Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[Rock Crawler]

A minor quibble, I really doubt that he is a degreed engineer. He is rather humorous , though.

I'm an engineer, most of my friends are engineers.... I'm going to be that that guy is educated and could well be an engineer. Obviously because I work in the engineering department, all of my coworkers are engineers.... This guy is sharper than most of the guys running this Dept.... He's got a good grasp of materials, lubricants, physics, chemistry and more. Most "normal folks" do not inherently learn a fraction of the things he covers.

Yeah, I could be wrong.... But I'm going to keep betting that he's an engineer. Maybe not a PE, but that's neither here nor there....

 

[aeblank]

I'd agree. He knows electronics & electrical too.

 

[Oaktree]

Harbor Freight is already the elephant in the room when it comes to hand tools and I believe they are the place where younger people go for quality hand tools at fair prices. HF already is the "Craftsman" tools of today. There may have some nasty tools made the past but take a look at their good stuff today and it's impressive. Yes I like the old Craftsman but yes I like the top line HF. Price weighted, HF wins in hand tools.

I am well satisfied with most of their hand tools. The price is the deal with HF, if they want to raise their prices to be competitive with a mediocre line like the new craftsman, I will find them less attractive.

I haven稚 tried many, but pretty much every HF electric power tool I have tried has been awful, if their new lines are competitive with Milwaukee and Dewalt, I will stick with the known brands.

I don't disagree that HF would like to be the like to be the Craftsman of the 21st century, but they're not there yet. I can't really comment on the "new" Craftsman...haven't really paid much attention to them, hope they're at least as good as Kobalt. If not, that's gonna come back to hurt Lowes.
What's with all the phony brands? Sears put the Craftsman brand on all their tools, electric and hand. HF seems to be muddying the water with so many different house brands...one "brand" for air tools, another for plug-in, still another for cordless.

That having been said, I like HF, am glad we have one nearby and wish them continuing success, but IMHO their whole marketing plan (and ace in the hole) was homeowner-grade tools at low prices...if they raise their prices comparable to the name brands, they become just another tool store.

 

[cdb2]

A minor quibble, I really doubt that he is a degreed engineer. He is rather humorous , though.

I believe he mentioned in one of his videos that he's a Ph.D. in Chemistry.

 

[California]

AVE, an engineer in Canada has taken apart a dizzying number of tools and equipment and he explains the designed weaknesses and strength.

Another guy - Project Farm - is also interesting. He does non-sponsored comparisons, with reasonably scientific rigor. Not an engineer but he thinks like one.

He usually includes HF. Here's his comparison of grinding wheels.

Which Metal Grinding Wheel is Best? Let's find out! - YouTube

Summary - the HF wheel cut the fastest and with the least pressure (an advantage if you fear it will grenade). Because it was the fastest to wear down, exposing fresh sharp abrasive. I think it was least expensive overall even considering using a greater number of wheels for a project. Some of the more expensive wheels in the comparison loaded up and didn't cut well.

Another interesting observation in the comments: One viewer noted he peeled back a HF label and found DeWalt underneath. But other commenters hadn't had that experience.


I found him when looking for comparisons to JB Weld. He concluded JB Original and Devcon share the top position among comparables. He also posted a video on preparing the surface before using these epoxies. Summary - grind to clean metal, drill random little holes if possible for best adhesion, clean with brake cleaner or preferably acetone but nothing petroleum-based.

 

[Midniteoyl]

A minor quibble, I really doubt that he is a degreed engineer. He is rather humorous , though.

Agreed. There are plenty of times when he is an absolute idiot. Highly doubt he is a real engineer...

 

[Rock Crawler]

Agreed. There are plenty of times when he is an absolute idiot. Highly doubt he is a real engineer...

I'm a real idiot at times as well, trust me on that!

 

[Garandman]

He (Ave) says he has a PhD in one of his videos: efforts by Canadian newspapers to find him have not been successful.

 

[Diggin It]

This thing's pretty cool:

Manual Slide Log Splitter


Weld broke and I had to have it fixed, but it'll crack a bigger log than you'd think it would looking at it. It'll give you a workout too.

 

[Travelover]

This thing's pretty cool:

Manual Slide Log Splitter


Weld broke and I had to have it fixed, but it'll crack a bigger log than you'd think it would looking at it. It'll give you a workout too.

