Harbor Freight Tools, Again

[Win]

I'm renovating another building and some of the kids working didn't have enough tools, so I went to Harbor Freight and bought one of their belt sanders, a heavy duty drill (has the second handle for two handed force) and their version of a sawz all, and so far, in a month of service, no one has succeeded in breaking them.

And, they've seen some fairly hard service. The drill has bored a lot of holes in old petrified lumber, and a lot of holes in old, HARD, concrete. The sawz all has cut a lot of old conduit and old lumber. Their drill bits and blades are still pretty mediocre, in my opinion, and it's best to get better for those items.

I bought one of their fancy paint sprayers also, but haven't got to that yet. It will probably be a couple of weeks before I know how well that works.

Anyway, place of origin aside, the quality of their common hand tools has definitely improved, imo. I think they have moved beyond the "use once and throw away" quality of the recent past.

 

[dave1251]

A winner is you.

 

[L_Sludger]

Their sockets and ratchets are as good as anything I've used. Still not up to Snap-On spec, but very durable and well-made IME.

 

[highmilegeguy]

I have come to really trust Hb's hand tools. If they are made from chrome-vanadium or nickel-chrome, they are as good as anything else I have used. The plain carbon steel stuff is garbage as it always is. It doesn't matter the maker. Its just not a tool steel.
The other stuff is hit and miss. Some is well built and some is junk. You have to examine the item on an individual basis.

 

[DemoFly]

Oddly enough the longest lasting set of wrenches I have had over the years has been a set of Stanleys. I bought them to grind thin and turn the box end into line-wrenches and they are still doing their thang.

Anything but craftsman seems to be pretty good now-a-days.

 

[NHGUY]

I have had good luck with that phoney Sawzall.

 

[Zaedock]

Originally Posted By: DemoFly
Anything but craftsman seems to be pretty good now-a-days.


Most of my Craftsman were made by Stanley and have held up great for many years. I will also say that my "later" model Craftsman are also doing well and the quality seems pretty good. I really like my new 150 ft/lb Digitorq torque wrench.

I keep spare tools in my wheeling rigs (Jeep, buggy, etc) and the mix of newer Husky's and flea market Proto's (Stanley IIRC, maybe Danaher?) are OK too.


I have a few HF tools, but I really like them for their presses, pullers, and other cool stuff you use at home like trailer lights, welding supplies, etc. Just examine before you buy and make sure it's decent quality.

 

[Jim Spahr]

Like the OP said, the HFT are good, but the drill bits and saw blades are made of the same pot metal the Japanese used to make the screws and bolts on the motorcycles out of. I want to add to that, any of their abrasives are a joke. If you buy a sander of any stype, try to buy one that has an American counterpart so you can get decent abrasive replacements for it. Then you will be in good shape.

 

[JHZR2]

Next up, let's all sing March of the Volunteers in unison.

 

[Win]

Oh please, no volunteers here. Everyone, except me, gets a payroll check on Friday.

Like hundreds of thousands of other small business owners, I watch my costs, and I continuously reinvest the profits back in the business to grow and improve it on a continuous basis.

Maybe if big business, indeed, big everything in the U.S., had manned up and held costs down, including executive compensation, and reinvested in more efficient plants and machinery instead, there would be more U.S. made goods available for purchase.

You don't like the fact there are no U.S. made products? Then start a manufacturing business and make something.

There are still locally owned small manufacturers in business around here. They don't have the option of running to China or Mexico.

 

[HerrStig]

Originally Posted By: DemoFly
Oddly enough the longest lasting set of wrenches I have had over the years has been a set of Stanleys. I bought them to grind thin and turn the box end into line-wrenches and they are still doing their thang.

Anything but craftsman seems to be pretty good now-a-days.
My Craftsman set from the 60's cannot be killed.

 

[Trav]

Quote:
Next up, let's all sing March of the Volunteers in unison.

Roger that!

 

[Sayjac]

"If someone buys what they want and are happy with it they made the smart choice." by _ _ _ _. A thread contributor here.

