Harbor Freight- the Rodney Dangerfield of Tools

[greg Forster]

Back in the 90s,I was a tool snob... Bosch, Senco, lots of Milwaukee
and gray Black and Decker tools. Craftsman?- only in a pinch(I did like
their 25' tapes).

But for the last 5 years, I have been buying ...Harbor Freight tools.

Just purchased the Floor Nailer a few weeks back, $111.00 out the door
with my 20% coupon; used it this afternoon for the first time, 200 sqft 1x6 yellow
pine flooring for my workshop and performed like a champ, air supplied by a HF
compressor I bought two years ago.

One caveat, I never use HF fasteners (once was enough);
I buy Bostich, etc.

[Frederick Skelly]

Seems to depend on what you buy. I've had power tools that were just fine for occasional use. OTOH, I bought and immediately returned one of their combo squares - it was 1/8" off, right out of the package. But there are lists out there of "HF jems". Seems to be hit and miss.

[Jim Dwight]

I have their flooring nailer and used it to put down about 800 square feet of Hickory prefinished flooring. Hickory is harder than oak and the HF sunk the nails into subfloor that was often 1 inch or more thick just fine. I have a narrow crown stapler that will not shoot the 1.5 inch staples it is supposed to be able to handle, however. I have one of their big 10A hammer drills that I've used as a demolition hammer to remove a chimney and about 8 feet of brick wall so far (also poked a few holes with it). I have a cordless 1/2 impact wrench that we used to drive 3/8 lag screws (no pilot hole) when replacing the floats on my dock. I also have a tool roll in the back of my BMW convertible filled with their hand tools. I get something useless there on occasion but I have never even bothered to take it back. The vast majority of what I've gotten has done the work of tools costing 2-3 times as much. (from what I read, I would be leery of the sliding compound miter saws unless you want to do a lot of fine tuning, however). I would be leery in general of their tools where high precision is required and expect a little worse fit and finish on occasion but I think their stuff is generally a great buy. I like my "nice tools" but I use HF often.

I think Ryobi is a bit the same way and is generally better than HF. Ryobi makes some junk but they also made my BT3100 table saw, my R-500 plunge router, my AP-10 planner and a bunch of 18V cordless tools I use all the time.

My theory on tools is to buy tools which are good enough for what I am doing. I only have one Festool (their hand sander that hooks to a vacuum) and it was a gift. I don't have a problem with people spending more money than I do on tools and I agree the nicer brands sometimes are a nicer tool but who needs a fancy hammer drill, for instance. A hole poked in concrete by my $100 HF is the same hole a $500 Hilti would make. Maybe if I did it all day I would appreciate the Hilti but I doubt it. Hammer drills are kind of hard on the user regardless of how they are made.

[glenn bradley]

There were and still are diamonds in the rough at HF. Thanks for sharing your "finds" so that others can benefit.

[Stan Calow]

They've figured out that many people only need (and pay for) a tool that will last for awhile, not to be handed down to grandchildren.

[Mike Heidrick]

I have a 24" deep top and bottom 56" wide HF tool box that I have $1100 into and i've yet to see any new $1100 tool box be as nice as that one is. The 72" verson might just be the bottom of my next workbench. Also the hydraulic knock out kit is sweet and uses all my greenlee punches. Another fav is my hf autodarkening welding helmet.

[Sam Murdoch]

I bought their Chicago Electric multi-tool for less than I paid for the 3 blades - http://www.harborfreight.com/power-t...ing-tools.html

I have truly worked it very hard - some might say I beat the crap out of it. It is showing no signs of fatigue. This coming from a "only the best" type of tool user. I could complain about the short cord and the loud noise and the case that couldn't be any smaller and still store the tool - BUT for $ 32.00 minus 20% with a coupon - and 2 years + of hard use I won't.

Still - it's the only HF tool I have had the courage to buy since my very early tool buying years (some 30+ years ago).

Maybe I'm missing out.

[Brian Henderson]

They've figured out that many people only need (and pay for) a tool that will last for awhile, not to be handed down to grandchildren.

But why would you care about handing tools down to grandchildren? My father bought tools to use, not to pass down to me. Sure, I got a bunch of his tools after he died, but that was not his intent. He also never bought tools as an "investment". They are utilitarian. They do a job. People need to stop pretending they're art. My tools aren't intended to be handed down to my children or grandchildren after I die either. I couldn't care less. I'll be dead.

[Jim Finn]

I bought two 6"x48" stationary belt sanders from Harbor freight to replace the two Ryobi four inch ones. The Ryobi sanders worked well but I needed 6" width. The HF sanders cost me $199 and $169. They are the most used tools in my shop. I do not use their sand paper though.

[Mike Cutler]

I have a few of their tools and to be honest, have been pretty happy with them. They wouldn't hold up to constant use, but for occasional, around the house, use they seem to be fine. I have the following;
Aluminum low profile racing jack.
Hydraulic lift cart.
6' aluminum ramps.
Two, 1 ton chain falls.

[Terry Hatfield]

I have several things from HF that have been great.

Aluminum racing jacks
Aluminum ATV lift
Red 5 drawer tool cart
42" tool box
4 1/2" Heavy duty grinders
Electric sheet metal shears
Portable band saw
Hydraulic cable crimpers
Clear top plastic hardware storage boxes
Heat gun
Welder cart
3" pneumatic polisher
Western Safety mechanics gloves
Nitrile gloves
Assorted dead blow hammers
12v battery maintainers
1" orange crank straps
Oscillating multi tool
Tool box drawer liners
Pancake air compressor
Interlocking floor mats
Assorted flash lights -- free with coupon
Scissors -- free with coupon
5x7 blue tarps -- free with coupon
Stubby metric and sae wrenches

The not good list is things like sandpaper, electrical wire, clamps, welding wire and hardware. I also did not like the auto-darkening welding helmet but lots of people like it.

[Ole Anderson]

I am redoing my pool table and needed to staple the cloth to the poplar slate liner and the oak rails. I tried a $39 electric stapler with 1/4" T50 staples, wouldn't come close to seating them in the Oak. Took it back to HD and bought the under $30 HF air stapler, works like a charm with the pressure dialed down to 40 psi! Shot about 500 staples without a jam.

[Brian Henderson]

I am redoing my pool table and needed to staple the cloth to the poplar slate liner and the oak rails. I tried a $39 electric stapler with 1/4" T50 staples, wouldn't come close to seating them in the Oak. Took it back to HD and bought the under $30 HF air stapler, works like a charm with the pressure dialed down to 40 psi! Shot about 500 staples without a jam.

Their air tools tend to be real performers, I've had a couple and they go up against any of my more expensive guns just fine.

[Peter Kelly]

Nitrile gloves

^ One thing I happily buy at HF. The display area at the one in Brooklyn has many sizes, thicknesses and box quantities of nitrile gloves. Much better selection than the 99% of most other stores. From what I've bought, the quality has been very good.

[Mike Heidrick]

I am redoing my pool table and needed to staple the cloth to the poplar slate liner and the oak rails. I tried a $39 electric stapler with 1/4" T50 staples, wouldn't come close to seating them in the Oak. Took it back to HD and bought the under $30 HF air stapler, works like a charm with the pressure dialed down to 40 psi! Shot about 500 staples without a jam.

I also recently bought a T50 pneumatic stapler - $19 at Farm and Fleet. It works fantastic. Using it on my batt insulation install.

Also a fan of the HF nitrile gloves and recently saw they carry 10mil thick ones - those are thicker than the current box I have. Will try those next time.