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Harbor Freight Tools

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whizkidkyus

Member
Location
South Central , Ky.
I have seen posted on here a few times ( and I posted myself about them awhile ago to the plastic posts ) about Harbor Frieght tools and also how bad China tools are. Most people post as to how bad they are since they are China made and what a waste of money they are ,but yet, there are some people that still recommend them in replies to someones post as in " I saw this on Harbor Freight on sale , will it work for you ? , etc " . I have a lot of cheap China tools as I can't afford all the real good stuff. I've had good luck with some and bad luck with others .

My question is this : Has anybody had any GOOD luck with Harbor Freight and China tools ?


Thanks ,
Whizkid

I know that this might be a touchy subject to some people , but lets not start a fight . Keep it clean and friendly , please.
 
I have a few Harbor Freight things. A hyd. press after a little rework of the ram and upper cross support has been worth the $100 paid. Have a small power metal bandsaw it has been good too. You just have to set it up square and leave it alone because if you slide the blade guide in or out it will change. I just leave it wide open and set it so it cuts square there.
I have the jumbo wrenches and they have worked the few times I needed them. I think the impacts and die grinders came from there too.
I have some other open end wrenchs that came from Farm&Fleet years ago made in India. These have been very good and have held up to alot.
 
I expected a remark like this , but it's because there's no reason to get this thread deleted simply because someone has to be a smart you know what and start a fight with someone. Yes, we all have our own opinions ,but theres no reason to disrespect others opinions on here either.

THAT'S WHY ,
Whizkid
 

I went cheap and bought one of their tube rollers, what a joke! Couple of the dies weren’t drilled and tapped, I called to see if I could return the dies, oh yeah just try getting someone on the phone who can speak English! Just did it my self. Then discovered the wheel is not keyed, so round and round it goes, but not the shaft, no problem I just welded the wheel to the shaft. Then the shaft would spin in the upper die, no key! So I drilled the shaft just a touch and ran the setscrews into the shaft.
My question is, how much more would it have cost to key everything?
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My dad was a wise man. Pappy always said that when you're broken down at the side of the road, a cheap tool usually beats NO tool...and that's the category I put Harbor Freight tools in.

Pappy and Grand-dad didn't kiss up to one tool manufacturer over another. Pappy had a Bonney 1/2-9/16 open end wrench that was the most comfortable wrench I ever held. The balance of their tools were Proto, Blackhawk, and Craftsman. But they ran a garage, and they needed quality tools they could count on to make a living.
 
I've had good luck with the items marked "professional" from HF, hand tools and air tools. I have not found an electrical item that I would recommend.
 
I pretty much buy a lot of Harbor Freight stuff since retiring 10 years ago. Was a hvy duty truck mech for most of my working years. Lots of mechanics looked down on craftsman but I'm still using a lot of craftsman tools that were bought in the fiftys. I never liked the proto and snap on stuff because they wern't comfortable. They looked nice and shiny but were too thin for my liking. I see that the nicer looking H Freight hand tools are looking too thin to me. If your just starting out in life I recomend buying the best you can afford and when you get to be 71 years old you can start buying the cheap stuff because it won't have to last as long _:). I still have a craftsman skill saw that I bought in 1962, after getting out of the service. It still works great but it's heavier than hell!! My two cents worth! EdBinOregon
 

I have a 14 inch bandsaw and a 6 inch jointer for woodworking, both made in Taiwan and they have given pretty good service. The weak spot on them is the switches. I've had to replace some. Apperantly they don't understand that wood dust and electrical contacts don't work.

Speaking strictly about hand tools: A lot of them are made in Taiwan and are finished nicely. I have some impact sockets, some I've had for several years and broke one. My fault, I was using the wrong size. I had ordered them by mail and you could mail a wrench in for warranty. When a store opened locally I took it in for warranty and had no problems. Within the past year I bought other impact sets and the quality seems to have gone up.

I bought a 3/8 drive swivel head ratchet and gave it to a mechanic who was putting a clutch in a tractor for me, partly as an experiment to see if it would hold up in commercial service. So far so good, will report if he breaks it.

