The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
- Thread starter Bolster
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bwringer
Well-known member
"Heavy Duty" red and black rubber air hoses: FAIL.
The make these in several variations of size and length. In any case, the problem is the end fittings -- very thin, cheap metal, minimal crimps, no room for a wrench to actually tighten the things, and on the hose I tried to use last night, the tapered pipe threads are poorly made so that they bottom out before they get tight.
The hose itself is OK, but if you have any choice at all, find something else.
AMFLO hoses at Home Depot, for example, are made in Taiwan (or Formosa, or whatever the hell you want to call it) and have much better hardware.
The make these in several variations of size and length. In any case, the problem is the end fittings -- very thin, cheap metal, minimal crimps, no room for a wrench to actually tighten the things, and on the hose I tried to use last night, the tapered pipe threads are poorly made so that they bottom out before they get tight.
The hose itself is OK, but if you have any choice at all, find something else.
AMFLO hoses at Home Depot, for example, are made in Taiwan (or Formosa, or whatever the hell you want to call it) and have much better hardware.
Dust Devil
Well-known member
I just had one of the red HF hoses rot out on me after about a month and a half. Using an orange HF now it is cheap but works. We are hard on airhoses so we get cheap ones and rotate often.
So these are the new hoses we're talking about, since they dropped Goodyear ones?
ebas1984
Member
So what do you guys think of the 3/4" drive socket sets? Any good. Reviews say that the sockets are nice, but the ratchets are iffy at best. Any personal usage?
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The impact sockets are okayish...
ebas1984
Member
They make impact sockets in the 3/4" drive size? I didn't see any on the web site. Would be cool if they did.
ebas1984
Member
Found them. They look nice for the money. But there are only eight sockets in the set for $40. There are 16 sockets in the 20 piece set and it's only $20 more. Plus the extensions, ratchet and breaker bar along with it. If those chrome sockets are any good compared to the impacts then they would definitely be a much better value. Not that those impact sockets aren't already a value. Lol
Personality I don't have the dough for an 3/4" drive air impact gun and an air compressor strong enough to power it. So I'm definitely all about the hand tools as long as they are good.
Personality I don't have the dough for an 3/4" drive air impact gun and an air compressor strong enough to power it. So I'm definitely all about the hand tools as long as they are good.
Provincial
Well-known member
The HF 3/4" chrome set isn't too bad. If you don't use a cheater pipe, the ratchet holds up well. The T-handle will bend the bar if used with a cheater. We never had a problem with any of the sockets, and we used a cheater now and then with a USA-made T-handle. We may have damaged an extension, but time and PTSD (employer level) have dimmed the memory.
I bought HF tools for use in my rock quarry, since the crews would break anything I gave them. Good tools disappeared, and you can't warranty for theft. I bought used USA tools when the imports wouldn't cut it.
I bought HF tools for use in my rock quarry, since the crews would break anything I gave them. Good tools disappeared, and you can't warranty for theft. I bought used USA tools when the imports wouldn't cut it.
owenst7
Well-known member
I've had the ³/4" chrome set for several years. My dad has an identical set marked Stanley (also china). The original ratchet from my set got warrantied due to the snap ring falling out in the toolbox of my trail rig, and I couldn't find the spring. The individual ratchet they sell seems to have better finish, although it may be that they've improved them after the 5+ years ago that I bought my set. I primarily use mine for pinion nuts, sometimes in excess of 300 ft lbs (I use a torque wrench during installation. I also have used them with an impact quite often to set 14 bolt crush sleeves, which usually taxes a 1200k or IR 2135 pretty hard, so I'd say they pass the stress test. They don't feel like they fit as tight as the snap on im480 I picked up recently, but I highly doubt a guy could easily strip out a 1.5" nut. At least not with a 20" long ratchet.
If you're a truck mechanic that will rely on them every day to put food on your table, you should probably make sure you have a plan B, but my experience tells me you aren't likely to have an issue anyway.
If you're a truck mechanic that will rely on them every day to put food on your table, you should probably make sure you have a plan B, but my experience tells me you aren't likely to have an issue anyway.
