[lt1silverhawk]

25% off coupon for today only.

[oldred]

Originally Posted by tech69

I'll repeat, their air tools are junk. Their flanger isn't that bad but after using an air vantage da I could never buy anything else. After using a good blue point 5" grinder I could never try a HF one. I have good mac air ratches 1/4"-3/8" and if I need a 1/2" I won't even attempt it and just get the snap on 3/8" MG325. I see them used all the time for cheap, and they're always used on the truck as well.

I would never get a harbor freight compressor. I bet they're loud and push anything remotely close to the noise it makes.

And I will repeat, the "Earthquake" air tools are real brutes and hold up just fine! No one is suggesting comparing HF tools to the pro quality tools you mention and we have repeatably pointed out that the decent tools they have are not for pro use but just fine for the home shop. For torque I would go so far as to put my "Earthquake" 1/2" impact up against the real IR "Thunder Gun" it is copied from and if I lost it would not be by much, that thing is as I said a brute and has been in use several years now. I am not someone who has never used quality tools, I ran a welding shop and mining equipment business for well over 35 years and I would not have anything but pro quality in my shop, mostly Snap-On.


The US General compressors are made in the USA and are actually just rebadged AMERICAN built Belaires and are a real bargain on a very good compressor. You really need to check these things out before making such negative comments about them!

Your statement that "I bet they're loud and push anything remotely close to the noise it makes" shows clearly you know nothing about these compressors, "I BET"? Stating your opinion is just fine and you have every right to do so but insisting on something you have no real experience with is kind of questionable don't you think?

These are very good compressors that some other places sell for a lot more money under their Belaire brand name and they are NOT CHINESE JUNK!


Also that little 15 gallon compressor that is "made in the USA" must be a really old one!

[T-bucket23]

Cheap tool can get you hurt. I have heard so many stories of their drill press tables breaking off and other large tools breaking. Their hand tools are crap, wrenches, ratchets, socket sets etc. I have bought a few item their like a caliper that I use when reloading ammo and a few other small items.
Quality tools will last a life time, crap tools will cost you time and money. precision sockets and wrenches are less prone to rounding bolts off and breaking

[matt167]

There 60 gallon compressors are made by BelAir which makes them in Virginia I think. pumps are quality italian and the tanks are made in the USA..
Porter Cable compressors are made by devilbiss.. The reason your compressor may out perform the HF because it's probably got a bigger pump. But for the price of the HF and most hobbiests air requirements. When the HF compressor goes on sale for $499 it's a steal, and still a good deal at regular price

A lot of there air tools are weaker and bog down. But compare them to Campbell Hausfeld tools ( altho not 'quality' ither' ). Some are identical and for 1/2 the cost.. The Earthquake impacts are supurb tho..

I don't have 220v so I have there 90234 10 gallon horizontal compressor. oil lubed 5.6 SCFM@90 PSI. I run the crap out of it. it's been constantly run for 4 hrs or so painting a car before and it just takes it.. It's also the same as the Campbell Hausfeld compressor that Lowes was selling at the same time for $300. I paid $119 and I'v had it since 2008.
Jacks are another good deal. I have the 3 ton floor jack since 2008 and it still works just as it did when I bought it.. Also the 12-15 year old 2 ton shop crane lifted a complete w/ accessorys 460 Ford and C6 trans out of the back of my pickup with no issue... Planashing hammer regardless of being an air hammer on a C shaped frame and being primative in that respect. it works pretty good and I'v shaped out a few panels on it

[matt167]

Originally Posted by T-bucket23

Cheap tool can get you hurt. I have heard so many stories of their drill press tables breaking off and other large tools breaking. Their hand tools are crap, wrenches, ratchets, socket sets etc. I have bought a few item their like a caliper that I use when reloading ammo and a few other small items.
Quality tools will last a life time, crap tools will cost you time and money. precision sockets and wrenches are less prone to rounding bolts off and breaking

for sure.. I remember when Oldred had found those swivle whip air hoses to blow out and cause harm.. last time I was in there, they were still selling them.. There bar clamps are awsome for the price.. even got a couple off freebie coupons... I'v heard of the drill press faliures, but when I need a drill press, I go to my grandparents barn, where he has a very old Rockwell.. IIRC it was made sometime in the 50's. not everybody has that luxury tho.. but lawn sales and estate sales are a good place to check for those type of things.. With the Stanley socket sets available from places like Walmart for as cheap or cheaper than HF, it makes little sense to buy the HF hand tools even for light use..

