O.T. Is Harbor Freight worth the trip.

I'm going to be near Rochester ( Minn.) the end of next month and they have a Harbor Freight store. Just wondering if its worth the trip or if I'd miss anything if I skipped it. If I go its about 20 miles from where I'm going to be staying. Thanks,
Sod Buster
 
Just to visit? Not worth it.

If you have a specific need, maybe. I'm impressed with their toolbox and tool storage in terms of cost vs. value.

Power tools not so much, but have heard good reports. They'll never be Snap On, but you'll never pay Snap On prices either.
 
Harbor Freight is a Chinese tool outlet, some of the material they use is substandard although it has been improving. The quality of the tools is questionable. Hand tools it is a material issue electric or hydraulic it's a quality issue. If you're expecting to get parts to repair one you won't. One time use--you'll do OK or better. Fawteen is right-it'll never be Snap-on.
 
Nor Bern Tool is here too.

Both are cheaper, volume sales places. They have stuff you don?t see often. Some is junk. Some is good value for a farmer. If you need some
wrenches for all your trac or and combine toolboxes, might use 4 times a year, it is well worth the trip. If you work in an automotive shop and
use your set of tools every day, you will be unhappy with the lack of quality of the tools.

I enjoy walking the isles. I typically find something to use at the farm.

Paul
 
I like them and use them. We got a new store within 25 miles where I can pickup things for no freight and use my ag exemption for no taxes. I can't
recall where I had a problem with their stuff unless it was something that obviously "was priced right"....aka lowball non critical thing at a low ball price.
A good part of my tool collection are HF parts.
 
Go....lots of good stuff at affordable prices. I have never broken a "Pittsburgh" wrench, but I HAVE broken SEVERAL Snap-off wrenches. so THANK GOD they aren't Snap-on....The only thing I have ever had a problem with is the HF lowball line of 4 1/2" grinders (the black-grey ones)....even at $9, they aren't worth it. The red ones seem to hold up well, though.
 
They have started to mix some name brand higher quality tools in with the Chinese stuff. Their quality seems to be somewhat improving, depending on which tool you choose. I've seen some pretty good feedback on the Predator small gas engines, although I don't have any.
 
Long ago, before there was a close HF, my friends and I would get together and pile into my van for an hour trip to the closest one to load up. We'd save up a bunch of
coupons then trade them with each other for things we wanted. We told thee wives it was a "Men's day out". One of the wives saw us carrying on about different tools and
coupons and smuggly said 'real men eh?'.
 
It's worth the trip. Be sure to take some coupons with you especially for the free stuff. Most of the tools in my shop are Harbor Freight tools.
 
I do not make special trips to HF but do occasionally stop in when driving by.

Do you get their catalogues and/or coupons? If not, you may wish to sign up so that you can keep up with prices, etc.

Dean
 
We were going to be in the neighborhood of the new store in Cape Girardeau, Missouri so I made a list of some things I wanted to look at. A couple of items caught my eye that I didn't have on my list and I came home with them too. Now I have a new list for the next time I get down there.

One thing that I noticed - it was late in the day and there were several guys with their mechanic shirts on who were looking at the wrenches. These were younger guys, and those cheaper prices were probably helping them get a start in their career. A cheap tool is better than no tool when you're starting out and money is short.
 
We got a HF store in town a couple years ago. I've been there once. Went there specifically to buy moving dollies and I looked around to see if there was anything else I "needed". There wasn't.
Their roll around tool boxes looked to be decent.
Like others have said for seldom used hand tools they might be ok, but for the same or less cost you can usually buy used tools that are better. I drive by the store almost daily. I've never had the urge to go back, but there are always a lot of trucks in the parking lot.
 
There is a store that I can get to once in a while but why
bother, I just order online. Most of their stuff is just as good
as the name brands at this time, everything comes from China
now. I needed a set of 3/8" metric sockets a while back and
shopped for them. I found the HF ones to be better quality and
finish than Craftsman or Kobalt and only about $8 versus $25.
 
We have a store 50 miles away. I drop by 3-4 times a year when I'm in town. the quality is much better than it used to be. Most of my air tools are Hf. No complaints there.I have several Hf power tools. most have been very satisfactory,a couple not so much. However,HF power tools are not suitable for hard everyday use. Have been well satisfied with wrenches and sockets.
 
