[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Harbor Freight Tools (Page 1 of 3)
Posted: 3/4/2012 2:40:49 PM EDT
|
We needed a few things for the shop so a friend convinced me to with him to Harbor Freight Tools as they were having a sale.This was my first experience with them.
I have not been to a gun show it over ten years but ten minutes in Harbor Freight and it was deja vu all over again. Smelly people, fat people, dirty people, stupid people, screaming kids, kids playing on floor.The only thing missing was the beef jerky. It took us thirty minutes to check out because there were people with shopping carts full of stuff. To my amazement people were buying five and ten each of a particular item. The kid standing behind us with only an oil filter wrench in his hand said that every time they have a sale the flea market folks stock up on items for resale. Just like the gun shows, they won't be seeing me again. |
|
Quoted: They are great for things they can't really fuck up (breaker bars, etc...), and one time use items. things that I don't have big $ to spend on, and won't mind if I break are the only things I get there I got a 90 degree drill for like 20 bucks.... it's still going strong and I've been anything but gentle with it.... going on probably just under a year now ours here isn't the nicest part of the 'burbs but I can deal.... nothing like you're saying OP |
|
I use HF for stuff that can't cause bodily harm/mutilation/death. Jacks, lifts, tow straps, winches––these would be things to avoid
I like their paint guns, air grinders & cut-offs (NOT their cut-off disks though). Real cheap for what you get. I'm also a big fan of their electronic calipers. The batt life sucks, but otherwise (I believe) them to be quite accurate, and I can own about 7 for the price of a Mitutoyo or Starrett. |
|
The one here sells name brand power tools and air tools like Dewalt etc... I buy lots of their grinders for use in the shop here. They last as long as ones from Makita that cost 5x as much. I don't think we've ever wore a grinder of either brand out. Normally they get dropped, run over by something etc...before they wear out so no use spending the bucks on something else. For the person who needs a tool they will use once a year they are a good deal. |
| We don't have one in my town. If I think ahead and know I'm gonna be around one I will stop in and see what they have. For the kinda work I do they work fine. The store I go to is never all that busy and it looks like a bunch of retired men shop in it. Granted every once in a while I see some nasty mother fuckers shopping. |
|
Quoted:
Any idea how their tile wet saws are? Normally I wouldn't buy anything there that plugs in, but they have one on sale and if it'll hold up, it's as cheap as renting one. Dunno, but the $50 one from home depot got us through a kitchen and 2 bathrooms worth of tiles. |
|
I hate to say it, but the chinese crap is getting pretty decent. Used to be the pliers would be so tight you couldn't even open them without two hands or the channel locks would separate into two pieces.
Tonight I just did a repair to replace an actuator valve on the boiler in my house. I used a set of pittsburgh tools pliers/cutter to cut and strip wires and another set of pliers to twist several wires together... all live. Oh, and a needle nose for whatever. They really worked pretty smoothly. |
|
Quoted:
I use HF for stuff that can't cause bodily harm/mutilation/death. Jacks, lifts, tow straps, winches––these would be things to avoid I have their orange jack and the quick-pump version, both have been fine for the past four years. Matter of fact, they look better build than the Craftsman I was eyeballing. HF is a pretty useful store for general-one in a blue moon usage. I like 'em. |
|
I get a lot of stuff there. Most of my sockets are from HF; they're cheap, work, and seem to hold up well.
I don't use my tools enough to warrant spending big bucks, and IMO, the quality of a lot of hand tools at HF is better now than brands like Craftsman. At a lower price point to boot. ETA: Quoted:
If it has a plug, don't buy it at harbor freight. Eh, I've got a couple of electrical things from HF that have turned out just fine. One is an electric impact wrench; needed it to disassemble (and subsequently, reassemble) the forks on my '78 GS550E. Didn't really want to spend the bucks to get a pneumatic setup. Got the HF electric one for $45. Works great. Another is a basic drill press; got it for something stupid cheap, like $40, on sale. Don't use it a ton, but it's always worked fine in the limited capacity I've needed it for. ETA2: The one I visit isn't ever as busy as the OP describes, even during their big sales. |
Stop the presses!
|
The only hand tools I spent $$$ on are: 1) Snap-on philips head screwdrivers. 2) Matco regular screwdrivers 3) Snap-On ratchet The rest of my stuff is a mix of Craftsman, HF, SK, Kobalt, Husky, etc. I would rather have a nice ratchet than a lot of money tied up in Snap-On sockets. |
|
Quoted:
We needed a few things for the shop so a friend convinced me to with him to Harbor Freight Tools as they were having a sale.This was my first experience with them. I have not been to a gun show it over ten years but ten minutes in Harbor Freight and it was deja vu all over again. Smelly people, fat people, dirty people, stupid people, screaming kids, kids playing on floor.The only thing missing was the beef jerky. It took us thirty minutes to check out because there were people with shopping carts full of stuff. To my amazement people were buying five and ten each of a particular item. The kid standing behind us with only an oil filter wrench in his hand said that every time they have a sale the flea market folks stock up on items for resale. Just like the gun shows, they won't be seeing me again. No offence, but since it doesn't sound like you were buying all that much, I don't think they will miss you in the least. Edited: to fix quote |
|
Quoted:
I don't know if it's company wide, but in Oshkosh the Harbor Freight is posted with a "no weapons" sign, which sucks since we just got CCW in Wisconsin. There are no signs prohibiting weapons in the Vegas stores but it wouldn't matter any how because the signs hold no weight in Nevada. |
|
I friggin love harbor freight.
Do your homework before you go shop there (most automotive and garage type forums have good/bad HF tool lists). If you do, you will get some great items for the price. Yes, some of their stuff is utter crap, again, homework before you step in the place. |
|
Quoted: Garage Journal Forums has a HF Pass/Fail thread which may be of use to some. I have followed GJ forum recommendations and found them sound. Yep, I have been spending a lot of time over there lately. ETA: They are a lot like here, lot's of fanboys for certain manufacturers. |
