Harbor Freight Tool Review(s)

[Sully]

Alright, so I am a fan of cheap tools, especially if they'll only be used once every three years. But lately, I've been spending some time in harbor freight especially when I get a good coupon. I'm not into spending $100 on a ratchet either (Snap-on) plus its hard to return broken stuff when you have to go find a tool truck or ship it back. Harbor Freight hand tools have the same lifetime warranty as other brands. So after seeing DJ's tool cart, and shopping around the other major hardware stores, the US General brand(Harbor Freight's store brand) seems better designed and better built than any of the major brands.

So the bigger version of that tool cart is on my list, but in the mean time, I started browsing some of their hand tools. Until now, I have had one main ratchet in the three common sizes (1/4",3/8",1/2") all craftsman, all the old all metal design. The 1/4" just broke on me too, but was replaced for free of course. Anyway, I have been intrigued with new ratchet designs that have come out since my dated set.

I noticed an extendable 1/2" ratchet at HF on sale plus I had a 20% coupon so I think I paid like $12 for it

http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-in...98831.html
I don't like the swivel head ratchets and this looked cool because it basically has a built in breaker bar feature. Plus a rubber grip which I wanted to try out. I actually haven't used this one much but from playing with it, yes it does seem a little flimsy when fully extended but one click back doesn't seem too bad and if it breaks, it was $12 and is covered under the warranty. I would have tried the smaller versions of this style but they combine them (front/back one size on each side of the head) which I didn't care for.

One thing I will note, about all HF ratchets is that the clicker is opposite of at least my craftsman stuff. It actually seems more correct but I am so use to craftsman, it took a little getting used to. They all seem to have a good positive lock on the ball that holds the socket in place as well and if your sockets don't go all the way through like mine and probably most, the button on the back also pushes forward a peg that would eject the socket.

So on to the next one, I had been wanting to add some more ratchets to my set and noticed the HF composite series. Although a normal ratchet isn't particularly heavy, these did catch my eye as new and "innovative" I guess. So I picked up the 1/4" to try out.
http://www.harborfreight.com/1-4-quarter...66312.html

I figured, if the composite was the weak link, I wouldn't be using a 1/4" on high torque fasteners and it was like $8. Got it home, same features listed above with the clicker, and the button, and positive lock. Used it on a radiator install on a Saturn with some 10mm bolts and it worked fine. Handle was fairly comfortable and the rubber molded into the handle seems nice but does get dirty quick (who cares). I torqued the little bolts down pretty good and it seemed to hold up. It does seem a little sketch at first torqueing something when you know your ratchet is plastic but it did it's job. No complaints so far.

I had also been wanting to organize my sockets for a while now because since the case they came in (10 years ago?) broke 4 years ago, my sockets had been in a cardboard box adding hours to any job as I dug through to find the right sockets throughout it. (For reference all my sockets are craftsman and as a note to HF naysayers, I have broken one completely in half before on a crossmember bolt on an explorer) Anyway, I had finally gotten some of those metal rails with handles at the end to try out (for free). I hated them, they were hard to get the sockets off and they would not stand up inside the box. I also did not have enough for all my sockets. I notice the plastic rails at HF that have the little spring loaded ball. they were much cheaper than lowes and sears and were even on-sale (Yes I'm noticing the pattern here :evileye: ) so I grabbed a set. They were pretty awesome, they hold my sockets, they stand up in the box, and with some HF box liners, they sink into the rubber liners and have limited movement in the drawer. So I went and bought like 4 more sets to cover all my sockets including those stupid US standard sizes that no one uses. I then took my label maker and added some OCD level organization which I love so much, I don't really let people even go in my socket drawer anymore.
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piece-14-...68101.html



When I get my new roll around cart, I plan to secure the strips so I don't have to hold them down when I pull a socket off, but they work good for now.

I also need to pull a bearing with no way to get behind it. Blind-Hole bearing pullers are expensive as hell and most don't come with the slide hammer to use them. Got this little sucker at HF http://www.harborfreight.com/blind-hole-...95987.html

Popped the bearing out in maybe 4 pulls. Plus I have a little slide hammer now. No it's not super heavy duty but its a little slide hammer for small jobs. All I need is a bolt with the right thread size and pitch and it would be perfect for the odd jobs a slide hammer comes in handy. I also used this thing on some seals(that I was replacing so no worries about damage) and it worked better and damaged the seals less than trying to get them out without it. All of this was on a KX125 engine case so fairly small diameter stuff but the bigger puller should fit some car stuff.

