Harbor Freight JUNK!

[flypaper]

It's a good place for a few cheap consumables,after that it's a large junk store.

 

[Daves69]

........Thinking about looking in HF for a floor jack. Not the cheapest, one around $120ish......

A good used "old" one might be good to find IMO.
I've had my Walker since '78 I guess. It was like $270 back then, pretty deep in the wallet for me. I've rebuilt the pump twice since new. The main seal gets hard over time and it starts leaking down.

I see new HW's are made in USA from "parts wherever" these days...…

 

[Bb70charger500]

A good used "old" one might be good to find IMO.
I've had my Walker since '78 I guess. It was like $270 back then, pretty deep in the wallet for me. I've rebuilt the pump twice since new. The main seal gets hard over time and it starts leaking down.
View attachment 692069

I see new HW's are made in USA from "parts wherever" these days...…
View attachment 692067

I have the $89 special jack ! It's about 8-10 years old now ! I us and abuse it ! It's a solid jack . I literally drag car body's around on it in the up position !

 

[HD539]

Their.
There.
They're.

Oops

 

[Royce Brown]

It's junk but you get what you pay for. I bought an air drill to drill out a broken exhaust manifold stud and it died in 5 minutes. I bought the windshield remover kit for my back glass in the Coronet. The wire was crappy and broke often. I got the window out with it so technically it worked. If it's something that is normally cheap plastic anyway like zip ties or something where the strength of Chinesium doesn't matter then HF is good to go. I would not buy something complex or something that could hurt you if it broke.

 

[WP29440SE]

it's hit and miss , I have a 1/2" 9 dollar drill I bought in 2009 and I have beat the **** out of that thing, hell it even broke my thumb holding on to it when it grabbed and wrapped the cord around itself , that bitch still works great. I also bought a floor jack and an engine hoist ram at the same time that still work flawlessly.

 

[miller]

A good used "old" one might be good to find IMO.

Agree with ya there. I picked up a used one, many years ago, along the same lines as the one pictured. Used it a little, until I got tired of fighting it. Old german jack, no idea how old, several roller bearings in the wheels, but would take a complete rebuild to make it usable. Every bearing in it is bad.

So...picked up one of the HF orange Daytona jacks. Not like it will be used every day. Only used to get it up, and slap jackstands into place. Same way any floor jack should be used!
Overall, fully agree with most of their stuff 'chink' junk. Yeah, that's the word I use...and like it! Did break down, a while back, and got a dial indicator and stand from 'em. Does what I want it to do.

 

[747mopar]

I must however say I'm pretty happy with my HF blasting cabinet, I just can't justify paying big bucks for a metal box with a blasting gun! Yes it's a bit cheesy made but it gets the job done very well as long as you use a fairly fine media (playground sand) and only use a single layer of glass. Glass is cheap and any form of plastic not only gets hazy quick but also attracts dust (static).

 

[Don selleck]

i bought alot of little stuff from them, works fine for most especially when you can get it about 10 cent on the dollar instead of quality, files screw drivers u can use for chisels and prybars got an air file didn't even work once took it back got another one same thing, only wasted my time got all my money back. needed a side step die cutter for cutting F.R.P. the plastic wall covering in commercial bathrooms (works way better than a saw no flying fiberglass). tried to get one from fastenal 329.00 had to order it, stopped at harbor freight they had one $40.00 that was 2007 still works use it every couple months. if i need a tool i use every day, i pay the big money, been in commercial construction for 30 years, i know names like hilti, metabo etc and still have them in my barn attic after they break, hard to throw away a $1000 tool even if part of its not working. down time is not an option, so they always get replaced immediately. hf is all low quality, it depends what your using it for and how much reliability youre looking for.

 

[threewood]

I had a HF die grinder do the same thing. The collar kept getting loose and any time I would tighten it the head angle would be off from center with no way of keeping it straight or tight. It was $14 so I chucked it in the trash and bought another one. They are disposable tools.

 

[Don selleck]

its a disposable world today, crazy

 

[Hey-O]

When I had my lake house I bought some hand tools from HF, why, when I was working on my boat dock every once in awhile I would drop something in the the water, 28 feet deep. Better a few dollars on junk than a snap on!

