Let's talk Harbor Freight...

[Paschale]

So, I just swung by Harbor Freight to pick up some magnets and an oil drain pan, which I knew I'd find for cheap.  I have a love/hate relationship with the place.  There's no other place I've found where you can find so many cool, unusual tools under one roof.  Electrical, woodworking, metalworking, and all kinds of basic tools for maintenance of things, and very specific tools that you'd never find at any of the Big Boxes.  That's what I like about Harbor Freight.  I always enjoy looking around.

But then...a lot of the stuff is cheap too.  There are certain things I'd never want to buy from there, such as drill or router bits--anything that demands real precision work, and stuff that needs to be really sharp and keep an edge.  I was tempted today by a cheap looking recip saw though.  Guess how much it cost?  $16.99.  That's just CRAZY!  A lot of guys say run 'em cheap, and run 'em hard.  I was really tempted today, since I don't have one yet, though a Milwaukee is on the shopping list. 

Anyway, just wondering what you guys think of the place.  What have you bought that works for you, and what have you bought that you would stay away from in the future?

I've bought, and been happy with: a heat gun, a solder gun, a dial caliper and pipe clamps, and various miscellaneous stuff.  Haven't taken too many gambles there, so actually haven't struck out on any of the other things there, though I'd never really expect one of their power tools to work that well anyway.

[brdmkr]

CLAMPS!  All types, but especially bar and pipe clamps.  They have the best prices going and they hold stuff just fine for me.  I am looking at one of their metal chop saws.  I can't weld worth much, but I am trying to learn.  The saw would not get much use and would likely work just fine for me.

[tcsmpsi]

Vises, clamps, wrenches, sockets, TARPS, a 4" angle grinder than I have used the dickens out of for 15 yrs or so.   Nothing from them I had any problem with.  The angle grinder (though I have others), has been pleasantly surprising.  Their standard ol' tarps have always been about as good as any others I've found,  all sizes and quite reasonable.  Even 'cheap' if on sale. 

I think I would save my 20 bucks (or so) on the reciprocating saw, though.  If you have one, at some point or another, you're going to want a decided degree of precision cut with it.   You'll find the lesser ones more frustrating than anything else (too much play and chatter).
Or, so I have found.

[Larry]

Well let's see...guess my first purchase maybe 15 years ago was a 60 pound vise.  At my door for $19.95.  Over the years I've made workbenches for friends and family all equipped with this vice...no complaints...price a lot higher now.  Think I'll keep the Reed vice on my bench...but it was 10 times the cost 30 years ago.

At Gilmans recommendation I bought the digital caliper...checked it against my Starlet dial caliper and both read the same.

Retracting 25' air hose reel...another gem.

10 hardwood flooring staplers for resale...they work good and lot better idea than renting one but don't know how long they will last.  Lost my butt on this one.

The boss stocks up on packing tape every time we go and say's it's good stuff.

Strapping thingy...works all right but I haven't used it much.

Dad bought a 3/8" drill...lasted 5 minutes.  And I'm sure I've bought a few junky items also...can't remember right now.

[PawNature]

I Like and use Harbor Freight. They have a 90 in store warranty on most stuff they sale, and from my own personal experience they stand by it. I am real big on buying American stuff when I can find it. For instance I went to buy a quality drill driver. Did you ever go into Lowes or Home deport or any where and look at the made in labels? The only one that came close was a Bosh, and I think it was only asselbled in the us, not real positive on this. But the point is that none of the quality drill drivers were made in America.

I guess what I was getting at was people say that Harbor has cheep Chinese stuff. I guess it's cheep Chinese stuff vs quality Chinese stuff

[Engineer]

You will find one thing and one thing only in my house from Horror Freight, and that's a yellow coiled air hose.  I use it when I have to fill a tire or something and don't want to drag a long hose out.  It leaks, and it's not very flexible. 

I prefer not to buy junk, and the vast majority of what they sell is junk.  The thing that bothers me most about their stores is that they smell funny, and EVERYTHING is oily/greasy/sticky.  Covered in whatever cosmoline-type substance they coat stuff with in China.   

