Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

another big PASS for the 5 drawer service cart. the one i just bought has the shiny red paint. looks pretty nice, for $150, anyway.
and the slides are great.

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

I don’t shop at HF on a regular basis but I don’t hesitate to go there for tools that I think will meet my needs. All of the tools below are not one time use tools, they have seen regular use in my shop for at least a year. I am not a professional mechanic so these tools don’t see anywhere near the use cycle that they would see in a professional shop…and for me, that’s the whole point. In the case of these specific tools, I couldn’t/can’t justify the price of professional/industrial tools. I full well believe that I would make different choices if my livelihood depended on the tools…however, I also believe that these might just be capable of withstanding professional level use.

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_12917.jpg

http://www.harborfreight.com/air-too...ars-98580.html

Pass: I’ve had these for several years and have used them for a variety of sheet metal projects that would have been a bear with snips and shears.

The tools below are mostly used in the assembly and service of bicycles. I prefer to use hex sockets pared with the HF roto head stubby 3/8” ratchet over standard L hex or T hex drivers although I have and use those too.

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_12924.jpg

http://www.harborfreight.com/merchan...het-98668.html

Pass: Mine has a green handle instead of the red handle shown in the picture. I love this ratchet! The rotation of the head makes it a pure joy to use when working on bicycles, the stubby handle helps you keep your torque ranges light prior to putting on the torque wrench for final tightness. I don’t generally like quick release ratchets but again, in the application that I use this for it is a great feature. I’ve almost completely stopped using my L hexes and have completely stopped using my T hexes.

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_11213.jpg

http://www.harborfreight.com/merchan...ench-2696.html

Pass…maybe: The picture shown on the web site is different than torque wrench that I have, the specs are the same. I put the maybe in because I don’t believe that the wrench pictured is the same and I can’t speak to whether it will be as good as the one that I own. I bought this on sale for $9.99 and sent it off to be calibrated before I ever used it, total cost was still below $50.00, far cheaper than I could by a NIST calibrated unit, and the calibration lab didn’t have to make any adjustments. I use this torque wrench frequently on fasteners needing torqued between 4 Nm and 15 Nm, above that I move up to a 3/8 or 1/2 drive non-Harbor Freight torque wrench as needed.

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_18997.jpg

http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-to...set-67925.html

Provisional Pass: I only use the 1/4 drive to 3/8 drive adapter and nowhere near any sort of torque that should stress the adapter. It’s a Provisional Pass because it meets my modest needs and your mileage may vary.

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_14199.jpg

http://www.harborfreight.com/merchan...set-67890.html

Pass: These are made in Taiwan, the size is spot on as measured with a digital caliper. The label on the socket holder states that the blades are S2 steel, the oxide finish wears off pretty quickly however they show no sign of deformation on the working surfaces. I’m thrilled that I can rely on them not to bugger up fasteners.

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_14192.jpg

http://www.harborfreight.com/merchan...7880-html.html

Pass: Same as the long bladed metric hex set above.

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_14197.jpg

http://www.harborfreight.com/merchan...set-67888.html

Pass: Same as the two sets above. As with all ball head hex drivers one has to be careful to only use with hardened fasteners if you’re going to be torqueing on them.

The only other HF tool I own is the new model 1/2" Earthquake impact gun that I just got. I’ve not included it in the list above because I’ve not used it enough to be able to give it a pass or fail rating. I will say, however, that my limited use makes me very hopeful that it will withstand the test of time, it’s got a lot of power and has no issues with lug nuts and it would be a shame if it fell apart or drastically dropped in performance. Hopefully I’ll be able to provide a Passing grade next year.

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

All three of these items are a PASS The rails are nice quality for china, I just wish they had room on the rail for two more sockets, my big metric mac set wouldn't fit. The pliers are exactly the same you would buy on the mac truck, and the organizer is IMO nicer quality than the tool truck ones

Socket Rails
http://www.harborfreight.com/3-piece...set-68101.html

Push Pin Pliers
http://www.harborfreight.com/push-pin-pliers-67400.html

Organizer
http://www.harborfreight.com/6-compa...zer-99729.html

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

Do those stay up on their own? Or do they fall over like the metal ones?

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

I agree about the socket rails. For being plastic, they are strong enough and work well. I'm able to store my sockets very closely on those rails and that saves me a LOT of space in my tool box.

