Rate the Harbor Freight Tools Thread- Pass or Fail?

I have had good luck with a lot of HFT stuff in the last few years, before that, not so much. The biggest improvement I have seen is in their ratchets and sockets, especially in their new 'pro' line. I am still leary of their electrical or battery powered stuff, but I have had good luck with what little of that type of tool I bought.

I do like their 4.5" cutoff wheels and cobalt drill bits. I have the newer style gray twenty ton shop press with the twenty ton air/hydraulic jack that is much better than the old orange one. The welding is much much better on them. I have the black tool cart as well and It is very nice for a fourth of what the tool truck guys want. I have the Clarke version of their 4X6 horizontal band saw I bought used and it is great after I fabbed up a proper rolling stand for it. Oh, and wire ties! I have used millions of their eleven inch wire ties with good results.
-Spike
 
I have the 7x12 mini lathe, the round column vertical mill (the green one), 36" wood lathe, 12" sliding compound miter saw, 2HP dust collector, 6" bench grinder, 36" bending brake, 200 amp wire welder and a host of other tools to numerous to mention. I retired as a heavy equipment mechanic with numerous hand tools from Snap-on, Mac, Craftsman, etc,etc... HF tools are, for what you pay, as good as what you can expect for the price. Sure, every once in awhile you get a dud but by and large, you get what you pay for. Just bought their hand held portable band saw but have not yet tried it out. My vote is PASS...
Bill
 
Picked up one of these Saturday with Coupon for $88.98
I'll use it in the Garage for cutting Aluminum and light gauge steel.
Also picked up 2 Admiral 10" 50T blades for $19.99 for both, just to see how they last.
Last 2 they had and were discounted. Looked to be decent Carbide tipped blades.
I've had good luck with the Red colored power tools, so I'll give it a try and see how long it lasts.
Anyone have a good brand or type of blade for metal cutting they use on their saws?
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roadie33 said:
Picked up one of these Saturday with Coupon for $88.98
I'll use it in the Garage for cutting Aluminum and light gauge steel.
Also picked up 2 Admiral 10" 50T blades for $19.99 for both, just to see how they last.
Last 2 they had and were discounted. Looked to be decent Carbide tipped blades.
I've had good luck with the Red colored power tools, so I'll give it a try and see how long it lasts.
Anyone have a good brand or type of blade for metal cutting they use on their saws?
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The aggressive hook on a wood cutting blade will make a mess of cutting aluminum. They cost a bit more, but the Freud D1080N is a non ferrous metal cutting blade and works wonders on cutting aluminum and brass.

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I had one of those on my other Miter saw and it sucked at cutting Aluminum. No matter what speed I tried to cut it left rough burrs and lost teeth all over the blade. I had better results from the cheap HF 80 tooth Carbide blade.
I'll give these a try and let you know how they do. The extra one I am putting on Table saw to see how it cuts some Oak and African Padauk.
 
Cut about 20 pieces of steel 1" square 1/8" wall tubing with new saw and blade. Went thru it like butter.
Nice clean cut, no burrs and blade still sharp and no missing teeth.
Also cut some 1/4" Aluminum and it cut it just as good.
Wish they had some more of those Admiral blades. I'd buy a few more of them.
 
I've got a few good items from harbor freight, all were by word of mouth.
Here is a Tungsten grinder I made, $35 total into it. $15 Harbor freight item#69645 angle grinder, and their diamond wheel that comes in a set for another purpose . I've sharpened hundreds of tungstens with it...when the grinder dies I've got 2 more spares above the shop and extra diamond wheels which are diamond both sides. $35 for a dedicated Tungsten grinder is cheap. I wouldn't try to actually use this grinder for grinding...i'm sure it would die fast, but in this light duty application it works well.

I recently bought this tool chest at HF , it great...especially at $189 http://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage/tool-carts/five-drawer-service-cart-95272.html

I bought this drywall Scaffold at Harbor freight, I cut the top of the legs off at 34" high, flush with the top of the plywood, I added another layer of 3/4" plywood .
I basically repurposed it as a rolling work surface/work table. It's very solid and I do all kinds of projects on it. I can roll it in the driveway to paint, I can roll
it around as projects and work flow change. It's solid. I know drywall and spray foam guys that use it. http://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-duty-portable-scaffold-69055.html

Although I built a more robust cart for my TIG machine, 300CF and water cooler, their MIG cart is not bad at all, carries a MM 211 and a 150CF just fine .
For light duty, rolling across my garage, sometimes out to the driveway it's plenty good enough and holding up well.
http://www.harborfreight.com/welding/welding-accessories/welding-cabinet-61705.html

Most of their power tools I would not buy. Their sanding discs and wheels haven't held up.

Usually I hear what's good there by word of mouth, or a couple trusted youtube fabrication channels I watch.

I get china 1/4'' Tungsten Carbide die grinder Burrs on amazon , $18 for 5 , they hold up same as $12-$20 a piece burrs .
Took a chance on one set , went back and bought 3 more sets .

This old thread is a very good idea btw !
 
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Pacer said:
I am unabashedly a HF fan, I buy a good bit of 'stuff' there...

I think I have 2 items that jump out as a super bargain and astounding wearability -

First would be the 4 1/2" angle grinder (orange one) that sells for around $15 - I have had mine for some 10 years and it just wont seem to wear out, its a bit noisy now, but still chugs right along, whether grinding, cutting, sanding, etc.

Second would be the air die grinders in the straight and angle versions that sell for around $15-20, I have 5 of the straight and 3 of the angle with different mountings - with a cut off disc being one of the more handy tools in my shop, with a 3" sanding disc being awfully handy, also grind stones carbide cutters, etc. Here again, I have a couple that are some 6-8 years old and they just keep a going.

Nothing comes to mind right off as to 'bad' stuff. Tho there is some crappy stuff there, it seems to be less common than in the past (as does the import tools across the board)
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I have the same Orange 4.1/2" Grinder it will not die
 
Sort of off topic. I ordered a revolving four tray bin online:

http://www.harborfreight.com/tool-storage/part-storage/12-inch-revolving-four-tray-bin-94050.html

It arrived yesterday - minus the little plastic bag that contained the hardware. So I called them and asked if they could send it to me. After being put on hold twice, they said that they couldn't as they didn't stock the hardware separately. So they said they'd send me a new unit.

Now I have most of the items I need to assemble it except for 72 small nuts and screws. I'll buy some that fit today. I guess that means I'll get two for the price of one plus some screws.

So I'd give them a pass on customer service.
 
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