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The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...

k-os

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those were the wrong impcts to buy.....crv. the other ones are moly. Whaats the issue with the gun, its one of their better products

I think what we was saying is that he gives them a Pass, as in he has been pleased with them and their performance.
 
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lightning02

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does it say on the package which are which? other then that how does one know the diff in case it doesnt say?
 

NC-Shaun

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i need a set of 3/8 drive impact sockets as well, they only offer one set and yes they are fine.
 

cheechi

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those were the wrong impcts to buy.....crv. the other ones are moly. Whaats the issue with the gun, its one of their better products

AFAIK, they don't have the crmo in 3/8 drive.

Yup. Only CR-MO in 1/2 drive.

Why the non-moly is the wrong one to buy? Not as strong?
Thanks.

does it say on the package which are which? other then that how does one know the diff in case it doesnt say?

Kind of. The Pittsburgh Pro are cromoly steel and only made in 1/2" drive. I have a set of 3/8" drive metric impacts and use it with my M12 fuel impact. They don't get used all the time, but they do go with me to the junk yard so they see medium-hard use when they come out. They pair well with the wobble extensions. Haven't had to replace one though the finish on them isn't as good as on the 1/2" ones. whatever. They work for me, though they are not as good as the pros they are definitely better than any set costing twice as much.
 

Red996

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Why the non-moly is the wrong one to buy? Not as strong?
Thanks.

It's not really an issue of strength. Cr-V is harder, more wear resistant, and excellent for hand tools. It is also brittle and doesn't handle the shock of an impact wrench as well as Cr-Mo. Cr-V can break in half when used with an impact tool and send chunks of metal flying at speeds high speeds. I've seen guys go to the hospital to get pieces of metal removed from their flesh. Cr-V is still used for impact sockets but in order to meet safety standards they will be made thicker than Cr-Mo sockets which is typically not a desirable trait. That's not to say that all Cr-V impact sockets are made to meet this standard, some are not! Name brand impact sockets are pretty much unanimously Cr-Mo.
 

ineedtools

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^ this
If you've never seen a CrV socket fail it's like exploding shrapnel and happens so quick you don't know it's failing until it does.

Hardened bolts that have galled are Cr-V socket killers on impact guns.
 

NC-Shaun

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It's not really an issue of strength. Cr-V is harder, more wear resistant, and excellent for hand tools. It is also brittle and doesn't handle the shock of an impact wrench as well as Cr-Mo. Cr-V can break in half when used with an impact tool and send chunks of metal flying at speeds high speeds. I've seen guys go to the hospital to get pieces of metal removed from their flesh. Cr-V is still used for impact sockets but in order to meet safety standards they will be made thicker than Cr-Mo sockets which is typically not a desirable trait. That's not to say that all Cr-V impact sockets are made to meet this standard, some are not! Name brand impact sockets are pretty much unanimously Cr-Mo.

If you guys know of a nice set of 3/8 impact socket sets that doesnt skip sizes and is reasonably priced please post a link. I need a set, but dont want to spend a fortune to get them.

I just searched and found these, but I would pretty much have to return both my 1/2 drive shallow Pittsburgh sets, and deep well sets to add to my funds to buy this set. I dont have room in my box for extras, as a side bonus this would really aid in organizing my impact drawer.

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/to...ci_sku=41619&gclid=CP7s-9vGscICFeJF7AodQw4AkA
 
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Noland

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I have both cr-mo and crv impact sockets from harbor frieght. have 3 sets. 2 deep well sets metric and sae that are crv and sae shallows that are cr-mo. all are 1/2 in drive and I use with a sk impact. I would recommend either set to anyone. Ihavent had any problems. the reason I purchased the crv sockets if I recall right came with more sockets. I dont like socket sets that skip sizes. Also had good luck with thier ratchets. both the roto head style and theyre new pro line. I lubed them up like suggested made them real nice. for the price you cant got wrong.
 

Scimmia

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It's not really an issue of strength. Cr-V is harder, more wear resistant, and excellent for hand tools. It is also brittle and doesn't handle the shock of an impact wrench as well as Cr-Mo. Cr-V can break in half when used with an impact tool and send chunks of metal flying at speeds high speeds. I've seen guys go to the hospital to get pieces of metal removed from their flesh. Cr-V is still used for impact sockets but in order to meet safety standards they will be made thicker than Cr-Mo sockets which is typically not a desirable trait. That's not to say that all Cr-V impact sockets are made to meet this standard, some are not! Name brand impact sockets are pretty much unanimously Cr-Mo.

This is going to be much more about how they're hardened than about the alloy itself. Just because chrome sockets are Cr-V does not make them the same thing as Cr-V impact sockets.
 

