Don't forget the FREE High-Power LED flashlight coupon !
Oh, I don’t know… I bought a Russian-made anvil from them when they first opened in my area, and it’s still “like new”! 
(Seriously, thanks for this thread. I’m a HF fan…)
I used one of their cheap side-grinders on SWMBO’s car restoration project, and it’s still working.
OTOH, I’ve had some DOA power tools from them as well.
I get the best service if I just wait until I need the tool, go to HF and buy it, then take it out & use it hard as soon as I get home with it. If it finishes the first job it’s usually worth what I paid for it. If not it goes back in the box just as it came & they replace it with no fuss or bother (other than the ~15mi drive).
One of the first things I bought from them was a Mag-Charger-Clone-like flashlight. It sat on its charger for ~24hrs & still wouldn’t light up. When I took it back, they didn’t want the old one, stating they’d just toss it in the dumpster out back anyway, and would you be happy just taking a replacement? Yeah-buddy! Turns out, my bad! The 2nd one also didn’t light up, so I dissected them to find plastic discs “protecting” the contacts!! Yeah, I still feel bad about that brain fart. To be too honest, after I got them working, they weren’t worth the electricity it took to charge them, so they’re long gone now…
That’s what I like about FlashPilot. He is passionate and knowledgeable.
But I’ll say it again, for somethings, I LIKE Harbor Frieght.
Another story like FP. A friend of mine is an automotive insurance adjuster. He had a claim where an insured dashboard burned up. Very costly loss. It seems there was a Harbor Frieght fuse that didn’t blow when it should have.
Yeah, but hear this!
The latest SK’68’s I got from BangGood with the Lattice Bright emitters are barely brighter!……And they are purple LOL
To try and put this Harbor Freight thing in perspective.
My Dad used to say “Nothing succeeds like success” With 600 stores in the USA, could it be that there is some good.
And FP, I know you probably have SnapON roll away tool chests, but the U.S. General chests that HF carries (they recently bought U.S. General) are quite a bit better than the roll aways at HD, Lowes and Sears.
I have 11 roll away chests, 3 Homak (hence my name) a couple of Craftsman, Husky, Channel Lock, etc. But none of them are as good as the ones in HF. Actually, my 50 year old Craftsman may be its equal.
I wonder if FlashPilot is sure about that… it seems like he’s still on the fence about HF! :bigsmile:
A couple of other thoughts:
The cheap furniture dollys are a good source for four cheap casters. You can get those inexpensively with coupons or on sale, and they cost less than just a single caster alone.
The swappable bit screwdriver linked above isn’t great, but it uses standard bits. When I lost a bit from my favorite screwdriver, I bought the HF driver for .99, kept the bits, and tossed the screwdriver. They are the same size and appear to be the same quality as the original. Maybe not the best, but they are more than sufficient for working on PCs.
Hmm, some good/bad/ugly from my perspective. Only buy these on sale.
good: nitrile gloves. I go through a bunch when painting.
decent: moving blankets. Pretty disposable, but for 6 bucks or so, what do you want?
ugly: “automatic” center punch. The only thing automatic is that it fails to work. On the plus side, it pushed me to a Starrett 18C. (Though I probably could have gotten by with the hit power of the 18A.)
ugly: 25” long drill bits. Totally disposable, though if you need them for one or two holes, they’re cheaper than a real drill bit.
maybe: http://www.harborfreight.com/10-in-25-hp-tilebrick-saw-69275.html — I’ve seen a couple of these in the wild, and they’ve lasted way the heck longer than their pro tile guy owners ever expected
decent: 12g extension cords. Though you probably shouldn’t leave them out in the sun for too long.
good: zip ties.
Anyone able to comment on the 1/2” drive composite ratchet? $11 at the moment. http://www.harborfreight.com/1-2-half-inch-heavy-duty-composite-ratchet-66314.html
I don’t see why some people say do not buy anything with a cord from HF; I’ve read reviews and seen videos of some of their power tools and many of them are decent. Their miter saw, for example, is decent but has minor problems, but for less than $100, who cares? Also the $12 drill is fine has a high speed but low torque so it is fine for drilling but not good for driving. There’s also the oscillating multitool that appears to have decent reviews and is really cheap.
And if a tool breaks, just return it and get a new tool!
