use it intermittently, you will be waiting forever for the tank to fill. My larger compressor (Craftsman) has something like a 10- 15 gallon tank and one of the reasons I don't like it is the wait time every time I want to use it. You can run tools longer before the pressure drops too far, but then it just takes that much longer to catch up.

My other compressor (California air tools) has a 2 or 3 gallon tank and I can just plug it in and go.
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It turns out that a lot of compressor HP ratings were divined using the peak current draw (at startup) times the voltage; thus you got 1.65 HP compressors labeled as 5 HP. Sears was especially good at this mislabeling. My 5 HP 220 volt I/R compressor is the real deal.
 
Most of Harbor freight tools are fine just not professional grade. Things like angle grinders are an absolute steal! Air compressors and tools are surprisingly good as well as ratchets. Most of their products for cutting or drilling suck. Their wrenches are very poor tolerance. As expected things like their miter saw work fine but the adjustments aren’t as accurate as name brands.
 
Things I use for working on the car or I need some precision (e.g. sockets, impact sockets, jack stands, torque wrenches, Torx screwdrivers), I go with major brand names (with a preference toward SnapOn for torque wrenches.) But for standard tools (screwdrivers, heat gun, etc.) Harbor Freight is fine.
 
Ryanb said:
I don’t see how you could go wrong with the roller cabinet. Dad and I shop around there periodically. I don’t recall anything giving us trouble.
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I buy occasional-use or high loss-probability stuff there. Their quality has markedly improved in the last five years.

But the rollover cabinet: I got one, and it's well-constructed, except the wheels, which disintegrated into lumpy masses of junk in three years. I called, and they don't have any replacement wheels, not even for sale.
 
The people that hate HF are the people that try to buy something at the lowest cost then complain when it doesn't work right or falls apart. Their 120VAC welders are the perfect example. People buy a $400 welder that runs on 120VAC... Then blame HF quality lol.
 
I consider myself with banked money if I get more than one project out of HF tools. As others have said, for anything substantial or for lasting use, go elsewhere. Even Craftsman is not what it used to be.
 
Hit or miss. I have one of their old style earthquake impact guns and a few sets of impact sockets they have been great and I have not been gentle with them. Floor jacks and jack stands are good to go. I have an angle grinder that for $20 bucks it has paid for itself and still going. I have a few hand tools I use regularly but mostly the hand tools I have bought form them are for my truck tool box where it isn't going to get used regularly. I hear the US General tool boxes are very good. I also have heard the cordless impacts are not bad for the price.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
It turns out that a lot of compressor HP ratings were divined using the peak current draw (at startup) times the voltage; thus you got 1.65 HP compressors labeled as 5 HP.
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It's worse than that: 6 horsepower vacuum They include the inertia of the motor as part of the torque when they apply the brake on the dyno. You can get any number you want under those conditions.
6 horsepower is over 4000 Watts - at 110 volts, you would have to get about 40 amps out of your 15 amp circuit. Doesn't happen.
 
Tool Storage is great from their US General line. I have a orbital polisher that does fine the once or twice a year I break it out, same with their pneumatic angle grinder/cutoff wheel. I also have a set of impact sockets from their “Professional” line instead of the general line. Father has a floor jack that has been solid, too.

I wouldn’t buy their wrenches or anything that needs tight tolerances, but they’re great for a lot of other stuff.


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SCCutler said:
But the rollover cabinet: I got one, and it's well-constructed, except the wheels, which disintegrated into lumpy masses of junk in three years. I called, and they don't have any replacement wheels, not even for sale.
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Doesn't it use bolt-on casters? Are the bolt holes in a non-standard pattern?
 
HF is good for random things you won’t use very much. Bought a battery charger from them a while back that seems to be working fine. I see some people have had good luck with their power tools but that is something I’ve stayed away from
 
I consider them the 'disposable tool' store. Die grinders, heat guns, resin brushes, nitrile gloves, and the occasional engine hoist. Oh, and they always have a great deal on EVA floor mats. I wouldn't buy anything I planned on relying on long-term or for precision work.

Nauga,
who wonders about his choice of a $150 engine hoist for a $25K engine :eek:
 
I think the best buy at HF are their General brand tool boxes. I have two of the tool carts, the 5-drawer model in my hanger and the smaller 4-drawer model in my garage at home.

A few years ago we bought our son-in-law one of the 44” lower boxes and I was impressed with it.

