Well Some stuff From Harbor Freight Is Crappy No doubt, But some stuff, Is pretty decent

For instance the 5 piece ball piene hammer set, ive beat, smash, mauled plenty of things with these hammers, and there still in great shape with no problems ( when i bought them i figured the head would fall off or the handle would break) but these are great

The 4 piece solid steel pry bar set, How can you go wrong with a big bar of steel, ive used these to pry alot of stuff... like these didnt even bend


Auto Darkening welding helmet, Now Im not a Professional welder, but i weld 2-3 times a week, and this helmet has proven itself, always worked fine and ive had it for like 2 years


Air tool Couplings, these things are like 25 cents each, and there great, i always have a need for them, and they havnt had any problems... no leaking or cracking

industrial duty saws all ( recip saw), ive cut down a whole room in my house with it, ive cut 4 front ends of cars off, i cut half inch steel bars in half, ive cut alot of stuff and its took a beating, and i still ahve the same exact one till this day,


4 1/2 angle grinder, also ive grinded down hundreds of welds, ive dropped it, and it also still works with no problem...


Pretty Much all of there power tools are pretty good


The $200 Tig... Great little machine, some people have problems, but i havnt had any.. works great, i dont weld any alluminum so its not a problem..


And i dont weld enough to need a 1200 dollar machine.. this does just fine,


Now the stuff that is pure crap ( now some of you are probably like oh he probably just got a bad one) i thougth that at first so i got at least 2 of each and theyve all had the same thing

Screw Drivers, All of there screw drivers suck, damn near every tip of any of the sets broke off


The T handle Allen key sets, They strip right out of the handle...


Hand Rivet guns.. The ends of the rivets get stuck every single time..

Stud welder.. Numerous problems

Sockets( impact or regular) They crack, alot...

Ratchets ( gear inside always ends up breaking so the head just spins)

Wrenches, always strip, box ends crack

any of there air tools suck... they leak like crazy....


But thats all the stuff i had expereience with, so if anyone was looking into any of that stuff, theres my reviews..

 

Good info. I agree with the screwdrivers. You just can't skimp on these. Pay for some good quality ones the first time.


Some of their sockets are decent, like the impact ones.


Wrenches for sure suck. The metal is so weak that the open end actually flex open.

 

I have the auto-darkening helmet, love it.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by standbackimapro &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Pretty Much all of there power tools are pretty good

</TD></TR></TABLE>

They a pretty decent for the cost.

I have 3 of the 4.5" grinders that I use a lot, I think I have replaced a couple of the twice. But my dewalts have not lasted much longer.

I've pretty much given up on any of there drills, it pays to just go ahead and pay some money for a good one.

Anything they sell that is rechargeable is also junk.

But for the money and with the inexpensive no hassle extended warranty some of the stuff rocks. The 4*6 bandsaw for $150 is the best deal they have going.

Later
Randy

 

yeah, the welding helmet has held up for me for about a year now, welding 4-5 times a week

 

their 20 ton press has worked well for me

 

the 2 ft breaker bar is good,
ive had good luck with the impact sockets

ive also used the cordless impact gun
not a ton of tq, but it is great for changing tires at the track, saves a ton of time. ive done 4 cars on one track day, and th battery didnt seem to mind at all.

i agree with the pry bars,
they are pretty solid.

the auto darkeninig helmet is good for mig, but i kept getting flashed when i tried to tig.

i love thier nitrate gloves,
i normally catch them on sale for ~$5 a box and buy 4-5 boxes. same with the red "shop towels"

 

good:

orange dead blow hammer: does the job.
40pc alloy metric tap & Die set: sharp cuts and never broke on me
50pack shop towels: definitely gets the job done

 

ohh..what DOESNT WORK worth a ****, is their saw-zaw blades....they go dull in secs and then break

 

ill third the autodark helmet, i have it, only problem is sometimes it like forgets to turn on for a millisecond.

some cheap screwdrivers i use are grip brand from northern tool. like 20$ for a set of all the sizes you need and theyre actually the nicest ones ive ever used for some reason.

i also have the 5piece peen hammers and theyre fantastic.

i always break my 19 on the impact socket set, but you can just replace them fro free no questions so no big deal. i did however get a huge nice craftsman set for xmas this year which are super nice in comparrison.

 

There chop saw blades are crap, buy better ones and they won't deflect and cut crooked.

The electric long shaft die grinder lasted me 2 years, I will be buying another one, very handy.

Forgot to add the set of large snap ring pliars for 12.00
I was searching for some that could remove the large snap rings from turbos and couldn't find anything short of snap on/matco. For a hobbiest that might use 'em once a year, there great.



Modified by G2turbo_terror at 12:09 AM 2/26/2007

 

The 4.5 inch grinders are crap. I bought the warrenty on 3 of them and in one year I had gone through 21 of them Keep in mind they were getting the **** beat out of them in a shop setting day in and day out.

The auto darkening helmet is also a piece of poo. Most people who say it's sweet haven't used a high quality auto darkener before. That millisecond that it flashes you is a HUGE deal that you won't realize has affected you for a few years but trust me it will. Those little flashes add up to screw your eyes.

