Harbor Freight Tools -- What works? and What doesn't?

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I just got the 1195lb 4x8 trailer. Normally $399, on sale for $289, with 25% off coupon I got it got $234 after tax. You can't beat that. I've been needing one to haul my brew stand and supplies.
 
JrBeerGut said:
"I don't trust their torque wrenches."

I bought a torque wrench from Harbor Freight for my trailer tires and had Discount Tire check it with their torque checker machine and it was dead on. I thought it would be pretty close but was surprised it was accurate.
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I lost my faith when I used the inch/lb torque wrench when mounting a scope on my rem 700. It never clicked and buggered up threads. Fortunately Badger makes solid stuff and the scope rings were fine, just had to replace the bolt. The ft/lb wrench I trust well enough but when you get to ft/lbs most things can handle being over torqued.
 
Their box-end wrench sets which are made in India are pretty darn nice. I've put cheater bars on them without snapping them off. Well worth the $10 bucks.
 
I have an impact drill that has worked well for the few times I've needed to drill into brick/concrete.

The plate joiner I bought has also worked for the times I needed it although the guides are cheaply made.

The small battery powered circular saw I bought was a piece of junk.

Harbor Freight is great for stuff you don't use on a regular basis.

Almost forgot the 1/6HP submersible pump that I use in brewing to circulate ice water - works great.
 
Just used the low speed drill and step bits to put two holes for electric elements in my brew kettle. Worked very well, wasn't smooth like butter but worked just fine. Like many have said I probably wouldn't use it for repeat professional work but as a hobbiest that will only use the bits a few times the price/performance was just right.
 
All the Harbor Freight tools work for a while, and they often surprise me with their longevity. I have some and believe they are all fine for homeowner use. I have split a socket with a breaker bar and stalled out their drills.

When I want repeatable accuracy and no-excuses-it-just-won't-stop-working, I go to my Milwaukee or DeWalt corded drills. (DeWalt is OK quality)

I do not mind getting HF tools for a one-time or twice job and burning them up.
 
I used the crap out of one of their cement mixers that i picked up at a garage sale. They're wood clamps are great. The channel lock pliers suck though. I have two multi tools, a Bosch and a HF. The Bosch took a sh$& on the second project, the HF has done multiple wood floor installs, a bathroom renovation, office renovation and is still kicking. That being said, there's no substitute for a high quality tool. Be careful though, Porter Cable at HD and Lowes is not the same quality as a bit pricier Porte Cable version of the same tool at Woodcraft or another tool dealer. I know from experience!
 
I have bought so much stuff at Harbor Freight. It's about 50/50 on good vs bad.
Close confines right angle drill works great to power the grain mill (I don't think they sell it any more though)

Other stuff, including 4x8 trailer, tile saw, chop saw, D-handle drill, sliding miter saw, tarps, screwdrivers, hammers, sanding blocks, moving dollies, etc etc etc... I have bought so much. All of it is 'good' for what you pay for it, and 'good' is a relative term depending on how important it is to you.

Short term or limited usage is perfect. There is no better value in that case.

None of it is DeWalt or Milwaukee quality, but there's not many of us that use our tools daily like that.
 
I also do a fair bit of woodworking, and have used some of their tools.

Decent ones:
Wood lathe
Lathe chisel set
Twist drill bit sets
Forstner bits
1-ton arbor press


Crappy ones:
Quick-release connectors for air hoses--they leak like a sieve.
Screwdrivers--the steel tips are not hardened well and will twist off.
Sandpaper and sanding discs--I didn't actually buy this, as it looked like someone glued beach sand to pieces of paper.
 
For those of you with the trailers, I am looking at the small boat trailer. Was the trailer good quality. I just dont want a wheel flying off at 60mph.
 
I've used the HF step drill to drill the side of a keg to make a keggle. I would use it again but don't expect a dream. HF tools are the tools you throw in your trunk and never use (unless you have to). They're cheap enough that you can have a complete socket set and screw driver set and not ask if it's digging in to your beer funds.
 
