The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...

[jakemac]

With that much invested in tools, I don't think it makes sense to swap out all your tools just because you don't want to leave your gun in the car for 20 minutes. Just stop shopping there and go someplace else.

Only replace the tools with something else when they wear out, or when you lose them. It's not worth the expense doing it all at once. Swapping out your tools after they already have your money won't make the point you're trying to make. Sears corporate will never know, they'll hardly notice a drop in sales unless everyone in town joins your boycott.

I'd welcome you to the board, but joining just so you can vent about something that hasn't even been confirmed yet isn't the best way to introduce yourself online.

OBTW -
Don't think that because I don't agree with you that I'm just "another liberal bleeding heart' from the northeast. I happen to hold a Class A - Large Capacity LTC in one of the strictest gun control states in the US.

 

[toyoguy81]

I have purchased the brad nailer and hardwood floor nailer to do my house. I give it a PASS on both, I installed over 3000 sq ft of hardwood in my own house with both. Fortunately both have held up fine

 

[Coach James]

I have purchased several things at HF one was a short roller stool that adjusts. For $20.00 why complain it was $20.00 works great right now. I believe HF makes great priced items for mostly one time use. But to coin a phrase, "You get what you pay for" they are truly not Craftsman which I am a major fan of or should say have been most of my life. I heard a rumor that they are going to make their stores no firearms carry even people with a CPL. If this is truly the case I will be unloading Craftsman and starting over. I will not support their views on gun control but as I said this is through the grapevine so far. Anyone else hear anything about this? Anyone have any suitable value tool name to replace Craftsman tools with. I believe at last check I had somewhere in the neighborhood of $45,000.00 worth of the Craftsman name items. Thank you all for letting me blow off on your/our board.

How will getting rid of Craftsman tools you already paid for hurt Sears?

How did you spend $45,000 on Craftsman tools?

Coach

 

[Aquaticbob]

http://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-mig-welding-pliers-33836.html

Bought the MIG pliers they have, and I'm going to give them a fail. While they work great for picking smaller things up, they lack the other functions I wanted out of MIG pliers. They don't scrap off the slag too well on the inside of the nozzle, but it does get the job done. The reason I'm giving them the fail is because they DO NOT cut excess wire easily. In fact they couldn't cut the wire at all, I plan on returning these next time I go to harbor freight.

 

[unslow1]

I have purchased several things at HF one was a short roller stool that adjusts. For $20.00 why complain it was $20.00 works great right now. I believe HF makes great priced items for mostly one time use. But to coin a phrase, "You get what you pay for" they are truly not Craftsman which I am a major fan of or should say have been most of my life. I heard a rumor that they are going to make their stores no firearms carry even people with a CPL. If this is truly the case I will be unloading Craftsman and starting over. I will not support their views on gun control but as I said this is through the grapevine so far. Anyone else hear anything about this? Anyone have any suitable value tool name to replace Craftsman tools with. I believe at last check I had somewhere in the neighborhood of $45,000.00 worth of the Craftsman name items. Thank you all for letting me blow off on your/our board.

I would think it would hurt them a lot more if you just stopped shopping there. Then only went in to warranty items. Around here Sears is not the only place that carries Craftsman. Ace Hardware here has a pretty good selection.

 

[Stooge]

http://www.harborfreight.com/8-inch-mig-welding-pliers-33836.html

Bought the MIG pliers they have, and I'm going to give them a fail. While they work great for picking smaller things up, they lack the other functions I wanted out of MIG pliers. They don't scrap off the slag too well on the inside of the nozzle, but it does get the job done. The reason I'm giving them the fail is because they DO NOT cut excess wire easily. In fact they couldn't cut the wire at all, I plan on returning these next time I go to harbor freight.

Agreed, someone gave me a pair a year or 2 ago and they were terrible. Couldnt snip the wire, werent sharp enough to unscrew the tips and just an overall disappointment. I tgink i have a pqir of lincoln branded ones that are ok, but i still use some channellock snips to trim wire

 

[jim faston]

Agreed, someone gave me a pair a year or 2 ago and they were terrible. Couldnt snip the wire, werent sharp enough to unscrew the tips and just an overall disappointment. I tgink i have a pqir of lincoln branded ones that are ok, but i still use some channellock snips to trim wire

Channellock makes a welder's pliers:

https://www.channellock.com/product.aspx?zpid=834

 

[Stooge]

Channellock makes a welder's pliers:

https://www.channellock.com/product.aspx?zpid=834

Yeah i know, ive had them sitting in my tooltopia online cart for awhile now, just waiting to need a few more small things to make shipping worth it. Got a few gift cards over the holidays so they'll be mine soon enough

 

[Blazin8556]

http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-heavy-duty-pry-bar-set-1654.html

this was posted earlier in the thread and i give them a fail because one of the handles fell off.

http://www.harborfreight.com/30-inch-magnetic-sweeper-with-wheels-93245.html
Pass

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-amp-reciprocating-saw-with-rotating-handle-65570.html

had this for about 6 months. so far so good. but they sent extra brushes for the motor.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-piece-cold-chisel-and-punch-set-66440.html
pass. but ive done lost all of them but 2 or 3 so ill be buying some more.

all i can remember for now.