Gear wrench ratcheting combination wrenches are made in Taiwan and China. I've glanced at that type wrench in Harbor Freight that are made in China and and they seem to be just as good as the china gearwrenches, they are cheaper, and are guranteed. HF has signs up stressing that their tools are guranteed and I've seen a box of warrenty stuff in the back of the store. Guranteeing tools is a nice sales gimmick. Craftsman found out that warranties sold tools. I remember buying craftsman tools when there was no warranty. I think Snap on was the first to warranty tools but I'm not sure. About 1963 I asked a mechanic what kind of tools he bought and he said Snap on because of the warrenty.

KEH
 
I have been very impressed with the quality of some of the tools I bought there, most I have bought were OK, and I have thought a few of them were really poor.

Usually I have bought items that were on sale, which lowered their price to about half of the regular price. At the regular price, lots of the tools Harbor Freight sells cost about half of what Sears would ask for a similar tool.

Am I saying that the HF tools are as good as the tools Sears sells? Certainly not all of them. But for something that I don't anticipate using often, don't anticipate putting heavy pressure on, or something interesting I just want to try, I like the HF tools and their much lower prices.

Some people say you get what you pay for. I wish that was always true, but sometimes high priced tools I bought weren't much good either. And they cost a lot more than a similar tool at Harbor Freight.

I wish it was possible to buy decent U. S. made tools at a reasonable price, but I find relatively few are for sale where I shop, and when I do find U. S. made tools, they are often very high priced. Apparently it has become very hard to manufacture almost anything in this country and make a profit anymore.

I will continue to buy some things at Harbor Freight, since most of what I have previously bought there has been "good enough" for my needs, for a lot less money than if I had bought a similar tool elsewhere. Good luck!
 
I'm about 50/50 on their tools. I've bought things that were good (electric tile saw, welding gloves, castors, spools of wire) and things that were junk ( vix bits for pre-drilling door hinges, right angle grinder, grinding and cutoff wheels). I've learned you should use some common sense. If it is a tool or item you plan on getting more than one job out of don't buy it, but if you need to get the job done sure. They are usually conveniant to go to and easy to deal with though, especially on returns.
 
I bought enough sheet rock from China to finish my house. No problems except me and the family have bad headaches now. And the last litter of pups that were born in the house are all deformed.


Just kidding.
 

I have a wire welder that bought from them 9 years ago,engine cherry picker 7 years ago,Trany jack 4 years ago, and a 1/2'' air gun. So far I have had no problem with them. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
JR.Frye
 
If the mark ups were more inline with what you get, they would be a great deal. However, they are dirt cheap to HF, and then they use good tool prices as a guideline for their pricing. Not at all fair, but likely makes a butt load of money for HF.
I have bought stuff there, some I still have, some I threw away so that no one would see it in my shop.
 
Just gotta add my $.02. I've had a wrench in my hand since I was able to pick one up. Having been a mechanic for near 20 years I have built up quite a tool inventory. My Snap-on boxes and contents are worth about $70,000. In my boxes you will find almost every make available, including HF. I was big on the high dollar stuff in my earlier years.(Snap-on, Mac, Matco, Cornwell) The last few years I started buying some of the cheaper stuff where I saw fit. When HF set up a couple stores in the area I started to buy more from them. It's nice to be able to handle a tool before buying it, you can tell a little about it by how it feels. It's also nice to be able to take stuff right to the store if you do need warranty. I guess what I'm saying I wouldn't want to give up my "good" (read, high dollar) tools that I commonly use but have found some of the "cheap" stuff to be surprisingly good. I also keep some of the cheap stuff in the trucks and on the tractors, alot cheaper to replace when you "plant" one. Again, just the opinion of a guy that make a living with tools.
 
I forgot to add this.

Stuff I had good luck with. 4" or 4 1/2" angle grinders (the orange ones) I have three that won't Quit, The oldest is probably 8-10 years old. They hav just as much power as the Matco one I have. The on off switch isn't real handy, like the paddle on the Matco when in tight spots. Big wrenches and 3/4 drive socket sets seem to hold up good for the $. The ratchet in the 3/4 set was JUNK! but the sockets work fine on my Mac ratchet. Die grinders, I have several in different styles that are doing great. They are cheap enough to have several instead of constantly changing tools. Little butane torch, the last one was about 4 years old before I shut it in the toolbox drawer. Also the 2 cyl 5HP replacement air compressor. Put one on my friend's compressor, it never made it to 120 PSI. (yes, I put oil in it) They replaced it, no questions asked. The second one is 3 years old. It runs heavilly every weekend.