The 20 ton press gets teh job done. I mean hell who can mess up a machine THAT simple anyway?

I'll think of some more later.

 

The stubby 1/4" air ratchets are junk. Get about 2 months out of them, but I use em a lot.

 

i got the cheaper chop-saw and it only lasted 2 weeks ,granted i let someone else use it and i'm shure he forced blade but i purchased a better brand and have had no problems, the latex gloves are great when the are on sale....

 

I bought 3 tools, and all three I've been pretty happy with.

10" Compound mitre saw with slide. Its pretty solid. It can be tweaked pretty easily to get a straight cut. The blade it comes with is just mediocre, but what do you expect for $100.

Pneumatic hardwood stapler/nailer. I highly recommend this tool. I've been using it and I've had 0 issues. It does exactly what its supposed to but at a significant savings compared to the other big brands. If you want to add hardwood flooring to your home, this tool works fantastic. I have not had a single jam in ~85 rows of flooring(room is about 14.75' wide and 27' long).

8 Gallon 2hp air compressor. The regulator doesn't seem to work right but it does what I need. As of right now it provides a range of 120-80psi and at 80psi, the compressor kicks on. I haven't played around with it much to attempt to have it kick on at say 90psi. I've only used it with the hardwood floor nailer. Overall, for something like nailers, I'd suggest it abeit it being pretty loud.

 

thier needle nose pliers (orange handle) seems well made, no problems yet, comfortable and not too bulky.

1 piece hammers, cant mess us on those.

impact socket adaptors are nice.

brass air fittings seem to work

welding helmet ftw

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/c...46092

is this the auto darkening you guys are referring to?

i still need a helmet, i weld with my eyes shut nothing big though

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Stoich EG2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">http://www.harborfreight.com/c...46092

is this the auto darkening you guys are referring to?

i still need a helmet, i weld with my eyes shut nothing big though </TD></TR></TABLE>


Ya, that or the more rounded one. They use the same lens though.

I bought one just to use with flux (so I don't mess up my nice one) and for other poeple to watch and stuff. It has held up great for over a year now.


Their knock-off vice grips work good too.

 

This is the better one
http://www.harborfreight.com/c...91214

It has a faster switching speed than the older one. Worth the few extra bucks. Get the 2 year warranty.

Later
Randy

 

Stuff I continue to buy from HF
1. Razor Blades 100 for $5
2. Nitrile Gloves $5 for a box
3. Ball Peen Hammers - simply amazed me Ive only broken one handle replace with a oak handle from the local good tool store
4. Keychain Utility knife, give them to all my guys once I replace the cheezy key ring.
5. Low Profile Aluminum Jack - no problems but I dont trust it jack stands always
6. Dolley - had to upgrade the wheels with other harbor freight wheels and has lasted for years
7. retractable dog leash - my good one broke and I bought one from them on sale for $7 and its lasted over a year on a 100lb dog

Stuff I wont Buy from experience
1. Allen Keys - Buy Bondus
2. Screw Drivers - Buy Sears/S&K etc
3. Any Power Tools / Air Tools - Unless the world comes to an end and all you can buy is harbor freight buy something better.
4. Air Tool Fittings - the two times I bought them the 1/4 npt thread was off in size and the fittings wouldnt even go together I had to put them on a lathe to make them fit. I should of went to the parker store for the time I wasted.
5. Auto Darken Helmet - tried one 3 years ago and I got flashed all the time my vision isnt worth saving 50 bucks I got Speedglas 9002xi
6. Impact Sockets / adapters - they crack and break becoming projectile objects ready to take your eye out. their cheesy swivel adapter broke and in the process broke the finger of the guy who was working for me this was about 4 years ago.

If you cant afford snap on impact sockets check out GP aka Grey Pneumatic. Ive used them for years with great success. life time warranty, only broke one piece a 1/2 drive socket 3/16 allen that needed torqued to 80 ft lbs. not only did they replace it but gave me 2 incase the job came in again

-Matt

 

The 1/4" air die grinders are great. I bought half a dozen of them for like 10 bucks each so I dont have to waste lots of time swapping bits. All are still kicking along under daily shop use.

4.5" angle grinder is also sweet. Dropped, kicked, slid accross the floor, a little more pressure grinding stuff than what it should really see and its still going strong after 2 years.

 

Yah, I Forgot about the nitrile gloves, There cheap and there great, worth the price, there strong.. cant go wrong...

Basically anything solid they have is gonna hole up, like breaker bars, pry bars, crap like that

i mean.. theres nothing to break on em...

And yea, Ive only used a Top of the line auto darkening helmet once, so i cant really compare the HF one to it, but it seems to work ok, I just didnt wanna spend alot since i dont weld alot,

And yea, as someone said.. Any of there rechargable stuff is really crappy, like There 10 pack of AA batteries for 2 dollars lol

 

so the $50 cordless impact is good?

 

NO= to their plug in type wanna-be dremmel. Not enough torque to out-do a real dremmel

YES= to the allen socket adapter 3/8 drive
YES= to s-shaped box end wrenches

I know their band saw blades sucks, but what about the actual band saw machine?

 

**** at least Howitt agrees with me