The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...

[back2class]

Roto head ratchet. You kow the one. Nice chrome Tiawan made with plastic grip. TOTAL POS. Used it today for the first time. Plastic handle started spinning on the steel shaft. Pulled it off and there is nothing really there from keeping it from doing that. When you stick a plastic handle on a smoothe round shaft how the hell is it gona stay on? Who needs a ratchet that the grip spina loose on. This is not just a bad one, it is a major design flaw. Seems pretty nice otherwise

 

[emeraldcoupe]

anyone used the work stands they sell? they have 200 and 500lb ratings

http://www.harborfreight.com/garage-shop/workbench/500-lb-capacity-portable-workstand-38779.html

 

[jam0o0]

had all of this stuff for over a year. some for three times that.

screw drivers - PASS - black, 4 sided handles. i have them in my trail truck and they work great out there were every fastener is rusty or dirty.

jack stands
- 6 ton and 12 ton - PASS - they are a little wobbly. but they hold up to my 6 and 8k lb trucks
- 3 ton - FAIL - the tops are shaped too much to work on the pinch weld on my family's smaller cars. they work fine but leave dents in the floor boards.

angle grinders(4" orange) - PASS - i get one for each of my attachments (grinder, cutting wheel, flap disk, twisted wire cup brush) and they hold up great. not as powerful as my old makita. had them for years now.

creeper - red with pivoting headrest - MARGINAL - i have to tighten the allen bolts holding the wheels on every month. the padding is mostly flat/gone after a year. the wheels pick up grinder dust and kitty litter. it still works and will work for moving furniture in a pinch. i love that i don't have to worry about using it wile welding.

2ton folding engine hoist - PASS - used it for a wile. lifts everything within the listed capacity. takes two people to role on carpet. as usual for HF some of the welds are questionable.

12 and 20 ton press, orange - PASS - they both could use better return springs. but even without that they work. have heard some stories of the cast press plate cracking energetically. some questionable welds, but no problems or cracking visible.

20 lb pressurized tank sand blaster - FAIL - valves all failed after one use wheels and handles very poorly made. can't actually fill it up or else it just clogs and you have to get all the sand out. uses WAY more air than what it's listed to use. maybe my compressor couldn't keep up but it doesn't even blast well. comes with hood that un-sews itself in a few hours.

14" chop saw blades - FAIL - deflect and don't cut square

air quick couplers - FAIL - last a good few months. then leak. they are a huge waste of air in my system now.

silver and demming 1/2-1" drill bit set (in the wooden box) - FAIL - the tips are all hand ground by a monkey. none of the tips are centered. they mostly don't cut hole the right size. after fixing some of the smaller sizes with my drill dr. they are awesome.

big furniture dolly - PASS - i've moved way over the listed capacity with a few of these and they still roll easy. despite use in terrible conditions. add some 2x12's and they double as a creeper.

 

[Homoudont]

jack stands
- 6 ton and 12 ton - PASS - they are a little wobbly. but they hold up to my 6 and 8k lb trucks
- 3 ton - FAIL - the tops are shaped too much to work on the pinch weld on my family's smaller cars. they work fine but leave dents in the floor boards.

Maybe I am wrong, but I've never put a jack stand under a floorboard. I've never been trained, but I've always put it under the frame of the vehicle. Am I the only one to do this?

 

[cherokee140]

Maybe I am wrong, but I've never put a jack stand under a floorboard. I've never been trained, but I've always put it under the frame of the vehicle. Am I the only one to do this?

Never put a jack stand under the floor board. Very thin there.

 

[fxt]

- 3 ton - FAIL - the tops are shaped too much to work on the pinch weld on my family's smaller cars. they work fine but leave dents in the floor boards.

bwahahhahahahahaahhah



i needed that

 

[Scotto]

- 3 ton - FAIL - the tops are shaped too much to work on the pinch weld on my family's smaller cars. they work fine but leave dents in the floor boards.

I've ran into the same deal. I'm thinking about filling in the top a bit because I've had this happen on a few cars.

 

[subarub4]

For the jack stands you need to buy the jack covers so it wont pinch.

 

[rayzor32]

you put a jackstand under a floorboard wtf put it under the sub frame

 

[787B]

Thanks, I bet that was the problem. I thought it would blast like a normal sandblaster gun. I deleted my thread since it appears to be "operator error".
(The clamp cutting the bag is still unacceptable.)

