Harbor Freight Opinions

[OpaDC]

Just found out there is a HF near me and went and visited. They have lots of stuff, some looks ok, some looks cheap. Just wondering about your opinions of their stuff. And no I didn't almost buy the 10" TS for 99.99. Thought about the BLOOD PRESSURE MONITOR though to see how things go when I keep messing up good wood.

[mschrank]

This thread deals with the same question as yours. It's a couple years old, but HF inventory doesn't seem to change much from year to year.

Basically, there are gems and duds. If you'd like to know about a specific item, ask about it here. Chances are someone here has experience with it.

Personally, I stay away from their power tools, blades and bits (though some have reported that their drill bits can be decent).

Things I've purchased and been happy with:

• 6" digital caliper

• These Bar clamps,

• but NOT these quick clamps

• HVLP Sprayer(same as the one sold by Woodcraft & Rockler)

• Many here also use this dust collector

[MilDoc]

If you are seriously looking at blood pressure monitors there is only one brand I recommend. Omron. And do not buy a finger or wrist machine. Far too inaccurate.

[LinuxRandal]

If you are seriously looking at blood pressure monitors there is only one brand I recommend. Omron. And do not buy a finger or wrist machine. Far too inaccurate.

I talked my father out of the HF one. He picked up one that mom said was a good brand and model (She is a surgical nurse, and his fathers wife was a Doctor of nursing (Nurse DR, or Dr. Nurse?) and it was giving inaccurate readings. This was due to the strap (not proper lingo) size being too small. That is an issue I see with ANY of these buy it ourselves without knowing.
He figured he wouldn't be out any getting the HF one to see if the strap was larger. It didn't look it and I told him skip it. His Dr. recommended one he knew was large enough at a local pharmacy (coin machine).

So can you tell us how to properly size these?

[Knottscott]

Some is good, some is junk. I like the Pittsburg bar clamps...haven't tried the Pittsburg parallel clamps but they look promising. I like my HF mortiser, very impressed with my HF 12" DP, hate the $5 shaver, $1 wire brushes are great, my little compressor is ok, my nailer needs to be returned under warranty, the LED flashlight broke early, love the digital calipers, mixed results with their drill bits, not crazy about their sandpaper. Quality is not as consistent as some top notch names...stuff I've had good results with may not perform the same for you.

It really depends. There are bargains, and their return policy is typically pretty good. Fun place to browse.

[poolhound]

This thread deals with the same question as yours. It's a couple years old, but HF inventory doesn't seem to change much from year to year.

Basically, there are gems and duds. If you'd like to know about a specific item, ask about it here. Chances are someone here has experience with it.

Personally, I stay away from their power tools, blades and bits (though some have reported that their drill bits can be decent).

Things I've purchased and been happy with:

• 6" digital caliper

• These Bar clamps,

• but NOT these quick clamps

• HVLP Sprayer(same as the one sold by Woodcraft & Rockler)

• Many here also use this dust collector

You are dead right about NOT those "quick clamps." I have a couple and they are ok for holding but a wast of time for actual clamping. I broke one the other day with just hand pressure on the lever. They pivot on a very VERY weak plastic pin. I drilled it out and inserted a bolt. The clamp still works for a hold down but thats it.

[OpaDC]

If you are seriously looking at blood pressure monitors there is only one brand I recommend. Omron. And do not buy a finger or wrist machine. Far too inaccurate.

Was actually making fun of my cutting skills. For the real thing I actually bought an Omron few years back when my wifes blood pressure shot up. We keep an eye on things with it. And thanks for the input. One thing I like about this place is how people pick up on seemingly innocuous comments that turn out to be important. If I didn't already have the monitor I would have checked it out because of your tip (as others might now do).

This thread deals with the same question as yours. It's a couple years old, but HF inventory doesn't seem to change much from year to year. (CHECKED THIS OUT. GOOD INFO)

Basically, there are gems and duds. If you'd like to know about a specific item, ask about it here. Chances are someone here has experience with it.

Personally, I stay away from their power tools, blades and bits (though some have reported that their drill bits can be decent). (KIND OF THOUGHT SO)

Things I've purchased and been happy with:

* 6" digital caliper (Bought this )

* These Bar clamps, (This too)

* but NOT these quick clamps (Looked at these, picked them up and out them down about 5 times lol)

* HVLP Sprayer(same as the one sold by Woodcraft & Rockler)

* Many here also use this dust collector (Thinking about this one)

You are dead right about NOT those "quick clamps." I have a couple and they are ok for holding but a wast of time for actual clamping. I broke one the other day with just hand pressure on the lever. They pivot on a very VERY weak plastic pin. I drilled it out and inserted a bolt. The clamp still works for a hold down but thats it.

(Confirmed my suspicions)

Thanks guys!

[docrowan]

I have to differ on the quick clamps. I've had very good luck out of them, grip well and not delicate. I've only broken one quick clamp, and it was the "name" brand, not the HF. I also like the fact that they are upside down from the name brand, meaning the actuation lever is on the same side as the bar.

