The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...

jamesbumdaddy · Apr 25, 2013

Uncle Ben said:
Where do you guys get these digital coupons from? I get them in the paper every week, but it is always for the same few items that I have a bunch of already.

Try going on the Harbor Freight Coupon thread. You might find some links to digital coupons.

Stooge · Apr 27, 2013

Finally got to use my latest HF purchases, and can surprisingly say, I definitely got my moneys worth. Hubs and brakes on an explorer, shocks on a jeep and started stripping a jaguar and didn't break any of the sockets. I figured the extensions would be fine but I would turn my head with the swivel sockets and adaptor just incase it decided to explode. not sure how long these will last but I think I bought the metric swivels, swivel adaptors and 3pc extension set for under $40, so definitely a pass in my book for the price. The adaptor did throw a socket once or twice though and rather than the collar, both sockets and adaptors had a coil wrapped around the outer groove acting as a pin retainer I suppose.

I will say, it felt a little sacrilegious using my snap on impact sockets on a $3 adaptor or extension :headscrat

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-universal-impact-joint-set-67920.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/7-piece-12-drive-metric-impact-swivel-socket-set-67911.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piec...impact-wobble-socket-extension-set-67066.html

EdJack · Apr 27, 2013

Butterfly Impact Wrench - FAIL.

http://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/impact-wrenches/3-8-eighth-inch-drive-75-ft-lbs-torque-compact-air-impact-wrench-93100.html

1. I removed the allen stud to lube it out of the box. It does not bottom out or tapper. So you can screw it all the way in until it touches the mechanism.
2. Hooked it up to air, and it leaks out of the swivel continuously.
3. Pressed the button. RRRRUUUMMMMMMM. Boy this is loud. It sounded like I was standing next to piston airplane. Got my earplugs.
4. I couldn't turn the little dial to adjust the airflow. The dial is so poorly manufactured that the little ball bearing locks in place. Others say they had to modify the dial with a Dremal to clean it up so the ball bearing would match up to the dial better and allow it to be turned.
5. Chrome plating was very poor and inconsistent. Some parts of the tool didn't have any plating, just raw metal.

Failed right out of the box on so many different levels. Taking it back tomorrow for a refund. It was on sale, plus I used a 25% off coupon. It was about 18 bucks. But even at that low price it's not worth it.

jamesbumdaddy · Apr 27, 2013

18 Volt Cordless 1/4" Hex Impact Driver is a pass. Out of the box ready to go. Really low cost, but works just as good and looks just as good as the more expensive brand names. I should have bought this a long time ago.

18 Volt Cordless 1/4" Hex Impact Driver 01

I attached a Q for anyone who wants to get one.

Happy Shopping!!!

Aeroman · Apr 28, 2013

Blast Cabinet is PASS. However, the gun *****. The trigger is mediocre. I recommend a dust collector vacuum instead of using shop vac.

cheechi · Apr 28, 2013

garthg said:
These wrenches ****. That they notched so bad after being used just once shows how soft the metal really is. That is typical HF (and typical China) as far as I'm concerned. Cover up lack of real quality with a thin veneer of chrome to make you think you're getting real quality.

I'd like to see these on a Rockwell hardness tester to see just how soft this metal really is. It can't be a genuine chrome-vanadium alloy.

I would much prefer a garage sale set of old Craftsman over these POS.

I have thought of bringing it to my old lab to see if they would do a Rockwell or a Charpy test on them. I might at some point but it's not worth the time or effort now because likely won't be much of a surprise. I would still take China HF or China Northern over China Craftsman nowadays, even after seeing this. Those were the 3 I was comparing for this particular purpose and the HF one, even after this is still a more cost effective purchase.

I agree they aren't as hard as even my Taiwan Kobalt wrenches, the other ones I used were used harder that day than that particular one. It was because my brother wasn't using it properly that it did that. Should have taken a photo of the bolt. you would have laughed.

HF swapped it for me without issue. I've used the new 3/4 and the same 9/16 from that day, and both are still working fine since.

dfreeman616 · Apr 28, 2013

Stooge said:
Finally got to use my latest HF purchases, and can surprisingly say, I definitely got my moneys worth. Hubs and brakes on an explorer, shocks on a jeep and started stripping a jaguar and didn't break any of the sockets. I figured the extensions would be fine but I would turn my head with the swivel sockets and adaptor just incase it decided to explode. not sure how long these will last but I think I bought the metric swivels, swivel adaptors and 3pc extension set for under $40, so definitely a pass in my book for the price. The adaptor did throw a socket once or twice though and rather than the collar, both sockets and adaptors had a coil wrapped around the outer groove acting as a pin retainer I suppose.