Based on your list - my heat gun is a Bosch, my soldering iron is a Weller, clamps are Record and Bessey, and the dial caliper is a red-dial Starrett.  No crap in there.  I do have two recip saws - one is a Milwaukee, which is tough as nails.  The other one, which gets much more abuse and use, owing that it's cordless, is a 18V Ryobi from Agent Orange (aka Home Depot).  I bought the Ryobi to kill it, and I haven't been able to under normal use conditions, ranging from cutting nails, PVC pipe in a muddy ditch, ICF forms for an entire house, tree limbs, taking it in the field on survey jobs, drywall, metal pipe and rebar, etc.   But I wouldn't trust a HF sawzall as far as my 2-year-old could throw it.

[scsmith42]

A good friend once called me a "tool elitist", so you can probably guess my opinion re HF...

I'd stay away from anything electrical, such as drills, sawzall's, etc.  Clamps, cords, etc are probably a good buy.

I've found that northern toolhttps://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=position"> Note:Please read the Forestry Forum's postion on this company typically has better options.

Bottom line, use common sense.  If it's a tool that you intend to use multiple times and depend on, go with a solid name brand.  If it's a one-time throw-away, they maybe HF would make sense.

[UNCLEBUCK]

I have used all harbor for any tools that  get hooked to the air compressor for many years and no problems , cousin uses all harbor battery drills for years and swears by them but I go Milwaukee on electric things and can really feel the differance in quality instantly .

I have found harbors prices to be a bargain many years ago but my local fleet farm store has come real close to matching finally so one must be kind of selective but yes I enjoy going to the harbor store in Fargo,N.D. and usually it dont take long to fill the shopping cart with crap  :D 

[Paschale]

 But I wouldn't trust a HF sawzall as far as my 2-year-old could throw it.

Nor would I, which is why I walked away.   ;D

You have to understand that I'm a tool hound myself.  My tablesaw, planer and jointer are all Powermatic, and my band saw is a Mini Max.  Bosch is my miter saw, and I have a Makita router to name a few.  I don't buy crappy tools, but my curiosity is piqued when I see a recip saw for less than $20, if for no other reason that to see what kind of life it would have.  But again...I let it lay where I saw it.

However, I've found that the heat gun is perfectly acceptable for the amount of use I need it for, and the dial caliper is actually a very good tool, believe it or not.  It's certainly not a Starret, but it works well enough for what I need it for.  Kelly Mehler, the big table saw guru, actually recommends it in his clinics, and says that it's just as accurate as more expensive dial calipers on the market that he's used.  It's not suited for government work, I'm sure, but for what I need it for, it's pretty DanG effective.

I do think there are some things at HF that are just fine, and actually some are even well made, as crazy as it sounds.  I guess that's really more what I'm curious about:  what people have bought that has worked well for them.

I agree on the tarps thing too, btw.  Perfectly acceptable, and a great deal when you can get them on sale.

[wiam]

I bought the smallest metal cutting bandsaw just before they dropped from a one horse motor to 3/4.  I have had it for probably 4 years.  I bought it when I built my mill.  The cuts are pretty accurate and I have been quite happy with it.  I think I paid $150 for it.

Will

[PineNut]

I have bought several tools and other items from HF.  Any time I need a quality tool, I get a name brand tool, usually locally.  While HF does have some of the name brand tools, look close and you may find "factory reconditoned". While it may not be true in every case, many times this means cleaned up and repackaged. I have purchased several tools that I did not have a continuing use for but have been very handy when the unexpected need occured.

While not in the tool category, I recently purchased a greenhouse from HF. While I haven't completed the assembly, it appears to be of quality construction and has very detailed assembly instructions (that are not a word for word translation from chinese.) 

I will continue to use HF for some items but when quality is a requirement, I will go elsewhere.

[CHARLIE]

I've never bought anything from Harbor Freight but injoy looking at their catalog. Once I bought a 4" side grinder for $20 from northern toolhttps://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=position"> Note:Please read the Forestry Forum's postion on this company only to use to sharpen my lawn mower blades. It did fine for several years until I needed to do a lot of grinding on some angle iron. It got real hot fast and burned up. I replaced it with a DeWalt.  I should have bought the DeWalt the first time and I would not have been out the $20.