IFMJohn

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I should've taken pictures. The harbor freight air blow gun is a MASSIVE FAIL. Hooked it up to shop air and used it for about 5 seconds, set it down and it exploded. The end where the air line attaches came out of the plastic and this air line started shooting shop air pressure out of the air fitting that was still attached to the air line. Hose flying around like crazy. Another mechanic walked up to me from across the shop and handed me my blow gun.

It could be ****** construction or design. It could be our shop's air pressure is probably much higher than reccommended. Whatever it is, I ain't buying another one from harbor freight.
 

Scimmia

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I should've taken pictures. The harbor freight air blow gun is a MASSIVE FAIL. Hooked it up to shop air and used it for about 5 seconds, set it down and it exploded. The end where the air line attaches came out of the plastic and this air line started shooting shop air pressure out of the air fitting that was still attached to the air line. Hose flying around like crazy. Another mechanic walked up to me from across the shop and handed me my blow gun.

It could be ****** construction or design. It could be our shop's air pressure is probably much higher than reccommended. Whatever it is, I ain't buying another one from harbor freight.

And what was the maximum pressure on that blow gun? You can't fail something if you used it way beyond it's specifications. Hell, without a part number or something, we don't even know what to avoid!
 

cheechi

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That blow gun definitely has potential to fail no matter the PSI. There's a corrugated piece of metal attaching the threaded insert to the plastic housing.

Regarding the impact sockets, they do say they're ANSI approved so that is something. There has been plenty of talk on this forum about HF impacts but I don't recall someone saying theirs exploded. It comes up about chrome sockets from time to time but maybe I just missed it about these.
 
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Scimmia

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So rated at 90 PSI, it *should* have been fine with most shop air. Apparently no margin of safety on this one. All too common at HF. Thanks for letting us know.
 

warweapon762

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this is the blow gun that fails. im lucky my air hose didn't fly into a car when it was wiping around and put a dent in it .
http://www.harborfreight.com/pistol-grip-blow-gun-68259.html

One of our maintenance guys installed these at work and one had a catastrophic failure as mentioned. I went to home depot and replaced them all with Husky brand ones with my own money as the result.

We have shop air running 24/7 so I wasnt surprised when we came in and found one had literally shattered and threw plastic all over the place. :willy_nil
 

NC-Shaun

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Thats a well known fail and only has a 2 star rating anyway. /\ It even looks like a cheap piece of plastic, I wouldnt have bought a air gun that looked like that from a name brand store.
 

motorcyclist

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It's not really an issue of strength. Cr-V is harder, more wear resistant, and excellent for hand tools. It is also brittle and doesn't handle the shock of an impact wrench as well as Cr-Mo. Cr-V can break in half when used with an impact tool and send chunks of metal flying at speeds high speeds. I've seen guys go to the hospital to get pieces of metal removed from their flesh. Cr-V is still used for impact sockets but in order to meet safety standards they will be made thicker than Cr-Mo sockets which is typically not a desirable trait. That's not to say that all Cr-V impact sockets are made to meet this standard, some are not! Name brand impact sockets are pretty much unanimously Cr-Mo.

Thank you so much for the explanation and I appreciate it very much!
Now I know what I need to get!
Thanks again!
 

NC-Shaun

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I just wanna touch base on something I noticed while cleaning my shop today. I have a set of 15 year old Campbell Hausfeld CR-V Deep Well Impact sockets that I beat on for over 10 years daily without failure. I used them exclusively on a Matco 1/2 Impact gun, that I no longer have.
 

CobraChevelle

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Well back on cyber monday bought the 301pc set for 133$ with the 25% off and plus shipping. The local store would match the price but not with the 25% off lol.

I would give this set a pass just for the sockets, hex and allen set. The sockets are all Pitts pro sockets. I was surprised because online this set does not say "pro" like the other sets do. I like the case, but I can't see the handle lasting long. The wrenches,screwdriver and pliers look cheap, the ratchets feel good. better than the China CM. I bought this set for leaving in my truck.
 

JimDon

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I've had the plain Jane black auto dark helmet since 2006. Hasn't failed me yet. Paid like $39 for it. Works great for Mig and stick. Does not work well with Tig. If you're going to be doing Tig, get an expensive one and try it first before buying it. If you're just doing Mig or stick, go for the cheapie and don't look back. Hope this helps.
JimDon
 

motorcyclist

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Thank you so much JimDon, I only do MIG welding (and some oxy/propane) at home once in a while. My current helmet is fixed shade. I saw HB has a auto-dim helmet for $44.99:

http://www.harborfreight.com/blue-f...zIjoiNDQuOTkiLCJwcm9kdWN0X2lk IjoiMjI5NiJ9

Since I have never used auto-dim so I'm a little paranoid that it may not dim when the arc strikes then it'll be too late? :)

Did it ever fail to dim for you?
Thanks again!
mike-
 

JimDon

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It never fails to dim for me. I have used it a lot and have never been flashed when welding with it. It does meet the safety standards needed for welding and states that on the hood. Enjoy.
 