 

[f575gtc]

Any review for their powder coating system?

http://www.harborfreight.com/10-30-psi-powder-coating-system-94244.html

with a 25% coupon it will be sub $50

Or should I invest in a Eastwood kit or something?

 

[Aquaticbob]

Any review for their powder coating system?



http://www.harborfreight.com/10-30-psi-powder-coating-system-94244.html



with a 25% coupon it will be sub $50



Or should I invest in a Eastwood kit or something?

I don't have personal experience but I've seen people say they are really bad. I'm looking into a powder coating system myself so I'm interested if anyone has personal experience as well.

P.s. I'm interested in something for partial business use

 

[diggerrick]

Any review for their powder coating system?

http://www.harborfreight.com/10-30-psi-powder-coating-system-94244.html

with a 25% coupon it will be sub $50

Or should I invest in a Eastwood kit or something?

I've had that kit for years and it works great if you have clean dry air. You need to change the dryer/filter fairly often. Our local speed shop also did all their powder coating with that kit for several years, but I think they upgraded to an Eastwood since. They definitely got their money out of the HF kit though!

 

[Aquaticbob]

I've had that kit for years and it works great if you have clean dry air. You need to change the dryer/filter fairly often. Our local speed shop also did all their powder coating with that kit for several years, but I think they upgraded to an Eastwood since. They definitely got their money out of the HF kit though!

Interesting to hear that. I talked to a couple powder coat guys in the area and they said the harbor freight is really bad. Isn't consistent, clogs frequently. Perhaps they just didn't replace filters as necessary?

 

[f575gtc]

Yea this will be personal use for me, no business or anything curing in my old oven I just replaced.

Eastwood has the Original Hot coat for $69 dunno if I can say that here.

 

[Aquaticbob]

Yea this will be personal use for me, no business or anything curing in my old oven I just replaced.

Eastwood has the Original Hot coat for $69 dunno if I can say that here.

You can for sure say that here (from my own interpretation you can say anything as long as you aren't commercially promoting your own business, might be wrong about that as well). I'm looking at getting the dual voltage gun they have on eastwood to try out.

 

[kd4gij]

I have purchased several things at HF one was a short roller stool that adjusts. For $20.00 why complain it was $20.00 works great right now. I believe HF makes great priced items for mostly one time use. But to coin a phrase, "You get what you pay for" they are truly not Craftsman which I am a major fan of or should say have been most of my life. I heard a rumor that they are going to make their stores no firearms carry even people with a CPL. If this is truly the case I will be unloading Craftsman and starting over. I will not support their views on gun control but as I said this is through the grapevine so far. Anyone else hear anything about this? Anyone have any suitable value tool name to replace Craftsman tools with. I believe at last check I had somewhere in the neighborhood of $45,000.00 worth of the Craftsman name items. Thank you all for letting me blow off on your/our board.

The way I look at it is I f I am in there stoore and don't need my weapon then thay will never know I have it. K mart has had that policy for years.

 

[nicksnothereman]

I have purchased several things at HF one was a short roller stool that adjusts. For $20.00 why complain it was $20.00 works great right now. I believe HF makes great priced items for mostly one time use. But to coin a phrase, "You get what you pay for" they are truly not Craftsman which I am a major fan of or should say have been most of my life. I heard a rumor that they are going to make their stores no firearms carry even people with a CPL. If this is truly the case I will be unloading Craftsman and starting over. I will not support their views on gun control but as I said this is through the grapevine so far. Anyone else hear anything about this? Anyone have any suitable value tool name to replace Craftsman tools with. I believe at last check I had somewhere in the neighborhood of $45,000.00 worth of the Craftsman name items. Thank you all for letting me blow off on your/our board.

Yeah there are lots of places that have that policy. I don't know dude, if you live in a rural area there probably isn't a whole lot of armed crime so maybe if you're walking in there with a gun that's what they're going to assume you're doing. We got lots of gun owners here and I generally have never seen anyone openly armed (which is legal here) more than a couple of times in the past 4 years (twice). Mostly property crime and domestic violence here.

