Ever have regrets the next morning?

Let'sgoflying!

Let'sgoflying!

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Dave Taylor
Those darned Harbor Freight/Northern Tool catalogs!
Really neat tools at great prices! Yes, we know they are Chinese-junk, and its possibly anti-American to buy from them. But those color pages of really neat tools! A vice! A caliper! An infrared thermometer! A hoist! A paintgun!
Sometimes it's too much, I want to callem up with my credit card, especially on some quiet lonely evening after I busted my butt all day at work. Sanders! Grinders! Air wrenches!

If I fall victim, will I regret it in the morning?
 
the catalog is bad enough. This is the first time in my life I live within range of an actual Harbor Freight store! I didn't even know they had real stores. NOT GOOD!
 
Don't forget to ask the nice lady on the phone for the quantity discount if you tell her which catalog you're looking at and then buy one of each article listed.

Let'sgoflying! said:
Those darned Harbor Freight/Northern Tool catalogs!
Really neat tools at great prices! Yes, we know they are Chinese-junk, and its possibly anti-American to buy from them. But those color pages of really neat tools! A vice! A caliper! An infrared thermometer! A hoist! A paintgun!
Sometimes it's too much, I want to callem up with my credit card, especially on some quiet lonely evening after I busted my butt all day at work. Sanders! Grinders! Air wrenches!

If I fall victim, will I regret it in the morning?
Click to expand...
 
The guy that works for me is a Harbor Freight junkie.
 
Several years ago everyone around me kept going on about how wonderful HF was and I should get tools there. People were swearing by the stuff. So I finally drove way across a city to the store.
The prices were low enough to set off the Chinese junk alarm in my head. The junk factor was off scale high. I'm rough on my equipment out of necessity and depend on them to be reliable. I walked out and never considered the place since again.
Maybe they changed since then however I was not impressed at the time.
 
One of my assistants was married to a Snap-on guy. He liked to ride around in the plane, I liked nice tools. Both of us got our wish. Then he got a job on a race team, and like all good things the deal came to an end.
 
I've got a mixed bag (toolbox) of Hobo Freight, Northern Tools, Craftsman, and Wal-Mart brand (late at night and MUST HAVE 19mm socket, and WM was the only place open).

I've been pleasantly surprised at the HF and NT stuff. I've put it to use on the farm working on both new and rusted heavy equipment (read 'cheater bars galore'), on the salt-crusted underside of my Jeep, and on the airplane. Haven't had any issues with the HF or NT stuff that I haven't had with the Craftsman stuff.

Worked with a guy that bought SnapOn stuff, and the only difference I saw in the tools was that he got REALLY upset when he would plow under his socket set, and I just went to HF and bought another one and didn't worry about it.
 
I always used to tell her I had to go to work real early. Got the hell out of there, take a shower and lie to myself until I believed it didn't happen.

HF
I actually bought a high-speed buffer from them that is stellar. As others have stated about 50/50 on junk vs decent stuff.
 
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There is a Harbor Freight near me. I have gotten some very reilable tools there and some crap. Allen Wrenches, riveter and socket set were great! Power Drill eh not so much but at $18.00 it was disposable after one year.
 
Not a Harbor Freight junkie but I occasionally impulse buy something ridiculous. I did that this week. I needed a new hair brush and started researching good brushes and discovered natural boar bristle and read all the cool things it can do for your hair. I know that it will not do all the magical things that it claims but I decide WTF.

I started looking for brushes and all roads lead to Mason Pearson. Then I look at the prices for their handmade bristle boar brush and they run up to $300 with most at about $100 to $200 range. CRIPES! I am not spending that much for a brush. I find a much cheaper one for $40 and order it. But I feel like I did not get the 'best'

So while I was back on eBay searching for a good price on an HP-41 calculator I decide to search for Mason Pearson and before long I am ordering a $100 brush that normally is about $130. SIGH!

This brush better make my hair look just like Fabio's or I am gonna be PO'ed!!!!! ;)
 
I find that HF is good for tools I rarely use and don't break with age... Like one speed drills for drilling thru 10" of concrete or such... But, I'd buy TWO of everything. They were $9.95.. and the Makita was $89. So I'd buy two orange-Chinese-specials, and when one broke on a sunday morning I'd just throw it away, and use the spare.

Like this:
http://www.harborfreight.com/power-...nch-variable-speed-reversible-drill-3670.html

I see they've raised their prices to $14.95 - which would make me think twice.

regards,

Mike
 
I use Harbor Freight for items I might need for a single or limited use... I try not to get my hopes up about the quality, use the tool for the job I need, then throw it in the tool box with the opinion that if it works a second time, I've gotten my money out of it.

My weak spot is barely used Snap-on stuff on ebay... my rule is if it's used, I'll pay 1/2 of new... if it's new, I'll pay 3/4...
 
I've had some of their stuff that was fine: clamps, etc.

My dad bought a set of drill bits and found out that they were not the sizes they were supposed to be - quite. They didn't work so well if you were drilling in preparation for tapping threads.

A friends dad bought a set of impact sockets. They shattered on the first use.

YMMV.

I think simple stuff that you may not use all the time is fine.
John
 
ScottM said:
Not a Harbor Freight junkie but I occasionally impulse buy something ridiculous. I did that this week. I needed a new hair brush and started researching good brushes and discovered natural boar bristle and read all the cool things it can do for your hair. I know that it will not do all the magical things that it claims but I decide WTF.

