The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...

[Goobzilla]

A couple more items:

Item 95659, the black 5 drawer cart: PASS @ $99 w/coupon The only change I would make would be to put the square holes in the bottom tray and use the square shoulder bolts they used everywhere else to attach the casters. That way the bottom shelf would be smoother and the mat would lay down better. Other than that it's great.

Hand Transfer pump Item 66418 PASS $5.99 on sale. I used it to transfer 20+ gallons of Parts Washer solvent from a drum to my new parts washer. Totally worth it to not have to get a 200 lb drum out of the back of my truck.

 

[uhohjim]

I think the Drill Master unibits PASS. Some members made some positive comments about them. They always seem to be on sale too
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91616

I woould have to agree about the unibits......I buy them when on sale and abuse the heck out of them PASS!!

 

[uhohjim]

They all do that. I've owned several over the years, from Ingersoll Rand, to Blue Point, to Campbell Hausfeld, to Harbor Freight.

A friend owns an older one (I don't know the brand) where the angle portion is cast as a solid piece. I wish you could still get them like that.

I've used high strength threadlocker on mine.

I would have to AGREE..........I've got $100 plus Snap on grinders that do that .........so a little Loc Tite fixed That problem permanently.............Plus if it does eventually blow up.........I really don't feel too bad. Jim

 

[uhohjim]

DREDDYBEAR- This one? Does anyone else have this bandsaw? Any good?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93762

I've got one....Love it............a little adjusting and it cuts straight and true.Jim

 

[motoguy]

I woould have to agree about the unibits......I buy them when on sale and abuse the heck out of them PASS!!

No kidding? I would not have expected that. I actually need a set of these for work, but I had dismissed the HF units out of hand. I noticed at Lowe's that a single bit is about $32.

I guess for $10 on sale, I'll pick up a set tomorrow and give them a shot!

 

[uhohjim]

Throatless Shear
Item # 38413 Manufacturer: Central Forge

Only:$149.99 I bought 2 of these when they were still $89 plus a 20 % off coupon....Definite pass In my opinion........had to add a washer to tighten it up but they still cut awesome to this day and are even at this price maybe a 1/4 of what a Beverly shear would cost...Jim

 

[uhohjim]

No kidding? I would not have expected that. I actually need a set of these for work, but I had dismissed the HF units out of hand. I noticed at Lowe's that a single bit is about $32.

I guess for $10 on sale, I'll pick up a set tomorrow and give them a shot!

They're on sale for $5 now I think I saw....Jim

 

[motoguy]

Thanks a lot guys!!!

Good deal, I was hoping they would get the "PASS" stamp.

I love my Matco swivels on my IR2135TiMax and IR2115TiMax impacts, but at $25 a pop , HF swivels should certainly fit the bill (pun definitely intended) for some IR die grinders I got for Christmas.

Thanks for the reply!

I stopped by HF tonight to check these swivels out. I noticed that my store has the silver 46123 for $4.99

,

but they do not have the blue 66410 for $7.99.

Instead, they have an all black unit which says "Central Pneumatic". It's the same $7.99 price.

Any reason, appearance aside, to go with the $7.99 units over the $4.99 units?

 

[mikebramel]

They were putting the new green label socket sets on the shelves today. They look real nice. Nice case with real hinges. Ratchets were mediocre. Very easy to read with the large stampings on the sockets.

 

[gsport]

I stopped by HF tonight to check these swivels out. I noticed that my store has the silver 46123 for $4.99

,

but they do not have the blue 66410 for $7.99.

Instead, they have an all black unit which says "Central Pneumatic". It's the same $7.99 price.

Any reason, appearance aside, to go with the $7.99 units over the $4.99 units?

i have been using the $4.99 one for a few months and it finally broke down, air leaking badly out of the swivel..

 

[Stephen00GT]

I stopped by HF tonight to check these swivels out. I noticed that my store has the silver 46123 for $4.99

,

but they do not have the blue 66410 for $7.99.

Instead, they have an all black unit which says "Central Pneumatic". It's the same $7.99 price.

Any reason, appearance aside, to go with the $7.99 units over the $4.99 units?

I bought the $4.99 one and it leaked when brand new. I tossed it. Definite fail from my experience.

 

[RAYJAY]

No kidding? I would not have expected that. I actually need a set of these for work, but I had dismissed the HF units out of hand. I noticed at Lowe's that a single bit is about $32.

