The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...

[cheechi]

How good is that $90 welder they have? I'm very much a beginner having welded maybe two or three things in my life. To start with I'm looking to weld on a new muffler on my Bronco and my dad's Suburban. I'd then probably like to use it to repair a few rust holes on the Bronco

I lied...seems to have gone up in price...I'm talking about this one http://www.harborfreight.com/wire-welder-90-amp-flux-68887.html

That's what it's for, beginners to get better. That said, if that exhaust is stainless I wouldn't try to use flux core for it.

 

[InsanePyro]

That's what it's for, beginners to get better. That said, if that exhaust is stainless I wouldn't try to use flux core for it.

Yeah I was browsing through the reviews and alot of guys said they used different wire then what came with it...if I do that what do I need to do differently?

 

[fitz11]

Has anyone got anything bad to say about the 301 pc tool kit? item#45951

http://www.harborfreight.com/professional-301-piece-mechanics-tool-kit-45951.html

I need a set for the auto-class I'm taking in January. Just something to keep in the campus locker.

I have a coupon for $159. I think I'm getting a lot for the price.

I have that one and the sockets alone make it a good deal. The pliers and screwdrivers seem like they are a little better quality than the normal HF cheepies but leave some to be desired if you are going to use them a lot. The wrenches and hex keys are junk and would need upgrading. Overall I would say PASS

 

[fitz11]

Yeah I was browsing through the reviews and alot of guys said they used different wire then what came with it...if I do that what do I need to do differently?

Use a name brand flux core wire (Miller, Lincoln) just like you would use the wire it come with. You will just get better welds with less spatter, still not going to be good for stainless though

 

[bimmerZ5]

Has anyone got anything bad to say about the 301 pc tool kit? item#45951

http://www.harborfreight.com/professional-301-piece-mechanics-tool-kit-45951.html

I need a set for the auto-class I'm taking in January. Just something to keep in the campus locker.

I have a coupon for $159. I think I'm getting a lot for the price.

just buy it.

 

[Cheapskate]

Has anyone got anything bad to say about the 301 pc tool kit? item#45951

http://www.harborfreight.com/professional-301-piece-mechanics-tool-kit-45951.html

I need a set for the auto-class I'm taking in January. Just something to keep in the campus locker.

I have a coupon for $159. I think I'm getting a lot for the price.

I took apart and re-lubed the ratchets and after that they were quite and smooth. And like fitz said it doesn't come with a large enough assortment of wrenches (and the few it comes with seem like cheap Craftsman raised panel copies) but if you supplement the set with some decent wrenches it should serve you well.


BUT for $149.99 I think this Craftsman 300 pc set is a better option.

http://www.searsoutlet.com/d/product_details.jsp?md=ct_md&cid=1891&pid=105205&mode=buyNew&itemSelectionType=New

Come with a lot more wrenches and not a lot of filler. Only thing is it's almost sold out so unless a store near you has one in stock your out of luck. (And the sale ends in a little over 2 hours from now)

 

[skulldrinker]

I took apart and re-lubed the ratchets and after that they were quite and smooth. And like fitz said it doesn't come with a large enough assortment of wrenches (and the few it comes with seem like cheap Craftsman raised panel copies) but if you supplement the set with some decent wrenches it should serve you well.


BUT for $149.99 I think this Craftsman 300 pc set is a better option.

http://www.searsoutlet.com/d/product_details.jsp?md=ct_md&cid=1891&pid=105205&mode=buyNew&itemSelectionType=New

Come with a lot more wrenches and not a lot of filler. Only thing is it's almost sold out so unless a store near you has one in stock your out of luck. (And the sale ends in a little over 2 hours from now)

oh wow the craftsman is looking sweet yes i see i have 51 min left.

thanks

DAMM out of stock and closest store is 300 miles away. It won't let me even buy it and have it shipped. i would have bought that for sure!


I feel like **** now like the HF one is now not good enough. Damm you i wish i never saw that craftsman ad. LOL

 

[Cheapskate]

oh wow the craftsman is looking sweet yes i see i have 51 min left.

thanks

DAMM out of stock and closest store is 300 miles away. It won't let me even buy it and have it shipped. i would have bought that for sure!