I wonder how their screwdrivers are. If they’re like the rubber screwdrivers at dollar tree, then they’re complete rubbish. But if they’re like the screwdrivers sold at Home Depot under the brand of HDX then they are good.
Those 2-pack of rubber handle screwdrivers sold at dollar tree are absolute rubbish! The material is poor quality. The flathead is ok because it’s simple, but the phillips sucks! If you try to turn a screw with high torque, the bloody screwdriver twists! Freaking ridiculous! Also the handles are disgusting slimy rubber and they probably have tons of “Chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer, birth defects, and other reproductive harm.” Recently I checked and noticed that there is a new version of those screwdrivers; the tips are dipped in black stuff (for some reason lots of screwdrivers are like that nowadays, what is the black stuff and what is it for?) and the handles are NOW EVEN SLIMIER!
Thought just now I checked their website (dollartree.com) and it’s not there anymore. Haven’t been in DT for a little while so maybe they discontinued it?
Speaking of Dollar Tree… they have a six piece small screw driver set (3 flat and 3 Phillips head) that ain’t half bad. I have a Sears Craftsman set with half a dozen broken screwdrivers… the damn Dollar Tree ones keep on ticking… for a dollar.
And for HF the infamous scissors (with the red dot) and their 100 piece razor blade pack. I have around 20 pairs of the scissors.
And their digital calipers (the metal ones) are great when on sale.
I disagree, the calipers used to be a great deal for $9.99 for the 6” version with the black decal on the beam. The grey ones they sell now are a joke compared to the old black decal ones. Are they better than nothing, sure, but they’re not what they used to be.
I’m serious when I say I’ve probably bought 20 of the old style, used them for all sorts of things like hacking them apart to make digital scales for my quill and tailstock on my manual mill and lathe. I bought 3 grey ones before I realized I wasn’t just getting duds, that’s just all the better they are now, gritty, poorly finished, and no longer turn on automatically when you move the slide.
We were on vacation a few years back, hundreds of miles from home and one morning I stepped on my glasses and broke them. Without them I can’t see, wouldn’t have been able to share the driving duties. So we found a Dollar Tree and I bought a pair of reading glasses and that small screw driver set. I was able to take apart the reading glasses and use the parts to fix my prescription pair!
One more reason my wife thinks I’m a genius. 
I haven’t bought any lately… I have around 10 sets of the black ones… they were $6.99 at the time. Had to go back several times over a week. They had a limit of two units at that price. Also got a couple of their 12” ones.
Yeah, treat your black beamed versions nice, the new ones they sell are really bad if you’re used to the ones you have now.
Yeah I’ve seen those and they look good and have good reviews. Only problem is that they are mal-formed… the handles are too small and the longer ones have smaller bits compared to the shorter ones… very odd but at least it works. That set is rather new and it wasn’t available when we got the garbage ones.
The ones I am talking about don’t have a single handle and replaceable bits. They are just a set of six small screwdrivers like you would use on laptops, etc.
The orange handled needle nose pliers are great for turning pills and retaining rings. Mind, that they're apparently made by a dozen workers of various skill levels and off widely differing specs, but if they put out a fresh batch and you're willing to spend 15-20 minutes picking you can usually find 2-4 very nice ones, sometimes for $.99!
That… they ain’t no Xcelite or Wiha but for 16 cents each they are pretty darn good. I haven’t stripped, twisted, bent, folded, or mutilated one yet.
So we’re talking Dollar Tree now huh?
This thread was about Harbor Freight, but what I really think it is about is how it is possible to get really useful stuff for very little money sometimes. My favorite Dollar Tree item is this Scientific Calculator. I have seen many $1 calculators and although they all are “spot on” in their calculations, they usually fall short on usability. Keys that stick, or a poor readout etc. This one at Dollar Tree is excellent in all respects, an amazing value at $1, actually worth $10
Some of the stores still have a few and they used to be on their website. I just checked and they are no longer available for order. The only handheld I have that beats it is this.
Recently I was searching the internet for Harbor Freight coupons and I find these coupon sites that give coupons or coupon codes. I wonder if they work? If they do then whenever you want free screwdrivers, flashlight, magnetic tray, tape measure, or whatever else HF gives for free, then you can just search on the internet and find the coupon you want.
Here’s one coupon:
There are also other sites, like this one. This site has a list of coupon codes including many user submitted ones. I wonder if they would actually work