The tolerances described are unacceptable. BMXr4life may have received a good set, but the quality level/tolerances are going to be all over the board with these. IMO, HF tools can be best described as inconsistent. In HFs defense, what more can someone honestly expect considering the price point? I also thought this set was around $20, not $40.
The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
- Thread starter Bolster
- Start date
The tolerances described are unacceptable. BMXr4life may have received a good set, but the quality level/tolerances are going to be all over the board with these. IMO, HF tools can be best described as inconsistent. In HFs defense, what more can someone honestly expect considering the price point? I also thought this set was around $20, not $40.
EvelOne
Member
I have tried a lot of HF tools and here are my finds.
1/2 impact sockets - Pass used everyday
3/4 impact sockets - Pass used almost everyday
Black handle prybar set - Pass for light usage, they flex and are not strong enough for real heavy work.
Digital Caliper - Pass
Wood handle hammers (all) - Fail handles are loose or break easily
3 and 6 Ton Jack stands - Pass
Cherry Picker - Pass
20 Ton Press - Pass
Stubby Professional Combination Wrenches - Pass (all other wrench sets i have tried failed, bent or broken and a few open ends have flexed open.
1/2 impact sockets - Pass used everyday
3/4 impact sockets - Pass used almost everyday
Black handle prybar set - Pass for light usage, they flex and are not strong enough for real heavy work.
Digital Caliper - Pass
Wood handle hammers (all) - Fail handles are loose or break easily
3 and 6 Ton Jack stands - Pass
Cherry Picker - Pass
20 Ton Press - Pass
Stubby Professional Combination Wrenches - Pass (all other wrench sets i have tried failed, bent or broken and a few open ends have flexed open.
The Muffin Man
Well-known member
I agree with the inconsistency statement. It is possible that the store I stopped at had a bad batch. Just like Harborfreight's dead blow hammers that pass and fail, the quality is a hit or miss.
The set is $21.
harbor freight long wrench set... Fail
Despite good reviews from this forum, the offset on the box ends are inconsistent between wrenches within the set. The tolerances in the open ends have a mean of .62mm which converts to .024in.
Mine are great, if yours don't fit well why not take them back and bring your calipers and measure out a good set? Mine were also $17 a set on sale, if we are talking about the same set.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=47067
The Muffin Man
Well-known member
I never bought them. I walked into the store with a caliper and the intention of buying a set.
The only thing I left with was a couple estranged looks from the employees.
txz28
Well-known member
4 Piece 3/8" Quick-Release Extension Bar Set = Pass - I have used these a couple of times. Very nice for the price.
Chris Adams
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2007
- Messages
- 2,117
In defense of the wrenches, I bought one set for 25 cents apiece, Metric, and the SAE for 17 less 20%.
And have used about six wrenches from the sets. Stood on two, pounded on one.
They may or may not be off slightly on the offset, but they do remove bolts and nuts.
Quite well, frankly.
By the way, I think you mean strange, not estranged, unless you were married/dating some of the employees...
Jarred Hodges
Member
- Joined
- Jun 15, 2009
- Messages
- 14
I have the 450lb screw type ****** jack and it works good imo. It made putting the ****** in my maverick easy all 3 times and had no problem putting the ****** into dads corolla
michakaveli
Well-known member
Item# 3418 - 2/10/55 Battery Charger - Starter = FAIL !!!
Bought this on sale for when I'd need it. When using it the first time, it appeared to work fine for 5 minutes then just stopped working. Could not return as I'd had it past the warranty period.
I bought a similar one, was using it to keep my bettery topped off. One dau it just stopped working. Kinda like it shorted out or someting as the red LED was faintly lit.
FAIL.
66HertzClone
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Wouldn't it be a good idea if when adding something to this list we included the HF part number? One could then search using the part number to read any feedback.
30" Magnetic Sweeper with Wheels
Item: 93245
Pass
Picked it up for $29.99 after web site price match and 20% off coupon.
Works great for picking up nail after a roofing job. Even works in the grass. Granted, it doesn't get all the nails out of the grass, but i gets more faster than you could by hand.
Works awesome on smooth surfaces like driveways and shop floors.
Item: 93245
Pass
Picked it up for $29.99 after web site price match and 20% off coupon.