 

[jmlcolorado]

Any review for their powder coating system?

http://www.harborfreight.com/10-30-psi-powder-coating-system-94244.html

with a 25% coupon it will be sub $50

Or should I invest in a Eastwood kit or something?

I've had mine for a while now and have coated quite a bit of stuff with it. It's not all that consistent, but for hobby use it's okay. Certainly not for partial business use where you making money relies on your equipment working right.
To start out, I'd give it a pass. For long term, daily, even weekly use, fail.

If you do try it, buy your powders elsewhere. Not like HF has a giant selection of colors anyways (read 5 colors).

 

[f575gtc]

Is it inconsistent due to the powder clumping up etc or the spray in general/ voltage isn't consistent

 

[Danglerb]

Any reviews on the 25 Ft. Drain Cleaner With Drill Attachment? It's on sale for $10...I have a clogged pipe in my pool piping...The wifes gonna pick me one up today...

http://www.harborfreight.com/25-ft-drain-cleaner-with-drill-attachment-66262.html

The same as far as I can tell as the double the price version at HD etc. Most bad reviews I would put down to user error, but its a snake, not a magic wand.

This type of job requires 3 basic tools and some variety of goop. A good plunger is the first line, then a fairly heavy toilet auger, then a device like this 25' skinny auger. Careful use of one or more goop products, most will say don't use on a toilet, give some thought before doing it anyway as it is dangerous.

Don't use this with much force or speed.
Do buy a couple pieces of grey plastic conduit, 3' of straight and a right angle to protect the toilet bowl from damage and generally make using the snake easier.
Go easy and repeat.
It may NOT work, the first time, the second time, ever. You aren't plumber, and it is not a professional tool.
Wear some cheap leather gloves.
Let the line dry off, and spray with WD40 or ilk, it WILL rust, which in turn can stain things.

Don't run the snake all the way out, it comes loose.

 

[Danglerb]

http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-heavy-duty-pry-bar-set-1654.html

this was posted earlier in the thread and i give them a fail because one of the handles fell off.

http://www.harborfreight.com/30-inch-magnetic-sweeper-with-wheels-93245.html
Pass

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-amp-reciprocating-saw-with-rotating-handle-65570.html

had this for about 6 months. so far so good. but they sent extra brushes for the motor.

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-piece-cold-chisel-and-punch-set-66440.html
pass. but ive done lost all of them but 2 or 3 so ill be buying some more.

all i can remember for now.

The links get truncated so what the item is isn't displayed.

4-piece-heavy-duty-pry-bar-set-1654

this was posted earlier in the thread and i give them a fail because one of the handles fell off.

30-inch-magnetic-sweeper-with-wheels-93245
Pass

6-amp-reciprocating-saw-with-rotating-handle-65570

had this for about 6 months. so far so good. but they sent extra brushes for the motor.

12-piece-cold-chisel-and-punch-set

 

[diggerrick]

Interesting to hear that. I talked to a couple powder coat guys in the area and they said the harbor freight is really bad. Isn't consistent, clogs frequently. Perhaps they just didn't replace filters as necessary?

Don't know about others' experiences, but I did several parts and brackets in black for my race car with it and they came out pretty nice. I had the speed shop do my throttle cable bracket and relay cover in near chrome before I bought my own kit, and they were nice too.

Maybe if I used it more I would notice inconsistency, but it has been worth the $60 for me. If you can pick up the Eastwood kit for $69, that would be a no-brainer now though - I think that kit used to be double or triple that price.

 

[becker_atc]

Has anybody bought either of these small metal tool boxes?

21" http://www.harborfreight.com/steel-toolbox-91111.html

17" http://www.harborfreight.com/steel-toolbox-97532.html

Wanting something like one of these to put few tools in for at work (plant operator) and hate having to track down basic hand tools. These it looks like would fit in my locker. contents would be some sockets (3/8 and 1/2 SAE) ratchet and extension, SAE wrench set, few screw drivers, pliers ect. Just common stuff i see my self needing on weekends and nights when the mechanics aint around.

 

[Blazin8556]

The links get truncated so what the item is isn't displayed.

4-piece-heavy-duty-pry-bar-set-1654

this was posted earlier in the thread and i give them a fail because one of the handles fell off.

30-inch-magnetic-sweeper-with-wheels-93245
Pass

6-amp-reciprocating-saw-with-rotating-handle-65570

had this for about 6 months. so far so good. but they sent extra brushes for the motor.

12-piece-cold-chisel-and-punch-set

not sure what to do about it. i copied and pasted the links exactly as they were in the address bar. maybe cause im using firefox?