I will say, it felt a little sacrilegious using my snap on impact sockets on a $3 adaptor or extension

http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece-universal-impact-joint-set-67920.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/7-piece-12-drive-metric-impact-swivel-socket-set-67911.html
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piec...impact-wobble-socket-extension-set-67066.html

just as a warning, i've seen those extensions FAIL and send pieces flying. not mine, another tech at my old shop.

garthg · Apr 29, 2013

cheechi said:
I have thought of bringing it to my old lab to see if they would do a Rockwell or a Charpy test on them. I might at some point but it's not worth the time or effort now because likely won't be much of a surprise. I would still take China HF or China Northern over China Craftsman nowadays, even after seeing this. Those were the 3 I was comparing for this particular purpose and the HF one, even after this is still a more cost effective purchase.

I agree they aren't as hard as even my Taiwan Kobalt wrenches, the other ones I used were used harder that day than that particular one. It was because my brother wasn't using it properly that it did that. Should have taken a photo of the bolt. you would have laughed.

HF swapped it for me without issue. I've used the new 3/4 and the same 9/16 from that day, and both are still working fine since.

I'm not sure I agree. I think a hardness test would be worthwhile. It could be a surprise either way. I could be wrong and the hardness of the HF wrenches is not similar to cold butter, or they could be even softer than we imagine.

To my way of thinking, the competitor for HF is not China Sears, but garage sale Craftsman or ebay professional tools. When you consider the cost of time and gas to take a busted tool back to HF for replacement, it's not so cheap after all.

jamesbumdaddy · Apr 29, 2013

garthg said:
I'm not sure I agree. I think a hardness test would be worthwhile. It could be a surprise either way. I could be wrong and the hardness of the HF wrenches is not similar to cold butter, or they could be even softer than we imagine.

To my way of thinking, the competitor for HF is not China Sears, but garage sale Craftsman or ebay professional tools. When you consider the cost of time and gas to take a busted tool back to HF for replacement, it's not so cheap after all.

Maybe for some, it is a long drive to the local HF, but if you bought anything from HF it's not too far after all. I drive by HF 3 times a day. So it's worth it to me. Plus I buy most if not all my tools and other stuff from HF, so I am there all the time.

Another note, I recently purchase an item for another HF store because my local HF was out of stock. I had to return it because it was damaged out of the box. I have a feeling the stocking boy was rough with the box. Anyway, I stopped by my local HF and asked if I can make the return there, and to my surprise I could. All they need is a receipt, with their new system, it would be charged back to the original store.

So, basically you can go back to any HF store and make a return, at least where I live. They all seem to have upgraded with new computers and system.

cheechi · Apr 29, 2013

If you have garage sales or pawn shops that you can consistently get decent tools at decent prices, go for it. I would like to have a mismatched set of working tools rather than a shiny drawer of ****. I've got pawn shops here and there but none are really that convenient and they definitely are not cost effective, even compared to ebay. this area is not really good for garage sales because there are so many flea markets & church events going on; those are just a mess and I avoid them if at all possible.

For me, learning HF's 'system' was easy. It's convenient and inexpensive to get stuff from there. I like Northern's tools too but they are way more pricy than they need to be. Gearwrench and Northern side by side I would pick the Northern, but I didn't have that kind of money to spend on this particular item. There is one bolt here and one bolt there that this kind of wrench is great for, not absolutely necessary but about 90% faster with it.

I wouldn't have caught this if I had my regular combo wrenches with me that day. Since I did, I figured I'd share it. I still give the both sets (I bought & used standard & metric) a PASS and would buy them again. They just aren't going to hold up to improper use as well as some other might.

ndr1968 · Apr 29, 2013

zacker01 said:
if need be, hang a small weight from the tripod like a little bag of sand or what ever is handy, stick, small rock, old shoe...lol. if you keep a small ball of light twine or even a small ball of wire with it, you'll have it whenever you need it... I sometimes have to hang my camera bag from my tripod to keep it sturdy in the wind.

