Harbor Freight: LIST OF GOOD VS BAD.

[laserspeeddemon]

So my last thread praised Harbor Freight Tools. But I recently just picked up a tool that has really REALLY screwed me. It got my thinking. Man I wonder how many people figured out this tool was crap on their own. So I figure it would be nice to list the Good vs Bad tools. So all would know what to pick up and what to avoid. Here is my experience. I'm fancy pants so the pictures of the GOOD are hyperlinks.

GOOD

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CENTRAL HYDRAULICS 1 Ton Capacity Foldable Shop Crane
(Nothing special, but it gets the job done for a great price)
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CENTRAL MACHINERY 1000 Lb. Engine Stand
(See above)
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CENTRAL PNEUMATIC 40 Lb. Capacity Floor Blast Cabinet
(USED THIS ALOT, loved removed rust from my cross members in seconds
Note: I recommend getting the dust collector).
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CENTRAL PNEUMATIC EARTHQUAKE 1/2" Impact Wrench
(Made short work of seized turbo bolts from a costumers car, but than the Home Depot Husky model that I bought for more money.)



BAD

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CENTRAL PNEUMATIC Air Angle Die Grinder
(Stopped working the first time I used it, still works but has no torque and I can stop a wire wheel bit at full speed to stop with my hand).
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Pittsburg 40 Piece Metric Carbon Steel Tap and Die Set
(AVOID!!! DOES MORE DAMAGE THAN GOOD. T-Handle broke first time. Chased the threads in my turbine housing and the tap got stock and snapped off in the housing. The whole reason I chased the threads was to make sure turbo bolts won't do the same thing. Also took an M8x1.25 bolt that screwed into the housing before I chased the threads. Chased the threads and afterwards the bolt would NOT screw into the housing.

 

[Kyle_T]

Those die grinders are only like $5, so you cant really complain. Just make you you keep 'em oiled. Haha Im on like my 3rd angled die grinder from there.

 

[ed1380]

I have that tap set and for aluminum it works. I wouldnt use it for anything else.

 

[Dhan]

Another Harbor Freight thread by LaserSpeedDemon

Their magnet trays are GOOD Their 2 ton floor jack has worked great for me and my needs.

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98% of the electronics they sell are BAD and need to be opened up and re-soldered to be any good.

 

[knochgoon24]

I'll come back and add photos and links later.

GOOD:
- 1.5 ton alumium racing jack. Very light and durable.
- Impact sockets. They replace them if they break.

ALRIGHT:
- The new composite wratchets. I haven't broke it yet, but it's a bit large.
- Auto wire strippers. Need constant adjustment, but works.
- Zip ties. They are weaker than other brands.

BAD:
- Breaker bar. I've broken 2. Lifetime warrenty, but they break too easily. They also develope a lot of play in the end, so they don't work well for tight spots.
- Screw driver. Strip easily.
- Drill bits and "dremel" grinding stones. Don't last long.

 

[Boostinsideways]

You know I think they have reviews on their website now. Just a heads up for anyone that is looking at their stuff, if you have a local store, LOOK ONLINE before you go to the store.

 

[Killa_dsm]

Good

90 Amp Flux Wire Welder
Good for a little fluxcore welder. Nice welder to practice on without spending big bucks. Throw away the flux wire it comes with and get some lincoln flux wire .030 or .035

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2 HP, 14" Heavy Duty Cut-Off Saw
Works well for making pie-cuts for exhaust. Let the blade do the cutting and don't apply too much downward pressure or the blade stops.

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Auto Darkening Welding Helmet with Blue Flame Design

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Bad

Xenon Timing Light
This timing light only lasted me at most 3mins of use before it died.

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[blktalon3]

Good, Electric die grinder (poor mans portin' tool)

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[kthackst]

Bad. Aluminum racing jack. ( blew all the fluid out the bleed screw while I was jacking the car into the air and immediately collapsed.)
Compression tester. Never held needle at cylinder pressure. Needed a buddy to stare at it.

 

[Gysgt Guy]

Wow I picked a good time to log on! I was about to get that tap and die set when they opened this morning!!!

But everything I've gotten from there so far has been good, especially the free coupon items haha

 

[housegsx]

GOOD

6" random orbital air sander. I used this for about 10 hours over 2 days without ever giving it much of a break. It worked awesome.

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Harbor Freight also carries those SS zip ties. They are super cheap and are great for things like dust boots and holding exhaust wrap.

 

[TSITurbo95]

I have quite a few harbor freight tools, and have no complaints, other than their drill bits, and grinding stones as stated above. Their alum racing jack, doesent hold for shit. I have quite a few of their EarthQuake series air tools, quality tools there. No complaints on their wrenches, ratchets, sockets, screw drivers, compression tester (works perfect, and holds pressure all day until I release it). They are really stepping up their game. I even have one of their 18v impact wrenches, and wow. This sucker last's all day, and is still going a couple months later, and I atleast use it once a day. The only complaint I have about it, is you have to monitor the battery charger. You can not have it charge for more than 4 hours, and it does not auto shut off :/

 

[knochgoon24]

I never had a problem with the racing jack other than the need to adjust the bleed screw so it lowers more slowly. Hmmm...

