There are some great tools at Harbor Freight… if you know where to look! To help Harbor Freight shoppers get the most for the money we assembled this HUMONGOUS list of those Chinese gems and stinkers from the tool store we all love to hate! To find these tools I looked in forums where metal workers, woodworkers, farmers, gardeners and mechanics discussed the quality of items that they’ve bought from Harbor Freight. I read well over 1000 individual forum posts to harvest out the good enough, the bad and the abysmal tools and materials from Harbor Freight.
Update: additions to the list from June, 2009.
Do you have a favorite tool from Harbor Freight? Is there a tool or product you think STINKS? Tell everyone in the comments!
Even though there are more than 150 tools in the “good enough” section below you have to remember – BUYER BEWARE! You always get what you pay for, especially at Harbor Freight.
Hey… Got Harbor Freight Buying Guide?
Sections of this article:
1) Developing Your Harbor Freight Shopper Philosophy
2) Top Ten Things NOT to Buy at Harbor Freight (Humor)
3) Derogatory yet Slightly Loving Harbor Freight Nicknames
4) My Harbor Freight Prediction: Prices Way Up Soon… End of the HF?
5) The List: Good Enough, the Bad, and the Abysmal
6) Harbor Freight Tips and Tidbits
7) Harbor Freight Resources Used in this Article
1) Developing Your Harbor Freight Shopper Philosophy
I did an article on woodworking with pallets. Salvaging pallet wood takes patience and diligence and yields small slats best suited for small projects. You have to have the “pallet mentality”. Shopping at Harbor Freight requires a certain mentality too. It definitely helps if you’re the type who enjoys fixing/tinkering with your tools. Also, familiarize yourself with The Harbor Freight Return Policy.
To best capture the spirit of shopping at Harbor Freight I thought I’d offer some quotes I found while scrounging around through over 1000 individual forum posts (not threads…). If you’ve never shopped at Harbor Freight these will prepare you with the proper philosophy. If you have, you’ll probably start nodding your head. As always, I’m quoting the collected opinions of others so your mileage may vary.
“‘if your life or income depends on it, don’t buy it ay harbor freight’.”
I read these sentiments over and over. That said, there are lots of pros who buy stuff at Harbor Freight, especially consumables like gloves and blades… and for cheap tools they can lend out at jobsites with no expectation of return.
“if I use the tool enough to wear it out or break it, I use it enough to buy a better brand as a replacement.”
Some people use HF purchases to help them decide whether it makes sense to invest more money in a higher quality tool. If they use it enough to break it, then go for it. If not, then they saved the cost of the more expensive name brand. This can be pricey, but… if you buy TOO MUCH tool then you’ve wasted money also.
“tools require the usual harbor freight break in”
You will find yourself having to repair/replace/rebuild Harbor Freight tools right out of the box. For regular HF customers this is standard operating procedure. HF has an excellent return policy though, with very few to no questions asked. Also they have a life time trade in policy on hand tools.
“Overall, I try and stick to things without moving parts”
For folks who concentrate on the consumables this was a common sentiment.
“If you need a CHEAP tool that you will only use once or twice then go to Harbor Freight.”
Why pay for more tool than you really need?
And for every guy who swears against buying anything from Harbor Freight with a battery there’s at least one of these: “I really like their 14 volt series of cordless tools. It seems like the best price/performance ratio. Anytime I buy one I buy at least one extra battery. They’re cheap enough that I keep one drill with a drill bit in a keyed chuck and another with a screwdriver bit in a keyless chuck. That really speeds up assembly.”
2) Top Ten Things NOT to Buy at Harbor Freight (Humor)
I can’t resist things lists like this. This one comes from DetroitTom in Tractorbynet forum…
10 Things I Wouldn’t Buy from Harbor Freight:
1) Parachutes
2) Fire Extinguishers
3) Pacemakers
4) Vaccines
5) Birth control devices
6) Elevators
7) Bullet proof vests
8) Trigger locks
9) Pitons (I didn’t know what this was either…)
10) Scuba Gear
3) Derogatory yet Slightly Loving Harbor Freight Nicknames
Unfortunately I can only remember/find one: “horror freight.” I know there was another one I saw out there… I think it was “hardly freight…” Update… here are some nicknames from the comments on this article and in recent forum threads:
Harbor Fright Bottom of the Harbor Freight Harbor Hate The Chinese Cheesecake Factory For their inexpensive, thrice-yearly-use Chinese air tools, we call them, “INGERSOLL-CHAN.” I thought that I would tell you what my wife calls HF; we speak Russian at home, and she calls it vonuchka, or “little stinker.” She hates that HF smell of uncured rubber. “Harbor Sheight” (…Shite) China Fright
4) My Harbor Freight Prediction: Prices Way Up Soon… End of the HF?
I know Grizzly’s prices are going up due to the price of iron and, I assume, shipping. Grizzly’s made overseas, as are most (all?) of the tools sold at Harbor Freight. Because of rising material and shipping costs, HF may have to raise it’s prices, or even shut its doors. They may have been a little to aggressive with building their business model around unsustainable advantages! I’d love to hear input or insight into my armchair economist opinions ;)
Containership Preparing Harbor Freight for Your Next Shopping Spree…
5) The List: Good Enough, the Bad, and the Abysmal
Here goes, the feature attraction. I went through and identified all the good, bad and abysmal tools as described by woodworkers, metal workers, mechanics, farmers, DIYers, gardeners and even pond tenders. Keep in mind that an abysmal band saw for a woodworker may just be a good band saw for a farmer. When possible I included the item number. When I couldn’t find it or there were multiple variations of a tool I just left the tool as described in the forum I found it.
Good (Enough) Tools From Harbor Freight
These are tools and other items that got at least one favorable mention. I broke the multiple mention tools out for you and put them on top – I’m assuming these will give you the most “miles per gallon.” Also, before you dig in, a quote regarding “consumables,” from someone who I believe works with metal: “All of their consumables such as cotter pins, grease fittings, roll pins, O-rings, Internal and External lock clips, 12″ sanding disks, 12″ cutting wheels, 3″, 4″, 4-1/2″ grinding wheels are OK too.”
The guys at WoodworersZone compiled a list from WoodNet called “Harbor Freight Gems.” I not only copied their list for this post (in addition to many other sources of course), but borrowed their format of #item number followed by the name of the tool. I put any relevant quotes in parenthesis.