BurgBrewer said:
HF tools are the tools you throw in your trunk and never use (unless you have to). They're cheap enough that you can have a complete socket set and screw driver set and not ask if it's digging in to your beer funds.
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I use a lot of HF hand tools...My emergency kit and "pick-n-pull" kit is all HF tools plus two Snap-on line wrenches.

My LeMons car toolkit for the track and even for rebuilding the motor this weekend...HF or Menards house brand stuff plus Channel Lock brand vice grips and...channel locks. I have broken two sockets in 7-8 years...both 13mm deep 6-point.


Nice thing about cheap tools is you do not mind loaning them out at the track or the PnP. Need a specialty tool.... grind away on the $.50 socket and heat the $1.50 wrench until you can bend it. Who cares!

Besides, I lost about $3K in mechanics tools (vintage craftsman, Mac, Snap-on, etc) in the last move...that was a very emotional experience I do not want to re-live.
 
Henry22 said:
For those of you with the trailers, I am looking at the small boat trailer. Was the trailer good quality. I just dont want a wheel flying off at 60mph.
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The trailers are actually pretty decent. I built mine in WI, then for it's inaugural journey, loaded it up with a ton of stuff and drove it to FL a couple weeks ago. No issues with the trailer itself, although I did remove the fenders because they bounced too much and were touching the tires (easily remedied later). Just make sure to repack your wheel bearinga with good grease before first use; do not just roll with the vaseline stuff they ship with, it's just there to prevent rust during shipping.

Edit: Just to keep it on topic, the bulk of the stuff I was carrying in my trailer was grain and homebrew related stuff. So, it counts!
 
I bought this for a bathroom remodel. I figured for only $80 it would be worth it and surprisingly it held up well and did a fine job of cutting tile. The guide fence was a total PITA.

How is this related to homebrewing? I use the bathroom to get rid of my "used beer". :D
 
After reading so many good reviews on the HF 4.5 inch angle grinders I recalled the one that hangs on the side of my welding table. It is accompanied by 2 Dewalts (Taiwan) and 2 Milwaukees (USA). Though the HF grinder does spin up to speed and has held up to years of abuse it makes a noise like a klaxon and doubles quite well as a hand warmer while the other grinders run much more quietly and considerably cooler. I keep each of these grinders equipped with a different disc, saves time on disc changes, and you can rest assured that the HF tool has the lest often needed attachment installed for any given job. In fact it is seldom ever used anymore.
 
I have purchased a few things from harbor freight, listed below. Overall, I'm happy with the purchases. As these are items I plan to use randomly, I didn't want to shell out for the quality of a great brand name. Overall, i have approximately $280in the tools below (along with random accessories that go with them, ie saw blades and sander pads). If its something I'm going to use a lot, I'll buy a brand name, if not, harbor freight is fine.

10" Miter Saw- Works fine, only used a handful of times
4" Hand Sander- Works fine, only used a handful of times
LED Flashlight- Works fine, used a lot
10" Buzzsaw- Works fine, only used a handful of times
2 Ton Folding Shop Crane (for my BIAB lift)- Works fine, seems extremely sturdy
Electrical Tape- Works Fine
Teflon Tape- Works Fine.
Wood Clamps- Got them for free and are complete junk.

I know that the 2 Ton Shop Crane is extreme overkill, but I picked it up on sale, with a 25% coupon and shipped to my door for 136 dollars. As i live in an apartment, i have no place to put a hoist, so a folding shop crane was the best i could do.
 
I've got:

1/2" Chuck Corded Drill - Used on my corona mill with no issue, drilling holes is easy as butter.
1/2" torque wrench. Love it
1/2" x 2' Breaker Bar Love it
1/2" Drive Impact Sockets Holds up great
Screwdriver Sets And Wrench Sets - Holds up great with no issue
Brass Pneumatic fittings- Be careful with the thin walled brass, will split if overtightenend

I'm not going to trust them with anything that would require a proper circuit board. But basic hand tools are great and they have the lifetime replacement warrantees.
 
