Harbor Freight?

[Jerry Murray]

I am just starting to put together my workshop. Right now I am working on some gunstocks and crafting pistol scales (handles)

I have a Harbor Freight nearby and love to shop there. I also know that soe things they have will cause frustration due to the shoddy materials.

So...what would be good from Harbor Freight versus, say Lee Valley or Woodcrafters?

I am looking at a near term purchase of a drill press among other things.

I've bought a decent vise from HF and some el-cheapo drill bits. I also am looking to buy a tap and die set.

[Wade Lippman]

If you do a search on Harbor Freight Gems you will come up with some suggestions.

Mainly it is a matter of common sense; it making it cheaply will reduce it to junk, don't buy it.

[Jerry Murray]

If you do a search on Harbor Freight Gems you will come up with some suggestions.

Mainly it is a matter of common sense; it making it cheaply will reduce it to junk, don't buy it.

Yeah I understand that. However there are some things that they carry that make better sense to buy cheap. I'm trying to make the most of my budget.

I know that I won't buy one of their routers...but a drill press? I bought one of their belt sanders a few years ago and love it.

[Raymond Gerdes]

I would not hesitate to buy anything in the store if I wanted the tool and could afford it. The same is true of sears, HD and Lowes.
Ray Gerdes

[Dan Friedrichs]

Many have said that they sell a decent drill press (for the money). Likewise, their 2HP dust collector is a favorite.

Personally, there are several things I do buy from them. Examples:

-Spring clamps. On sale: $1/ea.

-12" "Quick-Grip"-style clamps. They're cheap junk, but for $2/ea (on sale), I'll get my money's worth out of them before they fail.

- I'm not a machinist, nor do I aspire to be one. So for the one time a year I need a tap or die, I wouldn't be able to justify owning anything more expensive than an HF set.

-Likewise, I rarely need an impact wrench. But when I do, my $14 HF one works fine.

- Bought several rubber mallets for $1/ea.

- Dial indicator is usually $14. I'd normally avoid buying measurement tools from them (I bought a 6" try-square from them that was 1/8" out of square (!!), and the calipers I bought from them are inaccurate), but if you need a RELATIVE measurement, rather an an ABSOLUTE one, they've got some decent things.


I would avoid buying anything that you'll put under a lot of stress from them. (ex: cordless drill). Or anything you'd demand any precision from (ex: table saw).

[Craig T. Smith]

Jerry, I have several HF tools clamps, 3 brad nailer combos,sander etc. I don't buy anything off the catalog I go to the store where I can feel it and see it. I am well satisfied with HF. Also I would pass on their taps and dies I tried them and they won't hold up, my 2cents. Craig

[Greg Crawford]

Jerry,

I've bought several things from HF. I like their Pittsburgh bar clamps better than my Ponys. Their pipe clamps are very rough, though. I also got a drill index, and many of the bits are not true. If precision is what you're after, buy better drill bits. I've also heard a lot of good things about their air tools. I think the fittings and hose are a good deal, too.

[george wilson]

I do not advise buying taps and dies from HF. You will end up with a broken off tap in something you wish you had used a better tap on. Chinese HSS is usually TOO HARD,and TOO BRITTLE which is what you do not want in a tap. If the tap turns out to be soft as butter,you will be in an equal amount of trouble.

[Bruce Page]

Their Nitrile gloves are as good as what Lee Valley or Woodcraft sells…

[Stephen Edwards]

I know a guy who has this HF drill press:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=38142

I've seen it in his shop. He's perfectly satisfied with it and he's a very good woodworker.

If that DP would do what you need a DP to do and you like it, I think you'd be pleased with it.

[Stephen Edwards]

Jerry,

I've bought several things from HF. I like their Pittsburgh bar clamps better than my Ponys. Their pipe clamps are very rough, though. I also got a drill index, and many of the bits are not true. If precision is what you're after, buy better drill bits. I've also heard a lot of good things about their air tools. I think the fittings and hose are a good deal, too.

Ditto on the pipe clamps. I used them for years. Yes, the finish on them is rough. But, they work great. I bought several of a better known name brand pipe clamp. Recently, I've found myself going back to the Pittsburgh clamps more and more. They work just fine.

[Jerry Murray]

I do not advise buying taps and dies from HF. You will end up with a broken off tap in something you wish you had used a better tap on. Chinese HSS is usually TOO HARD,and TOO BRITTLE which is what you do not want in a tap. If the tap turns out to be soft as butter,you will be in an equal amount of trouble.

Thanks for the heads up on the tap and die set. I am doing more gunsmithing and will require a quality set...so on this one I will have to spend the money.

How are their bench vises?

[Brian Kent]

Wooden clamps, screw drivers, gloves, one-job tools.

I threw away their sandpaper.

Their $79 drill press for $49 was fine but outlived its usefulness.

[Roger Savatteri]

Jerry,

I've purchased HF's 880 lb electric hoist and mounted it on a barn door track (mounted to my shop ceiling) and have been very happy with it. Actually, I bought two and have them on two separate tracks. Just recently I built an 11' by 5' by 4 inch thick dining room table alone, and used the hoists (with proper rigging) for flipping the table over several times during the building and finishing process.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=44006

I also have one of their hydraulic lift tables.
http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=lift+table&Submit=Go

I wouldn't touch any of their hand power tools though.
(I'm not familiar with their drill press. . . though I seem to remember there being a thread here about comparing them to other drill press brands a while back)

cheers,
Roger

[Kev Godwin]

I also use quite a few of their clamps for building outdoor furniture that does not have to be really precise. I abuse those clamps and am only out $2. on a small one that lasts about 2 years if used really hard. Longer if not pushed too hard. I keep my orange and red ones for finish work.