HF Clamps (on most of my HF clamps I’ve got more than my money’s worth.): 26
#36649 16 Piece 1/2″ SAE Deep Wall Impact Socket Set: 10
#37052 Pack of 100 X-Large Nitrile Gloves: 8
#95578 4-1/2″ ANGLE GRINDER (i buy from harbor freight a angle grinder for $17.00 works great): 6
#47257 Harbor Freight 6″ Digital Caliper: 6
#93440 18 Volt 3/8″ Drill with Keyless Chuck: 5
#4095 Harbor Freight VARIABLE SPEED RECIPROCATING SAW: 4
#46092 ADJUSTABLE SHADE AUTO-DARKENING WELDING HELMET: 4
the welding magnets : 4 (mentioned several times, did not specify type…)
Every compressor I’ve purchased from HF has worked like a champ.: 4
#38142 Heavy Duty 16 Speed Bench Drill Press: 4
#38160 Oscillating Spindle Sander: 4
#32208 14″ 4 Speed Woodworking Bandsaw: 4
#41983 3-in-1, 1″ SDS Rotary Hammer: 3
#54878 90 Amp Flux Wire Welder: 3
#93762 4″x6″ horizontal/vertical metal-cutting Band Saw: 3 (Harbor Freight metal bandsaw review – great review, will help you get started if you decide on the band saw)
#46320 50 Ft. Auto Rewind Hose Reel with 3/8″ Hose: 3
#97572 1/2″ Crown Air Stapler: 3
#97869 2 HP INDUSTRIAL 5 MICRON DUST COLLECTOR (A true bargin): 3
#36697 FEATHER BOARD WITH ANGLE FINDER: 3
#41796 1LB. Dead Blow Hammer: 3
#00623 1″ Travel Machinist’s Dial Indicator: 3
#4312 1/2” TITANIUM IMPACT WRENCH: 3
#46309 18 Gauge 3/8″ to 2″ Air Brad Nailer: 3
-18 ga nailer. People really rip on this one. It was jamming on me for a while. I kept trying to oil up the hammer, but it would jam again. I finally removed the entire piston assembly (allen bolts through the exhaust vent cap) and oiled it up well and it’s worked great ever since. $15 nailer!!!
#91039 3000 Lb. Capacity Lightweight Aluminum Racing Jack: 3
#41150 36” Bolt Cutters (their huge cheap bolt cutter worked fine): 2
#45276 14″ x 40″ Lathe with 6″ Sander (I bought the HF wood lathe. It’s definately nothing like what “Norm” has, but I have no plans to replace it in the near future.): 2
#34542 PORTABLE TIRE CHANGER: 2
#3418 10/2/55 BATTERY CHARGER/ENGINE STARTER: 2
#621 SPRING LOADED CENTER PUNCH: 2
#44094 Benchtop Bar and Rod Bender: 2
#47840 PORTABLE VARIABLE SPEED BANDSAW: 2
#30289 6″ Industrial Rabbeting Jointer (I took a chance on a 6″ jointer (Not the base model) and so far it has worked like a champ.): 2
#47569 4-1/2” GRINDING AND CUTTING WHEEL ASSORTMENT FOR METAL AND MASONRY, 10 PACK: 2
#03629 7 Piece Forstner Bit Set (Good starter set): 2
#93656 1/2″ TO 1″, 23 GAUGE AIR PIN NAILER: 2
#93179 9″ HEAVY DUTY ANGLE GRINDER: 2
#05645 Multipositional Magnetic Base with Fine Adjustment: 2
#34214 DIAL GAUGE ANGLE FINDER: 2
#44566 Stacked Dado Set: 2 (A good first set)
#35837 29 Piece Brad Point Wood Drill Bit Set: 2
#36221 9″ Drill Press Locking Clamp: 2
#37861 10 Piece T-Handle Hex Key Set: 2
#90007 3 Piece SAE Ratcheting Wrench Set: 2
#90008 3 Piece Metric Ratcheting Wrench Set: 2
#42305 9 Piece Metric Wrench Set: 2
#00659 Magnetic Parts Holder: 2
#42288 Magnetic Pick-Up Tool: 2
#93762 HORIZONTAL/VERTICAL METAL CUTTING BANDSAW: 2
#37793 2-1/2 HP Plunge Router: 2
Other “Good” Tools (Note some of these are on the Bad list too…)
#93212 7″x10″ metal-cutting mini-lathe
#91129 Harbor Freight 500 AMP CARBON PILE LOAD TESTER (This battery tester got a decent recommendation in the Rigid Forum.)
#97418 Garden Wagon (nice wire mesh garden wagon at Harbor Freight for a really good price. I’ve been happy with it.)
#94076 12V ROTARY TOOL SET WITH 30 ACCESSORIES (for the accessories, found for $7)
#96957 6″ STAINLESS STEEL NEEDLE NOSE PLIERS
#97337 2″ x 20 Ft. Heavy Duty Tow and Recovery Strap (used my HF tow strap to tow a UPS truck out of a ditch by my house, no problems)
#1753 10″ Straight Jaw Locking Pliers
Harbor Freight 2.5 HP, 8 GALLON, 120 PSI AIR COMPRESSOR (“I bought one like that last year on sale for $99 and it was the best $99 I ever spent. It is used almost daily to air up tires and works great with my nailer and sprayer.”)
REAR AXLE BEARING PULLER SET (Threads on slide approximately 50+% depth of attaching axle/ bearing accessories and stripped after moderate usage. Recommend rethreading and using graded nut.)
#94081 Harbor Freight INDUSTRIAL POCKET BLOW GUN
#47779 Harbor Freight WALL-MOUNT HANG-ALL
#43468 Harbor Freight 12″ Direct Drive Bench Top Disc Sander
#95385 2.5 Horsepower 10″ Industrial Tile/Brick Saw
#95129 4 Lb. Sledge Hammer with Hickory Handle
#93253 MAGNESIUM COIL ROOFING NAILER
#43048 HEAVY DUTY UTILITY KNIFE
#95028 3″ Composite Air Cut-Off Tool
#91907 1-1/4 CUBIC FT. MINI CEMENT MIXER
#47872 16 Oz. Claw Hammer with Fiberglass Handle
#93458 3/16″ AIR HYDRAULIC RIVETER
#94355 2 HP, 8 GALLON, 125 PSI OILLESS AIR COMPRESSOR
#4095 VARIABLE SPEED RECIPROCATING SAW
#3994 21 Piece SAE 3/4″ Heavy Duty Socket Set
#93784 50 Amp 6V/12V Battery Load Tester
#41577 Two Piece Foldable Saw Horse Set
#90899 7 Function Digital Multitester
#93983 NON-CONTACT POCKET THERMOMETER
#2623 1/2″ EARTHQUAKE IMPACT WRENCH
#47257 6″ Digital Caliper (A true bargin)
#43430 High Volume Low Pressure Gravity Feed Spray Gun
#30224 HEAVY DUTY AIR PAINT SPRAY GUN
#00113 HIGH SPEED AIR BODY SAW (cut up a whole pickup with this little gem)
#35570 MORTISING MACHINE (Put XY vise on it and its just a piece of cake to use)
#32222 3-1/4” ELECTRIC PLANER (used it for several doors now, works fine)
#44914 1/4″ Trim Router (Base isn’t much but works fine. similar to Ryobi, lots cheaper)
#02957 3/4” INDUSTRIAL ROTARY HAMMER (These things are cool!! lots better than a hammer and chisle)
#44768 1.5 WATT SOLAR BATTERY CHARGER (use them to keep the batteries in the lawn mowers up, over the winter)
#04486 2″ Mini Lathe Chuck with MT-2 Shank
#03577 28 Piece Transfer Punch Set
#1210 45 PC. THREADED INSERT RIVETER KIT (last seen for $13.99)
#5889 29 Piece Titanium Nitride Drill Bit Set (I think their twist drills are a great deal when they’re on sale for $10 for a full set of fractional sizes)
#92956 – 3/8″ Close Quarter Drill
#04182 – 2″ Industrial Grade Chip Brushes
#42428 SPLIT LEATHER WORK GLOVES
#45690 230 Volt Spot Welder (you gotta be FAST on the trigger, or you’ll blow a hole)
#96997 Compact Air Needle Scaler
#94098 3/8″ to 2″ Ratcheting Pipe Threader Set
#92148 Harbor Freight 18 Gauge Sheet Metal Shears (“I found these metal shears to work good. I only needed them for one project.”)