Works great for picking up nail after a roofing job. Even works in the grass. Granted, it doesn't get all the nails out of the grass, but i gets more faster than you could by hand.
Works awesome on smooth surfaces like driveways and shop floors.
Jim Stabe
Well-known member
I finally tried the Vibration Free Link Belt (43771) on the belt grinder I built and it's a definite PASS. It ran noticeably smoother and quieter than the cogged V belt I had on it. Not cheap at $24.99 for 5' (I only used 3' of it) but cheaper than buying similar products from McMaster. I also used a 20% coupon so it was ~$20 out the door.
5wndwcpe
Well-known member
6 Piece Garden Hose Quick Coupler Set - PASS! These have worked great for me. I've had them about 3 months now, and I use my hoses at least once a day. No problems and no leaks. They actually work better than my craftsman quick couplers.
50 ft Industrial Water Hose - FAIL. I can't find the actual hose that I have on the Harbor Freight website. But mine is similar to their Black Hot Water Hose. But mine is red. At first I thought it was a really good hose, no kinks at all. But after a few months out in the elements and sunlight, the rubber is cracking. I think it will hold out for a little while more, but I doubt it will last too much more. Disappointed....
50 ft Industrial Water Hose - FAIL. I can't find the actual hose that I have on the Harbor Freight website. But mine is similar to their Black Hot Water Hose. But mine is red. At first I thought it was a really good hose, no kinks at all. But after a few months out in the elements and sunlight, the rubber is cracking. I think it will hold out for a little while more, but I doubt it will last too much more. Disappointed....
slowcamaro
Well-known member
- Joined
- Aug 13, 2009
- Messages
- 58
I must be one of the unlucky guys. I've broken two HF deep impact sockets so far and don't have a store close by to swap things out. 19 & 24mm if anyone is keeping track.
crashbumper
Well-known member
Lever Action Grease Gun
ITEM 1703-2VGA
$9.99
Half pass or half fail depending on your outlook.
Supposed to work with cartridges, but didn't work for me. When I emptied the cartridge into the gun, it worked amazing.
Bearing Packer
ITEM 97489-2VGA
$3.99
PASS
This thing is awesome. I have never used a name brand or high end model, so no real comparison. It worked great on my wheel bearings, and kept me cleaner than normal.
ITEM 1703-2VGA
$9.99
Half pass or half fail depending on your outlook.
Supposed to work with cartridges, but didn't work for me. When I emptied the cartridge into the gun, it worked amazing.
Bearing Packer
ITEM 97489-2VGA
$3.99
PASS
This thing is awesome. I have never used a name brand or high end model, so no real comparison. It worked great on my wheel bearings, and kept me cleaner than normal.
vartz04
Well-known member
ITEM 42191-2VGA 3 piece hex to socket adapter
PASS
I bought 2 thinking they would be crappy and fail under the 130ft lbs my ryobi impact puts out, nope, still kickin after doing lots of auto work, I push them to the limit of the gun too.
3.99 reg price, i got them on sale for 1.49
ITEM 95395-0VGA 6 piece deepwell external torx sockets
Pass
made by pitsburg, work great, ran them on an impact and air ratchet to get seat bolts out with no issues.
Even the rail the sockets are on feels nice compared to the rails they sell at HF
ITEM 66836-0VGA Hook and pick set
PASS
Works good for my light duty needs, very sharp however.
PASS
I bought 2 thinking they would be crappy and fail under the 130ft lbs my ryobi impact puts out, nope, still kickin after doing lots of auto work, I push them to the limit of the gun too.
3.99 reg price, i got them on sale for 1.49
ITEM 95395-0VGA 6 piece deepwell external torx sockets
Pass
made by pitsburg, work great, ran them on an impact and air ratchet to get seat bolts out with no issues.
Even the rail the sockets are on feels nice compared to the rails they sell at HF
ITEM 66836-0VGA Hook and pick set
PASS
Works good for my light duty needs, very sharp however.