Zapp Branigan
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2014
- Messages
- 220
I've had a HF 3/4" set for about 15 years. It was cheaper than buying the one socket I needed to do front shafts on my wife's Cavalier. Since then, I've only really used them for driving seals in, or for an occasional over sized fastener. Probably haven't had half the sockets out of the box. They are OK for hitch balls and stuff, but if you really NEED a good 3/4" set for daily use, I'd get something better. For occasional use, they are great.
ineedtools
Well-known member
Used the 3/4" torque and impact sockets to pull a crank pulley, worked well. Used a 25 off on both on two trips and for under $70 total they were well worth it.
I bought the 212cc Chipper Shredder Item#60599. it was well built and the engine was very nice. i used it for a mere 5 hours and i had encountered several problems. after about 2 hours of real light use, a screw had become loose and fell down. no biggie, tightened it back up. after 5 hours of use, one set of blades were completely broken. the inner workings has 1 set of 2 rows of blades. each row having arond 4 blades. one row broke off and 4 blades were flinging around in the machine. they were flinging around so strongly that the blades were about to rip/break through the sides of the chipper.
Chipper Item#60599 gets a Fail.
Chipper Item#60599 gets a Fail.
ebas1984
Member
Thanks for the input and help guys. Much appreciated. Occasional use is the only goal at the moment. But the future is never set in stone. So they could go into semi regular service on a farm. I bought a good SK 3/4" ratchet on eBay for $40 free ship. So I'll have a reliable ratchet to go with the sockets. Their stand alone 3/4"breaker bar also seems nice. Says it's rated to 750 ft lbs of torque.
harbor freight slide hammer: FAIL
bought it to pull a front axle out of a mid shaft bearing. Put it together gave it 2 good hits and could see it was already starting to bend, pull it out and sure enough it is bent and the threads are starting to pull apart. Purchased, broke, and returned all within an hour
bought it to pull a front axle out of a mid shaft bearing. Put it together gave it 2 good hits and could see it was already starting to bend, pull it out and sure enough it is bent and the threads are starting to pull apart. Purchased, broke, and returned all within an hour
ebas1984
Member
That's a shame. I have an older one, about ten years old now, that has done quite a bit of pulling for me. Five pounder. Although I have broken some of the accessories that came with it. For the $30 I paid for it it has saved me probably 20 times that. From recollection there are a few slide hammer selections from HFT. The more expensive one now I believe is the one that holds up better.
edcantu9
Well-known member
Any opinions on the torque sticks from there?
ebas1984
Member
So far so good. I had a 1/2", after about 7-8 years, have the handle freeze up and not be able to adjust it. So I took it back and mine had a lifetime warranty sheet in the box. I had to persuade them to give me a new one since the current ones are only like 30 days warranty now our something. Maybe 90 days. But any way. No trouble so far with that one. But I've never calibrated or tested the accuracy of them. If I'm worried I usually use a beam style.
ebas1984
Member
They work well on lug nuts too. Don't need to be the most accurate at that. Just close.
Vegaman_Dan
Well-known member
The torque wrenches are one of the 'gems' for HF. They have been reviewed against the top brands and hold up very well, in some cases better than the name brands. Don't know why, but I'm certainly glad they are $10 on sale and are reliable.
Mk3Mike
Well-known member
Torque sticks or torque wrenches? Two different things.
ILDurable
Well-known member
7pc Pittsburgh Pro Ratcheting Wrench Set: Pass.
These are awesome. I use to sell Gearwrench brand ratcheting wrenches and I am very familiar with quality. These are so close in quality to those wrenches. I use them everyday. They last.
2 1/2 Pound Neon Dead Blow Hammer: Pass.
This is another item that gets used daily. Very happy with it. It lasts as well and does what a dead blow is suppose to do.
Mini Hook & Pick Set: Pass
Another daily used item. Very happy.
1/4" Air Straight Die Grinder: Pass
One of the items that I was most pleased about. I was worried about buying an air tool from hf, but hey it's worked great and I cannot complain.
These are awesome. I use to sell Gearwrench brand ratcheting wrenches and I am very familiar with quality. These are so close in quality to those wrenches. I use them everyday. They last.
