OMG, Sears and Harbor Freight are like a candy story for men...

[Orsorum]

Went looking for hollow ground screwdrivers at Sears (for basic firearms repairs), ended up walking out with a wet/dry shop vac. I don't even NEED one right now, I'm pretty sure that between my roommates we already have two in the house. But, it was on sale, and I'll be damned if I drive all the way to Sears and don't come home with something. Plus, I harbor that secret desire to have a workshop someday even though I don't really work with tools that often except on firearms.



Added the Harbor Freight bit because it's so much fun to walk around and see the cheap tools.

 

[Fenixgoon]

harbor freight is great :thumbsup:

 

[Safeway]

Harbor freight is cheap, cheap, cheap. Stay clear. My dad is a diesel mechanic, and he constantly warns people against buying any imports from harbor Freight. Seriously, stay clear. Some of the stuff is so bad, it is dangerous.

Sears and their Craftsman line are acceptable quality.

 

[Eli]

My brother used to work at Harbor Freight Tools. My garage is 3/4 HFT stuff.

MIG welder, TIG welder, air compressor/retractable air hose, 4", 6", 8", 12" digital calipers, non-bottoming socket sets, screwdriver sets, cordless drills, drill bit sets, hole-saw sets, screw sets, O-ring sets, copper washer sets, spools of various gauge wire, laser levels, night vision security cameras, night vision scope, various hand tools..

Too bad most of it is garbage.. but still useful for light duty stuff when you need it.. lol.

 

[MovingTarget]

Their stuff is not top of the line by any means. What do you expect for the prices they have though? If you are a shade-tree mechanic, then their stuff is perfectly adequate. If you are a professional shop, then investing in higher quality tools would be worth your while...

 

[Safeway]

Yea, since my father uses his workshop almost daily, he needs dependable tools. Snap-On, Mac, Rockport, Southbend, ... I'll take pictures of his garage and post them. I'm sure you'd be impressed.

 

[Ronstang]

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
harbor freight is great :thumbsup:

Harbor Freight is pretty much a junk store. There are very few tools there worth actually having if you rely on your tools. It is mostly a place to buy disposable one use tools for a project. The only thing I consistently buy there are cutoff discs for my grinder because they are always on sale and perform decently.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Ronstang

Originally posted by: Fenixgoon
harbor freight is great :thumbsup:

Harbor Freight is pretty much a junk store. There are very few tools there worth actually having if you rely on your tools. It is mostly a place to buy disposable one use tools for a project. The only thing I consistently buy there are cutoff discs for my grinder because they are always on sale and perform decently.

Pretty much. Their hand tools will work fine for the DIYer in most cases, but a lot of their power tools are complete junk. It's really hit and miss.

The one good thing about their hand tools is that they have a lifetime warranty. You can just go in and say "this broke", and get a new one.

Still not very convenient if you're say, replacing a head gasket and your 12mm wrench breaks in half, though.

 

[Miramonti]

The only power tool I have from them is a saws-all I got w/coupon for $18. Fine for me...I only use it once every month or two for about 30 seconds. On the other hand, I hope the jack stands I got from them don't give way (I always keep the floor jack raised just in case)

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: jjsole
The only power tool I have from them is a saws-all I got w/coupon for $18. Fine for me...I only use it once every month or two for about 30 seconds. On the other hand, I hope the jack stands I got from them don't give way (I always keep the floor jack raised just in case)

Ah, I forgot about the jack stands and jack. I have the expensive aluminum jack from them. It seems to work well, but I always joke that I have to use the jack stands because it's a harbor freight jack.. lol

 

[TonyG]

The majority of my hand tools, sockets/wrenches/screwdrivers/etc, I go with craftsman, but if it is a once in a blue moon use type tool, I will usually go with harbor freight. I am really bad about it when it is a specialty tool that I will probably only use once or twice and would cost $30-$50 at sears or $4.99 at harbor freight, well the cheap one usually wins out and usually holds up ok.
I will have to say that I have had fairly good luck with there pneumatic tools, I have only killed one impact wrench, but that was on a bolt that even a nice high torque snap-on wouldn't touch...
If you are in need of an angle grinder, catch the orange 4.5 inch angle grinder on sale for $12.99 and you will not regret it. I have beat the hell out of the one I picked up and it is still going strong, I actually prefer it over the dewalt grinder I have at work.

