Buying Advice Harbour Freight

[Slater]

May not have anything to do with HF tools, but another poster remarked about not getting under his vehicle while it was supported by a jack.

On my JD4210, to install the rear mower draft support links, and attach the PTO driveshaft for the 7-Iron deck, I have to remove the sliding drawbar, raise the 3-point lift arms, then back the rear tires up on a stack of patio blocks about 4 inches high. Only then can I crawl underneath between the rear tires, on my back, and attach the draft arm links and spring clips in the clevises, and slide the PTO driveshaft on. I have NEVER seen anything where the installation was so complex, the dealership obviously uses a hoist to install the decks. If you don't have everything aligned just right, you end up getting out to prop either the mower gauge wheels up or raise or lower the lift linkage. It's a huge PIB that I have to go thru twice a year.

Wow that does sound like a big pain. Kudos to you for doing it, but I am not sure if I would have the patience :confused2:

 

[JDgreen]

Wow that does sound like a big pain. Kudos to you for doing it, but I am not sure if I would have the patience :confused2:

To be honest, that is just PART of the headache...the deck itself weighs over 400 pounds, and to get it under the tractor itself is a huge PIB. Also, the front draft arms and lift assembly are just as problematic, because my tractor has a FEL with a grill guard, the support brackets for those interfere with the front lift linkage...I had to make a pair of jigs from wood to hold all the parts in the proper places to get all the pins, levers, etc into place before final assembly. If just one section is not lined up right the whole thing will not go into place. I can remove the front linkage easily but installation is a headache. Thankfully that is the only problem I have ever experienced with the tractor, a one-time headache every spring....

Soundguy over on TBN described my issue as "intereference fit"....:laughing::thumbsup:

 

[Slater]

To be honest, that is just PART of the headache...the deck itself weighs over 400 pounds, and to get it under the tractor itself is a huge PIB. Also, the front draft arms and lift assembly are just as problematic, because my tractor has a FEL with a grill guard, the support brackets for those interfere with the front lift linkage...I had to make a pair of jigs from wood to hold all the parts in the proper places to get all the pins, levers, etc into place before final assembly. If just one section is not lined up right the whole thing will not go into place. I can remove the front linkage easily but installation is a headache. Thankfully that is the only problem I have ever experienced with the tractor, a one-time headache every spring....

Soundguy over on TBN described my issue as "intereference fit"....:laughing::thumbsup:

This would be me in your situation... :mur:
Seems to me that there should have been a better solution during the engineering process, but I'm no engineer:smile:

 

[mumptia]

According to what your descrption of HF we have the same thing up here under a different name. We call it Princess Auto.

"Power Fist" is their money maker brand. Buy a 4 1/2" grinder for $10 or - $15 and if you get one job done with it the rest is gravy.

Bothers me to have to throw a tool away; we always need parts, but man I don't have all the storage I need to house a pile of pos cheap tools.:frown:

And iits hard to justify high end tools for yard work. Well, its not hard to justify buying good tools any where, but it'd be nice if our money went further when we buy "not so expensive tools"

 

[steved]

As others have noted their stuff is hit and miss.

I don't even look at anything they offer that has an electrical cord attached. I buy their wrenches and whatnot as backup for my higher dollar tools (you always need more than one), and I use them as cheap tools to supply my pickup (I travel a lot).

There are certain things they are useful for and other stuff that you stay away from...

 

[jeff]

According to what your descrption of HF we have the same thing up here under a different name. We call it Princess Auto.

"Power Fist" is their money maker brand. Buy a 4 1/2" grinder for $10 or - $15 and if you get one job done with it the rest is gravy.

Bothers me to have to throw a tool away; we always need parts, but man I don't have all the storage I need to house a pile of pos cheap tools.:frown:

And iits hard to justify high end tools for yard work. Well, its not hard to justify buying good tools any where, but it'd be nice if our money went further when we buy "not so expensive tools"

O.K. you buy the grinder. How many ten dollar grinders can you buy to add up to the cost of a premium brand grinder? I think that Harbour Frieght is a very good alternative for those of us with little cash. I recently purchased an electric hoist from them for my shop and am extremely happy with it.