Not so good list. Black Central Pneumatic air hoses, lasts 2 weeks @ 120 psi- junk!!!!!!!!! Wire strippers, black and red, look like the more expensive ones I have but won't strip 2 wires before breaking. Fuses, the plastic push in kind. They have been recalled for starting fires.
 
Thanks for the info on the tube roller... last time I was in HF, I glanced at it and have been considering buying one. On EBay the other night, I saw a very similar roller from Eastwood... it sells for about $850... but includes some major improvements. It appears to be made from at least 1/2" thick aluminum plate... (not that important) appears to be more substantially built (includes grooves to guide the movement of the upper die) (important) and, probably most important, they drive one of the lower "axles" and connect that axle to the other by means of 2 sprockets and a chain. Seems to me this would be a much more effective way to make the HF machine work. Question... in your opinion, would it be worth buying the HF machine and re-working it to function like the Eastwood model, or would I be better off just building one from scratch? Not sure which/how many dies are included with the HF machine, or the quality/value of them. ...D
 
I have bought some tools from them over the years and I must say everything still works. I know the old saying you get what you pay for but I use them carefully and it seems they will last a long time, this is power tools and hand. With most of the big name stuff being made in china if I'm buying chinese tools they better not be expensive!
 
When I was a professional auto mechanic I had mostly Craftsman hand tools because I couldn't afford Snap-on (still have them). I have a huge amount of HF stuff now and have had only a few lemons. One of their 5hp 220v motors (over) driving their twin cylinder 3hp air pumps for my main garage air system. Their touch up paint sprayer. Air angle grinder. electric 4" and 8" angle grinder. Reciprocating saw (ruined the 1st one from abuse but at $20 a replacement was cheaper than parts). Sliding 12" miter saw. 1500W inverter. Metal cutting bandsaw (required aligning the blade wheels but now I can't imagine being without it). 1200W heat gun (fantastic). There are so many other things I can't remember. The only things I was disappointed with were a HVLP sprayer that had a lousy pattern and a cordless drill (drill worked fine but the battery crapped out quickly). On a side note I bought a cheap non-HF china 9hp motor to replace the one on my Ariens snow thrower (I have way too much gas powered equipment) and I'm embarressed to say that it is the best running, smoothest, and quietest equipment I now have.

Jim
 

wyod I just checked Harbor Freight’s web site, they’re up to $179.99 now! I paid $149.00 not including shipping.
For $670.00 a guy can do a lot of rework. I think you’d be hard pressed to build one for under $180.00.
The decision is all yours, how much do you think you’ll use it? Is it worth an hour of your time to rework the Harbor Freight one to save $670.00?

FYI, I replaced all their setscrews with good quality ones with the little dimple in the end that allows the setscrew to bite inn. :wink:
 
Thanks for the reply... yeah, I can do a lot of re-work... I never intended to buy the Eastwood machine, I just like the way they drive it. As far as the HF model, I'm thinking the only thing I'll be using may be the dies... I want to do the chain drive thing, and may rebuild the sides from steel plate (I can get carried away purty easy lol)... depending on what the "axles" are made from, may replace them too. I'm a machinist and have access to a shop, so, it's just my time involved. (I like to have a few projects to work on during my lunch hour. We have to punch out for lunch and I like to use that time for something productive) Projects usually take a while when only working on them a few minutes at a time, but since I'm not in a real hurry, it's a good way to use that time and get some things done! ...D
 

Being a machinist and having access to a machine shop, you’d be crazy not to buy the Harbor Freights one, and rework it. Once you get it you won’t be too disappointed. I think mine is all steel, can’t remember now if you would like to know post back and I’ll be sure to check in the morning, I’m not going all the way out to the shop now! Besides it’s dark outside and I’m scared of the dark! :lol:
 
Prolly cold outside too??? Yeah, I think they're all steel, just don't yet know how "soft" the "axles" might be... they would be easy to replace tho. What I would be intersted in knowing is what size dies are included... no rush... next time you're looking at it & if ya think of it, I'd appreciate it! ...D
 
I have bought some things there and have learned what to look for. My pay doesn't allow me to buy everything from the U.S. although I wish it would.