I guess for $10 on sale, I'll pick up a set tomorrow and give them a shot!

i bought 2 sets on sale and beat the snot out of them the first set is still going strong

also the cobalt and tin coated set of drill bit are not that bad just run away from the black bits they really do ****

 

[js73751]

Thanks for the detailed report

Help the rest of us out here. What about it makes it such a failure?

I purchased this to use in my home shop. First problem was the base did not lie flat on my bench and the whole unit was racked to one side by ½”, almost as if it were sand cast and the sand shifted. The supporting legs were not parallel to each other in both the X and Y planes. The handle was formed incorrectly, was cocked to one side, and it too was not in the same plane as the base. The base came pre-assembled from the factory and the entire unit, including all of the hardware (unlike the photo shown), was covered in an extremely thick paint or powder coating. This coating began flaking off as I tried to place the dies into the base. If I had tried to loosen any of the hardware to try any type of adjustment, the thick coating would have cracked and the tool would have not been returnable as according to a label on the unit, any type of non factory adjustment would preclude me from doing so.

Sometimes a tool may need a little tweaking right out of the box, but this was really, really hopeless.

 

[sasquach]

Anybody buy / use the Cen-Tech code reader ?

 

[allinon72]

I was in HF today and they have finished remodeling the entire hand tools isle, complete with individual sockets for sale ($2.99 ea). Most of the new Pittsburgh stuff seems to be made in Taiwan, which is a good sign.

 

[Bolster]

Cheapen Alert on Dial Calipers

I picked up a second pair of 6" dial calipers (Jan 2011), and will be returning them shortly. FAIL. They've dramatically cheapened the quality of the calipers since 2008.

The 2008-vintage calipers were smooth and had an aluminum thumb ramp near the thumb roller. They also had a carriage "bumper" on the backside if you opened the calipers too far.

The 2011-vintage calipers are rough and gritty to open/close, they have substituted a black plastic thumb-ramp, and they got rid of the "bumper" on the backside. If you open them too far you can feel the pinion jump off the rack, and hear the pinion grinding the edge of the rack. The jaws are mismatched (not symmetrical), the inch markings along the body are about .010 off. Also grinder marks on the jaws & scratches across the bezel. Also the new calipers no longer read "HARDENED."

I had previously thought the HF calipers were a decent quality tool, but no more. Seems when something is of decent quality, there's a re-design to crappify it.

The new version with black plastic thumb ramp:

 

[Racr350]

Anybody buy / use the Cen-Tech code reader ?

I use the most exspensive one of the 3 as a quickie scanner. I must say it really is impressive. Graph data, pulls some manufacture codes, code library, active test some basic functions, view live data, saves freeze frame data, and even download software to a computer to print data. It does much more than use it for as I have my own Toyota specific TechStream. But overall very impressed and a solid pass from me.

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

I purchased this to use in my home shop.

Awesome! Thanks for the info.

 

[motoguy]

I need to pick up some stubby wrenches. It's not often that I need them, but there are a few specific instances where they'd come in handy. The situations I have in mind will be using the open end (usually), if that impacts the suggestions.

It looks like these are the current offereings:

97383, 12 Piece Stubby Combination Wrench Set on sale for $12.99
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-piece-stubby-combination-wrench-set-97383.html

93923, 7 Piece SAE Stubby Ratcheting Combo Wrench Set for $34.99
http://www.harborfreight.com/7-piece-pro-gear-sae-stubby-combo-wrench-set-93923.html

and

98952, 5 Piece Stubby SAE Flex-Head Ratchet Wrench Set for $34.99
http://www.harborfreight.com/5-piece-stubby-sae-flex-head-ratchet-wrench-set-98952.html

Any feedback for these sets? I saw some "pass" comments for sets about a year ago, but I'm not sure if that still applies to the current offerings.

Also, any input on these 3/8" and 1/2" impact wobble extensions? I'll be using them with an MG325, and MG725.

67065, 3 Piece 3/8" Drive Impact Wobble Socket Extension Set
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piece-3-8-eighth-inch-drive-impact-wobble-socket-extension-set-67065.html

67066, 3 Piece 1/2" Drive Impact Wobble Socket Extension Set
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piece-1-2-half-inch-drive-impact-wobble-socket-extension-set-67066.html

Or how about their impact products as a whole? I'd like to pick up some wobble joints, wobble sockets, etc as well.