2 1/2 Pound Neon Dead Blow Hammer: Pass.
This is another item that gets used daily. Very happy with it. It lasts as well and does what a dead blow is suppose to do.
Mini Hook & Pick Set: Pass
Another daily used item. Very happy.
1/4" Air Straight Die Grinder: Pass
One of the items that I was most pleased about. I was worried about buying an air tool from hf, but hey it's worked great and I cannot complain.
An item number would be helpful, and thanks
pauls_workshop
Well-known member
BTW, if you are game, you can port the muffler on those Poulan chainsaws and increase the power about 20% on them. Makes a world of difference. They are not bad saws but stuff tends to come loose on them often and the fuel lines go bad on them often and need replacing. Empty out all fuel each time you use it to make them last. - Paul
pauls_workshop
Well-known member
Rice, how well do you like the 50 cc Poulan saw? Would you recommend that one? I have the 42 cc one.
dclassical
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- Joined
- Sep 25, 2008
- Messages
- 1,130
I bought them a few years ago and I am happy with them. I use them to make sure I do not overtighten with my impact wrench, I then use the torque wrench to check and it has always been spot on. Very happy with the purchase.
fourtythree
Well-known member
Any pics of the muffler mod? I have a couple "wild thing" saws collecting dust.
ineedtools
Well-known member
Item #43753 strut compressor
Not sure whether to give this a pass or a fail as it got the job done without killing us but barely.
The hinged end is only held on with pin and c-clips, there is no washer between the arms and the clip. When we were cranking the 2nd strut down one of the clips broke, they're really cheap too. We were able to replace it and put a flat washer behind it and kept going, that is until the other side gave and the entire arm shifted and came undone.
Now we were faced with a potential bomb waiting to go off without notice, very un-nerving time it was. We were able to carefully pick it up and put it in a vice to keep it from moving farther out and separating and then backed it off so we could reassemble. We did the same thing on the other side using a flat washer and new clip.
I plan on using it again but I'm going to use a high grade bolt and self locking nut to replace the pin and c-clips.
Not sure whether to give this a pass or a fail as it got the job done without killing us but barely.
The hinged end is only held on with pin and c-clips, there is no washer between the arms and the clip. When we were cranking the 2nd strut down one of the clips broke, they're really cheap too. We were able to replace it and put a flat washer behind it and kept going, that is until the other side gave and the entire arm shifted and came undone.
Now we were faced with a potential bomb waiting to go off without notice, very un-nerving time it was. We were able to carefully pick it up and put it in a vice to keep it from moving farther out and separating and then backed it off so we could reassemble. We did the same thing on the other side using a flat washer and new clip.
I plan on using it again but I'm going to use a high grade bolt and self locking nut to replace the pin and c-clips.
RAYJAY
Well-known member
subarub4
Well-known member
I know awhile back they had issues with them, that was enough for me to get the OEM version of the compressors.
I borrowed a friend's Ultra Pro (sold by NAPA in Canada) pistol grip air shear today. It looks a lot like the HF #98580. Has anyone compared these 2 shears? The Ultra Pro cut 16 ga steel w/ no issues.
Not sure what to go w/ an air shear or nibbler. Pros & cons of each?
Not sure what to go w/ an air shear or nibbler. Pros & cons of each?
pauls_workshop
Well-known member
Don't want to take this thread off topic, but you can do some google searches on the topic. The simplest is to make all the existing holes/ports in the muffler a little bigger by drilling oversize. Follow the flow path from the cylinder on through the muffler to figure out what/where each of these is. Then you can add a few extra holes right out the rear as a straight shot, on either side of the spark arrestor screen, making the flow go through that first before finding any exit. You don't need much, maybe 75% more area than it already has for holes/ports. For the straight shot holes, I used 4x0.25" size holes. You can also remove the spark arrestor screen entirely or drill a few holes through that and leave it in, but that makes the saw illegal to run in a public forest if you ever did that. For home use, no problem. I left in the spark arrestor on mine. Note, only modding the exhaust here, not the exhaust port, which is another matter entirely but can also be done. Muffler is an easy thing to do for about 1/2 an hour of work. Transforms the saw completely. You will have to adjust the carb high and low speed screws or it will run too lean after doing this. Turn both out (richer) by about a 1/4 turn when you do it and tweak from there as needed. Never ever run a 2 stroke lean for even a minute. - Paul
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emeraldcoupe
Well-known member
right angle screwdriver- 92630 - pass. paid $2.39 for it. needed it to get at the screws on top of my dash near the windshield, works great. coo is Taiwan
bwringer
Well-known member
Right -- Goodyear is gone and the new ones are pretty crappy.