#07535 1/4″ Air Hose Swivel Connector with Regulator
#37862 10 Piece Color Coded T-Handle Metric Hex Key Set
#1903 7 Piece, 3/8″ Shank, 1/4″ to 1″ Titanium Nitride Coated Forstner Bit Set
#41338 36 Piece 1/2″ Horsehair Bristle Acid Shop Brushes
#46086 Adjustable Roller Stand
#46752 Pack of 10 Medium Grade Aluminum Oxide Sanding Sponges
#91525 3/8″ x 25 Ft. PVC Air Hose
#94024 4 Piece Solid Brass Quick Coupler Set
#39721 1/4″ Socket Rail (all sizes of rails)
#96035 2.5 Horsepower Industrial Breaker Hammer Kit
#93085 Utility Blades, 10 Pack
#65330 20 Ton Air/Hydraulic Shop Press with Oil Filter Crusher
#93983 Non-Contact Pocket Thermometer
#92623 7″ Variable Speed Polisher/Sander
#97759 Wheel Hub/Stud Resurfacing Kit
#66098 1600 Watt Heavy Duty Dual Temperature Heat Gun
#43468 12″ Direct Drive Bench Top Disc Sander
I bought some ratcheting wrenches a few years ago that I’ll put up against anything out there.
US General tool boxes and chests
#90154 1195 Lb. Capacity 48″ x 96″ Heavy Duty Foldable Utility Trailer
#95189 5.5 HP, 2400 Watts Max/2200 Watts Rated Generator Set
#65324 2″ 235 GPM Dirty Water Pump
#42202 Abrasive Blast Cabinet (with mods and fixes)
#65685 600 Lb. Capacity Appliance Hand Truck
#33795 2 Ton Air One-End Frame Lift
#1694 8 Piece Heavy Duty Screwdriver Set
#95987 Blind Hole Bearing Puller
#95121 2 Piece Valve Lapper Tool
#42292 Automatic Battery Float Charger
#45338 1/2″ Variable Speed Reversible Hammer Drill
Bad Tools That Don’t Suck Bad Enough to Not Get Them
These are the tools that suck but still work well enough to justify the purchase (there will be some people who’d suggest that all the tools in the “Good” category would actually fit here). They are bad tools, but if you know what to expect then they’re ok. One guy called this category “tolerable.”
-long locking welding pliers
-chainsaw sharpener
-bar clamps and c-clamps
-HF log splitter
-Drill Bits are pretty bad.
-12 speed 10″ bench top drill press for $89
-8 Piece Silver and Deming Drill Bit Set
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=527
-The cheap (especially on sale) HF blades do not last as long as “BRAND” blades but are the best price/performance ratio by quite a margin. Changing blades is trivial and quick so if I use 5 HF blades instead of 2-3 DeWalt blades I am way ahead on $.
-the Harbor freight roller stands
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=46086
8″ 3/4hp (yeah right) grinder
3 piece ‘large’ locking C-clamp set
8 ton comealong
-If you want a cheep 18 gauge nail gun for a weekend woodworker, buy HF and tweak it to work well …
-Pittsburgh wrenches: Wouldnt recommend. Just junk wrenches you dont mind abusing. Chrome on your arms if you wrench too hard. Good warranty though.
-Hand operated well pump
-HF biscuit joiner
-stationary power tools
Abysmal/Broken-In-The-Box/Don’t Bother
Steer clear of these… though it became clear to me that one man’s broken is another man’s good. To give you a sense of abysmal, read this: Harbor Freight 18-Gauge Brad Nailer/Stapler. It’s a review by Tom Hintz. I’ve read lots of his reviews – they have great pictures and he works hard to be fair and scientific. To my knowledge this is the only tool he destroyed with a 10 pound sledge hammer after completing his review.
-260fp impact wrench
-3″ red vice
-My small drill press broke the top gear spindle. I used liquid steel to fix it.
-Some of the small sanders don’t hold the sand paper.
-The sand paper does not have the grit glued on at all. (+1)
-3 ton hydraulic floor jack – leaks, sucks (…also on do-buy list)
-thumb ratchets
-battery charger
-Do NOT however buy the bi-metal hole saw bits
-Garden Tractor Cart/Trailer
-don’t recommend the cement hammer bits
-One was the flatbar (16″ prybar) that bent
anything with an integrated blade
anything with rechargeable batteries
any of their 2% duty cycle welders
any of their pot-metal vises
-I’ve had bought for me a lot of items in the hand tool category like end wrenches, ratchets and such. Those all fall in the total failure group.
-But I will only give my Worst HF purchase…. that 50$ CRAP chop saw! It’s like trying to cut a knife with butter. (…with a good blade this saw gets high marks)
-the mini die grinder (also showed up in the “Good” list above…)
-carving knives
-Chicago Electric close quarters drill #92956
-the plastic wire ties.
-NEVER buy the bunjee (tie-down) cords!!
-The 4? jointer (65673-1VGA) is useless, mainly because of the poor quality fence.
-Nitrile Gloves: NOT “I’m not a chemist but sodium hydroxide,(paint remover) ate through HF Blue Nitrile gloves.”
-bench drill press (…often recommended)
-3/8? Corded drill.
-I got a small benchtop blasting cabinet. I HATE IT!!
-black bar w/ orange grip bar clamps. (clamps are #1 recommended item at HF… beware though :)
6) Harbor Freight Tips and Tidbits
These little bits and pieces needed to get out there, but they didn’t have theme that suggested a solid category. So they’re here.
In-store no-hassle replacement policy:
“One tip is that Harbor Freight offers an in-store no-hassle replacement policy for a few bucks. I use it when I know I’m going to be using a product hard. For example, I bought a clear water pump (less than $40) and even with the proper pre-filter, the motor seized after three months. I walked in with the pump and the guarantee, showed the melted motor fan, picked up a replacement and walked out. It was that simple. The new one has worked fine.”
