Harbor Freight Product Reviews

[mrbones]

This thread is for reviewing stuff bought at Harbor Freight (aka Harbor Junk). I'll start it off.

3 Piece Titanium Nitride Coated M2 High Speed Steel Step Drills

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91616

I gotta say, these are pretty good bits. I bought them for a Mikita cordless screwdriver and they are very sharp. For the price, they can't be beat. I paid $7.49 with a coupon.

[dt]

Harbor Freight is kind of hit or miss. Here are two gems that I got at Harbor Freight. The first is an impact screwdriver that sells for $5.99. I use this thing quite a bit. Ever tried to get the screws out of a 35 year old crankcase? This is how I do it. The quality is actually pretty good and I’ve since separately got a set of impact sockets for it, but I got those at sears.

The second is a gravity fed media blaster that sells for $29.95, but you have to buy the fittings separately ($3.99). This is pretty el’cheapo in terms of quality, but I’ve had it for a couple years now and it continues to do the job. They have a smaller one that sucks, because the bin is way too small and the trigger seized up and I threw it on the floor and stomped on it, which didn’t help.

On the shit side of Harbor Freight, in addition to the smaller media blaster, I bought a belt wrench for pulling fly wheels and the belt stretched! What a pos!

[mrbones]

Oh, when the impact driver strips side cover bolts (with a philips head) I try and put a vice grip on them (if there's space) and turn it or whack it with a hammer. If that doesn't work, I cut a groove in the head with a dremel cutting disc and try a flat head screwdriver bit on the impact wrench. It works with old Honda engines.

The cheap $3 automatic wire stripper worked a handful of times and then just fell apart. It's was pretty comical.

[dt]

The problem with case screws is they’re usually installed and reinstalled with locktite. I have a weird little tool set for stripped and broken screws and bolts, where ever they turn up, called Grab It. I didn’t get them at Harbor Freight. I think I got them from a Billy Mays infomercial.

They work with a variable speed reversible drill. There are four sizes. You drill a little indentation with one side of the bit, reverse the drill, flip the bit and it pulls most stripped screws. Then sometimes I have to drill the miserable bastards out with my carbide drill bits. 

[mrbones]

Cool. Thanks for the tip.

I bought this automatic battery charger once for $7.99. It works, but it has a really loud fan in it that's on all the time. So I'm not all that fond of it.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93781

[Scoobyroo]

Bought a break bleeder there last year, still works like a charm and is rebuildable supposedly. A lot cheaper than the Vacutec model and pulls harder too.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92474

[mrbones]

I might have to get one of those when they are on sale. I HATE bleeding brakes so maybe this will ease the pain.

[mrbones]

Automatic Battery Float Charger for $5.99.

This little thing will keep your motorcycle battery charged all the time. I also have used it on my lawn tractor. Now, it won't charge a dead battery but does keeps it maintained and the price is right. I've changed out the alligator clips for a mini 2 prong trailer connector so I can plug it in right to the bike to a permanent connector. The cheapest I've seen these are $4.99 on sale. I think I own about 4 of them.

[bagobones]

I heard somewhere that HF sells a big-ass magnet that is strong enough to set off turn signals at intersections when you stick it to the bottom of your bike. Has anybody bought that?

[mrbones]

Is a 250 lbs pull magnet enough?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=36905

That thing would pick up all kinds of crap in my garage though. Like metal shavings and steel wool bits.

[bagobones]

yeah, I think that would do it. How would you ever get the metal shavings OFF of the magnet though? They would probably be stuck forever.

[mrbones]

Maybe we could build a huge electromagnet that runs on 12V. Shut the bike off and then clean it.

[mrbones]

Hey, it's on sale. Maybe I should pick one up.

Bought a break bleeder there last year, still works like a charm and is rebuildable supposedly. A lot cheaper than the Vacutec model and pulls harder too.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92474

[mrbones]

Has anybody ever dealt with their lifetime warranty on hand tools? I'd be shocked if it was as good as Craftsman's tool warranty.

7. I have an item that has a lifetime warranty, how do I get it replaced?

    * Please call 1(800) 444-3353 and our Customer Service department will help you.

[dt]

A precision screwdriver set is a necessity in the workshop, but follow the directions for thier use.

[mrbones]

WTF?

[Rharms1]

yeah, I think that would do it. How would you ever get the metal shavings OFF of the magnet though? They would probably be stuck forever.

by putting the magnet  in a small plastic bag...

[bagobones]

I'm an idiot.

yeah, I think that would do it. How would you ever get the metal shavings OFF of the magnet though? They would probably be stuck forever.

by putting the magnet  in a small plastic bag...

[mrbones]

I haven't used it, but it sure looks cool.

http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/itemdisplay/displayItem.do?itemid=66177

[Drod13]

Never used but looks like a cool idea to make ease of cleaning the rims.