They are great toolboxes and sturdier than a lot of the Craftsman toolboxes sold nowadays that cost more and nearly as sturdy as the Snap-on box in my shop.

https://m.harborfreight.com/30-in-5-drawer-red-mechanics-cart-64061.html
 
asicer said:
Doesn't it use bolt-on casters? Are the bolt holes in a non-standard pattern?
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Yes.

Apparently.

More to the point, the bolt-on casters I found are something like $18.00 a wheel (!).

Think I found replacement tires (better than original) for around $10/each.

I guess if the wheels had failed during warranty, they'd have given me a whole new tool box?
 
Their predator engines are reported to be quite good. I'm told they're actually rebadged LCT engines. LCT makes some of the best small engines available right now. I don't know anyone who's been dissatisfied with an LCT engine nor a Predator one.

I've also heard good things about their generators from the locals. I considered one, but ultimately decided on another brand that got great reviews on multiple vendors' sites. The fact that I'd accumulated a lot of cash-back credit from Sam's Club also influenced that decision.

Their work benches, storage cabinets, tool boxes, ammo boxes, shipping blankets, tarps, and similar items have all been fine. There's not a heck of a lot that can go wrong with those items.

Tool-wise, I bought a set of their screwdrivers once because I needed a particular one (a long, thin Philips) to adjust my headlights. They're not professional-quality, but they're not horrid, either.

I haven't tried any of their power tools. Several people have told me they're okay for occasional use.

Rich
 
HF screw drivers are pretty poor quality, but a lot of their tools are not bad.
 
wsuffa said:
I consider myself with banked money if I get more than one project out of HF tools. As others have said, for anything substantial or for lasting use, go elsewhere. Even Craftsman is not what it used to be.
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Craftsman is way downhill from what it was. I still looking for a good, reasonably priced brand.
 
If it has moving parts and is from HF, take it apart and lubricate it before you use it, it'll last a good long time. The Chinese apparently don't believe in assembly lube. I have die grinders, air punches, impact wrenches, all manner of HF pneumatic tools that get hard farm use and are going strong.

One of the tool sites did a test a while ago and found HF's Pittsburgh torque wrenches just as accurate as Snap On out of the box.

Don't know that I'd trust mic's or dial gauges from them though.
 
nauga said:
Nauga,
who wonders about his choice of a $150 engine hoist for a $25K engine :eek:
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LOL! I wondered about my choice purchasing the 8" grinder I bought at HF because it was such a "great deal" as I stood in front of it the first time as it noisily and slowly turned up to 3,450 RPM...
 
Chip Sylverne said:
If it has moving parts and is from HF, take it apart and lubricate it before you use it, it'll last a good long time. The Chinese apparently don't believe in assembly lube. I have die grinders, air punches, impact wrenches, all manner of HF pneumatic tools that get hard farm use and are going strong.

One of the tool sites did a test a while ago and found HF's Pittsburgh torque wrenches just as accurate as Snap On out of the box.

Don't know that I'd trust mic's or dial gauges from them though.
Click to expand...

Interesting. I have a Pittsburgh torque wrench and always wondered if it was worth a dang
 
CC268 said:
Interesting. I have a Pittsburgh torque wrench and always wondered if it was worth a dang
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Note I said "out of the box". No guarantees how long it stays that way. I bought one because I needed a swivel head to do a Cat D330 diesel rebuild. Worked fine and was as accurate as a calibrates craftsman I have,
 
ejensen said:
Craftsman is way downhill from what it was. I still looking for a good, reasonably priced brand.
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I haven't bought much in the last decade or two, but the Husky brand (kills me to say that, being a WSU Cougar) at Home Depot has served me well lately. Now, the S-K socket sets I've got (the 1/4 inch set was a high school graduation gift 48 years ago) have been flawless. I don't know how the brand has held up over the decades, but I hope it's as good as it was then.
 
Then there’s the engine hoist.
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...but they are not always aircraft friendly.
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I bought a two piece US General tool box for my hangar about 10 years ago. It's still serviceable, so I guess I got my money's worth.

About three years ago I bought their dust collector for my wood working projects. It's still going strong, although I really need to change the bottom bag soon.

And their furniture dolly is still in good shape. I was going to make my own and realized their completed dolly was less than the cost of the scrap wood I was going to use (never mind the casters!).
 
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