harbor freight tools

Commonly referred to as "horrible" freight at our machine shop....

 

I recently picked up their 1/2" electrical impact driver on sale. Along with some extended impact sockets on sale also.

Used it to work on my truck (installed 5100's/5125)'s. Worked flawlessly and really saved my back.

The quality is really hit or miss with HF. Some of the stuff is a good deal, others, not so much.

For occasional tire rotations, and very occasional cases where I need an impact wrench, and for $55 OTD, for me its a no brainer. Sure, its loud and heavy, but CHEAP and fits my needs.

 

The best deal at harbor freight.
And if you sift thru the ratcheting bar clamps and find a few good ones, then that's a deal also.

 

Dad has that, it works awesome.

My uncle had a DeWalt grinder that was missing parts, he was able to take a burnt-out HF grinder and swap in parts - he said the innards were identical.
I had a small grinder from HF and it burnt out in a week, so that's kind of a tossup.

Dad just finished redoing the bathroom, he ripped out carpet and put in tile. He bought a tile cutter from HB and it worked great. It cost him less than what it would cost for a 1 hour rental from Home Depot.

The HF jacks, screwdrivers, impact sockets, stuff like that are great. The free screwdrivers I got might not stand up quite as well, but they look and feel like my Snap-on.

 

i LOVE harbor freight, I get all my shit from them, I have yet to have any issues with them.

 

yea i think its also depends if its more of a long term perspective, if you want to buy stuff from them and beat the hell out of it and expect it to last a life time then no. but for short term, short money, you get what you pay for and it will be worth it i think.

 

i'm finding this is true with more and more things these days. especially in regards to tools.

 

Harbor Freight FTW!!

 

I had, till recently an angle grinder from harbor freight. Has hundreds of hours on it.

Then I dropped a first gear on it while rebuilding a rover transmission.. cut the cord right in half.. not worth fixing.. but at least the cord saved my gear from the concrete.

Had harbor freight (chicago electric) sliding compound mitre saw.. lasted through remodeling a single bathroom... slide got sticky then failed. Nothing to be done about it. Not a matter of a loose bolt causing wear or something.. Just the crappiest crap to ever slide out of china's rectum.

Chicago electric welder in my garage.. gon through 2 feeders, otherwise holding up to its fairly crappy standard.

 

As others have alluded to upthread:

Harbor Freight is great for cheap, one-off stuff. I get lots of just 'stuff' there.

That said, if I need to get something quality, heavy-duty, or important, I spend the extra money and get it elsewhere, like the Depot or Lowes or a hardware store. Generally, I plan on using whatever I get there a couple times only, and any more is a bonus.