Rate the Harbor Freight Tools Thread- Pass or Fail?

[coherent]

- I have both of the HF welding carts. The small one and the larger one with the drawers. The larger one with the drawers is very heavy and well made. Thumbs up on both.

- I'll chime in on the auto retract air hose/reel. I have the 50' and never had an issue. Replaced the hand reel type (from them also) after I got tired of reeling it up after use. Thumbs up on both.

- The 16 Ga air nibbler. If you want to use it on 16 ga mild steel, thumbs down. It just doesn't "nibble" through 16ga very well. On lighter ga steel or aluminum it goes through it like butter. Thumbs up for use on 18ga and thinner sheet if that's your purpose. I can't comment on longevity as I've not had it that long, but for about $20 (after the 20% off coupon), it's worth it in my opinion.

 

[hman]

- The 16 Ga air nibbler. If you want to use it on 16 ga mild steel, thumbs down. It just doesn't "nibble" through 16ga very well. On lighter ga steel or aluminum it goes through it like butter. Thumbs up for use on 18ga and thinner sheet if that's your purpose. I can't comment on longevity as I've not had it that long, but for about $20 (after the 20% off coupon), it's worth it in my opinion.

I've got one of those myself, and agree it works super fast on thin sheet metal (probably 28-30 gauge in my case).

But I discovered an unexpected hazard - the half-moon shaped chad. Not only are those things are sharp as the dickens, but they LOVE to get caught in your shoe soles and walked into the house!

 

[Rockytime]

I have half a dozen electronic calipers. Just as accurate as my Mititoyo's. Just not as smooth and go through batteries quicker. I really prefer dial calipers and have them all over the shop because they are inexpensive. My 9" mini band saw works like a champ for little things pen blanks. I have four small bench vises on my clock benches which work very well. I did get a good deal years ago when MSC still had a seconds or return table to browse through. Their salesman had a leak in his car trunk. He had six Chinese micrometers which had gotten wet. The wooden cases fell apart but the mikes were wrapped in oiled paper and were in good condition. I got all six for $10. Probably one of the better deals I have gotten. Overall I am OK with Hf tools since they get only light use from me. I have their wrench sets all over the shop.

 

[JayMcClellan]

I've got one of those (air nibblers) myself, and agree it works super fast on thin sheet metal (probably 28-30 gauge in my case). But I discovered an unexpected hazard - the half-moon shaped chad. Not only are those things are sharp as the dickens, but they LOVE to get caught in your shoe soles and walked into the house!

I managed to put one of those half-moons through my finger right at the inner edge of the fingernail. Somehow it got hooked into the flesh in a way that wouldn't let it just slide out. I was alone at the time and of course it went in my right (dominant) hand so I had to pull it out with my clumsier left hand. I have a low tolerance for pain, so it took a few shots of rum before I was able to pull it out with pliers. That was years ago and I haven't used the nibbler since!

 

[woodchucker]

- I have both of the HF welding carts. The small one and the larger one with the drawers. The larger one with the drawers is very heavy and well made. Thumbs up on both.

- I'll chime in on the auto retract air hose/reel. I have the 50' and never had an issue. Replaced the hand reel type (from them also) after I got tired of reeling it up after use. Thumbs up on both.

- The 16 Ga air nibbler. If you want to use it on 16 ga mild steel, thumbs down. It just doesn't "nibble" through 16ga very well. On lighter ga steel or aluminum it goes through it like butter. Thumbs up for use on 18ga and thinner sheet if that's your purpose. I can't comment on longevity as I've not had it that long, but for about $20 (after the 20% off coupon), it's worth it in my opinion.

Does the nibbler consume the 16cfm that they report. I can't see it eating up that much.

 

[JayMcClellan]

16 Cut Fingers per Minute? Almost but not quite that many. The rating is actually 6 CFM, not 16, and mine ran okay on a pancake-size compressor but I didn't run it continuously.

 

[woodchucker]

I didn't realize they changed that. It used to say 16cfm.. which I always thought was a lot. Years ago I had to do some heating duct work and when i saw that I said no freaking way. But I stayed away.
Thanks.

 

[wawoodman]

Cut fingers per minute sounds about right to me. I can't even look at sheet metal, without cutting myself.

The worst was about 30 years ago, when I sliced deep into the side of my thumb. Being young and stupid, I glued it back together with newskin, and went bowling (league night.) Well, it got infected, and they told me I damn near lost the thumb. So now, I stay away from it, as much as I can.

 

[pashooter]

I have bought quite a bit from HF over the years - most recently some of their roll-around tool storage units that I'm very pleased with. Same with a Viking-branded welder cart I picked up a couple of months back. The biggest "good / bad" experience that stands out in my mind were both with the same tool - an SDS rotary hammer I picked up about 8 years ago (not currently in their catalog). I had just moved into a new house and needed to mount a 100 pound plasma TV on a brick wall in our family room. A big believer in the axiom that if it's worth killing it's worth overkilling, my plan involved about a dozen 1/4" x 6" long Tapcon screws through the brick veneer and into the concrete block behind that. Hey - I wanted to be damned sure my $4k TV didn't come falling down off the wall.

I bought the HF tool because I figured this was a one-off project and didn't justify buying a "name brand" equivalent at many times the price. The "good" part - the tool worked flawlessly and continues to do so to this day. Turned out not to be a "one off" job because once you own a rotary hammer you find all sorts of useful things to do with it. So it's gotten a fair bit of use in the last 8 years and is still going strong. Funny thing - it started leaking grease almost from day one and I'm sure at this point there can't be any left in the gearbox, but that doesn't seem to have hurt anything. Although it's still leaking. There may be some kind of magic Chinese grease creation device in there that just keeps producing more.

The "bad" part? The tool came with an SDS-mount "Jacobs" chuck for use with smaller drill bits. The first time I mounted that up and started drilling a hole the chuck literally exploded into a dozen or more pieces that went flying in all directions. That's why we use our PPE folks...

 

[benmychree]

A good friend put in perspective for me; he calls HF tools "stage prop tools". Having said that, another friend bought me a set of single end short handled wrenches, and they seem to be of good quality. I have been in the venue perhaps twice and have not yielded to any temptation, perhaps because I lack for near nothing, tool wise.