Originally posted by: Eli
Not that I'm defending Harbor Freight, they generally sell garbage, but they do sell some name brand stuff at a fair price.
harbor freight sells crap at a good price. As long as you know exactly what you are getting, then it can be a good decision to purchase products there. For example, if you buy a craftsman dewalt, or whatever compressor, you will need some tools. One of the big ones will be an impact gun and set of sockets.
If you are someone who uses impacts a lot (works on your own car, etc) then you should get a good set & gun, like craftsman, Ingersoll rand, matco, SK etc. If you MAY do some work in the future, or want to put some lag bolts into your deck or something once or twice, then you can pick up a gun and impact set from harbor freight.
A decent homeowner 1/2" impact gun (like a craftsman or husky) will cost you $50 to $90 and put out in the range of 250 ft/lbs. You may even get a few sockets with it (husky tends to put 4 or 5 imperial sockets in with a wrench) A set of 12 1/2" deep impact sockets will run in the range of $80-90 for craftsman, probably about $50 on sale. A full set of SK (10 short and deep sockets in metric and imperial) will be around $200. So a gun and a full set of sockets (40 sockets total to 3/4" size or so) from either will be in the $250 to $300 range. You won't have to worry about warranties, because for both you can just walk into any sears store and get a replacement.
At harbor freight, you can get way more for your money. A 1/2" impact will run you about $20-30 and put out 300 ft/lbs. It certainly will not handle abuse like a craftsman, IR, SK, etc will, but if you don't drop it off your house, you will be fine. It is so cheap, if you break it by running it over or something, just get another. If you run over a IR gun, you will probably break your driveway.
For sockets, a set usuallyr uns in the $10 range for short sockets and $12-20 for deep depending on how many you get. A huge set of 3/8 and 1/2" will cost you:
$14 - 3/8" short set (metric and imperial 16 sockets)
$20 - 3/8" deep set (metric and imperial 16 sockets)
$22 - 1/2" short set (metric and imperial 22 sockets)
$32 - 1/2" deep set (metric and imperial 22 sockets)
So a full set of everything you would probably ever need (76 sockets) would cost about $88 + the gun, so about $120.
If you want some more useful stuff, you can get an extension bar set for $10, universal impact joints for $10, a set of star/torx and hex impacts for $7-10 each. So now you have all the special sockets for another $40.
HEll, why stop? we still have extra cash. Lets get a 3/4" impact gun for $60 and a set of 3/4" impact sockets for $50. Now you have sockets for everything, all the way up to the axle nuts on your truck. And for less than a single impact set and gun from craftsman, IR SK, etc. Both sets of sockets have lifetime warranties, but for craftsman/husky you can walk into any store and get an immediate replacement if you break one. For harbor freight, if you break it you have to mail it somewhere (I think) and wait forever. Probably better just to buy a new set for the hassle. But at $6-10 a set, who cares? That is the price of a single impact from craftsman/husky.
By the way, I should say I probably have in the range of 300 impact sockets from tiny all the way past 2". Tools from just about every manufacturer you could think of. Craftsman, IR, husky, cobalt, SK, colman, yada yada. I have impact guns from 3/8" all the way to a full 1" with 1400 ft/lbs of max torque, so I have used everything under the sun. I should also say, that I have only broken (cracked) a handful of impact sockets. All of the ones I broke were 1/2" but I was using an adapter to go from a 3/4" or 1" gun because I needed more torque. I have broken craftsman, husky and harbor freight ones. They all seem to break at the same rate.
By the way, for guns, I have found that central pneumatic under rates their tools and husky over rates them. I had a bolt that I was trying to get off and the husky with 250ft/lbs couldn't get it off, but the central pneumatic (harbor freight) rated at 200 ft/lbs did.
So what it comes down to is how often you plan on using your tools. I would not hesitate at buying a harbor freight central punematic gun and socket set if you are a homeowner for casual use. If you work on your car a lot, I would go craftsman or husky/cobalt for the warranty and ease of replacement. But whatever you get, understand your options.
<edit>
oh, and for the question at hand, I would recommend a craftsman compressor. I currently have a 20 gallon elec craftsman from long ago ($150 IIRC),
Dewalt Elec 15 gallon 200 psi emglo at about $300, and a
8 gallon gas Ingersoll Rand that is about $800. They all have their own uses, but I outgrew the craftsman a long time ago. Now it just sits in my shed, or is my loaner to neighbors.
This year the plans are for a air compressor...
Facebook
Twitter