Harbor Freight's Dirty Little Secret - How Their Tools are so Cheap and Which Ones You Should Avoid

HF also enables you to have tools on hand that you could never afford to buy. Overall, my experience with HF tools has been great. Schmidt is a genius.

I bought a lathe ''a lot of money on what should have been a precision machine ,the carrage feed gear was hand made- hand ground!!! and was egg shaped the gear box was junk and stripped in a few days, I had bought the warranty no parts were available for something I had just bought, they could not fix it so they took a part from the floor model , garbage

I have there backhoe, she is a beast fr the money. I have dug 10 basement egress windows as well as clearing a bank to extend a drive way. otherwise I agree with you tutorial! ty

chinese

Not long ago, I was taking out a hot water heating system from my house. I had to remove a few large pipe fittings. A large $14 pipe wrench from Harbor Freight did the trick and I don't think I'll ever have a reason to use it again.

I have had great luck with the Bauer 20V cordless tools. Definitely got my moneys worth. I lone the blower, the circular saw, the impact wrench, the hedge trimmer...have all been great.

A friend and I each bought an identical angle grinder for $15.00 the same day. His junked out the weekend he bought it and mine still functions quite well after about ten years of moderate use.

if they sell diablo blades, would not go near them as from experience, diablo blades for a reciprocating saw or sawzal usually don't preform well, unless purchased at princess auto, where you buy all the packages on the shelf and then, when they snap at the connection of the saw, they break, you just go to the store and get replacement packages, as many times as you want

also, never buy any tools at canadian tire or blades, as they have a tail light warranty, especially in bradford ontario, just north of toronto, ontario canada, (in my opinion and with out prejudice)

I bought an angle grinder from HF. I immediately opened up the gear case and found it almost dry, so I added a bunch of grease. * It didn't help. Exactly one day out of warranty, the trigger switch broke. Threw it away and bought a DeWalt.

* This is typical for Chinese tools - expect it.

I also have their smallest drill press, which I bought for exactly that reason. It was tricky getting the chuck on straight, but after that it has worked fine.

HF sandpaper is what I call "every grit" - all grits on every sheet. Try to get a nice finish with some HF sandpaper, and you will see what I mean.

Tried a set of Forstner bits - they would not drill soft pine. Tried to sharpen one, it would not sharpen. Zinc drill bits? Returned.

Their air-tool fittings and sprayers are ok. Good source for small wagon wheels and such. Zip ties are ok.

I rebuild and restore vintage electric accessory motors for collector cars.
Their cabinet sandblaster and parts washer ( buy your solvent at Tractor Supply, same as Safety-Clean!) is solid value.
Avoid every Chinese rubber product. Air-hose, tires, dolly wheels, bungee cords., etc. Dry-rot begins at time of production. If it smells of mothballs, it will crap out in months if not weeks.
I needed a tire tube for a 30 year old dolly. They didn't stock it, so I bought two complete wheels for ~$25! The hub separated from the rim, only crimped on. I welded it up (Using a HFT MIG welder., which is another great product!) The other side failed a week later. Same repair. First side failed again, not the weld, the steel around the weld crapped out. Took THAT tube and put in the old wheel that I needed a tube for in the first place!
They sell a 250 watt soldering gun for about $20, that works great. The tips last about 2 hours. They don't sell replacement tips, and they are different enough that I have been unable to adapt a Weller tip. Bought two HFT before I bought the $75 Weller.
Heat guns: Cheap, I get about a year out of them...
Photo-Tach: Handy-Dandy.
Tap and Die set: 10 years and haven't broken a one!

caveat emptor!!!!

My thoughts on their tools is if you need a special tool or large wrench I buy HF. If I need to use it almost daily and HF fails once I upgrade.

Thanks Dave, I found this REALLY informative..."THREE BELLS".

How about those free batteries.

