Harbor Freight

Stmar · Feb 5, 2018

Do you folks use Harbor Freight? I had seen ads in magazines and newspapers but had never been in one or ordered from them. One opened 120 miles from us and we go to that town every few months so I decided to check it out. My nephew is a mechanic and he uses some of their tools because they are cheap and he doesn't have to worry about losing or breaking them. I picked up some impact sockets, lifetime warranty, and I got a driveway alert for $10. I wanted to try one but did not want to spend hundreds of dollars just for the heck of it. So far it works pretty good. I know their stuff is cheap in more ways than one but for the residential rural guy they seem okay and you can get a lot of tools to play with.

bucktail · Feb 5, 2018

I use them a fair amount. I don't work on stuff all that much. For stuff the only gets used infrequently, you can buy instead of renting and if it lasts past the job and they always have so far, you're ahead of the game. Some of their stuff, like the Chicago Electric power tools, actually have a decent reputation, and most name brand stuff isn't made like it used to be. They have their place.

armylifer · Feb 5, 2018

I use HF for several things. I bought my quick hitch from them and I love it. I have found that hand tools and pneumatic tools are hardy enough for the tasks that I use them for. I use these kinds of tools several times a week and never have a problem with them.

I think that one has to be ever selective when buying electrical hand tools from them though. I once bought a reciprocating saw from them that I completely destroyed within minutes of using it. On the other hand, I bought an air compressor from them about 30 years ago and it is still running strong today. I also have a hand grinder that I used to cut a car apart with and it is still going strong.

As I said, one can find good stuff and bad junk, just be selective on what you buy from them.

D2Cat · Feb 5, 2018

I buy those latex gloves frequently.

HF gets a bad rap for many of their items, but when you compare some of the items to NAPA or OReilly....I bet they come from the same factory, just different writing on the boxes.

I bought an ON/OFF switch for a Briggs & Stratton 8 HP engine, (probably 25 years old and made in the USA). The switch was in a plastic bag with B&S logo on it then "made in China". Switch was $15, I bet it's made in China for less than 10 cents each.

I wouldn't use a trailer ball from HF just because the risk of failure is not worth the cost of a known quality one. But then where was the quality one made?

85Hokie · Feb 5, 2018

Like others have said....
some things work great ....others not some much.

I buy the 10 pack of 1/8" drill bits.....kids use them for pilot holes...and break them sometimes.

I buy some electrical stuff, some zip ties,pneumatic stuff, trailer hitch stuff.....

If it has a motor on it - I do not buy it!

johnjk · Feb 5, 2018

I too bought a quick hitch from them. No issues. I also bought a couple 20' sections of chain with hooks for pulling logs out of the woods. No issues there either. Other stuff I've gotten include impact sockets. Broke after a couple uses. I went back to NAPA and Craftsman for these. At least if they break, I can get replacements. My breaker bars, bearing pullers, and hex key sets are all from there.

I bought a wet saw for cutting backsplash tile and it works great. Quite a few people have borrowed it and it keeps going. It was cheaper than renting one from Home Depot so even if it died, I was ahead of the game. I also bought a hitch hauler for taking the family on vacation. Had to assemble it, but it was low cost and it is still going strong.

They used to be around 5 miles from my old house. Now I'm looking at 48 miles one way. I'll order online but unless I am in the area, I'm not going out of my way.

skeets · Feb 5, 2018

Just for shyts and giggles I bought one of their chain saw sharpeners,, I think on sale it was like 22 bucks,, Chains are 7 to 8 bucks a piece to get sharped, and me with a file,,,well it aint pretty.. I figured if I get 3 chains sharped it paid for it self,, that was 5 years ago, my chains get done to the point of there aint no more meat left on them and I do the nephews as well,,,that boy is hard on chains.. SO yeah it paid for it's self a bunch of times over,
SOLAR kits,, the new ones aint to shabby, and if I use a tool it craps out it goes back and they replace it

Stmar · Feb 5, 2018

I bought one of those composite 1/2" ratchets just because I liked the way it felt and the reviews weren't bad. When I checked out the lady did her spill about their unconditional warranty and I asked if the ratchet was under that and she said most definitely. I was kind of surprised that a mechanical tool would be warrantied the same as the sockets.

Kubota Newbie · Feb 5, 2018

Some stuff pretty good some other not so much but usually "serviceable". 12 ton press - good, air compressor - not bad, flux core welder - just fair, full size angle grinder - don't bother, bench grinders - ok if you get an 8 inch and put 6 inch wheels on it, oscillating/vibrating type saw tool - pretty good, misc. wrenches just depends.
Usually pretty good deals and performance from abrasive belts, cut-off disks and grinding wheels.

BXHoosier · Feb 5, 2018

I have bought several things there. The ones I use the most are my sandblaster cabinet and 4x6 horizontal/vertical bandsaw. For the price, their gravity feed paint guns are decent for painting tractors.

RCW · Feb 5, 2018

I bought their tool cabinets - really like those, for a fraction of other options.

4 1/2" angle grinder, their better one, is great for $22 or so on sale.

Did get a rotary hammer/drill for $70 plus some cheap bits. Worked 5 or 6 times for far, and only have $90 into it. Lowes, etc. would have been $3-400..

I get my latex gloves there also.