That's pretty cool - I've never seen this type of splitter.

 

[California]

If anyone's still interested - Northern Tool's angle grinder holder (chop saw) is back on sale at $15, free shipping.
I bought one, and posted a review a few pages back in this HF thread:
https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...-freight-tools-dont-suck-514.html#post5266365

Ironton Angle Grinder Holder | Northern Tool + Equipment

Sale ends ... When? It still shows $15 and free shipping on the website. (Their email said the sale would end yesterday).

 

[Diggin It]

I need a corded drill. There are times when cordless ones just don't cut it, like drilling thicker steel. I have a decades old Mall drill, complete with steel outer shell, but it only has a 3/8" chuck and is not reversible. The cord finally gave up on it yesterday so I need to replace that. But it has so much torque, it could break your wrist if it catches and starts to spin.

I'd like a 1/2" chuck and hopefully something that will 'release' somehow instead of trying to twist your arm off.

I also have a Chicago Electric 1/2" reversible that is selectable between drill and hammer, but it's stuck in hammer and I can't find a way to fix that.

Suggestions of HF's current offerings under $50?

 

[Diggin It]

The old version of the 4 piece metal oil end cap filter wrenches came through for me today when I couldn't get anything else in place.

 

[crazyal]

So with HF changing the name of it's tool lines I wonder if they are going to change the name of their stores too, lol? Reminds me of Goldstar. They were a discount electronics company back in the 70s/ 80s. If you don't remember them then maybe Kraco rings a bell (they were their main competition). Anyway I think they got tired of being known as the bottom tier electronics company so they changed their name to Liquid Gold, when that didn't work they just switched to LG. They might of even had another name somewhere along the way. Anyway LG is no longer seen as one of the el cheapo brands it once was. I wonder if HF is going to try to do that. If so it'd be a shame as cheap tools have their place.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

Don't know if they're any good but, here's a Hitachi 4.5 grinder with 5 disks for $39.95

Travers Catalogs - Metalworking - December 218 - page 42

 

[PILOON]

I need a corded drill. There are times when cordless ones just don't cut it, like drilling thicker steel. I have a decades old Mall drill, complete with steel outer shell, but it only has a 3/8" chuck and is not reversible. The cord finally gave up on it yesterday so I need to replace that. But it has so much torque, it could break your wrist if it catches and starts to spin.

I'd like a 1/2" chuck and hopefully something that will 'release' somehow instead of trying to twist your arm off.

I also have a Chicago Electric 1/2" reversible that is selectable between drill and hammer, but it's stuck in hammer and I can't find a way to fix that.

Suggestions of HF's current offerings under $50?

I'm the lucky one as I have a Milwaukie hole hawg that sports a 5/8 chuck and has hi/lo speeds. Cot to be careful as that beast can break your wrist,
I add a length of 3/4 pipe as an insurance as I can overcome the torque with it.
I have bored 3" holes thru 8" of laminated trusses with it making a pail full of chips. Awesome tool.
LOL, got it from a pawn shop for all of $40. (Cdn) Love all Milwaukie tools as I have a few now. Quality!

 

[downsizingnow48]

I have old Milwaukee corded drills, Hole Hawg and smaller Magnum, both 1/2". Unbeatable, had them for decades.

On the Mall drill, I would guess you can get a 1/2" Jacobs chuck to fit it. The Jacobs website has lots of chucks with specs.

 

[4570Man]

I have one of these which has a clutch that works pretty well. It’ll still knock you off a ladder but it won’t break your arm in 3 places like a hole hawg. Now if you find one of the dewalt for the specified budget of 50 you better jump on it because they’re about a $300 piece. I bought mine with a cord in 2010. If I was buying today I’d probably get the 60 volt cordless version.

 

[Kernopelli]

Don't know if they're any good but, here's a Hitachi 4.5 grinder with 5 disks for $39.95

Travers Catalogs - Metalworking - December 218 - page 42

I have been using one of these for about a year. I have had no issues and it has seen quite a bit of use.

 

[TMGT]

Picked up the "Berger" F style clamp the other day. Not as nice as my Stronghand clamps but still seems very comparable quality wise. I'm going to buy a second so I have a pair. Also noticed the welding angle magnets look identical to my Stronghands........ might have to try one out also.
12 in. F-Style Welding Clamp