 

[jogirob]

So, any words of wisdom?
Thinking about looking in HF for a floor jack. Not the cheapest, one around $120ish.

Online, looked over reviews from various sites. Some say total junk, some say good enough and lasted years. (Second one was here!) wtf. Or, was that from 20 years ago.
What's the latest word??

I've bought both a low profile jack and a transmission jack. Love the low pro. It's a little squeaky when pumping up though. Holds firm. The transmission jack...that SOB could've caused some serious damage. It does not hold steady. After about 3 or 4 minutes it'll drop about 6" or so. I was doing a transmission swap myself, got out from the bottom to gather some tools and when I came back the tranny was just floating above the jack. Fortunately I just got done bolting in a crossmember so the tail came to rest on it rather than having all the weight on some dowels and a bolt or two.

99% of my stuff is Harbor Freight and I'll echo what most everyone here says about hand tools vs complex machinery. Sadly, I'm sure I will still buy the cheap complex stuff.

 

[YY1]

I agree on the low profile rapid pump jack.

I've had mine for 6 years.

Slips right under my mildly lowered LCAs.

 

[Bad Sport]

I've had pretty good luck with most of their stuff, considering what you pay for it.

Keep in mind their hand tools are guaranteed for life.

And I have tested that, and they do honor it.

 

[steve from staten island]

Im very close to 67. When I was 15 me and my dad went to a guys garage and bought a broken Walker floor jack for 10 dollars. We took it apart and had the pump rebuilt. Years later we fixed it again as my brother stripped the threads in the relief valve that attaches to the handle, which lowers the jack. Since then I still have this jack in my garage and it still works perfectly to this very day!
Try that with anything HF sells.

 

[csilko]

Am I the only one who is going to admit to using a lot of HF stuff and being relatively happy with it? I have learned over the years (somewhat through trial and error, some through reading the reviews on their own website) to know what to buy and what not to buy from there. For every piece of junk, I probably have 20 great tools from HF. I think there is a category of "no brainers" of stuff to get from HF, there is the "so-so, good for occasional use" and there is the junk/one time use/disposable stuff. Here are my more than 2 cents on HF:

No brainers:
- rakes, shovels, picks, axes, flat bars, prybars. All 1/3 the price of HD/Lowes, all heavy well made metal, and all with a lifetime warranty. We beat the heck out of a rake clearing rocks for my carport all day to the point where the rake tip was finally a little loose. Replaced with no questions asked.
- stationary garage stuff like rubber wheel chocks, drive up metal ramps, magnetic trays, and that awesome (free with purchase) 2 foot magnetic strip bar that I have all over my shop
- pick sets small (99 cents) and large (5 bucks), awl, hex adapter for impact drill (99 cents), rubber coated bike hook things, chains, ropes - all great cheap tools/items that work
- shop supplies - rubber gloves of all thicknesses, zip ties, crazy glue, "threadlocker," epoxy, steel epoxy (JB weld), spray cleaners like liquid wrench & CRC brake cleaner, WD40, Orange goop, bondo, duckt tape, masking tape, pegboard hooks, detail/cleaning wire brushes, and of course those cheap little red shop throw away towels. All priced 1/2 or less than its name brand counterpart. I even had a friend of a friend (on the internet LOL) who worked at a glue factory and confirmed that HFs glues are made on the same assembly line as Loctite, crazy glue, and JB weld. I also have countless moving blankets - some bigger ones, some the smaller free ones- all over to work on, kneel on, paint on, etc. The tarps all seem to be waterproof for me too.
- the ratchet box end wrench sets are excellent; I even bought a metric set to have for working on our regular cars.
- the nutdriver sets on sale for 6 bucks is a great deal - very solid tools.

