Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[3RRL]

Since walking from one barn to the other to get tools to work on things gets old fast, I'm thinking about getting more of the cheapo HF hand tools for this sort of light duty jobs.

Hey Dargo,
That's exactly what I've done for the last 5 years.
Except I bought HF tools to keep at camp to do stuff while living elsewhere. Now I have move up to my property and still have all the tools, so I have duplicates of many. I can keep a tool box in the house 2 places like kitchen and basement, the garage, and of course in the barn.
Sure makes little repairs easy.
Rob-

 

[BigE_]

I've got a set of wrenches / sockets that I keep in the car, another in the other car, one in the garage, one in the shop, and one for the other side of the shop. (Laziness here? ). Actually, on one side of the shop the tools are for working on engines where grease is not a problem, and the other side is for making adjustments to woodworking tools, where grease IS a problem.

The set in my car and the set in the shop are fairly nice, and the other sets are cheap HF ones. I buy the impact sockets, and they never seem to wear out.

 

[Dargo]

Now I've done it. I bragged about getting a decent socket and ratchet set in 1/2" so I thought I'd get the same set in 3/8". Hey, if the one set was darn good for the price surely the 3/8" would be just as good. Wrong! The stinking ratchet won't work worth a hoot in either direction. Back it goes. Hopefully I can find the receipt.

While I'm there, has anyone bought their Haul-Master cargo holder thingy? This one http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=95746 It's about $10 and I have another 20% coupon. I hate to make a special trip just to get junk replaced. Yeah, that's it...I really need to add more "junk".

 

[IslandTractor]

While I'm there, has anyone bought their Haul-Master cargo holder thingy? This one http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=95746 It's about $10 and I have another 20% coupon. I hate to make a special trip just to get junk replaced. Yeah, that's it...I really need to add more "junk".

I have a couple of those (not bought from HF but identical design) that I use for holding up blueboard on ceilings. Works well. I never thought of using them to hold cargo and the tubing gauge is not exactly stout so I'd worry about side loads.

 

[Travelover]

Another tool I really like from HF is their 9 LED flashlight. These are regularly on sale for $3 for a two pack with batteries! I carry a couple in my tool box, have one in the glove box and a few scattered around the house for power outages.

At $1.50 each I don't worry too much about losing one. They are super bright at close range and have a knurled aluminum body with a sealed rubber button switch on the end.

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

 

[Travelover]

20% off coupon for HF good July 17 to 20:

2909 RetailC

 

[3RRL]

Another tool I really like from HF is their 9 LED flashlight. These are regularly on sale for $3 for a two pack with batteries! I carry a couple in my tool box, have one in the glove box and a few scattered around the house for power outages.

At $1.50 each I don't worry too much about losing one. They are super bright at close range and have a knurled aluminum body with a sealed rubber button switch on the end.

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Yeah, I just picked up a couple packs of those myself.
They are pretty good and for that price you can't beat it!

 

[slaveToHorses]

Just avoid the Drill Master stuff. Probably been said before but I did not find it.

Got two of them on the $20 sale for Christmas presents. Both have the same issue; The clutch will only go to the drill and heaviest screw driver settings.
The battery charger is a super dumb one; You have to time it yourself as it has no auto-shutoff feature and will gladly overcharge the battery. Takes like 7hrs to recharge as I recall.

 

[bjr]

I finally had to get a small set of tools to keep in my sisters tool shed to work her lawn irrigation. She lives about 15 miles from me and I don't keep a tool belt strapped on or keep tools in my truck. I gave up and just bought some simple tools to keep there. Small pipe wrench; water pump pliers; regular pliers; hacksaw and screw drivers, just I can drive from wherever I get her distress call and have enough tools to repair the object of grief. It all came from HF. bjr

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Just avoid the Drill Master stuff. Probably been said before but I did not find it.

Got two of them on the $20 sale for Christmas presents. Both have the same issue; The clutch will only go to the drill and heaviest screw driver settings.
The battery charger is a super dumb one; You have to time it yourself as it has no auto-shutoff feature and will gladly overcharge the battery. Takes like 7hrs to recharge as I recall.

BTDT

I had a few of the Drill Master Cordless drills. I didn't have the problem with the clutch, but I agree 100% on the battery. I probably got my money's worth out of the drills, but no super value there.