The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...

[DFB]

I'd like an ammeter. Anyone have experience with the Harbor Freight Cen-Tech Clamp Meter?

https://www.harborfreight.com/digital-clamp-meter-96308.html

Flipped a few of those on my tool table, they are really tiny.

Thought they also had a 7 function too but looks like they have done away with it for the new AMES series of clamp meters

I prefer the Uni Trend 200 series of AC clamp for not much more money than the one you linked. There are numerous models with various features. I have 202A maybe cost $10 more. They are larger but still compact, solidly built and come with a zippered storage case

(have few different Uni's MM)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00SX7MM9O/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Lately some around here have liked the 210E mini for about $40-50 which also does DC AMPS

 

[ndnchf]

HF 350lb welding cart #56191 - Pass.

After I bought a Hobart 210 MVP MIG, I realized that I needed a sturdier cart than the one I had. After looking at the options, I picked up this one.

https://www.harborfreight.com/350-lbs-capacity-welding-cart-56191.html

I was pleasantly surprised how nice it is. The kit assembled easily, directions were pretty good. It has rubber wheels, not cheap plastic. The gas bottle is held securely with two chains. The two vertical handles seem a little odd, but actually work very well. I'm very satisfied with it.

 

[fasteddie]

I don't have one of these but HF has recalled the Gordon pocket knife. You can get your $5 back.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/05/us/harbor-freight-tools-gordon-folding-knives-recall-trnd/index.html

 

[Aeroman]

That's nice. Never seen the cart before. Must be new?

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[dimichele]

Does anyone have the 6 ton or 12 ton Jack stands? My truck has a small lift and I need taller Jack stands, my 3 tons dont reach the frame.

Just curious on the build quality and if you would feel safe crawling around under your truck.

12 ton jack stands are a pass. Plenty beefy for a lifted truck.

 

[dahwheel]

I will buy their wrenches if I need to grind one down to fit something

 

[dahwheel]

I have a similar HF cart and am very happy with it

 

[JRC3]

I will buy their wrenches if I need to grind one down to fit something

Sounds like a solid pass.

 

[jgromada]

I recently bought my first Icon tool the other day as my local HF just rolled out their Icon line. I had been interested in actually trying one out since i had been reading about the Icon rollout. I bought a comfort grip 1/4 ratchet as my other 1/4 ratchets aren't all that great.

This one is very nice! Initial impressions are that the packaging is overkill. Nice quality but why? I am going to store it in my tool cabinet drawer with my other ratchets so it will not feel lonely at all. Its got a nice feel for the ratchet mechanism, very defined action. A review I saw on YT said his was dry and maybe at some point I will see fit to put more grease in, but no immediate need. In the limited use I've had with it, feels great, nice socket retention (variety of socket brands including Proto, Craftsmen, SK & Gearwrench. ) Seems like a good value for money. The selector worked fine with a very distinct action. Rapidly turning the ratchet head does not result in the selector lever moving around like with the old Craftsman raised panel (US) made. Back drag seems minimal as well. I cringe when i see these reviews that intend on inducing failure. If it seems like it will take an inordinate amount of force I will reach for a breaker bar first. Seems like a truly fair evaluation would be to use the ratchet for a year or so and then really have a better feeling for its quality.

So that's a big PASS btw

You can see no brand loyalty with me, i use what works. I had a Gearwrench available for comparison and a variety of similar brands and it s at least as good as any of those. I don't own any SO so I would never say better than SO. If that's what you want to spend your money on that's fine and I suppose if you are a Professional Mechanic that's what you need.

BTW there is a 10% no exclusion coupon floating around on one of the numerous HF coupon sites. It worked fine, but strangely enough the cashier seemed totally surprised and even brought it to the manager's attention. HF will always be HF so use a coupon if you can.
www.hfcoupons.com
www.hfqpn.com
www.struggleville.net

 

[giants]

I recently bought my first Icon tool the other day as my local HF just rolled out their Icon line. I had been interested in actually trying one out since i had been reading about the Icon rollout. I bought a comfort grip 1/4 ratchet as my other 1/4 ratchets aren't all that great.

This one is very nice! Initial impressions are that the packaging is overkill. Nice quality but why? I am going to store it in my tool cabinet drawer with my other ratchets so it will not feel lonely at all. Its got a nice feel for the ratchet mechanism, very defined action. A review I saw on YT said his was dry and maybe at some point I will see fit to put more grease in, but no immediate need. In the limited use I've had with it, feels great, nice socket retention (variety of socket brands including Proto, Craftsmen, SK & Gearwrench. ) Seems like a good value for money. The selector worked fine with a very distinct action. Rapidly turning the ratchet head does not result in the selector lever moving around like with the old Craftsman raised panel (US) made. Back drag seems minimal as well. I cringe when i see these reviews that intend on inducing failure. If it seems like it will take an inordinate amount of force I will reach for a breaker bar first. Seems like a truly fair evaluation would be to use the ratchet for a year or so and then really have a better feeling for its quality.

