Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[DrBill]

You gotta pick your battles with horror freight.. I bought the biggest tile saw they have, on sale.. it has been as good a saw as I've ever owned.. Then, I bought a grease gun from them and the only place it put grease was on me.

 

[dragoneggs]

You gotta pick your battles with horror freight.. I bought the biggest tile saw they have, on sale.. it has been as good a saw as I've ever owned.. Then, I bought a grease gun from them and the only place it put grease was on me.

Been very happy with my wet tile saw from HF as well. For the occasional use, it does great. I bought it for one job as almost a throw away... and it has now served me very well for several indoor tile and outdoor paver jobs. If it craps out tomorrow I will still be happy with it, other than having the hassle of disposing it. I bought the roller stand once I realized it was going to last more than one job.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

You gotta pick your battles with horror freight..

I picked the wrong one with the table saw and the DADO blade set. I am taking both back when current project is done. Table saw is really cheap and it sure is. Will not hold any setting for more than a couple cuts, the arbor elevation setting creeps down at any setting, as no way to lock it, the saw vibrates a lot, and shaft is too short to take a full dado pack even though it has a table insert for it. The dado set; none of the blades in the pack are the same diameter including the two outer ones and it is hopelessly out of balance which makes the cheap saw dance all over. Really adds a lot of time to a project playing with the saw. Works great for quick ripping of dimension stock if you reset the width and angle often. Lowes has a Porter Cable on sale for $149. Might give that a whirl.

Ron

 

[California]

Don't replace the disappointing HF table saw with the Skil equivalent from Lowes. That's the same identical saw.

Maybe the ones that test out as balanced get labelled 'Skil'. Mine works ok.

My latest project was to rip the material for frames, for artist's canvas. There is a slight bevel on the face so that the canvas touches only along the outer edge.

The project previous to that was a couple of days ripping old hard lumber into orchard props. I dulled a blade hitting junk in the old lumber but the saw had adequate power and all that old dry lumber didn't seem to stress it.

Note the identical appearance to the HF saw. And the specs and dimensions match. Lowes' Skil comes with the base which made it cheaper overall than a HF saw and its base.

 

[Brad_Blazer]

TSC is putting some occasional gems in the "junk" bins at the front of the store. I just picked up a nice looking 3/4 drive swivel breaker bar for $10. I keep their big spud wrench ratchet in my tractor toolbox and I've gotten the best deals on F-style welding clamps there too.

 

[aczlan]

TSC is putting some occasional gems in the "junk" bins at the front of the store. I just picked up a nice looking 3/4 drive swivel breaker bar for $10. I keep their big spud wrench ratchet in my tractor toolbox and I've gotten the best deals on F-style welding clamps there too.

The most useful thing I have gotten in that section was a spud wrench (like: Barn Star 17 in. Adjustable Spud Wrench with Hammerhead at Tractor Supply Co. but the one I got didn't have the hammer). Its a great size for tractor stuff and the handle is great for lining things up.

Aaron Z

 

[PhysAssist]

You gotta pick your battles with horror freight.. I bought the biggest tile saw they have, on sale.. it has been as good a saw as I've ever owned.. Then, I bought a grease gun from them and the only place it put grease was on me.

To my cohorts, it's either Horror Fright- or more often- Hazard Fraught

 

[PhysAssist]

The most useful thing I have gotten in that section was a spud wrench (like: Barn Star 17 in. Adjustable Spud Wrench with Hammerhead at Tractor Supply Co. but the one I got didn't have the hammer). Its a great size for tractor stuff and the handle is great for lining things up.

Aaron Z

I shop those bins and the clearance areas preferentially there, because they often have deeply discounted tools which are hard to find anywhere else for anything close to the price.

Although most of them aren't even a bad price at retail, knowing that they are eventually going to get the deep discount makes paying retail hard to swallow- unless the tool in hand is scarce in the store otherwise [either the last one, or one of few].

That said, when those "vise-grip" knock-off welding clamps with the adjustable jaw were a hot topic here, I ordered 2 to be sent to my local store for pick-up, and they lost one- so the Asst Manager found another one in a store somewhere, and got it shipped here for for me- and then gave me the clearance price retroactively when they realized that the online price was still showing the clamps at the original retail price- even though I had already paid that online for them.

 

[Garandman]

To my cohorts, it's either Horror Fright- or more often- Hazard Fraught

Some forum I went to had a thread of Harbor Freight Haiku.

