What do you spend on hot rod and garage tools every time you go into Harbor Freight ?

yes you are right , I would say we have close to 30 % of our stuff come back because it does not work right out of the box.

 

i always said that HF is good for the backyard mechanic.If you have to make a living with your tools HF is Not the place to buy them.But if your going to run 3" of bead every 6 months then you can get away with there welders, etc.
They make alot of stuff available to people who normally couldn't afford it.It also lessens the amount of borrowed tools out there!! Ever notice if you have some weird tool that some else always seems to have "borrowed" it!! Now they could go to HF & buy it themselves!!
Jimv

 

Very little hate cheap china tools

 

I have 2 mig welders (Both Gas)1 set up for steel and the other for alm and a plaza cuter and I have had one of my mig for 20 yrs now and no problem with any of them plus I have 3 or 4 grinders set up for differnt applications and 16 speed floor Dril press and a multatude of other stuff I can't think of right now , Mabe people just don't know how to use there tools im not sure.

 

there bead roller is decent with a ton of bracing.and i picked up there 36 inch sheetmetal brake on sale for 200 bux which i am very impressed with..makes a nice crisp edge

 

a LOT!


I am a sucker for the cutoff wheels, even though I know they're cheap crap.

 

20 years ago they were probably made here.

 

I got a Porta Power type unit that did not last the job I was doing. Learned a lesson, I was too cheap to get a real one, no more cheap shit. When I was a kid Japan was the crap, now China makes the crap. Couple years from now it will be Afganistan, Pakistan or Jacoffistan or something sending us the crap.

 

...Only what I went there to buy...

 

actually the Japanese make some pretty nice tools, if you can find them pretty pricey stuff. They take pride in their work, the chinese work for bowls of rice and don't care

 

So far my luck has held out for me on the lower end quality stuff they sell.
I get 2-3 years out of some H.F. tools, throw it away, and I'm good to go again.
I am ,after all though, just a weekend hobbyist.
My $20 right angle grinder has ground down 2 Ford frames (original brushes still) after welding 'em up and I'm on my 2nd cut-off tool in 16 years from them.
Actually I killed the first one when I oiled it with the wrong goop, my fault.
Call me lucky, maybe, but so far none of their stuff has blown apart and maimed me or blown me apart.
All my other air tools and other "throw-aways" are still chugging along.
I'm gettin' what I'm payin' for I think.

 

I bought one of their 36" sheetmetal brakes too,works pretty good on 18 ga. and less.I buy cut off wheels and grinder discs but that's about it.I did buy one of their 10" sliding compound mitre saws when we remodeled my daughters house a few years ago.We framed a big addition and trimmed it too with it.I tried my best to kill it toward the end,but the damn thing wouldn't die.My son-in-law still uses the thing.I think we paid $99 on sale.Most of their tools are Chinese Junk though.

 

why would anyone by cheap cut off wheels that explode? The card board boxes are not even any good. I would not give 50cents for a whole store of their junk.

 

its just like the lottery. You can't lose if you don't play

 

harbor freight rules and i am a lifetime patron! i dont care if the shits from china, korea , bangladesh, or west virginia, im buyin it!!!

 

I forgot to say NAPA stands behind there tool and parts so you break it you can take it back why not they get the stuff for 25 cents on the dollar
they can replace it 2 times and still make money. I would spend my money on gread 8 nuts and bolts than gread 5 or less at 150 mph the car will not tell you hay you didnt get a the right chop saw but it will tell you if you don't have a gread 8 nut and bolt holding the front end on.

 

I've used them since I was a kid, never had one come apart...maybe I'm doing it wrong?

 

I'm inclind to agree with you, it don't make any diffrance how you get there jusy get there. lol

 

what he said.

 

I buy specialty tools there that i might use once or twice. Only buy tools like sockets and wrenches from craftsmen or stanley that have lifetime garauntee. Ive been wanting a bead roller from HF though.

 

Bought a english roll and a 36" brake for light jobs and bought a bead blast cabinet. For the money and the amount I ever use the stuff it works great.

 

I only have a few things from HF, SOME stuff is decent,other stuff you look at in the store and think "what the hell?"

 

I would have to say that if I'm depending on a tool for my liveliehood I might not pick a HF tool. That being said, I have a HF CP 3/8 drive air ratchet thats been trouble free for 15 years. I also have a POS SNAP-ON 3/8 air ratchet that has been with the Snap-On man longer for repairs than it has been in my posession. Got it 4 years ago and have a total use time of about 2 hours on it and thats being generous. Just cause its expensive ($165.00 Snap-On) doesn't mean its better than the inexpensive (18.00 HF) tool.

 

HF is a good place to get a laugh.I wish I had the money that the woud-be's spend in there. I'd b friggin rich! Mikey

 

Micro Mill, Mini Lathe, Both have the same exact internals as Sieg only half the price. For the amount that I use them they are holding up stellar. Bought a sawsall 5 years ago, have demoed and rebuilt 4-5 decent size projects and is still going strong...a few vises of different sizes for various purposes, Wooden dollys cheaper than I could have made them myself. I think if a guy is just working out of his garage on a project now and then they are just fine. I have had people helping me out compliment me on my Mill and how well it works...only to realize it is from HF then procede to talk shit about it.

 

Nobody has mentioned the step bits for $9. Probably the best buy I've ever made there.

 

That is a good buy I have a lennox that cost $59.00 for 1 If you break 1 of those who gives a %&@#!!!! And they come in a package of 3 if I remember right.
I like northerntools.com they have good stuff @ a good price.... Just my 2 cents......

 

if you are not going to harbor freight you are most likely buying the same crap somewhere else for more money... like Eastwood. that's not to say they are all the same junk, but there is enough crossover make that a realistic possibility.

they have good stuff.. just got to know where to look. they have the best price on "formerly American made" vice grips. good jack stands. I bought the 2 ton press which seems prety good. I got the sandblast cabinet which works well once you replace everything but the cabinet, the glass and the door.

as for the "crappy exploding cut off wheels" ... I've used enough of those on several cars I worked on that my washing machine drain got clogged up with metal shavings that rusted together into a big blob and flooded the garage. that's a lot of shavings.

if you have a regular problem with them you are doing something wrong.

 

Never seen one,so never been in one,,

 

Nothing wrong with their red shop towels and nitrile gloves. I have their 20 ton press, shrink tubing, and air chucks. They all work perfectloy. I, like others, will not use there tools and drill bits which are good only for wood and butter.