Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[caver]

I have a couple of corded 3/8" Milwaukee drills with a slight gear reduction in them that have outlasted numerous cordless drills regardless of brand.

Angle grinders use a lot of power. I have a cordless one that came as part of a metabo kit that I use when there is no 110v outlet nearby and not much grinding or cutting is needed, but batteries only put out so much power for so long.

Back in the day (late 80's) it was hard to kill a corded Milwaukee drill. I worked for an electrical contractor and that's all we had on the service trucks.

 

[5030]

Back in the day, they were actually made here. Not the case today.... But then so was Black & Decker and some others now defunct.

 

[rgr33]

Agree with what a couple of other guys posted here. I bought a Milwaukee angle grinder that came with a 2ah battery, it was really disappointing.
Slapped a 6ah battery on it and the thing was like a different machine.
Only use the smaller batteries for flashlights now.

 

[California]

HF's Hercules 11 amp corded angle grinder is a near identical twin to a DeWalt model. They likely are made on the same line.

 

[5030]

HF's Hercules 11 amp corded angle grinder is a near identical twin to a DeWalt model. They likely are made on the same line.

More than likely I'd say.

 

[daugen]

My Massey 4707 was built in China in a brand new top spec robot equipped factory built
by AGCO. It had outstanding quality and features at a price 30-40% less than comparable JD.
China is fully capable of building outstanding quality products, but even with their cheap labor rates, the good stuff
costs more money to build, to QC, to service.

And since so much of the top line name brand US tools are actually built in China,
this whole topic gets really foggy.

I'm surprised the South Koreans didn't get into tools.
Instead they copied Japan and are incredibly successful.

we have such a dysfunctional love/hate affair with Chinese goods.

Would I like to buy a Black & Decker drill built in Texas?
you bet I would. And I'd pay more for it.
but ONLY if it outperformed the cheaper stuff or had some other benefit, service, parts, anything, to justify
the extra cost.
Otherwise seems a waste of money.

Ten years ago there wasn't much of quality in Harbor Freight.
Now there is. I see that as a good trend. And I do like their stores.
It's a candy store for most of us.
just try going in there for just one thing...

 

[KubotainNH]

And I do like their stores.
It's a candy store for most of us.
just try going in there for just one thing...

I think most folks like them, there are things there I never knew existed. I could do without the smell of cheap rubber though.

 

[daugen]

I think most folks like them, there are things there I never knew existed. I could do without the smell of cheap rubber though.

have to wonder what some of this stuff is offgassing
go back to area with the tires and smells like a Dupont chemical plant
they need to put some wintergreen or peppermint in their tires....

I wonder what kind of OSHA China and Malaysia have. Those tire plants must smell awful.
for years there were jokes about China getting rid of their nuclear waste by putting them in these tires, or
their chemical waste, or their something....

I wonder how many "forever chemicals" those Chinese workers have in them. Safety equipment is pretty sketchy there.
Safety costs money.

 

[Cycledude]

I wish Harbor Freight had a much larger selection of individual wrenches . They have plenty of complete sets but very few individual wrenches

 

[scootr]

I bought some Pittsburg wrenches at HF that didn't suck. In fact they fit my hand pretty good. I like a wrench that is somewhat sleek, not clunkier than needed.