HF tools that suck

[schmism]

So it seems like a vast majority of the stuff we all buy from HF we are generally satisfied with. (at least the... i paid pennies on the dollar, so the fact that it lasted me only ______ was worth it to me)

so to that end... it might be easyer to list what HASNT! gone well.

to date the only thing that has been a total dud was the flareing tool. it was useless. it would do single flares, but not double flares needed for break lines. Overall failier mode, not enough clamping force on the tubeing due to poor tollarnce on hole size. I tried grinding down the mateing surfaces (thus reducing the overall diam... but only in one direction which resulted in slightly oblong flairs that still wouldnt double flair.

how about a rateing system.... 1-10...
1 being "not worth the cardboard packing it came it"
10 being "cant tell the diffrence between it and the name brand high $ version"

flaring tool - 1
grinding discs - 7
40$ auto-darking helmet. - 6 (works ok, but the strap broke after about 6 months)

assume everything else ive bought im happy with.

 

[john_bud]

Bought the HF bushing driver set. It's ok if the bushings are made of cardboard, but the mandrels squash easy and that's no good.

Bought a HF hammer drill and it made 1 hole and the brushes melted the plastic housing.

jb

 

[EddieWalker]

Mostly I just buy little stuff there. The soft sanding sponges are a great deal, the grinder disks are as good as any brand for allot less.

My only real complaint is a spur of the moment buy just before fathers day. I saw a remote control airplain that I figured my dad might enjoy. It was garbage.

Eddie

 

[beersngars]

OK. Good idea.

Junk items are;

Hole saw set... rating-1 Ok if drilling lard
Air grease gun...rating-3 just lame
Puller set...rating-2 lasted 1 time per size


These are all that come to mind.

 

[EddieWalker]

Forgot about the wheel pullers. Total junk. The bolts on them bent and the nuts poped off the threads. I put on some good bolts and stripped out the center bolt that does all the pulling.

Another loser are the snap ring plyers. They are so misaligned that I couldn't get them to work.

Eddie

 

[rtimgray]

I've bought a lot of HF stuff and am generally very satisfied. My dad need to do alot of drilling in concrete basement walls to put in dowels. I was in Clarksville and they had a hammer drill (the Hilti type, Central Machinery brand) with bits for $80. He used that thing all summer and it's still going strong. I was expecting that you would kind of have to drill and pull, drill and pull, etc. It will drill right in and you better hang on! It has almost as much torque as my Milwaukee Hole Hawg (that I think I paid the better part of $300 on and it broke on my 5th hole! Milwaukee did fix it under warranty and I was only out $12 shipping and about a month of use).

I have used their hole set sets extensively when I built my house, and I was very satisfied. They chewed through multiple layers of 2x material, plywood, OSB, drywall, etc. I was too cheap to buy a real set of deep hole bits, so I would drill 1" deep with the HF bits, use a wood chisel (also HF) to break out the cut, then drill again. Really not that slow, and it gave the hole saws time to cool off some.

The biggest item I have purchased was a HF wood lathe, on sale for $89. It doesn't have the rigidity needed to keep the headstock and tailstock from spreading if you crank it too tight, but it has let me get into wood turning for cheap. Now that I know I like it, I will upgrade to a brand name tool sometime in the future. Maybe that is something else the HF tools are good for - letting you know if you need/want that type of tool, and then you can justify buying a "better" one when the time comes.

Take care.

 

[charlz]

6 inch C-clamps... maybe a 5 rating? They work pretty good for a while but I have had the feet come off and bent/twisted the back portion. Seems hard to find good clamps though... everyone seems to be carrying about the same quality. I have been keeping my eyes open at any farm auctions I go to for some oldie but goodies.

 

[kossetx]

Chisels/punches. Don't go there for those no matter how good a price.

 

[Jim_in_Omaha]

The cheap black 1/2 hammer drill. I refuse to rate it. A 1 would be too good. But I do have the Russian made drill they sell with the gear box that works fantastic. I would rate it an 8.

 

[npaden]

I have quite a few Harbor Freight tools.

My worst purchase was a ratcheting pipe cutter. The metal blade bent while cutting a 1" pvc pipe. I should have returned it for another, but I didn't bother.

Most of the other stuff has been decent.