Harbor Freight Tools that don't suck

[Rock Crawler]

Larry, I just finished your review on YT, good stuff. I'm curious about the chucks on both drills. One thing I do not like on my C3 is the chuck, my 12v Milwaukee has a ratcheting chuck which I really like. You can torque that one down for no slippage. It is nice to see the all steel Jacobs on the HF unit. I like the battery release on both units, my C3 set is a bit tougher as you need a wide grip to squeeze the release buttons. I don't think the ladies in my house could get the battery off my C3 tools. Just a couple thoughts.

Dang 20 minute video shot in these two this evening.

Dude, I can't make a 3 minute video to save my life.

In 3 minutes I can tell you that I have 2 drills, an orange one and a blue one. Both are real pretty. The end.

In 20 minutes I can get into it and try hard to break them both.

 

[California]

I was going to say, take a grinder to your grinder, but RC said it better.

I think that little sander could be re-engineered into something useful. 'Some Assembly Required' in this case is more than just putting the parts together.

I bought one and returned it after discovering the disc sander is recessed and nothing short of sawing off the outer 1/8" of the guard (or running without the guard) would make it usable for sliding material across the face of the disc. Simple stuff like hammering a dimple in the sheet metal where the guard mounted to it didn't work, I tried that. And the disc can't be mounted farther out on its shaft. Maybe could if you drilled and threaded a different set-screw hole or something.

I had a production job to get out so I went down to HD and paid twice the price for a much more solid Ryobi.

That was a step up from cheap and unsatisifactory, to a competent shop tool.

Most HF stuff is ok but this sander wasn't. It brought frustration into my life when I needed a usable tool not a re-design project.

 

[Rock Crawler]

Larry, I just finished your review on YT, good stuff. I'm curious about the chucks on both drills. One thing I do not like on my C3 is the chuck, my 12v Milwaukee has a ratcheting chuck which I really like. You can torque that one down for no slippage. It is nice to see the all steel Jacobs on the HF unit. I like the battery release on both units, my C3 set is a bit tougher as you need a wide grip to squeeze the release buttons. I don't think the ladies in my house could get the battery off my C3 tools. Just a couple thoughts.

Video is up.

I'm really shocked. I have both drills no mercy whatsoever. I literally have them all I could on dry bits trying to get a chuck to slip while drilling 1/4" steel to a 3/4" hole. All the while I was shoving into that hole like it was my prom date. I truly tried to prove that one chuck (at least in brand new condition) would show superiority over the other. I failed. The two drills are very similar in performance, both can easily be stalled out in second gear with the large diameter bits, both can dang near break your arm in first gear. Both chucks bite into the Warrior bits so hard that I had to file 3 burrs off after each chuck had it's way with each bit.

The Hercules performs very admirably, the true test would be to come back in 5 years and see who is still taking my abuse and who is in a trash can. But that... We will never know.

Ridged Drill Driver vs Harbor Freight Hercules. What the CHUCK, dude? - YouTube

 

[lexluther]

So now it’s just Vs... didn’t it used to be beats?

 

[KubotainNH]

Video is up.

I'm really shocked. I have both drills no mercy whatsoever. I literally have them all I could on dry bits trying to get a chuck to slip while drilling 1/4" steel to a 3/4" hole. All the while I was shoving into that hole like it was my prom date. I truly tried to prove that one chuck (at least in brand new condition) would show superiority over the other. I failed. The two drills are very similar in performance, both can easily be stalled out in second gear with the large diameter bits, both can dang near break your arm in first gear. Both chucks bite into the Warrior bits so hard that I had to file 3 burrs off after each chuck had it's way with each bit.

The Hercules performs very admirably, the true test would be to come back in 5 years and see who is still taking my abuse and who is in a trash can. But that... We will never know.

Ridged Drill Driver vs Harbor Freight Hercules. What the CHUCK, dude? - YouTube

Nice, I do like that all metal chuck. Long term it would be neat to see which batteries hold up better and have longer life. Do both have a battery charge indicator? Pretty good chooch in those drills.

