Rate the Harbor Freight Tools Thread- Pass or Fail?

I like good quality tools, but I also like "bad" quality tools. The 7" sander-polisher is one of these. It is cheap, weak, and often is found on sale for $29.99. Mine is used exclusively for cleaning up forged ironwork with a power wire brush. But, the weak Harbor Freight is great for this application. First, it is slow (3600 RPM max speed), second, it is weak. Putting a wire wheel on a 4.5" Makita angle grinder, or even worse, on a B&D Wildcat is just scary. There are just too many stories of these things getting out of control. The Harbor Freight tool has caught when I have been tired or not paying attention, and there was no harm. Also, if you work it too hard (which means that you are tired, and you should take a break) it will emit a "I'm working too hard smell." If you keep working, it will poop out and you will have to buy another one. I would rather receive that kind of reminder than the slashed belly kind of reminder :phew:.
 
I bought their lawn tractor/atv lift http://www.harborfreight.com/high-lift-riding-lawn-mower-atv-lift-60395.html a while ago and only now got around to trying it.
Seems my 50" Cub Cadet is to heavy for the lift. The lift is rated at 300lb. and I find it hard to believe that lifting the front end of the mower would be to much for it (and how many ATVs would this work on then?), but it gets about 3" up and and it's limit valve kicks in and keeps it from going any higher.

Edit: finally figured out that I would of course need to unlock the rear axle so that the tractor could roll forward. Works like a charm now. Operator error as usual.:*****slap:
 
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Not a shop tool, but the #60341 Ratcheting Bypass Lopper (for trimming branches and stuff) is a big fail. The blades are soft as butter, causing them to bend apart sideways, rather than staying in alignment and cutting cleanly. Or cutting at all, in fact. Tightening the retaining nuts helped for a few minutes, but basically the metal just springs apart rather than cutting.
 
Transfer punch set - 29 piece set in plastic tray - looks good until you use them - if the dimple that marks the center don't smash flat, the punch bends.
 
Pmedic828 said:
Transfer punch set - 29 piece set in plastic tray - looks good until you use them - if the dimple that marks the center don't smash flat, the punch bends.
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Yes" I second this experience. Can anyone recommend a good quality set?
 
Like others I've had mixed success with HF tools.

40lb blast cabinet. Fail.

I know others have this but for me it was worthless. I used over 1/2 tube of silicon to seal it up. The light was a joke, and it didn't have much sand flow at all. So I converted it to a pressure blast cabinet and it just leaked worse. I know there are kits to upgrade the cabinet, but I cut my losses and sold it for $100 and got a professional cabinet and converted it to pressure blast using one of the HF pressure blast tanks. See below.

http://www.harborfreight.com/40-lb-capacity-floor-blast-cabinet-68893.html.

110 Pressurized Abrasive Blaster. Pass.

Fairly happy with this unit. Used it for a long time with the 1/4 turn ball valve blast gun. It worked great for glass beads. But after a few months the beads wore out the nut that holds the nozzle on. Online there is a part list and it gives the part number for the nut and other parts. So I called and was on hold for 45 mins and was told NO parts are available for this unit. I asked why there was a parts list online and didn't gt an answer. I was told to look on ebay for spare parts. So I tried the HF dead-man gun. See Below.

http://www.harborfreight.com/110-lb-pressurized-abrasive-blaster-60696-10377.html

Abrasive Blasting Deadman Valve with 4 Ceramic Nozzles. Major FAIL

The valve wouldn't even close and seal at 50lb of pressure. There was a 1/16" gap between the nozzle and the sealing block. I took it back after about 1/2 hour of trying to make it work. I bought a deadman vale form Norther Tools and couldn't be happier. The spring is a little strong on the handle, so I take a break every few mins to rest my hand, but it seals and works great.

http://www.harborfreight.com/abrasive-blasting-deadman-valve-with-4-ceramic-nozzles-60491.html

Adjustable steel welding table. Pass

For the price it isn't bad. I like the slots in it that allow me to clamp something onto the table. I've found other uses for it besides welding.

http://www.harborfreight.com/adjustable-steel-welding-table-61369.html

100lb capacity welding cart. Pass..........barely.