Stooge

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Regarding the welding helmets, i bought one as a spare to keep around the shop for if i had a helper that i didnt want going blind. I used it for a week or so and although it never flashed on me, i did notice a fair bit of eye fatigue later on in the days that i dont experience with other helmets. Everyone's different and i know many on here use them, but for me, it wasnt worth chancing, maybe it is just a little slower to dim regardless of the settings?
 

cheechi

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If you're going to be doing Tig, get an expensive one and try it first before buying it.
How do you try out an auto darkening helmet? I have one I don't know is good or bad and I have been trying to flash myself with things that won't blind me to test it but I don't know if I'm not using things bright enough or of they're all telling me it's bad.
 

BJ42LX

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How do you try out an auto darkening helmet? I have one I don't know is good or bad and I have been trying to flash myself with things that won't blind me to test it but I don't know if I'm not using things bright enough or of they're all telling me it's bad.

My Miller has a reset button that wakes it up if I haven't used it in days/weeks, causing the lens to cycle. Also, pointing it directly at the sun will cause it to darken.
 

RedneckWelder

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Thats a well known fail and only has a 2 star rating anyway. /\ It even looks like a cheap piece of plastic, I wouldnt have bought a air gun that looked like that from a name brand store.

I have a Matco (made in Taiwan) one that looks identical to the HF one, plus most of my coworkers also have Matco or Cornwell ones identical to mine. They all work well and are tough. They cost about $20 apiece...
 

cheechi

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My Miller has a reset button that wakes it up if I haven't used it in days/weeks, causing the lens to cycle. Also, pointing it directly at the sun will cause it to darken.
I'm going to try that thanks. I wasn't sure how bright it needed to be but my guess is this one is broken.
 

owenst7

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How do you try out an auto darkening helmet? I have one I don't know is good or bad and I have been trying to flash myself with things that won't blind me to test it but I don't know if I'm not using things bright enough or of they're all telling me it's bad.

The lens is polycarbonate, and is responsible for 100% of the harmful radiation reflection. The tint has nothing to do with damaging your eyes.



That is not to say that the tint doesn't prevent you from getting fatigue, only that you could watch the arc all day and not get eye cancer. You'd probably have a bitchin headache though.
 

cheechi

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It's not that I don't believe you it's just that I'm hesitant to prove you're right. lol. Thanks for that info though.
 

bubinga

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Thank you so much JimDon, I only do MIG welding (and some oxy/propane) at home once in a while. My current helmet is fixed shade. I saw HB has a auto-dim helmet for $44.99:

http://www.harborfreight.com/blue-f...zIjoiNDQuOTkiLCJwcm9kdWN0X2lk IjoiMjI5NiJ9

Since I have never used auto-dim so I'm a little paranoid that it may not dim when the arc strikes then it'll be too late? :)

Did it ever fail to dim for you?
Thanks again!
mike-
thats all l have is a MIG and stick.
I'm pretty well a beginner welder, l used to be decent with a MIG and a Stick, Decent now, not good.
So l feel like any help would be good.
I could use a new washing machine, but what fun is that......LOL
So l am saving up for a 110/220 miller or Hobart.
l like the idea of being able to use 110 or 220.

My one boss one time told me to weld something, he had a tombstone,
I said Oh, John, I don't know, I can't stick weld, I said, I used a MIG a little bit.
He was like " if you can MIG, you can stick weld" "Do it"
So I did, and like I said, I got decent at it.

Funny story,
I think he might have been drunk at the time too.............LOL
or that may have been in the AM, (Not drunk yet)
He used to go to lunch, and come back with a buzz on.
One time he came back, and I think we were pushing a car, to center it better for the lift or something, and he was bitching at me, So I called him on it, (being drunk) and he said he had not been drinking,
I said Bull ****, your nose is red.
he got all pissed off and pushed the car up and into his tool cart, and went upstairs .(he lived above the garage)

Then, one time he was bitching at me for putting my tools up on my cart, instead of on the core support, or near the wipers or such, and I said, "I DON'T PUT TOOLS UNDER A HOOD! ( i think it's a bad practice,)
Meanwhile, ....LOL, I was always finding his tools under a hood when the car came back again for service, or finding his tools, (sometimes mine, he has used cause my cart was closer at the time) out in the street in front of the shop, or up the road a few times.
 
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