Another had slogans: Harbor Freight: smells like China.

 

[Tractor Seabee]

Don't replace the disappointing HF table saw with the Skil equivalent from Lowes. That's the same identical saw.

Maybe the ones that test out as balanced get labelled 'Skil'. Mine works ok.

My latest project was to rip the material for frames, for artist's canvas. There is a slight bevel on the face so that the canvas touches only along the outer edge.



The project previous to that was a couple of days ripping old hard lumber into orchard props. I dulled a blade hitting junk in the old lumber but the saw had adequate power and all that old dry lumber didn't seem to stress it.

Note the identical appearance to the HF saw. And the specs and dimensions match. Lowes' Skil comes with the base which made it cheaper overall than a HF saw and its base.

The one I saw at Lowes was a Porter Cable, they did not have one on display just cartons stacked in the aisle. I know a lot of these are the same just different labels. Even your push stick is identical.

Thanks for the hint, If I bite I will demand they open a box.

Ron

 

[sixdogs]

To my cohorts, it's either Horror Fright- or more often- Hazard Fraught

When this thread was started 10 or so years ago, most everything seemed to be Horror Freight. Sure there are still some turkeys today but when I did a walk-through the other day I noticed more and more things that I would call acceptable quality. Many things that used to be guesswork are now way better and we all seem to agree the Earthquake air tools, US General red tool boxes and hand tools can now challenge the best that's out there. HF is changing and it's for the better. I have seen those red toolboxes and Earthquake air tools in some really high end shops.

Also, I noted many prices seemed to be higher than I recall so coupon shopping has taken on a new importance for me.

 

[Michael Aos]

First store I tried didn't have any of the Made in Taiwan 301pc in stock. Just the made in China version. They did have the 225 piece.

All of the 301pc sets I saw at the other store were the Made in Taiwan version, so I snagged one.

Let us know... I want one or two as well. Great gifts and I wouldn't mind an extra set myself.

 

[KYErik]

I picked up the HF $260 20 volt 1/2" drive "Earthquake XT" cordless impact a couple of weeks ago. The bad thing is that the 20% coupon doesn't work on these- but I was really impressed by its power. I loosened and tightened all 24 lug nuts on my 30+ year old fertilizer tender + the 12 lug nuts on an old trailer I have. There was only 1 lug nut that took maybe 5 seconds to break loose- the rest came off easily. At the end of all of this, the battery monitor was still showing all three lights illuminated.

 

[crazyal]

You gotta pick your battles with horror freight.. I bought the biggest tile saw they have, on sale.. it has been as good a saw as I've ever owned.. Then, I bought a grease gun from them and the only place it put grease was on me.

Been very happy with my wet tile saw from HF as well. For the occasional use, it does great. I bought it for one job as almost a throw away... and it has now served me very well for several indoor tile and outdoor paver jobs. If it craps out tomorrow I will still be happy with it, other than having the hassle of disposing it. I bought the roller stand once I realized it was going to last more than one job.

I like my 10" tile saw. It's the model before they changed the design. Mine has a separate motor they uses a belt to drive the blade. If the motor dies it can be replaced. But it doesn't tilt. To do that you have to tilt the tile (there's an attachment for the sliding table for doing that. I've had it at least 10 years now and it's done dozen of jobs. I wish I had bought the folding stand with wheels for it as it's kind of heavy. The stand for the new style saw may work but I haven't had a chance to verify before buying it. One of these days I'll just make one for it. Also I want to make a splash shield for it.

 

[PhysAssist]

When this thread was started 10 or so years ago, most everything seemed to be Horror Freight. Sure there are still some turkeys today but when I did a walk-through the other day I noticed more and more things that I would call acceptable quality. Many things that used to be guesswork are now way better and we all seem to agree the Earthquake air tools, US General red tool boxes and hand tools can now challenge the best that's out there. HF is changing and it's for the better. I have seen those red toolboxes and Earthquake air tools in some really high end shops.

Also, I noted many prices seemed to be higher than I recall so coupon shopping has taken on a new importance for me.

I am actually the biggest harbor Freight booster around with just a touch of pragmatism- with the exception of the cordless tools- there it's once [or twice] bitten twice shy.

The main reasons for this are that I'm a cheap sonofagun, and my skillset sucks so badly that the tool quality hardly makes any difference.