We have one in town.. i go couple times a month.. pittsburgh tools are not a bad buy.. lifetime warranty too.. I buy
certain things gloves, tarps, bought their media blaster, brake wrenches, couple ball ping hammers, 20 ton jacks, etc..
I will not buy their 4.5 cut off discs .. but If you never bin its worth a walk through.. you will buy something..
LOL
 
Yes you need to go. I love the place. I am not a professional, why should I spend hundreds on a tool that I won't use more than a couple of times.
Harbor Freight has been profitable enough so you are no longer buying just "CHINESE" tools. Yes all their stuff is manufactured in China,but they now have the financial means to spec their product from the manufacturer.

FOlks here throwing bricks at them either have no experience with them or their experience is twenty years or so old. Yes they built themselves selling cut rate crap like the Homicks trailer sales used to do,but have long since left that model in the dust.

Besides for twenty minutes out of your way? Is your life is so busy and time so valuable that you can't give up an hour or two. Go getcher self a free tape measure and a flashlight!
 
Place I worked at had a problem with shrinkage. We never wore out a grinder until we got Harbor Freight ones. They hung around long enough to go bad, about ten times longer than the DeWalt and Milwaukee ones.
 
Built a two foot ratchet buy combining one of their
professional breaker bars with one of their flex head
professional ratchets been using it for 2 years and
can?t break it even had a cheater on it several times.
The drill bits are really good also and I have a set of
the combination wrenches on each tractor and they
are tough. The crescent wrenches suck and the
hammers suck but they will warranty them. I?ve had
a harbor freight die grinder for 15 years now and it
still works as good as any of em
 
I don't know are you a tool guy? There is always something of value there even if it is a 12 dollar pack of red rags. Not all is Chinese. I've seen Godyear USA air hose there and USA made welding hose.
 
I use a lot of those cutoff disks with no more problems than other brands. I got some of a different brand, don't remember the brand now but the HF ones were a lot beter than the other brand. As much as I use them I have over 50 new ones setting on the shelf wating their turn at use. And I only have the orange 4.5" HF grinders in multiples with a different item on each.
 
The first one I was to is 75 mile away, talking to them they said they were getting ready to open a store about 18 mile away. I have been in that store hundreds of times. Sometimes I do not buy anything but other times I have bought items that are now priced in the hundreds of dollars. And yes I have just made the trip for just one item that I knew they carried. And no I do not buy anything on line, the few times I needed something like that a friend ordered it for me. And I pay NO bills on line. Cell phone is just a flip phone.
 
To me no ...it is all China stuff even the Goodyear air hose is China made...non of it is worth walking out of the store with....
 
I agree with Tim S. Friends and neighbors keep bringing me Harbor Freight crap to weld up for them. These are the same people that tell me if their Harbor Freight purchase disappoints they will just go get another.

There is a NorthernTool Store there. I consider them a step up from Harbor Freight but you still have to be careful.


Paul
 
There is one in Fargo. Been in it a couple of times. Seldom go there. There are better tools out there.

Rick
 
Here is the NorthernTool address in Rochester MN.

Rochester
Address:
2717 Highway 14 W
Rochester, MN 55901
Get Directions
Phone: 507-282-5559
Fax: 507-282-1289
 
Northern Tool as I know of them is just a catalog as I know them and every time I tried looking for something in their it was either WAY over priced if they even had what I was interested in. I quit even looking at a catalog as nothing for me.
 
Well i am one that has tons of USA made tools and don't care for junk , But i do have a harbor Freight angle headed die grinder that i use for gskt. removal with the scotch pads and i am well pleased with it as it has not gernaded in my hands YET i have one of them thar fine high dollar spray guns that i gave 11 bucks for and it has done the job for what it was bought for and it worked ok spraying the urethane finish on all the trim of this old house when we did the remodel i have four of there C clamps that i use for wood working and they are OK for that where your not applying lost of force just for glue up i bought one of there 1/2 impacts as i needed and impact now and leaving to go back hometo get my good one was not cost affective and it worded as well as my US made CP 745 , it heavier in weight and a little awkward but it got the job done . We needed a ten ton porto power to repair a round baler that got really messed up and my buddy bought one and it got the job done . Oh yea i have the 18 ga brad nailer and so far i have probably run five pac's of brads thru it from 1 inch up to 2 inch ones and it still works and again i don't have much in it and like the rest if it goes out to lunch then it will go into the trash as i got my less then 20 bucks out of it.
 
