Harbor freight do not buy list

[Gusagus]

well we have the good tool list from harbor freight, lets start a bad list.

[Jeepermat]

Pry bars, complete junk. I have broken 3 of the 4 that I bought

[MT4Runner]

Blue 4.5" grinders

[ProJunkRacing]

Seal Pulller's Used it one time and broke on the first time . I would not think it would break the first seal I try to pull on my 14 bolt . Wound up using a pry bar and hammer to walk the seal out .

[Old Scout]

Russian made abrasives. There total junk and fall apart!

[COXIE]

Blue cordless drills. No power and just feel like cheap junk..Because they are!

From what I noticed any of the blue power tools are crap. Have had good results with the orange drills grinders etc.

[Jason M]

Blue 4.5" grinders
I use the crap out of the 5 I bought ;)

Take them apart and lube them.. Done..

[CrustyJeep]

Tube notcher. Utter garbage.
Most of their hand tools, with the notable exception of impact sockets.
Their finish sanders just kinda seem to fall apart within hours.

[Wicked_S10]

Their 40 lb sandblaster was a POS, as well as the tan colored inline oiler & oil/water seperator kit. Never used the oiler, but the water seperator started leaking within a few months. Their vise grips are also crap, and their 6" drill press vise which I snapped in half. I have had decent luck however w/ their 6" cross slide drill press vise.

[jstarnes]

Their 40 lb sandblaster was a POS,

had a friend that got one, said the same thing

then he got the correct sand and tip, then he said it rocked

[BMB]

2# hand sledge.
Head flew off after three good whacks. Found out head was glued to the handle instead of staked.

Orange grinder.
Vibrated so much, bolts came out of head. Loktited them in, then the drive gear stripped within 15 minutes of use.


BMB

[Wicked_S10]

had a friend that got one, said the same thing

then he got the correct sand and tip, then he said it rocked

tried black beauty (coal slag abrasive), extremely fine sand, medium sand, aluminum oxide (damned expensive) bought a decent nozzle/gun for it, dried my air (3 damn H20 separators, 2 of them fairly high dollar ones-$100 price range). Sifted my abrasive first through a fine colander...

It would always, always, always either blow through a tank of abrasive in very little time, or plug off somewhere, pack lines full of abrasive, and require significant disassembly to clear the plugs. I gave up...

Later,
Jason

[Todd W]

Pry bars, complete junk. I have broken 3 of the 4 that I bought

I agree they bend VERY easily.

I end up using htem for other misc. tasks but def. not serious prying!!

[4xFreak]

The 3 piece adjustable square/protractor set. The square is ok, but the protractor is off by about 2 degrees.

[dimichele]

Taps and dies, my roomate bought a set to use for a hack and tap, it didn't cut very well and the handle broke. He through the rest in the trash where they belong.

[90Beater]

14" cutoff saw ITEM 44829-2VGA. The one that is about $100 and goes on sale for $50.
I didn't listen to others and wasted $50. It doesn't have enough power to cut anything thicker than about 1/10 of an inch. It also is weak and if you put any force on it will cut a diagnal cut in both axis.

I temped fate again and bought their pro model ITEM 1624-8VGA that is twice as much but has the power and is made much more rigid. I got it on sale for $80 and it kicks ass. It cuts steel faster than my 4 1/2 with cutoff wheels and makes them nice and strait.

BTW. The 14" cutoff wheels are great. I know a few peeps with top brand cutoff saws that still prefer the HF disks to name brand ones.

[braxton357]

Saw blades of any kind. Abrasives of any kind. Cheap screwdrivers--even if for an extra set it's not worth it. Any kind of crimp on connectors.

[lal357]

Blue cordless drills. No power and just feel like cheap junk..Because they are!

From what I noticed any of the blue power tools are crap. Have had good results with the orange drills grinders etc.
x2 on that also add thier tail pipe expander broke it the first try

[Albin]

x2 on that also add thier tail pipe expander broke it the first try

Yep, crap.

[unimog]

Tire irons, they just folded over on the first try.

[WA-HCRC]

some people love there u joint/ball joint press. i liked mine for the first 4 or so u joints, then it bent, got a new one, bent it again. :mad3:

[MigMiester]

Why list all the crap here. They have already done it on there website.:flipoff2:

[76scoutman]

x3 for abrasives,

cheap casters, hand tools, and anything electric are off my HF list.

[Jess James]

The automatic compressor drain . . . the one I got opened when it was supposed to but doesn't close! :eek:

[Jess James]

Pry bars, complete junk. I have broken 3 of the 4 that I bought

which ones? The roll head?

[ZJim]

The 120V electric impact is a real piece of crap. Mine worked ok for a while but eventually caught on fire. Also bent one of their prybars, and broke one of their small 3 jaw pullers.. exploded in my face.

[guidolyons]

The automatic compressor drain . . . the one I got opened when it was supposed to but doesn't close! :eek:
X2
Sounded like a good idea at the time :rolleyes:
I had one of those for about a year, worked OK the first few months, then wouldn't open and close properly anymore so it just leaked. Pulled it off and replace it with a 1/4" ball valve that makes manually draining the tank so much faster/easier/better.

[XJPete87]

Pitman arm puller. Broke the first time I tried to use it.. Total junk..

X4 (or whatever :p ) on the abrasives..

[MT4Runner]

...a POS, as well as the tan colored inline oiler & oil/water seperator kit. Never used the oiler, but the water seperator started leaking within a few months.

Dammit!!! Haven't even used mine yet, but already threw away the box. Was hoping to use it for an oil separator for OBA. :(

[davenjeip]

Air Chucks.

I've bought three. They all leak bad and are innacurate.

The last one was off by 15psi.

