Is this set a Joke? $5 for a 40-Piece Socket Set?

[winlinmac]

Never imagined this in my wildest dreams,
http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-t...-1-4-quarter-inch-drive-socket-set-47902.html

Seriously?

 

[danski0224]

Those are Snap On sockets without the paint on the inside

 

[dodge610]

That set i there lowest quality and the bottom of the barrel set might be good to keep in your car for emergency.

 

[M4A1Carbine]

$4 with a 20% off coupon.

 

[Skin]

That set i there lowest quality and the bottom of the barrel set might be good to keep in your car for emergency.

Put the worst socket set possible into a situation where you'd need it most?

I still have some stocking stuffer Chinese set that was about $10. No idea where it came from but I tried to use it once, sockets are cheese grade steel. Wouldn't trust the ratchet for long either.

 

[steed andersen]

Same as the bad Japanese flea market stuff from the 1980's.

 

[lightning02]

I wouldnt even trust that for a car set. That's when you really need a tool and it will fail. That ratchet is best used as a hammer if anything.

 

[winlinmac]

99 Cents savings, best savings of all time

$4 with a 20% off coupon.

 

[ChevyEFI]

If you haven't seen a cheap **** socket set like that in your lifetime, I'm glad you got away from the wolves that raised you and out of the wild.

That's a purchase at the 24hr parts store when you need to fix one item in the parking lot. Not something in which I'd otherwise "invest."

 

[Fedwrench]

I fail to see why you are so enamored with cheap **** from Harbor Freight?
when it fails and either you're damaged or the fastener is damaged, the set isn't much of a bargain.

Actually, I think they went up in price, they used to be $3.99. You can see them sitting on a shelf next to the check outs of most parts stores too.

 

[CJM8515]

Friend got one for free I think, its soooo crappy it snot even funny. We threw it out after trying to use it lol.

 

[Skin]

I fail to see why you are so enamored with cheap **** from Harbor Freight?

Maybe hes related to timdatoolman

Either way with a new thread created every 10 posts since he joined, many about the cheapest tools in existence or such gems as "proposition 65 and tools" I definitely get a bit of a vibe of a banned member returned to continue the troll.

 

[Mechanical Noise]

Really cheap tools like these have been around forever. They break easily. Probably OK for assembling furniture or other low torque applications.

They're the first choice for people who need mirror like plating inside the socket.

 

[winlinmac]

Best use -- these sockets make great baseball replacements

 

[Sine Swept]

I went all out cheap, $15 for a Gear Wrench 3/8 drive ratchet with SAE and METRIC still in the plastic at a pawn shop. I dare not go lower!

 

[bonneyman]

I used to call sockets like these "compressed butter".

Heck, for not much more than $5 I could assemble a used socket set with ratchet at one of the local pawn shops. Depending on the day they could be old EASCO, Thorsen, S-K, Craftsman, etc. HF is good for some things, but not emergency tools.

 

[eborcim]

It might be good for setting pretzel screws into hot butter...

 

[rsanter]

It's a child's toy

Bob

 

[notlob]

I had a set of those a few years back. I was not aware that it was possible to make steel with the strength and hardness of lead.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Fordman7795]

Id rather use a seashell taped to a tree branch

 

[raiderhillbilly]

Id rather use a seashell taped to a tree branch

That is a beautiful visual.

 

[Mike007]

Put the worst socket set possible into a situation where you'd need it most?

Yeah really. That's a lesson I learned the hard way on the side of a mountain in the pouring rain trying to do a repair on my Jeep.

I put all my ****** tools in the Jeep figuring I wouldn't care if they were lost or stolen. Now I only carry good tools.

 

[MDSPHOTO]

I bought 5 of them and use them for dodgeball training. Cause if you can dodge a cheap HF socket set.....You can dodge a ball!

 

[RalphInCA]

Id rather use a seashell taped to a tree branch

Does that work?

 

[mrvm]

Back in the day my first GF gave me a 3/8 set for my birthday that I actually tried to use to make her happy. I encountered a challenging bolt when the ratchet bent like a pretzel and I wished I saved it to post a pic here. Made in Taiwan back then, great knuckle buster effin tool **** from a great looking girl which is all that counted.

 

[logical]

I'd wait for it to go on sale........and then still not buy it.