I didn't know until then that they didn't have the Goodyear hoses. Rather than make another trip somewhere else (I don't know of anyplace local that stocks Goodyear hose), I just grabbed what they had.
diggerrick
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2010
- Messages
- 996
right angle screwdriver- 92630 - pass. paid $2.39 for it. needed it to get at the screws on top of my dash near the windshield, works great. coo is Taiwan
That looks different than mine (about 5 years old). Mine has the direction selector on the side and I'm constantly reversing it accidentally with my thumb. Handy when you need it though. I upgraded to the Craftsman set a couple years ago and haven't used the HF since.
http://www.harborfreight.com/12-in-18-volt-cordless-impact-wrench-60380.html
18v Cordless 1/2" Impact Wrench
After using my father's corded impact and finding it an embarrassing failure, I grabbed this with the intention of giving it to him. I figured I'd test it out beforehand, though, so I charged it up (2.5 hours to full). It seems well made. On looks alone, everything seems put together as well as anything else out there. It's not overly bulky or heavy. Looks like spare batteries can be had for about twelve bucks after coupon and tax; you can't beat that! After seeing that, I was kind of thinking about grabbing one for myself for when people need help away from an outlet to feed my portable compressor.
I got out an impact socket, a torque wrench, and a Ford Ranger for the testing.
Started off setting a lug to 200 ft/lbs, as that's the max on the torque wrench. No dice. Impact didn't budge it at all.
Took it down to 170 ft/lbs...nope. Nothing. 150 ft/lbs...it took some time, but it did eventually break the lug loose. Took it up to 155 ft/lbs...nothing again. Set the lug all the way down to the factory 100 ft/lbs...zipped it right off, no problem.
Well, there we go. Looks like the impact rated for 330 ft/lbs tops out somewhere between 150-155. If you just want it for removing lug nuts on your car or light truck, I guess it'll work out pretty good for you. If you want it to do what HF claims it can do, it's a fail. Beats the pants off of the corded unit by a hell of a margin, though.
Blech. I'm disappointed. I had gotten my hopes up. "Max torque" ratings are always a load of ****, even with Snappy or IR...but I was hoping/assuming I could at least get 200 out of this thing.
18v Cordless 1/2" Impact Wrench
After using my father's corded impact and finding it an embarrassing failure, I grabbed this with the intention of giving it to him. I figured I'd test it out beforehand, though, so I charged it up (2.5 hours to full). It seems well made. On looks alone, everything seems put together as well as anything else out there. It's not overly bulky or heavy. Looks like spare batteries can be had for about twelve bucks after coupon and tax; you can't beat that! After seeing that, I was kind of thinking about grabbing one for myself for when people need help away from an outlet to feed my portable compressor.
I got out an impact socket, a torque wrench, and a Ford Ranger for the testing.
Started off setting a lug to 200 ft/lbs, as that's the max on the torque wrench. No dice. Impact didn't budge it at all.
Took it down to 170 ft/lbs...nope. Nothing. 150 ft/lbs...it took some time, but it did eventually break the lug loose. Took it up to 155 ft/lbs...nothing again. Set the lug all the way down to the factory 100 ft/lbs...zipped it right off, no problem.
Well, there we go. Looks like the impact rated for 330 ft/lbs tops out somewhere between 150-155. If you just want it for removing lug nuts on your car or light truck, I guess it'll work out pretty good for you. If you want it to do what HF claims it can do, it's a fail. Beats the pants off of the corded unit by a hell of a margin, though.
Blech. I'm disappointed. I had gotten my hopes up. "Max torque" ratings are always a load of ****, even with Snappy or IR...but I was hoping/assuming I could at least get 200 out of this thing.
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