[Wicked_S10]

Dammit!!! Haven't even used mine yet, but already threw away the box. Was hoping to use it for an oil separator for OBA. :(

Yeah, I think most of their oil/h20 separators are junk. The one that came w/ my junk 40# sand blaster broke with in days. That one, I went to open the drain, and the lexan/plexi whatever it is housing twisted off the bottom w/ the valve, nice... I since bought some higher end separators, and US made, and have had no trouble w/ them, only issue is the cost, I have a regulator/ separator combo that cost around $150 that works well, and I actually bought to use on the junk sand blaster, and I have a filter/separator that is in in duty after my compressor head/air condenser and receiver, that one was about $100. Having leak free components that do actually take water out of the air is worth it though. I have to say, that my favorite separator I have came with my Hypertherm Power Max 1250, it has an automatic drain that opens and drains the water when the system pressure is first coming up after starting the air compressors.

[jprcrpr94]

Big rivet setter. Got halfway through setting the first rivet and hasn't worked since

[Lewdo]

$6 air hammer has no balls.

[pmurf1]

Manual "slugbuster" electrical knockout tool strips the first couple of times you use it, even on small 1/2-3/4" holes. I also broke the spreader ">" head on their 10 ton porta power the first time I used it, and I wasn't stalling out the ram. 6 in 1 screwdrivers strip pretty easy, but have lifetime warranties. Their "welding" blankets are shitty. Maybe grinding spark blankets, but weld spatter goes right through them.

[tacoma73]

Bearing/seal drivers. They're made of tin foil and suck balls. In a bad way.

[TAWL_BOY]

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r57/TAWL_BOY/Blastin.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r57/TAWL_BOY/Knuckleblasted.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r57/TAWL_BOY/flangeblasted.jpg

It took some foolin' with, but I got the hang of it. I used play ground sand that I filtered through window screen. The trick is to not open up the sand flow all the way. I got it for $65 with all the discounts. It uses a good bit of air, but I take a break and fool with other stuff while the compressor builds back up.

[jmhinescj]

like somebody said...don't waste money on theyr'e pullers...I had a 3-jaw start to deform before it was really even that tight. And theyr'e hallogen bulbs (as in the ones for tripod lights) I bought one to try that litterally lasted 5 minutes.
If it's not one of their shop tools with few moving parts (presses, parts washers, jacks, jack stands) I don't risk it

[f250crawler]

there brass quick release female air fitting's, none of the 1/4 inch ones fit any of my 1/4 inch male fittings.

there steel ones all fit good.

[CronusTRD]

Tap and Dies suck, as well as the notcher.

Their pipe bender works reasonably well. I also love the 31" long frame jack.

[worn4wd]

i use their pipe bender so much the paint is worn off it, the notcher only goes to about 20 degrees, so i have had to lear to cut one side then the othet, and spend a little time with the grinder.
i don't understand why you would buy any of their hand tools, or electric tools. as soon as you pick them up you can tell they are crap. quality tools cost money. it isn't worth saveing a few dollars just to round off a bolt, or rip your knuckles open.

[void_of_light]

Bought a set of aviation snips and they wouldn't even cut mig wire much less the steel patch panels.

[Wagoneer Addict]

the orange heat-gun was a total piece of chit. It burned up after 3 minutes of use.

Also the welding blankets. My hangover-piss could burn a hole in them.

[ProJunkRacing]

Hope the winch roller fairlead holds up bought one today .

[CrustyJeep]

Tap and Dies suckIt's almost worth the money to get a set of these and enjoy the comedy of just how bad they are. I mean, it's really mind boggling how utterly useless they are :laughing:

[77fixer]

It's almost worth the money to get a set of these and enjoy the comedy of just how bad they are. I mean, it's really mind boggling how utterly useless they are :laughing:

They're really the only thing I've gotten there, that I can bitch about the price. I shoulda just lit the $10 on fire and not broke the handle and bent the 3/8" bar I was trying to thread. Those problems were after I finally got them started. Took the project to work and used the Hanson set, with one finger.

[Urban Wheeler]

there brass quick release female air fitting's, none of the 1/4 inch ones fit any of my 1/4 inch male fittings.

there steel ones all fit good.

You know there are several different styles of air couplers, right?

I had a catalog with pics of the different styles, but I can't find it online.

[jpmassey]

It took some foolin' with, but I got the hang of it. I used play ground sand that I filtered through window screen. The trick is to not open up the sand flow all the way. I got it for $65 with all the discounts. It uses a good bit of air, but I take a break and fool with other stuff while the compressor builds back up.

Just wait till the ball valves wear out. The sand eats the inside away.
The water remover broke on mine too, its a POS.
I dont even the sandblaster anymore, it uses way too much air. I can only blast for about 2 minutes before I hit 30 psi. I got a pretty big compressor too.

[braxton357]

the orange heat-gun was a total piece of chit. It burned up after 3 minutes of use.


I guess it just depends. I was just using mine again today thinking "best $10 I ever spent". :flipoff2: And it's worked for far longer than 3 minutes. You realize that most anything you can just take back to hf and they'll replace it for you.

[NICKC]

the orange heat-gun was a total piece of chit. It burned up after 3 minutes of use.

Also the welding blankets. My hangover-piss could burn a hole in them.

I guess it just depends. I was just using mine again today thinking "best $10 I ever spent". :flipoff2: And it's worked for far longer than 3 minutes. You realize that most anything you can just take back to hf and they'll replace it for you.

I have to agree with Braxton, I've used mine too many times to count. And have yet to have a problem with it. I have a bed mounted radiator and back in December the whole cooling system froze (sprung a leak on the trail filled it with water and didn't flush/fill it before I parked it when I got home). I used the heat gun to thaw my whole cooling system took probably 40 minutes of good use (with a beer break here and there). Never had a problem...but mines not the $10 one, think mine was on sale for $25. But its orange i know that, has a decent plastic case and all the attachments.

And X2 on the welding blankets...mine get used for laying on the road when I have to get under the trailer or rig.

[69CJ]

their big drill presses are just as crappy as their smaller ones. tried their largest and it broke during setup...............

i do have their engine hoist and 20t press... i also grab shop brooms, casters, cutting oil and wire brushes when on sale.

