Harbor Freight Tools

OK, it's time to start a topic about Harbor Freight Tools, and our experiences. They typically have 20% off coupons for one item like twice in each Sunday newspaper, good even on their sale items.

The first item I bought at HF was a 1/2 inch electric impact wrench ($60) and impact sockets, with money from our first-ever bonus at work (after 22 years there without a penny of bonus), so big-spender !!! Two of those sockets broke, one I replaced under warranty a year later, one was deep socket so I just hacksawed off the cracked part. I don't have room in the garage to get a large-enough air compressor to get air tools.

A few years alter I bought a bench-top drill press for $50, even was able to buy two spare depth-stop assemblies for like $1.50 each when mine later broke (I wish I had purchased a spare chuck key, apparently now obsolte size anywhere).

A few years later, HF opened up about 6 miles from me as opposed to cross-town. I've bought a transmission jack/VW engine jack for about $60. I bought a refrigerant electronic leak-detector for about the same.

Mostly the other stuff I've bought there was smaller items. I bought a $20 air stapler (borrowed my neighbor's compressor) to staple my VW's convertible top to the wood frame I built to replace the water-rotted one (yes, I know, even in Arizona). I've bought flare metric wrenches, S-shaped metric wrenches, a new wheel/tire for my wheelbarrow when even Home Depot, Ace, and Lowes didn't have one that fit.

So in general, HF quality may not suffice for use 40 hours a week as a mechanic, but not bad for home mechanic use, at least from my experience. Some stuff like their sockets and wrenches are lifetime guaranteed, but that's a lot easier if HF is geographically close. I'll add more if I think of it.

Some HF tools are good enough. Many are very bad, to useless. I shop there sometimes, but I'm very careful. They're OK for stuff I won't use often, and or, is hard to foul up.

Their lifetime warrantied, mechanics, hand tools, look pretty good. I have a set of HF 3/8 drive Torx drivers.

If Craftsman continue their trend toward making handtools in China, I'll save money, and buy my lifetime warrantied, tools from HF.

OMG, dude who owns HF has mad money. His home in Beverly Hills, makes the neighbor's mansions look like shotgun shacks. Two pool houses, one with pool and yoga room inside, one with pool outside. At least two elevators, commercial kitchen, security office, hair salon, garage space for over 20 cars, expensive German made doors, and windows, his & hers master crappers...

id buy cheap wrenches and stuff from them for sure. especially if you have to heat up and bend wrenches sometimes. they are perfect. i dont think id buy welders or plasmas from them. i have considering buying their 100 dolla engine hoist and maybe some other little items

Have bought alot of crap tools from HF, especially any "chicago electric" aka real poor quality electric tools that break after couple mins of use. But have had luck with hand tools like sockets and wrenches. Sadly the sizes seem to be a hair off and have slop on wrench sizes where as my craftsman set will fit.
Have the cheap wire welder they sell for bout 2 years now, used maybe half dozen times. Use lincoln wire not the HB wire lol. But works well enough for odd jobs and if you dont care what the weld looks like
Just guess get what you pay for on alot of things there, have about a weeks worth of use on some fog lights from HB that seem to be working so far but for $20 not expecting more then a year out of em.

I just picked up the 1.5t rapid pump low profile jack, a 12t hydraulic pipe bender, 5speed drill press with chuck, and a few other odds and ends, over the years I've bought a few paint guns, they worked great, and with the 20$ warranty you can return the gun caked with dry paint for an exact replacement at no cost. I also have one of their 1/2" drive 3ft long breaker bars, and a set of their metric sockets that have the splines as opposed to the normal flat sides inside the sockets. I've had a few disappointments with hf tools, but for just a couple bucks, they are easily replacable

Oh, and if you have a mini truckin mag laying around, they have a full page of coupons in them

I do buy their jacks when on sale. My last 1.5 ton jack was under 50 bucks with coupons. MUCH easier than lugging my heavy 3.5 ton jacks around the shop. I have yet to see a HF jack fail for me when used correctly. but they strain when lifting even a small truck.

I've been curious about buying their pipe bender...I've heard that to make good bends you need to modify the dies and machine. I've never personally used one or know anyone who's used one.

I've also been throwing around the idea of buying their 13 drawer roller toolbox for 350 bucks to use at home. Condense my 6 smaller toolboxes all over my garage into hopefully one flat-top cabinet. Save some space.

My little pneumatic brad nailer and nailgun both work good for small tasks.

Engine stands work fine.





Things I've stopped buying from HF:

Power tools (the head on an angle grinder exploded)
Wrenches
Screwdrivers
Large sized breaker bars and ratchets. (Go ahead, break one unexpectedly when putting 600 Ftlb leaning on it)
Pretty much any hand tools...Their sockets slip and split. Their wrenches are weak and slip. Its just frustrating.

I actually do like Northern sockets and wrenches. They aren't impressively strong, but they hold the bolt well.

I bought a few impact socket sets there. I haven't cracked any "yet", I bought the close quarters 3/8" corded drill and the chuck shaft internally slips out of place so I take it apart and slide it back into place. Yes it's cheap. I don't use them daily so time will tell.

I bought a body hammer and dolly set at Harbor Freight.
I never had anything bad to say about them... but how bad can you screw up when you're gonna make a hammer and dolly set that will be used to "finesse" thin gauge sheet metal?.

i bought a cheap set of hammer and dollies from checker. all the damn heads on the hammers came off LOL