Harbor Freight tools thread.

But, prepare your wallet....

 

Aluminum floor jack
6 ton jack stands
3 ton jack stands
Vehicle ramps
6in grinder
Electric impact
Air stapler/nailer
Heat gun
Free stuff eveytime I go

 

X2 on the impact sockets. Also I have a 3 ton jack I bought 10 years ago that has been a good one

 

I was hoping people here would share their experiences like that, so everyone could learn from others experiences, before making a purchase we regret and have to waste time returning too.

 

X2

 

I bought a paint sprayer for a small project, after I used it I sold it on Craig's list for $15 more than I paid for it. So for me, I guess it pays to use HF tools.

 

I must have 20 LED flashlights, 10 screwdriver sets, 8 blue tarps, 5-25' tape measure, 1 magnetic tray, and 4 scissors with nut cracker = all free.

 

fittings and bits for onboard air setup, cheaper than anywhere else. Inexpensive large trash bags when you don't need to use an expensive contractors bags.

 

Got one of their little 60 or 70 piece tool kit for the trails. Hasn't let me down, works great for the price!

 

WOW, that's the power of HF!!

 

Some of their tools are ok for occasional light duty use, but stay away from their drill bits. Some of the bits in a set work fine, others fold under the slightest pressure. I've even tried and bent a few with just my hands to see which ones out of a set could be actually used to drill and which ones were garbage The ones at Northern Tools are just as bad.
You just have to love those Chinese quality control standards. Buy USA!

 

That's what HF is all about for me, "small proyects". The 12 in miter saw is a steal compared to better brands for example. All I need it for was to install new laminate in the house. in a year I'll take it back and get a new one.

 

$28 CR-MO VAMPLIERS JAWZ 7.5" Screw Extractor Vise Grip Locking Pliers with Vertically Serrated & Curved Jaws. Professional Grade. Grip & Remove Stripped/Stuck Screws in seconds. Secure Hold, Quick Release.

CR-MO impact sockets are amazing deals.

I love their ratcheting wrenches.

I bought their heavy duty angle grinder which has been awesome. The regular version apparently sucks though.

Their airless paint sprayer is great. We use them for staining jobs. Add it to the cost of the job, so we make money every time. We use it 6-10 times and throw it away.

All of their tool chests are great values.

Air tools are cheap and get the job done. 3" cut off wheel air tool is $7! Been using their flange tool for the last few months also on 18 gauge sheet steel and it works great.

 

Maybe try one of their bigger tarps. I got one that covers my whole truck bed and I would tie it down to over all my camping stuff so when I off road nothing would fly out. Haven't necessary used it a lot but when I did it saw abuse... Although mine was free so I can't really complain hahaha

 

This 6 Amp heavy duty variable speed rotating handle reciprocating saw has held up well for me and can't be beat at only $19.99. I especially like the rotating handle here:

 

You get what you pay for.

 

I don't buy much from there except when cheap is what I need.

It's right by my office and my house (I'm 2.5 miles from work) so it's convenient to go there and grab cheap screw drivers or a cheap tool bag or similar.

I don't buy anything precision there, even wire strippers.

Socket organizers for 99 cents do the trick for me, I don't have their impact sockets yet (don't have an a big 1/2" impact yet) but I'll snag there

$28 CR-MO VAMPLIERS JAWZ 7.5" Screw Extractor Vise Grip Locking Pliers with Vertically Serrated & Curved Jaws. Professional Grade. Grip & Remove Stripped/Stuck Screws in seconds. Secure Hold, Quick Release.

CR-MO version when I do.

 

I did have luck with their smaller silver tarps, as I said it lasted 4 + years in full sun. The 18' X 15' silver tarp only lasted under 1 year, so it's not close to the quality of the smaller silver tarp. I will NEVER buy their large silver tarps again, only smaller one unless they too have gone down in quality.

 

Their long torque wrench makes for a good ratcheting breaker bar. I don't trust their drill battery packs . . . A co-worker took one apart and found some metal weights in there.

 

Fuses are cheap. Never had a problem with them.
I got so many free scissors , flash lights, tarps, screw drivers, measuring tapes.