 

[cubcadet69]

I have a subscription to the the "Farm Show" magazine.

(If you don't and you are on this board then take a look. Its by far the best do it yourself farm magazine around.)

Back on topic now. In that magazine I often read about "Harbour Freight Tools". We don't have a HF in Canada.

Are their tools worth their salt?

I'm guessing they are a discount brand but am not sure.

Anyone shop there?

i buy quite a bit of stuff there some is good and some is crap.look at the prices if they super cheap it is junk if its more its pretty good and a lot less than comparable brand name stuff.so all in all its not bad.

 

[joe gremlin]

We moved to Michigan from New Jersey last year and I was happy to learn that there is a Harbor Freight store in Kalamazoo which is about 25 mintues from home. I shop there frequently and have been very satisfied with my purchases overall.

The key to making that happen is to understand what you're buying. When I need tools that will hold up to heavy use and moderate abuse, I don't get them from Harbor Freight. But if I need tools that will be 'sacrificial' or lightly used, its the perfect place. Its cheap stuff and its cheap for a reason. But that can be very useful in certain applications.

 

[handirifle]

Have only broken ONE Craftsman tool in 40 years, a 3/8" drive breaker bar (obviously) it failed when I applied 120 foot-pounds of torque on it. Always felt Snap-On was way way overpriced, like Deere...you pay a premium for the name. Tractors I pay a premium for, but not tools.

I used to work in transmissions, and I can say a LOT of good about Snap on tools. They are worth every so called overpriced penny. When you use tools every day, for a living like I did, there is no substitute for a wrench that actually fits in the spot. I owned craftsman wrenches, and they gave me zero problems, but, for the same strength, the walls of the snap on wrenches were much thinner, and that allowed me to use them when other brands would not even fit in the opening.

I used the impact gun every day, all day, and the u joint impact sockets from snap on as well. I tried the craftsman, and other brands, but they were HUGE. A 1/2" u joint craftsman socket was almost twice the outside dia. of the snap on. The craftsman sockets would not even fit on the bell housing bolts of almost half the cars I worked on.

Longevity, well about a month ago, I called the local snap on dealer, and he repaired a 1/4" ratchet for me, that I had carried around for a couple months when the selector lever broke. Not bad when you consider I bought it and used it every day for years, and it just broke. When did I buy it? 1969.

I still have the complete set, minus a few sockets a certain brother lost while I was in the Army.

You DO get what you pay for in tools.

As for the OP and HF tools, I agree they are hit and miss. If precision is what you want, stay away from them. I have their band saw (it's ok) their angle grinders (2) and I do have some of their drill bits and impact sockets, but no longer to earn a living with. If I could have afforded them I would have all snap on.

 

[joe gremlin]

I used to work in transmissions, and I can say a LOT of good about Snap on tools. They are worth every so called overpriced penny. When you use tools every day, for a living like I did, there is no substitute for a wrench that actually fits in the spot.

But what if you DON'T use tools every day for a living and WILL NEVER use tools everyday for a living? What if we're talking about a homeowner? Someone who is never going to rely on the tool for a living and who is never going to come close bringing the tool to the point of failure? Someone who would likely to ask about tools on a forum dedicated to lawnmowers? Not commercial grade tractors, but lawnmowers like homeowners would use?

Hasselblad makes fabulous camera equipment and I have several professional photographer friends who own and use them and swear by them. But if I were to ask one of those photographer friends for advice on purchasing a camera for my own casual use, I would not expect them to tell me that I should spend $10,000 on a Hasselblad when I can spend $200 on a Canon that will more than satisfy any needs I'll ever have. All my photographer friends seem to understand this. But none of my mechanic friends ever seem to get it. Any time you ask a mechanic about tools for a homeowner, they tell you snap on. And when you ask them why, they say 'when you use every day like I do....' Gee sparky, did you not hear me when I just said I was NEVER going to use them every day like you do?