I'm a weekend wood butcher and still learning, sometimes I buy the HF brand for a tool if I've never owned that type of tool before. For instance I bought the HF 10 inch bench top drill press for $30 a few years ago because I'd never owned one or used one. Now that I've figured out I use a drill press a good bit, I can upgrade to a larger one and a better brand, plus have an idea of the features I'd like to have based on my actual use. All this for only having spent $30.00 plus I can probably sell the HF press for $30 and get my money back out of it.

[LYU370]

This thread deals with the same question as yours. It's a couple years old, but HF inventory doesn't seem to change much from year to year.

Basically, there are gems and duds. If you'd like to know about a specific item, ask about it here. Chances are someone here has experience with it.

Personally, I stay away from their power tools, blades and bits (though some have reported that their drill bits can be decent).

Things I've purchased and been happy with:

• 6" digital caliper

• These Bar clamps,

• but NOT these quick clamps

• HVLP Sprayer(same as the one sold by Woodcraft & Rockler)

• Many here also use this dust collector

Ditto the remarks on the clamps and the caliper. Also, these clamps a good as well. Also had good luck with the drillbits, hole saws were pretty lousy, but for two bucks who cares, brad nailer is good stuff. HF is just like IKEA, some of the stuff is real good, other things are total crap.

[Ed62]

I like the Pittsburg clamps mentioned above. The digital caliper is great. Drill bits are OK. I also have their 2 HP 8 gal. air compressor. It seems just fine so far, but haven't used it long enough to tell how long it will run without problems.

Ed

[Uncle Cracker]

Like everything else, it's about the usage and the need. I don't think too many would argue that HF merchandise is superior, or even equal, in quality over mainstream brands, and someone whose living depends on his tools probably won't rely too much on the HF inventory, but if the emphasis is on saving money, or for tools you will only rarely use, HF is a good opportunity. For consumables, like chip brushes, latex gloves, tarps, bungee cords, and the like that that you really get gouged for elsewhere, HF is the place. You just have to pick and choose what make sense, which is what most people would do anywhere.

[kevincan]

Harbor Freight just opened a store near me in Jan. So far I have found some pretty good deals there. They are not high quality but I don't always need or can afford that.

Here are some of the items that I have bought there.
Trailer - the fold up one with 12" wheels.
Tarps - I just got 2 8X10 tarps for $2.50 each yesterday.
Paint brushes - Not the greatest but perfect for Cub Scouts painting their Pinewood Derby cars. The 1/2" shop brushes work great for glue.
Tie downs and rope - cheaper than anywhere else.

I have a hard time leaving empty handed when I go there. If you go online to their website the have coupons that change every week - I always find something I need.

My only gripe with the store is that most of the time they do not have the sale prices on the shelf. Sometimes it is there but about half the time it has the regular price. I bring the ads in with me to double check sometimes. It always rings up at the sales price at the register.

Kevin

[ejs1097]

One thing is for sure, you've come to the right place for HF opinions. You'll get honest feedback here and usually get several people knowledgeable on just about every product they sell. I often use the search feature to find info on something I may be considering.

Sign up to get they fliers and sign up for email as well. I typically never buy anything that is not on sale, don't have a coupon or percent off. They stack sales, coupons, percents off on top of each other so you can get some good prices. Usually the item you want will be on sale sometime within the next 3 months or so.

When I find things I want in the flyer, I cut out the items, staple them together, put the expire date on the top item and put them in my wallet. This becomes my shopping list for easy memory and is very very handy to get help locating an item since the item number is on the ad.

It's a fun place for my 5yo also. We made a toolbox last year and when we go he can get 1 tool. He's good on screwdrivers, tape measures, etc and we've now started on pliers. Good way to stock up his toolbox without breaking the bank.

[LarryG]

The Pittsburgh-branded items are generally quite decent, across the board. The F-body bar clamps are good up to the 18" or 24" length; beyond that, the bars are too light. BTW, I once ordered some pipe clamps from Grizzly. They came with "Pittburgh" name cast into them. Some of the Pittsburgh mechanic's tools appear absolutely identical to the Companion brand tools sold at Sears.

The DrillMaster brand brad points are a good buy for the money ... not great bits, but an excellent value for what they cost, especially if you can catch them on sale. And the DrillMaster Forstner bits are excellent for the money.

HF is also the place to get good buys on hard-to-screw-up "dumb" tools like dead blow mallets. These work every bit as well as the ones sold elsewhere for about four times the price. And you can get a bag of 36 (or is it 48?) acid brushes, used for spreading glue, for about three bucks when they're on sale. The woodworking vendors get about a quarter apiece for their brushes like these.

[rnelson0]

The Pittsburgh-branded items

There's only one Pittsburgh with an H, and the stuff at Harbor Freight ain't it! It's important to remember that they just use American sounding names though it's made in China - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harbor_Freight_Tools

Harbor Freight Tools sells tools under a variety of house brands with American-sounding names though most are made in China, such as Chicago Electric, Drill Master, Central Machinery, Central Pneumatic, U.S. General, and Pittsburgh Tools.

I've only bought a few things there (the store is far away, in a bad neighborhood - go figure), but $.99 for a pushstick that will eventually get eaten by the table saw blade? Why not.