I feel like **** now like the HF one is now not good enough. Damm you i wish i never saw that craftsman ad. LOL

You can see if this one is still in stock. It's more money $239.99 but not extreme.


http://www.searsoutlet.com/d/product_details.jsp?md=ct_md&cid=7054&pid=104628&mode=buyNew&itemSelectionType=New

Or this one for $120.


http://www.searsoutlet.com/d/product_details.jsp?md=ct_md&cid=7054&pid=104623&mode=buyNew&itemSelectionType=New

Of this awesome set for $390.

http://www.searsoutlet.com/d/product_details.jsp?md=ct_md&cid=7054&pid=104627&mode=buyNew&itemSelectionType=New

 

[skulldrinker]

Cheapskate these are some good sets. I all ready have a "at least" thousand piece set in my big box at home. I just need a small set to use at school so I can leave my main toolbox intact. I work on cars at home and don't want to not have what I need sitting in a locker at school. That $120 looks sweet. I would rather have Craftsman than Pittsbugh anyday. I just don't want to spend to much on tools that will only be extras. I bought a 500 pc set of SAE craftsman's back in 1976 and have added metrics and much more since then.

Looks like none of these are in stock either but for $18 shipping it's still less than HF.

i don't see any ending sale date or time. Is there?

 

[skulldrinker]

I'm not sure if i should buy now or wait to see what else you come up with. LOL



Please don't send anymore of that Sears outlet BS it's all out of stock. After i give all my card info then it tells me "out of stock". i think it just wants to steal my info. I will be watching my bank account for fraud.

I guess for me now it's good old dependable, always on the shelf, 20 min away, Harbor Freight. LOL

 

[InsanePyro]

Use a name brand flux core wire (Miller, Lincoln) just like you would use the wire it come with. You will just get better welds with less spatter, still not going to be good for stainless though

Hmm I think it is stainless...or at least sections are (previous owner got rid of the muffler and just ran a pipe where the muffler should be)

Is there a welder that runs on 120 that can do stainless? I don't have the option of putting 240 in my garage unfortunately

It appears this one can but I've never done arc welding http://www.harborfreight.com/70-amp-arc-welder-68888.html

 

[IONH]

How good is that $90 welder they have? I'm very much a beginner having welded maybe two or three things in my life. To start with I'm looking to weld on a new muffler on my Bronco and my dad's Suburban. I'd then probably like to use it to repair a few rust holes on the Bronco

I lied...seems to have gone up in price...I'm talking about this one http://www.harborfreight.com/wire-welder-90-amp-flux-68887.html

I have an older HF welder which allowed for flux cored or MIG welding and was only about $150 back 7 or 8 years ago. The cheap welder you mentioned is good for a beginner, but as I have converted from flux cored to gas, I would recommend going with a MIG gas welder instead because the welds come out so much cleaner even for myself as a beginner.

 

[nuclearlemon]

How good is that $90 welder they have? I'm very much a beginner having welded maybe two or three things in my life.]

a good friend once told me 'never buy a cheap welder, you just get frustratrated and you don't weld'. he was right. i had a ch welder that sucked and then won a lincoln 110v welder that sucked. finally bought a 220v millermatic and have loved it...been welding like crazy.

 

[groucho]

oh wow the craftsman is looking sweet yes i see i have 51 min left.

thanks

DAMM out of stock and closest store is 300 miles away. It won't let me even buy it and have it shipped. i would have bought that for sure!


I feel like **** now like the HF one is now not good enough. Damm you i wish i never saw that craftsman ad. LOL

Keep looking at Craftsman sets. Even at retail price they're usually a better deal overall than HF

 

[groucho]

Cheapskate these are some good sets. I all ready have a "at least" thousand piece set in my big box at home. I just need a small set to use at school so I can leave my main toolbox intact. I work on cars at home and don't want to not have what I need sitting in a locker at school. That $120 looks sweet. I would rather have Craftsman than Pittsbugh anyday. I just don't want to spend to much on tools that will only be extras. I bought a 500 pc set of SAE craftsman's back in 1976 and have added metrics and much more since then.

Looks like none of these are in stock either but for $18 shipping it's still less than HF.

i don't see any ending sale date or time. Is there?