Yeah, zacker that's an old trick and works pretty good too on a heavier tripod but this HF thing... The little tiny smallest extensions are like about the size of soda straws and they flex like a fishing rod! Best to limit the height here. Then it should be stable enough to add the weight if need be.

I tried out the spotting scope this weekend. At 20x it's pretty decent for the money. The higher mags though have severe chromatic aberration. We’re not talking about a little colored halo around objects. The green focuses so far out that the white pin feathers of a Teal I was looking at through the scope at 60x looked bright emerald green! Red & blue were a little closer but, of course this plus the dimness and just plain old lack of sharpness made it less than useful at this highest setting. It probably would be able to resolve .30 caliber bullet holes at 100 yards so it could probably serve OK for that. It’s sharp enough at the lower settings that I still will probably use it quite a bit for birding. 20x60 gets just that little bit more detail that most binoculars can’t quite resolve. If they would make a 20x60 binocular for around the same money I would gamble and try that out too!

k-os · Apr 29, 2013

Tere5sang said:
I think we need one of these threads for northern tool also.

There is one.
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=110816&highlight=northern+tools

jamesbumdaddy · Apr 29, 2013

k-os said:
There is one.
http://garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=110816&highlight=northern+tools

Not much going on there. Nobody shops a NT anymore. My last purchase was over 10 years ago. I bought the burnzomatic for burning weeds. I still have and still burn weed

. No, really burn weeds. I found another great use for them. Start my wood burning BBQ pit quick and easy.

I would post on the NT thread, but who would read it.

Burnzomatic = pass with over 10 years of use.

rlitman · Apr 30, 2013

67525 180 Piece Viton O-Ring Kit

FAIL

At least half the rings had casting flash, and several were split.
A bunch had visible cracks, and I really wouldn't trust many to seal anything.

They looked like they bought their o-rings from someone's factory reject bin.

PCO6 · Apr 30, 2013

rlitman - I bought a similar o-ring kit at Princess Auto. There were at least 10 that didn't have the "hole in the donut" punched out! :lol:

jamesbumdaddy · May 1, 2013

So far I did a field test update on the 18 Volt Cordless 1/2" Variable Speed Hammer Drill. It's a mixed result. Masonry drill bits make a big difference. See for yourself. This tool is still in limbo as far as results. Will have to retest this.

18 Volt Cordless 1/2" Variable Speed Hammer Drill Part 02

Andy Griffith · May 1, 2013

SuperSocket said:
I am cross-posting this in an airless sprayer thread I had posted in, but I needed to share because this is a big PASS.

So my weekend project was over. I ended up spraying 5 gallons of dryfall paint on steel trusses and 6 gallons of wall paint on cinder block that was previously painted.

The Harbor Freight airless sprayer worked amazingly. Did not have a single problem, single hiccup, or anything with the unit. I am actually very impressed with this unit.

5/8 Horsepower Airless Paint Sprayer Kit
http://www.harborfreight.com/58-horsepower-airless-paint-sprayer-kit-68001.html

Thinking about getting one of these as I have a number of projects coming up over the next two years. They are $170 with coupon this month. There seems to be two of these with different part numbers but I think they are actually the same thing?

http://www.harborfreight.com/58-horsepower-airless-paint-sprayer-kit-68001.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/58-horsepower-airless-paint-sprayer-kit-60600.html

subarub4 · May 1, 2013

jamesbumdaddy said:
So far I did a field test update on the 18 Volt Cordless 1/2" Variable Speed Hammer Drill. It's a mixed result. Masonry drill bits make a big difference. See for yourself. This tool is still in limbo as far as results. Will have to retest this.

18 Volt Cordless 1/2" Variable Speed Hammer Drill Part 02

I had the old one that was silver and green but it took a fall off a ladder and broke in half where the trigger is, I'm not sure if I want to get another for the hammer feature, it did not seem as strong.

Fastbird · May 1, 2013

Pneumatic Roller Seat:

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

Pass. I swear it's the same thing as the MAC pneumatic seat that was just purchased by a co-worker. Holds my fat **** just fine, nice and sturdy, good pneumatic operation.

Dan in Pasadena · May 1, 2013

Fastbird said:
Pneumatic Roller Seat:

Pass. I swear it's the same thing as the MAC pneumatic seat that was just purchased by a co-worker....

Yeah, but it doesn't say "MAC" where the Sun don't shine! :lol:

I wonder the difference in price between the Mac and the $25 HF one?

jamesbumdaddy · May 2, 2013

Masonry Drill Bits fail, but hammer drill still needs more testing. I exhanged the masonry bits and will have to retest so stay tuned.