I noticed one of the small impact guns looked to have a switch on top in the first vijay-o. Did I see correctly? Thanks for posting the videos.

 

[Rock Crawler]

Nice, I do like that all metal chuck. Long term it would be neat to see which batteries hold up better and have longer life. Do both have a battery charge indicator? Pretty good chooch in those drills.

I noticed one of the small impact guns looked to have a switch on top in the first vijay-o. Did I see correctly? Thanks for posting the videos.

Both have the battery indicator buttons on the battery.

The 1/4" impacts do not have a switch for any mode change it anything. Just forward and backwards.

The Ridgid Gen5X 1/2" impact has 4 modes, level 1, 2 and 3 per, and then the automatic mode that tightens just until the hammer is activated and it shuts off. That's a nice added feature that Ridgid came up with.

 

[KubotainNH]

So now it’s just Vs... didn’t it used to be beats?View attachment 580843

Why would you buy either of those when you can buy a Makita, Metabo or Bosch (and many other brands) for less? Because it's stated at 11 amps?

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

With me the problem is remembering WHERE I put the specialty tool when I need it X years later.

ding ding ding, winner winner chicken dinner.

 

[Hiptfarms]

Video is up.

All the while I was shoving into that hole like it was my prom date.

Ridged Drill Driver vs Harbor Freight Hercules. What the CHUCK, dude? - YouTube

Really, Rockcrawler? Come on, man.... I dont consider myself to be an overly sensitive woman, but that one I couldn't overlook.

Carry on....

 

[Threepoint]

If you want good reliable and yet shockingly inexpensive LED lights for your tractor, go on Amazon and get NiLight. I installed them on my Wrangler in early 2014, they are still in use today.

Buy the spots though, not the flood. The spots are not truly spot lights in the sense of say KC Daylighter lights or other higher quality reflectors, they do somewhat concentrate the beam of light while still giving plenty of dispersion for peripheral lighting.

I run 6 of these 18W cubes on my Kubota.
Nilight 2PCS 18W 1260lm Spot Driving Fog Light Off Road Led Lights Bar Mounting Bracket for SUV Boat 4" Jeep Lamp,2 years Warranty https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G620ZVU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_4qW.BbJD7HXJV

On my Jeep I have these 36 mini bars that are essentially double wide cubes..
Nilight Led Light Bar 2PCS 36w 6.5Inch Flood Led Off Road Lights Super Bright Driving Fog Light Boat Lights Driving Lights Led Work Light SUV Jeep Lamp,2 Years Warranty https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IZ9VAOI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_6sW.BbM2W3DP9

Nice, thanks for the info and how do you beat that price?

This way
4X 48W 4" Flood Beam LED Work Light Offroad DRL Boat Truck Jeep SUV ATV For Jeep | eBay

That's $23 for a set of four 48w LED floods, plus $4 shipping. In fact, when I bought two sets for myself and a buddy two months ago, the shipping was free. These are very nice lights that really light up the night. One or two very small flecks of paint missing on them when they arrived, easily touched up with a black magic marker if you care to bother. We mounted them forward and rear on our Kioti CK3510 HST open-stations. I paid several times this four years ago for the rectangular 45w LED floods that I replaced the OEM work lights with on my NX4510HST cab model.

Now back to the thread topic...:laughing:

 

[Rock Crawler]

This way
4X 48W 4" Flood Beam LED Work Light Offroad DRL Boat Truck Jeep SUV ATV For Jeep | eBay

That's $23 for a set of four 48w LED floods, plus $4 shipping. In fact, when I bought two sets for myself and a buddy two months ago, the shipping was free. These are very nice lights that really light up the night. One or two very small flecks of paint missing on them when they arrived, easily touched up with a black magic marker if you care to bother. We mounted them forward and rear on our Kioti CK3510 HST open-stations. I paid several times this four years ago for the rectangular 45w LED floods that I replaced the OEM work lights with on my NX4510HST cab model.

