Acceptable and Unacceptable Harbor Freight Tools

[E30 331is]

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-qua...tor-99849.html

Makes changing control arms a snap, or more like a pop!

[mitchlevy7]

The socket adapters and extentions are iffy. Ive broken quite a few but I have 2 sets of the adapters.

Good
Sockets
Welding cart ($50, stable, had to cut a kittle to get all the lines in the welder)
Floor jack
Gloves
Angle grinder (wears out)
Breaker bars

Bad
Ratchets
Pen size propane torch
Torque wrench

[iamsam]

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-4-qua...tor-99849.html

Makes changing control arms a snap, or more like a pop!

Huh, I have wondered whether that thing works well or not, have you had any problems with it ever?

[Wiglaf]

good:
calipers
welding stuff
simple tools
side grinder
clamps
jackstands
simple metal stuff

bad:
sockets. a rounded or cracked socket will ruin your day, and your knuckles.

any type of drill bits, taps, extractors. the "save your ass" tools which need to be made of strong steel, and totally backfire if they break.. craftsman or better minimum!!
taps and drill bits are perhaps the #1 case example of getting what you pay for, don't cheap out on them.

any cutting tool, such as tin snips mentioned earlier.
strong hand tools which I tend to abuse such as pliers, HF ones get all distorted, just don't cut it.
Even pipe wrenches and channel-locks I'd be skeptical of.

most other power tools, with the expectation that they'll be trash after 2-3 jobs usually they are cheap enough to get your money's worth so they are in a gray area. i moved side grinder up the list because i have not managed to break that thing yet.. but most of the saws and drills I've burned up. If it's "light duty" and you treat them with kid gloves then ok, but if you intend to power through a job then you will quickly find that you have more balls than the kids in China that these were made for.

[agent]

Great idea for a thread!

Good:

Long handle wrenches. I have done my best to try and break them using the "attach the box end of one to the open end of the other to get leverage" trick but they held up great.





Glass blast media. I used this to completely strip a set of wheels down to bare metal that, ironically enough, I bought from the OP!

http://www.harborfreight.com/50-lbs-...dia-30972.html

[Nick_S]

I recently bought a pair of their spring compressors. I think they were like $10 and they worked fine but they look like very cheap cast metal and I'm skeptical of using them again. For a one time use job a lot of HF tools are great.

[iamsam]

bad:
sockets. a rounded or cracked socket will ruin your day, and your knuckles.

I have never had a HF socket fail on me yet, but then again, the "ratchet attachment" parts I have from HF are impact sockets, male and female torx sockets/bits, and allen bits. But none of them have failed, even after putting tons of torque through them.

[slammin.e28]

Those spring compressors look sketch as hell, lol. I wouldn't have used them once.

[brianao34]

Huh, I have wondered whether that thing works well or not, have you had any problems with it ever?

It works amazingly. Get the tool positioned and tighten it down good and give the joint a few whacks with a hammer and it'll pop right out. I think when people have problems with this tool they're just tightening the tool only to try and get the joint to pop on its own. Not a good idea.

[E30 331is]

Huh, I have wondered whether that thing works well or not, have you had any problems with it ever?

I even take it to the yard with me, its soooooo easy! no problems what so ever, its better than a pry fork and I dont have to use a BFH! worth the $15 I paid.

[IronJoe]

I have had good luck with lots of their tools, but I wanted to point out a few of the BAD ones.


BAD:

Vice grips. Terrible. The jaws round off and after only a few uses, they don't want to stay shut anymore



BAD:

Ratcheting breaker bar. I have broken two of these so far. It's sad because I love the idea, but they just don't stand up to any significant amount of torque. If you want to use these, don't use them as a breaker bar, just a long ratchet (LOL)

[Nick_S]

What about a regular breaker bar? Been wanting to pick one up. Afraid I'd snap the handle.

[lambo]

[Wiglaf]

I have never had a HF socket fail on me yet, but then again, the "ratchet attachment" parts I have from HF are impact sockets, male and female torx sockets/bits, and allen bits. But none of them have failed, even after putting tons of torque through them.

In HF's defense the sockets I've busted I can't confirm if they were from there, but def were NOT impact rated.

also just remembered, that set of 3 prybars with the orange handles, both smaller ones chipped the edges off and all 3 bent like a bananna.

[Bglad]

*snip* courtesy of Danny

I have to say that any of the allen or torx sockets are total shit. I've broken several of them just trying to loosen bolts.