Good for occasional use:
- I have had great luck with most non-moveable tools like the breaker bar, impact socket sets, pickle forks, socket extensions, pliers of all sizes and shapes, and I have a set of wrenches as a backup to my craftsman. I had to return a vice grip because it bent due to my abuse as well as a screwdriver, but they replaced without question. Nearly all of my sockets are craftsman, but I supplemented my collection with a small set of metric 1/4 inch drive from HF for occasional use - so far so good and they seem fairly solid.
- I own most of their small air tools, and they seem to work for me (had to return the air hammer for leaking oil). The grinders grind and the hammers hammer, but they all just seem a little weak, loud, and consume a ton of air. For occasional use, they work for me, but this is somewhere I would probably invest in "real" ones if I used these tools every day
- I think the earthquake impacts guns are excellent. I have torn out hundreds of tough bolts on multiple cars, and my gun is still running strong. For 70 bucks on sale, it is heavy, beefy and gets the job done
- I bought the dual action polisher and after taking the 4 minutes to watch the Youtube video, I replaced the grease inside and it runs more quiet and smooth. It knocked out several cars of buffing/polishing/waxing and is going strong. There are videos showing this DA polisher outperforming and having more torque than many name brands.
- For the few hundred times I have used it, my Pittsburgh jack is working great - nice and heavy metal. On sale for 70 bucks.
- My biggest purchase was the 29 gallon compressor for about 300 bucks on sale - from my research, this is the largest and highest SCFM unit with wheels and 120 volts on the market. It even has a clock that tracks the motor hours for oil changes. 1 year into it, and it runs smooth - very quiet, and it puts out the air to paint, grind, etc with no problem.
- my electricial friend has a 20 year old SDS hammer drill that I borrow when I need to screw into concrete. excellent tool.
- I keep a set of most electrical tools at my inlaws weekend cabin for occasional use - oscilating saw, sawz-all, rotary saw, grinder, Bauer drill, and jigsaw. Used each a handful of times and they all work for now. Great second set of all power tools to keep at the weekend home for less than a $100 total.

Crap:
- seems the nuts, bolts, and screws and break easily.
- made the mistake of buying a dent puller to pull out a small dent, and the plastic broke
- knockoff dremmel tool didn't have the power to cut a nail head off
- a lot of wear items like sandpaper, drill bits, and blades seem to dull very quickly - go figure. Although I have had great luck with the circular saw and jigsaw blades. Built a shed, carport, and treehouse with them.
- contractor trash bags don't hold trash, ha ha.

That's all I can think of for now. I love HF for the value and for the part time stuff I do. If an item gets over 4 start, chances are it is a decent quality tool, in my experience.

 

[YY1]

There is an extensive "gems and junk" thread over on FABO.

Besides the lopro jack, I also have the metal cutting band saw.
I bought it used for $100 and it has been pretty dang good.
Last year I had to put a blade on it, but they had them in stock and it wasn't pricey.

I've got a dozen of the small furniture dollies.
I've even bought them just to harvest the casters.
I've got a pair of the flat free wheelbarrow wheels that I swap between my wheelbarrow and a garden trailer.

Ait tool couplers and valves seem OK.

Last week I bought the "small" tap and die set.
I needed a 1/2" die and couldn't find one anywhere.
Only one local place had them but they were out of stock and $28
The entire set at HF was only $26 with lifetime warranty.
Got done what I needed to get done that day.

If you haven't noticed, HF is re-branding a lot of their items.
Drill Master, Pittsburgh, and Chicago (fill in the blank) are being replaced by
Hercules, Bauer, Quinn, and Icon.
Prices are going up about 30% as well.

Not sure if it's because of China tariffs.....

...and on a related note, Lowes is selling down their Kobalt line in favor of Craftsman.
Blue Hawk seems to be totally gone.
A couple years ago, you could get a decent $20 3/8" drive socket set.
Not any more. Kobalt is $35 and Crafstman is $40.
Heck, the new HF set is $25, but they do still have the real crappy $9 set.

 

[Cranky]

Getting up in age a bit and feeling that I ain't going to live forever, I bought a new auto darkening welding helmet for 35 bucks with the 20% off coupon. Besides, don't have much money anymore these days....