 

[allinon72]

I have the stubby metric racheting wrenches. They don't turn quite a smooth as a Gearwrench, but still pretty smooth and the chrome is decent. Plus, being a stubby wrench, they aren't going to see a lot of torque so breaking them is unlikely.

As for the impact stuff...the newer Pittsburgh stuff they just put out seems to be very good quality. Almost all if it is made in Taiwan instead of China and they have laser etched or engraved markings.

 

[diggerrick]

Multi-Tool- PASS. Handy little gadget that I probably won't use much but it was only $35. Works good for scraping, cutting wood and light sanding in tight places.

PASS!

My wife & I use these all the time for a lot of different things - about the greatest bang for the buck tools we've ever bought. You can't beat 'em for $30. We also tried a Menard's "Tool Shop" brand that works ok, but it only has 2 pins locating the blade vs. 4 pins for the HF model.

 

[Wackerjr]

PASS!

My wife & I use these all the time for a lot of different things - about the greatest bang for the buck tools we've ever bought. You can't beat 'em for $30. We also tried a Menard's "Tool Shop" brand that works ok, but it only has 2 pins locating the blade vs. 4 pins for the HF model.

UM yeah I agree. I never saw the need for one of these..... pulled it out of the box this weekend. Best damn tool I have ever used.......Well worth it...

 

[Marty256]

Picked up a set of aluminum jack stands today. Nice looking out of the box very light and easy to move around. Seem sturdy enough I believe they're rated at 3 ton. So far so good.

 

[bchee]

Vac attachment kit #32994 PASS
http://www.harborfreight.com/8-piece-micro-vacuum-attachment-kit-32994.html
I haven't "used the hell out of it" or "abused" it but all the attachments work. Not sure how it would fail. The hose is sturdy enough and doesn't collapse under suction.

Triangle carbide rasp for oscillating tool #67461 PASS
http://www.harborfreight.com/carbide-tipped-triangle-rasp-67461.html

I guess pass. Used it to remove tile adhesive. It is painfully slow, compared to the diamond turbo wheel, however, it creates far less dust, almost none actually. The dust just sits on the ground, not blown into the air. The diamond wheel won't get into corners, so I bought this triangle shaped one. I was expecting the grit to simply fall off the bit, but it didn't, so I was pleasantly surprised.

4.5" Diamond turbo cup wheel #98729 PASS
http://www.harborfreight.com/4-1-2-half-inch-diamond-turbo-cup-wheel-98729.html

Used to remove tile adhesive. Very pleased with it, although creates an unbelievable amount of dust. Used on 250 sq ft of concrete and appears to have long life left. It became slightly unbalanced once clogged with dirt, but was corrected by cleaning the wheel. At times I was not careful to keep it completely flat, so it very quickly cut gouges in my concrete. (used with the cheap $10 drill master grinder, max 11,000 rpm).

 

[bchee]

8-in-1 screwdriver #65060 PASS
http://www.harborfreight.com/8-in-1-screwdriver-65060.html
Bought this screwdriver because I thought the handle would be comfortable and it is. The tips don't show any wear after about a year. I haven't tried to kill it, but it has been working fine. I give the stubby version a pass too.

10" sliding compound saw #98199 FAIL
http://www.harborfreight.com/10-inch-sliding-compound-miter-saw-98199.html

The blade is good, cuts are clean, no problems with adjusting angles, HOWEVER the slide was **** after just a few uses. It started binding and I could see marks on the 2 slide rods. On the back of the 2 rods there is a cap, which I removed. It only helped some. I guess it's a combination of bad bearings and poor alignment of the rods. If I never use the slide feature it is a use-able saw. Mine is ORANGE and was purchased about 1.5 years ago.

 

[route246]

Metal Shoehorn-Pass

Note: Store only.

Can't seem to find a large metal shoehorn anywhere. We take shoes off in our home so a long one is useful and the only long ones we could find are the plastic ones. This metal one is great and we have absolutely no complaints.

 

[Alchymist]

Mini chop saw - FAIL, big time.

http://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/cutoff-saws/bench-top-cut-off-saw-42307.html
Mine was orange, the one pictured now on their site is grey. Bought it for jewelry/prototype miniature machine work, useless.