[SlightlyModified]

I've had great luck with my large drill press, it made by central machinery and it rocks.

[blown4x4]

I've had great luck with my large drill press, it made by central machinery and it rocks.

x2 Mine works great as well.

I bought there 40 pcs tap and die set and have used the shit out of them. I have had no problems with them. I also use a good amount of cutting oil while threading. I have used the 3/4 fine thread tap at least 25 times. And the die at least a dozen. Works as good as the day I bought them. BUT I can notice a huge difference in preformence with higher quality pieces.

There blue cordless drill I have used quite a bit with good success. I probably have 6 to 8 hours on it.

There 14" chop saws are decent once you put a higher quality blade on it.


There $200 dollar or lower bandsaws fucking suck. I went through 3 of them before I gave up. Takes forever and once it does cut it is not straight at all. And the motor will catch fire!

There pullers or any kind are complete garbage.

I agree that the blue 4.5" angle grinders do not last very long at all.

[Snowbird13]

Tap and Dies suck,

Just curious why they suck so bad? I bought a set, but I mainly just use them to clean out existing threads. I have used the pipe tap twice for cutting threads, and it worked fine for me. I was tapping cast iron though, so maybe that is why. Do they not cut or something?

[paulhead]

I heard that Mile Marker and HF winches are virtually identical.?

[Lewdo]

The pneumatic R134a vaccuum pump sucks, but it did have a fitting adapter on it that allowed me to use a quality R12 pump.

The pipe wrenches are not that good, side by side a Ridged has much more bite.

[Wicked_S10]

The impressive thing about this thread is that is shows how pathetic their quality control is. Assuming most of use our tools about equally as hard, it is amazing that one guys purchase lasts 30 seconds and the next guy has had it for 3 years. I bought a few of their angle grinders based on info on this board about how good they are for the money, snapped the head off one, and the other was actually smoking every time I made it work for it's keep.

Broke one of their cheap 1/2" corded drills in half on my tube notcher. I have one of their cheap rechargeable drills someone gave me for a Christmas present 3 years ago, I never even bothered opening it... I broke and stripped so many of their taps I shit canned the set. Went through a set of their master craft Ti coated drill bits, they did cut for a while, but were definitely el cheapos...

[James_Fendley]

http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r57/TAWL_BOY/Blastin.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r57/TAWL_BOY/Knuckleblasted.jpg
http://i141.photobucket.com/albums/r57/TAWL_BOY/flangeblasted.jpg

It took some foolin' with, but I got the hang of it. I used play ground sand that I filtered through window screen. The trick is to not open up the sand flow all the way. I got it for $65 with all the discounts. It uses a good bit of air, but I take a break and fool with other stuff while the compressor builds back up.

I got the same one from Northern. POS. I am glad you got yours to work. I have to have my wife shake the damn thing the entire time I am using it.:shaking:

[69CJ]

I have to have my wife shake the damn thing the entire time I am using it.

:smokin:

[Pavemen]

i don't understand why you would buy any of their hand tools, or electric tools. as soon as you pick them up you can tell they are crap. quality tools cost money. it isn't worth saveing a few dollars just to round off a bolt, or rip your knuckles open.


hand tools are super cheap and get used and stored in the trail rig.if they get lost or stolen or someone 'borrows' them forever, I am not out a lot of money and they work fine for the quick repairs.

i have had no problems with occasional use of their hand tools.

as for the 'do not buy list', I'd include the cheap impact wrench. even though it says 200 ft lbs, its can't remove a 90 ft lb lug nut I can get with my 1/2" drive ratchet.

[45acp]

I have the sandblaster in the above pics and it never worked.

The hose that came with it was dry-rotted out of the box. After replacing that, i fawked with it all day trying to get it to shoot some Black Beauty. It would work if i held the gun in one hand and shook the hell out of the pot with the other. Is there any kind of "fixes" to get it to work other than using playground sand?

[Jeepermat]

I bought an expensive sand blaster from a sand blasting supply company, it is a pain in the ass, no matter what.
I think unless you spend tons of money on a blaster it will be a pain in the ass.

[Tufiremn]

14" cutoff saw ITEM 44829-2VGA. The one that is about $100 and goes on sale for $50.
I didn't listen to others and wasted $50. It doesn't have enough power to cut anything thicker than about 1/10 of an inch. It also is weak and if you put any force on it will cut a diagnal cut in both axis.

I temped fate again and bought their pro model ITEM 1624-8VGA that is twice as much but has the power and is made much more rigid. I got it on sale for $80 and it kicks ass. It cuts steel faster than my 4 1/2 with cutoff wheels and makes them nice and strait.

BTW. The 14" cutoff wheels are great. I know a few peeps with top brand cutoff saws that still prefer the HF disks to name brand ones.

I don't remember which one I bought, but it would bog down really bad. I got so PO'ed one day that I just let it keep bogging down until the motor started smoking and caught fire. Laughed my ass off as the bitch burned. Great stress relief. Course I can't count the number of drill bits I've fucked up after throwing drills across the shop, have to give it to my Dewalt drill though, it's still kicking after all the flight time.

[ZJim]

like somebody said...don't waste money on theyr'e pullers...I had a 3-jaw start to deform before it was really even that tight. And theyr'e hallogen bulbs (as in the ones for tripod lights) I bought one to try that litterally lasted 5 minutes.
If it's not one of their shop tools with few moving parts (presses, parts washers, jacks, jack stands) I don't risk it

I agree on the halogen bulbs. I saw them for 99 cents apiece and though "How could I go wrong?" They didn't last a week in my shop :shaking:

[az-k5]

Sawzall, The $20 special.

Only tool that broke before it did any work.

I have used the piss out of the orange grinders and chop saws. You do have to keep an eye on the grinder screws.

Grinding wheels, chunk and chip so fast it hurts and are so unbalanced they shake the damn grinder apart.