Is it the older style, or the newer one?

 

[motozachl]

Good

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Bad

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[_dOp_skyLINe]

GOOD

i install the oil pressure gauge and water temp one year ago without problems

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[cloead]

My garage is becoming more and more full of HF parts

Good:

4" grinder/cutoff wheel
Air brake bleeder tool (kind of)
"dual" flux core welder
Air hammer (not bad for $10)



Bad:

All of their air lines, and fittings. The lines will crack in a week. The fittings leak like a siv right out of the box. Don't buy the 30' hose reel w/ hose. Haven't tried the auto-retract one but it's made by the same company so I'd assume it uses the same cheap hose.

 

[knochgoon24]

I find it interesting that people are posting something up as good, then a few posts later, someone says it's bad.

Maybe people can give a little description on why it's good/bad.

 

[Gooberlog]

BAD= 32oz? ball peen hammer with wooden handle. When i worked for Toyota I picked one up as a spare for the ball joint recalls. Went back and used it after my lunch break and on the third swing trying to knock some ball joints out, i was left with just a broken handle in my hand.

 

[juvi1624]

GOOD

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I love these plastic rachets, the aren't freezing cold in the winter, the are very fine tooth, and require very little backswing. I persoanlly have all 3 sizes and have never broken one, and I'm a professionally mechanic so I use them every single day for the last 4 years.

Bad

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I know they are only a few dollars, but they are so flimsy they just bend instead of pry anything off. Just spend the extra 10-15 dollars and buy a good set from your tool guy.

 

[housegsx]

GOOD

Ball joint separator. Just start using this a year or so ago, I wouldn't go without it now.

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Go-through socket set. Works great in place of deep well sockets. They also seem strong because they don't use a little 1/4 or 3/8 drive.

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[cloead]

that go through socket set looks amazing.. never seen those before! will have to pick up a set on my next HF run!

 

[laserspeeddemon]

If you guys post or PM me a link I can update the original post.

 

[ed1380]

Bad

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dont know about yours but we've had ours for almost 10 years, when they first made it. it still works fine

 

[99gst_racer]

Good

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7" x 10" Precision Mini Lathe
If I could go back, I'd probably pony up $100 more for the 7x12. But either way, this one works excellent. It turns accurately and there's no spindle slop. It doesn't include any cutters or a chuck for the tailstock, so be prepared to buy some accessories for it. I'd recommend a set of carbide cutters, a quick change post kit, and a dial indicator for set-up.

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13 Drawer Red Industrial Quality Roller Cabinet
I LOVE this thing! It's very strong and heavy duty. Ball bearing drawers open and close great. And I really like how it's built to be expandable. It rolls around the garage nicely too. This toolbox is well worth every penny.

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6" x 48" Belt and 9" Disc Combination Sander
I haven't been using this for very long, but it's been great so far. Very quality and heavy duty. No belt walking issues so far. It's a little lacking in power, but it gets the job done.

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Pittsburgh Pro - 10 Piece High Visibility 1/2" Drive Metric Socket Set
These are affordable, easily identifiable, and I've never had one crack or break. What more could you ask for from a socket set?

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Pittsburgh Pro - 9 Piece Metric Fully Polished Combination Wrench Set
Same as the sockets- affordable, easily identifiable, and I've never had one crack or break. I like these more than my Craftsman wrenches.

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Steel orange-painted 2-ton floor jack
I picked this up on sale for $80 a year ago and it's performed flawlessly since. It's not ideal for hauling around because it's heavy as hell, but it's excellent for getting underneath extremely low sitting cars.


BAD

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100 Ft. Steel Air Hose Reel
This thing sucks. The way it mounts makes for a very weak structure. And because of how it's designed, you can't pull the hose out at an angle without binding it up. And the jumper hose (from compressor to reel) that they supply is incredibly short and it limits you on where this can be mounted. This landed in the trash can a couple weeks after I bought it.

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50 Ft. x 3/8" PVC Air Hose
This hose is garbage. This is the same cheap hose that everyone sells (lowes, home depot, flea markets, etc...). I tried this hose twice and got the same results both times. It will develop several internal leaks and air pockets will develop between the inner hose and the outer jacket. They eventually burst and you have a constant leak that will require the compressor to run constantly to keep up. Cold weather speeds up this failure process. I would recommend a higher quality, more expensive hose instead. Buy something thicker and more flexible.

 

[Calan]

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CENTRAL PNEUMATIC 40 Lb. Capacity Floor Blast Cabinet
(USED THIS ALOT, loved removed rust from my cross members in seconds
Note: I recommend getting the dust collector).
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IMO, this one only qualifies as good if you are willing to mod the hell out of it. The lights started shocking me through the cabinet after a few weeks (bad ballast), and the gun and hose are absolute crap. I also had to rework the door seal and a few other things.

It's got a lot of hours on it though.