Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[Bedlam]

I agree with the small grinders. I have used them hard. they don't have as much power as the expensive ones. but thats fine with me.
at 8 or so dollars I don't mind dropping it on the floor.LOL
They come with a extra set of brushes too. At first I thought it was bad as I figured it meant that there brushes are short lived. But I haven't replaced any yet.
Much of it depends on how much and hard one uses the stuff.Id like to have a top of the line circular saw but mine is cutting scrape wood more than good wood so I have to settle for an in between saw.

 

[patrick_g]

I buy their abrasive wheels for my 4 1/2 inch, 7 inch, and 14 inch requirements. They do not last as long as the expensive domestic product BUT the HF stuff is still more economical as the price is reduced much more than the longevity of the blade.

I recently received a shipment of 7 inch grinder wheels. I bought 2 each 10 packs and shipping included payed about $27 for the 20. The big box stores sell them for around $5 each. The expensive ones do not last as much as twice as long but cost over 4 times as much. Even I can figure out which is the good deal. You have to change the cheap ones more often but gee, not that often and it only takes literally a couple minutes.

I have never had ANY blade/grinding wheel come apart catastrophically so I don't think there is a big safety issue attached to the cheaper ones. Of course I try to only buy when they are "on sale" so price comparisons are not "ordinary prices."

Pat

 

[HiTekRedneck]

Obviously you must be trying to be funny. Some of the items you mentioned are positively dangerous besides poorly made. My trash man won't even bother to pick about half of the items you mentioned out of my trash anymore. I can give someone directions to my local dump if they want to stock up. But, hey, I have listed all the winners available in the store right in my signature.

There's no humor intended! If you think their items are that bad, I reckon you ought to stop shopping there! Going there to refill your nitrile gloves hardly seems worth the trip to me. I'm not a big fan of everything being made overseas. Personally I'd rather keep the jobs & revenue in the US, but with Sears increasing their Chinese products and Wal-marts shelves full of em there's not too many options left. Conform or go bankrupt buying Snap-on. I have saved soo much $$$ thanks to Harbor Freight, granted you have to be selective cause it all ain't good! I believe that was the intent of this thread to guide others. Why would I spend all my time listing the stuff I own from there, just to humor you? My time is well worth more than that! I took my time to inform others, not to make ignorant cynical remarks that are unconducive to the topic. Thanks!

 

[JC-jetro]

I bought a port-band-saw from HF for $70. I'm actually pretty impressed so far. it doe not have the fit and finish of Milwaukee but surprisingly it is all needle bearing construction, It is direct drive unlike Milwaukee chain drive and believe it or not, it cuts also. My first project was cutting a 6" dia Sch40 steel pipe. I had to around to cut through but worked well. I give it 1 1/2 thumbs up

JC,

 

[gemini5362]

Obviously you must be trying to be funny. Some of the items you mentioned are positively dangerous besides poorly made. My trash man won't even bother to pick about half of the items you mentioned out of my trash anymore. I can give someone directions to my local dump if they want to stock up. But, hey, I have listed all the winners available in the store right in my signature.

Obviously Dargo has issues with HF tools. Does anyone have any stories of harbor tools that have caused injuries because of poor construction. To specify and clarify. I am not talking about injures where someone misused the tool. Those kind of injuries are going ot happen no matter who makes the tool or how well made it is. I am talking where a tool was put together poorly and came apart causing injuries or where the design was of a nature that the use of it caused the injury ?

 

[patrick_g]

I bought a port-band-saw from HF for $70. I'm actually pretty impressed so far. it doe not have the fit and finish of Milwaukee but surprisingly it is all needle bearing construction, It is direct drive unlike Milwaukee chain drive and believe it or not, it cuts also. My first project was cutting a 6" dia Sch40 steel pipe. I had to around to cut through but worked well. I give it 1 1/2 thumbs up

JC,

I really liked my HF band saw at first but with about 5 min of run time it went toes up. I bought a De Walt and it works way better than the HF did before it clustered. It should since it costs 5 times as much. I wanted to get a Milwaukee but the local Lowe's stopped carrying Milwaukee so I settled for a De Walt.

