I have a lot of HF tools and have not had a problem with them. I like HF and I like most of what they have. Why pay for a name like Snap On? I even still have my Ole's tape measure that I bought at Ole's in 1987. Name brand tools can kiss my ass.
I bought a HF 20 ton air operated hydraulic bottle jack to replace my old manual no name one that I'd had for 20 years. I was impressed the one time I have got to use it so far. I picked up a center support beam under my house like it was a feather. As a matter of fact, it worked so well, it pushed the jack head through a piece of box tubing I was using to jack against! I had a scrap piece of 4" x 4" box tubing with one side cut off, perfect to wrap a 4" x 4" pine with. Used that against the beam to spread out the jacking force, worked great until it pushed through the steel and scared the crap outta me! Next time I go under there, I'm gonna find a railroad tie plate or something thick like that!
Nope. The exact same jack is selling for $199 at HF. They have several different 3-ton jacks. They are easy to differentiate. The $69.95-$170 jacks have 90 day warranty. The better one has 3-year warranty.
I buy all kinds of stuff at HF and most of it has been just fine. Then again I’m a poser so it works out well for me.
I looked at Snap On mig welders several yrs ago, $2800 for the 1 I wanted. I said that's crazy and walked off the truck. Same afternoon a friend of my boss came in and I knew he worked selling welding equipment so I got the snap on book and asked him who made that welder. He said CK systematic I think the name was. He called and got me a price, $999.00. Damn good welder too.
I think Snap On is going to have to get a new business model in the next few years as the "guaranteed for life" professional tools from Harbor Freight catch on.......as well as their new Tool Boxes. If everyone will think back a long ways, you will remember that the US automakers used to laugh at the imports because they knew we were all going to "Buy American". Gradually people got fed up with being taken for granted and sold products that were lacking in quality but "made in america". We can all see how that turned out. Several brands don't even exist anymore and all the US companies started looking overseas for cheaper parts and labor. While many laugh at Harbor Freight, they are taking steps to supplant the "overpriced name brands" that don't even want to warranty stuff. My son was a jet engine mechanic in the Air Guard and one of his duties was keeping the tool crib inventory correct and serviceable. He said the Snap On tool guy was pretty unresponsive to repairing stuff for a customer that spent millions of dollars with him. Arrogance is going to be their downfall. Personally I would prefer to buy American, but I'm not going to spend hundreds of dollars on tools that are overpriced to the point of gouging the customer. A set of Snap On combination wrenches doesn't cost 5/10 times as much to manufacture than a set of Craftsman or Kobalt. Two years from now as HF begins to build a reputation, I expect Snap On will have an epiphany.
I recently bought their battery powered impact and have been very happy with it..it’s got some good power. It’s nice not having to drag a line around. https://www.harborfreight.com/20V-M...ss-Xtreme-Torque-Impact-Wrench-Kit-63536.html Makes quick of busting most nuts of anything I’ve been working on.. After really liking my gear wrench’s over the years I noticed they had stubbies, flex heads, etc..bought every combo they had...so nice to have and they have a lifetime warranty....gotta admit I haven’t broken one yet
Had a Snap On plasma cutter a friend swapped to me for a $100 HF shear. Needed some new tips and I found out it was basically a third rate "Century" machine with a Snap On label. First time I fired it up, it went up in smoke. Found a deal on a new Hypertherm and the factory was giving trade in money on old machines. All I had to do was send them the gun and the nameplate and they knocked $300 off the cost of a quality machine.
I've found over the past 50 something years that any jack will fail if you overload it and try to lift too much with it. I have two HF floor hacks and one from Costco rated at 3 tons and wouldn't try to lift a corner of my dualie with any of them. I've got ten and 20 ton bottle jacks for that. Some of my shop equipment like the HF English wheel are more than good enough do do what I do as I am not trying to work for hours a day on one trying to shape panels to make a living with them and I think that is the key for most HF tools. Plenty good enough for the hobby guy, Some of the specialty pieces are good enough when you only use them maybe one or twice a year but maybe not you want if you are planning on using them daily to make a living or as far as the hand tools go they might get you laughed out of a shop the first day you show up with your new HF tool set to go to work for the first time. A few of their tools mixed in like the 1/2 impact sockets and odd length extensions would fly though. I had a farmer friend a few years ago who called the basic HF wrenches and the ones that used to come off the fly by night tools trucks that set up their tool sales in different places about once a year "truck tools" that you carried in your truck for emergencies and if you lost one you didn't loose anything while your good tools stayed in the box in the shop and stayed in the shop.
O.B.T.W. The sales flyers that they handed me today show that the 1-1/2 ton aluminum frame jack that HF sells will be 59.99 It's not good for lifting a lot but is so damned easy to move around the shop to save on your back on light weight lifting jacks a guy might want more than one. The little buggers are just flat handy even if you never lift a car with one. Mine gets used to lift the tongue on a trailer to hook it to the back of the truck on the trailer that doesn't have a good jack on it but is too heavy to lift by hand.
If you live under a bridge down by the river, the moving blankets are a deal. Good padding. Nice and warm.
I bought Proto wrenches and Williams ratchets in the 50's. The wrenches have rounded web edges. Much easier on the hands. The ratchets have very fine teeth.