Fast forward to Thursday last week, when I was replacing the spark plugs on the f150. I was using my 1/4" composite for all the 10mm bolts and it was doing fine. But I really needed a long extension and had wanted to get a set since my only 3/8" extension was the 3" that came with my craftsman kit and another 3" that came in an impact set. I would sometimes combine them to get a 6" but they would come apart and the extra joint made them heavy and bulky. I got about halfway through the first plug and said fug it, I'm pulling the trigger on these today.
http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-38-...67976.html

I read the reviews, like I always do, and they seemed to be plagued with a little flex. But they weren't terribly expensive and I usually use a 1/2" for anything that is super torqued on anyway. I loved the fact they have the quick release on the end that prevents the socket from coming off unless you want it to. I have had that happen so many times and its just frustrating. So I went out and picked them up. The quick release works fine on all four of em and they worked good. A little flex was noticed on the long one but it popped the spark plugs right out(which I don't think have ever been changed and its a '01 :oops: ) No sockets fell or pulled off either, and it was a spark plug socket so it was gripping the plug when I pulled it out.

While I was out, I grabbed the 3/8" composite ratchet too after having a good experience with the 1/4"
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-eighth-...66313.html
It looks identical to the 1/4" posted above. Functioned pretty much the same too. No complaints. I would probably still use my all metal one to break stubborn bolts/nuts loose but the composites are probably slightly lighter which may help with fatigue when under the car on your back working with the ratchet up in the air (BMW Owners...) I only really notice it when holding both ratchets at the same time but it may make a difference in the long run. I may try to break stuff loose in the future with it when I get too lazy to retrieve the metal ratchet and see what it can do up until I break it. But it has a warranty and it was like $9-$10 so I don't really care if I break it. I'm not sure i'll get the 1/2", although I feel you would noticed a nice weight difference, I only break the 1/2" out on big jobs with high torque fasteners so I don't see a plastic ratchet holding up for that but for the price, maybe we'll see.

Edit: after holding both metal and composite, I would say the metal is lighter but it doesn't have a big rubber handle either. Not sure how this would stack up against a metal ratchet with rubber handle. Its Not much heavier if it is. Maybe I'll have my buddy bring his digital scale by and weigh them all.

A little older review, I have all three (normal)sizes of the HF (Pittsburg) torque wrenches which I got for $10 a piece with coupons.
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-eighth-...h-807.html

they all look like this pretty much so I won't post all the links and pics but they have all worked fine so far. I tested the 3/8" up against a digital snap-on wrench when I got it and it was almost dead on the snap-on wrench. Idk how long they will stay calibrated and they may even be off now, but for the price, you could replace them every two years and not really hurt your wallet. I may test them again if I get a chance and see if they are still calibrated about a year later now. But I think I will buy another 1/2" or two to keep in my car for torqueing lugs. they come with nice hard plastic cases to protect them too.

I also got the aluminum 2 ton racing jack

It has worked perfectly since I got it which is maybe 2 years ago? Idr, Justin knows because I'm pretty sure my dad bitched to him that I told him to return the steel one he bought me for my birthday because I wanted this one.

I also got a set of there inveted torx sockets or E-class sockets back when I had to pull the diff on the BMW and those worked fine as well.

Same for the 12ton shop press I got to do the BMW bushings.
Worked fine for the bushings but I could see how it could flex and bend under anything "heavy-duty" plus I believe the prices have dropped or coupons are better now, so I would get the 20-ton if I did it again, which I believe DJ has said before anyway.

I also have like 6 of those little LED flashlights which are great for quick light source and I have two of the magnetic little lights which I think I broke one by dropping it too many times but I may grab some more if a good sale comes along.


I have also bought a bunch of little stuff like a little pick set which is good for seals and stuff, a rubber mallet, consumables likes gloves. All pretty much performed as expected with no major issues. You just have to expect, sometimes things won't be perfect or may need a little modification but at the prices, really you can't go wrong most of the time.

I was hoping to keep this thread going, if you guys want to add some reviews of stuff you have bought and I will continue to add with my experiences. A lot of MMers, especially the current members who are in school may not be able to afford the expensive tools. I am under the philosophy of buy the good professional stuff once if you can afford it, rather than the cheap "home-owner" stuff but sometimes you just don't use something enough to justify the "pro" stuff. And lately, I have had good results with the HF stuff, so I don't see why I shouldn't keep experimenting with it.

[CaptainHenreh]

holy wall of text

[Sully]

I could insert more pictures but stock photos of tools only go so far, and I don't like taking pictures of stuff while i'm trying to work. This is months of tool purchases, future posts will be more to the point and shorter. Or I could attach a bunch of NSFW pictures throughout. That way people look through the entire post


Edited first post with more pictures for Rex :thumbup:

[xvxax]

There's a 270 page thread on Garage Journal that is pretty informative:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27192">http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/show ... hp?t=27192</a><!-- m -->

I just bought my first snap-on flex head ratchet and I want to sleep with that thing under my pillow every night. I totally understand why guys who use tools for a living buy that stuff. I almost go out of my way to use it.

