First Time at Harbor Freight

gjz30075 wrote:

ThePhranc wrote: In reply to kreb: They have really stepped up their game lately

Certainly in the customer service dept, that is true. The last several of my visits, the roving clerks actually asked me if I needed any help and for the few times I needed help, they were......helpful....and friendly, too. And when I asked for help (without being asked), they dropped what they were doing and took me to the aisle that had the item I was looking for.

Yup. The HF near me is awesome. The clerks are helpful as is the manager. Quite refreshing for retail.

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Tractor Supply Company is almost worse for me.... i'm always buying lights or tons of bulk hardware. Just.... because.

Tractor Supply smells better than Harbor Freight.

Some of there stuff is awesome for the price, some is crap and some is so cheap you don't care it is crap. I remember at one point they had a coupon for free screwdrivers. I went in there like three times and got sets of screwdrivers. They can be used for screwdrivers, pry bars, etc and if they break you don't care.

Has anyone tried their arbor press?

Woody wrote:

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: Tractor Supply Company is almost worse for me.... i'm always buying lights or tons of bulk hardware. Just.... because.

Tractor Supply smells better than Harbor Freight.

what's wrong with the smell of cosmoline, off-gassing plastic and lead paint? I'd rather smell cosmoline than rabbit chow.....

Tractor Supply... nuts n bolts by the pound FTW

The HF/GRM Rules:

1. Every Harbor Freight tool will eventually be used as a hammer.

2. Never buy anything at HF at regular price.

i've only been there twice, and i don't see what the big deal is.. a bunch of craptastic imported "tools" at garage sale prices.

the first time i was there, i drove by it on accident and wanted to wander around and see if it was the awesome place i'd heard it was.

it wasn't.

the second time i went there i bought a cheap transmission jack just because i had a Ford Explorer clogging up my garage that had a trans that i couldn't get to balance on my floor jack..

Agreed. Much garbage, some OK stuff. I needed a cheap 7-1/2" angle grinder + segmented diamond blade to demolish the tile-over-mortar-on-lath 1948 bathroom in our old house. Harbor Fright was out of those but the 9" monster was on sale so I went for it. I mercilessly abused that thing for that whole job, and proceeded to leave the diamond blade in it and only ever use it for masonry. after a couple years I disassembled it, blew it out, cleaned and lubricated it, and it runs like new. The used to sell black oxide coated combination wrenches that were pretty good. The air tools, compared with good air tools are pretty poor. I did buy their needle scaler as it's not going to see a lot of use. I bough the warranty, so I returned it for a new one when the needles got dull. Warranty was cheaper than a set of needles...

The 20 ton arbor press won't do anything like 20 tons, but it's pretty solid and much, much better than no press at all. It's definitely paid it's way. I recommend it.

I bought the US General 5-drawer rolling tool cart on sale for $125 a couple months ago.

Easily as good as the tool truck units and they don't cost $700.00

Some of the tool boxes are VERY well made and are worth buying. Most of the tools I've seen are junk.

I am very happy with my Pittsburg prybar set, for $7.00, I don't care how long they last. They have taken a beating very well so far. They're not a strike-thru bar like the tool truck units but they don't cost $300 for the set either.

Shawn

Is this HF cordless impact driver worth bothering with? It seems to be cheap enough.

http://www.harborfreight.com/18-volt-12-cordless-impact-wrench-67845.html

kreb wrote:

ThePhranc wrote: They have really stepped up their game lately

Seriously? It'd be great if that was the case. I've always looked at it like this: (relative to proven high-quality tools) -They give you 2/3 the quality at 1/3 the price. -Why not give us all the quality at 2/3 the price?

that's Craftsman's niche. You can buy Snap-On which is full quality at 5x the price, Craftsman with great quality at 2/3 the price, and then HF with 2/3 the quality at 1/3 the price. Just depends on how you use your tools. I have a full set of Craftsman hand tools with some Kobalt and Husky thrown in, but for the stuff I use only a few times a year its all HF - like paint guns, snap ring pliers, piston ring compressors, valvespring tools, polishing wheels, etc.

In reply to curtis73: I agree. Craftsman for tools I use all the time. HF for tools I use sometimes or cant justify the cost of seldom used tools.

That was our theory in the shop too. I wouldn't outfit the entire shop w/ HF. Need it once maybe rent it, need a few times only HF, regular use Craftsman or better.

I worked in one shop where the Super bought all no name equipment and tools to save a buck. The guys hated it and brought their own tools instead. We thought it made the place look tacky and unprofessional.

I am picky about what I will buy anywhere. and often cross shop. For things like furniture dollies, tarps, and in my most recently case, pegboard pegs.. you cannot go wrong with HF

donalson wrote: ... tractor supply company just opened across the street from our harbor freight... the next time I goto HF will hit TSC... going to be trouble... lol

Nuts and bolts by the pound at TSC

Some times you can spend the same money and get better tools elsewhere. I recently bought a nice american made vise at Lowes for the same price as the chinese one from HF.

Two weeks later my 20 plus year old Sears battery charger died and I went to Harbor freight to look for a replacement. All they had was poor quality analog ones, but for the same price I got a nice digital one from Lowes.

Teggsan wrote: Is this HF cordless impact driver worth bothering with? It seems to be cheap enough. http://www.harborfreight.com/18-volt-12-cordless-impact-wrench-67845.html

I bought one a few months ago, so far I've only used it a couple of times but I have no complaints.

93EXCivic wrote: Some of there stuff is awesome for the price, some is crap and some is so cheap you don't care it is crap. I remember at one point they had a coupon for free screwdrivers. I went in there like three times and got sets of screwdrivers. They can be used for screwdrivers, pry bars, etc and if they break you don't care. Has anyone tried their arbor press?

I do this all the time, I think I've gotten about 4 sets of freebies in the last month, I keep a set in the Fiat, i've broken 3 using them as prybars...

Harbor Freight...the only store in the world where you can buy a lathe, beef jerky, socks, and a remote controlled airplane all at once.

Garagejournal forum has a great (long) thread where users review HF tools - which are good and which are crap. It's been a great resource for me.

Any one else have a collection of free flash lights? I'm up to 34.

I don't think i have ANY free flash lights. How do i get some?

92CelicaHalfTrac wrote: I don't think i have ANY free flash lights. How do i get some?

They have coupons online a lot for them.

In reply to 92CelicaHalfTrac:

Coupons. They come in magazines, sundays papers, online, email, facebook.... Also get some freebies for scissors, gloves ( that are never in stock) and screw driver sets.

I don't think i've seen any yet, and i'm even an Inside Track member.