HF tools that suck

[schmism]

So it seems like a vast majority of the stuff we all buy from HF we are generally satisfied with. (at least the... i paid pennies on the dollar, so the fact that it lasted me only ______ was worth it to me)

so to that end... it might be easyer to list what HASNT! gone well.

to date the only thing that has been a total dud was the flareing tool. it was useless. it would do single flares, but not double flares needed for break lines. Overall failier mode, not enough clamping force on the tubeing due to poor tollarnce on hole size. I tried grinding down the mateing surfaces (thus reducing the overall diam... but only in one direction which resulted in slightly oblong flairs that still wouldnt double flair.

how about a rateing system.... 1-10...
1 being "not worth the cardboard packing it came it"
10 being "cant tell the diffrence between it and the name brand high $ version"

flaring tool - 1
grinding discs - 7
40$ auto-darking helmet. - 6 (works ok, but the strap broke after about 6 months)

assume everything else ive bought im happy with.

 

[john_bud]

Bought the HF bushing driver set. It's ok if the bushings are made of cardboard, but the mandrels squash easy and that's no good.

Bought a HF hammer drill and it made 1 hole and the brushes melted the plastic housing.

jb

 

[EddieWalker]

Mostly I just buy little stuff there. The soft sanding sponges are a great deal, the grinder disks are as good as any brand for allot less.

My only real complaint is a spur of the moment buy just before fathers day. I saw a remote control airplain that I figured my dad might enjoy. It was garbage.

Eddie

 

[beersngars]

OK. Good idea.

Junk items are;

Hole saw set... rating-1 Ok if drilling lard
Air grease gun...rating-3 just lame
Puller set...rating-2 lasted 1 time per size


These are all that come to mind.

 

[EddieWalker]

Forgot about the wheel pullers. Total junk. The bolts on them bent and the nuts poped off the threads. I put on some good bolts and stripped out the center bolt that does all the pulling.

Another loser are the snap ring plyers. They are so misaligned that I couldn't get them to work.

Eddie

 

[rtimgray]

I've bought a lot of HF stuff and am generally very satisfied. My dad need to do alot of drilling in concrete basement walls to put in dowels. I was in Clarksville and they had a hammer drill (the Hilti type, Central Machinery brand) with bits for $80. He used that thing all summer and it's still going strong. I was expecting that you would kind of have to drill and pull, drill and pull, etc. It will drill right in and you better hang on! It has almost as much torque as my Milwaukee Hole Hawg (that I think I paid the better part of $300 on and it broke on my 5th hole! Milwaukee did fix it under warranty and I was only out $12 shipping and about a month of use).

I have used their hole set sets extensively when I built my house, and I was very satisfied. They chewed through multiple layers of 2x material, plywood, OSB, drywall, etc. I was too cheap to buy a real set of deep hole bits, so I would drill 1" deep with the HF bits, use a wood chisel (also HF) to break out the cut, then drill again. Really not that slow, and it gave the hole saws time to cool off some.

The biggest item I have purchased was a HF wood lathe, on sale for $89. It doesn't have the rigidity needed to keep the headstock and tailstock from spreading if you crank it too tight, but it has let me get into wood turning for cheap. Now that I know I like it, I will upgrade to a brand name tool sometime in the future. Maybe that is something else the HF tools are good for - letting you know if you need/want that type of tool, and then you can justify buying a "better" one when the time comes.

Take care.

 

[charlz]

6 inch C-clamps... maybe a 5 rating? They work pretty good for a while but I have had the feet come off and bent/twisted the back portion. Seems hard to find good clamps though... everyone seems to be carrying about the same quality. I have been keeping my eyes open at any farm auctions I go to for some oldie but goodies.

 

[kossetx]

Chisels/punches. Don't go there for those no matter how good a price.

 

[Jim_in_Omaha]

The cheap black 1/2 hammer drill. I refuse to rate it. A 1 would be too good. But I do have the Russian made drill they sell with the gear box that works fantastic. I would rate it an 8.

 

[npaden]

I have quite a few Harbor Freight tools.

My worst purchase was a ratcheting pipe cutter. The metal blade bent while cutting a 1" pvc pipe. I should have returned it for another, but I didn't bother.

Most of the other stuff has been decent.

 

[npaden]

Oh yeah, their drip irrigation stuff is really poor. It is super cheap but you'll be constantly fixing it. The hose is a soft rubber and the drip pieces break.

 

[charlz]

I have quite a few Harbor Freight tools.

My worst purchase was a ratcheting pipe cutter. The metal blade bent while cutting a 1" pvc pipe. I should have returned it for another, but I didn't bother.

Most of the other stuff has been decent.

I bought one of these somewhere else to cut 1" black plastic pipe.... pretty pathetic that it couldn't even cut that.

 

[Aquaman]

I bought a high-speed rotary grinder(similar to dremel). The thing was junk to the point it wasn't even usable. Have also bought a generator, pipe bender, miter saw, and lotsa hand tools and the 'you get what you pay for' rule generally applies. In other words, it's all more or less worth what I gave for it, but if you need a GOOD tool, you should buy name-brand stuff. The great thing about HF is that they allow you to own tools that you normally wouldn't own if you had to pay full price. HF definitely has it's place in this world.