It's fairly sturdy, had all the bolts it needed to put it together, even a few extra. But there is no handle and the biggest problem is the setup they use to secure the tank. It only has two chains, one is placed so low it just falls down to the bottom of the cart and does nothing. The other one is up high enough, but there is no "V" for the tank to seat into to keep it upright. So there is just the one chain trying to hold my 150 tank up. I'm thinking about cutting a couple of 2"x4"s with a "V" in them and attaching them to the back of the cart for the tank to seat into.


http://www.harborfreight.com/welding/welding-accessories/100-lb-capacity-welding-cart-61316.html

I have other HF tools and might write something up about them later. But for now these are the latest things I've got from them.
 
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brav65 said:
Yes" I second this experience. Can anyone recommend a good quality set?
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Spellmaco transfer punch set. :thumbzup3:

They will last a lifetime, as long as you don't use a sledge hammer on them. I've had my set for >30 years.




Happy Trails!
 
Just picked up a new HF Telescoping gauge set, at a flea market for 6$. It doesn't feel as smooth as a Starrett, but it seems to hold position well. For my hobby needs, I will give it a pass.
 
I don't normally shop there because of the quality of a lot of their junk... I mean stuff,sorry.
I wander in there from time to time just to do a visual and the stuff still
looks as cheap as it did 25 years ago,no improvement whatsoever.

I bought a used HF self standing Media Blasting Cabinet off craigslist.Its made from very thin
sheet and I had to scab on some scrap bed frame rails(very strong) onto the legs to keep it from
folding in on itself.It's now at a strength level where it should be.

I totally stay away from their bench grinders/buffers.They simply don't have enough iron
and copper to hold up against the heat.Especially the buffers,buyer beware....you get what
you pay for.Its that simple.I actually wound up designing and making my own buffer out of 1 inch
drill rod,couple of pillowblocks and a 1hp made in the USA Baldor motor,and some angle iron.

I tried their transfer punch set after much soul searching and wanting it to be acceptable,i really did.....
but it wasn't to be.I used 1 transfer punch 1 time on some HR steel and it totally wiped out the tip in one blow.Back
to the store it went.

McMaster Carr.......... ru there???

I believe the whole philosophy behind HF is to pray on the unenlightened and unlearned of the population,
not a seasoned mechanic,tinkerer(yes im a tinkerer)builder,anyone with experience working with hand
and power tools more than a few days a month.I think some people actually think they are getting a great
deal at Harbor Freight when they look over the sale ad's and see some items marked extremely low.Its a simple marketing
ploy to get you into the store and it works great on a lot of people.I guess that's why they are still around.

Just one more quick story about the HF angle grinder.I was working with one several years ago and and spilled some
Acetone or Paint Thinner,cant remember exactly now and it literally attacked the recycled plastic housing that
it was made from,totally ruining the tool.You can spill anything on a Metabo,Makita,Dewalt,etc with no ill effects.

It seems im still drawn to any place that sells hand and power tools though,I guess Harbor Freight is no exception.
I just look though,where is the exit:panic:
 
Here's some things that I do with HF tools. 1) a one shot deal. I needed to drill some holes in concrete. Bought a HF rotary hammer. got the job done. Paid for itself and still works. 2) Under rate the specs. the arbor press I got cheap says 1000lbs. I try to keep it under 750. 3) Modify. bought their 6 piece pipe tap and die. Made inserts to hold 2 of the dies since HF does not seem to have a handle for them. Also use these mainly for chasing with lots of cutting oil. 4) change procedure. Transfer punch set works great for soft materials such as wood, plastic, and soft metals, On hard metals, I use a light tap, then go over with a center punch. Or I take a marker, then hand press with a slight turn using the transfer punch and follow with a center punch. I also heard one guy retempered his transfer punch set since it is made out of carbon steel (have not tried that yet). Mark
 
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