Harbor Frieght Tools

[BluGixxer]

Some of there tools are crap, and break on there first use .. other tools are half decent and are a very good deal . I live near the store near albany Ny , and visit about once a month . some of the good deals i have run across are the air grinders , most are under $15 , I try to only buy when they are on sale
ive had good luck with there multimeters also
and graet luck with thr step drill bits
what have you had good or bad luck with ?

[Tricky Mike]

I've had bad luck with there spell-checker.

[caddydaddy]

All their stuff is made in China, what do you expect? Quality?

[Cerberus]

when i began my employment as a mechanic ( 8 years ago ) i started out by buying all harbor freight tools so i could get as much of a selection as possible, as quickly as possible for minimum cost.
Of course the problem is, the tools, while mostly usable, as mostly crap too.
As the years went along, i replaced most of them with better quality tools.

the "Pittsburgh" line that they carry is the better of the products they sell.

[scubasteveRR]

I have a Harbor Frieght rear stand for my bike and it works pissa. The bike was on it all winter with no issues.

only paid $35

[BluGixxer]

hack saw blades - straight into thr trash can
allen keys = snaped off or rounded


recently bought 4 11" vise-grip like welding/body clamp with swivel pads , for $4.99 very happy not as good as visegrip but just as good as craptsman, they wobble a liitle , ViseGrip are $25.00

and 11' extra long bent needle nose 40 degree and 20 degree awsome both for $4.99 pionts close tight . my 1 snap-on straight pair was over $30.00
code scanner CAN/OBDII/EOBD freeze-live-test- updatable with sale and coupons $109.99+tax very great
9 LED flash lites free if you ask somee sort of coupon I got 4
rare earth magnets 10 in a pack great for hanging little things in toolbox $1.99 about the size of a pensil eraser
spell checker , i don't think it works to well

[GNTurbo6]

Basically anything that is made out of a big piece of metal is usually fine. Precision tools... forget it. Electric powered stuff is hit or moss.

[scr1be]

All their stuff is made in China, what do you expect? Quality?

are you serious? so something is automatically of bad quality if it's made in a specific country?

[caddydaddy]

are you serious? so something is automatically of bad quality if it's made in a specific country?

Um, yeah! What's made in China that is any good? Drywall, nope! Baby formula, nope! Motorcycles, nope!

[VinceF2]

I have bought so much from Harbor Freight that I can't even begin to list it all... as others have said it's hit or miss... but I buy it knowing that... and when / if something breaks I tell myself that's what I get for being a cheap ass!!!

Few things I can comment on though:

Heat Gun - $9.99 works awesome!

Battery Charger / Car Starter - $40.00 (I think) Charges and starts my car everytime I ask it to!

Folding 4x8 trailer - $200.00 Awesome

Just about every Storehouse kit (Bolts, springs, clips, hose clamps etc) Love those!!!

Pittsburgh pry bar set - $7.99 works great

Pittsburgh adjustable wrench set - forget price but they do the job well

Overall I have been happy with my experience with them... I don't know how much of it I would buy if I were a full time mechanic... but for what I do... it's good...

Mike

[Fitz]

Um, yeah! What's made in China that is any good? Drywall, nope! Baby formula, nope! Motorcycles, nope!

The high end electrical connectors that channels information when you make a phone call or surf the web.. yeah.. they're mostly manufactured in China instead of Nashua, NH. Lower cost and BETTER quality. US manufacturing had better step back up to the plate but quick if they want to compete in the long term.

Fitz

[joeswamp]

It's not so much that HF tools are made in China, it's that they're made in those Chinese factories that have dirt floors and are staffed with workers under the age of ten. Oftentimes the tools have a sort of medieval quality level.

[Cerberus]

The high end electrical connectors that channels information when you make a phone call or surf the web.. yeah.. they're mostly manufactured in China instead of Nashua, NH. Lower cost and BETTER quality. US manufacturing had better step back up to the plate but quick if they want to compete in the long term.

Fitz

sure.. put americans out of work, to make the stock-holders happy..

greed and short sighted goals are screwing this country's future..

[The Magician]

sure.. put americans out of work, to make the stock-holders happy..

greed and short sighted goals are screwing this country's future..

life has become a big day trading session

[caddydaddy]

life has become a big day trading session

It's the "global economy" where one country can undercut anothers products with lower prices due to lower standards of living and labor laws.
The US can make some great stuff, but no one would buy it when the same thing from China is cheaper! It's all about the price!

[KB]

Um, yeah! What's made in China that is any good? Drywall, nope! Baby formula, nope! Motorcycles, nope!

Yeah hence the reason never buy an american automobile.

Welcome to 2010.

KB

[caddydaddy]

Yeah hence the reason never buy an american automobile.

Welcome to 2010.

KB

Because they're made in China?

[breakdirt916]

I've had good luck with parts that:

1.) I don't need high quality

2.) can use a high quantity of

so...a box of heat shrink (mixed sizes), washers, electrical butt connectors/ring terminals for light duty car audio installs, etc.

although, their cheap trailers seem to be a mainstay for recommendation, when towing motorcycles

[joeswamp]

I generally really hate cheap tools, because eventually they damage something that you care about and you have to buy a good tool eventually anyway. Sometimes HF tools work OK, but other times you just can't believe how crappy they are.

Sometimes even the simplest tools that they sell are useless garbage. I once bought a hacksaw (not from HF but from an equivalent source), and the blade shattered/frame came all apart after literally three strokes.

[xrocket21]

Basically anything that is made out of a big piece of metal is usually fine. Precision tools... forget it. Electric powered stuff is hit or moss.

This is how I feel about it

LOVE my big socket set from them (14mm up to like 36mm)

The set of 10 or 12 cost me what the single 34mm I needed would cost from craftsman

[gadget]

Um, yeah! What's made in China that is any good? Drywall, nope! Baby formula, nope! Motorcycles, nope!

http://www.paul-chen-swords.com/

[Pittenger5]

Most of their tools that Ive tried work well for what I need them for. They're certainly not the best for someone whos gonna use them every day. But I bought a torque wrench that absolutely blew.

[Rambunctous]

http://www.used-tools.com/
No need to buy crap from China. Great prices right here.