Harbor Freight FTW (welding cart)

[92saturnsl2]

I'm an idiot, I should have taken a look at the front upon pulling it out of the package. I assembled the whole thing and the first thing that struck me was that the cart rocked back and forth about a half inch. I first thing that popped in my head was my concrete was uneven, but no possible way it could be that bad. Then I thought of shimming the one wheel that wasn't touching the ground... until I moved around to the front of it.

The whole thing is terribly out of square. The pictures / angle doesn't do it justice, it's really bad where at least one drawer is scraping on the metal when you open it. Construction is pretty sturdy and they have good reviews. I can't fathom how this would have passed quality control, my only guess is someone dropped a pallet, it fell off a truck or seriously mishandled somehow.

I'm going to go back for a replacement and if the same thing happens in round two, I'm looking elsewhere.

 

[AJB0009]

My own personal opinion:
I have never set foot in a Harbor Freight, nor do I ever intend to. I do my best to not support China and keep my money here as much as possible. There are times that it is unavoidable, but I am typically willing to spend a little more to try to support local businesses.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

My own personal opinion:
I have never set foot in a Harbor Freight, nor do I ever intend to. I do my best to not support China and keep my money here as much as possible. There are times that it is unavoidable, but I am typically willing to spend a little more to try to support local businesses.

Much of HF's stuff comes from the same Chinese factories as the name brands you see in "real" stores

 

[92saturnsl2]

My own personal opinion:
I have never set foot in a Harbor Freight, nor do I ever intend to. I do my best to not support China and keep my money here as much as possible. There are times that it is unavoidable, but I am typically willing to spend a little more to try to support local businesses.

And here's mine:

I was prepared for the "greater than though statement" as it pertains to buying goods made in China. [honestly I don't even know where it's made, but I assume some east Asian country].

Spending "a little more to try to support local businesses" is a non starter for the subject and pointless to mention it. Can you find me a local business that builds welding carts for $200? $500? No, you can't in my area. I could fab one myself from steel at my work costing nothing in materials (I work in a literal steel fab shop) but is it worth the 10+ hours I put into it? Then make the rollers on the drawers work just right, solid paint finish? It's insane that someone would even suggest it. I'd rather put four hours into my day job and buy the Chinese stuff that will likely last my lifetime (if it weren't built out of square of course). So if you'd like to invoke the "buy American" mantra, I suggest you do that at your local polling place during election time. Which, in my opinion, involves not voting for either corrupt party.

Secondly, Is your "local" business Lowes? Chinese / east Asian carts there too. Only problem is the markup over Harbor Freight simply pads shareholders' pockets. Harbor Freight is every bit as "local" as any Lowes / Home Depot / Ace Hardware / etc. for this type of stuff.

 

[Kira]

10-4 good buddy.

 

[spasm3]

My own personal opinion:
I have never set foot in a Harbor Freight, nor do I ever intend to. I do my best to not support China and keep my money here as much as possible. There are times that it is unavoidable, but I am typically willing to spend a little more to try to support local businesses.

And here's mine:

I was prepared for the "greater than though statement" as it pertains to buying goods made in China. [honestly I don't even know where it's made, but I assume some east Asian country].

Spending "a little more to try to support local businesses" is a non starter for the subject and pointless to mention it. Can you find me a local business that builds welding carts for $200? $500? No, you can't in my area. I could fab one myself from steel at my work costing nothing in materials (I work in a literal steel fab shop) but is it worth the 10+ hours I put into it? Then make the rollers on the drawers work just right, solid paint finish? It's insane that someone would even suggest it. I'd rather put four hours into my day job and buy the Chinese stuff that will likely last my lifetime (if it weren't built out of square of course). So if you'd like to invoke the "buy American" mantra, I suggest you do that at your local polling place during election time. Which, in my opinion, involves not voting for either corrupt party.

Secondly, Is your "local" business Lowes? Chinese / east Asian carts there too. Only problem is the markup over Harbor Freight simply pads shareholders' pockets. Harbor Freight is every bit as "local" as any Lowes / Home Depot / Ace Hardware / etc. for this type of stuff.

I try not to buy Chinese when other options are available, But some things, for home diy use, are simply not available or in a sane price range for diy. Where would he buy a welding cart for a home setup. Where could i get a 12-20 ton press for a home garage? I did not want to buy a Chinese tool chest, but the 72 ( 72 base 56 top )inch HF was very well made and about 2G when i bought it. Anything USA made that size was 10g even used.

Tools wrenches etc, I go USA or Taiwan.

 

[Kruse]

I do my best to not support China and keep my money here as much as possible. There are times that it is unavoidable, but I am typically willing to spend a little more to try to support local businesses.

Im with you 100%. I don’t like giving China any more money than I have to. That being said, are there any other brands of affordable carts being built in the US? I don’t KNOW the answer for sure, but I suspect I know what the answer is.
Thought #2: Everyone raves about how good Milwaukee drills and impacts are. But they are built in China and are owned by a Chinese company. HF tools are built in China but are American owned. I’m not saying that should be the only buying criteria, but it’s something to think about.

 

[DemoFly]

My own personal opinion:
I have never set foot in a Harbor Freight, nor do I ever intend to. I do my best to not support China and keep my money here as much as possible. There are times that it is unavoidable, but I am typically willing to spend a little more to try to support local businesses.

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