Harbor Freight tools that DO suck

[KennyG]

Anything with a rechargeable battery. I like a lot of HF stuff, but I steer away from the "Drill Master" tools in favor of the "Chicago Electric".

 

[Rustyiron]

All things equal, I'm glad they have a store within an hour from me. I actually have a set of early ratcheting box end wrenches, back from when they were mail order from a cheesy flyer....... from the early 80's!
Unfortunately, it has become a "throw away" world for a lot of things, but that was a consumer (price) driven change.

 

[zzvyb6]

Just sayin'

 

[Poopdeck Pappy]

I posted this in the "Don't Suck" thread, but I'll repeat it here. The ratcheting PVC cutter that HF sells is junk. It's so flimsy that it starts flexing as soon as you apply pressure, and the result is an angled cut on the PVC pipe.

I bought one, used it once on three different pieces of PVC with the same result. Returned it, got the hacksaw out and finished the job.

 

[TractorGuy]

Their ratcheting bar clamps suck. Will break with not much pressure on them.

Their 4-1/2" grinders suck. Have burned up the cheap one and their " Heavy Duty Paddle Switch Angle Grinder ". Gave up and bought a Dewalt after those two. Had a paddle switch Craftsman for 30 years prior to that. The Dewalt is almost as good. Sears had nothing to compare to my old one so they lost the sale on it's replacement.

On the other hand I have two of the tools mentioned above that I find satisfactory. The manual tire changer is not much fun to operate but it does the job. I have mounted 315mm wide race tires and did the rear 33x12.5x15 tires on my JD with it. I also have the PVC cutter and while it isn't as nice as a high price one it works okay for the price.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

Bungee cords etc, are not worth the plastic packaging they come in or the oil that they came from.

Agreed, but I'm actually very pleased with their cargo net.

The 4.5 inch grinder. Tore up the first time I used it as well as the replacement they gave me. And all I was cutting through was 1/4 inch angle iron.

Anything with a rechargeable battery. I like a lot of HF stuff, but I steer away from the "Drill Master" tools in favor of the "Chicago Electric".

Their 4-1/2" grinders suck. Have burned up the cheap one and their " Heavy Duty Paddle Switch Angle Grinder ".

Another vote against the grinder. Mine failed just outside of the 90 day warranty. Just wouldn't start. Nothing. Went to Lowes and bought a Porter Cable for about ten bucks more than the Chicago Electric cost me.


I have decided to just not even look at anything electrical at HF. Third times the charm, I guess.

 

[Colgate2004]

Funny, I've actually had really good luck with my HF 4.5" grinder... I've flap-wheeled a bunch of steel welding projects, cut galvy steel tubing and posts, cut a whole ton of concrete patio tiles with it (getting concrete dust all throughout the insides!), and still haven't been able to kill the thing!

Here's what I'll say certainly DOES suck:
The chopsaws. I needed a second and third chopsaw a while back and figured "ah, these are just site tools, not my main, nice chopsaw, I can get cheap HF ones, right?" Nope. Those things SUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK. Everything that wasn't plastic was totally flimsy cast aluminum. NOPE.

 

[dragoneggs]

I recommend disassembling the drive casing on the grinder and replace the crappy little blob of grease and pack it with real stuff. I've done this with several that I own and have had good luck with them.

 

[frugalangler]

Hankook, like Kumho, is Korean, not Chinese. They are OEM on some cars and trucks. Might not be a bad choice.

I had Hankook on a VW Jetta, got over 60K out of em and they handled great.

Got Kumho on my current Jeep Grand Cherokee, they seem to be just as good, I'm impressed.

 

[Peter 315]

I had Hankook on a VW Jetta, got over 60K out of em and they handled great.

Got Kumho on my current Jeep Grand Cherokee, they seem to be just as good, I'm impressed.

2010 ford focus had Hankook tires, noisy but got 60k out of them too

 

[coil1942]

I have to second or third about the hankook tires, I've had 2 sets on a subaru forester, living in montana and when I was driving the car I put about 600 miles a week on them. I never lost traction with their winter ipikes,great tire

 

[TMGT]

We sold Kumho along with just about any other brands at my shop, the number of problem tires was lowest with the Kumho's.
This was early on when they were just starting on the market, they became our go to tire brand pretty quickly, suprising was the Cooper and Michelin were some of the worst QC new tires we put on.
We also had the best tire equipment in the area at the time so most of the dealers would send problem vehicles to us.

 

[Wagtail]

Spotted this article today...

Union Safe Company, Bunker Hill Security gun safes recalled | Miami Herald

It's a "recall" on hand-gun safes.

The part that sucks, other than the safes being able to be easily opened is that the refund is going to be an HF Gift Card.

 

[Budweiser John]

I’ve worked with tools all my life and over the years, have accumulated a fair inventory of all sorts of commercial grade carpentry tools and building equipment. Recently a friend of mine retired his law practice and in his retirement wants to learn carpentry and hobby wood working.
Since we’ve been good buddies for years, I composed a list of basic stuff he might want to get started on his new adventure and although he could afford to buy the best, he spent a ton of money at Harbor Freight and dragged home a pick up load of Chinese crap. I was invited to look over his collection of new toys, and the best I could only say was “well, best of luck”.
Suck or don’t suck HF is never on my destination list.
B. John

 

[kyeakel]

I bought a couple of their Quik-grip knock-off clamps. They do clamp but the release lever is so small that I can't release them. I tried to give them a not recommended review on their website and suddenly got a website error. Tried again later and it still won't let me honestly review them.

kipp

 

[Diggin It]

The digital meters work OK ... for a while. Then they're not real accurate. OK for free on the coupon, but not worth the $7 normal price.


The yellow and black batteries. No comment. Not even worth free on the coupons.

 

[dragoneggs]

I’ve worked with tools all my life and over the years, have accumulated a fair inventory of all sorts of commercial grade carpentry tools and building equipment. Recently a friend of mine retired his law practice and in his retirement wants to learn carpentry and hobby wood working.
Since we’ve been good buddies for years, I composed a list of basic stuff he might want to get started on his new adventure and although he could afford to buy the best, he spent a ton of money at Harbor Freight and dragged home a pick up load of Chinese crap. I was invited to look over his collection of new toys, and the best I could only say was “well, best of luck”.
Suck or don’t suck HF is never on my destination list.
B. John

I hear you... but over the years I have purchased tools that I consider disposable or rare use items at HF. For my regular use tools, I buy pretty much the best. I learned this early in my life will building my first house. Had to watch how my funds were spent on tools vs. house amenities, etc. After replacing cheap power tools with high quality ones the second time around, I stopped that practice realizing I wanted these tools for a lifetime and why pay 2 times or more in the end.

 

[Texas Dawg]

I use HF a lot for zip ties, tarps, pry bars, magnetic parts holders(etc)-can't beat the price. They are great for one time use items that are unlikely to be needed again, same thing. For my heavy use stuff, no thank you, I will stick with my DeWalts, Kobalt, Rigid, etc.

 

[moriboy]

A few years back, I received a HF electric pressure washer as a gift. I used it for almost 5 minutes and the electric motor caught on fire.

A few years later I bought a HF chop saw (for wood). It was so loosey goosey that it wouldn’t make a straight cut to save my life.

I may have been unlucky, but I can’t get myself to spend any more $ for low cost, throw away tools.

 

[fried1765]

Bought the HF pneumatic grease gun for $29.95.
Tried to make it work.
Bought a Lincoln pneumatic grease gun for $65, and threw the HF one away.