dont forget electrical tape and 10 dollar grinders[8D]

 

Consider that everything you buy that says "Made in China" givesanother bullet to their Army and rivet for the Navy. And in the ultimate hypocrisy ... I just bought s sandblaster cabinet from HF.

 

For hand tools, crafstman all the way. Large/bulky items I would shop for at harbor freight. Cutting wheels, sanding disks..stuff that gets worn out or dull easily get at harbor freight. Stuff you want to last, check other places. We've purchased a majority of our air tools from harbor freight and they all have signs of dying. The metal cutter we got constantly spins.

 

I've been very satisfied with the air tools I've purchased from them. Use them a lot, and so far so good. Also, i bought a stick welder for $79 on sale there, and just did about 4 hours worth of welding with it. It sucked on 110VAC, but once I switched it to 220VAC, it worked like a champ. Easy to strike an arc, maintained it well, and after 4 hours continuous use, it was still going like a champ. I feel I got my 79 bucks worth, for sure! Also, their "hardened" sockets seem to be really solid, especially in the 1/2 inch size. For sure there is 30% junk in the store, but you can pretty much spot it for what it's worth.

 

harbor freight is very hit and miss. most of it is junk, theres a few good buys but dont expect to get all your tools there and have good stuff. its pretty fair to say almost all hand tools are junk there.

ive gotta say, for the price, their air tools arent bad....i know theres better, but if you cant afford to drop like a grand upfront just for a collection of air tools, not including the compressor and hoses and stuff, then they arent a bad choice.

their 4 1/2" angle grinders are great for the money......i used one to strip my whole car, sure it died shortly after, but at $9 a grinder, they are almost disposable.

 

You arealmost right. Us Americans won't pay for Americans to do the job. We buy the cheapest, regardless of the impact it has on our economy and our countryman. This is a fact that manufacturers must take into account.Don't fool yourself into believing everything made in China is junk. Conversely, don't think that everything made in the US is excellent. Quality is no accident and it knows no boundary.

HF stuff is hit and miss. I would not buy anything expensive or which you plan to count on. But then again, they sell cheap "no questions asked" extended full replacement warranties on all of their power equipment.

 

yeah i remember reading their hand tools are like lifetime guarunteed???

 

prolly more like 60% but yeah, the crap is easy to spot. their 1/2" hardened stuff isnt too bad and its cheap. stay away from things that are cast - like c clamps, and cheap wrenches. i would be pretty scared to lay under a car being held up by their jack stands, but their small hydro floor jacks are fine (just use some real jack stands once its in the air =)

 

Harbor Freight has KICK *** little paint gun. It is a gravity fed job that works awesome for doing little spot painting. I used it to paint my daughters go-cart (pink panther) and have used it on many parts I have sold on Ebay. Only about 10.00 and I love it. ------------------------------

 

Got it, thanks for the help I dont Ill be buying too much from there then