Pat

 

[CCWKen]

Names don't mean a thing any more. I went through a De Walt 14" friction saw in about a week. Took it back and got another that lasted two weeks. Broke-down and bought a Rigid with my refund and beer money. It lasted about 4 months. Got fed up and priced a few chop saws then went to HF and bought their top-of-the-line 14" friction saw for around $90. That was about five years ago. The only thing I've done to it is replace the brushes. The way I see it is if a $90 tool outlasts a $350 tool, I'll keep buying them. I don't care what name is on the side.

I've also gone through name-brand air sanders, grinders, drills, saws and everything else you can think of. So what if some last one year. At 1/10 the price of the NAME that may last 2-3 years, I can have a new tool every year for 10 years straight.

My hand tools are another story. Go with the best you can afford that has a swap-warranty.

 

[patrick_g]

Names don't mean a thing any more. I went through a De Walt 14" friction saw in about a week. Took it back and got another that lasted two weeks. Broke-down and bought a Rigid with my refund and beer money. It lasted about 4 months. Got fed up and priced a few chop saws then went to HF and bought their top-of-the-line 14" friction saw for around $90. That was about five years ago. The only thing I've done to it is replace the brushes. The way I see it is if a $90 tool outlasts a $350 tool, I'll keep buying them. I don't care what name is on the side.

I've also gone through name-brand air sanders, grinders, drills, saws and everything else you can think of. So what if some last one year. At 1/10 the price of the NAME that may last 2-3 years, I can have a new tool every year for 10 years straight.

My hand tools are another story. Go with the best you can afford that has a swap-warranty.

Under the De Walt plastic cover my compound slide miter says made in China.

Pat

 

[kenmac]

Under the De Walt plastic cover my compound slide miter says made in China.

Pat

They have invated us & there's no return

 

[Iplayfarmer]

They have invated us & there's no return

Sure. Why conquer a country by military force at great risk and the expense of many lives. Have them pay you to do it quietly and gradually instead.

 

[JC-jetro]

I really liked my HF band saw at first but with about 5 min of run time it went toes up. I bought a De Walt and it works way better than the HF did before it clustered. It should since it costs 5 times as much. I wanted to get a Milwaukee but the local Lowe's stopped carrying Milwaukee so I settled for a De Walt.

Pat

Pat,

I hope mine has a better faith than yours I'm usually very careful operating my tools and hardly abuse them if I can help it. I had an industrial Craftsman drill/driver that was working fine only the battery died and replacement battery was more expensive than what I paid in the first place. I ended up making it corded and used it for several years parking it next to my work bench at home. Any how the switch on it died and I did a postmortem autopsy and took the gear drive mechanism out and it was Chinese made. I needed something at the farm and I was at HF and bought on of their drill/driver 1/4 of cost of craftsman battery, out of curiosity I partially opened it and wouldn't you new, under Hf facade I had exactly the same drive mechanism. On Dewalt and Milwaukee, I went to Graingers to pick up a new driver for the guys at work. I work for the feds and "buy American" is what we try to abide buy, the guy at Graingers told me the Milwaukee is Chinese made same as Dewalt and not recommended for purchase, I asked him is there anything you have in your catalog with the same spec that is American made and he promptly said no. So I bought the Milwaukee. I think the quality is still good and material has not changed much only cheap Chinese labor is used and abused. Can't blame the Chinese, I blame the greed here in U.S that for "more fist full of dollars" they ship all the jobs out.

JC,

 

[patrick_g]

Sure. Why conquer a country by military force at great risk and the expense of many lives. Have them pay you to do it quietly and gradually instead.

One of the side effects is that they are making so much money with us as customers it may not be in their best interests to attack us militarily (at least until we are sufficiently weakened.)

