Harbor Freight

right on, decent quality at excellent prices, and there stores are nice

DECENT QUALITY? Guess you haven't bought any combination wrenches yet huh? Well, the quality of those are horrible, some are not even the correct size and when you use them they expand and slip on the nut. Most of the air tools ( at least the ones that I have) are pretty good, they have been holding up for over a year now with no complaints. The welding wire is good, and the sand blasting equipment is decent. I guess some of the stuff is good, but like I said the hand tools are crap.

Searcher

huh? Well, the quality of those are horrible, some are not even the = correct size and when you use them they expand and slip on the nut. Most = of the air tools ( at least the ones that I have) are pretty good, they = have been holding up for over a year now with no complaints. The welding = wire is good, and the sand blasting equipment is decent. I guess some of = the stuff is good, but like I said the hand tools are crap.

Well, I just ordered a reciprocating saw or $19.99. We'll see how that = holds up.

I buy there fairly often - but am careful of what I buy. I've bought crescent wrenches, hammers, clamps, "dremel" accessories, tarps, and wheels and have been quite satisfied. However saw blades were a disappointment.

Bob S.

I, too, am a fan of Harbor Freight and shop at our local stores frequently. I am quite familiar with the differences between "good" and "bad" quality tools. If you shop at their stores, looking and handling a tool will give you a pretty quick indication about its fit and finish. Today, I looked at screwdrivers that I could probably twist in half with my own hands, and also at some that I would probably pass along to my children. What I especially like is their in-store specials.

Today, I bought a 600' drum of 3/8" polypropylene braided rope for $10. It's about the size of clothes line and is perfect for tying down things in the pickup. I also bought

If you don't know what you are buying, then Harbor Freight is just like pot luck. However, if you have experience with tools, including power tools and even bench and floor tools, then you can get some really good deals.

Nonnymus

I personally try to avoid places like that. I have only dealt with a few items from Harbor Freight, and I would rate them as tolerable for the average homeowner, but not for a professional. I must say that I also bought from Homier. Their stuff is pure garbage. They do not stand behind their stuff either. In fact I bought a defective power tool which was defective right out of the box. They refused to even return my calls. After I contacted the Better Business Bureau, they finally contacted me, but still refused to replace or repair the tool. I would not recommend Homier to anyone. Compared to Homier, Harbor Freight seems like top of the line.

For me, being a farmer and retired handyman, I tend to only buy name brand tools. I have busted far too many knuckles using cheap tools.

Hey Badgolf,

Please let us know, I have been VERY reluctant to purchase electrical items from them. I look at it this way, if I need a tool for a once in awhile job, I'd rather buy it from HF then spend big bucks on it elsewhere. I did buy the wrenches and learned the hard way how bad they were. Luckily, they were only to keep at work for happenstance tightenings.

Searcher

I just tried their larger recip saw, and returned it immediately. At the lower speed setting (for cutting steel) it didn't have enough torque to make a cut at all.

I've had good luck, though, with a small hammer drill, and with their big breaker hammer.

Bill

Well, I just ordered a reciprocating saw or $19.99. We'll see how that holds up.

How about cutting wood or through nails?

Well, the quality of those are horrible, some are not even the correct size and when you use them they expand and slip on the nut. Most of the air tools ( at least the ones that I have) are pretty good, they have been holding up for over a year now with no complaints. The welding wire is good, and the sand blasting equipment is decent. I guess some of the stuff is good, but like I said the hand tools are crap.

I bought one of their $20 reciprocating saws a couple of months ago. I needed it to work on the beam that holds up my back porch roof, and figured it it got through that then $20 was a pretty good price.

Once I had gotten rid of the blades that came with it, and the $10 pack of Harbor Freight blades I bought at the same time it has been working pretty good. I don't claim it is a great tool, but for my occasional work it seems to be doing just fine.

So far I have finished the back porch work, cut up some limbs that fell out of my back yard trees, and cut a drain pipe that I had to remove. It still seems to be working just as good as ever. That isn't a whole lot of work, but I don't expect to do a whole lot of work with it. And as I say, $20 for the back porch roof was a reasonable price, so everything else I do with it is so much gravy.

I do have a number of other Chicago Electric tools from HF, and am satisfied with them for my occasional use. If I was a professional I wouldn't even bother with them, I would go get better tools.

Bill Gill

I have a home inspection business and I bought two of those little GFCI testers and they failed to trip the ground fault and I put that info into my report but luckily I found out that the tester was faulty and re-tested with another device before it was too late. With Harbor freight it is hit or miss.

I had two of their GFIs trip but the front of the unit bulged out and was unuseable. I guess it worked but I bought better ones when I replaced them.

I only buy things like clamps and magnets from them. They generally can't screw those up.

Last year I bought their $99 special 10" sliding compound miter say thinking that if it was good enough to 2x4's it was worth the money. I was very pleasantly surprised. A couple of cow-orkers bought them too, one was pleased the other had issues with the slider bearings being too stiff.

I bought a "6-n-1" 10Ga. framing nailer a couple of months ago. The thing is *huge*. I'm not sure it was such a good purchase. You pays your money and takes your chances.

Most people don't realize how important the accuracy of the business end of a wrench is. A lot of times cheap wrenches have crappy plating so they're off-size. I've seen some that were the right size before plating. I don't think I'd buy any hand tools from HF, particularly without seeing them. OTOH, HF is great for things like chip brushes, gloves, and other throw-aways.

Their air tools all serve me faithfully. (saws, grinders etc)

I got their air hammer with 9 chisels when it was on sale for $10 and it works beautifully. The combo with the 1/2 impact wrench and 3/8 ratchet also works flawlessly. Their 20T air/hydraulic jack is now on my non Harbor Freight H frame press.

Pete C.

Yeah, I just got done sanding and painting with HF air tools today. Still working great. I also have an HF vacuum canister, the kind you use for "sucking" liquids, for the 20.00 I paid for it this thing is incredible. I didn't like the acid brushes they sell, they fall apart quickly.

Searcher

Do you know anything about their sawzall?

I need a sawzall for occasional use.

WHere you at "ig"? Cause I have one that I am not using, its not HF but its not Sears either..

Sear her