Company Reviews for Harbor Freight Tools from Employees Here’s a peek at what the managers have to deal with.
Harbor Freight at Wikipedia:
“Harbor Freight Tools is a retail tool and hardware company that started in 1968, primarily selling through its mail order catalog, which still exists today. The Camarillo, California-based company offers more than 7,000 varieties of tools on its web site, mail order catalog, and retail stores. Harbor Freight Tools has over 314 retail store locations nationwide.”
7) Harbor Freight Resources Used in this Article
Here are my sources.
Harbor Freight Tools that don’t suck (Best overall thread on finding good values at HF… this is from a Farmers’ forum.)
Sunday trials and tribulations at Harbor Freight.
Mark the time please, I am done with single use cheap tools
Harbor Freight
Anyone shop at Harbor Freight Tools?
Harbor Freight roller stand
HF Drill Press Table
Harbor Freight Tools…good or bad?
Harbor Freight Sewing Machine Any Good?
Harbor Freight: Good Prices, POOR Inventory Control, Ok Products (a really good epinions review)
The scoop on ‘Harbor Freight (HarborFreight.com)’ (a review of the harbor freight green house from Dave’s Garden)
Harbor Freight vs. Beverly for a throatless shear
Harbor Freight Angle Grinders
HF tools that don’t suck
HF tools that suck
Review: Harbor Freight Folding Shop Crane
Harbor Freight Digital Caliper Review
Harbor Freight 7×10 Mini Lathe
Band Saw Review – Harbor Freight/Central Machinery
Harbor Freight Portable Air Compressor Review
Harbor Freight 1/2″ Bandfile Belt Sander
Harbor Freight Log Splitter Review
Harbor Freight vs Costco Portable 12v Air Compressor – In Depth Review w/ Pictures
Harbor Freight 3×21″ belt sander (short review)
Harbor Freight Plate Joiner
More Harbor Freight Sucks…. (fish pond enthusiasts having problems with Harbor Freight)
06/05/09 Resource Update:
And Yet Another HF Gem
Another Harbor Freight Gem?
HF Oscillating Spindle Sander & Biscuit Joiner….GemS??
Your favorite Harbor Freight (HF) Bargain?
Look here. If this link works.
http://hfreviews.com/item.php?id=9057
If not, just go to hfreviews.com and do a search.
The circular saw sharpener works as advertised, but the motor has a strange grumble every once in a while, may exchange it for that reason.
I bought a portable pipe bender in Arizona, brought it back to Minnesota, and when I went to assemble it, I was missing a box of small parts. I went to our local HF store, told them what happened and they opened a new bender box, and gave me the missing parts. Try that anywhere else. HF is my first stop when I need a tool or anything else they sell.
Another input on the 42292 Battery Float Charger: I have and am using some of these keeping connected to batteries that are mostly idle. Just had a six month old garden tractor battery ruined because of the faulty charger. The output voltage of the charger checked 10.5 VDC with 5.3 VAC. I immediately checked three other 42292’s in service and found one running at 10.2 VDC and 4.4 VAC. The other two were OK running at ~13 VDC and millivolts AC. I disassembled the bad ones and found the 100uf 25V capacitors were bad. With a good capacitor the voltages across it was ~23 VDC and mv’s AC. (The cheap 25V capacitors aren’t adequate for the 23V level.) I’ve replaced the capacitors with some higher voltage and better quality ones; also replaced a 5V IC requlator in one of the units. The units seem OK now but I’ll sure keep a close watch and plan to replace the capacitors in the other presently good units. I agree with a prior responder that this item should be off-the-market, IT CAN KILL YOUR BATTERY!
I wouldn’t touch any HF items that require strength or hardness and I’d plan on rebuilding anything with bearings.(I’ve had to do so). Up to now I’ve considered their electronics pretty good, but maybe not.
If you use your head and check reviews you can’t go too wrong. I’ve got their 44859 8×12 metal lathe and I can tell you it’s a true gem. I’ve also got their 44991 mill/drill and that’s another great tool. I did strip the plastic gears on the mill but Little Machine Shop sells replacement gears pretty cheap. On the mill LMS sells a belt kit to completely replace the gear drive system and if you’re going to push the mill hard you might consider replacing the gears with their kit. On the mill, I also bought a kit from LMS that converts the table from metric to inches which is a blessing. These tweaks will cost you a couple of hundred bucks, but when you’re done you’ve got a great little mill that will save your ash time and time again for a fraction of the cost of an equivalent mill. But the 8×12 lathe, man, that’s awesome right out of the crate. I probably have 10 of the orange 4 1/2 inch grinders with a different disk or wire wheel on each. At $12.00 each on sale it isn’t worth changing disks any more. I needed to pull a dozen stainless pop rivets yesterday and my little hand puller wasn’t getting it. I bought their scissors style puller for $18.00 on sale, what a great item. HF service is as good as any high end tool seller. HF is OK by me, but then again, you have to use some common sense and be willing to tweak some of their stuff.
As a factory in China, we can offer various kinds of Tools. someone said that chinese tools with bad quality, bez he just used small parts factores’s products.
As I knew, many tools were made in China, and so many guyes use them very well.
I had never use HF tools, but I looking forward to use it some day, and then compare with chinese tools.
I’m pretty new on the HF scene so I haven’t made that many purchases. But everything I have purchased has worked every bit as good as I expected for the price.
Now I won’t touch a lot of the stuff. I’ll spend that $100 on my Bosch Colt instead of their trim router. I’ll buy that Dewalt and Bosch cordless drills over HF’s $25 versions. But there are great deals and value in HF tools.
– The $2 or $3 multimeter – 92020
– Drill Socket Extensions – 42191
– 1/2″ Brushes – 41338 (Use them as glue brushes)
– 6″ & 12″ Bar Clamps – 96210 & 96214 (I’ll pay for the good Bessey or Jorg. 18″ & up clamps.)
– 4 1/2″ angle grinder – 95578 (For $10, come on! $90 for the Dewalt I was gonna buy. I felt so bad I didn’t even use my 20% coupon.)
– Magnetic bowl/tray – 97825
– Bigfoot Panel Wagon – 32826 (Not a tool, but my wife and I love this for our daughter. Better than the in-laws radio flyer. My best HF purchase to date.)
Hopefully my latest buy, the metal service cart (6650), is what I expect it to be. Just want something to store/move various supplies and tools around my workshop on. And at about half the cost of a craftsman, with a middle tray to boot, I know I won’t be dissapointed.
I want to re-emphasize that everything I’ve bought has been on sale. I’ve used the 20% coupon when I could. And only bought stuff I’d read positive things about. If you do this, following what I call “The 3 HF rules”, you shouldn’t be dissapointed.
I would like to find the T-handle ratcheting screwdriver. I’d buy about a dozen of those if I could find it. “HF reviews” has it as item 96560. But I just can’t find it. Help anyone?