I deleted my post. So you delete both of yours and it will be like it never happened.

 

[787B]

For the jack stands you need to buy the jack covers so it wont pinch.

Yep.
Part # 95952, 2 Piece Rubber Pads for Jack Stand - PASS.
They do a good job of protecting frames and pinch welds, but still might be too deep for some cars. I've used them on non-HF jack stands too with success. They deform without cracking or breaking.

you put a jackstand under a floorboard wtf put it under the sub frame

Nope. Read more carefully: He put it on a pinch weld, but the center cavity is too deep so it dented the adjacent floor pan.

 

[rayzor32]

then dont put on the pinch weld put it on the subframe

 

[quick86]

http://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/polishers/7-inch-variable-speed-polisher-sander-92623.html

This thing is awesome. Variable speed. Works great on polishing cars. But I do use pads other than the HF ones.

 

[jeffk14]

then dont put on the pinch weld put it on the subframe

That's what I've always done. On newer FWD cars, I put a piece of 2X4 on the jack pad and jack on that formed channel (subframe?) that is part of what I call the "unibody". My terms may be all wrong here.

 

[jam0o0]

on our cars

bmw z3 coupe
mazda protege 5
mazda miata
nissan 370z

ALL of the owners manuals tell you to use the pinch welds for jacking. and i will continue to do so after denting the sub frame on the protege with a harbor freight jack stand. i have never used the floor board to support a vehicle. thanks 787b for clarifying. i'm back to using the 30 yr old jack stands on the pinch welds for the cars. the harbor fright big stands only get used for my trucks and trailers.

 

[spartyon8]

http://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/polishers/7-inch-variable-speed-polisher-sander-92623.html

This thing is awesome. Variable speed. Works great on polishing cars. But I do use pads other than the HF ones.

I give this a pass as well. I use the meguiar 8" pad with the HF velcro plate.

 

[subarub4]

I found this link saying the black friday sales for HF have been leaked?

http://www.supplychaindigital.com/i...10-black-friday-deals-are-first-leaked-season

 

[lipadj46]

I see the IR thermometer is going to be $20. I will be picking one up for that.

 

[stereobbq]

2 ton engine hoist/floor crane - pass, not bad actually for home use
leveler bar 2 ton - pass-ish, works okay but again is just okay for home use, there are a few issues with it, the fact that the handle came loose as i cranked was annoying me. and i haven't used to to level large engines, hard to imagine trying to do so with this.
engine stand - fail, the quality of the handle is terrible and dangerous although i have survived using it in the past
small magnetic pickup thing - fail
tire inflator attachment for air compressor with built in gauge - FAIL, this is the epitome of bad HF quality. gauge is inaccurate. hose became brittle and cracked/leaked after 6 months of use. terrible.
cheapo tire gauge - FAIL, as good of quality as a 25 cent vending machine toy. plain doesn't work and tries to come apart. what is this a joke.

i haven't bought anything at HF in years lol. i've learned my lesson.

 

[Tom2]

I found this link saying the black friday sales for HF have been leaked?

http://www.supplychaindigital.com/i...10-black-friday-deals-are-first-leaked-season

I think they have that ad in the store already. They usually have new coupons available way before they're usable. Nothing really great caught my attention.

 

[Racr350]

I see the IR thermometer is going to be $20. I will be picking one up for that.

You won't regret it..super efficient and incredibly accurate for the price.

 

[Shadowdog500]

My neighbor bought the 90 amp 110V, Flux Core MIG welder yesterday with a coupon for $89 and brought it over my shop last night to practice.

It is no Lincoln but for $89 it seems to be one hell of a welder. The flux core seems to have more splatter that a regular MIG welder but that cleans up no problem and the welds look good and are strong.

Chris

 

[lipadj46]

My neighbor bought the 90 amp 110V, Flux Core MIG welder yesterday with a coupon for $89 and brought it over my shop last night to practice.

It is no Lincoln but for $89 it seems to be one hell of a welder. The flux core seems to have more splatter that a regular MIG welder but that cleans up no problem and the welds look good and are strong.

Chris

Nice to hear, I was thinking about getting a cheap 110v welder to learn on.

