Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[rbstern]

Going to buy a wood stove from Northern Tools. No hydraulic experience with NT. Do they do coupons like HF?

If you get on their mailing list, they occasionally send a mailer with discounts cards. I've got a $50 off $250 card here on my desk, valid until 11/14. They only accept the original (thin plastic card with a barcode), so a digital copy doesn't work. If you want to PM me your mailing address, I'll mail it to you.

 

[sixdogs]

Found an old photo. As I mentioned above, the HF 24" aluminum pipe wrench's handle snapped when I used a cheater pipe over it.
But the next one I bought to replace it is noticeably beefier.

View attachment 574920

Earlier in this thread I posted a pic of a steel adjustable wrench handle I bent with my bare hands by pulling hard.

 

[California]

Earlier in this thread I posted a pic of a steel adjustable wrench handle I bent with my bare hands by pulling hard.

Wow.

Actually I'm not surprised. I bought the HF $7.99 cheap socket set to leave out unsecured in a barn stall. (while my real tools stay locked up between uses). I stripped the ratchet in the HF set - twice. First time they exchanged the whole set, then after the second time I substituted in the ratchet from an old similar cheap Taiwan socket set. That ratchet has stood up well for several years now.

The second HF ratchet in that set broke when I was down on my hands and knees under the tractor pushing on the ratchet handle. No way could the force in that position be greater than what a normal 1/2" ratchet is designed to survive. That cheap socket set must be intended for assembling office furniture or maintaining bicycles or something.

 

[rbstern]

Wow.

Actually I'm not surprised. I bought the HF $7.99 cheap socket set to leave out unsecured in a barn stall. (while my real tools stay locked up between uses). I stripped the ratchet in the HF set - twice. First time they exchanged the whole set, then after the second time I substituted in the ratchet from an old similar cheap Taiwan socket set. That ratchet has stood up well for several years now.

The second HF ratchet in that set broke when I was down on my hands and knees under the tractor pushing on the ratchet handle. No way could the force in that position be greater than what a normal 1/2" ratchet is designed to survive. That cheap socket set must be intended for assembling office furniture or maintaining bicycles or something.

Those cheap sets are pretty much limited to light duty. If you step up to the sets with the oblong heads, the durability is much better.

 

[California]

Those cheap sets are pretty much limited to light duty. If you step up to the sets with the oblong heads, the durability is much better.

Yes. The tools I keep locked up include a couple of Craftsman ratchets I bought years ago and HF's Pro series 1/2 in. Drive Extendable Ratchet that I reach for when I need more force. (And of course breaker bars, an old Thorsen and HF's 25"). I like the HF extendable ratchet, I reach for it first most of the time now. I have the previous green one. I assume the present red one is the same.

 

[def38]

When it come to tools, I prefer Craftsman and other name brands.

I recall about 50 years ago, my brother and I were acquiring tools for motorcycle and lawnmower fixing. We bought a set of screwdrivers from the Sears store in Waukegan, IL. About a week later, we lost one of the screwdrivers. We went to the Sears store with our receipt and told the sales clerk of the loss. He promptly apologized and provided us with a new set of screwdrivers. I still have several of them.

And now, Sears has filed for bankruptcy...I feel really guilty.

 

[Rock Crawler]

When it come to tools, I prefer Craftsman and other name brands.

Pittsburgh pro is definitely a name brand. Much like Hyundai or Kia is a main brand.

All of the name brands that I mention happen to be very cheap and extremely low quality yet they are all name brands.

Just as a small amount of people will buy a Hyundai or a kia and be very happy with the vehicles performance, there are many many people that are happy with the performance versus the price of the Harbor freight Pittsburgh pro line of tools and even some people that like the base Pittsburgh line of tools.

Shockingly I'm one that actually finds many of the Harbor freight tools that do not have moving parts to be very satisfying.

I started life as an aircraft mechanic buying snap on tools then I was an auto mechanic for a while buying snap on and Matt CO tools, and then I moved to a different career and started buying Craftsman tools. Now I primarily by Harbor freight tools and I don't find my tool breakage history to be changing much compared to what it was while I was spending 20 times more for my tools.

 

[dragoneggs]

Pittsburgh pro is definitely a name brand. Much like Hyundai or Kia is a main brand.

All of the name brands that I mention happen to be very cheap and extremely low quality yet they are all name brands.

Just as a small amount of people will buy a Hyundai or a kia and be very happy with the vehicles performance, there are many many people that are happy with the performance versus the price of the Harbor freight Pittsburgh pro line of tools and even some people that like the base Pittsburgh line of tools.

Shockingly I'm one that actually finds many of the Harbor freight tools that do not have moving parts to be very satisfying.

I started life as an aircraft mechanic buying snap on tools then I was an auto mechanic for a while buying snap on and Matt CO tools, and then I moved to a different career and started buying Craftsman tools. Now I primarily by Harbor freight tools and I don't find my tool breakage history to be changing much compared to what it was while I was spending 20 times more for my tools.

The reality is that there are far more choices now and while quality has generally gone down, the price has dropped even more so. Even for those that use tools daily, it can now easily make economic sense to buy cheaper lower quality tools all things considered. Theft, the need for specialty tools for infrequent jobs, wanting multiple sets for different locations, etc.

I enjoy evaluating tools for their value. While I enjoy quality brands, I am also a HF fan... for some things.

 

[TomIre]

If you get on their mailing list, they occasionally send a mailer with discounts cards. I've got a $50 off $250 card here on my desk, valid until 11/14. If you want to PM me your mailing address, I'll mail it to you.

Thanks! PM sent. I'm on their email list but so far nothing. I'll see if I'm on snail mail too.

 

[Norm W]

The composite ratchets seem to hold up well. I've over torqued them a few times and they survived. The impact sockets have held up under extreme conditions. I've used the 3/4 drive sockets on a 1" impact. Even the adapter held the torque. The motto seems to be, buy nothing with batteries and cords, although the newer LED flash lights seem to work well. For the money and if you don't REALLY abuse them, HF tools do the job.