 

[mayday0017]

21 degree framing nailer big pass, my dewalt crapped out so grabbed one in a pinch. $65 with tax and 1,000 nails later still works perfect! Really impressed with the gun hate to say it but there are better features and design on it then my dewalt let's see how it does for long haul though....

Update: 50/50 pass, the next day after posting this it worked good for about another 500 nails then started jamming constantly. Went and returned it and grabbed another and have put around 2,000 nails through it but jammed yesterday evening when it snapped off a nail head somehow and it got caught behind the piston rod. All and all not bad guns, but I won't say they are as good as a name brand but these are harbofreight and 1/2 the cost or less so it should be expected. Even name brands will jam from time to time....

 

[Danglerb]

not sure what to do about it. i copied and pasted the links exactly as they were in the address bar. maybe cause im using firefox?

No its the forum software that shortens the appearance of the link, the link itself is still complete.

Paste twice, cut out the URL info in the first one so it has all the info and none of the link to use as the title.

 

[flashman]

I bought this drill today because I fried my Skil corded drill trying to mix thinset. I give this a resounding pass. I used the 25% coupon and this came out to $40.17 after tax and I am pleased with that price. I figured if I only get the little bit of use out of it to redo my bathroom it was worth it. Home Depot charges $20 a day to rent and this will be with me more than 2 days.

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-heavy-duty-spade-handle-drill-93632.html

 

[daparrothead]

100% PASS!
I received this pass thru socket set as a Christmas gift, honestly figured in was junk so I put it to the test the last several days and it has held up great! You can get in places with it a normal ratchet & socket won't fit which is extremely handy.
They are on sale right now for $19.99 and worth every penny.

http://www.harborfreight.com/21-piece-saemetric-go-thru-socket-set-67974.html

 

[bhays]

100% PASS!

I received this pass thru socket set as a Christmas gift, honestly figured in was junk so I put it to the test the last several days and it has held up great! You can get in places with it a normal ratchet & socket won't fit which is extremely handy.

They are on sale right now for $19.99 and worth every penny.



http://www.harborfreight.com/21-piece-saemetric-go-thru-socket-set-67974.html

I have had that set for a couple of years now and it has held up well with limited use.

 

[Farmall 1066]

60804 Swedish style pipe wrench is a major pass. Got both the HF and Snap On versions and the HF does just fine.

 

[tcianci]

HF Multi function tool finally quit but a resounding PASS!
I bought the base HF multi function cut off tool when they first came out with it. I have been using it nearly every day for years. The first time it quit was because of a bad crimp on one of the wires. Easy fix. The 2nd time it quit, ( a few years later) the braid to one of the brushes fell off. I knew that the tool came with spare brushes, but I couldn't find mine so I jury rigged it to supply current to the brush through the spring that tensions it. A couple of days ago I went to turn it on and nothing! I kinda got a smile on my face because I had a 25% coupon for HF and I have been wanting the variable speed version of that tool ever since they introduced it. I bought the new unit but I'm still going to take the old one apart and see If I can get one more rodeo out of it.

We all know about the general reputation of HF stuff but this tool has been a real workhorse and well worth the 20 to 30 bucks I paid for it years ago!
__________________
People are doing either what they THINK is right or what they KNOW is wrong.

 

[Breen11]

100% PASS!
I received this pass thru socket set as a Christmas gift, honestly figured in was junk so I put it to the test the last several days and it has held up great! You can get in places with it a normal ratchet & socket won't fit which is extremely handy.
They are on sale right now for $19.99 and worth every penny.

http://www.harborfreight.com/21-piece-saemetric-go-thru-socket-set-67974.html

I have had that set for a couple of years now and it has held up well with limited use.

Good to know. I just picked this set up with a 25% off coupon.

(69238) 7 Piece Metric Nut Driver Set, Pass. My only complaints are it doesnt list the size on the handle, & the size is lightly stamped into the metal, so you can barely read it.

(46526) Face Shield, Pass.

 

[Crow Horse]

Don't know about others' experiences, but I did several parts and brackets in black for my race car with it and they came out pretty nice. I had the speed shop do my throttle cable bracket and relay cover in near chrome before I bought my own kit, and they were nice too.

Maybe if I used it more I would notice inconsistency, but it has been worth the $60 for me. If you can pick up the Eastwood kit for $69, that would be a no-brainer now though - I think that kit used to be double or triple that price.

