The Harbor Freight PASS/FAIL Thread...

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by granitestater

These bar clamps, item 46805 are a pass.

First time I used one, the plastic nub that the orange plastic pivots on inside snapped off. I drilled and put a #10 machine screw through the whole thing, and it's much better now. When clamped tightly, it's a bit rough on the fingers to push the darn button to release it. The design is not great, but they seem to work ok for the $2 I got them for a while back.

[BiltFordTuff]

Originally Posted by ROCK4185

Does anyone have a report on the Pittsburgh torque wrenches??

which ones, i have the 3/8" clicker type and it works fine,

[JohnFreeman]

http://www.harborfreight.com/recharg...ght-95181.html



It's a strange form factor 24 LED light, rechargeable

The good news : It's one VERY bright light

The bad news: It self discharges in a week

What good is a dead light? So---> FAIL

I had high hopes for this, but it inexplicably self discharges if left off, in only a week.

I should have known better...

[bchee]

Originally Posted by JohnFreeman

It's a strange form factor 24 LED light, rechargeable

The good news : It's one VERY bright light

The bad news: It self discharges in a week

What good is a dead light? So---> FAIL

I had high hopes for this, but it inexplicably self discharges if left off, in only a week.

I should have known better...

Maybe it needs a few more charge/discharge cycles

[TN_GARAGE]

Originally Posted by JohnFreeman

http://www.harborfreight.com/recharg...ght-95181.html



It's a strange form factor 24 LED light, rechargeable

The good news : It's one VERY bright light

The bad news: It self discharges in a week

What good is a dead light? So---> FAIL

I had high hopes for this, but it inexplicably self discharges if left off, in only a week.

I should have known better...

I'd return it/exchange it.
You might have gotten a bad apple.

User's manual says to charge it every month if not used.

[jakeb]

Originally Posted by granitestater

These bar clamps, item 46805 are a pass.

I agree these are a pass.... I actually used the bar of the short one as a BMW fan clutch removal tool....

Took the fixed clamp off, bolted the bar to the water pump pulley to hold it from moving. Didn't bend a bit when using a fairly long 32mm wrench on the fan clutch nut.

[JohnFreeman]

Originally Posted by TN_GARAGE

I'd return it/exchange it.
You might have gotten a bad apple.

User's manual says to charge it every month if not used.

I should take it apart and fix it...can't be much in there.

Like most/all HF stuff, it's ALMOST good and might be, if you spend the time to fix it.

Sigh....

(It's a month or so old, before I noticed this... no receipt now, etc...)

John

[41ratrod]

found a HP battery drill in my yard had the cast broken and had some of the screws missing . put it back together and it works, I had for about 4 years
its slower then most drills, went to get another battery and got a new drill
in the cast with battery and charger cheaper then just battery alone.
My Dewatt 18 volt drill is alot better and is used more often.
jack stands pass
car dolly pass (one wheel broke) two sets
tin snips sucks
24" hyd. cyl. for engine hoist pass
pipe bar clamps are ok broke one had bad casing
pop rivet gun pass ( sears one broke and they would not replace it lest then
a year old)
sears torque wrench 1/2 "leaks oil and not right bought it on sale and there was no return on it .

[southernfriedcj]

Originally Posted by beelsr

nitrile/latex gloves - FAIL, buy them at costco/sam's. HF's are pre-hardened and brittle.

I use a box per week of the blue nitrile HF gloves and they are great. The latex HF gloves have never let me down either.

[IONH]

Originally Posted by JohnFreeman

I should take it apart and fix it...can't be much in there.

Like most/all HF stuff, it's ALMOST good and might be, if you spend the time to fix it.

Sigh....

(It's a month or so old, before I noticed this... no receipt now, etc...)

John

It's stuff like this that gives HF a bad name. People buy stuff and, if it happens to be broken, they sit on it till the excuse time kicks in. This way, they can't exchange the item for one that potentially works perfectly and will always badmouth HF for the item.

[TN_GARAGE]

Originally Posted by IONH

It's stuff like this that gives HF a bad name. People buy stuff and, if it happens to be broken, they sit on it till the excuse time kicks in. This way, they can't exchange the item for one that potentially works perfectly and will always badmouth HF for the item.

Yep. HF is a bit inconsistent that's why you have to take it home and immediately put it through its paces before you lose the receipt and the warranty runs out. Guess that's the price you pay for inexpensive tools.

[Tom2]

Originally Posted by southernfriedcj

I use a box per week of the blue nitrile HF gloves and they are great. The latex HF gloves have never let me down either.

Yea, I use the latex gloves daily and love them. They hold up better than any other latex/nitrile gloves I've ever tried. nice and stretchy so they stretch instead of breaking easily.

[Fueler]

I also use the blue gloves. Boy was I surprised to find them holding up far better than some more expensive name brands. That will probably mean they will be of cheaper quality as time goes on since we like them. Pass

[xcgates]

Do the blue gloves have a pattern on the fingers/palm?

[subarub4]

blue nitrile gloves? If so no

[yjcrawler]

the big gantry craine works awesome epic pass
the "el cheapo" sissor trans jack it works okay for occational use

[yjcrawler]

also the little air angle die grinder the 10 dollar one pass pass pass had one used the crap out of it for 3 yrs never even oiled it gave it away and lasted that guy two more yrs

[IONH]

Originally Posted by TN_GARAGE

Yep. HF is a bit inconsistent that's why you have to take it home and immediately put it through its paces before you lose the receipt and the warranty runs out. Guess that's the price you pay for inexpensive tools.

Absolutely. I've also been prone to buying an item here and there and not touching it for months. My father purchased a band saw for me (93762) last February and I did not open it up until earlier this month. Even though the box and foam were in good condition, the motor had a dent in it and the bracket it mounted to was bent. Anyway, I straightened out the bracket and with the dent the motor still works. I doubt they'll fix it under the 2 year warranty should it fail, but I wish I had opened it sooner so I could have brought it back right away.

I also have a 40 pound blasting cabinet still in the box for a year or so now... hope it's not beaten up as well. But at least that's an item of basic construction and I can probably fix anything which may be wrong with it.

[brats.n.harleys]

6'' cross slide vise- pass
only used on my drill press to line up items without messing with removing bolts or clamps, cleaned it up a little, some lock tite on the screws and its awesome
http://www.harborfreight.com/media/c.../image_224.jpg

[Vern X-100]

Hand Riveter set w/ gun and rivets - FAIL

http://www.harborfreight.com/hand-ri...set-38353.html

Couldn't even get the first rivet to set. In fact, the rivet got stuck in the gun. Threw this POS as far as I could, walked over to it and threw it even further outta sight.