[jack]

I believe the point has been made, if its not life support then sometimes HF has some good deals,  I use HF for the expendables....brushes,  airline fittings etc,  or that once in a bluemoon use of a product that wont kill me if it breaks while under strain.   I have made some purchases,  the little air die grinders,  $7.00 on sale,  my last two were totally used up,  lasted about 4yrs.  But we used them at least 150 days a year,  4hrs at a time, in the worst conditions immaginable, water, dust, cutting soil screens off of a trommel.  Best $14.00 i spent.   its like was mentioned below.  IF you need it to live with, then get the best. no skimpin on the coin for good tools.

HF did cover their warrenty stuff though..  no questions asked.

Jack

[getoverit]

I have bought several things from them that have been good, and several that just plain suck.

The worst thing I bought is their 12 1/2" planer. It will barely knock the dust off of a 6" board, much less trying to Plane with it. :(

One of the best things I have got from there is a 5 pound dead-blow  hammer. It holds up good and works fine for my needs. Their 2,000# winches arent bad for $50 either... so far I've had good luck with them.

[metalspinner]

The smell gets to me, too.

Once, my live center for my machine lathe (Jet) siezed up. The only store in town that stocks a machine lathe is HF.  So I go in the store with my fingers crossed that they might have a live center. Well, I browsed around for as long as I could stand it, then asked an employee if they carried live centers.  He looked at me with a dazed, confused look ( I think from the smell)  then said, "Sir, if I knew what a live center was, I wouldn't be working here."  :D :D

I guess it's cheep Chinese stuff vs quality Chinese stuff

This is actually quite true. One of the woodworking magazines a few years back had an article on just this topic. The tool brand is responsible for the quality of the product that comes out of the factories overseas.  One factory may make tools for several labels, but the higher cost labels put more restrictions on the quality of the finished product they will accept.  This is done with more manager types of representation at the factory.  The more expensive brands like Dewalt or Makita
would have maybe ten or twelve representatives on sight cracking the whip  for the best products coming down the line.  Fewer reps would be on hand for the next price level of tool.  This continues all the way down to zero representation - places like Harbor Frieght. :

[Larry]

You guys might find this interesting.  Take a close look at the picture of Geetech's planer production line. 

http://www.geetech.com.tw/profile_1.htm

On the right Powermatic and on the left Geetech blue.  Different day ya might see few more colors.

The quality Powermatic comes with some really nice frills and a bloated price tag.  The no name Geetech is the same machine without frills.

At the production these factories are running at I can't believe one color is made "better" than another color.  So...which is the best value?

One difference that may be real is a lot of companies like Grizzly, have switched production from Taiwan to mainland China to save on labor cost.  But is the same quality in those brand new China factories?

I dunno know anymore...the other day I needed a part for my Bosch worm drive circular saw...ordered it and the paperwork said it was for a Skill model 77.  And the part worked fine.

[Modat22]

I buy wood clamps there (one can never have enough wood clamps) and cheap socket wrenches that I weld to all thread for DIY adjusters.

[Stephen1]

I was looking for a new lawn tractor as I blew the engine on my 12 year old craftsman.  As I was doing reasearch on the net I came across a recall for a craftsman tractor, also a weed-eater, a murray, MTD, also a Huskavarna all made by Huskavarna and I think a few more models. What suprised me was the amount of different lines that were produce out of the same factory. I ended up with the craftsman again but with the 16.5 twin honda engine, but basically the same unit.The parts look a lot like the old mower  the old mower is out front for sale and if no one gives me enough money for a case of brown ones, I will put it behind the barn for parts later.

[MemphisLogger]

Pipe clamps--hold as good as Ponys.

4" angle grinder--built 2 trailers 2 welding tables and and run an Arbortech head on it all the time for the past 4 years and it won't die--it even came with an extra set of brushes but I haven't needed them yet.

1/2" hammer drill--had it for 2 years, mainly to drill hloes in my cinder blocks but also use for augering holes in big timbers--hasn't let me down yet.

Consumables--rags, chip brushes, flux brushes, etc.--best price in town.

GFCI outlets--they sell UL listed 15 and 20 amp for $4.99

What I won't buy from HF--anything cast or forged that needs to be strong. We went though 4 pitman separators in one day--they kept replacing them for free but it was a pain to keep going back.

I love/hate Harbor Freight.    

[Paschale]

You guys might find this interesting.  Take a close look at the picture of Geetech's planer production line. 

http://www.geetech.com.tw/profile_1.htm

On the right Powermatic and on the left Geetech blue.  Different day ya might see few more colors.

