The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...

[mbshop]

not sure if I did already but I'm giving this a two thumbs up for this grinder. just used the flex shaft on it today for some continued use, light work of course as intended, and it did the job admirably. couldn't be happier with it.
https://www.harborfreight.com/bench-grinder-with-flex-shaft-43533.html

 

[Wanna Ride]

Mobile Miter Saw Stand - Item #62750 PASS!

I got mine on sale for $89 and I'm very happy with it.

Same here. Surprised at how well this is made, and works perfectly.

 

[6PTsocket]

But you can't use 20 off and freebie coupons on Amazon.

Anybody check a lot of Amazon prices lately. The "free shipping" is obviously built in. When I compare, they are often awful. Sometimes their third party sellers are a better deal. I shop there a whole lot less than I used to. They have 42% of all online sales and that is insane. Bezos owns Whole Foods, The Washington Post and who knows what else. Now they are talking about giving him some gigantic contract for all the military cloud services. Too damn big.

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[Hexen]

Anybody check a lot of Amazon prices lately. The "free shipping" is obviously built in. When I compare, they are often awful. Sometimes their third party sellers are a better deal. I shop there a whole lot less than I used to.

And some of those same third-party sellers, or others selling the same product, are cheaper through other sites. Always a good idea to check eBay buy-it-nows, AliExpress, the seller's own website, etc. Amazon takes the biggest cut of the selling price, so many have to raise their selling price on Amazon compared to other places they may sell.

They have 42% of all online sales and that is insane. Bezos owns Whole Foods, The Washington Post and who knows what else. Now they are talking about giving him some gigantic contract for all the military cloud services. Too damn big.

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Amazon Web Services, their cloud division, already hosts a frightening amount of other large businesses' websites, in addition to a less-gigantic government/military contract they already have.

 

[Bad Habit]

And some of those same third-party sellers, or others selling the same product, are cheaper through other sites. Always a good idea to check eBay buy-it-nows, AliExpress, the seller's own website, etc. Amazon takes the biggest cut of the selling price, so many have to raise their selling price on Amazon compared to other places they may sell.

It's rare that I can't find things cheaper elsewhere from Amazon. I'm not a big fan of Amazon in general so will try and find other sources whenever I can, even if it does cost a little more (usually not though when you factor in sales taxes, etc.). Funny thing is though, even when you buy through other sources, many times it was shipped out from an Amazon fulfillment center.

 

[kbuhagiar]

And some of those same third-party sellers, or others selling the same product, are cheaper through other sites. Always a good idea to check eBay buy-it-nows, AliExpress, the seller's own website, etc.

ALWAYS check Amazon before hitting a 'Buy it now' button on Ebay, I've been burned twice by sellers on Ebay who buy an item on Amazon, mark it up, and ship it directly to me.

And in some cases (not all), I've found Amazon prices to be the cheapest, sometimes by 20% or more. These days I always do my due diligence, much as you mentioned, checking at least three sources (vendor's website, Amazon, and Ebay) before committing to an online purchase.

 

[PurpleZj]

Just picked this up. Will update when I try it out tomorrow


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[The_Geologist]

Harbor Freight "Portland" 7 amp 9.5" electric pole saw.

https://www.harborfreight.com/95-in-7-amp-electric-pole-saw-62896.html

Definite PASS. Made quick work of some overhanging tree limbs that were brushing the house. Only $62 with 20% off super coupon.

Just got this yesterday...paid $50 at the parking lot sale. Seems well built, and will work a lot better than the old craftsman pole pruner I have now. Hope to use it tomorrow and then I will post my thoughts...

Mobile Miter Saw Stand - Item #62750 PASS!

I got mine on sale for $89 and I'm very happy with it.

Just got this a couple weeks ago for the same price. Very easy to put together, and quite sturdy. This one is a definite PASS.