Fro65 · Feb 5, 2018

Years ago, when Harbor Freight first showed up around here, I was still racing hare scrambles. I started buying their wrench sets (dirt cheap) to cut in half and weld the box ends together to essentially make many "two in one" wrenches. I.E 8mm on one end and 10mm on the other end etc. This way, I could have a more compact yet extensive tool kit out in the woods. Try this with Snap On tools without crying

Got me out of the woods many times.

In more recent years, like others, I have bought many boxes of latex and nitrile gloves there.

Back in October, I bought one of their new big "Vulcan" welding carts. I was so impressed with it, I bought a second one for the barn. Probably the best quality cart I have ever had. Each one now has a MIG, TIG, Plasma cutter and two bottles of argon on it. Plenty of nice drawers for hoods, consumables, leads etc. All smooth as silk ball bearing drawer glides and wheels/casters.

William1 · Feb 5, 2018

Great idea Fro.
I have a massive investment in SnapOn and other pro tools. However, there are tools that I'll nearly never use and the extra perfection of a top shelf tool simply is a waste of money. A HF one is fine. I bought one of their $70 bore scopes because I know I'll trash the camera. I just use it for inspection, not precision. My tractor 'lives' on their 10'X17' storage 'huts' Sure, the material is cheap but it was 25% of the cost of a nicer one and I keep it inbetween pine trees. Some day a branch will fall and tear it, no matter how good the material. I'd rather replace it ever five to ten years.
HF has its' place in the world for sure. You have to love the coupons for 20% to 25% off and all the free stuff. A nice clerk will let you use a handful of freebie coupons. Great 'throw away' flashlights, cheapo tarps to lay down in the mud to get a tree branch out from the bottom of the tractor, screwdrivers to loan out and DVMs good to give as gifts to budding electrical genius kids.

lugbolt · Feb 5, 2018

Google "harbor freight pass/fail thread garage journal". All you will ever need to know in that thread, and reading it will keep you busy for a WHILE.

A couple years ago I wanted a tool chest. Top and bottom. Settled on a 72" bottom only. Seems to be pretty good. About the same as Craftsman as far as quality. I also was given a floor model blast cabinet that works pretty good, but its' DEFINITELY not a "good" cabinet. The sipon sucks. Leaks everywhere. Both issues are fixable. The light sucks. That's fixable too and I plan on doing that ASAP. Have blasted quite a few parts with it so far, using glass beads (lot of aluminum parts to be bead blasted)-and did an old Powerglide transmission case earlier with it. Again, read the pass/fail thread and you'll learn everything you need to know about HF.

Daren Todd · Feb 5, 2018

I purchase tools for my service truck from them. If you lose a socket, or have to cut a wrench to make a special tool, it's not a big deal. I would be crying though if I did that with my shop tools

I have one of there ratchets with the extendable handle which I like. On my second one though

Put a little too much mojo on the first one and the head popped apart losing most of the guts in a mud hole. Took the ratchet back and was able to exchange it for a new one no questions asked

Had one of there 12in pipe wrenches. Had issues keeping teeth on the jaws. The pin would fall out losing the teeth. After exchanging it the third time, I gave up on it.

Seems like they are starting to get a little better quality stuff in there store and new product names. Wife picked me up a Bauer cordless screw gun from them to replace a Kobalt screw gun that I smoked a bearing in causing it to lock up. Jury is still out on the screw gun.

I buy grinding wheels, and cut off wheels from them on a regular bases. Prices are considerably better then the other places in town and seem to last just as long as the higher priced ones.

Lil Foot · Feb 5, 2018

I use HF stuff a lot, but with a little common sense. If I need to break loose a large stuck bolt that will require 100s of ftlbs of torque, I stay away from HF & go with a quality socket & breaker bar. If I'm just mounting atv or cycle tires, HFs's tire levers are fine. If I need a speciality tool that I will probably only use once or twice & doesn't require great strength, HF is fine. Example: they have a long, thin ratchet with 1/4" on one end & 3/8" on the other- did a job for me that nothing else would reach, and I didn't have to take out a second mortgage on the house to buy a Snapon or Matco. I also buy a lot of sanding belts & discs, & cutoff wheels, but no cutting tools. (drill bits & such)
If I used my tools for my daily living, I probably wouldn't ever buy HF- but for the average homeowner (with a little sense) they can be quite useful & easier on the wallet.
And I have bought dozens & dozens of boxes of their latex & nitrile gloves.

Pitbull · Feb 6, 2018

Benn using their stuff for years with very few issues. I'm a big fan of their Badlands winches, have one on the front and back of my Polaris ranger.

grandwazoo · Feb 6, 2018

I bought some 6' 6000# straps that fit on my forks. Work great. C clamps seem as good as any i have, bought some floor dollies and they work well. once you walk around the place you will be able to figure out what not to buy. First you have to get pass the smell! every thing in there is leaching fumes.

Missouribound · Feb 6, 2018

Stmar said:
One opened 120 miles from us and we go to that town every few months so I decided to check it out.

Every time I order from HFT they ship it FEDEX. Way cheaper than driving 120 miles and pretty fast shipping. As far as quality, the rest of the comments have explained it pretty well. And I have been buying from them for over 30 years.

Lil Foot · Feb 6, 2018

First you have to get pass the smell! every thing in there is leaching fumes.

Mostly their rubber. Not sure why they can't fix that.

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