Buying Advice Harbour Freight

[mumptia]

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?

 

[JDgreen]

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?

THey are a disount brand, every tool they sell is imported, they have a retail store in Lansing, Michigan and I have been there, but have purchased very few of their tools, because I already have so many. The quality is fair, but the price is low, as it should be. The most recent item I have purchased is a 1/2" drive torque wrench, for $9.99 and tax. I carry it as a breaker bar for the lugnuts on my Saturn. It's worth the ten bucks I paid...

I am sure they have a website you can order from, they do offer a warranty on many of their tools but I don't know how hard it is to obtain warranty replacements online. Hope this helps.

Oh, for what it is worth, over on TractorByNet.com | Compact Tractors | John Deere, Kubota, New Holland there have been many threads started about Harbor Freight tools, you can do a search there.

 

[Jetblast]

I've bought tons of stuff at Harbor Freight. Their stuff is hit and miss but when it's good, it's great because it's so cheap.

My favorite buys have been a $22 reciprocating saw, a $30 angle grinder, a $40 electric impact wrench, and huge sets of metric and SAE combination wrenches and sockets, and impact sockets. Add to that a metric ton of pry-bars, ratchet extensions, nitrile gloves, and assorted doodads and I've saved a small fortune. I've yet to have anything fail from there, but you do have to examine stuff carefully and not be completely shocked if something does go Tango Uniform. I've been lucky, I've had all of the above for years and it's taken more abuse than I'd have expected.

I was in auto repair from my teens to twenties and then owned a transmission shop. During those years I watched mechanic after mechanic sell their soul to the Snap-On or Mac Tool guy, so at some point I got real sensitive to the hype and pricing of different tool brands. Harbor Freight is a good antidote to that. I still have a bunch of Snap-On and Craftsman tools from when I was a kid, but my Harbor Freight stuff has done just as well for me. It seems that a young starting mechanic would get laughed out of a new job for showing up with a chest full of HF stuff, and that's too bad. The gig is tough enough without having to start behind a huge financial 8-ball.

Here's a decent article on what to buy and what not to buy at Harbor Freight. I don't agree with all the assessments but it's a good overview. Buyer Beware, A Harbor Freight Buying Guide: The Good Enough, The Bad and the Abysmal |

 

[BKBrown]

I agree - you can get good and bad from them. My advice would be to get things for occasional use from them and things you will NEED to rely on from either re-conditioned sources or places you can trust to take returns. I sometimes use Northern Tool or CPO outlet Reconditioned Tools | Reconditioned Power Tools | Refurbished Products | Factory Reconditioned Tools at CPO

 

[twall]

I've bought quite a bit from them, and my freind at work is an addict to HF.

Their stuff, even the good stuff, is best occasionally used. The wrenches aren't exactly the right size, measuring tools aren't reliable, electric tools are okay, but chinsey, IMHO.

They work in a pinch. Or something you won't need everyday, like JD's torque wrench, or a metal cutting cutoff saw. For everyday tools, I usually go to Sears. They never give me a hassle on returns. (the fact they NEED to be returned - now that's another thread......:wink: )

 

[JDgreen]

I've bought tons of stuff at Harbor Freight. Their stuff is hit and miss but when it's good, it's great because it's so cheap.

My favorite buys have been a $22 reciprocating saw, a $30 angle grinder, a $40 electric impact wrench, and huge sets of metric and SAE combination wrenches and sockets, and impact sockets. Add to that a metric ton of pry-bars, ratchet extensions, nitrile gloves, and assorted doodads and I've saved a small fortune. I've yet to have anything fail from there, but you do have to examine stuff carefully and not be completely shocked if something does go Tango Uniform. I've been lucky, I've had all of the above for years and it's taken more abuse than I'd have expected.

I was in auto repair from my teens to twenties and then owned a transmission shop. During those years I watched mechanic after mechanic sell their soul to the Snap-On or Mac Tool guy, so at some point I got real sensitive to the hype and pricing of different tool brands. Harbor Freight is a good antidote to that. I still have a bunch of Snap-On and Craftsman tools from when I was a kid, but my Harbor Freight stuff has done just as well for me. It seems that a young starting mechanic would get laughed out of a new job for showing up with a chest full of HF stuff, and that's too bad. The gig is tough enough without having to start behind a huge financial 8-ball.

Here's a decent article on what to buy and what not to buy at Harbor Freight. I don't agree with all the assessments but it's a good overview. Buyer Beware, A Harbor Freight Buying Guide: The Good Enough, The Bad and the Abysmal |

EXCELLENT POST, well written :thumbsup:

 

[LandN]

Of the thousands of tools sold at h.f. i have only experienced the sockets, combination wrenches, etc. and i have not had good luck with them THEY BROKE. ....here it is in a nut shell , if you need a hand tool or impact tool that is going to have heavy torque applied to it, then buy a good quality brand (at least a craftsman),..if you need a tool that requires little effort or torque applied then yes you can sneak away with h.f. brand tools such as screwdrivers and such... i been in the auto business over 35 years and have used tools from everywhere you can imagine from snap-on and mac and the like to the dollar store junk. and i'll tell you this, WHEN MY FINGERS AND ARMS are on the line for safety and high torque situations you won't see h.f. in my hands. the design and specs are just not there. at least the tools i expereinced.

 

[grnspot110]

I don't have a HF near me, but do buy a few things there. As for tools, if it's something you're not going to use a lot, some of their tools are OK. I have a 3/4" drive socket set from them for when I had the old "two-cylinder" JD's. Broke the ratchet, but I expected that, replaced it with a name brand, still came out ahead on price.

It just depends on how you're going to use them! ~~ grnspot

 

[JDgreen]

I don't have a HF near me, but do buy a few things there. As for tools, if it's something you're not going to use a lot, some of their tools are OK. I have a 3/4" drive socket set from them for when I had the old "two-cylinder" JD's. Broke the ratchet, but I expected that, replaced it with a name brand, still came out ahead on price.

It just depends on how you're going to use them! ~~ grnspot

Concur with you--depends on how much you will use them. About 15 years ago I purchased a 3/4" drive socket set from Quality Farm & Fleet, anybody remember them? Well the set was about $35, versus a set from Sears Craftsman at 3X-4X that much. I very rarely use the 3/4" drive set but it is worth what I paid. Could never justify the higher price of the set from Sears unless I used them every day.

 

[JDgreen]

Of the thousands of tools sold at h.f. i have only experienced the sockets, combination wrenches, etc. and i have not had good luck with them THEY BROKE. ....here it is in a nut shell , if you need a hand tool or impact tool that is going to have heavy torque applied to it, then buy a good quality brand (at least a craftsman),..if you need a tool that requires little effort or torque applied then yes you can sneak away with h.f. brand tools such as screwdrivers and such... i been in the auto business over 35 years and have used tools from everywhere you can imagine from snap-on and mac and the like to the dollar store junk. and i'll tell you this, WHEN MY FINGERS AND ARMS are on the line for safety and high torque situations you won't see h.f. in my hands. the design and specs are just not there. at least the tools i expereinced.

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. The other day I returned some wood chisels I purchased 25 years ago, they still worked ok but the shanks were tapered down from all the sharpening over the years. Probably paid $4-$5 each when new. Replacements were 2X-3X that much...but I got them free. 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.