OK: How About a POSITIVE HARBOR FREIGHT Thread???

I use their step bit all the time still cut great after 4 years. I thnk they are called uni-bits on sale most of the time. The hose clamps are crap... don't even give it a second thought.​

 

3 pc step bits for 6.88 on sale

 

I haver my share of MAC Snap-On and Craftsman tools ( I worked at Sears for over 3 years,,, remember??)oh,, and sears' really shitty off brand Companion,, which I bought so the fags that kepts stealling my tools would stop,,, I have bought a ton of harbor freight stuff, both disposable and otherwise,,, the ball joint set i used the shit out of,, never failed,,,the impact sockets,, not so much,,, but hey,,, everyone has their own needs and preferences,,,
but i will tell you this,, when we were out to dinner with GENE WINFIELD at back to the fifties a couple years ago,,, he swore up and down by thier paint guns,,, especially the touch up gun,,, said he prefers them over the "high end" stuff that he gets comped,,,,
go figure,,,
xoxox
MIss hootch

ps I do have witnesses by the way,,, and I'm pretty sure he ordered Walleye,,,

 

I consider all I buy there "throw-away" tools, and the money I spend there disposable. Wire ties, bungee cords and especially sandpaper. Found their paper to be same quality as the top name stuff, and a 10 sheet pack @ HF less than half a 5 sheet pack @ AZ or other auto stores. I looked on back of some I got & no matter where I bought it, it was made in either Pakistan, India, or China.

 

I would imagine beef jerky from there must be made from water buffalo ass. Chewy!

 

X's 2 brother

 

i was going to say the same thing..disposable or consumeables..thats all i will buy there..but they are not that close to me anyways

 

Im shure if you check it you will find that to be a little off also.
There scales are in woman inches not man inches.

 

I bought an air powered staple gun there to "tiki" my daughters room. Worked great.

 

Any garage without 3/4" drive sockets would benefit from one of their cheapie sets.

Chineese sockets & ratchets you say? Yeah, I know, sounds crazy. BUT it seems anymore a lot of cars have one or more big f-n bolts on em somewhere. Like bigger than most "complete" 1/2 inch sets go.

See here's the thing with huge sockets. At that size, metric and standard are pretty much the same. Second, even with crap metallurgy there's just SO MUCH metal the tools will take an immense amount of torque. After all, you're just trying to get one or two 130 ft-lb bolts off, you're not building a damn bridge. Bolts that big are hard to round, even with poor socket fit.

Seriously, if you ever look at buying one humongous socket for something like a FWD wheel bearing, go buy the whole HF 3/4 set for a few dollars more. When you're feeling rich, go buy a quality US-made stepup adapter so your 1/2" impact can drive the huge sockets.

My set absolutely had that cheap-crap feel in how it worked. But served me well for a decade, and would still be on my shelf if the neighbor's garage sale didn't have the craftsman equivalent set in a bucket for $20. (random weirdness... I just barely scooped em from a full-regalia 70s elvis impersonator that bought all the other tools) One of my buddies that had borrowed the set a few times was more than glad to pay $20 for the HF cheap-crap, and is still using it happily today.

 

I frequent HF on a regular basis. As a hobbiest and not a pro, I have yet to wear out on of their tools, or have any problem with any. I have LOTs of tools from there. I don't believe that any more of their stuff is from China than others selling more expensive, higher quality tools. Wehter you like HF or not, you will like this story. I was there recently waiting for them to retrive something from the backroom, and was visiting with another guy waiting also. We talked of how pleased we were to have HF in our town. He told me that his Father in Law was somewhat of a HF addict. He bought tools he never used. He had passed away recently and left lots of tools still in original packaging. His wife loaded them all up and took to HF, they refunded her from every item at their current price. They certainly deserve an ATTABOY for that. Joe

 

The price of their stuff is so low that it allows me to be able to afford stuff that I would normally not have. That allows me to spend more on car parts. If I were a professional car builder, I would probably not use this stuff, but for a home guy it is a God send. Thanks

 

The hitchballs make great drag blocks!

 

They have a neat hand punch with all the dies for around 15 bucks, for random use it`s great, and it sure beats the 200 buck price tag for the Roper whitney.

 

Their grinders aren't as smooth as my Metabo either.....but I could buy 14 more HF ginders for the price of my Metabo! I have about a dozen ginders from HF and other Chinese suppliers. The Drill Master grinders from HF are the best of the el-cheapo Chinese grinders. Craftsman, DeWalt, and all of the others are Chinese.

Since Milwaukee is the only US made grinder I've been able to find, I spent the extra $$$ on the Metabo. I like my old Makitas too.

I keep different discs on all of the grinders (cut off wheels, flap discs in diffrent grits, sanding discs, 3" soft pad sanding disc, etc.) so I can just grab what I need. If I'm going to be spending a lot of time with the grinder in my hands, I grab the Metabo and put on the disc I need.

