Do we need a British HF ?

[Aaron_W]

It sure was. Especially when I realized all the joints were defective and leaking. Wouldn't have been as big a deal in an empty space, but in an extremely packed room, it was a downer. Come summertime, I'll move everything out of the space and redo the plumbing.

Rolling tool cabinets with slider drawers are a great way to organize your tooling. Strongly recommended.
US General brand at HF are very high quality and a exceptional value for their cost. Hope you can find a similar value over there.

It really surprises me that the US General chests are HF only, considering how many other items can more or less be found at Grizzly, Eastwood, Northern Tool etc. I could see a HF only deal in the US, but you would think whoever manufactures the tool chests for them would push them in other countries where HF doesn't have a presence. They are significantly better than anything else I've looked at in the same general price range. Even the cheaper Yukon tool chests seem pretty decent, at least as good as other the box store brands.

Like anything, you have to look at what you are getting. Their wood clamps are cheap, but they are cheap. They are functional with a bit of care, probably wouldn't last a week in a busy shop but for the occasional project they work. I can buy 5 or 6 of the 36" clamps for the price of one Irwin clamp (which itself is a lower/mid grade brand). If I were building a lot of stuff needing clamps that large, yeah buy better, I have much better quality clamps in smaller sizes since they get used a lot more frequently, but 36" might get used a couple times a year at best.


It is very easy to say it is all crap except for... but when you start looking at the internet favorites there is actually a lot there that is popular, either as is or as good bones for improving.

The tool chests, 4x6" and 7x11" bandsaws, engine hoists, hydraulic presses, 1 ton arbor press, and a lot of the metal working tools, sheet metal brake, benders etc.


HF is also much more desirable for somebody equipping a shop from scratch. If you already have a shop and just need a sheet metal brake, or a bandsaw then it not that hard to hunt around for something used that is better. If you are starting from nothing and don't have an unlimited budget then with HF you can at least set up a basic shop with cheap but adequate tools, and then start to replace them over time as you start to find their limitations. Easy to say buy once, cry once but when applied to a whole shop that can be the difference between actually having a shop to work in tomorrow vs 10 years from now.

 

[Larry42]

I've got one of their rolling tool cabinets. It is very good, cheaper than very similar items sold at the big box stores. About 30 years ago I bought one of their 20 ton hydraulic presses. Not perfect and have done a couple of mods but it's been fine. It is much heavier built than the ones they now sell. The 4x6 bandsaw after some mods is a good deal for the hobby shop. Had mine for about 30 years. Some of their stuff is pure junk, some actually more expensive than the good stuff at the industrial suppliers. Their sales used to be a lot better than now. I go right by a HF store almost every day, might stop there once a month.

 

[Aaron_W]

I like their 2-4lb Engineers hammers (mini-sledge) too, they are good general purpose whomping hammers and cheap enough that who cares if it suffers a mishap or your kid steals it for his Thor costume.

 

[matthewsx]

When I worked there it was a regular Monday morning occurrence to have a tradesman come in crying that his truck had been broken into and all his tools stolen. We got them back out working at a fraction of the price of “good” tools. No doubt some came back broken but mostly they got the job done.

In today’s world of ordering online it’s easy to buy junk from anywhere, including counterfeits of name brands. If I have to ship something back for any reason that’s way more of a hassle for me than driving 20 minutes to Harbor Freight and possibly going up one level for something that works.

Back when I was young it was Sears Craftsman for lifetime guarantee tools, not so much anymore and more important there’s nobody there who understands the job I’m trying to do. HF usually has someone there who has actually used the tools and can tell you if it’ll do the job you need it for. They also have a manager that usually takes care of any complaints right there on the spot.

Harbor Freight is an American company that grew out of a need we have and continues to try and adapt. It’s the only nationwide tool chain store that I know of here. Do I buy my drill indexes there? No. But there are plenty of other things that I’ve bought for both business and personal use that still serve me well today.

Of course YMMV, but that’s my 2 cents on the subject.

John

 

[Navy Chief]

When I worked there it was a regular Monday morning occurrence to have a tradesman come in crying that his truck had been broken into and all his tools stolen. We got them back out working at a fraction of the price of “good” tools. No doubt some came back broken but mostly they got the job done.

In today’s world of ordering online it’s easy to buy junk from anywhere, including counterfeits of name brands. If I have to ship something back for any reason that’s way more of a hassle for me than driving 20 minutes to Harbor Freight and possibly going up one level for something that works.

Back when I was young it was Sears Craftsman for lifetime guarantee tools, not so much anymore and more important there’s nobody there who understands the job I’m trying to do. HF usually has someone there who has actually used the tools and can tell you if it’ll do the job you need it for. They also have a manager that usually takes care of any complaints right there on the spot.

Harbor Freight is an American company that grew out of a need we have and continues to try and adapt. It’s the only nationwide tool chain store that I know of here. Do I buy my drill indexes there? No. But there are plenty of other things that I’ve bought for both business and personal use that still serve me well today.

Of course YMMV, but that’s my 2 cents on the subject.

John

Don't waste your money on the new Craftsman tools Lowes is carrying. I picked up a couple of sockets when they first got them, it fit is unbelievably sloppy on both ends. Pittsburgh from harbor freight are better quality.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

 

[IamNotImportant]

HF is also much more desirable for somebody equipping a shop from scratch. If you already have a shop and just need a sheet metal brake, or a bandsaw then it not that hard to hunt around for something used that is better. If you are starting from nothing and don't have an unlimited budget then with HF you can at least set up a basic shop with cheap but adequate tools, and then start to replace them over time as you start to find their limitations. Easy to say buy once, cry once but when applied to a whole shop that can be the difference between actually having a shop to work in tomorrow vs 10 years from now.

that depends on what area of the country you live..

