The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Tool Chest Harbor Freight.

Is anyone else amazed at how inexpensive the pnuematic tools are at Harbor Freight. A store just opened in the area where I work, so I went to see the Chinese Tools...

I think you have to be selective in what you buy here, and realize that price and quality/workmanship are sort of tied together, but for the occasional hobby user the fit and finish of some of the air tools is amazing.

I see little die grinders for $14 dollars...how in the heck can they make it, ship it, mark it up and still sell it for $14 dollars..and stay in business?

A friend of mine went with his buddy and bought a bunch of electrical tape. This is the ONE item I would never use from Harbor Freight, and I shared this with my friend. He said, not to worry, I just use it to mend my garden hoses. Nuff said.


Stuart.

Chinese slave labor? I dunno.

They (and their competitor, Cummins) are hit-and-miss in the quality department. They often have good prices on factory-reconditioned brand-name tools, and their house brands can be good, too. On the other hand, some of their stuff is pure junk. The two grades of body tools are a great example.

Most of the tools are not good enough to be used on a daily bassis but they work for the home user. I purchased a few of the pnuematic tools and when the died I went to sears or lowes and purchased a better version. It is kin of a hit or miss thing with what you buy from them.

Harbor Freight moved in my area a few years ago and I've bought a lot of tools from them and so far only had problems with a battery charger which they took back with no problems. Cars/trucks are a hobby/way of life and I have tools from SnapOn to junk.......depends on use
BUT........am a carpenter by trade and prefer
high end tools Milwaukee, Porter Cable, DeWalt for everyday usage. My opinion

Dan

When I started my project almost three years ago I bought a DA sander at HF for $20. It has worked very well for me over the years as have other things purchased there. During that time I have been through about 3 of their cheap 4.5" grinders but they do the job and for $18 on sale it will take another two of these cheapies to cover the cost of a name brand grinder that probably would have worn out itself during this time.

I got a big, professional, drum, drain snake for $169.-
I used to have Roto Rooter come out once a year for $96.- because of roots. Two uses and I had profit.

I just got a HF MIG 151 welder for $40, was a "defective" return, had a piece of weld wire broken inside the liner. I pushed it out w/new wire & been welding ever since. Kinda cheap looking but hey it welds, if I get a year out of it I will be happy,Brian

Thru the 17th, their 7" polisher / sander is on sale for $29; and the famous 43430 HVLP gun is only $49.

Both will come in handy as I try my first body and paint work.

Cheers,
mark.
'51 KY 3100

On top of everything else, they will sell you a warranty to back up the tools. If the tool breaks within the warranty period, you get a new one!

How do they do dat?

Joe

I picked up a pneumatic 2" brad nailer for $19.95, at the checkout, the clerk asked me if I wanted the extended coverage for 12 more bucks,
We both laughed.

Jim Bow,

Gee, did ya get it?


Stuart.

I bought a 5 inch jaw vise from harbor two years ago and have beat and bent things in it ever since. It hasnt broken. So im happy. You just have to choose your poisons from there . When you can buy none mechanical stuff from there like good heavy work gloves $5.00 for 6 pairs thats not bad.

They are having a large sale the day after Thanksgiving with their HLVP guns both 20 oz and their detail one for 13.99. I have the 20 oz and it worked OK for me. 25 foot air hose 3/8 for 3.99. I'll be there sometime that day.

Dan

I have bought quite a few things from them in the past several years. I have broken a lot of their stuff, and for some of their things I just had to throw it out because it wouldn't work. I'm beginning to upgrade my tool collection, so I've been buying only brandname tools over on ebay. I've found that for most major tools, I can buy much better quality used for about the same price as Harbor Freight's new stuff.

Once again...you just have to pick and choose. Our resident body tool expert, MartinSr, thinks that their upper-level body tools are about as good as the expensive stuff, but the lower-grade are total junk. Many things that I've bought there have been great. Others have been worthless. It all evens out in the end, and I do try to get good tools used when possible (the quality of even good new tools seems to be going downhill the past 10 years or so).

harbor freight is my home away from home!! i was raised to buy only name brand american made tools. as long as i maintained that attitude i had nothing! as a hobbyist i can't justify the expense of the proffessional quality tools. most of my air tools come from HF & you'd be suprised how long they'll last when used with an inline oiler.
robert

I've had good luck with the tools I have bought there including my mig welder. The sad thing, even the good American tools are built in China. Pick up just about any new tool and look at the box. Even some of the Senco nail guns are made there now.

i've also had good luck. have bought several things latley. i do service work for a mddium size furniture retail store and the boss has us do most of the construction/destruction projects at the store and our two warehouses. we were renting a rotary hammer from a tool rental place for $60 a day we bought one from hf reg $129 on sale for $59 were going on our third project with it now .believe me we have pounded the everlivin snot out of this thing and it keeps askin for more im sold.but it still amazes me how they can make it box it and then ship it thensell it for what they do

what can you say about harbor freight. there prices are grate for the guy who is going to use the tool 2-3 time a year. i use my tools everyday i buy snapon and mac. but i have seen harbor freight tools outlast snapon and mac tools. best advice for harbor freight air tools is keep them oiled.

