Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

paulharvey · Nov 12, 2015

IslandTractor said:
Agree. They are disposable one use devices. Somewhat useful for holding glued objects but only if only moderate pressure is applied. They break if you squeeze hard.

I've got one that I didn't think sucks, but I haven't used it hard. Used it for brakes, and on occasion to hold random stuff in place. I'll avoid trying to use it too hard.

zombie · Nov 12, 2015

I grabbed those squeeze clamps every chance I get. Break the plastic off and throw the steel in the steel rack. They come in surprisingly handy.

Travelover · Nov 12, 2015

zombie said:
I grabbed those squeeze clamps every chance I get. Break the plastic off and throw the steel in the steel rack. They come in surprisingly handy.

You are right. It does have a nice piece of steel in the center. :laughing:

sixdogs · Nov 13, 2015

I probably didn't use them hard enough to break but my clamps have held--so far--for simple woodworking glue up things. The metal does look useful, however.

How can a business make something that seems destined to break and be thrown out? It fails the user, winds up in a landfill and seems counter intuitive to business logic. I'm no tree hugger, but how does this make sense?

sixdogs · Nov 13, 2015

I probably didn't use them hard enough to break but my clamps have held--so far--for simple woodworking glue up things. The metal does look useful, however.

How can a business make something that seems destined to break and be thrown out? It fails the user, winds up in a landfill and seems counter intuitive to business logic. I'm no tree hugger, but how does this make sense?

Baby Grand · Nov 13, 2015

How can a business make something that seems destined to break and be thrown out? It fails the user, winds up in a landfill and seems counter intuitive to business logic. I'm no tree hugger, but how does this make sense?

In a consumer economy, if a consumer leaves the store with the product, then everything the retailer did to sell the product makes sense. At least, that's what they tell the shareholders and maybe what they tell themselves, late at night, when the voices start. To be honest, it really doesn't make sense to me, either. They must know that X% of consumers will bring that "does suck" product back for an exchange, and that (100-X)% of consumers won't bother, and factor that into their profit/loss accounting when they set the price. At some point, I guess they admit that maybe they underestimated the "does suck" multiplyer and just unload the inventory at a loss, so they don't have to deal with it.

IslandTractor · Nov 13, 2015

sixdogs said:
I probably didn't use them hard enough to break but my clamps have held--so far--for simple woodworking glue up things. The metal does look useful, however.

How can a business make something that seems destined to break and be thrown out? It fails the user, winds up in a landfill and seems counter intuitive to business logic. I'm no tree hugger, but how does this make sense?

The thing with HF is that their tools LOOK like the tools they copied but they clearly are not as rugged or dependable. With this in mind, I can buy an Irwin clamp for $25 that will not break with full grip pressure or I can buy an HF knockoff for $2.50 that will survive limited use. My solution is to have some of each. If I am just clamping a broken piece together while the glue sets then the HF clamp works fine. If I'm clamping together boards for a table and need reliable strong pressure then the HF will likely fail. As a result I own about four Irwin clamps and about fifteen HF versions. Choosing the right tool for the job is the challenge. Crap tools are sometimes better than no tools at all.

IslandTractor · Nov 13, 2015

Duplicate post deleted.
Why can't TBN fix this duplicate issue????? :confused2:

California · Nov 13, 2015

IslandTractor said:
The thing with HF is that their tools LOOK like the tools they copied

...But often aren't usable for the same task as the real tool that HF copied. Those bar clamps are a perfect example.

The belt/disc sander I wrote about up in post #4969 is another case of a bogus unusable pretend tool. One of the latest reviews said he had to push the belt to help it get started, another said too much vibration for his intended precision woodworking. Both comments illustrate 'pretend tool'. Mine had a shipping tag showing 29 lbs (and that's what it felt like) while the website and carton claimed 41 lbs, again showing you aren't receiving what you expected.

HF's reviews can't be relied on to recognize the unusable tools. After writing that post referenced above, I wrote reviews on HF's website. The first I repeated most of the points of that post, then when it didn't appear I wrote another review much more concise. Review title 'NO", best use 'return for credit', then described how the sanding disc didn't protrude out front of its guard plus dragged against the guard - just like HF's photo! - making it impossible to slide material across the face of the disc and certain to self-destruct. They didn't publish that review either. Caveat Emptor (buyer beware).