Opinions on harbor freight tools?
 

Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name' nature
of prods.
TIA

I just got a roofing nailer (was on sale for $59) and it well made... dont
know how long it wils last but it was well worth the small investment.
Renting one here was $50 for a day so i'm sure it will last more then that
:c)

Christisn


" wrote in message
...
Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name' nature
of prods.
TIA

I love Harbor Freight - Cheap tools for occasional use at a cheap price
"Christian" wrote in message
...
I just got a roofing nailer (was on sale for $59) and it well made... dont
know how long it wils last but it was well worth the small investment.
Renting one here was $50 for a day so i'm sure it will last more then that
:c)

Christisn


" wrote in message
...
Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name'
nature
of prods.
TIA

exactly, I just need this gun to do 3 roof, but i'm ure it will last longer
then that... :c)

C.

"RBM" rmottola1(remove wrote in message
...
I love Harbor Freight - Cheap tools for occasional use at a cheap price
"Christian" wrote in message
...
I just got a roofing nailer (was on sale for $59) and it well made... dont
know how long it wils last but it was well worth the small investment.
Renting one here was $50 for a day so i'm sure it will last more then that
:c)

Christisn


" wrote in message
...
Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and
bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name'
nature
of prods.
TIA

" wrote in message
...
Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name' nature
of prods.
TIA


I have the 120 v welder wire feed, 5 years old
14 inch chop saw, 5 years old
lots of welding magnets 5 years old
the 5 gallon bead blaster 5 years old
3-4 sets of wrenches 5-6 years old
finish mailer, 3 years

Not sure that I would want to make a living with the equipment. For what I
need they work just fine.

On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 17:07:06 -0500, "
scribbled this interesting note:

Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name' nature
of prods.
TIA


Some are good. Some are trash brand new out of the box. The trick is
to be able to simply "know" which is which.

Of course this also depends upon your intended usage of said tools...


--
John Willis
(Remove the Primes before e-mailing me)

On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 17:07:06 -0500, "
wrote:

Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name' nature
of prods.
TIA

====================
Generally very poorly made tools... of low quality, and almost no
quality control....

BUT for ocasional use (like every other year or so) they sell some
"stuff" I would buy....

No way I would buy something like a cordless drill etc...from them
To protect "my" tools I have purchased wrenches etc from them
that I do not lock up..knowing that if my sons "borrow" them I have
not lost anything...

Bob G.

We use their nail guns, polisher/buffer, and a rotary hammer in our vintage
trailer restoration shop and have no problems with them.

AZCRAIG,

www.azcraig.us


"Bob G." wrote in message
...
On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 17:07:06 -0500, "
wrote:

Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name' nature
of prods.
TIA

====================
Generally very poorly made tools... of low quality, and almost no
quality control....

BUT for ocasional use (like every other year or so) they sell some
"stuff" I would buy....

No way I would buy something like a cordless drill etc...from them
To protect "my" tools I have purchased wrenches etc from them
that I do not lock up..knowing that if my sons "borrow" them I have
not lost anything...

Bob G.

On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 22:29:30 GMT, "Christian"
wrote:

I just got a roofing nailer (was on sale for $59) and it well made... dont
know how long it wils last but it was well worth the small investment.
Renting one here was $50 for a day so i'm sure it will last more then that
:c)

Christisn


Well put Christian,harbor freight beats renting, since their prices
are the same as 1-3 day rental prices. I think that's it's biggest
selling pitch.




" wrote in message
m...
Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name' nature
of prods.
TIA




later,


tom @ www.CarFleaMarket.com

On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 17:07:06 -0500, "
wrote:

Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name' nature
of prods.
TIA


I have their chicago hammer 3/8 electric drill. It no longer
hammers, but still drills after 3 years.

PJ

Careful with "ordering". They nail you to the wall with shipping/handling
charges. Much better to
purchase directly from one of their stores if possible.
Cheers,
cc

" wrote in message
...
Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name' nature
of prods.
TIA

In alt.home.repair on Sat, 26 Feb 2005 20:51:36 -0600 PJ
posted:

On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 17:07:06 -0500, "
wrote:

Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name' nature
of prods.
TIA


I have their chicago hammer 3/8 electric drill. It no longer
hammers, but still drills after 3 years.

Did you use it as a hammer for a while? Or did it just break without
being used that way?

PJ

I too like cheap tools for things I don't do often. In one case, not
with harbor freight, the tool broke the first night I used it, but
only after I had done what I wanted with it. By that time, I either
buy another one, a better one, or I know it's not really the tool for
me.

(I have more than one 23 piece set of 1/4 and 3/8" socket wrenches I
paid only 6 dollars for. In one case I was able to twist the 6 inch
extension apart with the ratchet and my bare hands**, but most of the
time it's strong enough.