I buy hundreds and hundreds of dollars of Harbor Freight merchandise every year that I use in classes and also some items for resale. I agree that some items are total junk, but others are a great deal. I buy the brass toothbrushes, bar clamps, hole saw sets, hand files, sanding belt cleaning blocks, diamond burs, and much more and all have been decent quality for a decent price. I also have a Harbor Freight band saw that is 30 years old, delivered by truck before HF had retail outlets. My husband burnt out the motor cutting ironwood, but with the new motor the thing is still going strong. I have replaced the rubber tires, blades and inserts but that is normal wear and tear. I sold my old HF 6×48″ belt sander to buy a new one made by Delta. I’ve had that less than 3 years and it’s going back into the shop soon for the third time. The switch keeps going bad and it seems no better made than my old one that had hundreds of hours of use. I have a right angle grinder that is a workhorse, all for about $15 on sale. I also use the variable speed corded drill as it’s one of the few I’ve found with a locking trigger and speed adjusting wheel – and it was only $15 on sale. I also bought one of the folding platform carts and use it a lot to move stuff back and forth at classes and shows. It was a bargain at about $25. I figure this is the place to buy tools that you use ocassionally so you don’t have to invest a lot – but I’ve used and abused mine extensively and all still work.
Bought a stud finder for 8 bucks hoping it would do the job for hanging stuff in my new house. Stupid thing didn’t even work as soon as I opened it. I don’t know if I’ll be back to buy anything again.
Several years ago, my uncle bought a 1/3 HP bench grinder from HF. The brand was something like “Ohio Forge” although it was made in China. Brand new out of the box the grinder would not operate.
After returning it for another grinder, which also would not run, he ended up giving it to me. The grinder appeared to be very similar to my own American made 1/3 HP grinder. However, looks can be deceiving. The first thing I noticed is that it weighed about 1/2 as much as my 1/3 HP bench grinder. After comparing the two grinders, I found that the Chinese grinder was much lighter for two reasons:
1) The very poor quality cast iron was saturated with air pockets.
2) The motor windings contained about1/2 as much copper and were much larger in diameter. (leaving more air space in between).
I no longer recall (nor care) what exactly was wrong with the grinder, but I was able to get it working. After patiently waiting for it to build up speed, I attempted to grind a 1/4” bolt and the motor came to a dead stop. Even when the bolt was no longer in contact with the grinding wheel, the motor continued to hum at 0 RPM. The motor remained stationary until I gave the wheel a push start.
A friend suggested that the lack of power may be due to the metric system; reasoning that in China a 1/4 inch bolt would be considered a 25.4 mm bolt.…so perhaps the same ratio applies to horse power (since 25 divided by 1/4 = 100) maybe 1 American HP = 100 Chinese HP.
Another friend suggested that Chinese horses may be much smaller than American horses.
Although I once visited a HF store, I could find nothing there worth buying. I do not understand why any American would put their safety as well as their freedom at risk, for nothing more than a disposable tool. Personally, I refuse to send a dime of my money to any communist country.
Before sending your own money to China, you might consider that you will also be sending more of our nations jobs to China. Most Americans seem unaware of the fact that our nations wealth is being transferred to China, in exchange for nothing more than disposable Chinese junk.
China, which until recently was populated by peasants, now has 340 thousand millionaires (and growing) while in America the number of millionaires are declining at a proportional rate.
If this trend continues, we will all be peasants very soon.
I agree with Mark but a 1/4 inch bolt would actually be 6.35mm. So, 1 American HP would be equal to 25 Chinese HP.
In response to Mark above:
It’s too bad about your grinder and the problems you had with it. As for the rest of your post, it is only partially accurate, and a small part at that.
There’s plenty in HF that is “worth” buying. If you went in and couldn’t observe that some of the stuff was pretty solid, then you had your mind made up before you went in. If you bought the same item from Sears and Craftsman was stamped on it, you’d puff out your chest and act like a true American hero, humming a Toby Kieth song all the way home. However, plenty of overseas stuff is made for Sears, Snap-on, Husky, Matco, etc. They put their name on it and mark the price up 200%. Hell, even HF is making a profit at the price they sell stuff and the rate that some of it is returned because it breaks. Think about that.
A good portion of HF stuff comes from Taiwan and India, not just China. Taiwan generally makes decent tools, and is not communist. India is not communist, but is still working on their manufacturing. Some is good, some is bad. China is not really communist anymore. My uncle has worked there for about 15 years. He says that there is more capitalism in China than in America now. After taking a hard look around, I’m not sure that I really disagree with him. I’m still glad that I live in the US.
As for being a millionaire, so what? In 95% of the cases where someone has a net worth of $1 million, it’s on paper, not because they are sleeping on a stack of money every night. Sure there is a growing rate of wealth in Asia. There’s a ton of manufacturing and economic activity there. Some of it may be a super bubble that is completely artificial, some of it is real. There are still a lot more millionaires in America than anywhere else. If there are less now than there were a few years ago, it’s not because someone bought a Chinese tool, but because of the stock market crash.
I’ll not likely be a peasant soon. If I am, it’s because I failed to do something valuable enough to get paid what I need to keep my lifestyle, not because I bought a set of impact sockets at HF for $20 instead of at Sears for $50. By the way, the impact sockets at HF are really great quality. No complaints. Of all the things I’ve bought there, I could count the list of pure junk on one hand. Live and learn and inspect carefully. Sometimes even use that warranty buy-up plan.
As a general contractor, I use HF all the time. You just have to pay attention to what you’re buying and what you’re going to use it for. I typically expect a hf tool to last 1/2 as long and cost 1/5 as much as a name-brand. The numbers speak for themselves. Besides that, some of their products truly are innovative and solid. There’s a magazine article about winches floating around on the net where they tested about 10 different winches on a 4×4 trail from winching hell. The HF was one of TWO out of the entire bunch that survived to run another trail.
MICHAEL
I am surprised you didn’t come across the Harbor Freight “2 in 1″ floor nailer in your search and that no one has mentioned it.
It was recommended to me by the folks at a Lumber Liquidators store near me.
Sure, if flooring was my business I would probably buy a Bostitch but I have used it for several hundred feet of 3/4” Ash. The HF unit works great and at 1/4 of the price it can’t be beat…
DP
Big fan of 4853, the 10 inch wood clamp. Not to be confused with 42494, the 10 inch woodworking vice, which is just OK. For the money it does what it does, but it has too much give from side to side which you don’t get on nicer vices.
i bought a 80 amp DC inverter welder from harbor freight, and its not bad. it can weld 1/8 inch mild steel using HF 7014 rods and is easy enough to strike and arc. got me welding for 100 dollars, yeah, made in china, but then again, china produces and uses more steel than any one in the world. i won’t be welding buildings, but around the home it saves lots of money otherwise spent on replacments and metal shops.
I bought a 45 Watt Solar Panel Kit and it works perfectly. I have had no problems with Harbor Freight. I was surprised to see so much derogatory information on the “toolcrib.com”.