I can live with that statement.

I own Craftsman tools, and Husky sockets made in the USA that I've owned for many years. I also purchased a set of Craftsman tools made in the USA a couple years back as a Christmas gift, and the ratchets are not the quality of my older Craftsman ratchets.

I also own an HF Pittsburgh 3/8" Heavy Duty Composite Ratchet, It has a fine tooth (72)action and works great, apparently true for many other members here too. I also own a couple of HF Pittsburg 6 point Black Nickle socket sets which have met my needs and expectations. Unfortunalty, these socket sets appear now to be discontinued and 6 point socket sets have become scarce at HF.

To the OP, glad the tools have met your needs and expectations and thanks for sharing. Here's hoping your thread isn't hijacked, but it appears underway.

 

[Rand]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Next up, let's all sing March of the Volunteers in unison.


bad jhzr2 .. thats trollin .. wait this is a harbor freight thread.. thats not news.

 

[Trav]

Quote:
If someone buys what they want and are happy with it they made the smart choice." by _ _ _ _. A thread contributor here

I said that in reference to a pickup or SUV.
Not the same thing, if someone wants to go buy crack and they are happy with it doesn't mean they shouldn't be tossed in jail.
HF is a crack dealer, they hook you up on the cheap then once your hooked you end with it with high priced habit.

 

[Sayjac]

Quote:
Quote:
If someone buys what they want and are happy with it they made the smart choice." by _ _ _ _. A thread contributor here

I said that in reference to a pickup or SUV.
Not the same thing,if someone wants to go buy crack and they are happy with it doesn't mean they shouldn't be tossed in jail.
HF is a crack dealer, they hook you up on the cheap then once your hooked you end with it with high priced habit.

Oh ok, what you really meant then is "if someone buys what they want and they are happy with it they made a smart choice", only if 'you' selectively judge it to be a smart choice. Got it.

 

[Trav]

In the other thread the OP wasn't talking about buying a a bigger vehicle while do-Gooders were questioning his reasons and motives.
There is a huge difference between buying a bigger vehicle and sending your own country down the Suwannee one screwdriver and toaster at a time.

I'm done.

 

[Sayjac]

By 'do-gooders' you are referring to those making judgements about buying a large suv the OP was interested in, versus buying a more fuel efficient vehicle. From another perspective, some might not see a big distinction between funding the Middle East countries one gallon of gas at a time, and buying from HF.

 

[Win]

Originally Posted By: Trav
There is a huge difference between buying a bigger vehicle and sending your own country down the Suwannee one screwdriver and toaster at a time.

I'm done.



Wait .... what?

These guys would be on UNEMPLOYMENT if I hadn't given them a job. So it's sending the country down the river because I also didn't buy expensive american made tools for them to beat on?

I'm sorry I even brought up that the cheap tools were holding up better than I thought they would. Sheesh.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Win
Originally Posted By: Trav
There is a huge difference between buying a bigger vehicle and sending your own country down the Suwannee one screwdriver and toaster at a time.

I'm done.



Wait .... what?

These guys would be on UNEMPLOYMENT if I hadn't given them a job. So it's sending the country down the river because I also didn't buy expensive american made tools for them to beat on?

I'm sorry I even brought up that the cheap tools were holding up better than I thought they would. Sheesh.


You could have picked up a cheap B&D drill and B&D belt sander. Or you could have got some decent used American ones from a 2nd hand store or pawn shop. I've done all of the above.

The fact that Trav and JHZR2's points about country of origin being relevant ruffle so many feathers and get so many people's back's up makes it pretty evident that people are quite aware of what they are doing. They just don't want it pointed out to them.

There are inexpensive American/Canadian options out there. They may not be quite as "convenient", but then if people REALLY gave a [censored], going SLIGHTLY out of their way to get the American/Canadian product wouldn't bother them.

I get it, HF/PA is quick, cheap and easy. But that's the mentality that got the US trillions in debt in the first place, taking advantage of that quick, cheap and easy Chinese labour in the first place.