**I was trying to unbolt something from my V-8 engine. After ruining
one extension, I started the engine and tried again with another
extension when it was almost hot. That time, the bolt came loose
first.)

Meirman
--
If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.
Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.

In alt.home.repair on Sat, 26 Feb 2005 21:19:18 -0700 "James \"Cubby\"
Culbertson" posted:

Careful with "ordering". They nail you to the wall with shipping/handling
charges. Much better to
purchase directly from one of their stores if possible.
Cheers,
cc

So far they've charged me exactly what they said they would for s&H. I
thought it was a maximum of 9 dollars??

And some of the sale prices on the web and in catalogs aren't found in
the stores. Although the cashier said if they had the item, they
would usually sell it at the catalog price, but you'd have to ask if
they didn't have it marked that way. Probably have to have the
catalog with you, or a printout.

I asked and you can't return things to stores that you buy online (or
over the phone, I presume). If you could, people would buy loads of
stuff, look at it and return a lot of it to the store. Having to box
it and ship it back slows people down. And you probably can't return
by mail what you buy in the store.

The stores close at 7PM, 6 on Saturday and 5 on Sunday. The 7 is
early compared to a lot of stores these days, and I've been turned
away at least twice.

" wrote in message
m...
Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name' nature
of prods.
TIA





Meirman
--
If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.
Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.

"meirman" wrote in message

I have their chicago hammer 3/8 electric drill. It no longer
hammers, but still drills after 3 years.

Did you use it as a hammer for a while? Or did it just break without
being used that way?


Most tools go the other way. Once the batteries die, you can still use them
as a hammer if they are heavy enough. :)

On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 17:07:06 -0500, "
wrote:

Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name' nature
of prods.

I've got a bunch of Harbor Freight air tools that do the job. They're
definitely not up to the quality of Senco or Bostich but things like a
palm nailer or air chisel are tools I might use only a few f times a
year anyway. I've also got some HF electric tools like a grinder and
polisher that continue to work well. I just wouldn't buy anything
requiring precision or durability from HF, like a sliding compound
miter saw.

Steve Manes
Brooklyn, NY
http://www.magpie.com/house/bbs

What they did with my order a while back was charge me the S&H for EACH
item.
So I bought a couple small things and ended up paying more in S&H than I did
for the
items. Don't know if this is their standard policy but I won't order from
them again.
I've got a HF nearby so that's where I go for stuff.

In terms of quality, I've found their Central Machinery branded stuff to be
ok generally.
Their Central Pneumatic stuff has all worked fine for me (brad nailer,
framing nailer, various
air grinders etc...). I stay away from their Chicago Electric stuff.
Generally pretty crappy from my experiences
(although their 14" cutoff saw has been working flawlessly for me for 4
years now).

I think for stuff that I rarely use, HF is ok. For my chisels, planes,
hand saws, routers, etc... I try to go
with a better brand.
Cheers,
cc

"meirman" wrote in message
...
In alt.home.repair on Sat, 26 Feb 2005 21:19:18 -0700 "James \"Cubby\"
Culbertson" posted:

Careful with "ordering". They nail you to the wall with
shipping/handling
charges. Much better to
purchase directly from one of their stores if possible.
Cheers,
cc

So far they've charged me exactly what they said they would for s&H. I
thought it was a maximum of 9 dollars??

And some of the sale prices on the web and in catalogs aren't found in
the stores. Although the cashier said if they had the item, they
would usually sell it at the catalog price, but you'd have to ask if
they didn't have it marked that way. Probably have to have the
catalog with you, or a printout.

I asked and you can't return things to stores that you buy online (or
over the phone, I presume). If you could, people would buy loads of
stuff, look at it and return a lot of it to the store. Having to box
it and ship it back slows people down. And you probably can't return
by mail what you buy in the store.

The stores close at 7PM, 6 on Saturday and 5 on Sunday. The 7 is
early compared to a lot of stores these days, and I've been turned
away at least twice.

" wrote in message
om...
Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and
bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name'
nature
of prods.
TIA





Meirman
--
If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.
Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.

On my oder a couple of years ago, they charged shipping and it was
clearly stated. What wasn't clearly stated was an additional
'handling' fee. I was shocked and gritted my teeth and paid it but
I've never ordered anything again from them. I'm still mad.

PJ




On Sun, 27 Feb 2005 08:07:33 -0700, "James \"Cubby\" Culbertson"
wrote:

What they did with my order a while back was charge me the S&H for EACH
item.
So I bought a couple small things and ended up paying more in S&H than I did
for the
items. Don't know if this is their standard policy but I won't order from
them again.
I've got a HF nearby so that's where I go for stuff.

