Harbor Freight Junk

[IcerUSA]

Picked up one of there vibratory polishers thinking maybe the first on I had was a fluke, but nope, second one lasted about as long, 2 months or so, motor went bad, so I get this eflier from Midway and they have a Frankfort on sale for $30.00 .
Hope it is better than HF's, I ordered 2 hehe

[BruceB]

I made an on-purpose trip to HF in Reno a few years ago, just because they were advertising propane-fired weedburners for about $19.

I found the item, and arrived at the checkout, where the cute l'il thing said, "Oh, these are on sale for eleven dollars!" Thankee very much, my dear.....

That burner has now served for at least four seasons of burning the enthusiastic weeds here at Ragged Ass Ranch, but more to the point I'd bet I've rendered at least a ton of WW into useable ingots with it. At the time I bought it, the local stores were asking $80 for a very similar rig.

A lot of HF stuff is definitely the Chinese pot-metal specials, and MIGHT last until you're out the door. Caveat emptor, and all that good advice. As for my burner....it's GREAT!

[imashooter2]

Picked up one of there vibratory polishers thinking maybe the first on I had was a fluke, but nope, second one lasted about as long, 2 months or so, motor went bad, so I get this eflier from Midway and they have a Frankfort on sale for $30.00 .
Hope it is better than HF's, I ordered 2 hehe

Word on the street is the Frankford tumblers will last a lot longer if you put some nice big vent holes in the base plate the lawyers made them put over the bottom.

My old Midway 1292 has been in service for 18 years or so with many, many thousands of cases polished...

[dmftoy1]

I picked up a really heavy cast iron bench grinder stand there about 2 weeks ago for $25 . .made a really nice stand for my Star Lubersizer so I don't have to mount it to my reloading bench. (FWIW)

[montana_charlie]

A lot of HF stuff is definitely the Chinese pot-metal specials,
For many years, I've had one of those cast iron 4-inch drill press vises from them. Had it so long because I rarely use it.

Recently needed to drill some round stock, and the 4-inch was a better fit than the old cross-vise. But to hold round stuff, you need to get it 'guten tite'.
Well, the final crank broke the whole rear end off of the frame...

I think, if I put it back together with JB Weld, it will be stronger than it was to begin with.
CM

[RugerFan]

I bought a meat grinder at HF for $19.99. It lasted for less than 2 lbs of meat before it broke.

[IcerUSA]

Some of their stuff ain't too bad but some of it is . That was the second tumbler that the motor went out in. They did do a nice job when they ran, just don't run long enough and with the Frankfort Arsenals on sale at Midway, which are also cheaper that HF's sale price on their unit I think FA's tumbler should be a whole lot better deal.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

IcerUSA,

I've had the Midway/Frankford Arsenal tumbler for many years. Mine has give great service and they come with a lifetime warranty. I also have the rotary sifter with it. Works great and does a good job.

The only advice I would give is to check the bottom plate and if it's solid, add holes so the motor can breath and cool. Otherwise, it's a great value for the money.

Regards,

Dave

[LAH]

I have a Midway Tumbler. I won't dare guess the brass it's polished. At the height of Dry Creek I sold a bit of brass and still have a couple tons. This tumbler ran one time for over a month, 24 hours a day only stopping to refill. See they get plenty of air and don't over load them..............Creeker

[lovedogs]

I'll never use anything from Harbor Freight again! A friend made me a gift of a belt/disc sander, which is very handy for grinding down recoil pads and doing lots of things. The second time I used it the thing broke a major casting. It took six months of long-distance phone calls to obtain... the wrong parts. Fortunately for me they opened a new store about 270 miles down the road. I called them. They were kind enough to take a part off a new machine for me and order a replacement for themselves. That store was real good to me. But the stuff they sell (made in China) is junk and trying to get the parts to repair them when they break is a real nightmare. From now on I buy from someone like Sears or somebody who really stands behind their products. It may cost a little more but to me their better quality is worth it.

[Buckshot]

.............I've bought some stuff from Harbor Freight, and I've looked at a LOT more I've declined to buy. One of the best buys is the 4-1/2 x 6" horizontal bandsaws, and especially if it's on sale for $149 and you also have a 15% off coupon. The table and arm are extremely well done cast iron castings. The legs are sheet metal horrors the way they are. I installed a shelf which ties it all together and some L brackets at the corners.

