Hey...I want to get some opinions on the quality of hand tools that any of you guys have purchased from Harbor Freight...was browsing through one of their stores the other day and saw several good deals on some hand tools I could use,most of them seemed to be made by Pittsburgh.

Thx...Appreciate any comments.

 

I have bought a few things from harbor freight, and generally, you get what you pay for. I use them when I need a tool for special duty that I will generally only need a few times at the most.

FOr most hand tools I would just rather get them at sears for the lifetime craftsman warranty. I borke a ratchet and a socket and you just walk in and they replace it. I would expect harbor freight stuff to hold up over the long run.

 

I buy HF tools once in a while. Things like pliers, sockets, breaker bar, rubber gloves to work on my car etc. I also bought one of their floor jacks for the garage (not the aluminum). The only problem I've had in 4 years is it lost a part that holds the wheel in place. I bought a replacement for about $5 shipped.

I bought their torque wrench for about $15 so I can have an extra one laying around the garage. I don't use it for very important jobs as some people say the calibration is not very spot on. Lots of ppl who track or autox their cars buy their trailer to carry extra wheels and tool boxes.

If you plan to buy a big item, you can sign up for email specials online. Once in a while they will send you a 20% off coupon. You get what you pay for, but I find that overall I got my money's worth, even if a part fails after a few years But sockets, open wrenches etc. hardly ever fail. And even Craftsman torque wrenches (I have one too) don't have a lifetime warranty because it has moving parts.

 

What you should buy depends on how much you will use it. Cheap Chinese junk is OK for occasional use.

I gave our son-in-law a Harbor Freight set of air tools and told him to replace anything that wears out or breaks with a decent quality tool. If he doesn't wear it out or break it, he is not using it enough to justify having a decent one.

A few years after that he was fed up with his junk floor jack so we got him a professional grade floor jack. No Harbor Freigh in that Christmas.

 

HF tools are okay; they're not as bad as some people make 'em out to be. They have the low-end and high-end tools too. The more high-end tools I bought from them seem to be of very good quality and have lasted a long time thus far. Best of all, they're more affordable than the other brand names.

I'm actually going their later to buy some Monkey hooks, or advertised on TV as Hercules hooks, to hang frames on the wall.

 

i have a big socket set i got for christmas one year, thats the one i bring with me to work, and i've never had a problem with them, i also have some specialty tool from them to (mainly engine tools) and again no problems,

the only thing i'll tell you to stay away from with them are the power tools, my dad bought a rechargeable drill and the battery literally exploded

 

They aren't bad...but you get what you pay for. One of my buddies had a HF floor press. Was it great? No it wasn't. But it was 10-20% of the cost of anything else. It worked for small jobs (wheel bearings and bushings was about all I saw it used for), could fit in a garage, and cost less than $200. A better press would cost ten times that much and wouldn't fit in a normal garage.

 

if you really use the tools a lot, you'd be better buying something else. I'd personally go with Craftsman for hand tools because of the warrenty. HF hand tools will work but i've known them to break and their power tools definitely do not hold up. if you're buying other things and don't use them too often, you'll probably be fine. but don't be surprised when they break.

 

I have a lot of their specialty tools. They work fine for light use. But I do prefer Sears Craftsman as the sweet spot of price-to-performance.

You can do well at HF if you know what you're buying. They carry a large rolling tool chest set (41" wide IIRC) that is far higher quality than the price suggests (ball bearing slides, heavy gage steel, drawer closure detents, locks, labels, liners). I've been very happy with that set.

Also bought a couple of their Cen-Tech electronic measuring tools (e.g. caliper, depth gage). They are cheaply made but the measurements are the same as I get with fancy ($$$) Mitutoyo stuff from work.

 

That's exactly my tool philosophy. I don't need high quality Torx bits or a durable 15mm socket. The tools I do use frequently get "upgraded" to something more durable. I don't wrench heavily enough to warrant anything more than Craftsman.