Harbor Freight tap set, fail

[Bill Dufour]

I bought a cheap Hf tap set in a plastic case. Carbon steel so not expecting much, but lifetime guarantee. Went to use the tee wrench and could not tap a #10 hole that is already tapped, just painted over. a bit. the bit slipped in the jaws.
It turns out the jaws in the collet are not square to grab the square end of the tap. They are round and just slip under load on the hardened shaft. No possible way it can work. A drill chuck will provide better grip. Lucky I have some real tap handles to use.
Bill D

[Rich Engelhardt]

I got lucky with my 40 piece Pittsburgh set. Everything has worked in mine - so far.
Typical HF hit or miss.

[David Buchhauser]

The HF tools are not what they used to be. I bought a HF horizontal metal cutting band saw back in 2003 and the saw was made in Taiwan, and the motor an Emerson made in USA. These days I would shy away from any of their "precision" tools, including taps/dies/drill bits. Just my personal opinion.

As Jim says: "The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often... "


David

[Barry McFadden]

We don't have HF up here that I know of but it amuses me how people keep coming up with put-down names for it but continue to buy there and then complain about it!

[Cameron Wood]

The HF tools are not what they used to be. I bought a HF horizontal metal cutting band saw back in 2003 and the saw was made in Taiwan, and the motor an Emerson made in USA. These days I would shy away from any of their "precision" tools, including taps/dies/drill bits. Just my personal opinion.

As Jim says: "The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often... "


David

Huh, I think the opposite. The power tools used to be things that might last a week. Now pretty decent.

I did just buy some drill bits for jobsite use & one broke right away, but I wasn't expecting much.

[Alex Zeller]

I try to never buy the bottom end stuff from there. But I have bought a few things that I needed for one job, a 10" tile saw, that was cheaper than renting so anything beyond the one job was just a bonus. I have bought several things from their higher end line and had good luck.

[Bob Riefer]

There's many good forum threads (here and elsewhere) that do a nice job grading various HF items. I spend about $100 per year there and am never out of a variety of staples and consumables.

On occasion, I spend more there after reading such forum comments so that I can understand the risk/reward ratio. Some solid wins:

- I have about 20 of their 6-12" F clamps, and all have been reliable for over a decade
- I have their Yukon tool cabinets... heavier duty than similar at Lowes / HD, and 25% less when I bought them.
- General use drill bits... at that price, I keep a full set wherever I think I might use them... and if a bit dies, I sharpen it or toss it.
- Acid brushes are great for glue spreading
- Moving blankets.. can never have enough of them. Great around campfire, for protecting work surfaces, transporting furniture etc.
- I use pricier ratchet straps for critical applications, but have used HF for many years successfully as well.
- Come-alongs have been solid for 20 years now.
- Belt/disc sander has been fine for my limited use. Bought a nicer spindle model for furniture work, but the HF unit has seen plenty of use too.
- Hole cutting kit... honestly, if it's a critical hole I use a router jig, but for handyman work, this kit has drilled easily a couple hundred holes for me.


All in, I have found that I must research forums for real commentary about ANY tool-like purchase that I make. I've had winners/losers from "great/trusted" brands, and I've had the same from HF. I just try to do my research and not get too hung up into "what would the guys think of me if they new I shopped for a deal...."

[Rick Potter]

I drilled a hole in a Sears socket and tried to tap for a set screw using a brand new Irwin Tap. It completely ruined the tap, so I finished the threads with an old Sears tap, which did it fine.

I was surprised that socket was made of such tough stuff.

PS: Lowes would not take the Irwin back in the wrapper, or exchange it without a receipt. They no longer had it on their computer, but I went to the tool section and brought one back that was in a Kobalt wrapper, same number. Then they exchanged it.

[Mike Cutler]

Bill

I would just take it back and get another one, or return it. I've never had any problems returning things there.

Through the years I have bought quite a few things from HF. Mostly for working on cars. Almost all, I have had good luck with. Some products I have learned to just stay away from.
HF is what it is. If a person is looking for high quality tools, or buying tools to run a business, it's not the right store. I do appreciate having three of them within 20 miles of my house though.

[Paul Koenigs]

I'm just a hobbyist. In my opinion, it's worth the money to spend on a premium tap.
Maybe it's just my technique, but I've had cheap taps break in the hole too easy... Which often ruins the piece.. or at bare minimum causes a "design change".
The cost of a higher end tap (I order from McMaster Carr) is pretty negligible compared to the cost of a tap breaking or just not working well.
Again, perhaps people that are more skilled at tapping than me can make the less expensive ones work better.

[Gregory King]

We don't have HF up here that I know of but it amuses me how people keep coming up with put-down names for it but continue to buy there and then complain about it!

Called Princess Auto in this province

[Bill Dufour]

One advantage of the cheap carbon steel taps is when they break off. They can be shattered and cleared with a punch. Does not work on hss tooling.
BilL D