 

[Ji m]

Anybody check a lot of Amazon prices lately. The "free shipping" is obviously built in. When I compare, they are often awful. Sometimes their third party sellers are a better deal. I shop there a whole lot less than I used to. They have 42% of all online sales and that is insane. Bezos owns Whole Foods, The Washington Post and who knows what else. Now they are talking about giving him some gigantic contract for all the military cloud services. Too damn big.

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yep.

 

[sweet victory]

You just have to be smart enough to shop around. I'd say 90% of the time, there are better deals on tools elsewhere than on Amazon. The only time I've found tools to be cheaper, is if it wasn't the latest model or priced dropped. (I use apps like camelcamelcamel.com to monitor price drops on Amazon)

For other categories, there's no competition with amazon. In college, I bought all of my whey from Amazon. I saved even more with subscription purchases every month. I paid $49 for a 5lb tub of whey from amazon, where gnc and bodybuilding.com has them for $58.

You can't generalize the entire company because they don't have the best prices on your specific niche.

 

[ineedtools]

Just check sec filings and their annual report. Over 90% of Amazon's profit comes from AWS. Without that they'd be just like Sears. In fact I don't think the retail side of Amazon's business even supports itself even with 100 million prime members paying $99 a year!

 

[ZR 601]

Mobile Miter Saw Stand - Item #62750 PASS!

I got mine on sale for $89 and I'm very happy with it.

Another vote for this, have a 12 inch slider on it and it's pretty stable.

 

[zendriver]

One of may favorite HF buys.

Holds a nice size wiskey-and-water, nice and cold with no sweating. Perfect for the garage. The lid goes on and stays there. Be sure to hand wash.

$7.

Pass I just have to remember where I last set it down.

https://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-double-wall-insulated-stainless-steel-tumbler-64100.html

 

[6PTsocket]

You just have to be smart enough to shop around. I'd say 90% of the time, there are better deals on tools elsewhere than on Amazon. The only time I've found tools to be cheaper, is if it wasn't the latest model or priced dropped. (I use apps like camelcamelcamel.com to monitor price drops on Amazon)

For other categories, there's no competition with amazon. In college, I bought all of my whey from Amazon. I saved even more with subscription purchases every month. I paid $49 for a 5lb tub of whey from amazon, where gnc and bodybuilding.com has them for $58.

You can't generalize the entire company because they don't have the best prices on your specific niche.

Believe me, it is not just based on tools that I say they can be beat on a lot of stuff. As long as you mention the whey, we like iced tea. Lusianne, that is very polular in the South is not carried in the North. Amazon would run me $9.00 a box of 100 delivered. Walmart will bring it in for store pickup at a regular supermarket price of something like $3.99. A lot of Amazon price appeal is AFTER you pony up the $99 a year. With Costco I make it back with rebates.I get checks that more than pay my dues. I refuse to become a Prime member. The numbers don't work for me.

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[krole]

Are the Pittsburgh Pro impact sockets now going to made in China? I thought they were made in Taiwan before. Or is it the other way around?

Are they about equivalent in quality? Was going to pick up some SAE sets and they deep were China and shallows were Taiwan.

 

[Hexen]

Are the Pittsburgh Pro impact sockets now going to made in China? I thought they were made in Taiwan before. Or is it the other way around?

Are they about equivalent in quality? Was going to pick up some SAE sets and they deep were China and shallows were Taiwan.

Pittsburgh Pro stuff has always been Taiwan as far as I know, and better quality than the non-pro Pittsburgh products from China. Some types aren't offered in Pro/Taiwan, are you sure the deep sets you were looking at said Pro on the package?

 

[krole]

Pittsburgh Pro stuff has always been Taiwan as far as I know, and better quality than the non-pro Pittsburgh products from China. Some types aren't offered in Pro/Taiwan, are you sure the deep sets you were looking at said Pro on the package?

Positive. They were Pittsburgh Pro chrome molybdenum. The made in China ones looked like black epoxy compared to the chalk like Taiwan ones. I didn't bother looking at the metric ones, but probably should've.

I also verified the regular Pittsburgh (non-Pro) where also made in China but chrome vanadium.