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T VETTE
Well-known member
I just bought the 20# sand blaster for some small jobs that I have. I must say that it does work fine, so a PASS, but the instructions to put all the fittings and shut off valves together was HORRIBLE. The hose clamps are junk that hold on two of the lines and are a danger, if they come loose, as mine started to, boom, 100+ psi at you.
dolfans
Well-known member
I have never bought anything from HF yet.I hope to get a gift card for Christmas and then I will.I want to get a air angle die grinder but not sure which one.The ones I found are 1/4Central Pneumatic # 93727-3bta,1/4 front exhaust air angle die grinder C.P. #52848-2BTA(looks like the 1 shown here),1/4 air angle die grinder kit #93157-2bta C.P. this is a online and catalog item.Cant find any others, which ones is that you guys have?I have heard the hvlp paint guns are very good.How is the air filters and dyers for air compressures,what about the autobody hammers are they any good? thanks
rjohnson
Well-known member
I think it all depends how much you use it.
tpolley
Well-known member
fail - automatic center punch 91080. i want my $2.99 back.
i also bought a 12 volt heater/fan, item number 96144, for dre-frosting the windshield on my diesel since it takes forever to heat up. i'm thinking about giving it a fail because the airflow *****. it gets warm but it doesn't move enough air to do have an affect. it might remove some light frost if you let it sit long enough. the type of frost you can wipe off with the windshield wipers and be done with. it's still summer and i haven't used it yet. i'm just speculating.
i also bought a 12 volt heater/fan, item number 96144, for dre-frosting the windshield on my diesel since it takes forever to heat up. i'm thinking about giving it a fail because the airflow *****. it gets warm but it doesn't move enough air to do have an affect. it might remove some light frost if you let it sit long enough. the type of frost you can wipe off with the windshield wipers and be done with. it's still summer and i haven't used it yet. i'm just speculating.
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malibu101
Well-known member
You're right about the heater. You mean the yellow and black thing? I bought one to help out the defroster until the engine warms up too.
Your initial thought is correct-The amount of heat it puts out is very small. It will barely, if at all, do what you want. It didn't for me.
Your initial thought is correct-The amount of heat it puts out is very small. It will barely, if at all, do what you want. It didn't for me.
GT89mustang
Well-known member
Take that one back and get the brass handled one, it works better.
Yes, the brass one works fine for me too
Wouldn't call posting a website trolling:
"a troll is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community"
Anyways, yes, my website www.hfreviews.com where you can post rants/raves about Harbor Freight stuff. I got tired of reading through massive phpBB posts (like this one) that take forever to find the item your actually looking for reviews to, so I built a site that doesn't require you to dig up the image or part number, you can quickly review and item and it will keep them all on the same page for the same item - making it simple to read about reviews for a particular item without having to dig through thread after thread on forums.
Scotto
Well-known member
Wouldn't call posting a website trolling:
"a troll is someone who posts controversial, inflammatory, irrelevant or off-topic messages in an online community"
Anyways, yes, my website where you can post rants/raves about Harbor Freight stuff. I got tired of reading through massive phpBB posts (like this one) that take forever to find the item your actually looking for reviews to, so I built a site that doesn't require you to dig up the image or part number, you can quickly review and item and it will keep them all on the same page for the same item - making it simple to read about reviews for a particular item without having to dig through thread after thread on forums.
You joined this site for the sole purpose of advertising your site though. That's considered trolling.
r6_cannibal
Well-known member
Agreed, that would be considered trolling still or fishing for traffic.
waterppk, If you'd like to advertise on the site I would suggest contacting one of the admins. It seems like you mean well, but your first post shouldn't be a link to a different site.
sasquach
Well-known member
What the f--k is the problem the guy came on here trying to help us out and make something easyer to look up and everyone jumps his **** . Come on give the guy a break .
W_KY
Well-known member
Anybody ever bought one the ratchet bar clamps/spreader (part # 46807) from HF (http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa...o?itemid=46807&CategoryName=&SubCategoryName=). I'm not needing a lot of pressure. I saw that there is a coupon for the 36" for 4.99 I think. Also, anybody ever bought one of those bicycle lifts from them (part # 95803). Its also on sale 6.99 so I figured might be worth risking.
Scotto
Well-known member
I haven't, but I've been interested in picking up a couple. Let us know how they work out if you get one
.Chris Adams
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2007
- Messages
- 2,117
Ditto. Been using the brass one for about three years, no problems.