Now back to the thread topic...:laughing:

The problem is the amp draw. The 18 watt lights are pushing the limits of the B2650, so depending on your charging system.... You do need to be mindful. I replaced all factory bulbs with LED to clear up enough overhead to run the 6 18 watt lights. I couldn't possibly run 4 of the 48 watt lights on my charging system without being in a discharge condition the entire time.

 

[lexluther]

Why would you buy either of those when you can buy a Makita, Metabo or Bosch (and many other brands) for less? Because it's stated at 11 amps?

I don’t even know that I would ever buy a $90 4.5 inch grinder, they get such regular abuse. I am still in shock at the audacity of the approach...

 

[PILOON]

Here's a favorite from Harbor Freight: The stainless steel shoehorn. Very durable, 12" long, last a lifetime, very smooth to the touch with heavy gauge stainless. Works better than any shoehorn I've ever had so I bought a bunch of them for Christmas gifts. $5.99. What a deal.

LOL, you must be approaching my age. I prefer my 24" one even tho it is a plastic dollar store copy.
My wife is also sneaking its use when I don't look.

 

[Jim Nelson]

Why would you buy either of those when you can buy a Makita, Metabo or Bosch (and many other brands) for less? Because it's stated at 11 amps?

The LAST Makita 4 1/2" grinder I bought was made in China and spit a segment from the armature in less than 1/2 hr. use.I didn't even bother returning it, just threw it in the trash and bought a DeWalt which is still running like new 4 years later.

 

[KubotainNH]

The LAST Makita 4 1/2" grinder I bought was made in China and spit a segment from the armature in less than 1/2 hr. use.I didn't even bother returning it, just threw it in the trash and bought a DeWalt which is still running like new 4 years later.

Point was there are better brands for the price. I don't know of any that are made here now. At least you can buy a German one for similar money as to what was listed. Personally I like my $40 Porter Cable grinder, seems very well built including the power cord.

 

[stuckmotor]

I left Harbor Freight a little while ago. My purchase was one of the last Chicago Electric tools left. I bought it to replace a $9.98 or so grinder that I'd let get wet. I didn't feel bad about the loss of the cheap grinder. If it'd been one of the new higher priced grinders, I'd have felt awful. This was a sad day.

 

[Rock Crawler]

I left Harbor Freight a little while ago. My purchase was one of the last Chicago Electric tools left. I bought it to replace a $9.98 or so grinder that I'd let get wet. I didn't feel bad about the loss of the cheap grinder. If it'd been one of the new higher priced grinders, I'd have felt awful. This was a sad day.

This was gifted to me, unopened, sealed box.... Yes.... Or no? Sell it on CL unopened or open it and play with it instead of my tried and tried hand filing teeth and depth gages?

 

[dragoneggs]

The LAST Makita 4 1/2" grinder I bought was made in China and spit a segment from the armature in less than 1/2 hr. use.I didn't even bother returning it, just threw it in the trash and bought a DeWalt which is still running like new 4 years later.

One data point isn't much to evaluate quality and especially longevity of a power tool. Any brand will have a rare failure out the box. I have four of the $9.99 HF grinders that I treat as disposable. I have more expensive grinders too. I don't expect my HF ones to last as long but upon purchase, I crack open the case at the head, and remove the vasoline, what little there is... and replace with proper gear grease.

 

[John_Mc]

This was gifted to me, unopened, sealed box.... Yes.... Or no? Sell it on CL unopened or open it and play with it instead of my tried and tried hand filing teeth and depth gages?View attachment 580980

You can do better job with your hand filing guides than with a high quality grinder, let alone the HF chain grinder with known flex problems (which leads to inconsistent grinding). If you are getting good results with what you are doing now, why switch?

 

[Rock Crawler]

You can do better job with your hand filing guides than with a high quality grinder, let alone the HF chain grinder with known flex problems (which leads to inconsistent grinding). If you are getting good results with what you are doing now, why switch?

I thought that maybe I am missing something and that this is both better and faster than me doing the hand filing as I've done for about 30 years now. I feel that I'm pretty good and quick at keeping my chain tossing nice squares out and no powder. But I thought that there has to be something that attracts people to these kinds of things... So I could be missing out.