[DownNDirty]

Their portaband. It has plastic drive gears! Lucky to get a single cut before that plastic strips. I keep hearing rumors of a metal replacement somewhere on the net, but can never find it. Also the portable winch sucks. Wouldn't even pull a rolling car onto the hauler.

[frankenfab]

Their portaband. It has plastic drive gears! Lucky to get a single cut before that plastic strips. I keep hearing rumors of a metal replacement somewhere on the net, but can never find it. Also the portable winch sucks. Wouldn't even pull a rolling car onto the hauler.

I bought the portable band saw when it first came out. Mine is yellow, 2 speed, and has metal drive wheels and gears.

[dimichele]

Just curious why they suck so bad? I bought a set, but I mainly just use them to clean out existing threads. I have used the pipe tap twice for cutting threads, and it worked fine for me. I was tapping cast iron though, so maybe that is why. Do they not cut or something?

The one I used didn't cut

[2000sahara]

Ive got and 18 volt 1/2" drive impact gun that works just as well, if not better than a friends dewalt.

[indulf]

my HF floor jack blows. the adjustment is so touchy that i can jack the car up and give the handle a/100000000000th of a turn and it looses all pressure.

everything else has been OK for the price :)

[j2005]

the grinders that i have gotten still work but they have a life of thier own. one of them if you hold it where the cord comes in it will turn on. iv got a big ass scar on my leg to prove it. and the other one just turned on by itself and now doesnt work. but for 15 dollars you know you arent buying quality

[txapacheguy]

Ditto on the floor jack, but it gets the job done. I burned up the blue 4 1/2" grinder in less than an hour the other day. I let it cool down, then replaced the brushes and burned those up again. Its a piece of shit and I hate it. The prybars suck too. Too bad I diddnt read this thread before I bought all that stuff...

[maxyedor]

Off the top of my head the tools I've had fail are
The alluminum "racing" jacks
cordless impact gun
5 gal. air compressor
C-clamps
grinding wheels
ratchets
big framing nailer.

I've had plenty of their tools last just fine, though I don't use them daily, the stuff that gets constant abuse I always go for higher end gear. I have also been able to return every single last tools that has broken, so as long as I get a couple uses out of it, it's still worth it to me.

[peccavi18]

A grease gun, how do you fuck up a grease gun? I can't even get a tube to load in it. I had left mine at my parents so I figured for $9 I'll grab a spare one. I got it and a tube of their grease (for my tire carrier) couldn't load that tube so I busted out some better tubes of grease and none of them worked in it.

The blue grinder, had a wire wheel on it for all of 1 hr taking off some shitty duraback and after a beer break went to start it back up and the fawker started spitting fire in my hand.

The impact that always goes on sale, like 200 or 250ft lbs... yeah sure, I have to break it loose first by hand then I can use the impact to spin the nut or bolt off with it.

Any opinions on the autodarkening helmets? I just dropped my el cheapo wally world one and shattered the glass, not looking to spend a ton on a new one.

[90Beater]

I bought the typical blue flame auto darkening helmet. I didn't use it for a few months since I didn't have my Millermatic 175 yet. When I tried it it didn't work. I set it in the sun all day (solar cells ) but it didn't help. I bought a Miller red flame auto helmet and it has never failed me.

I know others have had good luck with the HF helmets though. I just would not take a chance with my eyes.

[W.O.T.]

I'm curious about a couple things there,
the corded 1/2" chuck drill
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=45338
which I have a coupon for $20

and these lights they have which seem like they could go either way quality/performance wise. the ones Im talking about are sort of oval shaped and are usually about $40. for some reason they arent on the website?:confused:

[eschoendorff]

A grease gun, how do you fuck up a grease gun? I can't even get a tube to load in it. I had left mine at my parents so I figured for $9 I'll grab a spare one. I got it and a tube of their grease (for my tire carrier) couldn't load that tube so I busted out some better tubes of grease and none of them worked in it.

The blue grinder, had a wire wheel on it for all of 1 hr taking off some shitty duraback and after a beer break went to start it back up and the fawker started spitting fire in my hand.

The impact that always goes on sale, like 200 or 250ft lbs... yeah sure, I have to break it loose first by hand then I can use the impact to spin the nut or bolt off with it.

Any opinions on the autodarkening helmets? I just dropped my el cheapo wally world one and shattered the glass, not looking to spend a ton on a new one.
I have had good luck with their auto-dark hoods. I haven't been flashed even once. maybe I just got a good one...

Also, they have a pistol grip grease gun (made in India - not China) that takes full sized cartridges; that one has worked really well for me. You might want to check it out:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47520

[nate379]

Only thing I buy at Harbor is shit like O rings, self tapper screws, eletrical connectors, etc.

They aren't the "best" but they still work good enough.


I haven't seen a tool that Harbor Freight sells that was worth it's weigh in scrap metal. :eek:

[Wicked_S10]

I'm curious about a couple things there,
the corded 1/2" chuck drill
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=45338
which I have a coupon for $20

and these lights they have which seem like they could go either way quality/performance wise. the ones Im talking about are sort of oval shaped and are usually about $40. for some reason they arent on the website?:confused:

That drill is the exact same one I broke in half on my tubing notcher.

I had pretty good luck w/ those little fog lights though, threw them on my wifes old ZJ when one of the factory lamps got broken off, th bulbs didn't last long, but I got quality replacements from napa, and they worked great. I wouldn't use them for a off road light, or anything, but for a factory fog replacement, they are fine.

[Wicked_S10]

Gotta add the 50' black rubber air hose they sell for $10 now and again. I got one for christmas, hooked it up yesterday, and after about an hour, it started leaking at the crimped fittings. Hose seems to be fine, if you want to monkey w/ putting you ends on it, but their crimps suck!

[Fordman500]

bought a chicago flurescent shop light. didnt even work and the body is coming apart due to the putty shit they put in their to glue it together.