It's all the Art of Marketing... plain and simple. Think about it... Joe Homeowner has a project and buys a tool... When will he use it again, next month, next year maybe never again, but it filled his need. Now Bob the Builder needs a tool, buy it and uses it... When will he use it again... Tomorrow, most likely and the day after and so on... It's a TOOL remember... Tools that don't get used are, what I call Sea Anchors. Or look at it this way... Pro= quality... Non-pro= price. As simple as 1 2 3... 🖖👍🐝💪🐸

Their telescopic magnets that you can pull out to pick up small parts aint very strong and it breaks all the time I have bought 3 and I won't buy anymore and their long Handel magnet with the round magnet on the bottom, the handle at the bottom where the magnet is bends and breaks. But all of the sockets and ratchets iv bought 5 years ago are still going strong. Iv bought a drill and a buffet that are still doing good. Iv bought 2 torque wrenches a 1/4 inch pound and a 3/8 inch foot pound and still are doing great.

well... thir power tools are supposedly better than they used to be but I bought the reciprocating saw and it fell apart within two weeks but my dewalt i beat the living crap out of for over 10 years and its still working strong. The drill well i hope you dont want any torque or maybe im just used to my dewalt that will all but twist your arm off also ran hard and still works. The angle grinder motor blew up when using it cutting a light cut but my dewalt angle grinder not only has a much bigger motor but has overheated twice due to abase and keeps on going.

harbor freight is junk and you will not change my mind.

oh and lets not talk about snapped sockets and open end wrenches.

No, I never wondered how harbor freight can sell tools so cheap. Never crossed my mind. I’m happy they offer the products they sell. people are bellyaching about how high things are and now we have a facility selling things at prices that are reasonable and we’re making videos about it?

Anything I have bought from Harbor Freight will guarantee to break. I stopped buying stuff from there because their products are just so bad.

I too buy from Harbor Fright, one thing I have bought three is drill bits, they are junk in my opinion, they have not held up at all.

I bought that same saw. Did the job replacing water line between my house and the city valve. Died on me when I tried some pruning with it,lol

I do not like their attitude about not being a member of their club and they will not let sign at the cash register at the time purchase..... Or you are not registered for the coupon use... What the blank is that all about!!! So it has been years since going to the store......

they ask your phone number everytime you buy something, jeeez

I disagree i have bought any any tools from H f , yes some of the stuff is cheap ,but they still got my business.

Of course a darker reason would be that the Chinese communist party is using mercantilism against America. They are purposely flooding the market with cheap products to destroy our domestic production. They are willing to do this at a loss although the "loss" may be hidden by government subsides (especially on shipping). Try to send 1lb to China it will cost you so much it would have to be gold to be worth it. Yet somehow companies in China are able to ship anything they want and sell it for pennies and still make a profit? Something is not right. Once China has the market completely under their control then watch out. Already we see them trying to use it against us to change US Policy.

HF zip ties fail quickly

I been buying tools from Harbor Freight's from1980's when i had to drive 70 miles to their closes to me store , i still have a cement mixer from 1984 that i have used heavily for maybe 500 hours or more , after 35 years still use it about 100 hours each Summer, now they have stores all around me 8 - 10 15 miler close , about 2 years ago 1 bought a saw's all for $29,98 + i cut a 1/4 " steel plate 2 straight cuts of about 20" each at the start of the 3rd cut the shaft with the blade ran out , being that i had lost the receipt they did not honer any warranty for it , so like you say any technical or a tool that you plan to use a lot forget the cheep junk.

Got into this much detail, you are not a normal customer. If people were rich they would not come to Harbor Freight like me. I found it convenient and cheap where you can buy some tools and fix things by myself and even after I am done with it, just throwing those tools away is still cheaper than calling someone to fix things for you. Especially living in California just like me.

I was in the Quality Control field for over 10years (1989-1999) and seen the writing on the wall of the demise of that field. Quality Control was a separate independent department. I made ultimate final decisions based on inspecting and testing outcomes and rejecting failed products regardless of how important, that production supervisors tried to rush to ship orders out the door. When production personnel asked me ,"when will it ship?", I would respond to them , "When I am finished with final inspection and testing per the procedures, I will let you know if the product is ready to ship" 2 years after I left this company ,everything and lots of other industries went to Teams,,,basically have the production workers test & inspect & answer to production Supervisors,,, That is how the Quality Control field slowly mutated into and lost it's Independance of making final decisions.

I did a lot of woodworking in my youth and I wish at the time there was a harbor freight because I could have used some tools (mostly stationery ) that I couldn't afford at the time. For example, a planer, jointer, drill press, shaper etc.