[Sully]

I don't like that they don't really review why it failed(like they don't say what they used it on and under what conditions) And I'm sort of against it being a automatic fail for requiring modification out of the box. If something is cheap enough, I don't see why I can't spend 10 minutes making it "better"

I used snap-on stuff when I worked in the body shop and while they were nice, I would rather just pay way less for a different brand. I never saw the far superiority. Yes they were better but not by enough to justify there prices. At least on the hand tools. Plus I hate swivel head ratchets. I like a solid feel And the swivel heads move around too much for me.

I will say that one of the body tech assistants had a snap on 3/8" impact and that thing had more torque than I would probably ever want. It was powerful and little/fairly light.

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[navin]

I'm too lazy to find pics.. but some of my HF favorites

44" toolbox = love it
Balljoint popper = stop destroying your boots with the pickle fork
Breaker bars = have yet to destroy yet
Panel Poppers = stop breaking interior clips and such
Tap and Die set = better selection of metric sizes, replaced my more expensive Craftsman set

EDIT: Forgot I have the ultrasonic cleaner -- worked real nicely to clean up some bolts and crap when I was working on the Hype-R. I know a lot of gun people use it for cleaning whatever you guys need to clean lol. Will most likely be selling this sometime soon.

[Evan]

the torque wrenches are really good.
the long handle wrenches are really good.
the cheapo wrenches are dogshit
the impact sockets are really good
the nitrile gloves are good
the air tools are good enough, but not if you use it a lot. (Get an IR for your main 3/8" gun)
the aluminum jacks are usually decent, but the hydro unit can leak sometimes.

[navin]

I don't think I'd use their torque wrenches for engine building/precise torque measurements -- def. wouldn't mind using it at the track for torque'n lugs.

If anyone is in search for an accurate torque wrench, check out the CDI brand (amazon prime).. They make Snap-On torque wrenches, and also come with a torque calibration certificate.

Oh yeah -- HF 2 ton low profile jack is awesome for lowered cars and the lift height is nice as well.

[G.Irish]

This reminds me I need to make my Harbor Freight vs Craftsman vs Snap On Decision Tree...

[Sully]

the torque wrenches are really good.
the long handle wrenches are really good.
the cheapo wrenches are dogshit
the impact sockets are really good
the nitrile gloves are good
the air tools are good enough, but not if you use it a lot. (Get an IR for your main 3/8" gun)
the aluminum jacks are usually decent, but the hydro unit can leak sometimes.

Cheapo wrenches like what I listed above or...?

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[Sully]

the torque wrenches are really good.
the long handle wrenches are really good.
the cheapo wrenches are dogshit
the impact sockets are really good
the nitrile gloves are good
the air tools are good enough, but not if you use it a lot. (Get an IR for your main 3/8" gun)
the aluminum jacks are usually decent, but the hydro unit can leak sometimes.

Cheapo wrenches like what I listed above or...?

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Nvm, you said wrenches. My reading skills have been shit lately.

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[Ryan T]

I have a love hate relationship with HF. Some of their stuff is really good and some is absolute garbage and it's really hard to tell which is which until you start using it. Here's my thoughts on some of the things I've bought over the years:

Screwdriver set - Solid but after upgrading to a more high quality set I won't go back to HF.
Impact sockets - Love them, have held up to tons of abuse.
Flex head stubby ratchets - Total junk. I'd have to be really hard up to use these. They don't hold their position for shit and sockets fall off of them too easily.
Breaker bar - Haven't broken it yet, I guess that's a good thing. It does have a good bit of flex under pressure but it's always held up.
Torque wrench - Works good. Like said above, I wouldn't trust it to rebuild an engine but for lugnuts it's great.
3 piece pick set - Meh. It's ok but if you put any pressure on it they bend.
5 piece pry bar set - Haven't broken them yet. Again, a good sign.
Arbor press - Has been good so far. It's rated at 1 ton but I don't think it's really capable of that.
C clamps - Worthless. Try to crank down on anything and you can see the clamps bending/warping out of shape.
Air tools - Pretty decent for occasional use, but if you do a lot of wrenching get something decent.
Wrenches - Decent. Nothing special but they work most of the time.
Tow chain - Pulled a 15k lb. tractor out of the mud and didn't break, I'd call that a success.
Quick release bar clamp - Total success. Love it, works so great I bought 5 more.
Helping hands for soldering - Works great.
Mechanics roller seat - It's cheap, the plastic tray is a piece of shit, but it works and I like it.
Steel floor jack - It's huge and heavy but I've used it for years and it has never let me down.
1" ratcheting tie downs - Total junk, don't waste your money.
Headlamp - Total piece of shit. Throw it away.
Brake spring hook - Saved my ass more than once working on riding mowers.
Flux core welder - It's decent for a hobby welder/something that won't be saving your life.

