HF tools that suck

[3RRL]

What about their bench grinders?
Are they any good? Is the motor strong enough not to bog down when grinding on it?
I'm in the market to get a new 6" or 8" bench or pedestal grinder.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

What about their bench grinders?
Are they any good? Is the motor strong enough not to bog down when grinding on it?
I'm in the market to get a new 6" or 8" bench or pedestal grinder.

I've had a HF bench grinder for about 4 years. The motor isn't particularly strong, and it does bog down. But, I've ground a lot of metal with it. YMMV

 

[MtnViewRanch]

What about their bench grinders?
Are they any good? Is the motor strong enough not to bog down when grinding on it?
I'm in the market to get a new 6" or 8" bench or pedestal grinder.

I have an 8" grinder, item #46738. It has been a very good grinder-wire wheel for me.

 

[patrick_g]

Hey Patrick, have you found that the Norman store is better stocked/organized then the okc store? The okc store is always a mess. Anyway, they need a store up north.
dave

I have sorta found the Norman store to be neat and well stocked of what they stock but... the OKC store has a wider selection.

Neither stocks a 10 inch bench grinder so it will be an internet purchase.

The Norman store manager is a decent sort and exchanges of failed goods for new is easy and simple with store personnel helping you find the right stuff.

Pat

 

[waterppk]

I found this site to create reviews that are much easier to sort through than just having this massive post on here:

Harbor Freight Reviews - Home

 

[tallyho8]

After using my Yanmar for many years I found lots of times that the horn came in handy and was disappointed when my new Kubota had no horn.

So I went to Harbor Freight looking at their horns and decided an ooga horn would be cool to have on it.

Well, the sound this horn makes must be chinese for ooga because the noise it makes is horrible. I decided to put it on my golf cart instead and look for a better horn for my Kubota.

 

[patrick_g]

After using my Yanmar for many years I found lots of times that the horn came in handy and was disappointed when my new Kubota had no horn.

So I went to Harbor Freight looking at their horns and decided an ooga horn would be cool to have on it.

Well, the sound this horn makes must be chinese for ooga because the noise it makes is horrible. I decided to put it on my golf cart instead and look for a better horn for my Kubota.

Glad you reported on the horn as I was sort of interested in getting one and now I'm not so enthusiastic. I wonder if you just got a lemon. Some of their goods have a fair amount of variability in performance.

I too want to put a horn of some kind on my cab model Kubota as it would be really handy. When working with someone on the ground it is inconvenient to have to open the door and shout over the engine to get someone's attention when a couple brief beeps would do the job better, faster, easier.

I have some cheap plastic air horns that work directly off a small 12 volt compressor with no air tank that I got from HF and will probably put a set of those on the tractor.

Patrick

 

[Charlesaf3]

The small wet grinder is ok for sharpening. Don't put much pressure on though, or the PLASTIC worm gear melts.

That said, for knives etc and even mower blades I feel I've got my moneys worth.

Generally at HF, if it seems impossible to screw up, I buy it. Otherwise, I figure they'll screw it up. I do feel like I've gotten my money's worth even with some of the junk - my feeling on the chainsaw sharpener is the same as Prokops above - slop, but it gets the job done.

 

[patrick_g]

What about their bench grinders?
Are they any good? Is the motor strong enough not to bog down when grinding on it?
I'm in the market to get a new 6" or 8" bench or pedestal grinder.

I ordered a 10 inch HF grinder from their web site as they don't stock larger than 8 inch. It was BO for a while but I eventually got it. It is a lot of grinder for the $. You can overload any bench grinder and this one is no exception but it is not particularly underpowered compared to other grinders of my experience. I mounted it to a piece of scrap steel welded atop a pipe set in concrete that I poured inside a used rim from an 18 wheeler. it is pretty stable but can be tipped on edge and rolled to wherever you want it.

The grinding wheels seem to be pretty good material, not as soft or easy to grove as my smaller (not HF) grinder.

Pat

 

[Dargo]

I just picked this one for an example, but I tried 3 of them this weekend - Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices What a waste!! Wanna talk about the cheapest, most worthless and dangerous piece of junk sold anywhere... This has to take the cake!

Problems:

Made of thin poor quality steel
Pins that hold press plate in place fall out
Bottle jack falls off
Undersized grade 2 bolts holding unit together shear off
Stand holding unit bends when you just use enough pressure to pump jack
No lock washers or washers of any sort with undersized grade 2 bolts

I could go on, but what's the use? These "shop presses" are a complete joke! A while back I ranted about how cheap and dangerous the coil spring compressors were and how I nearly was seriously injured when one failed. Guess what. The store manager said HF had been sued and no longer sell that particular style. No kidding?! Put these cheapo "shop presses" under that same category. It's unfortunate, but someone will probably have to die before they stop selling this trash or change Chinese vendors. Junk. Junk. Junk.

Any questions?