Man...THAT'S fascinating!  Thanks for the link.

The comments about the husqvarna recall, and this link makes you wonder with globalization how much difference there is in a lot of brands these days.  I've often thought about that when you look at lawn equipment.  There are literal twins out there, at very different prices, and now to see this with Geetech...very, very interesting.

I'm enjoying hearing about what works/doesn't work for you guys at HF.   ;D

[srt]

I'm surprised to hear that the pipe clamps work as well as pony's.  I haven't tried HF's pipe clamps, but bought some knock off's from somewhere else a while back, and they only get used when I absolutely need another clamp and all the pony's are used up.  They slip when tightening, and won't slide smothly down the pipe when just trying to get it close enough to tighten.  Or, is it a matter of how often you use them?  Little brother is a mechanic/welder of sorts, and hates my Craftsman sockets and wrenches, but loves his Craftsman table saw.  I'm a cabinetmaker, and the Craftsman mechanical tools work fine for me, but I wouldn't give you $50.00 for the best new craftsman table saw (and that sorry excuse for a fence) if I had to use it, and couldn't sell it.  I figure it depends on how often you use it.  Maybe I'm wrong on the pipe clamps though......

[RichlandSawyer]

I have a HF store up the road a piece and have never noticed a foul odor. I would never mail order anything from them but when i can go into the store and see the product i purchase from them.
My co-workers give me grief about using HFtools so when i started my sawmill build they challanged me to build the entire mill with HF tools and I did. Just like any store they have junk and better quality. I have done some research on there power tools and have discovered that there better power tools are identical to name brand tools, screw for screw just a different color. There down fall is the working piece i.e. blade,bit,cutting wheel. I have purchased there cutting tools thrown away the bit blade etc. and have a tool that is equal to equipment i've paid 3 times the dollars for. I shop there but i shop carefully.

RichlandSawyer

[SPIKER]

Only thing I bought form HF that I didn't like for the price was/is a metal cutoff saw, (12~14" abrasive type)   it didn't have the power or brush lief to make it worthy.   others such as the 18 volt battery tool kit (drill/driver, sawzall, ;light & circuilar saw with 2 batterys & chargers worked great and still running.)   same with angle grinders as long as u don't push really hard & try to stall them when grinding metal (let the disk slightly float enough to produce a good bit of sparks & keepp RPM up high)  cuts well for a 15 buck grinder.

also I keep eye out for the 15~20% off coupons & use those.   bought a small 1000 LB+ trailer and the 12" slide coumpound miter saw with laser from them .  the trailer was all there & slight pain to assemble but I got it for dragging big rocks out of the creek not to road pull anything.   the laser is not on/off with finger trigger but has a small toggle switch under the saw & back behind the blade kind of a dangerous spot.!  it does cut really well, but so far I haven't gotten too critical of it and only cut 2x stuff.

Mark M

[Patty]

Hey Richland, nice to see you back.     Where in Des Moines is one of these Harbor Freight stores? With all these posts, my curiosity is up. I may just have to go check one out.   I have been needing some more clamps. 

[Mike_P.]

My experience with Harbor Freight has been good.  I purchased a couple of 3/8" chains and rachet adjusters; the quality seems good, no rough edges and they work well.  The price was probably 60% less than I would have spent at the local machinery dealership.

I just purchased a slap hammer stapler for about 60% of the local big box price.  But, I have not used it yet. 

Mike

[SwampDonkey]

The worst thing I bought is their 12 1/2" planer. It will barely knock the dust off of a 6" board, much less trying to Plane with it. :(

Probably low amps, so it's under powered. I made sure I had enough amps on my planer to get over 2 HP out of the motor. Many folks told me to watch the amps. ;D Father has a Black and Decker bench grinder that I could stall in 3 seconds with a pocket knife, low amps. ;D

[getoverit]

I havent checked the amps, but it says it is a 2hp motor on the planer. I have been considering putting a 1hp 3000rpm motor on it to see what kind of difference that makes. It would be difficult to do because of the funky belt drie and metric pulley on the motor, but not impossible to jerry rig.

the surrising thing is that this planer looks just like the one in the picture of the geetech planer... mine is green though, not blue.

[wiam]

I have two different types of 3/4" pipe clamps from HF.  One has a cam type lock.  They SUCK.  The ones that have plates that go around the pipe hold better than the Craftsman ones that I paid $12 more for.  Vermonter bought a $100 compound miter saw and built his barn with it.

