Acceptable and Unacceptable Harbor Freight Tools

[varg]

Oh you must never have had a tool that is designed like this to take high stress loads fail in glorious fashion while your hands or face are near by ehhh. Because thats almost exactly whats its doing at that point is exploding when all that stored energy is released when it fails under that load, I suppose you like Chinese built strut spring compressors too huh

Wait, so you're saying that you use highly stressed tools with your face near them? That's not very smart no matter what the brand

I'm also not in the habit of putting my fingers in crush/pinch zones and would use that tool as it's meant to be used; finger tight to get it in place, then crank down on it with my hand on the ratchet handle and not in the crush zone. If it fails, nothing of mine is going to be in its path when it snaps and throws a few fragments a few feet.

Tools fail, sometimes the parts you're using them on do too. I don't use them in unsafe ways thinking they won't. I've got a story about a snapped craftsman ball joint press that is enough to tell you that.

[mitchlikesbikes]

I've had that impact for several years with zero issue. I'm sure it doesn't pack the punch that it's advertised for. But at ~70 with a coupon, it was an excellent beginner tool and has served me very well.

i have the 3/8 one and it kicks ass. my 1/2 drive one is an ingersol rand though so i can't say i have first hand experience with their 1/2" version. the big thing with the earthquake impacts is they seem to need more air than higher quality ones to do the same work. on a small garage size compressor they won't work as well as a nicer unit, but i work on heavy equipment in a shop all day and have unlimited air so mine works great.

good:

hammers (except the large deadblow, i've ruined 2 of them)
most air tools
impact sockets (also literally like 20% the $$ of big brand versions)
grease gun
jack stands
floor jacks
12 ton press
test lights
infrared thermometer
spot weld drill bit
allen key sockets (i've stripped more out with my mac ones)



bad:
small pliers and cutters
vise grips
drill bits
wire wheels

[Sh3rpak!ng]

http://www.harborfreight.com/air-too...nch-68424.html

anybody have first hand experience with this?

I've had that impact for several years with zero issue. I'm sure it doesn't pack the punch that it's advertised for. But at ~70 with a coupon, it was an excellent beginner tool and has served me very well.

[GDA]

Hog ring pliers.... merely acceptable for an interior job. If you are doing several interior jobs look elsewhere for side angle head pliers, narrower tip type etc.

Pulley system bike hanger... good.

Installed one in the far corner of my garage and use it to hang my very heavy Thule hitch mount bike rack. Not the intended use but who the hell cares. It just works.

[TimeMachinE30]

GOOD

The tarps. I have been using them for years as drop cloths for painting, yard work and an extra layer with the car cover. Durable.

Wet tile saw. I laid about 200 sqft of subway tile and tumbled marble. The only reason it had to get tossed was it seized up after being left outside for a few days, mistreatmemt. The included blade was great.

The wooden workbench and their tool chests. I have only heard good things.

BAD

More a reminder, many times items that are not their own are not always the best price. I see this often with their detailing supplies and paint.

[pandaboo911]

Air tools from harbor freight are garbage. Save your money


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[5Toes]

http://www.harborfreight.com/air-too...nch-68424.html

anybody have first hand experience with this?

[george graves]

Awesome thread - subscribed.

[Kevinl]

I went into harbor freight for the first time in a long time and I was shocked by the prices since when is "cheap shit" expensive. I have never seen the fuss about harbor freight

Would never buy anything like power tools,generators, air tools from them

[mrsleeve]

Oh, please. It's not like it's going to explode, and you're not likely to use it more than a couple of times unless you work other people's cars, in which case the higher end tool is a business expense.

Oh you must never have had a tool that is designed like this to take high stress loads fail in glorious fashion while your hands or face are near by ehhh. Because thats almost exactly whats its doing at that point is exploding when all that stored energy is released when it fails under that load, I suppose you like Chinese built strut spring compressors too huh

The H/F separator is 24 bucks and the OTC equivalent can be found almost anywhere for 35-40...... Sorry I will spend the extra 11-16 bucks on the higher quality tool thank you very much, even if I only use it 1 time a year. I like to keep my hands and fingers like they are.


Edit: from earlier in this very thread

Be Careful:

First time I used it, it worked great. The second time, a 1in section of the lower clamp part broke off. Sounded like a shot gun blast. I was lucky the chunk didn't hit me anywhere.

[pandaboo911]

I've gone through 3 of the aluminum jacks and the 4th I have now is on it's way out.

I also have the low profile jack which has held up great but it's heavy as fuck. Not good for taking to the racetrack..

I have the bottle jack too but I don't trust it at all.

[AndrewBird]

Drill it out and heli-coil it. Then no worries.

[varg]

^

Yes but its still made of Chinese cast "metal" could be pot metal, could cast iron, could be steel who really knows its Chinese casting so thats kinda scary . Still I would have spent the extra 12 bucks and bought the OTC equivalent

Oh, please. It's not like it's going to explode, and you're not likely to use it more than a couple of times unless you work other people's cars, in which case the higher end tool is a business expense.

[mrsleeve]

^

Yes but its still made of Chinese cast "metal" could be pot metal, could cast iron, could be steel who really knows its Chinese casting so thats kinda scary . Still I would have spent the extra 12 bucks and bought the OTC equivalent

[Herr Faust Schinken]

It has been said in this thread somewhere that those top teeth may "pop" off at any time under load.

i used it to pop a couple of joints honestly its a bit crude but it seems well built