I LOVE Harbor Freight Tools (sarcasm)

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J

Judge Mills

1971 Plymouth Duster
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Broke on me while trying to fix my power steering pump line.... I GIVE UP!:cheers:

vise.jpg
 
CrazyPete said:
been there more than once go buy a sears 6" vise ivehad mine for years
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I've got a 20 year old (maybe older) Sears vise that I use all the time. One time it pissed me off, I whacked it with a hammer. It laughed at me. and it still works. That thing will still be going strong when I'm long gone...
 
I only buy Harbor Freight when it is a tool I don't plan to use much. A lot of my body work tools are Harbor Freight and Homier brand since I only plan to use them once. However, I have a 2 1/2 ton jack I got from Harbor Freight 20 years ago that is still going strong. I also had a steering wheel puller from them that lasted twice. Its hit or miss with a lot of their stuff, but so far I've had pretty good luck.
 
Yeah... it was one of those things where I never had one before, and I needed it for a specific project (new U-joint) and didn't want to shell out some $$ for a decent one... it partially broke on that job... Today it broke all the way... Now I have to go to Sears, which is what I should have done in the first place!
 
Why buy it twice. Spend the extra and get something good the first time.
(Especially if it's a tool you plan on using often and keeping forever)
toolmanmike
 
Cheap and disposable, I mainly have them in my junk yarding bag.
 
It is starting to look like you are just hard on stuff. LOL

But ya harbor freight tools are just chinese junk.
 
IF you look closely, the flaring tool is pot metal... Ugh..... What's funny is a barely put any pressure on EITHER tool.... I swear, I'm not a body builder :D

It's all chinese junk... They only good tools I have are my Craftsman sockets...
 
Harbor Freight is known for carrying the cheapest of the cheap Chinese garbage. If you really search through the store you can find some quality stuff but it`s few and far between. I`ve found a good place to buy a bench vise is on Ebay or Craigslist. Just search for an old Wilton or the like. Shipping can be high if you`re buying off of Ebay but you`ll be amazed how good a 50+ year old vise can be. Those old vises are virtually indestructable.
 
Longgone said:
Harbor Freight is known for carrying the cheapest of the cheap Chinese garbage. If you really search through the store you can find some quality stuff but it`s few and far between. I`ve found a good place to buy a bench vise is on Ebay or Craigslist. Just search for an old Wilton or the like. Shipping can be high if you`re buying off of Ebay but you`ll be amazed how good a 50+ year old vise can be. Those old vises are virtually indestructable.
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Yeah, the shipping would kill me, but maybe i'll be able to find something close.... I love the ones at work.. OLD and HUGE and work every time :D
 
Of course Harbor Freight is cheap...the prices alone will tell you that. But, they do have an excellent return policy. I've had a few items of their self-destruct and replaced them with no questions. It all depends on if you want a tool you can pass down to your children, or one you might be able to make last one job.
 
Yeah, like I said, was just using it for one job, wasn't expecting much out of it.. Though I did expect more than two jobs, haha... Unfortunately, Harbor Freight is an hour and a half drive for me... It'll probably just get tossed...
 
Hey, some of their stuff isn't bad, though...I picked up one of their $12.95 torque wrenches and it's worked decently for a couple years now as a breaker bar/lug wrench.
 
Wilton vises will survive a nuclear blast. Great stuff but priced like gold when new.

Like everyone says 98% of HF stuff is crap but if you look around, deals can be had.

I've had good luck with the following:

4" Angle grinder. I bought it 3 years ago for 15.95 and it's still running hard!? It vibrates more than my DeWalt grinder but it's nice to have for quick switches between grinding & sanding

Pneumatic die grinder. I lube it every time before I use it and it still works. 4 yrs. old. 10 bucks.

Bench top drill press. 29.99 still cooking along after 4 yrs of abuse.

Welding clamps and magnets. Why spatter up a nice "Vise-grip" brand?

Dental picks and mirrors. Super cheap.

Everything else is crap.
 
Sears/Craftsman is junk also Judge Mills. I wont shop there at all. Everything I purchased there in the last 5 years either broke or was missing items when opened. It's not your fathers Craftsman anymore. When the first thing they ask at the checkout is "would you like to purchase the extended warranty" that's a big red flag. Luckily all my stuff broke within the warranty period. I check pawn shops and yard sales for all my deals. Especially on the vise.
 
I've heard that the HF lawn gnomes work as well as the competitor's ones. And occasionally they'll have an odd tool that you won't see elsewhere. I've had good luck with their handsaws, as well as their cordless rotary tool...makes my life much simpler since I travel a lot.
 
Well, since the neighbor kid has sticky fingers I buy all my tools from HF. Haven't lost any since I started doing that. And they do have a good return policy. At least the one here in Reno does. Not sure about the others. Mike
 
I use some of their stuff for our landscape truck tool bag since they get lost, i always buy a new Spray gun from there to paint the dump bed and stuff like that, so i dont have to worry if they dont work later, my car fixin tools that is diffrent
 
I only shop at garage sales and flea markets. I am always on the lookout for "old" craftsman, klein, proto, S&K, and of course matco and snap-on.
 
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