I like that little 90 degree die grinder.

First thing you do when you get home is take the head off and put plenty of grease. They barely show it the grease at the factory.
 
Their tools are a case by case basis. One is a good copy of something and one is not worth picking up to look at. Example, each
pliers is ground differently due to being hand finished so you get used to inspecting everything before purchase.

Anything in a box needs to be opened. I got to box number 3 before I was happy with a HVLP spray gun; one did not have all the
holes drilled and another had machining debris in it. The one I bought (for a specific job) finished a couple of ten thousand
dollars worth of stuff for a fraction of what a "real" one cost. Even on that one I tore it completely down and cleaned it
thoroughly before the first use. *If I sprayed things for a living though it would have been worth it to buy the "real" one*

Most of the stuff is "good enough" for occasional use.

Their tools don't walk off if you work on a job site with multiple parties. Also great to put on tractor or other places where
things get lost easily.
 
All of our "operator" tools at work are Pittsburgh from HF. After seeing the ABUSE and I mean abuse they take and hold up through I have started to look much more seriously at the catalog. For the price that stuff can't be beat. Sure some stuff is junk but so is some Husky and Craftsman for 3X the price. Perfect tool sets for the tractor tool box and things you use once a year.
 
One opened in a town 60 miles away that we go to several times a year. have bought several things. Recently bought a 6hp engine to put on an old rototiller. Reading several reviews of the product, several said the engine started on the first pull. I thought "ya sure". Put it on and added fuel and oil and the darn thing started on the first pull. Don't know about how it will stand up, but I was impressed the way it started. Bought a 3/4" socket set probably 30 years ago from them. Still using it, nothing broken. breaker bar is bent from putting to long a cheater bar on it. Like others have said, some is good and some is less good. have to look before you buy.
 
You gotta go and make up your own mind.

I don't know what I'd do without Harbor Freight. I have several needs that really make HF a great deal.

First off, I keep a set of tools up at my farm. Since they are sitting in a shed up there and nobody lives on the place, I figure sooner or later a break in could happen so no way am I going to drop huge money on the stuff that stays up there.

Also, I've never had a lot of big tools for tractor work. 3/4 inch socket set, 21 inch adj wrench, etc HF makes affordable versions of this stuff and nobody else is even close.

Then there's the stuff I can buy at HF and use it once to save a pile of time and money. Just painted the storage barn with a $169 HF airless HVLP painter. I hate, hate, hate brush painting and this baby worked great for this one job and was way cheaper than renting. If I never use it again, it'll still have been worth it for the time/money saved. If I use it again, it'll be twice the deal.

In the same category, I got tired of paying $25 a tire to get ATV tires mounted so I bought the HF tire tools. Used them to mount 4 ATV tires and a boat trailer tire. If this stuff busts tomorrow, I'm still WAY ahead, but from what I can see, it'll last forever so I'll be hundreds of dollars ahead within a few years.

Grouse
 
I've got both a disc sander, and a tooling grinder both from them. The tooling grinder gets relatively light use, but I've used the fool out of the disc sander for nearly 8 years, and it's still going strong. I've also used their cut off discs, and grinding discs. I've had pretty good luck with the cutoff wheels. They are especially good when cutting stuff where you think you'll have some breakage, because they are cheap. The grinding discs are pretty good too. In fact I bought some a few years back, and the stickers came off and they were Dewalt wheels with an off brand sticker on them. I also use their batteries in the LED lights I keep on my truck. To be honest they have worked as well as the expensive ones. Beyond that, they have been hit or miss on the other stuff I've bought.
 
Their new line of locking pliers are built as well as
the Irwin which are also China but harbor freight is
half the price . Notice I didn?t say vice grips becuse
that junk Irwin puts out is not a vice grip .
 

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