The main key to cheap tools, pick them wisely and use them lightly or bloody knuckles will abound.

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: jjsole
The only power tool I have from them is a saws-all I got w/coupon for $18. Fine for me...I only use it once every month or two for about 30 seconds. On the other hand, I hope the jack stands I got from them don't give way (I always keep the floor jack raised just in case)

Ah, I forgot about the jack stands and jack. I have the expensive aluminum jack from them. It seems to work well, but I always joke that I have to use the jack stands because it's a harbor freight jack.. lol

It's the safe thing to do. We are getting a couple of hydraulic car lifts put in at my parents, under a new carport. Jacks are a pain in the ass. Having to wedge under the car only makes the problem worse.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: TonyG
The majority of my hand tools, sockets/wrenches/screwdrivers/etc, I go with craftsman, but if it is a once in a blue moon use type tool, I will usually go with harbor freight. I am really bad about it when it is a specialty tool that I will probably only use once or twice and would cost $30-$50 at sears or $4.99 at harbor freight, well the cheap one usually wins out and usually holds up ok.
I will have to say that I have had fairly good luck with there pneumatic tools, I have only killed one impact wrench, but that was on a bolt that even a nice high torque snap-on wouldn't touch...
If you are in need of an angle grinder, catch the orange 4.5 inch angle grinder on sale for $12.99 and you will not regret it. I have beat the hell out of the one I picked up and it is still going strong, I actually prefer it over the dewalt grinder I have at work.

The main key to cheap tools, pick them wisely and use them lightly or bloody knuckles will abound.

Ahh, how could I forget about the bench grinder?! And the bench drill press?

For the price, some of their tools are definitely worth it. Others are hit and miss.

I had a 4$ palm sander last 45 minutes once. I determined the fault to be the screws. It vibrated them lose, the bearings got sloppy and it locked up. I returned it and used loc-tite on the screws and its been OK ever since. I think the main problem is the lack of quality control. Like I said, it's just hit and miss.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: Safeway
Jacks are a pain in the ass.

Someone's definitely doing it wrong!

 

[brtspears2]

Harbor Freight is great for tools that you might not use on a regular basis. Recently purchased a basin wrench for 4.99 instead of a more expensive one from Sears. Did the job properly and I might not use it again in the next 5 years.

 

[CZroe]

I've never been in HF but I need one of their cheap motorcycle stands... wish me luck.

 

[Safeway]

Originally posted by: Rubycon

Originally posted by: Safeway
Jacks are a pain in the ass.

Someone's definitely doing it wrong!

Thanks Ruby. Pfffft.

 

[Sasiki]

My dad has several hand tools from Harbor Freight and has never had an issue with any of them. I wouldn't buy their power tools but for regular stuff, sure, why not. I'm going to use it once a year anyway.

 

[Analog]

Don't buy any electrical tools from HFT. Air tools, gloves, electrical supplies, rope etc are good there. Sears sockets and hand tools lifetime == great. Don't buy sears unless 50% off, which happens often.

 

[Exterous]

Can we add Home Depot to this? We have a HD jsut down the road from Sears. It is a dangerous dangerous combination....

 

[Evadman]

The only thing I buy from Harbor freight is their impact sockets, or when I need a single use disposable tool. To Eli's point, I always inspect anything I buy from them, and I have taken apart and reassembled several of their tools because they were put together so bad.

I like their impact sockets because they are cheap, and actually take some good abuse. I've only broken one so far, and it was because I put it in a vice in an attempt to get a bolt out of it. I had hammered the socket onto a stripped bolt, so I expected it to break. But for $10 for a 10 piece set who cares?

I do have a serious impact set from another company from 3/4" to 2". (1 inch drive). I don't trust a harbor freight impact at that size, I don't want to be picking shrapnel out of my face or something.