First Harbor Freight Tools Purchase

[tite681]

For 15 bucks, I couldn't resist getting a Pittsburgh torque wrench in a 3/8 and a 1/2. I read some feedback here and there seemed to be more good than bad. For the price, I think I'll buy some Pittsburgh products that I will probably use a couple times in my lifetime. Something like super long socket extensions. And my question, is there any Pittsburgh products that I should stay away from? Oh yeah, I'm just a weekend upgrade and repair guy.

 

[AaronD]

Definitely stay away from the snap ring pliers... They are terrible and every one of them bent the first time I used them...

 

[epmills]

Avoid their deep impact sockets, I've cracked every one I've used withing 2 or 3 uses. The short ones however, seem to be holding up. Their impacts blow as well.

 

[Phatsub]

I've been using Pittsburgh combo wrenches for years without any issues. But I too am just a weekend wrench turner. If I had to use my tools daily, I don't think I would use HF stuff.

 

[joshboogie]

I bought a few things from HF that work good for what I need them for and a few that ****. I have a few thing that are Pittsburgh, my razor knife and it's the same exact one Craftsman sells, a small needle nose set, and my 0 gauge wire cutters. I use them at work all the time with no issues so far. But I doubt I'll be buying much more from HF and this forum has ruined me. lol

 

[3/8"indestro]

Definitely stay away from the snap ring pliers... They are terrible and every one of them bent the first time I used them...

those sets for $10 are good for rebuilding ratchets,thats what I use mine for.toss those pliers and put those US made ones you got in the case.I literally bought for the case.

 

[T56 Impala]

Try to stay with Pittsburgh Professional if you buy there. Some folks have had great luck with the Pittsburg (no pro) impact sockets, some haven't.

Stay away from their electrical stuff. It is cheap garbage IMO. Anything like cutting wheels are bad news too.

At some point you WILL want to upgrade. It doesn't matter if you are 17 or 70, a weekend warrior or a professional. I have a mix of good stuff and cheap stuff. I'm slowly weeding out the cheap stuff. Just don't get carried away. You can run up some bill in a very short time! No matter what you get, take care of it and it should serve you well for many years.

 

[AutoTech]

You just have to watch what you buy at HF. Some of the stuff isn't worth carrying out of the store and some stuff holds up just fine. Like T56 Impala said the Pittsburgh Professional stuff are pretty good tools. I have quite a few of there tools and use them professionally and have had good success with them. For instance I bought a set of deep impact sockets in metric and have held up great for a long time, the black finish is gone but still going strong. I have several air tools like die grinders, air drills stuff I don't use everyday but works when I need them. I bought the roto head ratchets in 1/4 and 3/8 drive and use them everyday, also like the ball joint press, has held up good especially for the money. You just have to watch what you buy because you can get burned!

 

[Gabriel J]

I got a set of the Pittsburgh 1/2" deep impact sockets in 2003, used them daily as a dealer tech...They never failed. Even my 21mm that I used to remove thousands of lugnuts...There is no sign of the original finish on it, and it is still going strong.

I use Snap-On 1/2" shallow impacts and they were 6x as much for a smaller set.

 

[Danglerb]

Generally I haven't heard of problems with things that aren't obviously junk, sockets etc seem to hold up well for most people. Maybe a bad batch, but they do have a lifetime guarantee and walk in walk out replacement.

 

[edl]

Definitely stay away from the snap ring pliers... They are terrible and every one of them bent the first time I used them...

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