Rate the Harbor Freight Tools Thread- Pass or Fail?

When I was in the trades my first set was a Proto mechanics top box. I got used to the feel of them and everything except Mac and SnapOn just didn’t feel right. So all my hand tools are those three. I bought a nice SnapOn bar type two jaw puller which I still have in 1985 and I’m sure it was not over $200. It has been bulletproof. I also have a 3jaw Proto puller I rescued out of a rust bucket that has been wonderful. But literally 95% of everything else in my overstuffed garage is HF and the majority of the machines were used so even cheaper. Many are things they don’t sell anymore. Some good riddance, some I have no clue why they quit.

Personally my worst experiences were with their little cheap gadgets they used to sell. I knew they were junk when I bought them but were so cheap I thought why not? Some went in the trash, others got repurposed. So I can see the viewpoint it’s junk but the vast majority of those old HF tools I bought in the late ‘70’s I still have and use. If you are watching the economic news in China it’s bad and getting worse so several factors like their government not doing price supports like they used to and co’s going under for lack of orders is causing distributors here to read the writing on the wall and jacking up their prices before their suppliers dry up IMHO.
 
I've avoided HF hand and electrical tools but I do like the two US General roll-arounds I've got. I've looked at similar in the big box stores. They all seem very close to the same manufacture. All of them are going up in price a lot. Inflation eating away at us! It's going to ruin our tool habits.
I think it's 2 factors, Profit taking, and shipping. Shipping has become obscene.
 
The Series 2 tool boxes were a class act. I told the guy behind the counter that I wasn't interested in Series 3, because of the price and the idiotic deep drawers (must be the so-called "homeowner" demographic driving that decision). He shrugged and gave me a dumb look, then told me he can't do anything about it. No shure, schittlock.

I grew up on Proto, and came out of the Army with a S-K general mechanic's tool kit instead of the bronze star for valor that I deserved. Officer politics, sheesh. Anyway, I can't touch a Chinese wrench, I break out in hives. I have a couple (four?) sets of original Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches, they have held up to years of daily use and I love them so. I have a couple (two?) sets of the chinese produced Gearwrenches from more recent years, and they are not the same grade of tool. I couldn't imagine doing real work with a HF-Pittsburgh set. The ends and necks are so fat they don't reach stuff that a good wrench can. Leaves me so much to bellyache about, waah...

Back to the gear puller set... the hooks are the problem! you need to grind them down to fit, and the angle of the dangle just ain't right for getting a reasonable grip on the part you're pulling. That's why a good puller is worth paying for, unless removing the flywheel of your lawnmower is the one time you plan to use the tool before it ends up at your estate sale. If you ever plan on rebuilding transmissions, the good pullers pay for themselves.

Engine stands- yes Harbor Freight! These are necessary tools, and unless you build your own, they all come from china no matter whose name is on the decal.

6x8 Band Saw... Must be a fluke, it's a good tool. Anything else that has a power cord, forget it! I've spent the last few years removing all trace of HF from my shop, and I've made some good headway. Not sure when I can unfurl the "Mission Accomplished" banner, but it's foreseeable.
 
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The Series 2 tool boxes were a class act. I told the guy behind the counter that I wasn't interested in Series 3, because of the price and the idiotic deep drawers (must be the so-called "homeowner" demographic driving that decision). He shrugged and gave me a dumb look, then told me he can't do anything about it. No sure, schittlock.

I grew up on Proto, and came out of the Army with a S-K general mechanic's tool kit instead of the bronze star for valor that I deserved. Officer politics, sheesh. Anyway, I can't touch a Chinese wrench, I break out in hives. I have a couple (four?) sets of original Gearwrench ratcheting wrenches, they have held up to years of daily use and I love them so. I have a couple (two?) sets of the chinese produced Gearwrenches from more recent years, and they are not the same grade of tool. I couldn't imagine doing real work with a HF-Pittsburgh set. The ends and necks are so fat they don't reach stuff that a good wrench can. Leaves me so much to bellyache about, waah...

Back to the gear puller set... the hooks are the problem! you need to grind them down to fit, and the angle of the dangle just ain't right for getting a reasonable grip on the part you're pulling. That's why a good puller is worth paying for, unless removing the flywheel of your lawnmower is the one time you plan to use the tool before it ends up at your estate sale. If you ever plan on rebuilding transmissions, the good pullers pay for themselves.

Engine stands- yes Harbor Freight! These are necessary tools, and unless you build your own, they all come from china no matter whose name is on the decal.

6x8 Band Saw... Must be a fluke, it's a good tool. Anything else that has a power cord, forget it! I've spent the last few years removing all trace of HF from my shop, and I've made some good headway. Not sure when I can unfurl the "Mission Accomplished" banner, but it's foreseeable.
not all engine stands and engine cranes come from China. There are still USA made units I'm pretty sure.. $$$$
I disagree, not everything from China is garbage. A lot is.. But they sell more cheap stuff because we are hooked. They also for a price make some really good stuff. I'm not a fan of theirs, just being real about it. Everyone complained about Japan, and now we look up to their products. We also make some horrendous stuff.
 
Sure, there's been plenty of cheap junk made in the USA to meet a price point. But think about it, even a Dixon-Ticonderoga pencil feels like an expensive Swiss watch compared to the ersatz China version... and broken pencils are pointless, so I've heard.

A while back I was looking at some double all beef patty engine stands that were priced just under a thousand dollars and admiring their laser-cut and powder-coated glory, until I saw the fine print about where they were made. It made me sad.

I guess it's too expensive for manufacturers to pay for health care for an American worker's whole family, when in China it's free, courtesy of their fundamentally socialized government. That also makes me sad.
 
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