My wife calls me a chainsaw carpenter, because that's about my level of precision.

My B-I-L, who is a printer by trade, and a cabinet-maker both as a hobby and as a beer money generator [and whom I have patched up on several occasions, including stitches at his kitchen table while he ate chicken wings and pizza with his other hand] constantly laughs at my efforts.

He persists in asking why, if I can sew him, his kids', their horses', and dogs' lacerations all up, leaving minimal evidence, can't I get 2 pieces of wood to join at 90 degrees without a gap, or make something that doesn't look like a dyslexic autistic 3 yr-old did it.

The only answer I have is that with tissue, I only have to get things just close enough, to support and enhance the natural healing process, and it'll grow together seamlessly, unlike wood specifically.

That's why I really wanted to try welding, it seems more like my kind of thing- but I'm still a tyro at it.

 

[Oldoak]

Yep, I will also vouch for HF's US General red tool boxes. Excellent value and as good as the best for half the money of others when on sale or with a coupon. :thumbsup:

 

[patrick_g]

I don't hang out around here much any more and thought I remembered a thread about HF tools that suck. Didn't see one so read some here and found tales of horror among the laudatory comments.

So here goes. The cheap plastic saw horses often on sale for less than $10 aren't much good. If loaded to near capacity and left alone they self destruct. The legs begin to warp and splay out like Bambi's legs with Godzilla standing on top of her. Unfortunately I bought several thinking they might successfully hold 1/2 to 2/3 of their rated load OK. They don't. Not for long, especially if in the hot sun.

Something to remember about Harbor Freight and its mostly Chinese made products. Harbor freight gets what it pays for. The Chinese are perfectly capable of super precision and high quality as evidenced by their accomplishments in space, satellites etc. The level of quality they are supplying is the level of quality that HF is paying for. In turn, the level of quality is what we, HF customers, are paying for. Cheap labor, automation, etc. helps make whatever price level quite competitive with other sources. HF often delivers more bang (quality and functionality) for your buck than items made elsewhere. Unfortunately, many of the items are useless trash and will frustrate the user. Some folks say this situation is improving. I don't see much of that. Over the last 25-30 years I have bought a significant roster of things from HF, mostly I have been satisfied but every so often I'm caught off guard and get a clinker.

I have always purchased HF red shop rags/towels. A while back they were on sale (no surprise) and I was running low so I bought two packs. The quality was significantly and unmistakably much lower. The cloth is very course. You can see right through the rag. They don't absorb stuff anywhere near as well as they used to do. When I want to do anything requiring soft cloth or smooth and even water retention or trying to spread something smoothly I'm back to improvised rags made from old socks and T-shirts as the new shop towels are so poor I won't dignify them by calling them crap.

Patrick

 

[Oaktree]

I have always purchased HF red shop rags/towels. A while back they were on sale (no surprise) and I was running low so I bought two packs. The quality was significantly and unmistakably much lower. The cloth is very course. You can see right through the rag. They don't absorb stuff anywhere near as well as they used to do. When I want to do anything requiring soft cloth or smooth and even water retention or trying to spread something smoothly I'm back to improvised rags made from old socks and T-shirts as the new shop towels are so poor I won't dignify them by calling them crap.

I have always wondered about people who need to buy rags. I suppose if you've got a machine shop or are a professional mechanic it might be necessary, but I've always generated enough rags myself. And this is coming from someone who, much to the chagrin of my wife, wears clothes until they disintegrate.
Never a shortage of ratty T-shirts, old towels, skivvies, etc.

 

[lennyzx11]

I have always wondered about people who need to buy rags. I suppose if you've got a machine shop or are a professional mechanic it might be necessary, but I've always generated enough rags myself. And this is coming from someone who, much to the chagrin of my wife, wears clothes until they disintegrate.
Never a shortage of ratty T-shirts, old towels, skivvies, etc.

My old jeans get a final wash and the legs cut off at the crotch and opened up down each inseam with a good pair of scissors then cut into "rag size" squares.

Though I have been commanded to quit wearing the leftover "Daisy Dukes" with the pockets hanging below the cutoff. I don't understand why.
That look to me looks sexy on her.
And my granddaughter tells me that's the fashion.

 

[PJSprog]

Patrick, here's the link to the Harbor Freight tools that DO suck thread you were looking for.