Rate the Harbor Freight Tools Thread- Pass or Fail?

If you want to scratch the RPN itch in a modern way, there is a really nice RPN calculator app modeled after an HP that is available for the iPhone. It's called "MathU RPN". Been using it for many years - it occupies a place of honor on my home screen.

I still have two HP calcs that are RPN and still use them plenty.

I sold my college calculator, an HP 34c, to the Museum of HP Calculators. Probably not affiliated with HP, just run by an enthusiast.
 
On calculators and slide rules: I'm a little younger than most of you guys. I had to learn how to use a slide rule in high school, but by the time I was taking engineering courses calculators were accepted in schools and cheap enough for students to afford them.

I've also always used HP style calculators. My current calculator is actually a SwissMicros DM42, a modern interpretation of the classic HP42, which I had at one point. I highly recommend the DM42. It's expensive, but it's a great machine.

One thing I've noticed about younger engineers today, who didn't have that sliderule experience, is they don't have a strong grasp of significant digits. I've seen stresses reported like 6,039.25 psi, when none of the multiple parameters that go into a calculation exceed 3 significant digits. It's not a universal problem with the younger guys, but it's a common one.

-Ed
 
Hey guys, I keep hoping to see some Harbor Freight bashing here or maybe even some good news about them.
I guess this is what they call thread drift!
 
So @Tinkershed and @ozzie46 what are your experiences with Harbor Freight?

My experience is probably like everyone else's. Some stuff is pretty darn good for the money, like their rolling toolboxes and some of their hand tools. Their combination wrenches are pretty good, and are low enough cost that it's a no brainer to adapt them for other uses. Some of their 4-1/2" grinders are ok, I have a few of them and they are really loud but are adequate for light to moderate grinding. Some of what they carry is ghastly junk, like their manual pipe threading die sets which ARE NOT NPT, even though they are sold as such. (Insufficient taper to the thread!) For the most part, it's buyer beware.
 
Now back to HF. A friend gave me a 14" wood bandsaw. Model T32208. Can't beat that price (well, I did spend a week making a keepsake box for his daughter). After putting a new switch that I got from Grizzly, Wanted to make sure that the new magnetic switch could handle the one horse motor. Added a box to the post on the upper arm and put the new switch there, like about every other band saw you see on the market. The original place was at the base, An awkward place to say the least. Traced a vibration to a bad bearing on the upper wheel, The saw was made in 1999 and in (surprise!) Taiwan. Well in that case, the bad bearing is not HF fault. Put a new blade on it and it cuts fine. I would not recommend it for serious fine woodworking, but it is okay for general stuff.
 
Any of you guys get the Titanium "Easy Flux 125" Welder? I am probably the worlds worst welder but I sure found that thing useful. Good reviews all over the 'tube. I have no connection with HF and no stock. I really think they got that one right. Also I have one of their oil type 25 gallon Air compressors that is about to turn 20 years old and still working fine. I also have the ubiquitous band saw (metal cutting) that is doing fine. Over all the positives of HF have far outweighed the negatives for me.
 
Tinkershed said:
Any of you guys get the Titanium "Easy Flux 125" Welder? I am probably the worlds worst welder but I sure found that thing useful. Good reviews all over the 'tube. I have no connection with HF and no stock. I really think they got that one right. Also I have one of their oil type 25 gallon Air compressors that is about to turn 20 years old and still working fine. I also have the ubiquitous band saw (metal cutting) that is doing fine. Over all the positives of HF have far outweighed the negatives for me.
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Forgot that I have an HF band saw. The band saw has proven to be pretty useful over the years, given that you properly set it up. Once you replace the blade with a decent one, it does a nice job. Got to admit, it's thumbs up for the 4 x 6 band saw. Agree with you, at least for me, on balance, the positives are ahead of the negatives. Same disclaimers, no stock, no connections with HF whatsoever.
 
One thing I really have to give the HF, they monitor the reviews and fix stuff. I’m not aware of too many companies who do that. Foreign or domestic. I’ve talked directly to biz here and they say they will fix, but don’t.

I guess because HF like many big box stores doesn’t actually do the manufacturing and can tell manufacturers fix or I’ll go to another manufacturer I would guess. I have seen first hand how when I proposed a fix for a manufacturing booboo they have fixed it. I was just trying to help those who were complaining about something and I’d just fixed the same problem and was sharing the fix with other customers.

No it’s not the greatest or the best but if I don’t need the best they are where I look first. It’s too bad we have to go to China for it but I don’t fault them for it either.
 
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