Generally the simpler the tool the better. I would avoid the power tools though some have said they had luck with them. I once considered getting a 3/8 drill to keep in the house (my "go to" drill is a Milwaukee) and even turning it in the store, well the gears just felt noisy and bad.

I'd say you're ok with hammers, screwdrivers and impact sockets and regular wrenches. I would not buy cheap vice-grips though. Usually when I get something to the point where I have to break out the vie-grips then it had better work!

I bought a ball joint tool that was junk. I knew it was weak but it gave up pretty easily. The "C" frame is cast out of junk or scrap. The store replaced the broken "C" with a new one, no questions asked. The main reason I bought it though was to do U-joints and it works great for that.

One tool that worked particularly is a pitman arm puller. Racing on dirt, steering boxes get wiped out somewhat frequently so a pitman arm puller gets used a lot. I put some un-holy force on this one to get some of these old things apart and it hasn't so much as wimpered. It does have the initials "CR-MO" on the side of forging. Interpret at your own risk.

I wouldn't buy them through the mail. At the store you can take them out of the box and inspect them for obvious flaws. Also wait for things to go on sale and on top of that use one of the coupons that they're blanketing all the magazines with.

I have a few Stanley tools from Wally World and I'd say they're as well made as craftsman. Most notably a small metric socket set that someone gave me as a present. I figure "metric" and "china" go together anyway so it doesn't bother me.

For what it's worth, I've noticed that some of the Craftsman branded tools are made in China and if I have to buy China I'm sure not gonna pay top dollar for it!
 
I've been buying from Harbor Freight since the middle 1970s. Some stuff has been great and some junk. You just have to pick and choose. Customer service has always been good and they've always taken back stuff I wasn't satisfied with.

I still have several big electric grinders I bought late 70s and still work fine. Also some old 4" grinders along with several 3/4" drive and 1" drive rachet/socket sets. With their power tools, stick with the yellow "Chicago Pneumatic" and skip the blue stuff.

When I was in charge of shop tool purchasing at a John Deere dealership, we started using some of the "yellow" Harbor Freight tools instead of Metalbo, Sioux, Milaukee, or Makita - and they held up just as well and cost half as much or less. Mostly grinders and big electric drills.

Anybody who tells you all their stuff is junk simply does not know what he/she is talking about.
 
I like the HF wrenches pretty well.
I have gotten nailers, power tools, etc there and have had good luck with most of it.
 
You have to ask yourself how much your life would change if Harbor Freight went out of business tommorrow or was never here to begin with. My life wouldn't change a bit. There are a lot better places to buy tools than that cheap garbage hole. Place is full of cheap junk that I don't need.
 
With HF you get what you pay for. I don't wear out many tools, just lose them. There is some stuff I wouldn't want to use 24/7 but most of it is ok for me. Certain tools like vise grips, you want to go for quality.

I have had worst luck buying cheap crap from these traveling tool sales that rent the holiday inn and bring in a couple semi loads of tools. Those old Buffalo vise grips just never cut it. I'd take HF over any of those.
 
My shops would be quite different. There are many tools and large types of equipment that I never would of bought if they had to come from Snap On or OTC. Same goes for many other private shops. I see stuff now in private shops that would never have been there 40 years back.

So yeah, companies like Harbor Freight have changed things for many people. I see many shops with equipment that would of only been rented, when needed, if not for cheap suppliers like Harbor Freight.

If the phrase "you get what you pay for" was universally true - I'd have to live 10 lifetimes to get my money's worth out of companies like Snap On.

One perfect example is the double-ended, offset angle wrenches. Back when I worked at a Deere dealership, they were only available from Snap On or Mack. Each single wrench was around $30 and some over $50. I have them from 1/4" up to 2 1/2" and they cost a small fortune. I HAD to have them and nobody else sold them at that time. Now, since I own several remote properties with equipment on site, I've bought a lot of "cheap" tools to leave there. One being the complete angle wrench set from Harbor Freight for $20. SAE or metric. 3/8" up to 1 1/4". And, I've had to use them on several backhoes and they've been great. 14 specialty wrenches for the cost of less then ONE wrench from Snap On.