[Cajun4x4]

3 lbs mini sledge head flew off after about 15 minutes of use

[nate379]

I'm really surprised they haven't been sued for the lousy quality on tools and somehow they are still in business. Some of their stuff it down right dangerous!

Electric tools shooting flames and sparks... hammer heads flying off, floor jacks dropping, etc, etc.

[beartj]

Pretty disappointed with the portaband. Got one for my bday a couple years ago w/ 1 yr warranty (it's yellow-orange). Cut through some thin tube and put it away. It was about a year before I used it again and the gears stripped out cutting through an axle tube going nice and easy (no jumpy-ness). Don't know about new ones but I've used the SHIT out of milwaukee portabands before and after that one in a shop and will wait til i've got some green or find a milwaukee at a pawn shop before spending the coin on any other portaband.

Have had GREAT luck with the $17 sawzall and milwaukee torch blades. Parting out trucks (chopping cross-members and harder stuff like TREs, etc.), also cutting brackets out of .25" plate when the torch fuel runs out, coped an entire cage with one after a HF chop saw took a shit due to a buddy hanging off the handle trying to make a ram mount out of 1" on it. Still going strong. The little nub that locates/locks the blade has worn through but you can change it easy enough or get warranty and change it out.

I'm sure many have had bad luck with them and someone will buy one, burn it up and hate me but I've used the fawk out of mine and gave the original to a buddy who still uses it. I got another when a job required it and it's still going so...

[Ford_KTM]

bought a chicago flurescent shop light. didnt even work and the body is coming apart due to the putty shit they put in their to glue it together.

Damnit, I was gonna buy one of those...I thought, "Its a light, what could go wrong??" Well, i guess its better i didnt buy it...

[braxton357]

I'm curious about a couple things there,
the corded 1/2" chuck drill
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=45338
which I have a coupon for $20

and these lights they have which seem like they could go either way quality/performance wise. the ones Im talking about are sort of oval shaped and are usually about $40. for some reason they arent on the website?:confused:

Don't know about that one, but I've got this one that I use for my notcher and other assorted big holes http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93632 had it for a while and I fawking love it. It will take your wrist off before thinking about stopping. The other day I left a nail in the stop hole of my notcher and tried to notch a tube. Needless to say it hurt :flipoff2: but it also sheared the nail no problem. Also much better for your hole saws than a normal drill due to the speed diff.

[geberhard]

Why list all the crap here. They have already done it on there website.:flipoff2:


LOL :)


More stuff not to buy: grinder discs, and sawzall blades. Those fawkers fly in pieces, and shatter. the blades do not even bend, they just freaking break and fly! Freaking dangerous, am sure someone must have gotten hurt by now.

The HF puller also sucks, I tried pullinga pilot bearing, and with the first stroke (gentle), teh ends broke off!!! WTF!

The drill press is decent for stuff that is not too precise. Clamps, etc fall apart with little usage! But argh, i love that cheapo store!

[Tulip]

some people love there u joint/ball joint press. i liked mine for the first 4 or so u joints, then it bent, got a new one, bent it again. :mad3:

I agree their ujoint/ball joint press sucks donkey balls. I used it one time to press out a set of ball joints and it broke in half. :mad3:

[Jeepermat]

Their fucking 20 ton press just blew up on me, I bought it 3 days ago and the pofs already blew up
Pics enroute

[dimichele]

I heard that Mile Marker and HF winches are virtually identical.?

That's why I bought a Warn

[fj40guy]

Manual Knock Out Punch Kit >>> POS!
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91201

I have 1/2" and 3/4" greenlee slug busters. Need to run some 1" EMT conduit, but no luck for 1" punches at the big box store.

Hmm.. HF had the set on sale for $15.00 (normally $30). Only thing good about there sale... you don't waste as much money.

I knew better!!!

[KLF]

Their fucking 20 ton press just blew up on me, I bought it 3 days ago and the pofs already blew up
Pics enroute

Huh. I have the same press, used it a bunch, works great.

I could tell in the store to avoid all the grinder wheels and cutting stuff. I busted a pitman arm puller in half the first time I used it, and I wasn't really reefing on it that hard. I ordered a slide hammer set, what a total POS toy.

Anything with the "Pittsburgh" brand is not worth it's weight in scrap.

[fc187]

their radio controlled airplanes are fun but they dont turn for a shit and they dont get allong with trees, mail boxes,steel buildings or passing cars:smokin:

ya known Im as guilty as the next guy. getting all pissed off that the tool that *I* bought for a fraction of what a real one cost, failed on me with anything more than occasional use. but hell,it is what it is. Sence HF is less than 4 blocks away from my shop,.. I got allot of broken ORANGE SHIT :D

[Brad]

Manual Knock Out Punch Kit >>> POS!
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91201

I have 1/2" and 3/4" greenlee slug busters. Need to run some 1" EMT conduit, but no luck for 1" punches at the big box store.

Hmm.. HF had the set on sale for $15.00 (normally $30). Only thing good about there sale... you don't waste as much money.

I knew better!!!

Ditto, never tried the impact but it barely pushed the prongs into some 16 guage steel.

[Jeepermat]

Their fucking 20 ton press just blew up on me, I bought it 3 days ago and the pofs already blew up
Pics enroute

This thing made a hell of a bang when it let go, my neighbor came over cause he thought my jeep fell on me. I was just pressing the pinion bearings on a 14 bolt to crush the crush sleave.
http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/2226/picture1064ck7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img364.imageshack.us/img364/3592/picture1063fe1.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[braxton357]

Manual Knock Out Punch Kit >>> POS!
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91201

I have 1/2" and 3/4" greenlee slug busters. Need to run some 1" EMT conduit, but no luck for 1" punches at the big box store.

Hmm.. HF had the set on sale for $15.00 (normally $30). Only thing good about there sale... you don't waste as much money.

I knew better!!!

