Harbor Freight Opinions

[sscherin]

I've had good and bad luck with HF tools.

46309 Brad Nailer.. A great Tool. No complaints

45378 2hp Dust Collector.. Replace the bags with a Filter and you are good to go..
The motor will trip smaller breakers on startup.. Go with a 20a circuit. Can not be converted to 220v

94520 Micro Plane Set.. After sharpening the blades they work great until the glue holding the wood to the brass fails. Blades will not hold an edge for long.

46809 Quick Grip Bar clamps.. I'm ok with mine but I save the tough jobs for the Jorginson bar clamps..

90320 13 Drawer 44" Rolling tool cabinet.. No complaints other than trying to get a 300lb crate out of my Suburban alone..

93981 4" x 36" BELT/6'' DISC Sander.. The Disc table mount sucks making the miter useless..
Good for what I bought it for. sanding Balsa and lite ply for R/C Airplanes.

47257 6" Digital Caliper.. Good tool.. I also have a Digital Dial indicator but it's no longer listed

1903 7 piece Forstner Bit set.. a bit dull.. My Freud and Rockler Forstners are much better.

30999 4" Drill Press vice.. It holds stuff..

43430 HVLP GRAVITY FEED SPRAY Gun.. OK for the small jobs I've done so far.
Had some problems taking it apart for cleaning the first time..

[LarryG]

There's only one Pittsburgh with an H, and the stuff at Harbor Freight ain't it!

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=31255

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=37848

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=37848

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=46742

Etc.

I understand that the stuff is made in China. But their copyrighted trade name is still spelled "Pittsburgh."

[JimD]

I also have the HF trailer with 12 inch wheels. It took a long time to bolt togther but works well.

I think the digital dial caliper is good but it eats batteries. Stock up or get a non-digital. I switched to a fractional unit that is not digital.

Bar clamps are good. Jack stands seem fine. Floor jack is worth the money but the pressure release has gotten difficult to move smoothly. Deadblow mallets are a great deal. Hammers in general have been fine for me. Screwdrivers are so cheap at a buck a piece it isn't worth walking across the shop for them, just buy enough to have them each place you need one (and they seem fine). Hose reel for compressor works well but also took awhile to put together. Nitrile gloves are fine. Utility knife blades are fine. Quick connects for air hoses are not so great IMHO. I have better luck with more expensive ones from Lowes. Trigger tool with a gauge for filling car tires is great - won't stay on valve stem but still saves a bunch of time. Flush cutting saw works surprisingly well. Angled electric drill has worked well the few times I've used it. Filter/Dessicant for air lines work well.

Most of their stuff is worth more than you pay. A few are not worth much of anything but the odds are pretty good.

Jim

[Hoover]

I shop at the HF in Everett, Wa. They are almost always out of clamps, and dead blow hammers. By reading this forum, and reading buyers opinions, there are some true gems at Harbor Freight. I have noticed that prices on the bandsaw, dust collector, and some drill presses are edging their way up. It is getting tougher to find real gems at low prices, but I won't give up trying.