PB
“…… For the home/weekend wrencher I recommend Craftsman/Husky. They both come out of the same factory.”
Nope. Husky wrenches are made overseas in Taiwan and China. Craftsman are made in the USA by Danaher.
I got the Dado saw blade set $50. The blades are not the same circumference which causes them to leave a rough dado cut. Bunch of crappola, I should have spent $150 for a real tool, because this is junk. Can’t return it because I put it on the shelf to use at a later date. Not sure where the receipt is now.
I am a frequent buyer at my local Harbor Freight and feel fortunate that one is right down the road. I am entirely happy with 95% of what I buy there because in the handyman work I do on the side, on top of picking up construction and remodel gigs whenever I can, the HF tools pay for themselves in short order.
In my situation, it is far more important to be completely equipped than to have a few of the very best tools. I also have to constantly consider the theft/loss issue. I even buy some HF tools used. I recently scored one of those 2% duty cycle wire feed welders for $60 used, and it paid for itself the next day. I will buy another one probably this week just to have a backup, and be able to run different size wire without changing stuff over. I bought some of their 4″ grinders and fried one lately, not sure what went wrong inside it but I got a replacement in store easily enough since I am a frequent customer. No regrets there, as I will probably buy another.
I got one of their 10″ sliding compound miter saws and it was missing stuff when I took it home and opened the box. I went back to the store to get some of the items that were missing and they had to pull them from a display model. Apart from that, the saw works fine and has taken some hard knocks in the back of my van with no damage to it. Their 10″ and 12″ models use the same 15 amp motor, so if you don’t need to get aggressive about cutting capacity, get the 10″, as you might overload the 12″ with a lot of work, but an added benefit of the 12″ is that it comes with one of those alignment lasers built-in.
I bought one of their “lighted” power cords and the little LED burned out, but I never bothered to return it since the cord works fine anyway.
Recently got one of their 1/2″ drive electric impact wrenches – very powerful. It was one of those “open box” manager specials that someone else bought, used and returned. I used one of the famous 20% off coupons to get it for only $32. No regrets. The thing is awesome. Some careful shopping for impact sockets and extensions puts me fully into 1/2″ impact capability for under $100. Can you say: “pays for itself on the first job”?
I don’t go for cheap chicom cordless tools, but then my Hitachi is made in China, and my Dewalts mostly made in Mexico. I had an embarrassing escapade once with cheap 18v cordless tools on a roofing job never to be repeated. After that, I started to make sure that my cordless stuff would be name brand, so I have decided to go all Dewalt, until I borroweed one of those 10.8 volt Hitachi mini-drivers and decided I had to have one. I heard there are some OK cordless tools from HF now, but am not sure which ones they are and don’t want to risk it.
My Hitachi roofing nailer double feeds and screws up a lot, so I bought an HF nailer brand new. Not tried it yet, but then I can play the warranty game on my first job with it anyway. Their $14 to $25 brad nailer/stapler (depending on whether or not you get it on sale) feels cheap but works excellent, I mean, how can you go wrong for $14? Their impact sockets seem good to go, with entire sets costing what one or two Snap-ons would cost. I also use them as a #1 source for air hose and fittings, except nothing compares with the Flexzilla hoses I get from a local tool truck supplier (Boss Tools out of Vancouver). I look pretty closely at the ratchet handles and breaker bars from HF, and they seem pretty good, equal to some higher name brands. I like their composite ratchet handles too. One workaround for 1/2″ stuff is to just get their impact sockets, that way you know they are strong enough to last with anything you would do to them with a hand ratchet or breaker bar.
My shopping list now includes one of their tubing benders, spot welder, a roto-hammer, their electric jackhammer, another wire feed welder, another auto-darkening weld helmet (my old one will be the loaner) and maybe some of their solar panel kits for the mobile workshop trailer I am building.
I would mostly agree that you get what you pay for, but there is a whole lot of stuff at HF where you are really getting more for your money, and for someone getting back into the groove like I am, they are really saving my position in the economy by helping me to get re-equipped so I can work independently rather than depend on working for other shops and contractors who have a chokehold on my income because I was previously just the laborer using their tools.
This is a terrific website, and I want to thank you for it. I was specifically scanning your lists of “good enough” and “junk” tools for a take on the HF 12″ sliding compound miter saw with laser guide (not seemingly mentioned), so I might have missed any references to their tile saws. But as I’ve just finished up a small bathroom floor here with one, I should comment.
About four years ago, at the behest of my siblings, I drove to California to install a new ceramic tile floor throughout my Mom’s house. I had planned to rent a good tile saw, but I am incredibly slow at such work. I figured out that renting the saw for as long as two weeks (750 sq ft of tile, and did I mention I am REALLY SLOW?) was going to cost about as much as buying one. But this was a budget deal, so I grit my teeth and bought HF’s sliding table tile saw. It was either $199 plus $60 or so for the stand, or $299 plus $60 for the stand. Can’t remember. Either way, it has been a really good buy. A better blade would reduce chipping, but I didn’t judge that a good expenditure since all but 5-6 cuts (at doorways, mainly) ended up hidden under baseboards anyhow.
I’ve now used that saw for a number of small jobs. This week, it was 30 sqf of porcelein floor tile in my bathroom. Still on the first blade which, honestly, ought to be trashed. Just a heck of a deal. Probably wouldn’t buy it if I were a pro, but for me it’s paid for itself several times over.
And here’s another HF tool worthy of a bit of praise. I’d previously used a borrowed, honkin’ Porter-Cable 1/2″ drill for mixing thinset. Never owned one myself, and could never justify the $150 to $250 they run at Home Depot. But this week I had to have one for this bath tile, and at $35 or so it seemed a safe buy. It was: feels and works like a pretty nice, basic drill. Did the job without complaint. Didn’t cost much. I’d love to have a Bosch or PC or DeWalt or even a Rigid, but this is considerably better than nothing.
This Facebook page is dedicated to how Harbor Freight sucks as a company!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Harbor-Freight-Sucks/145522102125479
Enjoy!
the electric fly swatters are great! but the chicago electric $7-$10 dremel type high speed grinding tool is unbelievable rubbish. it is so weak that touching one of the tools to a job stops the rotation completely. i figured it is worth it for the grinding and cutting bits. i stuck a grinding stone in a real dremel, lo and behold it disintegrated like a piece of soap. they all did.
Do not buy anything with rechargable power! I bought a cordless drill and the battery only lasted long enough to screw down 15 wood screws the first time I charged it. Within 4 months, it was down to 5 screws! I hear that all the time from everyone that buys any china made rechargable from Harbor Freight. Get a name brand rechargable and save yourself some grief!
I bought a set of orange plyers and it came with orange channel locks. I used the orange channels locks to hold a bolt while I turned a wrench on the nut. It unexpectedly exploded in my hand! It completely shattered like glass! Next time, I’ll buy name brand Channel Locks, not a china made copy!