 

[Kev442]

Early 10" compound Orange saw with only one slide. A workhorse. PASS

I've owned it a for 7-8 years. They went to dual slides because these single slide saws will vary several degrees on compound cuts as they can wiggle a little bit with only one slide to pivot on. I didn't buy mine to do cabinet work, I bought it to build buildings. The safety button broke almost immediately, but I was happy to bypass it anyway. Still on the original motor brushes and I've used it plenty.
I think the best tribute I can say about these is that they are never on CL, while those chintzy little table saws with a million different brand names stuck on the same exact saw are up 2-3 a week.

Here it is hiding in the background of the trusses I built for the pole barn. The stacks of plywood to the right of it were cut in various squares and trapezoids for the gussets. the saw is sitting in the garage it built first.

 

[sfckiddo]

got a chicago pnematic paint shaker. read the online store customer reviews first. got it home and tried it out works well and doesn't vibrate the table i had it clamped . the only thing i will change is the supply port. comes straight out and with the supplied oiler and an air fitting sticks to far out the side, will put a 90 on it to run it down the side and closer to shaker. had to try it before the 30 days was up closest store is 100 miles away and i have to go back next week so needed to be sure

 

[JustBob]

Central Pneumatic 1/2" Air Filter, Regulator, Lubricator
Item # 92261 FAIL



As you can see in this pic below (arrow, lubricator not used but it also leaked substantialy) the mating surface was covered in a rough paint finish, it had a very fast leak. I lapped the mating surfaces with progressively finer sand paper ending in 2000 grit for a very smooth, flat surface. After lapping, the filter unit did not leak below 70 psi, but above leaked less, but still dropped the tank from 135 psi to 110 psi in 40 minutes vs the 15 minutes before lapping.



Here you can see the o-ring is flat on the top and round on the bottom.(round side up it leaks more)



O-ring is wider than the mating surface (see impression at arrow and picture above) leaving only half the width of the o-ring being used.



Only one thread for the filter and lubricator are used when mounting the bowls, it is very hard to turn and get it tight without using pliers.




The regulator did not leak, and held the air pressure at or near 10psi of the set psi on the gauge.

This unit is not designed to seal properly, and requires to much work to be feasible.

Not Recommended

 

[subarub4]

I think just about all of those on the HF site have poor reviews regarding air leaks..

shame.

 

[JustBob]

Item # 96718 Pass
Central Hydraulics Hydraulic Punch Driver Kit (hydraulic knockout punch set)


http://www.harborfreight.com/hydraulic-punch-driver-kit-96718.html


Paint finish is not great, lots of blemishes, but does not effect the tool performance. All metal box is heavy gauge and very sturdy. Minimal padding but each punch and die, draw studs, and spacer are packed well with oil inside of a bubble wrap bag.




All pieces laid out except for manual and power unit.




Quick connect threaded fittings with valves to connect power unit and ram. Although it sometimes leaks a few drops of oil, but so did my Greenlee set.




Closeup of die, it takes more effort to cut holes in power panels than for a "Slugbuster", but has held up well through many uses without dulling. Draw studs will fit GreenLee punches and other brands.



Edges are sharp, and cut cleanly, slugs are no more difficult to remove than from other brand standard punches.




Threads on draw studs are excellant, no burs or deformities on the set I bought.




Overall I am very pleased with this set, has worked without incedent through dozens of holes, mostly in the 2" range.

Sizes for cutters, 1.115, 1.362, 1-11/16, 1-15/16, 2-3/8(size in inches)
For the price, it would be worth the expense to purchase this set to use the power unit and accs. for a Greenlee or similar manual knockout set.

RECOMMENDED

 

[RbrtAWhyt]

Item # 92261 FAIL
Not Recommended

Item # 96718 Pass

RECOMMENDED

Now THATS how you do a review.

Way too many in this thread have posted up something and said something like "fail!" "*************!" "avoid", etc., without providing a reason.

Well done!

 

[JustBob]

Now THATS how you do a review.

Way too many in this thread have posted up something and said something like "fail!" "*************!" "avoid", etc., without providing a reason.

Well done!

After reading many responses of you asking, why something passed or failed... I thought, he's right! A simple pass or fail is not good enough, we need to know why it passed or failed,especially if it failed. Was it user error, is it defective or is it the design, how did it fail? If it passed how was it used, how often?

Inquiring minds want to know...

