Some of the stuff is junk, some things are incredible bargains. We have a HF store here in Lexington (used to be the only one outside CA).
Here's a list of things recommended by Mark KW, who runs
Mark KW\'s Inside Tools Opinions are his, not mine, although I've never found any reason to disagree with his post:
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Starting with the good stuff: (these are the ones I have had exceptional results from using them hard)
Air tools carrying the "professional" branding and the cut-off and die grinders.
Impact sockets.
Pneumatic & solid heavy duty casters.
Torx & hex drivers both wrench and socket type.
Most all of the hammers & mallets.
HVLP spray guns, specifically #07902 & 38308.
Drill Master brand Forstner bits.
Diamond rotary burr and hole saw sets. (I only used these on glass but worked great)
90 pound pressurized sand blaster.
Dual wheel dolly.
Industrial heavy duty Bottle jacks.
Production drilling machine.
Heavy duty metal cutting band saws.
4.5" electric angle grinder.
10 ton port-a-power set & pull-back ram.
Most all of the wrenches work fine. Granted they lack a lot in finish but I have found 95% them to be excellent with the occasional boo boo one here and there. At prices from $3 to $15 on average per set, you can't [censored] about the value and quality.
I'm not real fond of the standard socket sets. I have not bought any for several years so I don't knwo if they got any better. For real value on these, you are best going with Kobalt as a first choice in the higher price range and Wal-mart in the lower price range. From there it's best to jump right into Armstrong or to the excess $$$ Snappy.
Stay away from the H-F pliers. Plain and simple, they suck. You will find good deals on Vise Grip and Channel Lock but many times Lowe's has equal or better prices on some styles. Over all, H-F usually has better prices for Vice-Grip.
The black handle (snappy look-a-like) screw drivers are decent for general purpose work btu definitely ain't no Klien equalivelent.
The professional gasket punch set #42390 is also a great buy and actually the best set I have found.
The pin and drift punch sets are also good value if you beat the snot out of them like I do. At $14 a set, they are easier to toss than try and fix.
The 2 & 3 jaw pullers are ok for a one time use but not even in the same game as OTC.
#01654 pry bar set, ok for light DIY'er use but make excellent long handle heavy duty scrapers.
That's about all I can think of right now. If I missed something, just yell.
Mark Kw
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