Toyota MR2 Message Board - View Single Post - Tools and Machines Harbor frieght tools.. hit or miss, still worth it sometimes.

TomsMR2 · 05-16-2007, 12:07 AM

HF buffer. the pads included are junk, the sand paper included is junk.. the buffer itself? its not too bad.. it.. well.. buffs

i have good 3M buffing pads and compound (which actually cost more than the buffer lol). it bogs down a little under heavy pressure, but i used it for a couple hours and it didnt smoke or burn out or do anything terrible.. im happy. ended up getting a real good buff out of it.pretty much everything at HF, the included items are total junk (buffing pads, accessories etc etc), but the piece itself isnt too bad.

i also bought a HF 14 inch chop saw for 50 bucks a couple years ago. this thing is awesome, it works fantastically well.. again, the included blades sucked, replaced it with a good dewalt blade. if you need to cut exhaust tubing, you NEED this. perfect straight cuts, great fit-up for welding. ive used this thing a million times, and it never fails me.. and if/when it does, id buy another in a heart-beat. its cheaper than buying 500 sawzall or hacksaw blades to make crooked tubing cuts. i bought it to do one specific job one day, and expect it to break.. years later its still in perfect working condition! its also torquy. this is one of the odd-ball cheapo tools that are actually work horses.

i somehow ended up with a HF sawzall. i used it for literally 30 seconds before the motor smoked and it was dead. into the trash it went. cant win them all. the milwaukee "sawzall" is 100x better anyway, and those are pretty affordable these days. go with the real deal.

anything from harbor freight that uses batteries, or god forbid uses rechargeable batteries, is junk. ive seen no exemption to this rule. their sockets tend to crack very quickly and easily. the 12 points are great for stripping bolts

their wrenches are also fairly poor fitting, and also tend to strip bolts. these are not the sockets you want for those tough rusty bolts.. all in all, id pass on their sockets, wrenches and screwdrivers.. even for home use its worth it to pay a little more for a better screwdriver.

and my last cheap HF tool review.. HF hammers. its a big metal lump on a stick, its hard to go wrong. everyone that works on cars should have a 2-3lbs sledge, a copper hammer, a rubber mallet, and a dead blow. that'll run you a few hundred from anyone else, or maybe 50-60 HF. they're fine hammers.

at work i have a toolbox full of snap-on, SK, IR and some mac and matco stuff. its all top of the line, and i use/abuse it every single day.. at home for random crap i hardly ever use, harbor freight junky tools sometimes do the job and last years and years.

05-16-2007, 12:07 AM	#1 (permalink)
TomsMR2 Still not heraldo. Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Pineapple under the sea Posts: 4,910 Thanks: 18 Thanked 406 Times in 303 Posts Blog Entries: 1 iTrader Rating: (4/100% )	Harbor frieght tools.. hit or miss, still worth it sometimes. HF buffer. the pads included are junk, the sand paper included is junk.. the buffer itself? its not too bad.. it.. well.. buffs i have good 3M buffing pads and compound (which actually cost more than the buffer lol). it bogs down a little under heavy pressure, but i used it for a couple hours and it didnt smoke or burn out or do anything terrible.. im happy. ended up getting a real good buff out of it.pretty much everything at HF, the included items are total junk (buffing pads, accessories etc etc), but the piece itself isnt too bad. i also bought a HF 14 inch chop saw for 50 bucks a couple years ago. this thing is awesome, it works fantastically well.. again, the included blades sucked, replaced it with a good dewalt blade. if you need to cut exhaust tubing, you NEED this. perfect straight cuts, great fit-up for welding. ive used this thing a million times, and it never fails me.. and if/when it does, id buy another in a heart-beat. its cheaper than buying 500 sawzall or hacksaw blades to make crooked tubing cuts. i bought it to do one specific job one day, and expect it to break.. years later its still in perfect working condition! its also torquy. this is one of the odd-ball cheapo tools that are actually work horses. i somehow ended up with a HF sawzall. i used it for literally 30 seconds before the motor smoked and it was dead. into the trash it went. cant win them all. the milwaukee "sawzall" is 100x better anyway, and those are pretty affordable these days. go with the real deal. anything from harbor freight that uses batteries, or god forbid uses rechargeable batteries, is junk. ive seen no exemption to this rule. their sockets tend to crack very quickly and easily. the 12 points are great for stripping bolts their wrenches are also fairly poor fitting, and also tend to strip bolts. these are not the sockets you want for those tough rusty bolts.. all in all, id pass on their sockets, wrenches and screwdrivers.. even for home use its worth it to pay a little more for a better screwdriver. and my last cheap HF tool review.. HF hammers. its a big metal lump on a stick, its hard to go wrong. everyone that works on cars should have a 2-3lbs sledge, a copper hammer, a rubber mallet, and a dead blow. that'll run you a few hundred from anyone else, or maybe 50-60 HF. they're fine hammers. at work i have a toolbox full of snap-on, SK, IR and some mac and matco stuff. its all top of the line, and i use/abuse it every single day.. at home for random crap i hardly ever use, harbor freight junky tools sometimes do the job and last years and years.