Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[hutchman]

So did this air compressor! hahahahaa
21 gal. 2.5 HP 125 PSI Cast Iron Vertical Air Compressor

"The perfect compressor with powerful, quiet and consistent airflow…plus we love the low price."
Street Trucks Magazine

Its the loudest, slowest to recover compressor I've ever had. I think these guys were deaf from their boom boom trucks! :laughing:

Ha! Yea, that type is loud. I looked at this one:
29 gal. 2 HP 150 PSI Cast Iron Vertical Air Compressor

... but ended up with this one:
Shop Kobalt 2-HP 30-Gallon 155-PSI 120-Volt Vertical Electric Air Compressor at Lowes.com ... it's not too loud. This was several years ago so mine doesn't look exactly like the picture ... it uses standard devilbiss parts (cast head etc.). At the time it was only $22 more than the HF unit.

 

[sixdogs]

So did this air compressor! hahahahaa
21 gal. 2.5 HP 125 PSI Cast Iron Vertical Air Compressor

"The perfect compressor with powerful, quiet and consistent airflow?lus we love the low price."
Street Trucks Magazine

Its the loudest, slowest to recover compressor I've ever had. I think these guys were deaf from their boom boom trucks! :laughing:

Maybe HF buys a full page ad every month and sweetens the deal? Nah.

 

[paulharvey]

They have two lines for drills. grinders, etc.... The Cheaper "Drill Master" (garbage) and the orange/red "Chicago Electric" line. I have been super pleased with the better line.

Some things, like my 14" chop saw, are 15 years old! I can't tell you how much oilfield pipe I have cut with that thing!!! I did have to replace the brushes, but otherwise it has done great.

ANYTHING with gears in it will be nearly dry from the factory. You MUST open the gearbox and add lube. I always coat everything inside with STP (it always sticks to the metal). Grease just sticks to the inside of the walls of the gearbox and won't "flow" to the gears, so I always make it runny by stirring in some "gear lube" first.

Best Buy EVER: "ARC-180 AC/DC welder". Holy crap, I have run at LEAST 200 lbs of welding rods through that thing. The DC is super smooth - I preheat cast iron and use a nickel rod, and the bead is so smooth it looks like it was done with a TIG welder!!! It was only $159 with a coupon back in about 2005 I think. The 6' leads are cheap "jumper cable" wire with crappy clamps... It might be 8 gauge!! I made new longer leads with real 4 gauge wire from TSC and added good Hobart ground & electrode clamps, and the welder PIK UP power. I guess the original leads had a LOT of resistance! My only gripe is it has a short duty cycle (burn three rods & let it cool!), but it's still awesome for what I use it for.

The 1/2" VSR Hammer drill is awesome for $20 with a coupon. I know I have used it for about 40-50 anchor bolts so far.

I believe this is the one I bought used. It's listed as an Arc-180, but is really 130 AC/105 DC. The name is a bit miss leading, but you can't really say they lied, as some where it does list actual rating. (The eBay post I bought on however said it was 180 amps). Mine has no wheels or handle, and it's just big enough to be a pain to carry. Only issue I've had (think I had a thread on it) was ants got in power switch and let the blue smoke out, so I replaced with a simple 25 amp 208v switch,

 

[cobracnvt]

I got this ratchet a couple of years ago for some hard to reach bolts while changing a timing belt. It's now my favorite ratchet out of the ten or so that I own. 1/4 in, 3/8 in. Drive Long Reach Dual Flex Head Ratchet

 

[FatTire]

Hey good to see this thread revived after an almost two month hiatus. Reporting back on the cheap 4 1/2in grinders...

I have three now and all are doing fine with grinding or sanding on steel. One thing I did is pull the spindle cover off of each and pack with grease. They still sound a little noisy and chunky but there is very little grease in the compartment to begin with... I don't use them daily so I can't recommend them for professional use but they are cheap and it is so nice to not have to change wheels for different jobs. There are a couple versions but here is one... 4-1/2 in. 4.3 Amp Angle Grinder Sometimes as low as $9.99 with coupon!

I went back to the first post of this thread (dating back to 2008) and discovered it includes this (or similar) angle grinder for $14.99. The thread is so long now I have no idea what all is in here.

 

[IslandTractor]

I went back to the first post of this thread (dating back to 2008) and discovered it includes this (or similar) angle grinder for $14.99. The thread is so long now I have no idea what all is in here.

This thread is more about the love/hate relationship many of us have with Harbor Freight than any specific review. For me at least HF is a place I can afford to buy tools that will get a particular job done when I could not reasonably pay three, four or even ten times more for a truly professional version of that tool. I wouldn't want to rely on HF tools to make my living but it is easy to justify making a specialty tool purchase from HF that will allow me to complete a task that otherwise needs to be contracted out to someone who will charge $50-100 per hour for the work.

I don't think HF "wins" in any quality category compared to the major tool manufacturers but they do often win in the bang for the buck competition.

 

[newbury]

This thread is also a good "quick reference" to check to see if the TBN group mind thinks a certain tool is good or not. I check it when I'm planning on getting a tool, often I read it's not worth the $$, sometimes it's the best tool going.

 

[sixdogs]

This thread is also a good "quick reference" to check to see if the TBN group mind thinks a certain tool is good or not. I check it when I'm planning on getting a tool, often I read it's not worth the $$, sometimes it's the best tool going.

Agreed. I rarely plunge in any more but check here first. This thread tipped me off to a great tool chest and saved me from gambling on their so-called impact gun.

 

[Threepoint]

This thread is more about the love/hate relationship many of us have with Harbor Freight than any specific review. For me at least HF is a place I can afford to buy tools that will get a particular job done when I could not reasonably pay three, four or even ten times more for a truly professional version of that tool. I wouldn't want to rely on HF tools to make my living but it is easy to justify making a specialty tool purchase from HF that will allow me to complete a task that otherwise needs to be contracted out to someone who will charge $50-100 per hour for the work.

I don't think HF "wins" in any quality category compared to the major tool manufacturers but they do often win in the bang for the buck competition.

Island sums it up perfectly for me, with one exception. I, too, used to say their tools are good for occasional use but I wouldn't want to make my living with them. I don't say that as much anymore. I've run into a number of guys who actually do just that. Maybe they'd rather have MAC, Snap-On, Milwaukee, Ridgid, etc., but maybe not, and it's what they can afford at this point in their lives. They're not too proud to use them to get the job done. :thumbsup:

 

[IslandTractor]

Island sums it up perfectly for me, with one exception. I, too, used to say their tools are good for occasional use but I wouldn't want to make my living with them. I don't say that as much anymore. I've run into a number of guys who actually do just that. Maybe they'd rather have MAC, Snap-On, Milwaukee, Ridgid, etc., but maybe not, and it's what they can afford at this point in their lives. They're not too proud to use them to get the job done. :thumbsup:

I don't exactly disagree but let's say that I wouldn't take an HF version tool to the international space station without backup. I'd use (and do use) HF tools in situations where failure is not the end of the world and just means another trip to HF for replacement. Or, if I find an HF tool has been really useful but breaks, I might convince myself to buy the Makita, Bosch etc version next time.