Harbor Freight sells GARBAGE

Not only you need to be smart in selecting which items to buy and not to buy.
You must also know when to buy. If you are on their mailing list, you will get
further discount when you use their flyer, I believe 10 or 20% on any items on
their shelves.

>I buy stuff at HF. Stuff that I will either use lightly, or stuff that is

>lower in price, and of comparable quality as other goods. Some of their

>stuff shines in its performance, others not. The trick is to be smarter

>than the tools, and know what you're doing, and whether you need a $40

>chisel when a $5 HF one will do as well for this one job.

>Steve

Posted by jeffreydesign on August 3, 2007, 10:29 pm

I needed to put in a bamboo floor (T&G) and I checked what a rental
for a pneumatic nailer would be. $50/day and I knew it would take me
3-4 days to do the job (yeah, I'm slow, but I'm fussy.) I went to HF,
bought the nailer on sale for $125 - (including nails!) it worked
flawlessly and I still have the tool in the garage if I ever need to
do a repair on the floor. If I had rented, I would've had to use a
well-used nailer and I would've had to buy proprietary nails from the
rental joint (not available anywhere else) for triple the cost of what
HF sold me mine for. Sure, HF sells some junk - and often you get what
you pay for - but their "cheap" tools have got me through many jams I
could not have otherwise afforded to resolve. Some hand tools I buy
from MAC - but even they break! (I have also returned both Craftsman
and Snap on sockets and wrenches that I have broken) but in general
they are also worth what I paid for them. It's not just a matter of
the tools being cheap, it's a matter of using the tool properly and
maybe cheap tools are a little less forgiving in that respect.

I also bought a fold-up utility trailer (made in China) which has been
TERRIFIC (and fun to put together too.) I don't expect it to be super
heavy duty and I am careful with it - but for less than $300, what do
you expect? It serves the purpose and folds up and rolls into my
garage neatly.

Posted by Esther & Fester Bestertester on August 1, 2007, 12:59 pm

> Harbor Freight sells GARBAGE tools.

*Of course* they do. That's why we go! If you don't need "top quality" tool
(I bought a rubber mallet there -- how much can you expect from it? It's
still going (c: ), they're a great deal!

FBt

Posted by terry on August 2, 2007, 3:17 pm

On Aug 1, 1:31 am, oooo...@ooooooooo.com wrote:

> Harbor Freight sells GARBAGE tools. Unless you enjoy tossing money in

> the garbage, DO NOT buy from them.

Blanket condemnation like that doesn't make sense.
The answer is probably 'yes'. Some of it might be junky.
But when you (we) buy 'anything' we must use our knowledge and
judgment of what it will be used for, how often, how heavily and how
much we are willing to pay.
For example:
We have an commercial 230 volt electric drill purchased in 1953. Works
fine, electric cord still good, the Jacobs chuck is strong etc. Built
a couple of houses with it but otherwise its received fairly light
use. But it cost, even back then a weeks salary.
Recently my son gave me a dandy little lightweight electric
screwdriver (about 10 bucks) for taking screws out of radios. Light
usage I'd guess and if it lasts five years will be satisfied.
So you gotta know what you are buying; and talking about!

Posted by on August 2, 2007, 3:35 pm

> On Aug 1, 1:31 am, oooo...@ooooooooo.com wrote:

> > Harbor Freight sells GARBAGE tools. Unless you enjoy tossing money in

> > the garbage, DO NOT buy from them.

> Blanket condemnation like that doesn't make sense.

> The answer is probably 'yes'. Some of it might be junky.

> But when you (we) buy 'anything' we must use our knowledge and

> judgment of what it will be used for, how often, how heavily and how

> much we are willing to pay.

> For example:

> We have an commercial 230 volt electric drill purchased in 1953. Works

> fine, electric cord still good, the Jacobs chuck is strong etc. Built

> a couple of houses with it but otherwise its received fairly light

> use. But it cost, even back then a weeks salary.

> Recently my son gave me a dandy little lightweight electric

> screwdriver (about 10 bucks) for taking screws out of radios. Light

> usage I'd guess and if it lasts five years will be satisfied.

> So you gotta know what you are buying; and talking about!

I agree with Walter. I'm sure a lot of what they sell isn't well
suited to heavy use by tradesmen. However, for the price, if they
have what you need for light occasional use, they are a great
source. If you're expecting top notch goods for a low end price,
then I think you have unreasonable expectations.

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