FWIW I went to Home Depot and checked the Husky impact sockets, and they were also chrome molybdenum and made in China, and had that same epoxy type look.

 

[Ambrose Wolfinger]

Portland Electric Hedge Trimmer - 62630

PASS

Admittedly I haven't purchased a hedge trimmer before, but it works as advertised and got the job done.

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[Hexen]

Here's a major "fail"... HF is having to recall a million defective chainsaws. Apparently the usual way for the switch to break causes it to be unable to turn on, but sometimes the opposite happens - unable to turn off!


https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2018/h...ecalls-chainsaws-due-to-serious-injury-hazard

" Harbor Freight Tools Recalls Chainsaws Due to Serious Injury Hazard

Name of product: Portland, One Stop Gardens, and Chicago Electric 14 inch electric chainsaws

Hazard: The power switch can malfunction and allow the chainsaw to continue operating after the operator moves the switch to the “off” position, posing a serious injury hazard to the operator.

Remedy: Replace
Recall date: May 14, 2018
Units: About 1,020,000

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled chainsaws and return the product to their local Harbor Freight Tools store for a free replacement chainsaw. Replacement units will be available starting May 21, 2018.

Incidents/Injuries: Harbor Freight Tools has received 15 reports of chainsaws continuing to operate after being turned off by the operator, resulting in three laceration injuries including one serious injury to the arm requiring stitches.

Sold At: Harbor Freight Tools stores nationwide and online at www.harborfreight.com from May 2009 through February 2018 for about $50. "

 

[Loose Ctrl]

It's good they are taking action.

 

[ndr1968]

Thoughts on these?


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I bought one on impulse for in and around the house so I wouldn't have to go out to the shop for those small, fast and dirty grinding jobs. Why this thing when Dremmel will do most everything this will? I've used it a few times. Grinding down screwdrivers to fit a narrower gap comes to mind. I did this a few times and it works pretty good for that and putting a quick edge on a putty knife.

 

[zendriver]

Planned on doing maintenance work on the boat motor yesterday, but didn't plan on it being 95 degrees out.



Picked up one of these, thinking I was living large, with the 25% off coupon, but alas no, "CoverPro", is an excluded brand Name. The clerk said there was an email coupon, but I did not have one, but no worries, she said "my boss does not want me doing this" but scanned a coupon from an envelope, so it was about $57 out the door.



It comes in a nice storage bag and even though it is not that heavy, there are wheels at one end, for those that need to drag it along. It goes up easy and the top attaches all by velcro. It even went back into the bag, with minimal effort.



It looks useful for when tasks need to be done out in the sun or rain, I almost purchased two.



Out of the sun, hell yes, it is a pass. The quality seem similar to most other ones I have encountered.



https://www.harborfreight.com/10-ft-x-10-ft-pop-up-canopy-62897.html

 

[Hexen]

I saw an SD post a couple weeks ago with a good list of that person's HF fail experiences, and thought it was worth adding to this thread:

" [The torque wrenches and breaker bars] work fine for me. I have both and I've used them on bolts that required over 250 ft/lbs of torque to break them loose with no problems.

I probably own 25% of Harbor Freight's total inventory and, surprisingly, there were only a few things I've found that really ****, which are:

1. Vises (They crack very easily and often have Bondo filling holes from bad castings)

2. Flashlights (Most are plastic. Get a decent brand for way better brightness and durability)

3. Mini Mill (Too much slop. Get a decent 1 from LittleMachineShop instead)

4. Sub-150 amp welders can't hold an arc. Get +160 amp models and they actually work well.

5. Plastic ammo can is terrible. Get the metal one which works as well as a real ammo can.

6. Cheapest angle grinder. Get the blue one for $20 and it works surprisingly well for the price.

7. Cheap air compressors. They take a LONG time to compress the same amount of air as slightly more expensive name brand models of the same class.