 

[Bi11Hudson]

Having digressed into threading pipe, I would add a thought. In addition to American and English pipe threads, there is one that is essentially a straight thread. Most times people use NPT for conduit. The NEC allows this. But technically, there is a conduit thread that doesn't taper. Only where the thread starts is tapered. It could well be that the questionable pipe dies are actually mislabeled conduit dies. The thread pitch is the same, it just doesn't taper. As for thread 'size', it probably falls about half way up a tapered thread.

Looking at a scedule 40 rigid conduit coupling, the straight thread can be seen inside. It is not the coupling that forms an electrical connection, rather screwing in the two joints of pipe until they butt. It has been a long time since I ran rigid conduit, but have made many fittings between stationary enclosures where one end of the pipe was threaded several inches. (Control cabinets on cranes) The thread is easy to cut on a large threading machine, but portable pipe dies cut a little small.

When it has to be watertight, a conduit thread has to be tight. Tapered threads are allowed, but conduit threads are better. In a splash proof and further enclosure, the rigid is screwed into a "hub" that is gasketed. For inside cranes, a gasketed lock nut was used. There are numerous NEMA enclosure ratings that are further broken down by the method of conduit entry. Whether it is EMT (3 types), lock nuts, gasketed lock nuts, or hubs for rigid will all modify the final rating. Complex beyond my comprehension. . .

.

 

[Aaron_W]

When I worked there it was a regular Monday morning occurrence to have a tradesman come in crying that his truck had been broken into and all his tools stolen. We got them back out working at a fraction of the price of “good” tools. No doubt some came back broken but mostly they got the job done.

In today’s world of ordering online it’s easy to buy junk from anywhere, including counterfeits of name brands. If I have to ship something back for any reason that’s way more of a hassle for me than driving 20 minutes to Harbor Freight and possibly going up one level for something that works.

Back when I was young it was Sears Craftsman for lifetime guarantee tools, not so much anymore and more important there’s nobody there who understands the job I’m trying to do. HF usually has someone there who has actually used the tools and can tell you if it’ll do the job you need it for. They also have a manager that usually takes care of any complaints right there on the spot.

Harbor Freight is an American company that grew out of a need we have and continues to try and adapt. It’s the only nationwide tool chain store that I know of here. Do I buy my drill indexes there? No. But there are plenty of other things that I’ve bought for both business and personal use that still serve me well today.

Of course YMMV, but that’s my 2 cents on the subject.

John

A lot of people get hung up on a lot of HF stuff being made in China, and I get that, I buy USA when it is a realistic option. Reality is HF and Walmart do not have the corner on Chinese made stuff, it is everywhere these days even Ace Hardware and MSC.

that depends on what area of the country you live..

Just meant if you only need one tool you can be a lot more selective, than trying to building up a whole shop from nothing. If you live somewhere where it is hard to find one decent tool, then trying to find 10 will be even more fun.

 

[WobblyHand]

It could well be that the questionable pipe dies are actually mislabeled conduit dies.

Maybe. If I can find the dies again, I will check them. That is if I didn't toss them in a fit of anger. Honestly, don't remember what I did with them. Was pretty sore about it as it was a waste of a couple days of hard work. As you can plainly tell, I'm still mad about it! The HF item was sold as an NPT threading set. I know where my good dies are, not so sure about the questionable ones. I'll have to search for them and make sure they are not next to the good ones!

 

[graham-xrf]

Having digressed into threading pipe, I would add a thought. In addition to American and English pipe threads, there is one that is essentially a straight thread. Most times people use NPT for conduit. The NEC allows this. But technically, there is a conduit thread that doesn't taper. Only where the thread starts is tapered. It could well be that the questionable pipe dies are actually mislabeled conduit dies. The thread pitch is the same, it just doesn't taper. As for thread 'size', it probably falls about half way up a tapered thread.

Looking at a scedule 40 rigid conduit coupling, the straight thread can be seen inside. It is not the coupling that forms an electrical connection, rather screwing in the two joints of pipe until they butt. It has been a long time since I ran rigid conduit, but have made many fittings between stationary enclosures where one end of the pipe was threaded several inches. (Control cabinets on cranes) The thread is easy to cut on a large threading machine, but portable pipe dies cut a little small.

When it has to be watertight, a conduit thread has to be tight. Tapered threads are allowed, but conduit threads are better. In a splash proof and further enclosure, the rigid is screwed into a "hub" that is gasketed. For inside cranes, a gasketed lock nut was used. There are numerous NEMA enclosure ratings that are further broken down by the method of conduit entry. Whether it is EMT (3 types), lock nuts, gasketed lock nuts, or hubs for rigid will all modify the final rating. Complex beyond my comprehension. . .

.

I have not looked close, but NPT and BSPT may even be the same. I have always known that the BSP was parallel, and BSPT was tapered, and tapered was supposedly what you needed to form a water or pressure seal. It relied on the metal deformation. There may even be types where the male and female parts of the threads are fractionally different pitch, to ensure they bind up. The really, really damn clever version of this is known to us all in the ES (Edison Screw) light bulb thread that guarantees good electrical contact.

Especially important in brass fittings, a whole class of these came with either a groove for a O-Ring by the head, or a flat face to go up against a Dowty seal. Of course, we all use the PTFE tape to cold-flow into the gaps, but I see a whole range of taper fittings come with some kind of white plastic already coated onto the threads.

I have a nice set of parallel taps and dies for threading 20mm, and 1" steel pipe, used for installing the no-compromise galavanized conduit for electrical cables going through spaces they can get hurt, (like factories). It saw one usage, on one job, and has not moved since.