Excellent presentation, Dave

I saw a test of diagonal cutters and Harbor Freight's "Doyle" brand was right at the top performers. Snap-on was at the bottom and one of the first to fail. Doyle was one of the cheapest prices and Snap-on was about $65 bucks or so.

This video is sponsored by your local hardware multi-billion franchaises😅

I bought a floor jack over 10 years ago at HF that has been very good. I only use it to raise the car. I use USA made jack stands to support the car.

I like HF since I'm not a professional mechanic and their tools serve the DIY homeowner just fine. You probably missed the biggest reason why products are so cheap.... they are made in CHINA ! Was that a hard thing to say?

I bought (and still have) that same reciprocating saw for a one-off project. My options at the time were to either pay $25 to rent one or $30 to own one, so it was really a no-brainer for me.

I bought their $13.95 angle grinder about 2 years ago. I had a couple of pieces of 1 inch stone panels that I needed to be cut. I went to HF looked at all the grinders on display and decided to go with the $13.00 on figuring that if I got my job finished and the tool went south I got my moneys worth.. I still have it and use it for metal cutting and such. I consider my money as well spent. It doesn't mean that it won't burn up tomorrow. If it does...I'll go get the same one for $15.00 and buy another to replace it.

Things you only use a couple times a year are great from Harbor Freight. Jig saw, reciprocating saw, that type of thing. The drills are junk and don't last because people tend to use them more. If you know what you are looking at, there really are some fabulous buys. The large, metal ammo cans on sale for ten bucks. The small plastic ammo cans are great for storing stuff in a water proof container but the hinges are flimsy and break if they're opened and closed too much. Just about anything you buy with one of their coupons is a good deal. US Flags, ratchetting straps, the list goes on. They do it to get you to impulse buy more stuff while you're there. If you can refrain from that you will save money.

HF is okay, but.... I buy a name brand if it is a tool I will use regularly but get it from HF if I will use it only occasionally, like once a year. What I do notice is that a name brand tool usually feels better in my hands than one from HF. Ergonomics counts for a lot in a tool I will use often.

I've bought tools from harbor freight and never had a problem with it. I've brought good brand name tools before and most of them say made in China or Taiwan. It's unfortunate that u can't find anything made in the USA these days.

I shop at this company, this info was useful for me. Your right about long lasting tools and up selling the warranty. I've been satisfied with my purchases but this information was useful in my next venture to this company. Your right they have great product. but I will pay closer attention to my needs. Thank you!

ALL CHEAP CHINA CRAP ALL OF IT IS FROM CHINA AND DOESN'T LAST

You should lay off the donuts.

I've had good results with the Bauer angle grinder (8amp). Pretty heavy use and still performing

When it comes to tools, if you buy cheap you get cheap. My stepfather bought all kinds of tools, and almost always cheap junk that would corrode, break and break down. I spent a LOT more on my tools, and I still have every one of them today, and all still working perfectly. This is ESPECIALLY the case with hand tools, such as ratchets. If you spend $15 on a 3/8" ratchet, fantastic! But don't complain when you rake your knuckles. I'll keep my Snap On ratchet that cost me $70 nearly 25 years ago, and it's still perfect today. Buy real Channel Locks, not imitation junk. Buy a Ridgid pipe wrench instead of junk.

Whoa lots of comments! I agree with many on here. Stuff I use every day or every weekend, like my cordless drill, weed wacker, I get higher quality items. My welder and miter saw I don't use very often, so they are from Harbor Freight. I was looking for an air compressor for a long time, and almost bought one at HF, but found a good used one on CL for $100 that was exactly what I needed. Right now I'm shopping for a generator to take camping. I'm nervous about the Predator line but I'll probably go with it.

I bought an electric impact wrench mostly for removing lugs and nuts on rusted lawn mowers . It works great . I paid about $110 . I've had it for about 10 years . I don't use it commercially. Hand tools, wrenches some screwdrivers your better off with US steel.

Just a note "Pittsburg Tools " are not made with US steel.

They've also got some of the rudest salespeople & cashiers on the face of the earth, too. I don't know where they dig up these losers, but they're the absolute worst. More than once I made the mistake of going into that store to buy something & ended up just walking out again without the item I wanted, because it just wasn't worth the aggravation of dealing with the obnoxious anal-sphincters who worked there...

If you fear china don't shop here.

NOTHING AMERICAN MADE!