HF tools that suck

[thatguy]

I was trying to find a 33mm socket to fit a 3pt pin I was trying to lower - I tried about 3 or 4 different sets before I found a 33 mm that fit snugly

Brian

[Builder]

I said this in another post, but it might be worth saying again: Is saving some money worth the risk of personal injury or property damage like Drago had?

I can't believe this company is still in business. How they haven't been sued hunddreds of times is beyond me.

[woodstick]

I bought an air wrench there that works fine if I loosen the lug nuts first. When there is no resistance, it is great. I would hate to drive a car where the wheels were only tightened with this piece of junk.

It was cheap, and now I know better. I no longer shop there for anything.

[Tom_H]

Most of the things I've gotten there have been relatively satisfactory for the price: standard and ratchet wrenches, chisels, close quarter drill, elec. impact wrench, drill press, pole saw, chain hoist, elec. hoist, reciprocating saw, sanders.

The thing that was totally worthless was one of those odometer wheel-on-a-stick things. Ten feet on the tape measure came out as just over eight feet on this thing. Completely useless and I had no inclination to do a careful calibration and multiply every measurement by 1.237 or some such constant. It was only a couple of bucks on clearance (wonder why?) and not worth the gas to take it back. I just tossed it.

[eazyduzzit]

I have bought lots of Harbor Freight tools that are amazing considering the price.
Tool

poor* fair ** good *** excellent ****

37406 lathe ****
Floor standing drill press ****
6" jointer **
stationary belt sander ***
1 hp dust collector ***
2 hp dust collector ****

All of these tools were bought because of the low price with the understanding that they may not last long. I'm amazed that all are still working years later. I did sell the 6" jointer for 2/3 of what I paid and I upgraded to an 8" Shop Fox.

Before I buy anything there I look it over real good. Some of the stuff they sell isn't worth taking home, but some of it is.

[California]

Brass air line quick connects- already discussed by someone else, they leak.

The shiny ones leak too. I had forgotten those, it's been years, but I would still never buy another set there.

And the Vivitar pretend 'binoculars' they sold briefly were a joke. Vivitar's trademark must have expired.

Likewise the brass surveyor compass. It has the fittings of a Bruning(?) except these are hand made by some guy with only a file and a hunk of brass, sitting on the floor in a shop in India. He clearly has no jigs or measuring instruments to make these to precise dimensions, just another inaccurate one in front of him which he was told to copy freehand.

The brass beam balance 'jeweler's scale' could be reworked to fair repeatability, after you threw away its weights and replaced them with a student set of weights.

But overall, with some winners and losers, I've been happy. The 3.3' x 4' trailer went together in an evening and I used it to carry guests camping luggage behind my 4x4 that weekend. No problems over 10 years use.

Likewise the $180 electric 50 ft drain cleaner works fine. I've used it about 10 times and each use took the place of a $120 - $180 (weekend rate) RotoRooter callout. That's a huge saving.

You just have to approach HF with a sense of humor.

[Builder]

Originally Posted by California

You just have to approach HF with a sense of humor.

And a measure of concern for your safety. I don't think I'd ever buy a tool from them that could break free or release and injure/kill someone. Like Drago's coil spring compression tool, a chain hoist, a jack, etc.

[California]

Originally Posted by Builder

And a measure of concern for your safety. I don't think I'd ever buy a tool from them that could break free or release and injure/kill someone. Like Drago's coil spring compression tool, a chain hoist, a jack, etc.

No argument with that. Also jackstands.

I think Dargo was also the one who had tiedown straps chafe through in a few miles.

[Page2]

Well they have their place, and sometimes it's just what you need to get by but, Bottom line --buy their tools with the thought in mind you'll only use it once, and keep your fingers crossed that it will actually work that one time! If it still works after that it's icing on the cake. As they say-you get what you pay for, if you really need your tools to hold up, go somewhere else.

[California]

Another classic. I went to their Parking Lot Sale on Friday shortly after it opened. I found the 8 inch bench grinder, marked $25. It looked new (no box) so I started checking it over. I found one end of the main shaft so bent that the right grinding wheel wobbled more than 1/8", maybe 1/4", as I turned it. With my fingertip I verified it was the end of the shaft out of true, not a badly mounted stone. That is a disaster waiting to blow up in someone's face.

And the only way that shaft could get bent without damaging the shield around it is during manufacture at the factory. Somebody went ahead and assembled an obviously-flawed machine after it fell off a table or something. No QC at all. That tool was dangerous, it was no bargain at any price.


They have changed their strategy a little. Nearly all the stuff outdoors was regular stock offered at sale-brochure prices such as the wood machinist's toolbox for $10 off, now $59. (Only 2 of them).

There were a few customer returns that might be a good buy if you could repair them, such as the huge top toolbox for $50 with a simple dent across the lid. A bodyman could bump that out to look good in 5 minutes, or some farmer as cheap as me might bang it out and put it in service in the barn as-is.

I was looking for a compressor cheap but the only ones below normal advertised price were a couple of returns that were drenched in leaked oil, and may have been missing parts. Again, a possible bargain for someone, but not me.

After a half hour I left without buying anything.