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Tools from harbour freight

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This is a bit off topic but is there a place online that sells Snap-on tools? Or other good quality brands like that?

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www.ebay.com /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
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can't beat that with a stick! (unless the head comes off and that's all you have left)

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LMFAO /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif
 
I have their 20 ton hydraulic press and their second largest sandblasting cabinet, in addition to a shiteload of jackstands. I'm gonna be getting some air tools from them prety quick too. I like their stuff as long as you shop first and know what you're getting into /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
 
I have some harbor freight tools such as their orange handled plier set. I wouldnt trust their combination wrenches or socket sets. I have enough problems with breaking craftsman stuff. Their cresent wrenches do suck but are good enough to put in the truck for the trail. I do have two of their 8 ton hydraulic rams. They seem to be pretty good. They are really handy when working on a lifted truck for things like replaceing engine mounts and such wher a floor jack just wont reach. I have found out something really interesting tool wise. Craftsman has a refurbished tool center that sells all their refurbed tools at about 1/3 of the price of normal. I got an air cut off tool, 1/2 drill, laser circular saw, mouse sander, 14 volt cordless drill, and several other things from there and they have held up great. Most of my tools are craftsman, dewalt, bosch, porter cable, mac, and a few ryobi(10" drill press on sale for $80).

John
 
Got some 4 1/2" cut-off wheels from them that they sell in 10 packs. They work as well as any others I've used at like 1/4 the cost. Got some large drill bits as well, and well they didn't fair so well. The metal was chipping of the bit after a small amount of use, HOWEVER I only need to drill one hole and got a whole set of large size bits for less than the price of one quality bit at Sears or a hardware store /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif

I believe they also sell name brand stuff in their stores too, but I've only been once and didn't have a lot of time to browse. One could go crazy there though, so many tools and widgets haha /forums/images/graemlins/histerical.gif

Oh yeah, and as far as cheap tools go, if you cannot afford better tools I think starting with some of theirs (such as 9.99 grinder) is better than nothing. I mean if its the difference between sitting in front of the TV or being out in the garage, I'd take cheapo anyday. At least you can get a feel for the tool and will really appreciate that better one when you get it someday.
 
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At least you can get a feel for the tool and will really appreciate that better one when you get it someday.

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True dat!
 
all pittsburg hand tools from harbor freight are LIFETIME warranty

you break a socket or wrench you get a new one
for cheap stuff its a great option.

their 300 piece tool set for 139$ on the site is equal to crafts mans 450$ set
i broke 5 crafts rachets last weekend /forums/images/graemlins/dunno.gif so im not too impressed with them latly and their screw drivers suck!

i have a local harbor freight some of the stuff is good some of it isn't,

for instance the 12 ton press every single one has a bent arm the press ram... the 20ton is fine..

they have alot of good buys and they have 2 types or wrenches as far as quality the smooth wrenches seem to be stronger.
 
Like JCW, they have a range. If they have three kinds of tool (x), one at $5, one at $10, and one at $13...

The $13 will be as good as the cheapest Craftsman, which is $18 or $20 at Sears.

The $5 is an absolute piece of crap and shouldn't be considered.

But the $10 is almost as good as the $13, and costs half as much as the cheapest Craftsman.

They are cheap tools, in every sense of the word. If you aren't using them every day -- trail spares or occasoinal use -- they cost sooo much less they're prolly worth it.

You can also find decent deals -- not fantastic ones, but decent -- on "real" stuff. They have frightening Chinese air hoses that occasionally lose ends, which at 100+psi, can be exciting to have stuff flying around. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

They also have the nice Goodyear stuff. Costs 4x as much, but it's still cheaper than Craftsman or Post Tool if there are any of those left, etc.

And somebody said you can go crazy in that store -- I know I do. Sure, it's only $5 for this and $3 for that, but it adds up... granted I don't think I've spent more than $100 at any one time for little stuff I didn't need... but it adds up /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif Just cuz it's cheap doesn't mean I should take it home. (I knew a girl like that once! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif)

-- A
 
HF is great for consumable stuff like paint brushes, cut-off wheeels, etc.

I have often seen their$300 Electric Winch and wondered if it was any good. Of course it won't rival the performance of a $900 Warn, but at that kind of price, it could easily make the difference between owning a winch and walking for assistance. 8000 lbs is a little light, but it should pull a K5 out of a lot of stuff. You can always bring a pulley system, too to get more torque. The line speed is probably slow.

Anybody ever use one of these?
 