18 Volt Cordless 1/2" Variable Speed Hammer Drill Part 03

jamesbumdaddy · May 3, 2013

21 Pocket Heavy Duty Tool Belt is pass pending. I just had to get a belt that fit me, other than that, it seems to have enough pockets and slots for my tools. I still need to field test it. Keep you all posted.

21 Pocket Heavy Duty Tool Belt 02

Roboal · May 3, 2013

BigSteve63 said:
Still have not pulled the trigger on the 69924 dual action polisher. Anyone else picked one up lately that could share your experience with it? It will be warming up enough to want to buff / wax the vehicles soon!

PASS

I bought one of these early last fall just after they became available at my local HF and have used it several times with good results. Previously I've used orbital (wax spreaders) and high speed rotary buffers and have found this to be well worth the price ~ $48 at the time of purchase. While I still need to pull out the rotary for serious scratch removal, this works well within it's limits for what it is designed for, and is less than half the price of the lowest price competitor when it is (frequently) on sale.

The pads aren't anything special, especially the cutting pad, but for the price ($4 on sale) they do the job. I believe that several of the bad reviews on the pads come from people not understanding how each is designed to be used and if it is their first time using a DA, they probably don't use an adequate amount of product on the pads.

I am considering the purchase of a Meg's 5 inch backing plate in order to use the more advanced 6½ pads.

Wangstang · May 3, 2013

What's the verdict on the new red premium air hoses? Good to go or fail?

Thanks
Wes

Amphicar770 · May 3, 2013

Slide hammer kit 05223. TOTAL FAIL

Used it first time to remove an axle. Plate that attaches to wheel bolts shattered in first minute. Had to get loaner from auto parts store which stood up to 10x the abuse.

Not covered by lifetime warranty. Maybe I can use the metal storage case for something. The tool is garbage.

MR_T · May 3, 2013

jamesbumdaddy said:
18 Volt Cordless 1/4" Hex Impact Driver is a pass. Out of the box ready to go. Really low cost, but works just as good and looks just as good as the more expensive brand names. I should have bought this a long time ago.

18 Volt Cordless 1/4" Hex Impact Driver 01

I attached a Q for anyone who wants to get one.

Happy Shopping!!!

The harbor fright page says "Cordless impact driver with 700 lbs. of torque" how much power does it really have ? Is it enough to take off lugs ?

the1nonlyjl · May 3, 2013

http://www.harborfreight.com/bench-grinder-with-flex-shaft-43533.html

BOOOOO BOOOOOO P.O.S

Alchymist · May 3, 2013

pathfinderdude said:
http://www.harborfreight.com/bench-grinder-with-flex-shaft-43533.html

BOOOOO BOOOOOO P.O.S

Actually I thought it quite good for the price. Can't vouch for the flex shaft, as I never used it, but I have gone through 4 or 5 of the buffing pads - they wear pretty quickly, but they sure do polish. Still on the original grinding wheel. Bad part is you have to buy the wheel and the buffing pad together, can't buy the pads separately, and go through pads 10 times faster than wheels.

They are not meant for heavy grinding, that's what the big grinder is for, but for touching up small drill bits, lathe bits, taking edges off small parts, etc, works really well.

Art Baethke · May 3, 2013

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS / FAIL thread
I have use many HF tools for years. Most are well worth buying. I still use my floor jack that I bought in the 70's One advantage to HF. I was trying to take apart my Volvo outdrive to replace the drive bearings. I have 3 different sets of snap ring pliers. Non of them would do the job. Went to HF and got a set of long reach needle nose pliers. Less than $20. I took my Dremel and ground the tips to the shape I needed. Worked fine.
The point is, for $20 I could not have got a set, that I could have ruined.
At times a low cost tool for a one time job is just fine! Thank you for Harbor Freight ..

cheechi · May 3, 2013

pathfinderdude said:
http://www.harborfreight.com/bench-grinder-with-flex-shaft-43533.html

BOOOOO BOOOOOO P.O.S

Give us something useful. How did you use it and how did it fail you?

