Harbor Freight 'forum'?

[herb fellows]

I think we can all pretty much agree that Harbor Freight sells just about everything, mostly at cheaper prices than name brand, and certainly in varying quality.
What got me thinking about this was a recent post about the 'purple' nail guns from HF. I spent a pretty fair amount of money buying Porter Cable guns, as they had good reviews in general. After reading the discussion about the HF guns, I wonder if I might have saved a few bucks or more by getting the HF guns.
Has anyone here ever compiled a list of what they consider to be superior products sold by HF?
As we can all stand to save a few bucks these days, I was wondering if it would be productive to have members send in info about a product from HF that was reasonably priced to cheap, compared to similar products made by the name brand companies, and either by known comparison (they have owned or do own the name brand product) or just general knowledge about how well a certain product should be expected to perform, would recommend buying the HF product.
Just a decent description of the product, maybe 1-3 sentences extolling its virtues, and any down side found in its use. Also, how long you have owned the product and how much you use it, of course. Maybe a bit about 'good for someone who rarely uses this product' as opposed to someone who uses it every day/week.
The two things that drive me crazy are someone down rating a product on Amazon because of a shipping problem, and someone even bothering to rate a product they have only owned for 2 days! It's fine to say 'it looks well made, I'll get back to ya', but to try to convince someone else to buy it based on that is insane!
Maybe set it up as a 'permanent thread'(?) or a forum all it's own?
As another forum member is fond of saying,'just my two cents!"
I wasn't sure where to post this, so feel free to move it to the correct forum if I'm wrong.

[LCHIEN]

there are lots of HF discussions already in tool talk.
Check out the ones on the best of HF and the worst of HF, and look up any other HF tools by name, pn or description.

[herb fellows]

Yes, I know there are plenty of discussions here and there on HF, my point was to organize them into a cohesive area. If I'm in the market for, say, a circular saw, I think it would be advantageous to be able to go to a specific place to see what the opinion about the HF model was.
When you say 'the best of hf', exactly where is this? If I put Harbor Freight in the search box I get 11 pages of stuff, and 'best of' and 'worst of' yielded no results.
How exactly do I get to those 2 areas?

[Gator95]

Isn't there a list of "Harbor Freight Gems" somewhere? Can someone who remembers on what forum archive that was post a link?

[geminix]

Here's a couple of threads that should be helpful:

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=37368
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread.php?t=18615

[sweensdv]

Herb, here's my list of some of the stuff that I bought at Harbor Freight that I would buy again;

#40073 Pneumatic ¼" Crown Stapler
#44914 Trim Router
#45378 2HP Dust Collector
#46365 Pneumatic ½" Crown Stapler
#93656 23 gauge Pin Nailer
#0623 1" Dial Indicator
##5645 Magnetic Base
#5926 Featherboard
#33279 Pushstick
#36697 Featherboard
#94138 Metal Detector
#44566 Dado Blade Set#36842 High Volume Air Duster Gun
#41891 Tire Inflator
#42986 Bench Grinder Pedestal Stand
6" thru 18" Bar Clamps
#4067 3-Way Edge Clamp
#31255 ¾" Pipe Clamp (The last ones I bought weren't as good as older ones.)
#36221 9" Drill Press Lock Clamp
#37861 SAE T-Handle Hex Key Set
#37862 Metric T-Handle Hex Key Set
#47257 6" Digital Caliper
#90007 SAE Ratcheting Wrench Set
#90008 Metric Ratcheting Wrench Set
#42305 Metric Box Wrench Set
#95746 Support/Cargo Bar
#659 Magnetic Parts Holder
#3163 Hand Truck Dolly
#42288 Magnet Pick-Up Tool
#40187 Anti-Fatigue Mat
#43768 Noise Reduction Ear Muffs
Various Styles Of Tie Down Straps
#96238 Toggle Clamp

There are other products that I've gotten at HF that I've been happy with but the above are the ones that I was most impressed with. Of course individual usage will be a big factor in this equation but, for around the house and hobbyist usage, these have served me well.

[LinuxRandal]

I don't have a link, but Woodnet used to have a Harbor Freight Gem list.

[LCHIEN]

Yes, I know there are plenty of discussions here and there on HF, my point was to organize them into a cohesive area. If I'm in the market for, say, a circular saw, I think it would be advantageous to be able to go to a specific place to see what the opinion about the HF model was.
When you say 'the best of hf', exactly where is this? If I put Harbor Freight in the search box I get 11 pages of stuff, and 'best of' and 'worst of' yielded no results.
How exactly do I get to those 2 areas?

Worst of...
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...ghlight=harbor

one of the "Best of":
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...hlight=freight

I admit it takes a bit of searching.
i had the best results when I set number of replies in thread more than 15, and searched for Best, Freight and worst, Freight
There's some more threads, too.

http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...ht=gems+harbor
http://www.bt3central.com/showthread...r+freight+gems

[poolhound]

Herb,

I think you have a good point. While I agree with Loring that the information is out there, being able to organize some of the more searched for threads into a more logical structure would help us all and especially new members.

Question for Sam and/or moderators....

Currently there is only one level under "forums" does the software allow for sub levels? For example under Tool Talk we could organize by either type or brand.

[Uncle Cracker]

I don't think anything sold by HF is superior, unless you derive that definition from cheaper price alone. I prefer to think that HF works best when a "superior" product just isn't necessary.

[jhart]

I just set up a "Social Group" for HF Stuff. Click on quick links at the top of the page and click on social groups.

[Hoover]

I have this in my bookmarks: http://woodworkerszone.com/wiki/inde...r_Freight_Gems

[poolhound]

Speaking of HF has anybody seen any money or % off coupons lately, I cant recall the last time I got one in the mail?

[JR]

Speaking of HF has anybody seen any money or % off coupons lately, I cant recall the last time I got one in the mail?

Nope. I checked my flier this week. No soap.

JR

[herb fellows]

Thanks to all for your input. Point taken, Uncle Cracker! I only meant it in a relative sense, such as 'for 20 bucks, when a PC model costs 100 bucks, this is a good deal.'
As you say, their products are most often a good deal when they don't have to stand up to rigorous use.
Sometimes you don't need the most accuracy, sometimes you don't need longevity, sometimes the most convenient product might charge so much for that 'convenience', it's simply not worth it.