In terms of quality, I've found their Central Machinery branded stuff to be
ok generally.
Their Central Pneumatic stuff has all worked fine for me (brad nailer,
framing nailer, various
air grinders etc...). I stay away from their Chicago Electric stuff.
Generally pretty crappy from my experiences
(although their 14" cutoff saw has been working flawlessly for me for 4
years now).

I think for stuff that I rarely use, HF is ok. For my chisels, planes,
hand saws, routers, etc... I try to go
with a better brand.
Cheers,
cc

"meirman" wrote in message
.. .
In alt.home.repair on Sat, 26 Feb 2005 21:19:18 -0700 "James \"Cubby\"
Culbertson" posted:

Careful with "ordering". They nail you to the wall with
shipping/handling
charges. Much better to
purchase directly from one of their stores if possible.
Cheers,
cc

So far they've charged me exactly what they said they would for s&H. I
thought it was a maximum of 9 dollars??

And some of the sale prices on the web and in catalogs aren't found in
the stores. Although the cashier said if they had the item, they
would usually sell it at the catalog price, but you'd have to ask if
they didn't have it marked that way. Probably have to have the
catalog with you, or a printout.

I asked and you can't return things to stores that you buy online (or
over the phone, I presume). If you could, people would buy loads of
stuff, look at it and return a lot of it to the store. Having to box
it and ship it back slows people down. And you probably can't return
by mail what you buy in the store.

The stores close at 7PM, 6 on Saturday and 5 on Sunday. The 7 is
early compared to a lot of stores these days, and I've been turned
away at least twice.

" wrote in message
. com...
Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and
bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name'
nature
of prods.
TIA





Meirman
--
If emailing, please let me know whether
or not you are posting the same letter.
Change domain to erols.com, if necessary.

HF stuff is all made in China. Their breaker bar, black impact socket set,
and impact wrench (electric plug in, no compressor needed) have done a lot
of good for me.

Their Pittsburgh flare nut wrenches were far too soft, and useless. Their
Drill Master cordless drills, I've got a couple of the 12 volters. They work
well, and I've made a bunch of money on jobs where I've used them.

Other than that, most of th eir tools are good value.

Some folks have moral problems with buying foreign made goods, built in a
communist country who probably uses slave labor. And has a history of human
rights violations.



--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"PJ" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 17:07:06 -0500, "
wrote:

Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name' nature
of prods.
TIA


I have their chicago hammer 3/8 electric drill. It no longer
hammers, but still drills after 3 years.

PJ

" wrote in message
...
Just wondering what all experiences you have had with them, good and bad?
thinking of ordering stuff from them but reluctant due to 'no name' nature
of prods.

I bought a couple tools and have been satisfied. I don't use them a lot, so
maybe that's where they lose value. I needed a high power drill to mix
joint compound and other stuff during a week, and the drill I got there cost
around $60 and has worked great. (The regular drill I tried to use started
smoking.) Renting one was going to cost a little more than than.

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...

Some folks have moral problems with buying foreign made goods, built in a
communist country who probably uses slave labor. And has a history of
human
rights violations.

Sure, but other than that they seem like perfectly nice countries.

- jeffc -
I bought a couple tools

- Nehmo -
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...ago%20Electric
or http://snipurl.com/d4gk

Chicago Electric rulzs!

--
*********************
* Nehmo Sergheyev *
*********************

Wow, fifty bucks for a truck winch. I been wanting one of those. Don't think
I could justify one, I have only used a rope once in the last couple years.
But it would be cool.

--

Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
www.mormons.com


"Nehmo Sergheyev" wrote in message
...
- jeffc -
I bought a couple tools

- Nehmo -
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...ago%20Electric
or http://snipurl.com/d4gk

Chicago Electric rulzs!

--
*********************
* Nehmo Sergheyev *
*********************

"jeffc" wrote in message
. com...

"Stormin Mormon" wrote in message
...

Some folks have moral problems with buying foreign made goods, built in
a
communist country who probably uses slave labor. And has a history of
human
rights violations.

Sure, but other than that they seem like perfectly nice countries.

Doesnt make a whole lot of difference any more. Its hard to find much made
in America anymore. If you buy all your tools made in USA and buy
everything else from overseas, it does basically no good in the grand scheme
of things. Many of the people enslaved in China are church leaders. Remember
to pray for them.
B

"Nehmo Sergheyev" wrote in
:

- jeffc -
I bought a couple tools

- Nehmo -
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...go&logourl=chi
cago.gif&brand=Chicago%20Electric or http://snipurl.com/d4gk

Chicago Electric rulzs!


Item 35778 is a copy of the Bosch 1581 VS jigsaw,on sale now for $59.95,the
same price I bought mine for several years ago.
I'm very satisfied with it,well worth the money,IMO.

--
Jim Yanik
jyanik
at
kua.net

The Cheap Large sockets that are in bins are great for press guides
and dies..............That being said, They are likely useable for
other things too.


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