8. Low-end bottle jacks. They all leak or will leak after a couple uses.

9. Plastic "oil change" ramps for your car. They all crack/break under the weight of ANY car and are very dangerous. DO NOT USE! My car is fairly light (3200lbs) compared to most cars or SUVs which are almost always +4000lbs and 2 different sets of these ramps cracked on 1st use. No way I'm ever getting under my car sitting on cracked ramps!

10. Plastic-frame creeper. The caster wheels don't freely swivel so it's impossible to push yourself in different directions without fighting with it a lot every time you want to move in a different direction. The plasic frame is great though so replace the casters with good ones to make it work well. However, with the time and money spent to do this it's better to just buy a decent 1 somewhere else and save yourself all the hassle for the same total price.

11. Tap & die sets. They say they are hardened but they can't even tap soft 1018 mild steel without dulling or snapping. Get the $110 GearWrench set on Amazon instead which works just as well as my dad's $300 high-end set for about 2/3 less!

12. 1/4" socket sets. The metal is very soft and you'll twist the 1/4" square end right off. Stick to 3/8" or 1/2" and they are strong enough to handle most DIY or home shop applications.

13. Safes. They are all cheap thin sheet metal and easy to pry open with a crowbar.

14. $79 Cross-Slide vise for milling. Get a Wilton for $100.

15. Cheap drill bits aren't as hard as they should be. They work fine for plastic and wood, but just know they will dull very quickly when drilling any ferrous metal whereas good bits will stay sharp much longer. "

 

[cheechi]

Just picked this up. Will update when I try it out tomorrow

I just bought my second one of these. One for 80 one for 120. They make quick work of sloppy chiseling and routing.

 

[Stevie-Ray]

½" Pittsburgh Torque wrench-pass. Bought one years ago and had my buddy, a professional mechanic, use it for a day. He compared it to his Snap-On, throughout the day, asked me what I paid for it, and then said he was going to get one himself, test it the same way to be sure, and put it away for a spare. Also the cheap (20 bucks with coupon) reciprocating saw. Have had one for about 6 or 7 years now, and it's still working smoothly.

 

[6PTsocket]

I just bought my second one of these. One for 80 one for 120. They make quick work of sloppy chiseling and routing.

Me too. Used my 25% coupon for it. Not sure what grit the belt that comes with it is. The numbers on the back of the belt don't look seem to be a grit number. I used it to take off rust on a tool cabinet drawer in the hard to reach spots. Very agressive but with a light touch it worked well. Have to get some finer belts. This is my first plug in HF tool and I am a little leery about how well it will last. So far so good. The tracking adjustment works well. I plan to use it to sharpen lawn tractor blades. PASS.

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[6PTsocket]

With my latest purchase I got the blue 24/3 led free flashlight but it is no longer 24 leds . They have replaced the 24 leds with a single COB led assembly. The 3 leds on the end are still there. That COB seems to put out a lot of light and the batteries should last longer. Definitely an upgrade. The problem with giving this light a pass goes back a few years when they changed the old magnet with one that is so weak that can barely hold the flashlight on anything less than a steel slab. It won't even hold on the shelves in the store. I ordered a bunch of 18mm rare earth magnets and now I swap them out and it really grabs, even on irregular surfaces, just like my oldest one. Typical HF. Works good after you modify it.

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[Hexen]

With my latest purchase I got the blue 24/3 led free flashlight but it is no longer 24 leds . They have replaced the 24 leds with a single COB led assembly. The 3 leds on the end are still there. That COB seems to put out a lot of light and the batteries should last longer. Definitely an upgrade. The problem with giving this light a pass goes back a few years when they changed the old magnet with one that is so weak that can barely hold the flashlight on anything less than a steel slab. It won't even hold on the shelves in the store. I ordered a bunch of 18mm rare earth magnets and now I swap them out and it really grabs, even on irregular surfaces, just like my oldest one. Typical HF. Works good after you modify it.

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Thanks for the update. If you have time, a couple side-by-side photos of the previous design and the new one would be helpful.

