# harbor freight tools



## user4818 (Jan 15, 2009)

Their tools are like fuses - one time use only.


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## BryanMD (Dec 31, 2007)

HF is a good place to buy name brand tools at good prices and their own line of ICC can be sorta OK for now and then use... BUT! **anything** that plugs in or even has moving parts should be avoided like the plague.





ICC= Imported Chinese Crap


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

Theres a HF store not all that far from me. I have been there once. I suppose most of the stuff there works ok for a DIYer or homeowner, but my tools that I depend on daily - no thanks. Ill stick with trusted name brand tools that have proven themselves over time.

~Matt


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

BryanMD said:


> ICP= Imported Chinese Crap


Now, Im not a gud speller... but how doez that werk?

:jester::laughing:

~Matt


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## davis9 (Mar 21, 2009)

I have a bunch of stuff from them, mostly for working on my cars. Occasionally I try something for work such as bit extensions for .99 they seem to work well. Hurts a little less when it disappears. The sockets and ratchets seem to hold up pretty well. I also have a few moving blankets from them too.

Tom


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## davis9 (Mar 21, 2009)

They sell twirly screwdrivers too....
Tom


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

davis9 said:


> They sell twirly screwdrivers too....
> Tom


:laughing::laughing: that was good :thumbup:


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

davis9 said:


> They sell twirly screwdrivers too....
> Tom


Those are GARBAGE!







:jester:


~Matt


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

heres a tool id trust my life with
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=97218


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

electricalperson said:


> heres a tool id trust my life with
> http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=97218


 $2.99 it cost. Those testers give you false readings from what I hear. You sure about that quote?? :blink:


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## drsparky (Nov 13, 2008)

I wouldn't pay over $2.75 for it.:thumbup1:


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## heavysparky (Jun 2, 2009)

I only buy rope, razor blades,and chemicals( like liquid wrench, hand cleaner, wd40 etc. )

Some of their hand tools are pretty good. I wouldn't buy anything that I had to trust with my life there


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## william1978 (Sep 21, 2008)

I've been there once. I thought it was a joke, and I've never been back.


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## davis9 (Mar 21, 2009)

I've also had good luck with these. 

Tom

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96275


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

davis9 said:


> I've also had good luck with these.
> 
> Tom
> 
> http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96275


Hmm - might be worth the money if they last more than 5 holes.

Anyone ever use a stepless bit????
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=66463

~Matt


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

davis9 said:


> I've also had good luck with these.
> 
> Tom
> 
> http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96275


those are really cheap.. I have paid double that just for one


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## davis9 (Mar 21, 2009)

They def last more than 5 holes Never seen the stepless bit until tonight.

Tom

Maybe for plastic, etc?


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## davis9 (Mar 21, 2009)

Black4Truck said:


> those are really cheap.. I have paid double that just for one



I agree, and they expensive ones seem to disappear before they are to dull to use.LOL

Tom


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## azsly1 (Nov 12, 2008)

i tell you what, i bought a 24" aluminum pipe wrench from them, and it paid for itself in a week of running 3" rmc. the company i work for runs alot of rmc so i figured i'd try it out and it works great. still have it after 3 years of use. i have ridgid 18 and 14" wrenches but i didnt have the coin to dish out for a 24 at the time of purchase...


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## Richard Rowe (May 25, 2009)

I go to one of their stores occasionaly and have in fact bought a few tools... some are not to bad for occasional use but if your going to use them on a daily bases they won't hold up. I have some knock outs and wrenchs that do ok... you could at one time get a hyd knock out set for less than 100 bucks that worked pretty good. Don't buy drill bits screwdriver meters and items like that.


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

davis9 said:


> I agree, and they expensive ones seem to disappear before they are to dull to use.LOL
> 
> Tom


LOL so true :laughing:


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## BIGRED (Jan 22, 2007)

All slop, junk and trash, I went in there once and that was enough!!


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## mikeh32 (Feb 16, 2009)

i buy all my tools that get stolen here


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## Mr. Sparkle (Jan 27, 2009)

97.56747% Junk in that store,_ but_......


Those step bits are worth it, although I did snap the big one eventually I still have the other two and they are over two years old. (They are backups to three Greenlees I got on ebay a while back.)

Also, I used the the band saw they sell when my old employer needed another one in a pinch to keep up with a job and I did not expect much. I must say it lasted the entire job and then some, surprised me I tell ya.


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## Hidyusbeast (Dec 28, 2008)

I use the moving blankets they sell. I also keep a couple sets of their $2.99 tamper-proof bits and a $9.99 heat gun, but I realize they are pretty much disposable if you know what I mean! Quality tools are never cheap, but they sure help you do quality work. I invest primarily in top notch tools, both hand and power.


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## MarkyMark (Jan 31, 2009)

I just bought one of those $9.99 heat guns too. The salesgirl asked if I wanted to get the extended warranty on it for $5.00!!! :laughing::laughing::laughing:


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## lectricboy (Mar 11, 2009)

TOOL_5150 said:


> Now, Im not a gud speller... but how doez that werk?
> 
> :jester::laughing:
> 
> ~Matt


He meant imported Chinese poop.!!!!:laughing::laughing::laughing:


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## zeros (Oct 23, 2008)

Here's an interesting read on the good and bad tools (in some people's opinions) from harbor freight:

http://www.toolcrib.com/blog/2008/0...uide-the-good-enough-the-bad-and-the-abysmal/


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## B4T (Feb 10, 2009)

Great link.. thanks for posting :thumbup:


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

im going to go to harbor freight and check out there tools someday.


