Harbor Freight - what's good, what's junk?

XJsavage

XJsavage

CounterCulture
Joined
Aug 15, 2009
Location
Lyle's Ford SC
I'm sure by now we all own a few tools from the infamous Harbor Freight. I was doing my once a month cleanup just recently and got to thinking about what all I've bought from there and what has actually held up.

My list of HF tools that have withstood the 5+ year heavy use test...

-12 ton jack stands. The big orange and white ones. I've had these for at least 8 years now and they've never let me down. Well worth the money.
-CN 1/2" electric impact drill. Had it for years, used friends for even longer. Very sturdy and tough as nails.
-Generic multi color impact sockets. Amazingly these have been quite durable.
-wiring connector kit.

So far that's it, please share your good finds.

Junk list:
-4.5" cutoff blades. Good for about 1' of 1/4" plate.
-wire brushes
-gloves
 
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20 ton hf press has done well for me. Been loading up on freebie multimeters and led flashlights lately. I have multimeters everywhere I look now :burnout:
 
I've seen the little air angle grinders and die grinders get abused by a lot of people at the Fab school running 175 psi. I still use them.
 
Always liked the $14 4.5" side grinder
Ive got the big orange and white floor jack that is probably 13 years old gets left outside waaay too much and it keeps ticking.
 
Blue western safety gloves
12ton jack stands
I keep 5 4.5" angle grinders so I don't have to change the wheel just pick up the grinder/flap wheel/wire wheel
Red three shelf roll around carts are pretty good for the monies
Random blow guns and air chucks
 
I use their step bits often and for the price it seems well worth it. I've got several little air tools like small cut off and small grinder and after a couple years of a abuse, they are still kicking too. Also have a floor jack and several pairs of jack stands that have functioned fine.

I'll pick up a 3 pack of welding gloves when they are on sale. I use them for the fireplace, shucking oysters, etc.
 
I've never broken a HF screwdriver... while doing screwdriver things at least.

1/8 inch cutoff wheels work as good as others.

Grease gun hasnt kicked it yet.

I have a much longer list of things that were absolute shit.
 
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This is the one I've been impressed with lately. Well, it's two tools, really. The tube roller and the pipe threader. That's 1.5" 18ga DOM getting wound into a 22"od circle. Took less than 25 minutes. The roller needs modifications to really be up to the task, but for the money, it's hard to beat!

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk
 
Good:
4.5" Grinders...built a few rigs with those things.
Jack Stands
Step Bits
Engine Hoist
Engine Stand
Jack
Socket sets
Wrench Sets
Screwdrivers

Bad:
Anything I break...recently burned up a 1/2 electric impact (corded) just removing lug nuts and shock bolts.
 
The impact sockets (I have the deep 6pt in metric and SAE) are good. Haven't broken one yet.
 
I bought an engine stand from there. It was decent after I replaced all of the hardware. The bolts and nuts that came with it were complete garbage. 13/16" on this flat, 3/4" on that one, 18mm on the other, etc. Couldn't get a box end or socket over any of them.
 
Has anyone tried the auto darkening welding helmets they sell? I won't trust my eyes to just anything, but I've been curios about these as a backup hood.
 
Bought these recently on sale. Got the tool cart for home for $169 and the jack a while back for $70. Bunch of other little things just to have in the home garage.
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XJsavage said:
Has anyone tried the auto darkening welding helmets they sell? I won't trust my eyes to just anything, but I've been curios about these as a backup hood.
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I've used one a fair amount and if you're on a budget they aren't that bad. Little fragile, so don't drop the thing because it will break.
 
I have a Jackson pro auto dark, HF gay flames auto and Lincoln Viking 3550. .. Those are listed in order from most to least shitty. The HF honestly isn't bad.
Earthquake impacts without even saying "for the price" are as good as IR... That's not to say the rest of their air tool selection is so great though, the die grinders, cut offs, air chisels and drills don't even compare to real commercial stuff. The press sans press plates is good, even better with air over hydro. Tool boxes aren't as great as the reviews but are every bit as good as husky and kobalt. Every welder they sell is pure trash. Power tools are not bad for the money--good for the home shop or diyer. Of course their consumables suck, it's to be expected. Flex head ratchet is better than my craftsman version.
 
Good
2 ton engine lift
1/2 battery powered impact
Jack stands
Jack
Creeper
Vac pump
Ac gauges
Free multimeter
Throw away blue gloves
Bad
Anything that has to do with precision like torque wrenches etc. Not accurate.
 
What makes you say that about the tq wrenches? Several sites and magazines have tested them to be as accurate as any of the other high end wrenches.
 
The drill bit set is junk. But it's almost worth the 6 or 7 bucks for the index. The tap and die sets are actually fairly decent I tap 11 gauge and 3/8s regularly. Only other thing I got from is there is Hand tools, big ratchet straps cut off wheels brushes etc and for the money I can't really complain
 
braxton357 said:
What makes you say that about the tq wrenches? Several sites and magazines have tested them to be as accurate as any of the other high end wrenches.
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I've had two that were not accurate. Anything above 100ft lbs. I would torque a bolt. Then come behind it with a snap- on torque wrench and get another 1/4 turn out of it. The first one I used for 150ft lb. After 2 bolts It would never click again. Got a new one on exchange and it's not accurate. Only reason I got one was to try it out at the expense of a few dollars. They probably would be fine for small jobs. But I wouldn't trust them to torque head bolts etc. Just my experience.
 
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