Will

[RichlandSawyer]

Hi Patty its nice to be back!!

The HF store in DesMoines is on armypost right across from southridge mall. Back when you and Norm lived down here there was probably a BestBuy store there.Let us know if you are going to be in town, Dee and i would love to go out to lunch and visit.

[SwampDonkey]

I havent checked the amps, but it says it is a 2hp motor on the planer. I have been considering putting a 1hp 3000rpm motor on it to see what kind of difference that makes. It would be difficult to do because of the funky belt drie and metric pulley on the motor, but not impossible to jerry rig.

Well, when ya find the amps on the motor plate you'll soon be able to tell weather it's actually 2 HP.

volts x amps / 746 = HP , should be handy to 20 amps on a 110 v line.

[highpockets]

The thing is, Harbor Freight has made the small shop owner be able to have tools that he or she would not normally be able to afford.  I buy their adjustable (Cresent type) wrenches and just strow them about my lathes, mills, etc.  They ain't a cresent but they are cheap and do the job twice per month.  I am not proud buying Chinese but the labor unions and
A.C.L.U., E.P.A., and attorneys have priced us out of the business.  I am hoping the chinese will turn democratic so the attorneys will leave here.     

[limbrat]

Pleasant Hill La. im gona pass through there later today on my way from Zowollie to Coushatta,stay off the road about noon.
harbor freight = hammers and pry bars and wire ties. Stuff thats straight mecanical that dont require a tempered cutting edge.
I would rather Buy it once.

[sawguy21]

We have a similar chain callled Princess Auto. They have a lot of junk, especially in hand tools,  but it is the best place to find oddball pulleys, pillow blocks, gearboxes and such. A mill builder's dream.  ;) They get some military surplus too. Like HF, it's a great place but buyer beware.

[SwampDonkey]

I don't know if we even have access to HF here, unless it's mail order. I've never seen one. We have enough stuff coming in and being sold at 'Crappy Tire', that we probably have no need for one. Actually, I shouldn't shoot CT down (Canadian Tire by-the-way) because I've had pretty good luck with the products they sell. Bottom line is always, 'you get what you pay for'. ;)

[Mooseherder]

Got the new HF Fall Catalog today. ;D
Have bought a few things there. They have great prices on Dutch Ovens for FirePit Cooking.
There they are to the left of this post. ;)
Also bought the 2000 watt inverter to run off 12 volt battery for TV and Stereo at the camp.
Was disappointed in the silver tarps that I bought. Thought they were gonna be rubberized.(Sounded like it)
A 3 year old could rip out the grommets :D
Looks like they may evolve into some quality products as we have been following their catalogs for years. I would purchase about 33% of the items they sell if ' n it was in need.
We have a couple of their stores around here. Some prices make you scratch your head and wonder how they can do it so cheap. Then there are items you ask yourself, Now why would they want to sell the piece of junk. :D

[getoverit]

Well, when ya find the amps on the motor plate you'll soon be able to tell weather it's actually 2 HP.

volts x amps / 746 = HP , should be handy to 20 amps on a 110 v line.

I had a look today at the amps, voltage and what is says is the HP

110v, 7.1 amps, and it says 2.2HP

if you use your formula for HP , it comes to 1.046HP..... half of what it says. Maybe that is why it doesnt work good.

[tcsmpsi]

One of Harbor Freight's 'heavy duty' (farm quality) 30'X40' tarps.





It's held up so far.  Grommets have actually stayed better than others I've had. I've only got about 4 of them with constant tension on this tarp, at the present.  It's been pulled, stretched, blown and rained quite a bit.
Got it on sale for fortysomething.  Has been well worth that already.

[SwampDonkey]

I had a look today at the amps, voltage and what is says is the HP

110v, 7.1 amps, and it says 2.2HP

if you use your formula for HP , it comes to 1.046HP..... half of what it says. Maybe that is why it doesnt work good.

Then it's not putting out 2.2 HP. Looks like it was ment for a 220 V line, can ya access the wiring and see if it can be converted to 220? Often has the wiring diagram on the inside of the plate. My table saw motor can be converted just by switching a wire or two.