 

[Builder]

More cheap chinese junk to fill our already maxed-out landfills.....

I was in their store, astounded at the low prices. They had an 18V v/s drill with one battery & charger for $19.99. Soon as I saw Chinese made and the low price I knew I might get a few months out of it and just walked away.

Then again, I just saw Milwaukee now makes some battery tools in China.

 

[kenmac]

I have several 4 1/2 " grinders that work great . I would say 10. I have their 10" compound slide miter saw that has been very good for 100.00 I would give it a 10. Their drills are no good they get a 1. drill bits a 1. I have a few of their sockets and they are ok about an 8. You just can't expect too much for the price you pay for H.F. stuff. My parts washer has been great 10+++

 

[RobS]

I recently bought a HF 6 ton arbor press. Junk. No more stroke nor force than my bench vice. On top of that, the jack wouldn't hold pressure. Same with a 4 ton porta power I bought years ago. I should have returned it right away, you could see the tool marks on the ram piston. I have learned enough times, but still find myself drawn to the place. There is something about a tool that you know you won't need/use much and scoring a great price is overwhelming. I need to remind myself that's why there are rental stores! I would never buy a tool that I knew I would use a lot there.

 

[Builder]

I recently bought a HF 6 ton arbor press. Junk. No more stroke nor force than my bench vice. On top of that, the jack wouldn't hold pressure. Same with a 4 ton porta power I bought years ago. I should have returned it right away, you could see the tool marks on the ram piston. I have learned enough times, but still find myself drawn to the place. There is something about a tool that you know you won't need/use much and scoring a great price is overwhelming. I need to remind myself that's why there are rental stores! I would never buy a tool that I knew I would use a lot there.

I'm surprised people aren't getting maimed or even killed by this junk.

 

[IMCA38]

This thread and the companion thread about good HF tools made me wonder. So I went out to the shop and started looking around for all of the HF stuff I've purchased over the years. I'll list the bad stuff here and the good stuff over on the other thread. I will say that good outnumbers bad about three to one, and I'm including some things that may have been picked up at one of the carnival shows (my name for the Homier and Cummins circus that stops at a town near you every so often.)
The Bad--
Seal puller- made from what looks like a screwdriver with a slot and a couple of holes in the end to accomadate the pick part. About the third time I used it, the shaft snapped off where the holes were drilled. Lesson learned, I bought one of the flat ones (Lisle I think) and it has worked great.

Air compressor filter/regulator- It plain didn't work. Ended up replacing it with a good Craftsman unit.

Air compressor drain valve- What a joke. Shame on me for buying this thing. It had a valve that screwed in the bottom of the tank, and a hose that you were supposed to tap into the pressure switch line on the compressor to operate it. No way!

9.6V Cordless drill- Got it on sale for something like $10 or so. Problem is, the battery won't hold a charge for more than to drill about 2 holes.

Spare tire carrier for trailer- Its built OK and for what it cost, I couldn't get the raw metal, bolts, etc and make it. Problem is that the holes for the lug bolts aren't far enough apart to accomadate a 5X5 wheel. I guess its made for the small utility trailers with smaller wheels and 4 lug pattern. One of these days I'll weld a piece on one side and drill another hole so it can reach a 5X5.

Brass air line quick connects- already discussed by someone else, they leak.

My all time funniest rip off tool came from one of the traveling shows though. (Homier I think) It was an electric hammer drill for about $10. I bought it for those rare occasions that I need to put an anchor in concrete or something like that. Right out of the box, the bearings sounded bone dry and it squealed like a pig. Got it out a few months later to hang some adel clamps on my foundation for the satellite dish cables. Put a masonry bit in it and started drilling. Soon, the bit was spinning in the chuck, so I went to tighten it up more. Turned the wrench and started snapping teeth right off of the chuck. An oral surgeon couldn't have popped teeth any faster! Luckily I found a nice heavy duty B/D unit on sale for about $30 and gobbled it up. It is easily 10x the drill that the cheap one was.

There are some other things that I've gotten that I'd call marginal, but I wouldn't classify them as "suck".

 

[john_bud]

Then again, I just saw Milwaukee now makes some battery tools in China.

Bought a DELL laptop computer for the wife's Chrismas present. It came in a box marked in wee tiny print, "Made in China". Thank's Mr Dell. Makes me think of that salsa commercial, where they string up the guy that brings salsa made in New York, City. If you follow my meaning....

Oh, bought a panel pry set for popping off door panels on my wifes car today. Broke one on the first use. Under 1 second, has to be a record.

Still, the others got the panel off, so it wasn't a complete waste of 4.99 + 0.27 tax. It will cost that much in fuel to return them!


jb

 

[Aquaman]

Here's another way to look at it: My genuine AMERICAN MADE FORD truck was assembled in canada with parts made in mexico. No offense intended to our neighbors (I happen to think we have far better neighbors that other countries). Just something to think about..............