One thing I've always wondered...what is the point of those? Do they just punch holes in junction boxes or...? if so, why not just use a hole saw or drill bit.


:edit: And ^ breaking a press plate =!= blowing up the press. Why would you use a press to crush the c sleeve anyway?

[donkeystompit]

I have one of those presses. I was using it one time and the shaft that you press against bent and all tension was released. It went to fast it shot the damn bottle jack out and grazed my neck and shoulder. Left a nasty bruise for a few weeks. But im cheap so i just bent it back and still use it.

[Jeepermat]

:edit: And ^ breaking a press plate =!= blowing up the press. Why would you use a press to crush the c sleeve anyway?

Cause on a 14bolt its easier to do on a press than with an impact

[braxton357]

Cause on a 14bolt its easier to do on a press than with an impact

Very well then. Fwiw, you can likely take that press plate back to hf and get another no charge...if you want to "press" your luck again!


:flipoff2: :flipoff2:

[45acp]

Have a machine shop build you a new plate.

Thats the thing about HF tools... you need to modify them to make them work. This is the trade-off for getting a tool at 1/8th the price of everyone elses.

[krb]

I've had good luck with my 20 ton orange jack.The first thing I did was mill/square up the plates.

[fj40guy]

One thing I've always wondered...what is the point of those? Do they just punch holes in junction boxes or...? if so, why not just use a hole saw or drill bit.


The hole punch (aka Greenlee Slug busters) are quick and clean.

Quite often you're adding to an existing panel, just need a different size hole (i.e. 1/2" already there, but you need to run 1" EMT). Stepped drill bit would have worked, if I had room to it to go into the box.

I did end up using a hole saw (there was enough room for the the drill). Placed 1/2" thick plywood inside the box to give a place for the pilot drill to center. Shop vac to keep metal chips out of the panel, wood, clamps to hold wood, hole saw and drill. Keep in mind for a 1" EMT the hole is really 1 & 11/32" size. Drill close and use a nibbler to finish. So that job that takes one minute with a slug buster ends up taking over 30 minutes this way, that is if you're lucky and don't mess up existing wiring in the box! :flipoff2:

[WHATAHEEP]

Electric paint sprayer wouldn't spray anything. I wasn't a thickness problem either. Wouldn't even spray water.
$19 3/8 impact does what it should, little led flashlights work good for me.

My dog really liked the taste of the $2 headlight :lol:

[Indyguy]

Gear pullers. I bought a box of three (3", 4", 6") and all three of them broke within an hour of tearing into my transfer case. Went out and bought one 4" at Advance Auto that was twice the cost of the HF 3-pack and it took down the t-case twice without breaking.

[JR]

Dental pick set.

One of the picks broke off between my tooth and gum the first time it was used.

The rusted, contaminated fragment caused a huge abscess, and eventually, the result of several teeth being pulled.

[PTSchram]

Dental pick set.

One of the picks broke off between my tooth and gum the first time it was used.

The rusted, contaminated fragment caused a huge abscess, and eventually, the result of several teeth being pulled.


LOL, Home dentistry using HF instruments...:eek:

[45acp]

LOL, Home dentistry using HF instruments...:eek:Yea, id add their rectal thermometer to the list too. [/typeswhilestanding]

:p

[azredneck]

Come on guys. Those Chinese children work damned hard to make their party favor tools that explode when us dumb americans buy them. Ever notice Harbor Freight sounds disturbingly like HARDLY FUNCTIONAL???? The only thing I have ever bought from the Chinese tool market that didn't break before I was done with it is the little black book of all the crap you wish you knew found at the cash register. Of course it is pretty much the only single item in the store they sell made in the USA. I take the Fifth on what I have bought there to learn my extensive knowledge on what Chinese children have no f%(*&^n business making and the one or two they almost got right.

[jekbrown]

no doubt a lot of harbor frieght shit sucks... their manual riveter (the grey one with long handles) sucks hard. Not sure how many bling stainless rivets I went through before I gave up on that POS.

On the plus side, I like their cheap ass grinder wheels, cheap screw driver sets, monster-sized crescent wrenches, and impact sockets...

j

[Proeliator]

On the plus side, I like their cheap ass grinder wheels

Damn, dude, you're brave. If their grinding wheels are anything like their cutting disks its an explosion waiting to happen. Shit like that which can explode in your face I buy quality. I used to be anti-harbor freight, but I'll confess I've got their biggest bandsaw and their biggest drill, and they are both awesome. I WAS going to get both the saw and the drill in a JET, but after comparison found they were identicle....except for the price.

[jekbrown]

brave? I guess. lol! I've been using my grinder with both HF grinding and cutoff wheels for a couple of years now. I wear good goggles and have been hit by plenty of small bits of crap coming off them but other than that they have worked great. I don't run a guard on my grinder either. I do wear a full carhartt suit, hat and good gloves while I work though... maybe I've been tagged with tons of shit and just didn't know it. ;)

i dunno, maybe if I knew someplace else that had cheap wheels I wouldn't use the HF ones. Homo Depot / Lowes definitely isn't that place tho... $2.49 for one cut off wheel? I don't think so!

j

[maxyedor]

Go ahead and add the swivel air tool conector to the list. It swivels just fine, but restricts airflow so much that an impact gun becomes useless.

[nissancrawler]

x2 on avoid cutoff wheels...bought them for the chop saw....one touch to metal, chunked off. i grabbed the next one and put it on (stood off to the side), as soon as it touched the steel, it exploded. It was enough to stick one piece in the sheetrock. I promptly put the shards and the other 8 cutoff wheels, the 15 4.5" cutoff wheels, and the grinding wheels in a bag, took them back and told them to shove it. I would rather pay more money for name brand then get part of a 14" chopsaw blade pulled out of my chest cavity.:mad3:

[Big91RustyBucket]

x2 on avoid cutoff wheels...bought them for the chop saw....one touch to metal, chunked off. i grabbed the next one and put it on (stood off to the side), as soon as it touched the steel, it exploded. It was enough to stick one piece in the sheetrock. I promptly put the shards and the other 8 cutoff wheels, the 15 4.5" cutoff wheels, and the grinding wheels in a bag, took them back and told them to shove it. I would rather pay more money for name brand then get part of a 14" chopsaw blade pulled out of my chest cavity.:mad3:

Yeah Some of the Cut off wheel's are better than other's.