I put a really useful bag of tools for when I take long trips in my 38 Chevy from the classifieds right here. Good used brand name American tools are better than new HF. Maybe it'd be better to piece some stuff together from there(?) I did. Jonnybentwrench(sp) had some really good deals when I was putting my kit together

 

[InsanePyro]

a good friend once told me 'never buy a cheap welder, you just get frustratrated and you don't weld'. he was right. i had a ch welder that sucked and then won a lincoln 110v welder that sucked. finally bought a 220v millermatic and have loved it...been welding like crazy.

As I said my biggest problem is that I have no way to get 220 out in my garage

 

[IONH]

Keep looking at Craftsman sets. Even at retail price they're usually a better deal overall than HF

Which pieces specifically have you found to be substandard from HF which held up to the same abuse from Craftsman?

 

[RCStocker]

Well...... I broke down and picked up a chian breaker form FH

It is the bigest piece of **** I have ever had.

It has a double threaded side so you can adjust it to fit the chain.
There is a rod thad fits in with a spring and ball berring. The second crew goes in over it. When you twis the tube the bar wobbles so bad that it looks bent.
The whole on the other side is a threaded bushing. The whole is so large and it is counter sunk. When you start removing the rivit form the chain the chain slips down into the counter sink and the rod pushes at an angle. The busing does not supprot the chain because the whole is so large. There are 2 rods that come with it but are very close in size. I wanted it for a bicycle chain. The rods are to large and the think will not work on a regular bicycle chan.
It says for Motercycles and Bicycles. We Bicycle chains are out.

It is heavy duty with a poor finish. The finish has nothing to do witht how the tool works and that is ok for what it is.

The Harbor Freight Chain Breaker is the worst tool I have every purschased form any company.
It is out of concentric. The pushing rod does not have a common center and looks like it is bent when you screw down. Thus the large whole to take the shaft.

It is usless, poorly made. The casging are okd but the wholes need to be drilled to the right sizes so things down wobble. There is no way to support the opposite side of the chain and it really ends up at an angle.

I like HF tool boxes but that is the only thing I like. Thier impact sockets are good but they skip sockets in their sets. I would not buy them for that reason alone. Their tarps are **** so I have no use for the store other than the tool boxes.

 

[fitz11]

Well...... I broke down and picked up a chian breaker form FH

It is the bigest piece of **** I have ever had.

It has a double threaded side so you can adjust it to fit the chain.
There is a rod thad fits in with a spring and ball berring. The second crew goes in over it. When you twis the tube the bar wobbles so bad that it looks bent.
The whole on the other side is a threaded bushing. The whole is so large and it is counter sunk. When you start removing the rivit form the chain the chain slips down into the counter sink and the rod pushes at an angle. The busing does not supprot the chain because the whole is so large. There are 2 rods that come with it but are very close in size. I wanted it for a bicycle chain. The rods are to large and the think will not work on a regular bicycle chan.
It says for Motercycles and Bicycles. We Bicycle chains are out.

It is heavy duty with a poor finish. The finish has nothing to do witht how the tool works and that is ok for what it is.

The Harbor Freight Chain Breaker is the worst tool I have every purschased form any company.
It is out of concentric. The pushing rod does not have a common center and looks like it is bent when you screw down. Thus the large whole to take the shaft.

It is usless, poorly made. The casging are okd but the wholes need to be drilled to the right sizes so things down wobble. There is no way to support the opposite side of the chain and it really ends up at an angle.

I like HF tool boxes but that is the only thing I like. Thier impact sockets are good but they skip sockets in their sets. I would not buy them for that reason alone. Their tarps are **** so I have no use for the store other than the tool boxes.

When I bought my chainbreaker it listed chain sizes it would work on and if I remember right 428 was the smallest it listed.

 

[O_M_Jeep]

Keep looking at Craftsman sets. Even at retail price they're usually a better deal overall than HF

Guess the 301 pc set is a major PASS

I paid $139 for the HF 301 pc, 5 years ago, still going strong, still working hard everyday, day in, day out, about 3 years ago though I did break a torx bit, it broke at the base of the shaft, not the socket part, clearly poor chinese quality, in a few years I'll probably replace it, as soon as I get tired of showing everyone the single broken tool from my long lived hard used HF set.