[pineywoods]

I've bought a fair amount of stuff from Harbor Freight. Results are somewhat mixed. Got a vertical milling machine which is fine, hand-held grinders ok, most air tools are ok. One area to watch closely is switches on most electrical products. got a drill, bad switch, recip-saw, bad switch, shaper, bad switch. Have several 1-hp motors which work fine until you stall them and trip the built-in overload breaker. They will not reset once tripped. I just bought a chain saw sharpener for 29.95 cheap plastic, but it works surprisingly well.
On the plus side, they do stock parts, and my experience has been they honor their warranties. I have two retail stores in driving distance, and I stop by every time I go that way. As previously stated in this string, some of the stuff is junk, some is quite good, especially if you consider the price. You can't tell what's good or bad from a catalog.

[Jason_WI]

I shop there too often. I have a HF Visa card that gives me 1% back towards HF stuff in the form of gift cards.

The blue Drill Master power tools should be avoided at all cost. Shipping ballast as far as I'm concerned. Weak motors/brushes that end up in lots of smoke coming out.

There orange $19.99 4 inch grinders seem to last forever. My dad has one on the farm for the last 6 years and it is still going strong. I recommend  adding lithium grease to the gearbox when you buy them new as they ship pretty dry.

I have the HF 7x10 mini lathe. It works pretty well after I have hand lapped all moving parts. It is basicaly a lathe kit which can be made into a decent machine with some hand work.

Jason

[WH_Conley]

Cheap hand tools will bail you out everytime. I will not carry my Crafstman, Proto or Mack tools on the back of the truck. Guess what I have when I break down, or someone else does when I am around? HF or the equivelent, they are so cheap it doesn't make sense to not have them around. Several years ago I was traveling and had a breakdown. $40.00 repair for a $2.00 dollar part, auto parts store on the corner, $6.99 socket set plus $2.00 part, on my way. (Don't really want them around the shop.)

Don't let the $6.99 socket set give any idea about my age. :D :D :D

[den]

Here is a discussion group reply  http://www.vintagewindmills.com/

Steel here is like everything else. You get what you pay for. All of the large steel mills here are run using American or German technical management now and steel is readily available being produced to US and German standards. The problem for consumers in the US is not the factories in China producing low end products, but distributors shaving the price down. Something has to go. There are a number of companies here making hand tools equivalent in quality to Snapon and I think better than Craftsman. While they are cheaper here than Snapon or Craftsman in the US, they are not so cheap that they can be purchased and sold in the US for much less. Side by side, would you purchase a Sato socket set over a Snapon when the savings would only be about 10% - 20% or so? I doubt there would be many buyers for an unknown name with unknown quality. Top US brands will always dominate the high end of the market. A number of top US tool makers are now selling in the China market. I can by Snapon, and Starret in the markets here and Brown and Sharp is available from a tool distributor here. I think all of the US Carbide tool manufacturers have large markets here now and Stanley stores are now common. I have never seen Craftsman though. Regarding those horrible cheap socket sets dumped on the US market, it is strange that I have never seen them being sold here. I am not sure why, but they seem to be made mostly for export. There are certainly low end tool sets being sold here, but nothing as &%$#@ as those horrible disposable cheap tool sets dumped on the US market. The demand for quality has increased here and is increasing consistently. If I were to take you through one of the many large industrial markets, I think you would be very surprised at the large amount of high end industrial products that are dominating these markets. A number of years ago, this was not the case. They were full of junk. Now a lot of the junk is being sold abroad as the market for it here is dying.

I can go to a good bolt co and order bolts to my spec – made of the steel I want and meeting the specs I want. I just have to pay the price for it. Now if I spec bolts made of cheap hot rolled steel, that is what I will get. If I want top quality forged alloy steel bolts, the situation is the same. I have to pay the price, or I won't be able to get them. There are a number of good bolt factories within walking distance from me. We have a huge high tension tower factory here that has 1500 people doing nothing but producing galvanized towers all day every day. One of the local bolt factories does nothing but produce galvanized tower bolts for this tower factory. They are produced to national standards, are certified and are completely acceptable in every way. They can be found on towers all over this part of the country and are found to be in very good condition.