 

[snickers muncher]

. Also the cheap (20 bucks with coupon) reciprocating saw. Have had one for about 6 or 7 years now, and it's still working smoothly.

Same here. I use it mainly for trimming trees, but it has ate a lot of cast iron and galvanized pipe.

 

[cheechi]

Not sure what grit the belt that comes with it is. The numbers on the back of the belt don't look seem to be a grit number.

The number on the back of the belt is A105 which is just the part number. Pleasant surprise, it actually matches the manual.

Very agressive but with a light touch it worked well. Have to get some finer belts.

I bought the 5 pack of belts they sell, 2x 80, 1x each 120 180 240. Put an 80 on the new one after checking to make sure it works. If you think the 120 is aggressive you may be better off getting just the grits you want than buying their multi pack. They're more often called 'air file' if that helps.

If 80 isn't aggressive enough I'm going to buy some 36 grit from these guys though they only go up to 220.

 

[whatisthis]

There is a lot of stuff I like at HF but hands down my favorite are their coated work gloves. They last forever and are dirt cheap. I use 'em for everything. PASS!

 

[PurpleZj]

The number on the back of the belt is A105 which is just the part number. Pleasant surprise, it actually matches the manual.





I bought the 5 pack of belts they sell, 2x 80, 1x each 120 180 240. Put an 80 on the new one after checking to make sure it works. If you think the 120 is aggressive you may be better off getting just the grits you want than buying their multi pack. They're more often called 'air file' if that helps.



If 80 isn't aggressive enough I'm going to buy some 36 grit from these guys though they only go up to 220.

I really like it. Much more aggressive than I anticipated so there was a bit of a learning curve. One thing I would change would to have a progressive “throttle” switch instead of off/on. Other than that it works great


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[6PTsocket]

I really like it. Much more aggressive than I anticipated so there was a bit of a learning curve. One thing I would change would to have a progressive “throttle” switch instead of off/on. Other than that it works great


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While not as convenient, a router speed control will work with any brush motor and will let you slow it down. I have used one on my electric die grinder.

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[JRC3]

There is a lot of stuff I like at HF but hands down my favorite are their coated work gloves. They last forever and are dirt cheap. I use 'em for everything. PASS!

Not to discount those gloves but the textured ones are too thick. I buy these at HD 10pack/$10. Even HF's version is $1.99/pr. At a buck a pair they can get used for something nasty and tossed if you don't have any latex/nitrile/vinyl disposable gloves on-hand. No pun intended.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Firm-Grip-Nitrile-Coated-Gloves-10-Pack-5510-16/203423243

I buy up boxes of HF's disposable gloves when they're on sale. One of the biggest "passes" in the whole store.

 

[Reit38]

How's the black 21gal central pneumatic air compressor for running air tools?

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[Hexen]

HF carries the renowned "Pocket Ref" book, a definite 'pass'. They have the 4th edition, but haven't updated the product page URL accordingly.
https://www.harborfreight.com/pocket-ref-third-edition-35569.html
$12.99 -20% off = $10.40
I don't have one yet, might make that one of my purchases with the class action gift card I'm expecting.

 

[bert1913]

one hell of a deal: https://www.harborfreight.com/15-Ton-Aluminum-Racing-Floor-Jack-with-Rapid-Pump-62496.html

 

[cheechi]

While not as convenient, a router speed control will work with any brush motor and will let you slow it down. I have used one on my electric die grinder.

Brilliant. Thanks.

 

[doublearon98]

The combo sander has been great. Had it for a few months and it's doing well, but I wish the backing plate on the disk sander was steel and not aluminum. PASS

The sheets of sandpaper. Absolute garbage. 2X FAIL

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[Loose Ctrl]

The combo sander has been great. Had it for a few months and it's doing well, but I wish the backing plate on the disk sander was steel and not aluminum. PASS

The sheets of sandpaper. Absolute garbage. 2X FAIL

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Do you have any suggestions for replacement sanding belts and discs?