I carry one in the back of my truck just in case I ever have a flat. Much easier than the crap stuff the OEMs put in pickups.
I am with you on tapes and lights grow legs , but I find them in the most unusual places weeks or months later.
Up here in Canada we have a similar business called Princess Auto (name comes from the street the business started on in Winnipeg). I have some old Craftsman but a lot of P.A. One too. For the hobbyist they are great and their Propoint series are very good. But I really like their garage sales. A couple of years past I bought around eight bead rollers identical to the ones Woodward Fab sells. I paid $100 each and sold them for a tidy profit. We all can't buy the high end equipment or write them off either. (And Princess equipment are blue which I've noticed one member in particular seems to have a strong liking for.)Princess and HF fill a need. You just have to be mindful of what you buy capabilities of what you buy. I've only had one tool from Princess break and it was replaced and one of those air powered hacksaws from HF that will get replaced. Now will Lowes honour the Craftsman guaranty? I have a ratchet that has failed. So you see everything can break...
I "had" the HF Rotating Handle reciprocating saw... After a couple months the plastic lock pin for the rotating handle broke, handle would rotate at will. No problem. Handle screws removed: JB Weld added , screws replaced. Then; the blade was drifting off left or right , which does happen with the sawzall tools any ways. I noticed the head of the saw blade holder was slap worn out & very loose... I tossed the saw in to the bin.
I have used and abused the Earthquake 1/2" impact I bought 7 years ago and it has never failed to either break a bolt loose or break a bolt that wasn't coming loose.
A while ago I bought a Snap-On 3/8"stuby ratchet that had stripped gears for 5o cents at a yard sale. Ask a mechanic friend if his Snap-On dealer would repair it. Said he hadn't seen a Snap-On dealer in months but as luck would have it a new dealer was scheduled to visit that week. I left the ratchet with him and the new dealer repaired it no questions asked. Said he would repair any Snap-On ratchet unless it was one originally sold to the military. The one I had was made in 1969. Maybe this no hassle repair was due to the fact the dealer was new and wanted my friends business but regardless I've got a perfectly good Snap-On 3/8" stuby for 50 cents. I recently bought a 1/4" Craftsman ratchet at a yard sale again for 50 cents that wasn't working and Sears replaced it no questions asked.
When I was using tools professionally as a mechanic I had all Snap-On. I have some craftsman now, but recently bought a HF roll cab for tool storage. Is every bit as good as the Snap-On that I had. The HF impact sockets are very good quality. I also have a press cherry picker and one of those now floor jacks. I can’t complain about the quality on any of these
About 10-years ago I stopped at a barn sale and bought a 16-drawer MAC tool chest fully loaded with Snap-On, MAC, S&K and other name brand tools. It had belonged to a guy that worked as a professional mechanic and had recently died. After I got it home and went through it all, I decided to get rid of any of my off-shore tools that were duplicates of what was in the new chest. I filled two of 5-gallon buckets with the no longer needed tools and gave them to a couple of young guys I knew that were just starting out and didn't have much money for tools. They were glad to get them and I was glad to help them out. Win-Win for everyone, except, of course, for the PO who had died....... Only use HF now for "one-use" tools or stuff like their moving blankets, ect. Wouldn't waste my money on any of their abrasives - i.e. cut-off wheel, sandpaper, etc.
So Sears is still selling Craftsman? Up here Sears are long gone but if I travel across the line I'll stop in with my broken 3/8" ratchet. Do they replace or repair?
Unfortunately the "get what you pay for" statement doesn't hold true for many of the name brand tools produced nowadays. I have had good luck with the few Harbor Freight tools I have bought, but buy a lot of older namebrand tools at swap meets and estate sales.
All the original poster did was provide a positive review of a couple things he bought, but people can't resist going off on all kinds of tangents in their replies.
I bought one of the HF 4.5in grinders for $9.99 about 5 years ago. I have used and abused it and it still works well. I figured for a 10 spot I would take the chance... I ended up buying 2 more just so I wouldn't have to switch out the disks... have one for grinding, one for cut off and one with a wire cup on it... they all came with an extra set of brushes that i haven't had to replace yet... Chappy
I had a large square shanked flat Klien screwdriver. It was expensive, but I got it to use as my "Big Dog" screwdriver for stubborn screws usually with a wrench on the shank. Understand, I have plenty of prybars, chisels, punches and crowbars with various shapes, so I use the screwdriver for its intended purpose. A couple of uses on very stubborn fasteners and sure enough a good portion of the tip breaks off. No problem thinks I, I paid a lot, but the tool has a lifetime warranty thinks I. Took it to the place of purchase, they refer me to the distributor, off to the distributor I go (pain in the ass). Distributor uses his eyesight to analyze that I had misused the tool. I show him the pristine top of the handle...a hammer had never struck this baby. He advises me that the tool would never have broke if used as intended, period. I owned up to having a wrench on the shank, but confirmed that is why its square. Warranty denied I'm sent packing In my experience, if it had been a much cheaper HF, Princess Auto, or Canadian Tire (Mastercraft) version, the warranty exchange would have been quick and hasslefree. Lesson learned.
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