Harbor Freight - what sucks and what doesn't list

arceeguy

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Since we all like to tinker with mechanical things like our motorized bikes, and do it on a "low budget" - I thought it would be helpful to post which tools sold at HFT are good, and which ones are not.

I have found that most of the tools are OK if you are not a professional contractor/mechanic that depends on them every day - but there are some items that aren't worth the shipping from China. There's a reason why some have nicknamed them "horror freight". When I placed my first catalog order from them several years ago, they were "Harbor Freight Salvage". Where did the "salvage" go? I can risk $25 on a 4.5" grinder, but I wouldn't trust a HFT pacemaker!

Post your experiences both good and bad!

Also - let's not get into China bashing. It's all about getting cool tools cheap. For example, a HFT auto feed wire welder for 90 bucks can get a fellow MB enthusiast making custom frames where they wouldn't be able to afford the $500 Miller or Lincoln.


The Good-

Central Pneumatics 2HP pancake compressor. - I've had mine for several years now. It is oil lubricated with cast iron cylinder. Great for dusting things off with compressed air, and to run small air tools. I even run my IR 230C impact gun with it. (in short bursts, enough to knock off lug nuts with ease!) Can be had for $89 on sale.

4.5" Grinder - Had mine for about 5 years. It hasn't failed me yet! Gearbox is noisy, but my buddies Home Depot Ryobi is worse.

Bench Grinder w/flex shaft - I use this one a lot. I had to replace the brushes already! (it is about 3 years old)

3/8" butterfly impact wrench - Great for automotive work. Knocking off oil drain plugs, caliper bolts, etc. Small enough to fit in most spots, powerful enough to break small fasteners (less than 15mm bolt head) loose.

Electronic Fly Swatter - yep, this one is silly, but they had a pile of them on sale for $2.99. Kills flies and yellow jackets with a hearty "SNAP" and a bright blue spark.

Engine cleaning gun - add compressed air with some detergent mix and end up with a sparkling clean engine. (cars, lawn mowers, etc.) Works great on alloy rims blasting away brake dust with ease. I do have to crank up my 220V compressor to run it continuously, as the little HFT compressor cannot keep up.

6.5 HP Horizontal Shaft Engine - we beat the living carp out of these Honda GX clones and they keep coming back for more. Disable the governor, and keep it under 5000RPM! The ones I've purchased had the "Central Machinery" brand and were made by Lifan in China - a large motorcycle/scooter manufacturer. "Greyhound" is a new trade name for HFT. I have one of their new 2.5HP engines, but haven't powered anything with it yet. (it is going on a rack mount motorized bike project)

The Bad -

1/2" drive impact extension set - The metal is too soft and considerable energy is lost in the extension and not applied to the nut or bolt you are trying to hammer off. My Craftsman impact extensions are hard enough to transfer the power, yet not shatter like a standard extension would. The HFT set is the one I will loan out. :devil2: (Golden Rule #1 - Never loan out tools you actually want back!)

Anything cordless. (and less than say $35) The chargers are most likely overnight trickle chargers, the batteries self discharge in a week, the motors are not too powerful.

1/2" Drive Electric Impact Wrench - Rated at 240 lb/ft, I doubt it exceeds 120 lb/ft. Very disappointed. Another one to loan out. :)

1/2" Drive Impact Wrench - This one is kind of a toss up. For 20 bucks did I really expect it to deliver 250 lb/ft of torque? It doesn't, but I do use it quite a bit. I'll pull out the Ingersoll Rand impact if this one doesn't have the balls to do the job.
 
For buffin' cars, I have a Porter Cable 7424 DA Sander/Buffer. Some things are best left to better tools, and not HFT specials! This one is a good example IMO.
 
I had one of those as well along with my Black and decker...both stolen.....I cant bring myself to buy either one again since I agonized for a couple of years over buying each one.........only to have them both (and most of everything else on the long list I mentioned) stolen, along with my home theater system, a 30 pound bottle of freon (New) all my new tools for Habitat for Humanity home building (that ticked me off more than anything).......my no longer living parent's antique ceiling fan. and much more.....
 