You get what you pay for with tools. It’s worth paying the extra and getting better quality that lasts longer
I’m not sure what all the fuss is about. I’ve purchased many items over the years from a broad range of departments and have come to this conclusion: Harbor Freight has a wonderful business model and has learned from their mistakes. In general, I believe that the quality and reliability of HF tools used by the trades has improved to meet the higher standards required by those who rely on them for a living, especially guys just starting out. There may be better products out there and the pro will most likely buy their favorite name with known reliability, but this has always been true. The management of this company, on the other hand, aren’t stupid people and they know what is required to grow a business and that a company isn’t built on selling shoddy products for vary long. Also, one must consider that HF is not the only company using Chinese labor; I imagine that most similar items are being built today in Chinese manufacturing facilities, even those of Japanese firms. It may be that HF will emerge some day as a top name in tools; you never know. Probably the biggest winners are those DIYers and casual weekend hobbyists who don’t necessarily require the ruggedness or durability demanded by the pro. Another appealing aspect of HF is its enormous range of products almost too numerous to count. If you need it, they will probably have it. The bottom line: check out HF products for yourself, do your due diligence and if it breaks, return it for an exchange or get your money back.
I use a lot of HF stuff – some bought as one time throwaways, others for keeps. Service (returns) have always been without problems.
I really question the “Mad in China is Crap” rule… I know a lot of it is junk, but if you know anything about tools you should be able to make a qualified decision.
Last week I bought an angle grinder. My union friend next door had some comments, especially about “buying American”. For one thing, I buy what I perceive as a good deal – besides, as I pointed out, most of his beloved Milwaukee power tools are – yep – Made in China!!!
Great article, great info!
Keep up the good work!
I bought the HF 66604 generator last Christmas during a bad storm. It is rated 6500W/7000 surge. Ended up only using it a few hours until this last weekend where I powered my whole house for about 12 hours after a severe storm. Great item, even ran my heatpump for AC. It was a sweltering 85 out all night, and we were the only ones in the neighborhood who were cool. While certainly not quiet, it’s not as loud as you’d expect. I have previously borrowed a Kawasaki and Lowes store brand (forgot the name) and those suckers HOWLED. If I had close neighbors they would have hated them. The HF unit is quiet enough to let your neighbors sleep.
One thing to note, don’t fire up the AC immediately after starting the generator. It takes a while for the compressor to drain down the pressure and you’ll surely bog the generator trying to get it to start. Don’t worry, just running the rest of the house for 30 minutes before firing up the AC works great for me. This last time I fired it up, threw the switch to power the house, then finished watching a TV show and dinner before firing up the AC. Ran perfect all night long.
Get it on sale for $599 and use a 20% coupon for a whopping great deal of $480 for an electric start generator! Awesome.
I buy tools for the office, computer support and fooling around in the back room. I’ll also occasionally pick stuff up for myself.
– The quick release clamps work well (blue rubber). I purchased some less-beefy ones with red wooden handles and I’ve had one of 4 loose the clamp contact pad (metal part on screw).
– The air hose fittings don’t fit most other fittings I’ve found. They’re certainly not compatible with the Husky ones from Home Depot. The male ends have a different profile
– The hack saw blades are completely worthless. This isn’t surprising when they sell them in 25 or 50 packs. I can feel the teeth go with a few strokes on soft welding steel.
– The small table top end-mill (not mini-mill) has some play in the shaft but for very basic jobs it’s worked well. We mainly machine Aluminum alloy with some infrequent steel work. The end-mill bits have held up fairly well but that’s on soft material. I knocked a tip off on steel.
Overall I’d recommend it to someone only occasionally milling items.
– We had the air grinder hooked up to a dirty (wet) air source and it corroded up pretty well. Of course, you shouldn’t use a bad air source. I’m mentioning it because I wanted to point out it’s made from the same low-quality steel as a lot of their stuff.
– The small metal belt sander (1″?) has held up well under occasional use. Really no problems to report.
– The cheap green-handled #2 phillips screwdrivers hold up well in the office. The micro-screw drivers and sets are terrible. We only buy the Husky multi-bit drivers now.. best we’ve found and we take out a LOT of tiny screws.
– The foam floor mats (interlocking.. fatigue or play/excercise) are crap and overpriced.
– I’m looking at the Dust Collector now but I’m nervous about buying a big electric tool from them. Reviews have been good though. I may pass it by though because I don’t currently have 20A plugs where I’d need it.. not till I get an electrician in to swap my panel and pull some lines.
I have used the HF coiled roofing nail gun to do 2 roofs so far and nary a hiccup. Interestingly enough the nail gun case is a piece of doodoo though. I expected to just get one roof done with it and be happy. Estimate that it fastened about 20 squares.
I go to Harbor Freight regularly, but only for certain items that I feel comfortable buying. I know that everything in the store is pretty much bottom of the barrel Communist Chinese produced substandard stuff. Its unfortunate that most things these days are made in China, but Harbor Freights tools always seem to be the roughest looking. I’m sure its the stuff the people of the Soviet Union had to use in daily life.
Some of their items are acceptable, like their coax crimp ends, craft knives, cheap stocking stuffer gifts, and hammers. Their bargain flashlights are terrible, and most of their tools are covered in that stinky oil. The storage boxes break easily and are not worth the $3.00 each. The precision screwdrivers are so poorly made the poured plastic handle isn’t even properly glued to the metal bit and it rotates when you try and turn the handle. I would never trust my life to any of the floor jacks. Like many have said, if you need a cheap one-or-two use tool and aren’t afraid to take the risk of it exploding in your face, then HF is a good place to go. I once had one of their cordless drills start smoking and catch on fire as I was using it.
After that I plunked down some real cash for a Ryobi and have been using it for years now.
As most folks using HOLE SAWS have found to their dismay…Hole saws are useless for use on wood….Even the very best heat sufficiently to ruin the teeth…FOUND THE BEST…Harbor Freight has a kit with 3 hole saws and accompanying arbor…The teeth are CARBIDE !!!…Carbide “can run red hot” and not be damaged…The teeth on these saws look scary, very large….BUT…Saw cut is extremely clean…One suggestion: Replace pilot drill with one at least 1 inch longer so that, for instance, you can “pilot in” on the hole from reverse side of 1-1/2 stock for a clean thru-cut ….FEED VERY GENTLY !!!…Shut off drill when “cut thru” BEFORE PULLING OUT DRILL/HOLE SAW !!!
Have had one of the $200 4′ by 8′ trailers for seven or eight years now – best $200 I’ve ever spent on anything with wheels. Use it all the time, tows perfectly, backs easily, just don’t fill it up with rocks. The hardware is really strange, it isn’t inch, it isn’t metric, it isn’t even Whitworth! Prepare to assemble your trailer using an adjustable wrench (ugh!).
The red paint has faded to pink – my wife calls it the Hello Kitty trailer. (I know, wrong country.)