The saw is made in Taiwan but I think the motor is Chinese. It gets so blamed hot you can't touch it. Since I had the 2 year extended warranty I've TRIED to smoke it, but the smoke has stayed in so far. I also bought several HF band saw blades when I got the machine, figuring I'd be replacing them often. I'm danged if it's still not on the one that came with it! Unbelieveable. Do a Google for 4x6 bandsaw or 4x6 Harbor Freight bandsaw and you'll get a bunch of hits showing that people have done a lot with them.

My old oilless air compressor finally died (thank God I was tired of that noisy SOB). So with another 15% off coupon I went back to HF. I did check, HD, Lowes, and Western Tool but they didn't have a portable crankcase type compressor I could either fit into the old ones spot, or fit into my wallet. I got one showing slightly better stats then the old one.

Right away I had a problem. It cut off at 120 psi but wouldn't restart until it was down to about 60 psi. That's fine for airing tires but for running air tools it's no bueno por cac-ca. There is a cover over the on-off switch and obviously the pressure regulator. It has a sticker that pretty much says don't take this cover off EVER, for ANY reason or you'll get aids and bad breathe and other possible bad things.

I snatched that cover off (had ONE phillips screw and a clip holding it on. Underneath are 2 large knurled headed knobs. On the underside of the DO NOT REMOVE cover is a sticker that shows one is to set the start pressure and the other sets the cutoff pressure. Neato! So now it starts at 85 psi, and cuts off at the same old 120 psi. It's a LOT quieter then the old Campbell-Hausfeld was.

.................Buckshot

[Lloyd Smale]

I too bought one of the frankfort arsenol tumblers from midway. I bought as a back up to my two dillons and for when i didnt have a hundred lbs of brass to tumble. Its given me good service for about 5 years now.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

I, like Buckshot, have had good luck with Harbor Freight's larger floor model tools, particularly the woodworking stuff. I had the bandsaw, the jointer, the lathe that looks like a jet 1236 (and performs like it) and several of the small hand held power tools. I got great service from the floor model tools and actually made money when I sold as I was moving and had no place for them at the new place. The hand held powder tools were a mixed bag, but the small trim router has been very handy used with a rounding bit for various woodworking projects I've had. It's been worth much more to me than the measly 20 bucks I paid for it.

On the other hand, the hand held drills, pad sander and electric planer were pretty much junk.

What I've learned to do with Harbor Freight tools, if I think I want one, is go to a tool user's forum, wether it be woodworking or metalworking and read up to see if the tool is a Harbor Freight "gem" or if it's junk. If I don't see it posted, I post it's number and a description or a link to the tool on the HF website and ask, then base my purchase on the responses I get.

This has worked out quite well for me, allowing me to experience woodworking much more than I could have afforded if I had had to buy more expensive woodworking tools. I've read where others had similar experiences with some of their metal working tools.

Regards,

Dave

[Sundogg1911]

I have some harbor freight tools. Some are good, some are not.
If I know i'll be using a tool a lot i'll buy better quality. if it's going to be used very little i'll look at the harbor freight stuff. I've had very good luck with their air tools, but not so much with electric tools.
I do like the frankford tumbler. mine is at least 12 years old, and i've never had a problem with it. It doesn't set still on the shelf very long either.

[montana_charlie]

Compare prices on something like a standard, 3/4" drive, socket set.
They all have about the same items, and the same range of socket sizes.

Since all of them are 'too beefy to break', I feel safe using a set such as that sold by HF. I would not have the same faith in a 1/4" set.
CM

[KCSO]

The biggest problem with the new tumbles is that they don't let enough air to the motor. My old one was open around the tub and all of the bottom and had a small fan blade and it has gone 10 years with occasonal bearing greasing. I got a new one when the old one started stuttering a while back and the first thing I did was take off the bottom plate. I am looking into replacing the motor on my old tumbler with a motor from a commercial coffee maker. All you need is 1750 rmp amd a shaft for the fan excentric cam.

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

KCSO,

I don't know if you have an industrial supply outfit near you, but if you do, you can walk in with the motor you have and they should be able to find a replacement motor that will work for you without a lot of trouble. I've seen various instances over the various reloading forums where guys have done this and gotten a better than original motor for not a lot of money.