I have had good luck with the stuff that I purchased from their store in Omaha. Before they opened up here, I used to order (via 1-800) hand tools occasionally for the guys at the shop, and most of them were satisfied. But, I always stressed that they should be realistic with their expectations. I still go by the old the saying "YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR" and I am very selective with what I buy from them. I prefer good brand name tools, but sometimes with an item that you may not use very often, it can be worth the gamble. But whenever possible, I do try and buy "Made in USA". If we don't support our American factories, some day, we may not have the capability to produce the necessary weapons to defend this great country,(and our freedom).
And GMCpanel was right on, it is slave labor and unfair trade policies.

Went to the day after Thanksgiving sale to buy a slide hammer to pull some rear axles. They had four different kinds of slide hammers and one was made for all purpose use. With all the attachments in it's own little metal tool box it was $39.95. It is fairly nice and does the job with no trouble. You just don't feel too bad about that price even thought it's a tool you rarely use. Probably almost as cheap as renting one in the long run!

Joe

I buy tools once. I never buy the crap at Harbor Freight, because they are a waste of time and money. Last thing I bought there was a hand truck "rated" at 800#. I moved an empty refrigerator weighing 235# from one end on my shop to the other. The wheels bent!!! I promply took that POS back and demanded my money back. Their "customer service" puke claimed I must've grossly underestimated the weight of the refrigerator. I told him to wheel me around on one identical to the one I bought (I weigh 237). He rolled me about 10 feet---and the wheels bent on it!

Got my money back and haven't set foot in there since (2 years+).

It might be a case of being smart enough to know NOT what to buy at Harbor Freight!


Stuart

Like I said...you have to be careful and check the quality of the item in question - don't just trust what they say.

i buy a lot of stuff from them.everything ive bought from them still works.

Sometimes you need to modify a tool to serve a special purpose, that you may only need once in a while. Or maybe just once period. There is a place for in-expensive tools, a person just needs to know when to buy the bargain brand versus the name brand.
It is nice to have a tool kit in each vehicle and in the house also. I also like to have a few tools in with the camping gear. It would get awful costly to justify top of the line duplicates.
I like to buy the best tools that I can afford, but a Snap On will get lost just as easy as a Stanley, as well as a China brand.
My thoughts are, that if it will be your only set of sockets, and you plan to use them a lot, buy a good brand. If it is to be an extra set for the trunk of the car, look for the best quality for the cheapest cost. Very seldom do I buy on price alone. Do your research and buy accordingly.
I would check out the quality of the items at Harbor Freight just as I would inspect what I buy from True Value.

ya gets whats ya pay for


caviet emptor

check out Homier.com I have bought a lot of stuff from them.

but stay away from the "speedway series" and "Proffessional Woodworker"stuff, Its junk The HDC brand is pretty good.

I have a set of S-K sockets my dad bought in the late 20's, I still use them and in fact use them on my impact wrench, have never broken one. Sears will replace broken ones but if you never have to replace them isn't that better? I have a few Harbor Freight tools, and for seldom use they are O.K. unless they break at the first use.

I haven't been particularly impressed with the quality of some recent Craftsman stuff. I like to check out auctions and garage sales for old tools.

Harbor Freight is awesome. Of course you need to know something about tools to pick the good from bad. But I bought an air chisle for $5. I don't care if it works for 2 weeks, I pay more for drill bits. A D/A for $15. I have had the $125 national detriot and other high end sanders. They all fail under heavy use and then you need to go spend an other hundred bucks to get a new one.

Buy 2 cheap ones for $30 total, and if one fails you have a back up. Then go buy 2 more for back ups. You can but 8 for the price of one. But my experience has been they last just as long and at that price they are as disposable as the sandpaper. Good d/a paper is $50 to $100 a roll and you throw it out. at $15 just throw out the d/a when your done.

For some reason, guys cannot throw away tools and would rather pay more for what they think is quaility rather than thowing TOOLS in the trash. Belive me, harbor freight makes sense.

Don't get me wrong, some of the crap they sell is not worth 2 cents. But much of what they have is decent for the price. Well, about half of the stuff they sell is junk. So, be careful what you buy.

I've had mixed experience with HF. Some good parts and some really bad. I agree that for the price, so what if it breaks after a few uses. I could be in trouble - I just found out they openned one just a few miles from my house.