I have:
Shrinker & Stretcher
HF bead roller (beefed up and powered by a 90v DC motor)
8" English wheel upper (on a homebuilt frame with $300 in Hoosier Pattern lower wheels)
Throatless shear
Electric metal shear (been going strong through 4 years of abuse)
Drill bits (if they go dull, run them throught he Dill Doctor and use 'em some more!)
Left hand drill bits - indispensable....and since they are ALL easy to break, the HF price makes it easier to stomach
110V MIG welder - never had a problem with it
2-ton engine hoist - figure it ought to hold up to a SBC or SBF, the heaviest things I'm gonna throw at it.
Body hammers - surprisingly high quality....and cheap enough to take a grinder to and reshape without worry
Electric die grinder
Air die grinder
Air cut-off tool
Air nibbler
Step drills - the little set and the big set
Brake caliper tool set - saved my ass a couple of times
Pulley remover/installer - see above
Butt weld clamps! I think I grab a package of these about every other time I go in there!

Their abrasive suck! I buy mine from Lehigh Valley Abrasives. $0.30 each for 2" Rolocs, under $2 for flap discs. Shipping is kinda high, but it balances out.

I have surprisingly few HF hand tools. Most of my hand tools are Duracraft from Farm and Fleet - lifetime warranty, and I have never needed it.

Yeah, I have a fair amount of Craftsman and Craftsman Professional stuff, some Mac, some Matco, some Snap-On, Proto, SK, Chicago Pneumatic, Blue Point, Husky, Kobalt and Martin tools (did I mention I have a LOT of tools?), but most of that stuff stays at home! I make my living with the cheap shit. Why? I work in a factory....my tools are much more likely to get lost than broken.

I've bought a whole lot more from HF since they opened a store locally. You can pick something up and decide if it's shit, instead of trying to decide from a tiny picture in a catalog.

Tim D.

 

I'm using HF's sheet metal clamps and they work great! There was a thread awhile back on how to make these, but at 3.99 for 8--you can't make them for that.

I also found that they carry plastic plugs that slide onto the output shafts of transmissions. They're $4.00 bucks apiece and I don't have that many unused driveshaft yokes laying around.

I also recently bought an 18" air sander from them and it cost a whole $29.99. Like most of you I thought I would use it as a throw-away. So far, it works fine and gets the job done. Interestingly enough, I was in my local NAPA store to buy some sandpaper sheets for it. Lo and behold, here is my sander--same size, color, features, etc.--only sitting on top of a NAPA paper box-$79.99!!! I can spend my saved $50 on sandpaper, truck parts, or maybe a nice dinner out with my wife.

 

Mine carries CRC spray cutting oil. I use that stuff on everything - hinges, latches, etc... Like WD-40 but thicker. $4 a can.

Ever notice both the male and female gnomes have beards? WTF?

 

Here is another positive thing about HF...

If I am working on a project and all of a sudden I decide I need a Bead Roller, a metal brake, an english wheel, a plainisihing hammer, shrinker/streacher, or even a metal band saw, there is only ONE place in Las Cruces (200,000+ Population) where I know I can find any of this stuff off the shelf. This applies to El Paso as well. El Paso is about 45 miles away with a population of about 750,000, so it's not like I am in living in the sticks.

 

Everyone should send a copy of this to their CONGRESSMAN and SENATORS

 

i have an orange one i got there real cheap a few years ago too
seems to work great like the day i bought it

 

From HF I have:
1/2" air impact wrench
3/8" air ratchet
Air hack saw
1/2 impact sockets
3/8 impact sockets
Air cut off tool
Floor jack
Drill press
Wood lathe
Air connections/couplings
Off set box end ratchets
Files
Pry bars
Drill bits
C Clamps
Various other stuff I can't remember right now

Nothern Tool:
110V 135A welder.

Never had a problem with any of it except for some drill bits

 

the Vietnemese place two doors down had great Pho...

 

You obviously don't live where I do. You can replace quiet, little,and girlies with loud, enormous, and haggerd. The same goes for the guys. I buy disposable gloves, cheapo brushes, tarps, casters, and other weirdo stuff, but generally buy name brand or American for my main tools.

 

The Driveway patrol is the best thing that you can get!!!! It works over 400 ft. You could throw one in your garage and it will alert you in the house if anyone enters. I have 3 of them so when I'm working in my house or garage and someone comes down the driveway it alerts me. When I went away, I gave my neighbor the receiver . It went off and a friend I hadn't seen for a real long time dropped over . My neighbor heard the alarm and rushed over and got his name for me when I got back. $23 bucks and worth way more to me.

 

I agree. The one near me seems to get theirs from the local dive bar or something.

 

adult bibs ?!?!?

 

I bought 4 of the wooden dollys with casters on the bottom...6.99 each on sale and I put one under each tire of my 39 Ford coupe. Now I can roll it around the shop, works great!

I am also a fan of the 4" grinder. Had mine for at least the last 6 years, works like new!

 

Nothing!!! I'm American and will buy American ! I'm sure it's not the smartest thing to do and hard on the pocket book. I feel supporting my brothers and sisters that are loosing there jobs, just seem to be more important!!!

 

My cheap 4" angle grinder from HF got away from me one time and broke the handle off and cracked the case. I still use it. I think I like it better without the handle. Glad I didn't pay a LOT of money for a brand name still made in a foreign land.