 

[Tom2]

I've heard they're pretty darn good, but the flux core that comes with them ***** and splatters badly. Switching it out with some Lincoln from Lowes supposedly makes a huge difference. Waiting till I have a good excuse for a welder, and I'll probably pick it up as well.

 

[Indy_500]

anybody have the arc from HF?

 

[rayzor32]

I have it its not a bad little welder, the wire ***** and the duty cycle ***** but if you add an extra fan to it and get lincoln wire that little welder is great.

 

[Shadowdog500]

I picked up a spool of .030 Lincoln flux core wire while at Lowes today and asked my neighbor to come over again tonight. Wow, what a difference. The splatter problem practically disappeared and the welds came out beautiful and had much more penetration.

Chris

 

[Bo Heck]

Well thats great to here, is there an even better wire available? I thought I saw someone on this forum badmouthing the lincoln wire.

 

[lipadj46]

Well thats great to here, is there an even better wire available? I thought I saw someone on this forum badmouthing the lincoln wire.

I think with all the people in this forum you can find mostly all products are bad mouthed now and again.

 

[Tom2]

Well, I went ahead and bought the welder last night.

Had to weld an O2 bung onto my cat converter. Found that was as good excuse as any.

Also bought the .030 Lincoln flux wire.

The weld is incredibly ugly (it would make you cry!), but it'll hold. Been years since I last welded, and I've never welded with flux core. The splatter was way more than I expected. Penetration seemed fine. Welder should work good for some basic light welding here and there. Pretty much all I need it for. Bought the warranty with it just in case..

Also got the blue flame auto dark helmet. Works very well.

Oh, and also got the 3000lb aluminum racing jack. Haven't used it much, but is pretty light and rolls around easy. Also got the warranty with it - since the old jack it's replacing was only a couple years old and already leaking (from Sears).

 

[Romanova]

Bearing puller... pass. Worked great for pulling off the rear bearings for the Galant VR-4, which were very rusty after spending most of it's life up north. Not bad for $50 after 20% off coupon.

 

[anodyne33]

I finally bent the frame on my 3 in 1 ball joint / U joint press.

(trying to press a bottom out the wrong way)

Me = FAIL

 

[Danglerb]

This post says the wire HF sells on the shelf is actually better than the Lincoln wire they bought at Lowes. Sourced in Italy I think.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1095992&highlight=italian#post1095992

 

[rayzor32]

yeah it is from italy and its 30 bucks! pretty expensive it definetly isn't the same wire that comes with the welder. As said before the wire that comes with the welder stinks, the lincoln wire has alot less spatter.

 

[scott37300]

I finally bent the frame on my 3 in 1 ball joint / U joint press.

(trying to press a bottom out the wrong way)

Me = FAIL

So is this a decent press if you don't use it backwards? Would you buy another one? And do they warranty this, is it considered a handtool?

I was looking at getting one of them and heard they were pretty decent for the price.

 

[Tom2]

yeah it is from italy and its 30 bucks! pretty expensive it definetly isn't the same wire that comes with the welder. As said before the wire that comes with the welder stinks, the lincoln wire has alot less spatter.

Good to know! Maybe I'll buy it there next time. $30 is alot, but wire lasts pretty long for most people - and if it makes less of a mess, I'll pay it.

 

[340six]

I didn't know they sold urethane jack pads. Maybe I can stomach going in there and pick one up for my jack.

I need one of those I have the jack stand ones being an old thread I wonder if they still have them?
The aluiminum Floor Jack is 4+ years old and still works

 

[Danglerb]

Good to know! Maybe I'll buy it there next time. $30 is alot, but wire lasts pretty long for most people - and if it makes less of a mess, I'll pay it.

Don't forget the 20% off coupon.

Pretty sure the jack stand and jack pads are the same ones sold by most places.

Ball joint press should be lifetime warranty, no need to "buy" another.

 

[lipadj46]

I need one of those I have the jack stand ones being an old thread I wonder if they still have them?
The aluiminum Floor Jack is 4+ years old and still works

They are $8 I think.

 

[pmohr]

Don't forget the 20% off coupon.

Pretty sure the jack stand and jack pads are the same ones sold by most places.

Ball joint press should be lifetime warranty, no need to "buy" another.

Lifetime warranty is only on hand tools, not the specialty tools they have. Wouldn't warranty out the forcing screw on my wheel bearing kit a while back.