Unimpressed with anything with rechargeable batteries – they just don’t last.
I’ve been buying their small dollies for $10 and robbing the casters off them for other projects – you can’t buy casters that good for $2.50 – usually $7 or $8 for an equivalent caster.
All in all, as long as I don’t buy parachutes or bulletproof vests from HF, I’m happy. Low and low-medium tech stuff works fine, the trick stuff always breaks.
I bought a Drill Master cordless drill and paid for it with a check. Battery Charger would not work, took it back the next day to get my money back. The store mgr said I have to wait 7 days to get my money back. So I opted for a gift card and bought a higher priced Chicago Electric drill. Took it back after 12 days and they said I could only get back the cash difference I paid and would have to take another gift card for the orig. check amount. This time the mgr said they had no such rule to give back money for checks after 7days. HF needs to get their rules all the same.
I think I paid $39.99 for their oscillating multi tool which is now on sale for $29.99. Figured I’d try out that technology without spending $400 on a Fein. I’ve found a lot of uses for this thing, and have really abused it. One task was to excavate a recess for a toilet paper holder in a solid stack of 2x4s. No other tool would have accomplished this as easily or as fast. I like it much better than Rotozip and similar tools for cutouts in drywall, as they are constantly wanting to wander due to the torque effect of the blade. The multitool lets you do plung cuts quickly and precisely. Before I bought HFs tool, I tried a Dremel multi tool. After the first job I did with it, I have used only the HF ever since. The Dremel seems weak by comparison. Oh, one more thing: HF’s multi tool is compatible with Bosch blades, which is handy in my town without a HF retail store. Fein is supposed to be the real Mercedes of multi tools, but their blades are ridiculously expensive. Neither HF’s nor Bosch’s blades work well on metal (such as when cutting through nails), but there is a 3rd party blade manufacturer (sorry, don’t have their name) that sells a superior one configured for any brand. Their little video shows a guy zipping off 100 16 penny nails with one blade. I’ll add a note if I can find out the name of the companhy. BTW: HF now has a bi-metal blade. I’ll check it out when I can.
China Fright has a new way of keeping their employees entertained. It is obvious that the store runs out of inventory on the items that are sold by coupon discount, and the items not on sale or coupon does not sell nearly as fast, if at all. The truck arrives every Thursday with more of the items that do not sell and hardly ever anything that was sold via coupon. Well, I’ve been holding a few rainchecks on coupon items for weeks (including the free item on *any* sale), and it appears I will be holding a raincheck on the electric chainsaw forever because the store has no control on what arrives on the truck every Thursday. The other day I stopped by to see if any of my raincheck coupon items arrived (no such luck) so I grabbed some postal strapping tape (I actually needed) and went to the cashier with a free item (multimeter) with *any* purchase. I also had a raincheck on another coupon free item stating it was rainchecked from a previous purchase thus no purchase necessary. But, Dan the manager of the N. Richland Hills Texas store refused a free item coupon on the new purchase I was making if I take the free item rainchecked from the previous purchase. The new entertainment for the employees is watching people who come to the store in hopes to purchase a tool on coupon discount when the store has run out of all the tools that have ever had a coupon discount, including the free item coupon items, and trying to figure out what to do with the arrivals of unwanted tools that the store is already overstocked to the rafters and will not sell. This store hardly has any of the better useful items on sale by coupon, and rainchecks are useless because it may take many months before the truck arrives with that item.
1500 Watt Dual Temperature Heat Gun (572°/1112°)
Item # 96289 Manufacturer: Chicago Electric Power Tools
While I am writing about Chicago Electric products from Harbor Freight, I might as well write about this one, too!
The aforementioned heat gun served me well, every time I needed it, EXCEPT ONE!
Within days after the warranty ran out, my heat gun went out, too. When I asked the Goon Squad at Harbor Freight, they told me they could do nothing for me.
Hmmm! Quality products, NOT! Good customer service, NOT!
I’d rather pay the extra and get the extra! It’s true, you get what you pay for.
Harbor Freight won’t get any more of my hard earned money. Sears is getting a customer back, but only for the Craftsman products.
2 Piece 12 Volt Electric Horn Set
Item # 99911
I don’t know who makes these for Harbor Freight. I have went through two sets in the last year. Both sets went bad within 2 – 3 weeks AFTER the 90-day warranty ran out!
Once again, save your money. Spend a little more and get a lot more away from Harbor Freight!
HF is junk, worst tools in the world, kid’s tools are better them this shitty stuff.
Hi there, You have done an incredible job. I’ll definitely digg it and personally suggest to my friends. I’m sure they will be benefited from this web site.
I think you forgot Horrible Freight, which is the colloquial name ’round these parts.
I have to comment on Owen’s post from 31 Dec 2010. I purchased the mentioned heat gun about ten years ago and use it almost weekly removing patterns from my scrollsaw projects and have never had a problem with it. I bought it on sale and over the years it has probably cost me about – let’s just say pennies/week.
I would add to the list of things NOT TO BUY is the small (usually around $99) gasoline powered generator. At my local HF they sometimes have a pallet of these things on sale and when they do I see several people returning them saying they burned out or just quit within a few hours of use. I would not recommend the generator.
Ive never had any issues with anything ive bought from HF. I have an 18 volt cordless drill that ive owned for 7 years and i love it! Ive bought other misc stuff from HF and never had any quibbles.
Boughtt the Drill Master Heat Gun.
I use it to demonstrate the efficiency of a gas burner in a deep fat fryer I sell.
New out the box…plug it in…up in flames in my hand.
As I was 5 miles from HF store, I drove right over.
Gal asked if I had bought the “extended coverage”. What???? on a $10.00 on sale item???
Spoke to manager. Without my receipt he couldn’t help me.
I’ve had it with them.
Dear everybody: yes, you need a receipt to return an item. I repeat: keep your receipt and they’ll take it back if it’s DOA. If you do this, you will be very happy with your HF experience. A great way to weed through the crap (there is a bunch of it). There are also very good items. My 14″ meta chop saw is great. Can’t kill it. I have multiple items that are the exact same unit as some name brands.
Oscillating multi-tool is the cream of the crop. Awesome deal.
Beware the Harbor Freight monthly sales flyer! For some reason, HF prices are the HIGHEST in this flyer (“reserved for our best customers”) and always lower in the Sunday paper or other ads aimed at the general public. Similarly, you’ll get overcharged if you buy into their “club” for $30. Yes there’s a discount, but typically only on items that didn’t sell, and even then it is usually discounted more in the newspaper ads.
Has anyone noticed the high prices at HF these days?! Even the sale prices are not a bargain, considering the products are inexpensive, non-branded products made in China. Kind of shocking. Their claim of “ridiculously low prices” is unmoored from reality.
Regarding the quality of their products, you would think someone at HF central in Calabasas could try each tool and make sure it works. ??? They’re supposed to be HF’s house brand.