I will say that the HF set is short on wrenches, no question, I bought a huge set of Tektons to go with mine, still cheaper than the CM sets, in fact the most expensive wrenches I have are the CM ignition set.

I also have a ton of HF ratchet wrenches, also a major PASS, I use them more often than any other wrenches I have including my big gearwrench sets. Yes, HF has some bad quality stuff, mostly the super cheap ""as seen on tv"" type junk, the actual tools have held up far better than I ever expected, of course I dont use a ratchet for a hammer or force a common screwdriver in a phillips head, and torx isnt "phillips" in chinese lol.

Use the right tool, the right way, and HF tools will do the job and last you a long time, that equates to greater value, especially since they also have a lifetime warranty and are usualy easier to exchange from what I've seen.

 

[diggerrick]

Has anyone got anything bad to say about the 301 pc tool kit? item#45951

http://www.harborfreight.com/professional-301-piece-mechanics-tool-kit-45951.html

I need a set for the auto-class I'm taking in January. Just something to keep in the campus locker.

I have a coupon for $159. I think I'm getting a lot for the price.

You can save a few bucks by using a 20% coupon with the normally $189.99 "sale price".

 

[yjWrangler]

http://www.harborfreight.com/pneumatic-adjustable-roller-seat-46319.html

Pass for me. Use it everyday and its held up great.

 

[skulldrinker]

http://www.harborfreight.com/pneumatic-adjustable-roller-seat-46319.html

Pass for me. Use it everyday and its held up great.

You must not weigh 300#'s

I find the 4 post Craftsman's seat style is superior for weight and anti-tipping.
Sears item #: 51108

 

[skulldrinker]

You can save a few bucks by using a 20% coupon with the normally $189.99 "sale price".

Pretty smart of you. 20% brings me to $152 instead of $159. And now I don't have to rush for the coupon expire date.


But just to be on the safe side I better go on that date in case they don't honor 20% off a sale price. Cause then I will be screwed.


Thanks

 

[IONH]

You must not weigh 300#'s

I find the 4 post Craftsman's seat style is superior for weight and anti-tipping.
Sears item #: 51108

I also have the stool mentioned and it has worked out fine for me for years now. I only weigh 215# or so.

I prefer this mechanics roller seat though.

 

[O_M_Jeep]

http://www.harborfreight.com/pneumatic-adjustable-roller-seat-46319.html

Pass for me. Use it everyday and its held up great.

You must not weigh 300#'s

I find the 4 post Craftsman's seat style is superior for weight and anti-tipping.
Sears item #: 51108

I weigh 250 and I also use mine daily, no problems so far, casters are straight and it doesnt wobble at all, for $15 or whatever it was, thats a huge pass.

 

[antinym]

http://www.harborfreight.com/pneumatic-adjustable-roller-seat-46319.html

Pass for me. Use it everyday and its held up great.

I also have this, and it's a mild pass. The bottom steel is thin, and bent a little. That made the stool only want to move in on direction. I've bent it back, and it's better now. I'm 170lbs.

 

[FITO]

Picked up the 3.5cf cement mixer a few weeks ago. I purchased it after reading many great reviews around the internet.
I used

because the instructions were lacking.

I mixed 10 80lb bags one day and 20 the next without a hiccup. This thing works great!
I added 1.5 gal of water to the mixer and turned it on and added 1 80lb bag and mixed for a few minutes than added another 80lb bag and sprayed a little water to get the right consistency. I was able to pour 3 800lb piers by myself in two days. Very happy with my purchase, I would buy again.

 

[yjWrangler]

I also have this, and it's a mild pass. The bottom steel is thin, and bent a little. That made the stool only want to move in on direction. I've bent it back, and it's better now. I'm 170lbs.

I'm around 170 and it hasn't bent on me yet. Been using it for 4 or 5 months now.

 

[subarub4]

Anyone try item 68851?

I have the old one that's blue and yellow but it fell off a ladder this past summer and it snapped at the head and neck part.. it still works but I wish I could fix it without buying another.. I need it now for doing some concrete holes.

 

[thebeekeeper1]

Picked up the 3.5cf cement mixer a few weeks ago. I purchased it after reading many great reviews around the internet.
I used

because the instructions were lacking.

