Harbor Freight JUNK!

[Cranky]

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

I dunno.....if he was a rep, the positive would have been more like 99% everything

 

[csilko]

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

I forgot about the dollies and hand trucks - cheapest in town and very good quality.

When I was in Sears the other day getting a few things missing from my old, made in USA craftsman tool sets, the guy at the counter said to beware of the craftsman sold at Lowes - its not the same company. He (Sears) said you cannot bring Sears tools to Lowes and vice versa and have them honor the lifetime warranty. I haven't looked closely enough, but he said they were physically different, made in a different location than the Sears craftsman.

What's the world coming to? Not only is the original craftsman now made in China, but the "new and different" craftsman tools are made in a different part of China and sold in a different store in the US.

 

[YY1]

I also heard that Lowes does not honor the the lifetime warranty on Craftsman.

Back to HF. Don't know if I mentioned that I had the basic D handle 2 wheeler (hand truck).
That was the first thing I ever bough there, back when they were $25!
I even attached some kindorf/uni-strut to the handle, built a bed and converted it into a trailer that I pulled behind my lawn tractor. It helped me clean up several tons of debris and two large trees from the brutal 2004/2005 hurricane season.

...and the creeper. IIRC that was the second thing I ever bought at $19.99 with coupon!

Still have both.

 

[65RoadRacer]

As with anything, we speak in general terms when we talk about Harbor Freight being junk. Of course it's not everything they sell, but many of us have experienced tool failure more than once... with me, several times - and that's why I jokingly refer to HF as the "One-Use Tool Company".

But yes, I've had jack stands, a hand dolly, creeper, floor jacks, etc., that have lasted me for years. We almost always hear about the tools that fail because they did not meet our expectations. We tend to not praise a tool for working properly because that is the expectation. I mean, people just don't go on social media and post, "Hey, I bought a 9/16-inch open end wrench and it fit the nut perfectly!"

 

[amoparlady]

I have a set of 1/2 drive deepwell impact sockets from Harbor Freight at work,11 years old and never broke or worn out on me yet taking a beating.Metric and I have zero complaints with it.Includes a jumbo wrench set,use them on certain jobs once in a while.

 

[Paul Boucher]

I sell tools for a living and deal with all the major MFGs, but if you know what you are getting and don't have high expectations, Harbor Freight has it's place. I have a few things from there, like a little mini portable tire compressor, and orbital polisher (with a coupon, I got if for like $30). For the price and minimal usage they fit the bill and you can't beat the price.

For air/power tools, tool boxes, and hard line items like sockets, screwdrivers, etc. I would not use them as the cheap pot metal and internals will fail pretty quick. Pretty much anything that will be used frequently or under rough conditions is out of the question.

For little nit noy crap like polishing bits, rags, etc. they are pretty good too. No need to pay full price for a polishing bit because it says Dremel on it. Their pads and clay bars have helped me polish up a good amount of stainless steel parts and not cost me an arm and a leg.

They also sell Meguires polishes and Evaporust, which is great. Best prices in town on that. I feel they have their place, if you know what you are getting.

 

[amoparlady]

Harbor Freight has stepped up on their quality.Have a new co worker with the newest us general toolbox.Talked to her,said not bad for starter toolbox for her.Talking getting one for home use,my 5 year old Craftsman is starting to fall apart.

 

[Cranky]

Harbor Freight has stepped up on their quality.Have a new co worker with the newest us general toolbox.Talked to her,said not bad for starter toolbox for her.Talking getting one for home use,my 5 year old Craftsman is starting to fall apart.

I have a few tools that was bought back in the 70's. Two are vises that have been more than abused but they were bought when things were being made in Taiwan. Main land China is what seems to give the most problems but yes, there are a few tools in my shop that are from CF I mean HF Found a pretty nice looking anvil that was made in Russia a few years ago and though about getting it but just wasn't doing enough metal work to justify the price even though it was like 80 bucks.

 

[BigBlock61]

I dont know about everyone but I have had very good luck with HF air tools. I bought their detail gun for spraying Cerakote on my firearms and it works beautifully. I have their full size gun for spraying primer and I love it. I have their die grinders and impact guns, again they work great. I will say that I am a stickler for air tool oil. a few drops every time I use the tool for the first time that day. Maybe that is the reason for the success? The body jig that my Coronet is mounted to has HF hard rubber wheels bolted to it. I think 1 wheel has a small chunk taken out of it, other than that they all roll beautifully.

 

[lyndondb]

Face it, everything at HF is made in China. If it is made in China you are waisting two things - money and time.

 

[WileE]

Their.
There.
They're.

(If yer from Brooklyn) DARE.

 

[FJ6AAR]

All the air tools I bought at HF were pure junk. Use them once or twice and they fall apart. Never again will I buy tools from there!