They have good deals on gloves, disposable bits, etc. One month ago I picked up their Fein clone to try out. I'm running it thru a heavy trial and will post results soon.

(Not woodworking related - 2 Years ago I bought a 2 burner propane mini-stove for use on the patio that is an amazing deal. Cooked outside 50 times so far without a problem.)

[Don Eddard]

Dead blow hammer, nitrile gloves. 2hp dust collector, casters, Forstner bits (cheap but they served me well for quite a few years), and 4 wheel furniture dollies have been good for me.

Air tools, regulators, compressors, and power hand tools have not been good for me.

YMMV.

[Frank Trinkle]

I purchase a lot of smalls from HF. I recently bought a tool stand for my Ridgid Oscillating sander, and it is great... once you decipher the assembly instructions!

I buy $.99 2-part epoxy a lot. (When you have a toddler around the house, you tend to repair a LOT of little items!)

Pipe clamps, hobby knife sets, gloves, misc clamps, and disposables. I haven't been very impressed with any of the power tools I've purchased there... but they are so cheap, they are considered disposable as well. All my hardwood wood screw clamps are from HF and work great. (Got them on one of their sales with the 12"'ers as low as $7.99)

Watch their sales...and flyers. Some great deals often.

[Bob Aquino]

I've got a couple of their smaller air nailers, an 18 gauge and 23 gauge. Both work well especially for the price. When they dont work, I'll chuck em.

[glenn bradley]

I do not advise buying taps and dies from HF. You will end up with a broken off tap in something you wish you had used a better tap on. Chinese HSS is usually TOO HARD,and TOO BRITTLE which is what you do not want in a tap. If the tap turns out to be soft as butter,you will be in an equal amount of trouble.

I'm with George. The tap thread count is off enough to make the fasteners bind. The short term cure was to run the HF die up and down the bolts and get a loose but useable fit until I could rebuild the item using quality inserts.

[Gene E Miller]

Greetings & Salutations,

I get the nitrate gloves all the time keep 3 or 4 boxes on hand and they do a good job.

I also have their oscillating spindle sander that I got on sale for $79 and am very happy with that.

I have the 21 gallon air compressor that I got on sale for $129.00 that is great to use outside and has wheels so its easy to move. Will keep my framing nailer going without running too much also.

Spring clamps are not bad but the bar clamp squeeze handle will break with just a moderate amount of hand pressure don't know how many of them I have hand to throw out.

I will go thru and browse every time I get near the store in Jonesboro or Memphis just to see what I can find. If you take your time you can find some bargins that will come in handy in the shop.

Gene

[Ray Phillips]

I have a HF floor drill press I bought over 20 years ago and it has done everything I wanted it to do. I am a casual woodworker and the press has not been used every day but it has been used alot over the 20 years and I have had no problems with it at all. I can't speak about the current models but the old ones were good.

[Don Dorn]

I have a HF less than a mile from my house so I'm a regular. That said, the major machinery in my shop is not HF, except the Dust Collector which is the $179 model. It works perfectly and has plenty of power.

I have many clamps, storage solutions, some air nailers, drill press table, gloves, pry bars, measuring tools, etc. Haven't been dissapointed with anything other than hole saws which lasted about 12 seconds.

If you have the need for something, go ahead and most often you'll be fine, but if it is something you know are going to use allot, then I'd spend the extra dimes and get a name brand tool.

[Chris Tsutsui]

Harbor freight is sort of addicting.

Put one of the best professional contractors near a harbor freight and i will gaurantee you that they will have some HF stuff in their shop because the prices makes things nearly disposable and almost everything there does what it's supposed to (Otherwise HF will take it back with their great return policy or warranty)

I got the extended warranty on their 2HP DC because I have some plans for it. :)

[dennis thompson]

I have their benchtop drill press & 2hp dust collector, both work fine. I bought their impact drill, it broke quickly, I brought it back & they exchanged it with no questions asked. I bought a couple of ratchet bar clamps, they were cheap but not very good at all, brought them back, again no questions asked & I got a refund. For the most part their stuff is ...some good..... some bad. I have to admit I love walking thru there
Dennis

[scott spencer]

...
So...what would be good from Harbor Freight versus, say Lee Valley or Woodcrafters?

I am looking at a near term purchase of a drill press among other things.

...

Clamps...the Pittsburg bar clamps are a bonafide inexpensive and functional bargain.

I've got the 38142 13" DP, and have been surprisingly impressed with it. One problem with HF machines is quality control, which means another 38142 may not be the same, so make sure any tool is returnable.

[Brad Wood]

Just don't buy their sandpaper - worst crap I've ever seen

other than that, I think I pretty much agree with everyone else. HF serves a great niche and its nice to have them around. Sort of like Radio Shack, I rarely go in there, but I'd hate it if they went out of biz.

[Tom O'Ryan]

I like the glue brushes,some of their clamps,their casters if you need some that aren't real heavy duty otherwise get them from Hartville tool.The 99 cent countersinks are alright. For the price the die grinders are ok