Rate the Harbor Freight Tools Thread- Pass or Fail?

[Damn Yankee]

I thought I might resurrect this thread. It is quite old and HF has changed quite a bit. I'm curious what others think.

We all want American, don't we? Then there is reality. Some of us don't have American pockets. Enter Harbor Freight. No doubt, there is certainly a lot of crap at HF. And everything looks a lot better in the catalog than it does in the store. I think that if you want something (expensive) from them, you need to be lucky enough to have a store close by so you can fondle the tool.

Over the years, they have weeded-out some of the high-priced dogs they once hawked and settled into a nice niche. Their Icon brand of wrenches are Snap-On twins; it makes me wonder if Snap-on manufactures the brand for them. The US General tool chests are extremely well built of heavy steel, beautiful finish, and great drawer slides. I have two bottom chests: one I bought as a road beater for my service truck and the latest supports my benchtop mill. I am not ashamed to have them next to my KRA Series Snap-On hot dog wagon. I purchased their "2 HP" central dust collector which performs quite well paired with a cyclone (though I know it is not 2 HP...). I even popped for their 12" Hercules compound miter saw and am happy to have it. Engine hoist - HF!

I think they compete against themselves a bit by offering Good, Better, Best products. Kind of like Chevy, Buick, Cadillac. Those products seem to be over-priced for what they are. I recently purchased a multi-process welder from Vevor for less than $300 while their Titanium series was > $800.

If I give them anything, it is their return policy. 90 days money-back is hard to beat. I've discovered other outlets that have some great deals on what I consider to be very good equipment, but HF is on the Favorites Bar.

John

 

[CJ5Dave]

The big drill press is my favorite. Used the vibrating tumbler for a lot of ammunition. Rebuilt it a couple of times, retired it for a Hornaday. The 10 ton porta power is pretty good. Got a lot of their wheels and casters. And a big vice with pipe jaws when you rotate the jaws.

 

[Just for fun]

I have two Bremen vise grip style locking pliers from HF and there great. I think they are every bit as good as my Vise-Grip brand pliers.

 

[pontiac428]

Harbor Freight "Draw-Tite" 5 ton chainfall saved my butt big time last week! What a nice tool. Glad I didn't buy the smaller 3T, the 5t had a low low ratio and a good brake. Glad to add this piece to my rigging arsenal.

 

[682bear]

Harbor Freight "Draw-Tite" 5 ton chainfall saved my butt big time last week! What a nice tool. Glad I didn't buy the smaller 3T, the 5t had a low low ratio and a good brake. Glad to add this piece to my rigging arsenal.

View attachment 429167

I don't know about the bigger chainfalls, but I can say that their 2 ton will actually lift 2 tons... I used it to unload my Cincinnatti horizontal mill back in 2020.

I'd give a huge thumbs up to Harbor Freight's motorcycle jack... I've owned it for 18 years... no problems... and it is VERY handy even though I no longer have a motorcycle. I've used it to remove/ install Jeep axles, transmissions, lift lawnmowers, atv's, and a slew of other things.

Another HF item that I don't think I could function without is my 1000lb hydraulic lift table. It's worth it's weight in gold... if it died today, I'd go buy another tomorrow. I've actually lifted a fuzz over 1500 lbs with it (Hendey lathe)... I was expecting it to blow a gasket, but it did the job!

I also have a HF 3 ton automotive jack that I've been abusing for, IDK, maybe 15 years... it just won't die... lol!

-Bear

 

[matthewsx]

Have a ton of HF tools and actually worked there for a while 2001-2002.

What's also worth mentioning is they are the only national tool chain with local stores across the country. And, they support trades educators at a time when they are needed more than ever....

John

 

[Chips O'Toole]

I have some Chinese Irwins and the Bremen pliers. For a while, I was convinced Bremens were no good because they didn't have little teeth cut into the jaws. Then I checked, and I found out it was the Irwins that didn't have them. So Bremens have an important feature the originals lack.

I have two Bremen vise grip style locking pliers from HF and there great. I think they are every bit as good as my Vise-Grip brand pliers.

 

[Tinkershed]

Can't remember if I have mentioned this one before or not, but the HF "drop point" pocketknife is amazingly good. It is under 10 bucks and looks like a knockoff of one of the expensive brands. If I have an expensive knife I lose it in a week. If I have something like this it lasts for ages. This knife is sharp out of the package. Flips open and locks nicely and is a fine EDC tool. Definitely worth the money.

 

[MikeWi]

I buy a lot from HF, but I just discovered that the gauge on the tire inflator I bought from them is way off. Like about 15psi too low! I have low profile tires (stock) on my Sportwagen, so it's very hard to tell what's going on. I've been running 20PSI in tires that are supposed to have 36PSI for about a year now. I have a tire pressure gauge, but it's not working, so I've just been trusting the inflator, but I finally got suspicious enough to get a new gauge.

 

[pontiac428]

I buy a lot from HF, but I just discovered that the gauge on the tire inflator I bought from them is way off.

A few months back, I bought one of their "Merlin" inflators, which are supposed to be knockoffs or come out of the same factory in China that Milton tools now do. Whatever. The point is, the inflator is actually getting close to commercial grade, as opposed to the economy or worse version that goes on sale for $0.29 with coupon. So one strong point for HF with their Merlin brand. I just bought another one of their Merlin air hoses with 3/8 hose AND 3/8 fittings (who would have thunk?) and am equally pleased. Probably gonna last a lot longer than the last few "Goodyear" rubber hoses that seem to be sponges for oil.

Here is my day after Christmas haul. I'm so glad I don't need to drive 45 minutes and pay a $6 bridge toll to go to the nearest Harbor Freight anymore now that they built one in our geographically isolated little metropolis. The pneumatics didn't come from HF, that was eBay. I did impulse buy a magnetic chip tray cleaner that looks like it came as a prize in a box of Cracker Jack. It might last if I don't drop it, ever.



And I thought I'd make a meme for the occasion!