So that's a big PASS btw

You can see no brand loyalty with me, i use what works. I had a Gearwrench available for comparison and a variety of similar brands and it s at least as good as any of those. I don't own any SO so I would never say better than SO. If that's what you want to spend your money on that's fine and I suppose if you are a Professional Mechanic that's what you need.

BTW there is a 10% no exclusion coupon floating around on one of the numerous HF coupon sites. It worked fine, but strangely enough the cashier seemed totally surprised and even brought it to the manager's attention. HF will always be HF so use a coupon if you can.
www.hfcoupons.com
www.hfqpn.com
www.struggleville.net

Thanks for your post. What brand were your original 1/4" ratchets? What was it that you disliked about them. How much did your ICON ratchet cost? What was the model number? Thanks

 

[fasteddie]

Icon 3/8" flex head recall.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Bauer 20v Cordless Grinder........FAIL!!!!

What a *************! I forgot my Milwaukee 18v at home today, so I borrowed an employee's Bauer to cut a couple of padlocks. Not only was the thing absolutely gutless, it would stall out or go into overload mode with the slightest amount of pressure. The tool was essentially useless. Additionally, the switch was garbage (hard to engage and release). If it was mine I would return it.

Keep in mind, my Milwaukee will cut 50+ locks on one 5AH battery in 100+ degree weather, and I've never had an issue with it stalling.

 

[Newell33]

Bauer 20v Cordless Grinder........FAIL!!!!

What a *************! I forgot my Milwaukee 18v at home today, so I borrowed an employee's Bauer to cut a couple of padlocks. Not only was the thing absolutely gutless, it would stall out or go into overload mode with the slightest amount of pressure. The tool was essentially useless. Additionally, the switch was garbage (hard to engage and release). If it was mine I would return it.

Keep in mind, my Milwaukee will cut 50+ locks on one 5AH battery in 100+ degree weather, and I've never had an issue with it stalling.

Sounds like my Milwaukee M18 grinder. Is yours the Fuel version? Mine is non-Fuel, and shuts down with the slightest load. I was actually thinking about trying the Bauer as I wanted to get into the Bauer line for a couple other tools.

 

[jgromada]

Thanks for your post. What brand were your original 1/4" ratchets? What was it that you disliked about them. How much did your ICON ratchet cost? What was the model number? Thanks

i have a variety of ratchets, but the one i mostly used was a Craftsmen raised panel. I also have an old SK.


i bought this one
https://www.harborfreight.com/14-in...t-grip-56187.html?_br_psugg_q=icon+hand+tools

There is a 10 % off coupon valid to end of November. SO i paid $29 - $3

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Sounds like my Milwaukee M18 grinder. Is yours the Fuel version? Mine is non-Fuel, and shuts down with the slightest load. I was actually thinking about trying the Bauer as I wanted to get into the Bauer line for a couple other tools.

Yeah, it's the Fuel version. Got it on recommendation from a member here that does offroad vehicle fab.

 

[woody6904]

Sounds like my Milwaukee M18 grinder. Is yours the Fuel version? Mine is non-Fuel, and shuts down with the slightest load. I was actually thinking about trying the Bauer as I wanted to get into the Bauer line for a couple other tools.

Sounds like our Milwaukee at work too

 

[1982fxr]

Bauer 20v Cordless Grinder........FAIL!!!!

What a *************! I forgot my Milwaukee 18v at home today, so I borrowed an employee's Bauer to cut a couple of padlocks. Not only was the thing absolutely gutless, it would stall out or go into overload mode with the slightest amount of pressure. The tool was essentially useless. Additionally, the switch was garbage (hard to engage and release). If it was mine I would return it.

Keep in mind, my Milwaukee will cut 50+ locks on one 5AH battery in 100+ degree weather, and I've never had an issue with it stalling.

It's neither here nor there and none of my business but why so many padlocks?

 

[fasteddie]

It's neither here nor there and none of my business but why so many padlocks?

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

It's neither here nor there and none of my business but why so many padlocks?

Self storage business.....

 

[skulldrinker]

Any good or bads about the 3/4 impact gun. Not the cheap $99 one im talking anput the $250 gun #62892.