[jekbrown]

I've used 2 HF 14" chop saw blades... neither one chunked at all... I keep the pressure on the thing light but firm and constant and it works fine. Hell, I cut through a piece of 4"x2"x0.25" wall tube a few days back with my cheap ass HF chop saw and HF cutting wheel. It made it about 95% of the way through the entire piece of tube before I started to bind a little etc, so I just took it out and used the 4.5" angle grinder w/ cheapo HF cutoff wheel to finish the job.

don't get me wrong, I'd love to have all the bling tools in the world... but I am a poor MF'er... and only have enough $ for 2 of the three..

1) food/roof over my head
2) truck parts/steel
3) bling tools.

sucks sometimes, but not having bling tools tends to be the one that gets cut out. I am willing to $pend the money for quality shit when I need to. I have a good manual tube bender (protools 105HD)...not a HF one. ;) :beer:

maybe after I get a chunk of chop saw blade stuck in my chest I'll file a $10,000,000 law suit... win... and then I'll have enough ca$h to buy whatever I want. lol!

j

[45acp]

Off topic- Every person that works in our local HF store looks like a carnie. Is it that way everywere? :confused:

[Wagoneer Addict]

Off topic- Every person that works in our local HF store looks like a carnie. Is it that way everywere? :confused:

carnies......meth-heads........predators

[Proeliator]

Off topic- Every person that works in our local HF store looks like a carnie. Is it that way everywere? :confused:

Pretty much, yea. I'm still adamant that the one time I got crabs it was from walking into a Harbor Freight store. Don't think the wife ever bought it though......

[AthlonAJ]

There grinder wheels/cutoff discs aren't worth piss and a total waste of money even if you're on a budget. My buddy kept telling me to try them, try them cause there so cheaper than the Norton's I use...:eek: yeah and they last about 1/10th as long. I gave him some of my quality abrasives and he couldn't believe how much longer they lasted, cut better...that's all he uses now.

Their chucks in the drill presses are garbage, first thing I replaced on the one I have with a Jacobs. Going on 5 years of daily use now.

Abrasive blast cabinet I got a super good deal works great after I sealed it up, changed the lights and added a dust extractor setup.

The only hand tools I've bought were a set of flare nut wrenches, broke one. Suprisingly enough they swapped me for a new one on the spot.

Like someone already said, most everything needs a little modification to work good. Pretty much anything I've bought has been raised 6-10", sawed off little zipperheads.

[vintagespeed]

T-handle allen wrench set sucka de balls.

While I have had my 4.5" angle grinder (the old style orange one) for going on 4years and it's used hard, 3 sets of brushes & it still works like a champ.

[T-Bolt]

Recip saws suck

Grinders suck

I always thought it was easier to spend $30 every 6 months on new HF garbage than buy a quality tool, that is till I bought a Milwaukee sawzall and Dewalt grinder. Night and day difference. HF's garbage can sink in the ocean for all I care.


Oh yeah...I broke one of their large vices too, split right down the side.
Gar-muthafuckin-bage

[bdozeraz]

Anything from Harbor Freight.

[colonelmustard]

Bought a set of aviation snips and they wouldn't even cut mig wire much less the steel patch panels.

with I would have seen this thread earlier, just bought those.... and probably a bunch of other stuff I havent gotten to yet:shaking:

LOL, this thread is hilarious!!! Home dentistry with HF instruments, all the power tools catch on fire, discs explode, metal plates snaping in half........... I want a big harbor freight sticker for my rigs windshield!!

[nissancrawler]

Well, I bought the 40 gallon sandblaster too. Yes, I read all the posts. I still think it will work for my needs. However, as soon as I hooked up the air compressor to leak check it before putting sand in, the moisture trap blew up when it was at 100 p.s.i. and shot it right into my foot. :mad3: Thank god for steel toes, all I have is a little bruise further up on my foot because of them. I'll post up on how well it works when i get a new moisture trap tomorrow. i'm thinking of just eliminating it completely since I have my m60 I can plumb in.

[45acp]

Well, I bought the 40 gallon sandblaster too. Yes, I read all the posts. I still think it will work for my needs. However, as soon as I hooked up the air compressor to leak check it before putting sand in, the moisture trap blew up when it was at 100 p.s.i. and shot it right into my foot. :mad3: Thank god for steel toes, all I have is a little bruise further up on my foot because of them. I'll post up on how well it works when i get a new moisture trap tomorrow. i'm thinking of just eliminating it completely since I have my m60 I can plumb in.If you're gonna use that blaster then you gotta stand away from it. Maybe park a vehicle between it and yourself and run the hose under the truck or something. 100psi + HF = 10ft. safety zone minimum cmon man you should know this. :flipoff2:

[Big91RustyBucket]

If you're gonna use that blaster then you gotta stand away from it. Maybe park a vehicle between it and yourself and run the hose under the truck or something. 100psi + HF = 10ft. safety zone minimum cmon man you should know this. :flipoff2:



10 Ft safety zone . Lmfao . :laughing:

[txapacheguy]

Have I mentioned that I really hate the 4 1/2" blue angle grinder I bought there??? Dont waste your money on blue power tools there....

[W.O.T.]

the cup brushes for angle grinder with 5/8" arbor is not centered or balanced very well, prolly very bad for the grinder's bearings.

[eschoendorff]

the cup brushes for angle grinder with 5/8" arbor is not centered or balanced very well, prolly very bad for the grinder's bearings.