 

[Kern Dog]

Am I the only one who is going to admit to using a lot of HF stuff and being relatively happy with it? I have learned over the years (somewhat through trial and error, some through reading the reviews on their own website) to know what to buy and what not to buy from there. For every piece of junk, I probably have 20 great tools from HF. I think there is a category of "no brainers" of stuff to get from HF, there is the "so-so, good for occasional use" and there is the junk/one time use/disposable stuff. Here are my more than 2 cents on HF:

No brainers:
- rakes, shovels, picks, axes, flat bars, prybars. All 1/3 the price of HD/Lowes, all heavy well made metal, and all with a lifetime warranty. We beat the heck out of a rake clearing rocks for my carport all day to the point where the rake tip was finally a little loose. Replaced with no questions asked.
- stationary garage stuff like rubber wheel chocks, drive up metal ramps, magnetic trays, and that awesome (free with purchase) 2 foot magnetic strip bar that I have all over my shop
- pick sets small (99 cents) and large (5 bucks), awl, hex adapter for impact drill (99 cents), rubber coated bike hook things, chains, ropes - all great cheap tools/items that work
- shop supplies - rubber gloves of all thicknesses, zip ties, crazy glue, "threadlocker," epoxy, steel epoxy (JB weld), spray cleaners like liquid wrench & CRC brake cleaner, WD40, Orange goop, bondo, duckt tape, masking tape, pegboard hooks, detail/cleaning wire brushes, and of course those cheap little red shop throw away towels. All priced 1/2 or less than its name brand counterpart. I even had a friend of a friend (on the internet LOL) who worked at a glue factory and confirmed that HFs glues are made on the same assembly line as Loctite, crazy glue, and JB weld. I also have countless moving blankets - some bigger ones, some the smaller free ones- all over to work on, kneel on, paint on, etc. The tarps all seem to be waterproof for me too.
- the ratchet box end wrench sets are excellent; I even bought a metric set to have for working on our regular cars.
- the nutdriver sets on sale for 6 bucks is a great deal - very solid tools.

Good for occasional use:
- I have had great luck with most non-moveable tools like the breaker bar, impact socket sets, pickle forks, socket extensions, pliers of all sizes and shapes, and I have a set of wrenches as a backup to my craftsman. I had to return a vice grip because it bent due to my abuse as well as a screwdriver, but they replaced without question. Nearly all of my sockets are craftsman, but I supplemented my collection with a small set of metric 1/4 inch drive from HF for occasional use - so far so good and they seem fairly solid.
- I own most of their small air tools, and they seem to work for me (had to return the air hammer for leaking oil). The grinders grind and the hammers hammer, but they all just seem a little weak, loud, and consume a ton of air. For occasional use, they work for me, but this is somewhere I would probably invest in "real" ones if I used these tools every day
- I think the earthquake impacts guns are excellent. I have torn out hundreds of tough bolts on multiple cars, and my gun is still running strong. For 70 bucks on sale, it is heavy, beefy and gets the job done
- I bought the dual action polisher and after taking the 4 minutes to watch the Youtube video, I replaced the grease inside and it runs more quiet and smooth. It knocked out several cars of buffing/polishing/waxing and is going strong. There are videos showing this DA polisher outperforming and having more torque than many name brands.
- For the few hundred times I have used it, my Pittsburgh jack is working great - nice and heavy metal. On sale for 70 bucks.
- My biggest purchase was the 29 gallon compressor for about 300 bucks on sale - from my research, this is the largest and highest SCFM unit with wheels and 120 volts on the market. It even has a clock that tracks the motor hours for oil changes. 1 year into it, and it runs smooth - very quiet, and it puts out the air to paint, grind, etc with no problem.
- my electricial friend has a 20 year old SDS hammer drill that I borrow when I need to screw into concrete. excellent tool.
- I keep a set of most electrical tools at my inlaws weekend cabin for occasional use - oscilating saw, sawz-all, rotary saw, grinder, Bauer drill, and jigsaw. Used each a handful of times and they all work for now. Great second set of all power tools to keep at the weekend home for less than a $100 total.

Crap:
- seems the nuts, bolts, and screws and break easily.
- made the mistake of buying a dent puller to pull out a small dent, and the plastic broke
- knockoff dremmel tool didn't have the power to cut a nail head off
- a lot of wear items like sandpaper, drill bits, and blades seem to dull very quickly - go figure. Although I have had great luck with the circular saw and jigsaw blades. Built a shed, carport, and treehouse with them.
- contractor trash bags don't hold trash, ha ha.

That's all I can think of for now. I love HF for the value and for the part time stuff I do. If an item gets over 4 start, chances are it is a decent quality tool, in my experience.

Ha ha...SAYS the local REP from Harbor Freight !