Its on sale till the end of the month and want to pick one up.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

 

[laser3kw]

Viking 4 amp battery charger - Pass - with warning
I got this earlier this year to replace my Schumacher. It works good to charge and maintain batteries as far as I can tell. But, the other day, I got a battery off my work bench to put in my rider. This is a new battery that has been sitting for 18 months waiting for use. Of course, the battery was low from sitting in an unconditioned garage thru winters. The voltage was around 7 volts. I put the charge on it and it started its repair cycle where it tries to charge in bursts to get the battery to take a charge. If it does not accomplish it, it gives you a "bad battery" sign.
I knew the battery wasn't "bad". So I put my Scumacher on it for 6 hours and got the voltage up to 11.8 volts, then retried the Viking. The Viking then accepted the battery and finished charging the battery. It took a 24 hour period before it gave the green light that it was good to go.
Moral: don't trust the auto check / repair / bad battery part.

 

[giants]

Interesting. Thanks

 

[Legion Prime]

Yeah so many of the new electronic chargers while nice have that worthless "safety" feature where they don't work below a certain voltage. I have that same one I use for my truck but anytime I need anything more than a float charger I grab my big old metal charger that'll crank out .5A to 60A. The Viking red/green backlight though as an indicator is worthless. It will be green with my battery at 11.5V, and then when I check back the next day it'll be red at 13.5V, absolutely no rhyme nor reason.

 

[Shadowdog500]

Viking 4 amp battery charger - Pass - with warning
I got this earlier this year to replace my Schumacher. It works good to charge and maintain batteries as far as I can tell. But, the other day, I got a battery off my work bench to put in my rider. This is a new battery that has been sitting for 18 months waiting for use. Of course, the battery was low from sitting in an unconditioned garage thru winters. The voltage was around 7 volts. I put the charge on it and it started its repair cycle where it tries to charge in bursts to get the battery to take a charge. If it does not accomplish it, it gives you a "bad battery" sign.
I knew the battery wasn't "bad". So I put my Scumacher on it for 6 hours and got the voltage up to 11.8 volts, then retried the Viking. The Viking then accepted the battery and finished charging the battery. It took a 24 hour period before it gave the green light that it was good to go.
Moral: don't trust the auto check / repair / bad battery part.

Yeah so many of the new electronic chargers while nice have that worthless "safety" feature where they don't work below a certain voltage. I have that same one I use for my truck but anytime I need anything more than a float charger I grab my big old metal charger that'll crank out .5A to 60A. The Viking red/green backlight though as an indicator is worthless. It will be green with my battery at 11.5V, and then when I check back the next day it'll be red at 13.5V, absolutely no rhyme nor reason.

I agree with the comment above. This is normal with most of the newer battery chargers. If it doesn't see a certain charge level, it won’t even try to charge it. I also have an old fashioned manual battery charger that I use to just to get really low batteries charged enough for the new computer controlled automatic battery chargers to take over.

Last year I bought a Genius 3500 battery charger with repair capabilities. So far it has brought three batteries back form the dead without the need of my manual charger. The other thing is patience. It can take a day or two to fully charge a flat battery.

 

[kerryt1]

SKU 61635 - Warrior Carbon Steel Tapered Drill Bit and Countersink Set, 22 Pc.

Garbage.

 

[fartymarty]

SKU 61635 - Warrior Carbon Steel Tapered Drill Bit and Countersink Set, 22 Pc.

Garbage.

Those are for wood and soft material only right?
What's wrong with them specifically?

 

[Mister Moose]

HF has some newer socket handles, ratchet, drive, whatever you might call them. Has anyone put them to the test?

There's this one: https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-drive-professional-flex-head-long-handle-ratchet-62332.html

There is also one on the rack I'm not finding on line, there is a lockable joint about 2 inches from the socket, so you can form an 'L' shape for an offset type wrench.

I looked back 2 years on this thread and didn't see anything....

 

[paigej]

I prefer the green handle round head ones. No matter how tight you get the set screw the head wants to flop over, especially with larger sockets. They do have their place however as they are lower profile than the green ones.

 

[Nineeightyone]

HF has some newer socket handles, ratchet, drive, whatever you might call them. Has anyone put them to the test?

There's this one: https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-drive-professional-flex-head-long-handle-ratchet-62332.html

There is also one on the rack I'm not finding on line, there is a lockable joint about 2 inches from the socket, so you can form an 'L' shape for an offset type wrench.

I looked back 2 years on this thread and didn't see anything....

I prefer the green handle round head ones. No matter how tight you get the set screw the head wants to flop over, especially with larger sockets. They do have their place however as they are lower profile than the green ones.

I'm a fan of the flex-head ratchets, my 1/2" drive has been holding up well. The roto-head ratchets are also pretty handy when you need them, though I don't use mine especially frequently it's definitely a ratchet I'm glad I have for those weird situations where access is limited and/or I need an odd angle.

 

[javyLSU]

HF has some newer socket handles, ratchet, drive, whatever you might call them. Has anyone put them to the test?