HF's grinders have bearings???!!!!!:flipoff2:

[nissancrawler]

Well, I bought the 40 gallon sandblaster too. Yes, I read all the posts. I still think it will work for my needs. However, as soon as I hooked up the air compressor to leak check it before putting sand in, the moisture trap blew up when it was at 100 p.s.i. and shot it right into my foot. :mad3: Thank god for steel toes, all I have is a little bruise further up on my foot because of them. I'll post up on how well it works when i get a new moisture trap tomorrow. i'm thinking of just eliminating it completely since I have my m60 I can plumb in.

Well, I just removed it's moisture filter, didn't put the motorguard one on, and my air compressor ran continuously to boot, it all worked fine. I used the tube sand you throw in the truck bed (already had it) and simply held a lowes $6 window screen at a 45* angle over a 5 gallon pail and dumped the sand across it. It screened great, got about 90% of the usable sand the first time, and the junk stuff just slide off the screen and piled up around the outside of the bucket. I just put that in the air compressor and went. It plugged the tip twice in 1.5 hours. I just pulled the tip off, blipped the valve, put it back on, no problems. A bigger tip would work better, but it was already pissing off my 6.5 cfm air compressor. All in all, for $64 for a pressurized 40 gallon sandblaster, it did fine.

P.S. Just plan on replacing the moisture trap and the two chinese hose clamps they provide.

[W.O.T.]

HF's grinders have bearings???!!!!!:flipoff2:

wouldnt know, Ive got 2 makitas:flipoff2:

[VTcivil]

Okay... so I fell for that "I can't believe it's true" $9.99 4.5" grinder at HF. I threw it in with an order for some other things. Well.. it's the blue "Drill Master" grinder and it lasted about 20 minutes with a wire wheel on it before it CAUGHT ON FIRE.... what a peice of junk.

I also got the 7" grinder that is orange by Pittsburgh Elertric and it is pretty nice. Used it for a couple hours with good results.

[Po' riggity]

Gotta say, I bought thier chicago electric rotary (dremel) on sale for $7.99.. and here are my thoughts on it:
with the cutoff wheel on it, I have to turn it on, and let it get to full speed, get a running start, and it MIGHT cut through the dash plastic on my jeep to mount switches in the dash... Kinda feel it was a waste of $8

Scott

[Duallie]

Ha Ha. My dad bought the HF drill index. He chucked the 1/2" bit in the press and went to drill some plexiglas. He broke through the plexi AND THE FLUTES STRAIGHTENED OUT AND BECAME LEFT-HANDED. Closer examination revealed mold parting marks on the drill bits and a foamy interior. Ha ha. Hilarious in a rediculous sort of way.

They were cheap, tho...

[Jeepermat]

I dont know why but this thread makes me laugh, I can just see grinders and stuff catching on fire.

[davenjeip]

Bought the largest vice they had in the store.

Used it today for the first time to change the U-Joints in my driveshaft.

Needed half a turn more, and then BANG!

Busted it in half where the worm gear attaches to the vice body.

[Spazz]

1/2" drive breaker bar, snapped the head off the first use. Looked at it and the head was hollow.. Learned a quick leason about cheap tools and bought a snap-on.

Blue 4.5" grinder, smoked it the first time it was turned on.

Seal driver set. Aluminum set of garbage.

Set of picks, all bent fairly easy.

Electrical tape, utter crap, sticky and gooey, but wont adhear to anything.

A few ok things I purchased, plastic sorage bins, cotter pin kit, zip ties, cheap work gloves, Oxy torch cleaner tips and goggles, angle finder..

[45acp]

Bought the largest vice they had in the store.

Used it today for the first time to change the U-Joints in my driveshaft.

Needed half a turn more, and then BANG!

Busted it in half where the worm gear attaches to the vice body.I have that same vice (the blue one). It works fine as a vice but it cannot be used as a press for anything. Ive done Ujoints but thats about as far as ill push it. Sureshot40sw had the same vice and it broke in the same place as yours- while he was using it as a press.

[Jeepermat]

zip ties,



Those suck! Every single one snapped off before I could even tighten them

[PONY_DRIVER]

WTF would anyone buy the utter SHIT that they sell at HF? False economy isn't even the term for it. As someone stated earlier their POS cast 'tools' aren't even worth their weight as scrap metal. It is also readily apparent that their corded hand tools are a fucking FIRE HAZARD HTF are they able to keep selling this crap and how do these items pass UL tests and or import requirements?

[eschoendorff]

WTF would anyone buy the utter SHIT that they sell at HF? False economy isn't even the term for it. As someone stated earlier their POS cast 'tools' aren't even worth their weight as scrap metal. It is also readily apparent that their corded hand tools are a fucking FIRE HAZARD HTF are they able to keep selling this crap and how do these items pass UL tests and or import requirements?

You're saying this as if every one of their tools has failed or caught fire. Not to defend HF (I could give a fuck), but I wonder how many other branded electrical tools have caught fire. Most of the HF electrical stuff I have has a UL rating on it....

[Jeepermat]

Its human nature to buy the cheapest shit possible, don't fight the urge :flipoff2:

[LBHSBZ]

You're saying this as if every one of their tools has failed or caught fire. Not to defend HF (I could give a fuck), but I wonder how many other branded electrical tools have caught fire. Most of the HF electrical stuff I have has a UL rating on it....

I spent $850 on a Miller 180 Mig a couple weeks ago and the feeder caught fire about 20 minutes into its first use. If I'd have paid $150 for it at harbor freight, the amusment would have been worth it, but I didn't. So I went to Home Depot and bought a lincoln 175 for $600 out the door....works great.

And all you cheap bitches complaining about the blue $9.99 angle grinders...quit being cheap and spend the money on the $14.99 orange ones. :flipoff2: :flipoff2:

I've had 2 for 2 years and they both kickass....so long as you tighten the screws every couple months.

[1993YJ]

Orange Angle Grinder. Kicked ass for short use, than I used it for 20 min. smoke smoke, and no power.