I don't have any experience with the HF powder coat system but I do know a thing or two about PCing. One thing that most folks either don't know or don't care about is the prep work, washing. Not only degreasing but if one wants to do it properly and provide the best possible corrosion resistant coating, you have to either use a phosphatizing (iron or zinc) wash (spray or bath). Not only does this process clean and degrease, but it also creates a conversion coating with a crystalline surface that provides corrosion resistance AND a very good surface for the PC to adhere to. This is over simplified, but it seems that this is overlooked. The 2 most important steps in PCing are the wash and the cure. If these steps are done poorly, the PC job is more than likely destined to fail prematurely. Just something to consider.......

 

[Scout Driver]

zip ties............

Massive fail! They either dont' lock in place or break. Tried half a dozen of them and they all failed readily.

Scott

 

[atwageman]

zip ties............

Massive fail! They either dont' lock in place or break. Tried half a dozen of them and they all failed readily.

Scott

The black 8" ones I recently purchased are holding up fine. All I'm doing with them though is looming wire.

 

[Aquaticbob]

http://m.harborfreight.com/33-piece-comfort-grip-screwdriver-set-61255.html

Pass - minus the bit driver (unsure about the bits)

So far I'm really liking this screwdriver set. The tips are magnetic so that's actually really nice. It's not very strong but it's noticeable. The handles fit really nicely in my hands, the comfort grips are pretty nice actually. I also like how each driver is marked in size. So far I've used them mostly on working on car stereos but they will get more variety of use for sure.

The bit driver that comes with it kinda *****, doesn't hold the bits too well, so that's a fail right there. Honestly I'm not worried about it, I've got a better bit driver anyway and the extra bits will be nice. I'll have to update later with how well the bits work on another driver

 

[pauls_workshop]

HF Multi function tool finally quit but a resounding PASS!
I bought the base HF multi function cut off tool when they first came out with it. I have been using it nearly every day for years. The first time it quit was because of a bad crimp on one of the wires. Easy fix. The 2nd time it quit, ( a few years later) the braid to one of the brushes fell off. I knew that the tool came with spare brushes, but I couldn't find mine so I jury rigged it to supply current to the brush through the spring that tensions it. A couple of days ago I went to turn it on and nothing! I kinda got a smile on my face because I had a 25% coupon for HF and I have been wanting the variable speed version of that tool ever since they introduced it. I bought the new unit but I'm still going to take the old one apart and see If I can get one more rodeo out of it.

We all know about the general reputation of HF stuff but this tool has been a real workhorse and well worth the 20 to 30 bucks I paid for it years ago!
__________________
People are doing either what they THINK is right or what they KNOW is wrong.

TCI: 2x that pass on the old cheapest HF style multitool, but for anyone near a Menards, they had on BF and still have at the same sale price, the equivalent but rebadged HF variable speed multitool in Performax brand but with dozens more bits included for $29.99. It is cheaper at this price than the HF and the bits make it pretty much a free tool! - Paul

 

[pauls_workshop]

http://m.harborfreight.com/33-piece-comfort-grip-screwdriver-set-61255.html

Pass - minus the bit driver (unsure about the bits)

So far I'm really liking this screwdriver set. The tips are magnetic so that's actually really nice. It's not very strong but it's noticeable. The handles fit really nicely in my hands, the comfort grips are pretty nice actually. I also like how each driver is marked in size. So far I've used them mostly on working on car stereos but they will get more variety of use for sure.

The bit driver that comes with it kinda *****, doesn't hold the bits too well, so that's a fail right there. Honestly I'm not worried about it, I've got a better bit driver anyway and the extra bits will be nice. I'll have to update later with how well the bits work on another driver

AquaBob: Do you know if these are the same tips as the $7.99 Pittsburgh set everyone loves, just more of them and a better handle? Or are these fundamentally different? Although most of the HF screwdrivers have been mentioned sometime or place on the forums in the past, it would be really good for newer people joining here to know which HF sets are good ones and which are the lousy ones! Which precision are good? Which others are as good as the $7.99 Pitt set everyone loves? thx- Paul

 

[NWphotog]

The black 8" ones I recently purchased are holding up fine. All I'm doing with them though is looming wire.

I do structured cabling where you don't want zip ties too tight. They work fantastic for that.

 

[AndrewV]

13 pc "deep" 1/2 impact metric set.
Pass: Going on 6yrs. You'll have to add missing sockets though, set is uncomplete.

10pc, 1/2 short impact socket metric set.
Pass: Same as above, going on 6yrs. No issues. But not a complete set.

2 pc universal impact set.
Fail: Joints gave out on second use.

4 Piece 1/2" Drive Impact Flip Socket Set
PassIsh: They work, they wobble more than i would perfer. A year later, the extintion failed, but short drive later, it was warrantied.

More later on.