Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[TheMan419]

I've only purchased a few items over the years from NT but have always considered them a bit above HF for quality. I don't doubt their cloning practices at all. HF obviously does this too with the Predator/Honda engine clones being the most obvious example. To be fair to both companies, even the big boys "clone" each others tools. Fein came out with the brilliant oscillating saw/sander about 20 years ago and the second the patent expired virtually every big tool maker including Bosch, DeWalt etc had their versions on the market. "Cloning" is a perfectly human practice with regard to good ideas. I don't remember exactly which company invented the wheel but lots have copied the idea and I'm pretty sure the patent has run out. Stealing some other companies marketing materials and the exact design is not what an ethical competitor would do however. I rather doubt that either HF or NT have their own design or production engineering staff so my guess is that they simply identify "clone" manufacturers in Asia and then market the tools (or give those manufacturers specifications and a price point to work on). My experiences with HF suggest that they almost always specify cheap over quality when ordering electric power tools so with a few exceptions I stay away. It is mind boggling that they are still specifying NiCad batteries. There are a few examples where HF has done a nice job bringing a clone type tool to market (the Earthquake XT air impact wrench for example and the Predator motors) and perhaps we will see more quality tools from them in the future.

But HF is what it is. You know going in that you are getting cheaper quality and a cheap price. There are times where having two different cordless drills will be useful for me. Not enough to justify spending $50+ each for them. I needed one so I bought the cheap one from HF. That will get me through the current project. Now I have time to do some research and find the nicer more expensive one that will in theory last me for years. The HF one can then be the one that is pressed into service on occasion.

For example we will be putting up a bunch of plywood in the riding arena. So we will be screwing those into the existing posts. Having the ability for both the wife and I to have a drill in hand to drive the screws will be a huge time saver. Not enough to justify another $50 purchase. A $12 purchase sure.

 

[IslandTractor]

But HF is what it is. You know going in that you are getting cheaper quality and a cheap price. There are times where having two different cordless drills will be useful for me. Not enough to justify spending $50+ each for them. I needed one so I bought the cheap one from HF. That will get me through the current project. Now I have time to do some research and find the nicer more expensive one that will in theory last me for years. The HF one can then be the one that is pressed into service on occasion.

For example we will be putting up a bunch of plywood in the riding arena. So we will be screwing those into the existing posts. Having the ability for both the wife and I to have a drill in hand to drive the screws will be a huge time saver. Not enough to justify another $50 purchase. A $12 purchase sure.

Yes, there are times I buy items from HF purely because one project justifies the purchase. I would be happier with HF though if they adopted the good, better, best internal ranking of their products like Sears used to do. HF has started doing that but their "code" is not as transparent as what Sears used.

For an important and frequently used tool like a drill driver I prefer to pay the extra and get Makita or Bosch. For something like a grinder I'm happy to buy five HF grinders for the price of one Makita. That way I have different heads on each grinder and do not waste time changing from flap disc to cutoff wheel to wire brush. And, because the HF is not nearly as reliable as the Makita, I always have a backup handy if failure occurs.

 

[94BULLITT]

I think I have 5 if the $9 HF grinders too, each with something different on them.

 

[California]

One advantage of standardizing on Ryobi Li-Ion gear is the blue (Nicad generation) drills show up at the flea market for $5. These take the current Li-Ion batteries so they aren't obsolete.

I have the blue drill from my original $100+ combo set, plus some four more.

In my recent photo driving 11 inch lag bolts into a foundation repair, I had a pilot bit in the first drill, countersink cup-bit in the second drill, final diameter bit in the third. Then I drove the lag bolts with the impact driver I bought as a kit of tool/Li-Ion battery/charger. Having multiple drills was more productive than changing bits at every hole or getting to my feet and moving all around the structure (water tower) to work each location with the same bit.

Likewise as others have noted - the HF Drillmaster ($9) angle grinder has a wire wheel for cleaning the slag off flux-core welds, there's a cup wheel on the HF orange one, and a grinding disc on the HF paddle-switch one.


One more thing about Ryobi modern batteries: they fit Homelite hedge trimmers. So far I've found two of these at the flea market, as I recall $5 and $7 or so. There's other Homelite gear out there but the hedge trimmers are all I've found. Nobody knows what battery they need so they're cheap used.

 

[Midniteoyl]

I find HF far less deceptive in that regard than Northern Tool. NT has been known on multiple occasions to clone a tool made by an established company, cheapen up the design to the point where it is just about useless, slap a logo sticker on it that looks almost identical to the original manufacturer, copy sections of the original manufacturer's descriptions word-for-word, and even use the original's marketing photos in NT advertisements of the cloned product. The look and description so closely match, that the original manufacturer sometimes gets complaints and returns for failures of equipment that is actually the NT clone. NT does sell some good stuff, but they also sell some real junk as well. If you want to sell junk, so be it, but don;t pass it off as something made by a reputable manufacturer.

I'm with ya on that.. Several NT tools and things I have bought over the years have been no better than the HF versions, and sometimes worse. Only difference being that they cost me a little more. Kinda like buying something from Target vs Walmart: You pay a little more so feel a little better about it, but in the end its still junk.

 

[IslandTractor]

I think I have 5 if the $9 HF grinders too, each with something different on them.

We geniuses think alike (except on grapple jaws!).:laughing:

 

[John_Mc]

I have no problem with cloning something where the patent has run out - IF it is done honestly. I don't have a problem with someone cheapening the design to reach a different target market. I have a big problem with cloning and trying to pass off your tool as the original by also copying the look, closely imitating the logo and lifting advertising text and photos from the original manufacturer's materials. You are stealing the good name of the original manufacturer and often destroying that good reputation with the cheap imitations which some buyers think is the same thing. (LogRite is one company with excellent products who has been a victim of this.)

Yes, I agree, NT's offerings are often (but not always) a step up from HF. NT carries some first quality name brand products as well (Milwaukee's M18 Fuel cordless tools, for example). NT also carries some total crap - some of which I own (a logging Cant Hook is one of the more memorable mis-purchases of mine). However, I've not seen HF apparently trying to pass off their stuff as being made by some name brand manufacturer. I have seen NT do that.

 

[Luke'sScreenName]

I have no problem with cloning something where the patent has run out - IF it is done honestly. I don't have a problem with someone cheapening the design to reach a different target market. I have a big problem with cloning and trying to pass off your tool as the original by also copying the look, closely imitating the logo and lifting advertising text and photos from the original manufacturer's materials. You are stealing the good name of the original manufacturer and often destroying that good reputation with the cheap imitations which some buyers think is the same thing. (LogRite is one company with excellent products who has been a victim of this.).

Hey! There is no reason to bring Kioti into this!

 

[IslandTractor]

Hey! There is no reason to bring Kioti into this!

Yep, Kioti is guilty of part one (copying) but at least they made improvements on the original! :cool2: Our Orange is so much cooler than your orange.:laughing: Ours is Chevy Engine Block Orange!

 

[PILOON]

As a 'tool guy' I have opened quite a few HF like quality tools and generally noted that gear boxes often contain a questionable lubricant (if any) that resembles lard, and some actually none at all.
Take a file to the gears and often the teeth are simple mild steel. Quality tool (Makita, Hitachi et al) will dull a file.

That my friends is the difference!