Chris Adams
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2007
- Messages
- 2,117
Don't think they are 'jumping his ****' so much as pointing out that he is trolling.
By the way, I don't think his site is a bad idea, and I don't object to him posting the link.
But you notice he has NOT contributed to this site, rather just slammed the site (rather mildly) and suggested you go somewhere else, his site.
I actually hope his site works, is useful and has lots of posters.
I also wish he had taken time to contribute a few dozen times before using this site to advertise his site...
Hey WaterPPK, welcome to the board. Stick around, engage in discussion, you are obviously a toolish kind of guy, the sort we like to have around here. I'm sure you have good ideas and opinions that are worth sharing, so "jump in, the water is fine!"
I checked out your site, it's a great idea, and the organization is definitely superior to a BB. The difficulty will be to get people to leave a site they already visit (like this) to post at yours, but as momentum builds I think you may have a winner.
How do you plan to keep your new site updated given how quickly stock changes at HF? Given that you will basically be working for free? Or will your site become a pay site at some point? I would also like to be reassured that HF is not sponsoring your site, nor that it will be offered to sale to them in the future.
I realize I am hijacking my own thread here, sorry, B.
I checked out your site, it's a great idea, and the organization is definitely superior to a BB. The difficulty will be to get people to leave a site they already visit (like this) to post at yours, but as momentum builds I think you may have a winner.
How do you plan to keep your new site updated given how quickly stock changes at HF? Given that you will basically be working for free? Or will your site become a pay site at some point? I would also like to be reassured that HF is not sponsoring your site, nor that it will be offered to sale to them in the future.
I realize I am hijacking my own thread here, sorry, B.
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r6_cannibal
Well-known member
the clamp/spreaders are pretty nice. I used them in both orientations often and you can get a decent amount of force out on the spreader. The one thing I would caution on is when you're purchasing them make sure they are not too loose and slide on thier own when you position the bar vertically.
As long as you treat them like toys and not like "real" tools they work ok, but much force and they lockup. Used within there limits they are handy, and I think I was able to return the broken ones for replacements.
Spreading, as in prying something apart was the greater **** direction. Clamping like for gluing doesn't take a lot of force, but spreading you need some umph to break things loose, and these don't do umph.
*************************
Posting referral links to your own site usually gets a person banned and the posts deleted, ESPECIALLY for a competing site. This forum is a business and its just like someone walking into the local hardware store and tacking up a few signs for their hardware store.
30" Magnetic Sweeper with Wheels
Item: 93245
Pass
Picked it up for $29.99 after web site price match and 20% off coupon.
Works great for picking up nail after a roofing job. Even works in the grass. Granted, it doesn't get all the nails out of the grass, but i gets more faster than you could by hand.
Works awesome on smooth surfaces like driveways and shop floors.
+1 !!!!
I just had some new siding and trim put up, so I used this to go over the entire yard. You may have to make several passes, but it works well. It is very sturdy, and is pretty good quality, especially by HF standards. The website doesn't indicate this, but the height is adjustable. This comes in handy if you need to use it in your yard.
It was kind of a one time use item for me, but the $30 was worth it in terms of reducing the number of flat tires.
I had a very smart friend build a system that indexes their content and automatically updates the reviews site (screen scraping, yeah, we're both students and have nothing better to be doing), it's pretty cool and requires no manual labor (click a button and wait about 30 minutes).
Definitely not making any money on it (I tossed adwords on it but it most likely won't cover the hosting), I wanted to learn PHP and mySQL and needed an excuse, I had a friend help me get started. You have my assurances it won't become a pay site in the future, the Harbor Freight crowd is trying to save money on everything, you'll never get them to pay anything for reviews of cheap tools
I'm definitely not affiliated with Harbor Freight in any way, I'm actually very surprised I haven't gotten a very angry e-mail/call from them yet for using their images with the reviews (and/or the site in general). I'm not trying to sell the site to them and judging by their mess of a website they don't put much value into web stuff anyways (and I'm not planning on selling it to them in the future).
If you have other thoughts about the site feel free to share, I recently finished it but I'm still adding features - I'm open to opinions. It's pretty plain looking intentionally, it's a nice contrast to the Harbor Freight page