I never fully got the hang of buffing. Painting I'm so-so... My body and metal work are supreme tho. If your buffing w/DA, Don't use it on random orbit AG! You want to lock the hub so it spins concentric or in other words perfectly circular!!!

Oh, the honest mistakes I've seen in my time!!! One lady washed her husbands brand new Dodge Dynasty w/ a chore boy brillo pad because a bird Pooped on it! The whole top of the car, hood and decklid!

Another guy tried to polish his Dad's 69 Vet w/linseed oil!

Yet another, my favorite... 3 Y.O. Targa Carrera brought to K-mart for a flat tire. Guy was out of town and they were the only place open. A kid was working another job and set a huge ballpean hammer on the air filter. Why they were under the hood is still a mystery but the perfect impression it made when the next guy didn't notice and slammed the hood was unmistakable! The perfect outline!!! My boss was so good he got the dent out without a spot of putty!
 
I never fully got the hang of buffing. Painting I'm so-so... My body and metal work are supreme tho. If your buffing w/DA, Don't use it on random orbit AG! You want to lock the hub so it spins concentric or in other words perfectly circular!!!

The PC 7424 is suited for amateurs like me. Because of the DA motion, it would be pretty hard to "burn" the paint. Unfortunately, since my cars are all pretty old, when you buff and polish the paint all of the little dings stick out like a sore thumb. I don't think there is an option to lock the hub anyway. I think it was originally meant to be a DA sander, but auto enthusiasts started using them for detailing. I had to buy a different counterweight so I could use the foam buffing pads without shaking my arms off.

And to keep on topic - more decent Harbor Freight Tools:


6" composite calipers

Often on sale for $6.99, it is great to have around the shop. (when you don't want to risk your $15.99 HFT aluminum digital calipers. lol
 
Don't get me wrong, and your right, it will polish on random orbit (better for wax)! To rub or buff, way better locked up like a grinder. There's a fine line where you can walk a buffer. You actually remelt the surface of the paint for a second! Thats what gives the shine!!!... I've burnt many a finger nails holding pieces for my old boss. I still never got the hang the way he can!

Calipers, I'm sure have come a long way in the past 10yrs. Mines about 15 y.o. composite and made in China.

That's a fine example of what we talk about right there AG... Why can't AG and Mort make them here for profit? Composite = EPA certs. for company + labor (1/4 in China) + free electric + minnimal taxes= Mort and AG out of business competition before we even start. What's worse is even if we were to make the very best, by the time we hit an overseas market, we'd be tarriffied the hek out of! Sorry to get off topic.

Paying creedance a HF 99C tarp saved the day yesterday!
 
I just bought the cheap HF gear puller to yank the pulley off the end of my salvaged motor's crankshaft....Worked great.
I picked up one of the 3.99 (on sale!) hole-saw kits and it's worked pretty well, but the drill bit has a tendency to go off-center a bit. It's just held in with a set-screw.
 
Good Q for AG. Bought a HF compressor/airbrush set up a while back. The compressor keeps spitting water into the air line creating mayhiem w/ my paint. Is there any reliable filter for moisture that you know of? Should I build a holding tank out of a 3L bottle? Compressor only puts out @60 psi...
 
Thanks AG...

What I forgot to mention is that the thread sizes are totally unadaptable with anything I've ever seen or could find in any hardware store arround here!!!

When I "MADE" a fitting for my bigger airbrush to run off the comp. I melted a nylon bushing with my propane torch inorder to match the thread sizes. After threading the bushing, I drilled a hole for the air to get through!
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=95630
This is almost identical to the one I have, except mine only goes to 50 -60psi. Just seen a filiter that connects to the bottom of the brush but seems it will get in the way of the paint pot! I'll come up with something! Overall I must say I'm impressed with the brush and the only problem I've had is loss of seals (O'rings) due to use of clear coat eating them!
 
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