My brother bought a small crane from harbour freight a few years ago,the one that bolts on your truck bed--the smaller one without a winch.It had a 2 ton hydraulic bottle jack to do the lifting.We used it about 5 times to load engines and other heavy stuff to the swap meet.The jack started leaking almost immediatly,but still worked ok--he called them and complained about it and they said they would send him a rebuild kit for it,but it was"out of stock"at the moment,and they couldnt say when they would have one available(I guess its hard to get chineese o-rings /forums/images/graemlins/rotfl.gif).After two more calls a few weeks later,they still didnt have the kit,so he said the hell with it and put a peice of square tubing in place of the jack and used a chain falls to pick stuff up.Much to his suprise about a week after,a ups truck pulled up to his door,and he said hey,they must have gotten the kit in--but instead they sent him another complete crane,and the repair kit,free of charge! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.We see those 4.5 inch grinders at swap meets brand new for 5 bucks all the time--I have a few and I use them pretty roughly,havent even had to put the spare set of brushes they give you with it in them yet! /forums/images/graemlins/grind.gif.As for craftsman tools--I think their ratchets are junk now--I have some over 20 years old that work perfectly.The new ones I got in one of those plastic "suitcases" were skipping and stripping right out of the box.And the plastic case sucks too--only the plastic is the hinge,and its ready to break in half already.And when I go back to sears for warranty replacement,I notice the "new"ratchet comes out of a drawer near the cash register most of the time,not off the rack with the other new ones.This makes me beleive they are "rebuilt" or "seconds",not new.Oh,and while I was there another guy had two 3/8 ratchets to return,but I got the last one in that drawer---so the salesman walked over to one of the "suitcase"sets,and robbed them out of that--made me wonder if the set I bought had the same thing happen,and they just put someones stripped one in my set just to sell them /forums/images/graemlins/thinking.gif.I stay away from craftsman ratchets now,my knuckles are bloody enough without them! /forums/images/graemlins/angryfire.gif
 
If you want to save money and still get some good quality tools, just start watching the Sunday paper for Sears flyers. Quite often they have screwdriver sets, socket sets, wrench sets, etc. on sale for 50% off. That's how I outfitted my trail box with good tools. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
harbor frieght is great but you take it for what it is.
only buy huge things or blades and cut off wheels stuff like that and you will be happier than hell.

just like some others have said dont buy normal tools like screwdrivers wrenches and sockets they are cheap crap.

but I admitt I frequent there often and cant remember one time that I didnt have to wait in line for 15 or 20 minutes to check out. meaning they are always busy for a reason /forums/images/graemlins/waytogo.gif
 
alost of you keep saying you would use the cheap tools for trail spares...

Hello!!!!

if you break and want to get home, I shure as hell would like to have reliable tools.. /forums/images/graemlins/deal.gif

S for H.F. I love that place, their dewalt grinding and cutting disk are 1/3 or /2 the price of Home Depot and lows. I also have the cheap rachet wrenches that go up to
1 1/8 make u-bolts easy /forums/images/graemlins/peace.gif
 
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You can also find decent deals -- not fantastic ones, but decent -- on "real" stuff. They have frightening Chinese air hoses that occasionally lose ends, which at 100+psi, can be exciting to have stuff flying around.

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Thats funny, had that happen to a brand new hose I got from Home Depot. The thing is cheap tools are cheap tools no matter where you get them. Most of them probably come from the same factory in China, but how much you pay for them is the difference. HF probably has the best prices on the cheapo tools, although Schucks Auto Parts has some pretty good deals now and then, such as a 2 ton floor jack for 9.99 (good for cars and general stuff, saw a tool set with Mechanics style gloves for 17.99 (gloves alone cost that much). They seem to have weekly specials and really good prices...for cheapo stuff /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Sears ratchet wrenches.... /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif , my 3/8" that came with th "plastic box" set is also junk, wtf? Need to exchange it, however a 3/8" long handle model I got from them off the shelf works fine, and the 1/4" and 1/2" that came with the box set also work fine...why the 3/8" standard wrench sucks, I dunno /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif
 
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if you break and want to get home, I shure as hell would like to have reliable tools..

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Aha! I see that someone else is thinking! /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif I keep good stuff in my trail box and cheap stuff in the garage. It's a hell of alot easier to go get something from the trail box if I break a tool while working in the garage than it is to get back home to get something from the garage if I break a tool while working on a trail 50+ miles from home. /forums/images/graemlins/thumb.gif
 
Mmm, Supersize, you have a good point.

I keep *brand new* cheap ones in the trucks -- they're likely to work for a while, i.e. long enough to fix whatever's broken... and the good ones in the garage, cuz I use those all the time.

On the other hand, there's something to be said for having a known good, if worn, set in the truck too.

And I only have the one good ball-joint press and it goes everywhere with me, after doing a U-joint with no tools under the truck in a Sears parking lot 500 miles from home. Grr.

-- A
 
I use their air tools and 4 1/2 inch grinders and screw drivers. I like alot of there little stuff. I've been through 4 grinders in three years, but I just take it back in and say I lost my reciept. They usually ask if I just want a replacment. I say yes and go tear it up again. I will never buy another drill or sander from them though. They fall apart to fast. The gears in the drill were plastic. If you keep the air tools oiled they work great. I got my air rachet and body saw for 9.99 each and they are still working great after a year. My grinder takes a beating. I use it to grind, sand, and wire brush. I need three grinders so I don't have to change the components out so often. Anyway, just be cautious about what you buy. Some stuff is just way too cheap.
 
I buy all my wire cup brushes for my grinder ($2.99 to $3.99) and grinding wheels and sawzall blades from them. I bought my sandblaster there for $79.00 and a 120 volt 880 LB capacity electric overhead hoist for $64.99, it lifts complete big blocks, truck cabs, 14 bolt ff, etc... no problems.

I don't use wrenches or sockets from there for anything anywhere anytime...
 
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