Regards,

Dave

[TAWILDCATT]

I'V had good luck with the items I'V bought.I also got the weed burner great price and tool.I have digitil verner from them and looking at RCBS and LYMAN they seem to have same tool.I wonder where the tumbles of midway lyman ect are made.the problem with any tool is what the distributer orders.is it cheap or quality.that desides how well its made.the only thing I find a problem with is cheap drills.their only good for wood and their points are not ground right.my compresser had problem with reset switch,took it out works fine now.:Fire: :coffee:

[montana_charlie]

my compresser had problem with reset switch,took it out works fine now.
...but might overload and catch fire?

[Drifter]

I owned a custom cabinet shop for 15 years and bought a few machines from Harbor Freight. I think Central Machinery equipment is pretty good for a home shop but for every day use they don't seem to last. Parts for the equipment were hard to get and took forever. I sold the shop about a year and a half ago and when I sold it I was waiting on a part for a band saw. I was at the shop this past monday and the man that bought it is still waiting for the part, he keeps getting a card from them saying it's on backorder.
Drifter

[45r]

some midway or frankford arsonal stuff isn't so good.I broke an impact bullet puller and they wouldn't stand behind their product.So now I buy reloading things from midsouth or wiedners.they have lower prices anyway.If you don't get your moneys worth then buy somewhere else from then on and live and learn.I buy from rcbs mostly from now on.they stand behind there products.so does redding and hornady.You might end up paying a little more but at least you know they take pride in their products and not to cheap to back what they sell.

[beemer]

I bought a set 7 of chisels for my wood lathe at Harbor Freight. They were hi-speed steel with nice ash handles and brass ferrels. At about $37 they were a good buy, at least good enough for me. If you go to a woodworking shop you can't buy 1 good chisel for that.
beemer

[1hole]

[QUOTE=lovedogs;... But the stuff they sell (Harbor Freight, made in China) is junk ... From now on I buy from someone like Sears or somebody who really stands behind their products. It may cost a little more but to me their better quality is worth it.[/QUOTE]

Much of Sear's tool stuff is Chinese too, including their newer model tablesaws with the stainless cabinets. We just can't get away from it, if we buy tools or applicances or parts or ..... China is here to stay.

It's important to understand that the Chinese can also make quality stuff but, just as with anyone else, it costs more. As an avid amature, I have a lot of quality tools, machine and hand. I also have a lot of small HF tools, machine and hand but I buy according to what I need. I needed a portable band saw a couple of years ago for occasional metal projects but not badly enough to pay $300 for a Milwaukee so I got a $60 (on sale) HF and put Milwaukee blades in it. It has done all I need, if it quits tomorrow, it owes me nothing because it's already done enough to pay for itself. But I have a Porter-Cable router, not a Harbor Freight, because I use it a lot.

My point is, buy what you need and can justify for the work you do. I believe HF has a place in anyones casual use tool inventory.

[StanDahl]

My dad considers their $20 angle grinder to be disposable. He buys a bunch for occasional use down on the Victory ship they are restoring in San Pedro (www.lanevictory.org (http://www.lanevictory.org)). He got me one, and it started to burn up less than 2 minutes after I turned it on. They usually last a while longer than that, he says.

[Ed Barrett]

I've had pretty good luck with stuff from HF. I'm lucky since there is a store in Kansas City about 40 miles away. When I'm down there I stop in and look stuff over, then wait for it to go on sale in the flyers. All the stores will honor the flyer price if you bring it in.

[Bret4207]

Like somany things today, you sometimes get what you pay for and sometimes you just pay, pay pay. I've had "good" tools that were garbage and "cheap" stuff that's held up well. These days I prefer to buy older used stuff in hand tools and the best I can afford in power tools. Doesn't seem to matter much anymore where you buy the stuff, it all seems to come from outside our shores. Even "American made" power tools aremade someplace else!

[smokemjoe]

One time they came around with a truck load sale.I had a few things in my arms in the checkout line, about 20 + people behine me, I hand a pair of binoculars and picked them up to look threw them. Both end pieces fell off and rolled down the isle. Every one roared laughting. I layed all the stuff down on a display and walked out, They have a store In davenport now and have got some of their canvas tool bags for target pasters and tools at the range,That stuff is okey. Joe

[richbug]

Compare prices on something like a standard, 3/4" drive, socket set.
They all have about the same items, and the same range of socket sizes.

Since all of them are 'too beefy to break', I feel safe using a set such as that sold by HF. I would not have the same faith in a 1/4" set.
CM

Everything is breakable, given you apply enough force.

I have a set of their 3/4" sockets and have broken about 1/2 of them, twisted off both extensions, bent the "T" handle, and made a ratchet that only works to tighten stuff up.

Still a good value for most folks.