Mine works great. I only use the flex shaft regularly though I have used the 3" stones a time or 2. It's got more consistent power than a dremel when grinding, and the flex shaft is easier to hold for long times than a dremel (or the dremel flex shaft, i have one of those also)

Maexle · May 3, 2013

TOTAL FAIL:

http://www.harborfreight.com/7-piece-38-metric-long-ball-head-hex-socket-set-67888.html

Snapped at the first use, with not a lot of power, right off.... My fault, should've read the reviews and NOT impulse buying.

Wera or Wiha it is now that i am going to get..... sometimes it's true: you get what you pay for.

jamesbumdaddy · May 3, 2013

MR_T said:
The harbor fright page says "Cordless impact driver with 700 lbs. of torque" how much power does it really have ? Is it enough to take off lugs ?

I just purchased some adapter sockets to work with my current socket set. So I will give it a try.

Danglerb · May 3, 2013

MR_T said:
The harbor fright page says "Cordless impact driver with 700 lbs. of torque" how much power does it really have ? Is it enough to take off lugs ?

Pretty sure that is INCH LBS, not FOOT LBS.

IONH · May 3, 2013

Amphicar770 said:
Slide hammer kit 05223. TOTAL FAIL

Used it first time to remove an axle. Plate that attaches to wheel bolts shattered in first minute. Had to get loaner from auto parts store which stood up to 10x the abuse.

Not covered by lifetime warranty. Maybe I can use the metal storage case for something. The tool is garbage.

I don't buy anything that is "cast" from pretty much anywhere. Just doesn't last to the abuse I put it through. I doubt the one you got from the parts store was cast for the same reason.

That said, I have the next step up smaller kit 95987 which I have abused the heck out of and it is still in fine shape.

IONH · May 3, 2013

Danglerb said:
Pretty sure that is INCH LBS, not FOOT LBS.

1/4" would never be able to do 700 ft/lb, so I agree, probably inch/lb.

Danglerb · May 3, 2013

Amphicar770 said:
Slide hammer kit 05223. TOTAL FAIL

Used it first time to remove an axle. Plate that attaches to wheel bolts shattered in first minute. Had to get loaner from auto parts store which stood up to 10x the abuse.

Not covered by lifetime warranty. Maybe I can use the metal storage case for something. The tool is garbage.

What I've seen is the part that looks sort of like a foot, holes for three bolts on one side and one hole on the other, breaks all the time.

Not lifetime, but 90 days to return it if you don't like it. Full of bad reviews for the cast part breaking, best to just avoid.

Brownsfan · May 3, 2013

Has anyone here used this? http://www.harborfreight.com/hydraulic-wire-crimping-tool-66150.html Looking for a large guage wire crimper and saw this. I really dont have any Harbor Freight tools but this looks decent for the price. It has good reviews on the HF site but would like to see what you guys think.

Danglerb · May 3, 2013

Battery/Alternator tester, PASS
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-volt-battery-alternator-tester-66842.html

Reg price $8, advertised at $6, less 20%, got another 25' tape measure free.

Plugs in the cigarette lighter outlet, has two sets of 3 LEDs Red/Yellow/Green, set on one side marked Battery, set of the other side marked Alternator. Battery Red comes on below 11.8v, and stays on another LED lighting up every step in higher voltage.

The version I bought from Radio Shack 30 years ago had 3 LEDs, and worked fine. The HF is actually a fair amount better quality and the 6 LEDs do a better job of showing in between voltage levels.

Every person that might call you with a car problem should have one of these in each of there cars. Instant simple diagnosis, that isn't the last word on what is wrong, but an excellent indicator of what to do next.

Danglerb · May 3, 2013

Brownsfan said:
Has anyone here used this? http://www.harborfreight.com/hydraulic-wire-crimping-tool-66150.html Looking for a large guage wire crimper and saw this. I really dont have any Harbor Freight tools but this looks decent for the price. It has good reviews on the HF site but would like to see what you guys think.

One of the guys here did a good write up on using it, basically the Dies are all labeled incorrectly, but the device works fine once you know what sizes fit. I don't recall the largest gauge wire it will actually crimp, but google harbor hydraulic crimper and you should get all the info.

jamesbumdaddy · May 3, 2013

2.5 Ton Heavy Duty Steel Floor Jack and 3 Ton Heavy Duty Jack Stands work well together. My wife loves me so much, that she breaks down the family mini van just so I can buy tools to fix it.

Not quite done yet, but very impressed with what I have seen.

Pass

2.5 Ton Heavy Duty Steel Floor Jack and 3 Ton Heavy Duty Jack Stands 01

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