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

I have been in a few trades and have tools sets for each. I have a large roller cabinet full of tools for engine and boat work sitting in the garage. I have a job box full of tools for underwater boat and mechanical repair, all including the pneumatics are from HF. I take them in saltwater and flush them out afterwards. I have all the tools I need to do my job or just about anything that comes along. All those tools are work specific. And then I have the tools I kept on the work van. The ones that were usually carried into most jobs are all good stuff. The stuff that stayed in the van most of the time is all lesser brands that I wouldn't mind having stolen. All the sockets I have there are from HF as well as pry bars and the other assorted bs. I have always planned on the van contents or in whole being stolen while I was working in a building in the city or metro area, just a fact of life with the last company. Random got ripped off several times like that. I only have one HF electrical tool (sheetmetal shear) and it is 3+ years old now and still going strong.


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

i hope my tools dont get stolen i have 1000s of dollars sitting in that van right now. i just hope the boss pays for them if they do get stolen


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## MechanicalDVR (Dec 29, 2007)

electricalperson said:


> i hope my tools dont get stolen i have 1000s of dollars sitting in that van right now. i just hope the boss pays for them if they do get stolen


They only have to replace the ones on the tool list. But as I learned from RK it is still a PIA to replace your tools.


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## randomkiller (Sep 28, 2007)

MechanicalDVR said:


> I have been in a few trades and have tools sets for each. I have a large roller cabinet full of tools for engine and boat work sitting in the garage. I have a job box full of tools for underwater boat and mechanical repair, all including the pneumatics are from HF. I take them in saltwater and flush them out afterwards. I have all the tools I need to do my job or just about anything that comes along. All those tools are work specific. And then I have the tools I kept on the work van. The ones that were usually carried into most jobs are all good stuff. The stuff that stayed in the van most of the time is all lesser brands that I wouldn't mind having stolen. All the sockets I have there are from HF as well as pry bars and the other assorted bs. I have always planned on the van contents or in whole being stolen while I was working in a building in the city or metro area, just a fact of life with the last company. Random got ripped off several times like that. I only have one HF electrical tool (sheetmetal shear) and it is 3+ years old now and still going strong.


 
So, in actuality you turn Harbor Freight tools into bottom of the Harbor Tools.


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## electricalperson (Jan 11, 2008)

i only buy the best tools anyway. i might feel bad about buying those tools


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## nolabama (Oct 3, 2007)

i have jacks, jackstands, engine stands and stuff like that - its hard to mess up a jack stand - but if it plugs in i would not buy from hf


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## TOOL_5150 (Aug 27, 2007)

nolabama said:


> its hard to mess up a jack stand


Cheap jackstand = cheap welds and or metal = breaks while you are under car and you get crushed. But your worried about a drill that might burn up because its cheap.

~Matt


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## nolabama (Oct 3, 2007)

i do not believe that the jack stands i bought from hf are any different than any chinaman jack stand i could have bought anywhere else - but if they still made a bethlehem steel jackstand i would trust it more than a hf - so sad you cant buy such a thing anymore


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## KayJay (Jan 20, 2008)

I remember when their name used to be Harbor Freight Salvage. 
In the past I've bought some name brand stuff like Bosch and Hanson from them that was fine, but one of the steel rollers on the 16-ton Central China Hydraulics pipe bender I bought to do some exhaust and other non-electrical pipe work broke in half the first few times I used it, so I think that pretty much sums up their "house" brand quality, as far as I'm concerned anyway. The recycled steel and brittle cast iron they use to build their products is substandard at best.


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## slowforthecones (Sep 13, 2008)

I will say Harbor Freight is "you get what you pay for"... it ain't gonna last forever but it will work for short while..you'll most likely get your moneys worth. I have went thru a few sets of the step-bits from Harbor but man at $15 for a pair...if you drop one down the wall..you are not going to cry compared to brand name step-bits $50+ each.


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## gilbequick (Oct 6, 2007)

Yeah I'm going to try out those non-stepped bits, those look pretty slick. Unless they're just complete junk, for the money you can't go wrong.


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## slowforthecones (Sep 13, 2008)

they're good, i use them to knock holes in steel framing daily.. they didn't let me down. only thing that let me down is my dumb ass self loosing it in the attic or crawl area.


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## gilbequick (Oct 6, 2007)

I went to the store yesterday to pick up a couple of the stepless bits and DANGIT they don't carry them. I'm not ordering them online. They did have hanging on the peg the 2 most used sizes of uni-bits for a whopping $14.95. I don't need one, but when I do I'll go pick them up to try them out.


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## slowforthecones (Sep 13, 2008)

I bought their 3 piece and 2 piece step-bit kits. I guess with harbor it depends... I am still looking for that Mccullough steam cleaner..they seem to never have that instock so i can clean my carpet!


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