Now, if you feel having a well polished wrench that you can shine and see yourself in - is VERY important, well . . . maybe you need Snap On. I'll take utilitarian every time.

I'll say again. Anybody that claims all Harbor Freight stuff is junk - is either making up stories - or is a terrible shopper for tools.
 
One. Pneumatic t-nailer for nailing wood to concrete. It wasn't dirt cheap at $90, but still a great deal compared to a $300 Bostitch. Shot thousands of nails through it, still good.
 
i bought a 3/4 socket set and had no problem with them only used it twice -- thats the good thing because i cant spend 300.00 on a socket set and only use it once in a while. and if it breaks it breaks- also ordered a metric tap set and it had a sae tap in it. i called them and they sent me a whole different tap set. how in the heck can you beat that
 
I had a dremel type tool from there that burned up pretty quickly. I went out and bought a real dremel after that...it burned up almost as quickly. I've used their coil roofing nailer and it was great. My buddy has one of the 6 1/2 hp engines for $100 and it runs great. I have some vice-grip type clamps for welding and they work good. I guess it's like anywhere, hit and miss.
 
I agree. I've gone to HF a few times looking for that one tool needed for a job at home. I look at the tool and leave empty handed most of the time. Its not the type of stuff I want to spend my money on. As for the 3/4" socket set.I have one from HF.Like another guy said have only used it a few times. If I had to use it more often I would drive to the Delaware river and toss it in the river.
 
Depends on what your needs are. As far as drills I buy ONLY USA made drills due to the fact that I use them everyday at work and the china drills are 1/2 the price but dont hold an edge for long. Milling cutters, centerdrills too I must have USA made for my job.

Hand tools....If you consider buying it 1 time say its a 3/4" open/box wrench then buy a good name, doesnt have to be snap on but at least crapsman. You will own it for 20 or more years.
 
Can't complain about HF myself. I've bought quite a bit of stuff and it lasts as long as any other cheap name like Stanley and Black and Decker. Craftsman's sockets have lasted me well, but the ratchet's barely give 5 years of service on average. Sure, the truck brands will last you a lifetime in most cases, but a weekend warrior like me isn't going to be paying that kind of money.
 
If you actually know about the tool your shopping for you can find bargains at HF. If you don't you will soon learn which tools or products not to buy. I have several air tools that have lasted well and are still in use. I have bought a couple that I should have not. The bad ones were the tools that I didn't try to use for close to a year and had not saved the sales slip. Any that were bad that I had the paper work on they took back without question.
 
I've bought quite a bit of stuff from HF. Mostly air tools, and odds and ends, and mostly I've been satisfied.

Like others have said, you have to know what you're looking for and know quality when you see it.

I recall one time I bought some self-stick discs for a DA sander. Most DA sander discs have the adhesive formulated so the disc sticks to the pad while you're sanding, then peels off easily when it needs to be replaced.

The discs from HF went way overkill on the adhesive. By the time the disc needed to be replaced, that sucker was stuck to the pad to where you had to pick it off in pieces with your fingernails or a putty knife.
 
I work with a guy that has a harbor frieght 1/2 inch drill..an orange one...he has had it for what must be 1 or 2 years now..
The whole chuck wobbles in the end of the thing and it sounds like a rock crusher when it runs and every time be uses it the whole shop winds up smelling like an alien p00ped on a pile of burning tires.. Works for him I guess..but he is definately NOT a very fussy guy!

My 15 year old DeWalt reman still works like a charm..
 
I"m quite happy with them. I don"t know what I did without them.

Take when I want to get the rear calipers off my pickup. I didn"t have metric impact sockets. Harbor Freight to the rescue. $14 and I have a set. Probably use them on something maybe once a year but I will have a usable metric socket when I need it now. It"s that way with many of my tools. If I was using them daily it might be worth more to get some better quality tools but for what I"m doing they"re great.

Their electric drills and grinder feel cheep but they"ve been working fine and again I don"t use them that much so I can"t justify paying more.

I read online once where a welding company owner said he stopped buying good grinders because his guys kept breaking them. Now when one breaks it"s no big deal. Just stop and get another $18 one. I bought one just to leave the wire brush on. I have a skill I bought pre harbor freight that I use the grinding wheel on. The darn skill has a funny size shaft that I can"t easily get wire brushes for anyway.
 
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