 

[bobbycos]

That set i there lowest quality and the bottom of the barrel set might be good to keep in your car for emergency.

and i had an emergency awhile back that a set like that actually worked

battery in wife's Hyundai took a dump and on the street used said set to loosen battery terminal bolts and tighten same bolts with new battery installed

so the set will work ,just not for heavy duty use

 

[Coach James]

Years ago, I used a set like that to replace the alternator on the side of the road in our 93 Saturn. I had accidently left my tool bag at home and the person that brought me a new alternator didn't bring but a few tools.

Saturn alternators were a PITA to replace, but the cheapo set, needle nose pliers and a adjustable wrench got the job done.

Coach

 

[Virgil Cain]

I bought one of those sets one time because I was on the way to do some work and left my socket set at home. Very much in the junk category.

Harbor Freight actually makes some excellent ratchets and some decent sockets. This set is not one of them.

That said, they did perform the one task I had for them. Haven't used them since.

 

[jd_1138]

I'd wait for it to go on sale........and then still not buy it.

+1. I am not a tool snob, but quality tools are so low priced, why not spend a little more (well maybe 3 or 4 times more but still cheap) and get some USA CM or used SK?

 

[Hpozzuoli]

Is that an actual advertisement pic? The plastic tray is cracked up left corner. Way to be honest HF.

 

[iScream]

Hey, what do you know, it's winlinmac advertising for HF again.

 

[bobbycos]

+1. I am not a tool snob, but quality tools are so low priced, why not spend a little more (well maybe 3 or 4 times more but still cheap) and get some USA CM or used SK?

90% of the time these are the you need it right now set

to get you home where you can pull out the Snappy/Mac/Matco/Cornwell/S-K/Craftsman goodness to fix it right

 

[LXCam]

What........no thumbs down monicker?? So unlike you OP, you must own a set already.

 

[jd_1138]

90% of the time these are the you need it right now set

to get you home where you can pull out the Snappy/Mac/Matco/Cornwell/S-K/Craftsman goodness to fix it right

Yeah, but using crappy cheap tools makes the job harder, and like I said used SK/CM is pretty cheap, may as well pick up at least such a set.

The HF set in question is a small sizes set, so would be cheap to reproduce in a USA CM or SK form.

 

[winlinmac]

Heck no, I don't advertise for anybody.
We need more Harbor Freight Myth Busters on this forum,
Harbor Freight carries the whole spectrum of tools from low quality to high quality. I very much prefer their recent revamp of Hand Tools, going from China / India to Taiwan. Whereas Craftsman continues to create a mockery.

Hey, what do you know, it's winlinmac advertising for HF again.

I would never waste money on ****. This set is by all means ****, literally

What........no thumbs down monicker?? So unlike you OP, you must own a set already.

 

[CNGsaves]

Had a POS set like that 30 years ago . . . think it was made in Hong Kong ??

It was such a piece of **** that . . any . . force on a socket cracked them. I either threw it away or sold at garage sale for a nickel.

When confronted with dire situation of using **** like that . . or vicegrip . . I'd go with the vice grip every time !!

 

[morgaj1]

You guys are such tool snobs. I have it on good authority that these are actually made Snap On. Everything you read on the internet is true, right?

 

[sberry]

I actually saw one on sale like that in a Sears store a while back. You don't even see them at the flea markets anymore.
I agree, even earlier than the 80's
I have a couple survivors, a couple 3/8 extensions and a couple sockets I dug up. That was back when they made more real 2 level items, remember WTGrant. I had wrenches from them that last a long time.

 

[ssdave]

That joke was played on the US market by Japan in the 50's and 60's, taiwan in the 70's, and now again by China. It is an all right set if you use it around the house to take apart toys and household stuff and really don't need to use it for anything mechanical or automotive. If you need to use it for anything with more than about 20 ft-lbs of torque, you risk having it break or round off, and you slip and cut your hands on something sharp nearby. The first time that happens, you wish you had spent 10 or 20 or 100 times as much on a good set. If you cut yourself severely enough to require some medical attention, the cost will exceed the best tool truck set you could have bought.

I'd buy a set appropriate for the kind of work you do. If you have some low torque household stuff to use it on, buy the $5 one. If you do occasional car repairs, buy a $25 to $50 set from Napa or other mid-line house brand. If you will be using it heavily, or in high torque applications, buy a good truck brand set or industrial set, they will be a good investment in the long term. Looking back on 40 years of use, my investment in Proto and Snap-on replacements for the SK and Craftsman stuff I started with was a good investment. The set like you have that I bought as a teenager to work on my first car is so long gone, it isn't even a memory. However, some of the scars on my hands from cheap tools before I learned are still visible.