 

[arvidj]

anyone pick up the extended reach cut off tool? if im not mistaken, this is a fairly new tool offering from hf. seen it advertised in November, but was never online or stores didn't have them. Now they are online--

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-extended-reach-air-cutoff-tool-67996.html

item number 67996

I have one in my hand but have not had a chance to use it in anger yet. It seems to be very solid. The trigger seems to be a little short on play so I anticipate not being able to throttle the speed with a great deal of accuracy. I anticipate it will be all or nothing.

The grip seems to be adequate ... maybe a little short but certainly no where near a 'FAIL' situation.

The instructions do not mention anything about the oil fitting on the cutting head. That was something that I think will be a key to longevity. Ensure there is good oil in that end of the tool along with good tool oil in the air motor and I expect it will last a long time ... the same as most of my other HF air tools. Proper lubrication seems to be the key.

Arvid

 

[Aklass]

3/8th Earthquake Air ratchet: PASS!

Got this from the new years 25% off sale. This thing really is the copy of an Ingersoll Rand that another tech in the shop I'm at has. It is as loud as any air ratchet, and like the IR the exhaust can be rotated 360 degrees. I has enough torque to yank my hand when tightening down a bolt. I've kept it oild and so far it works great! PASS!

 

[luv2ride]

Went to teh HF site to post a pic but its not listed there. Sorry. I tihnk its a fairly new item.

Bought a $40 air "filter/dryer", using those terms loosely here. About 2.5' long yellow steel pipe ~3" in diameter. Holds a few pounds of dissecant to dry the air. Has a ball valve on the bottom to drain with mounting tabs on it. Weighs maybe 10 pounds.

HUGE FAIL!!

While a bit cheesy the concept looked OK and they opened a box to look at the manual and examine a unit not bolted down. Looked OK. Got it home and removed one cap to fill with the supplied dissecant. The inside was dripping with oil from the manufacturing process. This was supposed to dry and filter air?! Began considering cleaning the thing out to use as I was in a pinch and really needed to filter the air. Closer inspection revealed an incredible amount if crud, grime, and grit embedded in the oil inside the filter. Just took it back for a refund.

Bought a coalescing filter from TP tools for another $30 and got 20 times the quality.

Also

FAIL

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/...ab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/i/m/image_2598.jpg

3 way manifold. Air chucks have 3 balls each and leak like a sive. repeatedly had air lines pop out on their own and one nearly took an eye out. Went to HD to buy 3 new chucks (5 ball) to replace the 3 ball units. Lo and behold, the threads were different. Can't update the chucks, manifold and chucks must go together or buy 3 adaptors. Back to HD for a 'good' manifold.

HF, the Chinese outlet mall.

 

[JustBob]

Went to teh HF site to post a pic but its not listed there. Sorry. I tihnk its a fairly new item.

Bought a $40 air "filter/dryer", using those terms loosely here. About 2.5' long yellow steel pipe ~3" in diameter. Holds a few pounds of dissecant to dry the air. Has a ball valve on the bottom to drain with mounting tabs on it. Weighs maybe 10 pounds.

HUGE FAIL!!

While a bit cheesy the concept looked OK and they opened a box to look at the manual and examine a unit not bolted down. Looked OK. Got it home and removed one cap to fill with the supplied dissecant. The inside was dripping with oil from the manufacturing process. This was supposed to dry and filter air?! Began considering cleaning the thing out to use as I was in a pinch and really needed to filter the air. Closer inspection revealed an incredible amount if crud, grime, and grit embedded in the oil inside the filter. Just took it back for a refund.

Bought a coalescing filter from TP tools for another $30 and got 20 times the quality.

If you are talking about this... http://www.harborfreight.com/desiccant-air-dryer-97686.html



It is a desiccant air dryer only, it does not filter the air.

 

[luv2ride]

Yep, thats it and you are correct, I misspoke on the filter thing. regardless, the inside was dripping with oil/grit and was going to put more oil back into the air than any moisture it removed.

Thanks for posting the pic!

 

[scott37300]

If you are talking about this... http://www.harborfreight.com/desiccant-air-dryer-97686.html



It is a desiccant air dryer only, it does not filter the air.

I have this desiccant dryer and like it. It isn't the best quality but it's simple in design and keeps my air dry, and is a great price. And you can reuse the media by drying it in the oven or microwave.