I mixed 10 80lb bags one day and 20 the next without a hiccup. This thing works great!
I added 1.5 gal of water to the mixer and turned it on and added 1 80lb bag and mixed for a few minutes than added another 80lb bag and sprayed a little water to get the right consistency. I was able to pour 3 800lb piers by myself in two days. Very happy with my purchase, I would buy again.

Out of curiosity--were you able to dump directly into whatever wheelbarrow you were using? I have one, have mixed over 4000# in it, and love the thing, but it is about 2" too short to dump into my WB. I've been looking for bigger wheels in order to raise it a bit.

 

[cheechi]

The Torin stool is the same as the HF one, mine supports my 250# though I'm pretty sure it said 200# on the box. rolls just fine and I've abused it, I had a full 26" top chest sittng on it for about a month and it still goes up & down just fine.

The one on display at HF near me isn't bolted down and I know tons of fat people have sat on it. It's still in decent shape after lots of abuse.

 

[FITO]

I didn't try to dump in a wheelbarrow yet. If you can see in the pics I made a ramp out of a pallet and scrap OSB. I just dumped the concrete on the ramp and pushed it down with a flat tipped shovel.
I did get a chuckle from the directions, they had to say that the wheels were not DOT approved.

 

[Youngblood77]

I didn't try to dump in a wheelbarrow yet. If you can see in the pics I made a ramp out of a pallet and scrap OSB. I just dumped the concrete on the ramp and pushed it down with a flat tipped shovel.
I did get a chuckle from the directions, they had to say that the wheels were not DOT approved.

No doubt; Some yahoo was probably towing it behind his Prius when a wheel fell off on the expressway LOL.

 

[thebeekeeper1]

I didn't try to dump in a wheelbarrow yet. If you can see in the pics I made a ramp out of a pallet and scrap OSB. I just dumped the concrete on the ramp and pushed it down with a flat tipped shovel.
I did get a chuckle from the directions, they had to say that the wheels were not DOT approved.

Ah, gotcha. I see it now that you point it out. Thanks.

 

[andywander]

I didn't try to dump in a wheelbarrow yet. If you can see in the pics I made a ramp out of a pallet and scrap OSB. I just dumped the concrete on the ramp and pushed it down with a flat tipped shovel.
I did get a chuckle from the directions, they had to say that the wheels were not DOT approved.

That is funny-especially in light of what happened to me last year. I bought one of those HF mixers, in a co-op arrangement with 2 friends, and after I used it, i was bringing to another guys house in a trailer.

Well, I thought I had it tied down well, but evidently not, because after I hit a big bump, it jumped out of the trailer-luckily(?) though, one of the tie downs held onto the trailer and to the mixer-so I ended up dragging it for about 100 feet on the tarmac.

It was a little scraped up, but it still works fine....and luckily, the small wheels never ran on the road.....

 

[groucho]

Which pieces specifically have you found to be substandard from HF which held up to the same abuse from Craftsman?

I've not used HF hand tools. They look like a busted knuckle waiting to happen. They might be fine, but I've had great luck with Craftsman for over 40 years. So I stick with what I know. And there's almost always some sort of sale on those great sets

 

[sjlee]

I've not used HF hand tools. They look like a busted knuckle waiting to happen. They might be fine, but I've had great luck with Craftsman for over 40 years. So I stick with what I know. And there's almost always some sort of sale on those great sets

Keep in mind that the Craftsman tools of today aren't the same ones thatwere made 40 years ago. Some of them aren't even made in the US anymore.

Don't get me wrong... I love my Craftsman set, but some of the new stuff isn't really any better than the Pittsburgh Pro from HF.

 

[Mori55]

I want to get my kid the motorcycle lift for Xmas , anyone have a 20% off coupon?

 

[IONH]

Keep looking at Craftsman sets. Even at retail price they're usually a better deal overall than HF

I've not used HF hand tools. They look like a busted knuckle waiting to happen. They might be fine, but I've had great luck with Craftsman for over 40 years. So I stick with what I know. And there's almost always some sort of sale on those great sets

Thanks for the honest reply that you have no idea of the actual quality of the HF tools in use.