I started looking for brushes and all roads lead to Mason Pearson. Then I look at the prices for their handmade bristle boar brush and they run up to $300 with most at about $100 to $200 range. CRIPES! I am not spending that much for a brush. I find a much cheaper one for $40 and order it. But I feel like I did not get the 'best'

So while I was back on eBay searching for a good price on an HP-41 calculator I decide to search for Mason Pearson and before long I am ordering a $100 brush that normally is about $130. SIGH!

This brush better make my hair look just like Fabio's or I am gonna be PO'ed!!!!! ;)
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lmfao....wow....
 
dave ramsey shouldn't care as long as you didn't borrow all the money. plus no reason to be like scrooge and just sit around counting your money. convert it into fun!
 
I'll buy locking pliers from HF instead of the real Vise Grips. Newell Rubbermaid (owns the Vise Grip brand) closed the plant, put 1/2 the town out of work, and are buying them from China.

Why puy brand name prices when they come from the same factory?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26531610/
 
EdFred said:
Yep. 7/26/2002
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AdamZ said:
:needpics:
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I kind of like this grinder but wouldn't want to buy something for which wheels were not readily available. I don't see any 9" wheels on homedepot or lowes.
 
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HF is great for air tools, nailers, DA's, shears, grinders and such. Prices are a fraction of the big box stores, and for occasional use they are more than adequate. The key is to lubricate them really well before you use them. I don't think the Chinese know from machine oil and grease...everything is assembled bone dry.
 
Everything I ever bought at Harbor Freight has eventually been discarded. Everthing I ever bought from Makita, and Rockwell, persists in the shop, years and years later.

So which is really cheaper?
 
bbchien said:
Everything I ever bought at Harbor Freight has eventually been discarded. Everthing I ever bought from Makita, and Rockwell, persists in the shop, years and years later.

So which is really cheaper?
Click to expand...

It depends on your mission.

If you need something for a one time project of limited use, you may be able to get away with using HF. If you are going to be fabricating, cutting, drilling, grinding or welding on various somethings for the next 20-30 years, then its worth getting the $$ stuff that will last longer.
 
I wouldn't put Harbor Freight and Northern Tool in the same category.

I bought a Hudson insect fogger from Northern tool that has worked fine for 2 seasons.

Once Northern Tool put the big BatteryMinder on sale, I bit and added the mechanics stool and electric sprayer I've been watching. It turned out that it was cheaper to join the club and get free shipping than to pay the shipping, so I get free shipping all year.

I just assembled the stool and found that it so low I may rarely use it.

The "Hudson" sprayer works great but it's screaming "break me," especially the hose. I already had a screw on the valve fall out. The good news as opposed to HF is you can order replacement parts.

I have three US made BatteryMinders and like them a lot. Only one battery has failed to be brought back to life. That one I used a battery charger on and I think overcharged. I need a round tuit top put the battery connectors on all 3 cars and the lawn tractor.

I've made few trips to the local Harbor Freight store and usually can't overcome seeing how truly tissue-cheap the stuff is. I've only gotten use out stuff like a tiny Torx screwdriver kit. BTW if you want such, Meritline has them for an incredible $5 SHIPPED. http://www.meritline.com/31-in-1-screwdriver-set---p-38177.aspx Don't be surprised if it comes direct from Hong Kong.
 
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Doggtyred said:
It depends on your mission.

If you need something for a one time project of limited use, you may be able to get away with using HF. If you are going to be fabricating, cutting, drilling, grinding or welding on various somethings for the next 20-30 years, then its worth getting the $$ stuff that will last longer.
Click to expand...

It also depends on what you're working on.
Some cheap tools such as wrenches can damage bolt heads and turn that once in a lifetime 10 minute fix job into a couple days hassle and you still end up having to buy a good wrench to get things back together. The opposite extreme is the tool breaking the first time you use it just when you need it the most..like on the side of the road in the desert 100 miles from nowhere.
 
I tripped across a site that had what Harbor Freight tools were OK and some hacks to make them better...haven't found it yet but
HF tools that don't suck: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/parts-repairs/114176-harbor-freight-tools-dont-suck.html
10 Things I Wouldn’t Buy from Harbor Freight:
1) Parachutes
2) Fire Extinguishers
3) Pacemakers
4) Vaccines
5) Birth control devices
6) Elevators
7) Bullet proof vests
8) Trigger locks
9) Pitons (I didn’t know what this was either…)
10) Scuba Gear
Click to expand...
This http://www.toolcrib.com/blog/2008/0...uide-the-good-enough-the-bad-and-the-abysmal/
 
That link from Mike said the folding trailer was a good deal... they're right, I can speak from experience! Tracks straight and true at 70+ MPH fully loaded, folds up against the garage wall. Nice. Bought mine from my neighbor, he put nice wood decking on it, and built detachable wood rails that insert into the slots built into the trailer's frame. He bought it back from me after I used it for a couple summers.
 
Let'sgoflying! said:
Those darned Harbor Freight/Northern Tool catalogs!
Really neat tools at great prices! Yes, we know they are Chinese-junk, and its possibly anti-American to buy from them. But those color pages of really neat tools! A vice! A caliper! An infrared thermometer! A hoist! A paintgun!
Sometimes it's too much, I want to callem up with my credit card, especially on some quiet lonely evening after I busted my butt all day at work. Sanders! Grinders! Air wrenches!

If I fall victim, will I regret it in the morning?
Click to expand...

Which one, hookers....booze...gambling...drugs...?
 
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