[JustinG]

I love the molded plastic creeper from HF.

The metal framed one with the flames is a POS though.

[D_Eclipse9916]

I currently am in the good with Harbor Freight.

My favorite purchase so far is this tool kart. I love it so much, I am going to be posting it for sale to get the bigger version. I use the shit out of it, it's extremely convenient as a pit-kart, trailer too kart, and around the garage kart. Drawer slides are nice, and rolls around pretty easy considering I have 100s of lbs of tools in it.

[G.Irish]

[Jeff]

I do a fair amount of mechanic work these days. I am a certified Chrysler tech but I have not bothered with SAE's and I rarely work on customer vehicles. I just do internal and warranty work on new stuff. Gotta leave the customer pay work for the guys living on it. Also, I install most of the accessories that get put on at the dealership and I do nearly everything related to Auto/Video and telematics. That being said I don't exactly make my living with my tools. Tools like everything in life are only an investment if they make you money (or your path to the money MUCH easier). Most guys buy Snap-On (MAC, Matco, Cornwall, etc.) because they write it all off on their taxes and they can get 0% truck financing. The truck financing is nice and I have used it quite a bit in my path to the shit ton (close to $9k I figure) in tools and tool storage I have. At this point probably 60% is Snap-On, 10% Matco, 20% Craftsman and that last 10% is HF and other. I mostly buy from HF things that can't (shouldn't) really fail because of how they are made or things I use very rarely. My impact sockets are HF...its hard to fuck up an impact socket.

Oh, their Winches are BOSS. I have had two now, just picked up a 12,000lb unit for my new trailer, had a 6k on my old (Evan's old) red trailer. They work really well and they are a great value for the money. Their floor jacks...not so much. I got one of their steel low profile jacks because the 1940's low profile the shop had broke. This thing didn't even make it out of the box before it was messed up. Had to drill and hilicoil the bolt that holds the handle on. Past that it seems ok but I don't give that handle much time.

[Sully]

Their floor jacks...not so much. I got one of their steel low profile jacks because the 1940's low profile the shop had broke. This thing didn't even make it out of the box before it was messed up. Had to drill and hilicoil the bolt that holds the handle on. Past that it seems ok but I don't give that handle much time.

Interesting, most people I talk to love their HF jacks. Usually racing aluminum but still...I know I love mine over the shit I was using before hand. I usually over work mine too because I go too high with it to get maximum work area under the car.

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[Beej]

Any suggestions on where to look for a non-air impact gun? I don't see myself using it too much - wheel lugs, axle nuts, seal flanges, etc - but I've gotten this far without one, so I don't need anything amazing.

Instant need is my diff input flange - some guy said he needed a 550ft/lb gun to get it off, which sounds a bit outrageous to me. I guess battery would be preferable, but I can probably get away with plug-in, too.

I'm also in the market for a non-shitty one of those "bunch of tools work with one battery" combos, so it wouldn't hurt if this could be a part of that.

[D_Eclipse9916]

As much hate as I get from Rex about Ryobi, I have been very impressed. I bought their "combo" line that includes 5-6 tools, and 4 batteries, 2 chargers. The impact has taken off wheel bearing nuts that are torqued to 225ft/lbs, takes torqued lug nuts off twith ease, and also includes a 1/2 impact and 3/8 impact (use an adapter for 1/4 as well). I am not sure itll knock off 550ft/lbs but I don't really know any battery impact that will, even the snap-on ones I use when I work for bodymotion.

Maeng/Jake also use the ryobi 1/2 impact. It has already lasted 2x as long as the harbor freight for almost the same cost, batteries last a long time (and since a bunch of people have them, they also have the chargers and extra batteries). I beat the crap out of mine, usually doing 4 complete wheel changes a weekend on the race car if not more. Then I use it a ton in the garage. Plus if it ever breaks, Home Depot is pretty damn close to everywhere and I have had good luck with other tools and home depot exchanges.

[Beej]

Word, thanks man. You also reminded me of the cordless tool thread clicky pow: <!-- l --><a class="postlink-local" href="http://www.mmsports.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10658">viewtopic.php?f=6&t=10658</a><!-- l -->

Time to learn wayyyy too much about this crap.