I am going to diverge for a moment. We frequently hear of how Chinese imports are hurting the US economy. Are you aware of the fact that US agricultural products are severely damaging certain sectors of the Chinese economy? My hat is off to American corn farmers! Shiploads of low priced American produced corn has flooded the Chinese market and sent corn prices through the floor. In the corn growing provinces, this has been a real disaster as there are no alternative crops for farmers to grow and they are now growing corn for less than cost. This is requiring increasing levels of government support (read this subsidies) for corn farmers just to survive. It is not unusual to hear of a farmer selling his whole crop for less than the real cost of diesel and fertilizer! The government has to balance this situation with subsidies, or there would be a serious decline in stability in some areas in the countryside. American farmers should be very proud of their ability to flood the market of a country like china with low priced corn. There is no outcry here to limit imports of American agricultural products, just demands to find new uses and applications for Chinese corn and other agricultural products. There is a fortune to be made here by American business working to convert corn to bio-fuel and other products. This could eventually lead to an increase in the price of Chinese corn as well as the price of US corn imports. I have not seen or heard of any US business entering into this market in China, even though the opportunity is immense and they certainly would be most welcome and supported by the government. Is anyone reading this in the bio-fuel business?

[rebocardo]

Harbor Fright ... Freight is to tools as JCW is to car parts. You get what you paid for. Sometimes you can get a really good deal, other times it is too good to be true.

Like the West Coast Jr mirrors I bought from JCW that I have never installed. They looked nicer in the catalog. The tire plug gun was worthless to me, $40 mistake.

My HF 3/4 socket set has been well worth the $50+ I paid for it though I would never use it for "real" 3/4" duty where I needed some 1200 pound torque work to break something free.

Personally, I like northern toolhttps://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?action=position"> Note:Please read the Forestry Forum's postion on this company much better, especially on quality and service. Though I still buy stuff from HF too.

[jrokusek]

I bought an electric impact wrench before I had an air compressor.  It's heavy, poorly ballanced and about double the size of the US brands.  That being said it's a workhorse!  I've used and abused it for the last 7 or so years and it just keeps going!  $40 well spent.

Just bought a pin-type moisture meter for lumber.  Seems to work OK so far.

Also bought a "pickle fork" to do some front-end work on an old truck.  That lasted about 2 minutes into the job before it broke!  That's OK though.....I cut the handle off and welded it to some all-thread and it's now the tensioner for my homemade sawmill!

Jim

[jimbo]

well  i have bouth brand mane stuff their also  millwalkie  sawsaw  and some cheap stuff    it all boils down to   (you get what you pay for)


                                                              jimbo

[PineNut]

jimbo

True you pay for what you get but you don't always get what you pay for. If you are not careful, you sometimes don't get all you payed for.

Still I use HF and take my chances on some things. A cheap and not quite so good tool where I am when I need it does me more good than a good tool that is in the shop. As a result I have several sets of some cheaper tools.

[jimbo]

  i want takw good tools out of the shop  thats why i use  HF  tools if thay are lost or stolen  their isent as much gone and most time thay do just as good for me


                                                           jimbo

[sawguy21]

I have puchased the cheap tool when I need it for a one time job I am unlikely to do again or need to grind/cut/weld it for a special application. I also have good tools that I forget what I bought them for or how to use. :D

[jjmk98k]

I use HF tool a good bit at my camp in the mountians. I choose not to leave my good tools there nor do i want to drag them  to my camp every time i go there.

I have found that some hand tools are junk, while other seem to perform to my Craftsman standards. My 4" angle grinder has impressed me time and time again, the cheap set of vise grips, garbage! the high polished wrench set bailed me out many times, while the comfy handled ratched broke after a little torque was applied to move a stuck bolt.

Ill say one thing, the .99 cent stainless scissors are a great buy, use them to cut anything and when they get dull, toss them.... i used them to cut carpet once and they did well..... and a big set of screwdrivers for $3.99, cant be beat for light, occasional use.....

[hackberry jake]

I know this an old thread, but I didn't want to start a new one saying the same thing. I needed to go to war on rocks in my driveway. These were like tip-of-the-iceburge type rocks. I went to Harbor Freight and bought a hammer drill/jackhammer. The drill, two jackhammer bits, and five masonry bits were about $100. The piece right behind the chuck got too hot to touch and it leaked a little grease out, but it got the job done. I found that if I drilled a 3/4" hole in the rock, and then stuck a long 3/4" round rod into the hole, I could usually break pretty big chunks off.