[mrbones]

Here's a site dedicated to HF product reviews.

http://hfreviews.com/

[dt]

I just picked up an 11 drawer rolling tool cabinet for Junior at Harbor Freight today. He goes to Tampa Bay Tech for Auto Tech and needed a locking cabinet this year. Saw this one in a flyer this morning for $199.99 on sale from $299.99 so I made a run down to the Fletcher store. Lots of space in this cabinet and pretty solid quality, but it doesn’t have ball bearing drawer sliders. Anyway, so as I’m checking out they ask if I want to join something called the Inside Track Club and get an immediate discount. Those things are usually a bunch of bs, but I listened. So, the price for joining was $20 and the immediate savings on the cabinet was $30. Now, being a thirty+ year certified public accountant I was able to quickly deduce that there was some savings in that equation, so net, net I ended up getting the thing for $189.99. I put it together and added a little cushion between the three pieces and am pretty happy with the thing…and the price. HF strikes again!

http://www.harborfreight.com/11-drawer-roller-cabinet-67421.html

Oh but, another thing I needed was a 3 inch circular hole saw for installing a snorkel on my jeep and HF struck out on that one. They had them for order, though, just not in the store.

[Croz]

That's nice looking DT. I've been keeping my eyes out for a mechanic's tool box for a while on craigslist, etc. Hadn't thought about HF. Don't need something THAT big, I think, but I will check them out for something a little smaller. Since I don't make my living by it, I find it hard to justify spending the big bucks for the name brand on stuff like this.

[v65infla]

They have it on sale for $169 down here occasionally.  It's on my list as I have just the lower unit from Craftsman but it is way over full.      Need to get crash bars for the ST first though then I can move on to other things.  

[dt]

It's on my list as I have just the lower unit from Craftsman but it is way over full.

Funny thing…it looks big, but it filled up pretty quickly.

Whataya been working on a big project or something? Haven’t seen you post in awhile.

[v65infla]

It's on my list as I have just the lower unit from Craftsman but it is way over full.

Funny thing…it looks big, but it filled up pretty quickly.

Whataya been working on a big project or something? Haven’t seen you post in awhile.

Working way more than I want too, only another 2.3m to go until I can retire.   

[dt]

Long ball-end hex socket set C-

I only needed the 5mm bit for my spoke adjustments, but got this whole set and have been using them for other things.

Guess which one I broke.

[Capt. Capsize]

This looks an old thread but i'll throw my 2 cts. in here.  I have a number of HF tools some are pretty good others are not.  I have good luck with all their power tools but their consumables are crap.  Sand paper, drill bits, saw blades, grinding wheels, etc. stink.  Buy American or Japanese or German when you can find them.  To give you an example, I needed to drill a bunch of 1/4" holes in my bike trailer so I started drilling 3/32" pilot holes I got two holes almost drilled when the second bit went dull.  Then I decided to try an old timer high speed steel drill bit that was one of many I inherited from an old deceased uncle.  Yeeoww, the drill went through like into butter and the remaining 10 or 12 holes went just as easy and the bit was still sharp as new.  Their cheap wire feed welder is crap but the better one at almost twice the price works great.  Their TIG welder is crap, doesn't have a high component to the current so I can't ever get to get the arc going, just sticks the electrode.  I think I'll check the reviews link before I buy any serious tools from them.  Oh crap, I just bought their MC lift yesterday for $299.  So far it looks fine and works ok.

[Zarticus]

This looks an old thread but i'll throw my 2 cts. in here.  I have a number of HF tools some are pretty good others are not.  I have good luck with all their power tools but their consumables are crap.  Sand paper, drill bits, saw blades, grinding wheels, etc. stink.  Buy American or Japanese or German when you can find them.  To give you an example, I needed to drill a bunch of 1/4" holes in my bike trailer so I started drilling 3/32" pilot holes I got two holes almost drilled when the second bit went dull.  Then I decided to try an old timer high speed steel drill bit that was one of many I inherited from an old deceased uncle.  Yeeoww, the drill went through like into butter and the remaining 10 or 12 holes went just as easy and the bit was still sharp as new.  Their cheap wire feed welder is crap but the better one at almost twice the price works great.  Their TIG welder is crap, doesn't have a high component to the current so I can't ever get to get the arc going, just sticks the electrode.  I think I'll check the reviews link before I buy any serious tools from them.  Oh crap, I just bought their MC lift yesterday for $299.  So far it looks fine and works ok.

The lift is VERY good,  Bought mine a year ago for $239.00 & have used the hell out of it!!!

[dt]

Sand paper, drill bits, saw blades, grinding wheels, etc. stink.

Spot on, especially as to their basic drill bit sets...terrible. Their sand paper is some super cheap (quality-wise) off-brand and the paper backed wet sand stuff is horrible, but they have a more expensive cloth backed that wasn't too bad. Actually I just get 3M down at my ACE store anymore, though.

[magnaone]

ya get what ya pay for

[Capt. Capsize]

I just bought their MC lift Friday, looks like a pretty decent piece of equipment.