Regarding the organizers, they seem functional. But when I saw them at the store, the walls are rather thick and in my mind would waste valuable space in my tool box. I like to pack my drawers full, but still easily able to retrieve and store my tools.

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

They stand up on there own, even my deep sockets stay up with them. like I said though my only complaint is they don't have enough room for an 18pc set, they hold 16

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

+1 on the plastic socket rails. I picked-up 5 sets of these to store all of my sockets. One nice thing is that you can remove and add more holders on to the rails as needed -- some of my 1/4 inch sets had more sockets than receivers on the rail so I was able to add more. Conversely, some of my 1/2 sockets were too big to use all of the holders so I was able to remove them and move them to another rail. You can mix and match holders of different sizes.

They fall over like any other rail. However, there are holes that allow for mounting to some sore of substrate. You could make these stable by screwing two or so rails onto a homemade holder.

These rails were the solution for me due to the insane price and the fact that they're quite precise and even have a ball bearing in the side of the composit plastic receiver (holder). I had been pricing the other choices many on this forum use and they were going to cost more than my socket sets did! This way, I got 5 rails of each size for under $25.

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

Fail and Pass

5.2 Amp 3-in-1 1" SDS Plus Rotary Hammer

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-in-1-...mer-97743.html

Failed: I bought this to install the anchors for my MaxJax lift. The drill bit wobbled or, if it was drilling strait, the drill and operator wobbled! Either way, it was drilling oblong holes which was unacceptable and was returned.

Pass: The replacement drill worked fine in hammer drill mode for 5 holes through 4 1/2" thick concrete. Though I was able to get it to bind up now and then. Probably better as if it were more powerful, it might have sprained a wrist. Good enough to get the job done with a 7/8" bit.

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

I'm all for spending on Chinese tools, but not ones that will get me hurt.
My Bosch SDS drill has a clutch, and if it binds up (which I've only managed to do when drilling deeper than 12", and certainly not in 4 1/2" concrete), you won't end up with a sprained wrist. I really don't think this is one tool that's worth saving the money on.

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

I agree but only if you're actually going to need one. This is the first time in 5 years I needed one and I probably won't use it again for another 5. That said, it was cheaper than renting one so there it sits for another 5 years....

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

Going to ask because I'm curious.. I have two wheels (aluminum) that I need to strip On or near black Friday I drove up to the store to check out some blasting media and somthing to shoot it with.. Having never stripped anything this way before I was unsure what I needed..

At first I was looking at this...

37025
http://www.harborfreight.com/portabl...kit-37025.html

And I was going to use 80 Grit Glass Bead 25 LB

For two wheels that are 16" each is 25 Lbs enough?

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_17893.jpg

Pass. Mine are black in color. I've used this to chisel out rivets on my truck. Held up a lot better than I ever thought. I didn't realize how much I would end up using this chisel/punch set.

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_12063.jpg

Pass on this too. I've used this to cut bolts, grind out rust etc...

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_18082.jpg

Fail. It got the job done. One of the drill bits was bent and they are soft soft soft. I have DeWalt bits now so that shouldn't be a problem in the future. The reverse drill bits are fine. Just took a long time.

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_14234.jpg

Pass... kind of... I've used this on some pretty stuck bolts. I will say I am not super confident to use it on the most stuck bolts. I'd rather put a bit cheater bar over my 1/2" Craftsman ratchet. I used the cheater bar/ratchet method to snap nuts off of the U-bolt that held my leaf springs in place on my truck. I had to snap 6 out of the 8 nuts that way. The breaker bar flexed and made a clicking sound, thus I decided to go with the ratchet.

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c...mage_12834.jpg

It's a big heavy hammer and nothing has flown loose to hurt my hand or my car... Pass

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

Harbor Freight Torx Screw Driver Set

Pass

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

Is the metal soft?

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

maybe you are overloading them ?

the castors on my new 5 drawer cart, work great.

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

Spray some grease on (in) them.

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

*edit* nevermind, i see the thread was cleaned up. thanks!

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

Fellas... Keep it to the pass/fail comments or don't post. We don't need the drama.

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

*edit* nevermind, i see the thread was cleaned up. thanks!

Re: The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...
 

big thanks to ryan for taking the garbage out of this thread!