Opinion On Harbor Freight Tools

[Michael Koga]

before Christmas there was a sign outside my HF saying they were hiring. Thought about it for a few minutes, love tools. Then I realized if a customer asked me about the quality of the tools I probably couldn't keep a straight face or live with myself..... :-/

[steven c newman]

Oh, no worries there. NOBODY asks that kind of question in the store. The main questions a clerk in H-F answers concerns Refunds. Be prepared to answer any questions about coupons as well. Quality? Ah, no, most people that go IN there, already know about that. It is the ones who stand outside the store, or never go in, that have a question about "Quality".

Currently using a Dremel Wannabe from H-F to clean my handplanes with. Yes it bogs down, gets warm. It is telling me to slow down a little, that's all. Have I "killed" it yet? No. If I go out and abuse it, just to kill it, so I can talk bad about H-F quality, yes it will croak. I DON"T abuse my tools, though. So this little $10 Dremel Wannabe will last a long time. I HAD a corded Dremel, for about a day. Fired it up to check it out, ran great. Put a bit in it to clean rust of a frog bolt, smoke came out of the "real" Dremel. Went to H-F, they had a sale going on. 80 piece set, with the Wannabe included. Haven't "smoked" it yet.... ( wore out a bunch of the "80 piece" bits, though) Mileage may vary, when looking down one's nose....

[John Piwaron]

My opinion. (meaning it's worthless) HF is mostly junk. some stuff seems o.k., but not all. Tap & Die sets - junk. little furniture dolly - o.k. 1/2" drill - junk. Appliance dolly, o.k. So far.

If I go into the local HF store I wear a paper bag over my head. (just kidding)