I forgot to mention (lately) that my 14 inch HF abrasive saw died during its first session. I also had two Ryobi fail but lasting much longer than the HF. The De Walt (not bottom of the line but the one with sideways "D" handle) has just lasted and lasted and lasted.

Luckily I took my De Walt along in addition to the HF when cutting a trailer load of pipe for trailer transport. To be entirely fair I should mention that it was the trigger switch that failed and I did not throw the unit away as I will rig a switch and still use it.

Still, if you can handle the inopportune failures, HF can remain a good deal as over a multi-year period you might still save considerable money vs a high quality solution like Milwaukee.

Pat

 

[patrick_g]

Pat,

I hope mine has a better faith than yours I'm usually very careful operating my tools and hardly abuse them if I can help it. I had an industrial Craftsman drill/driver that was working fine only the battery died and replacement battery was more expensive than what I paid in the first place. I ended up making it corded and used it for several years parking it next to my work bench at home. Any how the switch on it died and I did a postmortem autopsy and took the gear drive mechanism out and it was Chinese made. I needed something at the farm and I was at HF and bought on of their drill/driver 1/4 of cost of craftsman battery, out of curiosity I partially opened it and wouldn't you new, under Hf facade I had exactly the same drive mechanism. On Dewalt and Milwaukee, I went to Graingers to pick up a new driver for the guys at work. I work for the feds and "buy American" is what we try to abide buy, the guy at Graingers told me the Milwaukee is Chinese made same as Dewalt and not recommended for purchase, I asked him is there anything you have in your catalog with the same spec that is American made and he promptly said no. So I bought the Milwaukee. I think the quality is still good and material has not changed much only cheap Chinese labor is used and abused. Can't blame the Chinese, I blame the greed here in U.S that for "more fist full of dollars" they ship all the jobs out.

JC,

JC, Check back with me in 30 years to see how my HF tools have lasted. I have some Milwaukee tools (Corded 3/8 reversible drill and a Sawzall) that are over 30 years old and going strong. Drill is way more powerful than my geared down Black and Decker 1/2 inch so I put a 1/2 inch chuck on it and it just keeps on drilling. I suspect these tools are not Chinese.

Did you watch the Olympics? Notice all the new construction in China. They have to have tools that work OK to do all the building they are doing. I strongly suspect they have higher quality tools than we see at HF. HF quality is set by the HF folks here in the US. The Chinese just build what is ordered. You want junk, order junk. Cheap sells real good.

Pat

 

[slaveToHorses]

One of the side effects is that they are making so much money with us as customers it may not be in their best interests to attack us militarily (at least until we are sufficiently weakened.) Pat

Yeah, global business can have that effect in both directions. We are not likely to go bomb countries that we have factories in. They are not likely to bomb their customers.
Unless it involves oil...that seems to cancel intelligence.

 

[slaveToHorses]

Pat,
On Dewalt and Milwaukee, I went to Graingers to pick up a new driver for the guys at work. I work for the feds and "buy American" is what we try to abide buy, the guy at Graingers told me the Milwaukee is Chinese made same as Dewalt and not recommended for purchase, I asked him is there anything you have in your catalog with the same spec that is American made and he promptly said no. So I bought the Milwaukee. I think the quality is still good and material has not changed much only cheap Chinese labor is used and abused. Can't blame the Chinese, I blame the greed here in U.S that for "more fist full of dollars" they ship all the jobs out.
JC,

Yes, quality control is the difference. Having stuff manufactured in China requires some pretty vigilant QA work. You really have to be on-site if you want to maintain good product. The cast-off units and side production, spun off from the main company orders, goes to the low tier sellers like HF.

And that fist full of dollars comes from us! Us that shop at HF and Wally World. Not enough folks want to pay more for US made goods. We would rather have more goods than fewer, higher quality goods.