There's this one: https://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-drive-professional-flex-head-long-handle-ratchet-62332.html

There is also one on the rack I'm not finding on line, there is a lockable joint about 2 inches from the socket, so you can form an 'L' shape for an offset type wrench.

I looked back 2 years on this thread and didn't see anything....

Search for "Pittsburgh Pro" and you'll find lots of feedback in other threads on these ratchets. They're pretty well-regarded, especially for the price you can get them for (there's a $5 off any Pittsburgh ratchet coupon that you can use on these). The biggest complaint seems to be "reversed" on-off switch. I own three of these ratchets (1/2" long flex, 3/8" long flex, and 1/4" flex) and they've been great for my use, no complaints whatsoever.

 

[pors997]

I'm looking for a good long 1/2 ratchet and was thinking of used snap-on. But this deal is good and will give a shot to HF Pittsburgh pro.

 

[ChrisLS8]

48" adjustable T square- pass, works like you'd expect and is quite a bit cheaper than my Empires that always walk off

Pocket Plane 94551- pass, after going through alot of Stanley surforms blades breaking early on at 8 bucks a pop I've been using the HF ones and I'm over 2 months on the same one with no issues. I havent been able to find a good source for just the surform blades so it's cheaper and easier to buy the HF ones in bulk with the 30 percent coupons

 

[CGarage]

Well played. AX = autocross, think "honey I shrunk the road course". It's racing accessible to everybody, and it's a hell of a good time for not a ton of money.

I thought it was Armani Exchange.

 

[fartymarty]

I thought it was Armani Exchange.

Someone didn't click the bouncing head....

 

[m6z]

What's the word on the fixed head 90T Icon ratchets?

Worth the $30 after the 20% coupon?

https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in...-profile-ratchet-with-comfort-grip-56190.html

https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-drive-professional-low-profile-ratchet-56193.html

 

[decableguy2000]

What's the word on the fixed head 90T Icon ratchets?

Worth the $30 after the 20% coupon?

https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in...-profile-ratchet-with-comfort-grip-56190.html

https://www.harborfreight.com/38-in-drive-professional-low-profile-ratchet-56193.html

Picked up the 1/2" long flex. Used it for a few suspension bolts with no issues.
My store was about wiped out of all sizes of ratchets after the coupon hit.

 

[platypus20]

I’ve bought some of the Harbor Freight’s Chief brand of premium air tools, I bought a 3/8” and 1/2” air drills and a couple of the grinders. They have been nothing but excellent. I also bought one of their Baxter brand 1/2” x 18” belt/band sander, I like it better than my similar sized Dynafile. All of the units are made in Taiwan

 

[Odd-job]

Compound dual action polishing pad. Unfortunately a fail. Had one blow apart halfway through a car on its maiden voyage.



Finished the job with the 2nd one and it didn’t look so good either. Also noticed foam seemed to be flying off the blue polishing one.

Thought I was getting a good deal at $4, but the griots red ones even at 3x the price seem to last much longer and are the better long term value.

 

[mfewtrail]

Compound dual action polishing pad. Unfortunately a fail. Had one blow apart halfway through a car on its maiden voyage.



Finished the job with the 2nd one and it didn’t look so good either. Also noticed foam seemed to be flying off the blue polishing one.

Thought I was getting a good deal at $4, but the griots red ones even at 3x the price seem to last much longer and are the better long term value.

Too much polish and/or working any pad too long can cause a failure like that. Also lifting a pad off the paint while the polisher is spinning will blow them apart as well. Not saying you were doing any of those things, just throwing that info out there.

As for foam coming off the pads while running: I believe HF used to supply backing plates with their polishers(if that's what you're using) that were a bit larger than the actual velcro pad attachment point. That means the area that's overlapping the actual backing on the pad has velcro fingers directly digging into the foam. With time and pressure, that should wear the foam away from the back of the pad and send small bits flying. I always used those with a Lake Country backing plate sized to the actual backing of the pad and never had any problem with them shedding foam. I still have probably half a dozen of those pads.

 

[Odd-job]

Too much polish and/or working any pad too long can cause a failure like that. Also lifting a pad off the paint while the polisher is spinning will blow them apart as well. Not saying you were doing any of those things, just throwing that info out there.



As for foam coming off the pads while running: I believe HF used to supply backing plates with their polishers(if that's what you're using) that were a bit larger than the actual velcro pad attachment point. That means the area that's overlapping the actual backing on the pad has velcro fingers directly digging into the foam. With time and pressure, that should wear the foam away from the back of the pad and send small bits flying. I always used those with a Lake Country backing plate sized to the actual backing of the pad and never had any problem with them shedding foam. I still have probably half a dozen of those pads.

Definitely not a professional user here. Hoping the first one blowing apart like it did was an isolated instance.

Will see how these hold up on the second go around next weekend. Might give the chemical guys pads a try next time though.