11lb digital scale: 5yrs and still reading dead on. I check it with pennies
Folding pocket digital gram scale: 5yrs as well
1/2" drill: works great after 100s of lbs of grain
Misc air tools: Used in commercial heavy eqpt setting and 3/4 as good as CP. Overall a great value.
4.5" electric angle grinder: Wouldn't hold up to commercial use but fine for home projects
 
RCCOLA said:
I wouldn't use that site's weights. They list all coins as weighing the same.

Different year coins have different weights. Old (earlier than 1982) copper pennies weigh 3.1G while newer zinc ones weigh 2.5.
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Well I didn't use pennies. The quarters were a mix, so.. And with the dimes it was spot on???

I will search some more and try again. Anyway I usually am very close on my numbers so I think my scale is at least very close to accurate.

My other processes??
 
kh54s10 said:
Well I didn't use pennies. The quarters were a mix, so.. And with the dimes it was spot on???

I will search some more and try again. Anyway I usually am very close on my numbers so I think my scale is at least very close to accurate.

My other processes??
Click to expand...
I figured your scale was showing to be off with quarters b/c the quarters were diff weights. My scales are very close when I start adding multiple pennies. I always forget about nickels being dead on 5G. Thanks for the reminder Alien.

Amazing that these cheapo scales are so accurate. Mine has had many bags of grain weighed out on it.
 
Their warranty department is great. Had an issue with the trailer I bought, and had new parts shipped within a week and half.
 
RisenDeadBrewing said:
The first tool that comes to mind, that absolutely does not work, is the Drill Master version of the dremel tool. I tried cutting some plastic for a project, and it immediately stopped the motor. The cutting discs are also so brittle, that when you go to put them on, they'll crumble if you're not careful.

http://www.harborfreight.com/80-piece-rotary-tool-kit-97626.html
Click to expand...

I used this exact tool to cut the project box for my STC temp controller, and it worked just fine.
 
JrBeerGut said:
"I don't trust their torque wrenches."

I bought a torque wrench from Harbor Freight for my trailer tires and had Discount Tire check it with their torque checker machine and it was dead on. I thought it would be pretty close but was surprised it was accurate.
Click to expand...
Hf torque wrenches are the same exact ones sold at advance auto for 4x the price just different packaging.... I found them somewhere else too but can't remember if it was pep boys or home depot... I have every size and no issues.
Btw I agree with the comments about the little dremel being fairly useless but l also wanted to point out that HF has more than one grade of these tools...they have a more powerful dremel tool that works well but the price is more realistic too.... many of the people I talk to who complain about them are the same ones that buy the cheapest lowest priced/ quality version of the tool they have and then expect to use it like a commercial tool.... most of the cheaper stuff they carry is only for situations where it gets used a couple times and sits on a shelf or gets tossed. I also bought a grinder there after I burned up the one I bought at sears only to find its the same grinder as sears sold me under the "companion" tool brand... at least we all know HF tools are Chinese tools. I have less respect for the reputable stores that mark up the same Chinese goods and try to pass them as better quality products than they are.
 
I like their hand tools, Their roofing nailer was a great price and if you are just DIY it is great. Fell off the roof twice and still was going (needed some pieces knocked back in to place, but finished the roof with it)
 
Harbor Freight is a good place to go for tools you plan to use every so often or for that one DIY project. They get the job done and they won't siphon the money out of your wallet. If you are looking for a tool that you plan to use quite a bit or for multi-projects then go with a higher quality brand name tool.
Why pay $80 for a step bit you are just going to use a few times when HF has a step bit for $15 that will do the job just as well. Of course I will pay $80 for a high-quality hand drill that will serve me for quite a few years on various projects instead of chunking out $25 for a hand drill that will only see me through a few projects.
All depends on what the tool is and what uses you can think of that you might need it for..

Redbeard5289
 

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