 

[California]

Did you watch the Olympics? Notice all the new construction in China. They have to have tools that work OK to do all the building they are doing. I strongly suspect they have higher quality tools than we see at HF. HF quality is set by the HF folks here in the US. The Chinese just build what is ordered.

This brings up something I read that makes a lot of sense: Chinese patent law is completely unlike ours. There can be an established design that was approved by their government's central planning agency, back in the day when everything had to get government approval. That approval assured that all the necessary ingredients would remain in production somewhere in the country. Then several unrelated factories build that item. Some plants build it to the intended quality and the product is first rate; this is the stuff that the Chinese use internally to build more stuff. Other plants build the same item but compete with each other on price when they bid a big contract with Harbor Freight, Walmart, etc.

So seemingly identical items can vary widely in quality between top of the line, and low-bid junk. I think, or at least I hope, that HF's buyers have finally learned to work within that framework, because I do see an improvement in HF's products over time.

 

[MicroPilot]

JC, Check back with me in 30 years to see how my HF tools have lasted. I have some Milwaukee tools (Corded 3/8 reversible drill and a Sawzall) that are over 30 years old and going strong. Drill is way more powerful than my geared down Black and Decker 1/2 inch so I put a 1/2 inch chuck on it and it just keeps on drilling. I suspect these tools are not Chinese.

Probably not Chinese since they were made in the 1970's, most likely made in Japan!

Just because those tools are 30 years old doesn't mean that a Milwaukee tool bought new today will last 30 years.

 

[JC-jetro]

And that fist full of dollars comes from us! Us that shop at HF and Wally World. Not enough folks want to pay more for US made goods. We would rather have more goods than fewer, higher quality goods.

You're right but , we're (consumer) also the bottom pf totem pole. I try my best to buy quality American made where available, Many times it is not even available and sometime some German or Japanese win the battle as far as quality. My reference is to people that just for the sake of more money take their operation overseas , mainly china because of availability plenty of unrepresented , expendable labor, may be somewhat free (as long as does not interfere with Communist Country club elite and business) with a little regards to environment.

Bottom line $ is king

JC,

 

[gemini5362]

I am going to repeat a couple of my posts from earlier times and earlier threads.

I went to the home and garden show that is held every year normally in Las Vegas. The have tools among other items and you can see the buyers from Lowes, Home Depot, etc there picking out product lines. The show is limited to buisnesses only the general public is not given tickets. The show lasts for several days. My wife and I spent three days there and we did not go to the portion of the show that had kitchen items or cloth items. I was struck by one very very important impression. We saw less than a dozen vendors in that show from US companies. We saw a couple of vendors from europe and all the rest were from an asian country. There were booths after booths after booths of lifting items such as chain, wire rope, shackles etc. The vast majority of the hundreds of booths we saw were from china. The relatively few in that product line were from Vietnam or other asian countries. The chances of you going into a box store and getting anything made in the US is almost non existant. I too like to buy american but basically the only thing I can get that is american is service in a restraunt. Depending on where I go that is not available as an american product either.


Second. I buy a lot of ridgid tools. I dont know how long they are going to last and I dont care when they break I can just take them back for free repair or replacement. So far I have only had to take one tool back. I bought a battery operated set of tools. In it there was a 1/2 inch drill/driver. One of the jaws in the chuck broke so I took it to get fixed. I called the local repair place for directions and they told me to bring it in with both batteries and charger for it. I left all of that with them and when I got it back they told me they had tested my batteries and replaced both of them. The also said there had been some problems with the charger overheating in a few cases. They kept my twin battery capable 1 hour charger and gave me a new twin battery capable 30 minute charger in its place. I pay a bit more for ridgid actually they are priced equivalent to dewalt and makita but no one else has the lifetime guarantee on power tools.

 

[Skyco]

Under the De Walt plastic cover my compound slide miter says made in China.

Pat

I was in Lowes yesterday and inspected the DeWalt line..most were labeled as made in Mexico and some said China. Didn't see any that said made in USA.