But with selective shopping there are good deals at HF and certinly, without them, I would not be able to build my hotrod. I'd still be buying the tools to build it

[oldred]

Originally Posted by matt167

It's also the same as the Campbell Hausfeld compressor that Lowes was selling at the same time for $300. I paid $119 and I'v had it since 2008.

Matt that's a good example of what we have been saying, if a person is going to buy a tool of that quality then why buy the same exact tool from another store for more money? Some guys just will not accept the fact that not everyone needs or can afford Snap-On or other pro quality tools and the home shop quality tools are sometimes the answer. This is certainly not true of every tool HF sells and I think most guys here would agree that tools like sockets and ratchets from HF should be avoided and what we are talking about are the tools they have that are decent quality, these are the exceptions and not everything HF sells is junk. Making blanket statements that everything from HF is junk and never buy anything there is ridiculous, if a person feels that way and don't want to buy from them that's certainly understandable and no one is knocking them for the way they feel but to insist EVERYTHING there is junk is just being unrealistic!


Those who choose to tell everyone to avoid HF are missing the point, no one is saying these tools are pro quality but some are the exact same as what is sold at "acceptable" stores for more money with the key here being "some of them". The fact is with selective shopping some guys can have certain tools that are perfectly usable for their needs at a price that could very well mean the difference between having the tool or just having to do without. Then again there are some items there, that US General compressor for example, that are an outstanding high quality bargain no matter where it came from!

[oldred]

Originally Posted by T-bucket23

Cheap tool can get you hurt. I have heard so many stories of their drill press tables breaking off and other large tools breaking. Their hand tools are crap, wrenches, ratchets, socket sets etc. I have bought a few item their like a caliper that I use when reloading ammo and a few other small items.
Quality tools will last a life time, crap tools will cost you time and money. precision sockets and wrenches are less prone to rounding bolts off and breaking

That's why these discussions are important when selecting what to buy there, that drill press table has become a fairly well known problem and has been mentioned here before. I think most everyone here also agrees with you about the hand tools like sockets, ratchets and wrenches but still there are many other items that do not fit that quality description.

[JohnnyK81]

Originally Posted by oldred

The US General compressors are made in the USA and are actually just rebadged AMERICAN built Belaires and are a real bargain on a very good compressor. You really need to check these things out before making such negative comments about them!

Forget them. Just let them go spent 2x the cash on a Home Depot 15 amp compressor that puts out 11cfm. Save the good deals for people who want to do research.

[oldred]

Originally Posted by JohnnyK81

Forget them. Just let them go spent 2x the cash on a Home Depot 15 amp compressor that puts out 11cfm. Save the good deals for people who want to do research.

Research can reveal a lot, the first time I saw those US Generals I thought they looked like awfully good quality for a Chinese import and somehow they even looked like something I had seen before. Since we get a lot of compressor questions here and that one came up a couple of times I decided to check them out and what I found was surprising. The first clue was when someone on another site mentioned they were American built and then someone else said they were Belaires, a couple of E-mails and some phone calls confirmed this (I take my researches serious! ). Next trip to HF I did some comparisons and I found that sure enough these things are like some of their other large machines and are just re-named versions of well known machines that other outfits sell for a lot more money.


An example could be that lathe I bought, it is identical to the Birmingham YCL1440 that sells for over $1500 more money but the kicker is that for a while the HF version used the Birmingham owners/parts manual! They have since changed that but when they first sold this model lathe it had the Birmingham manual and when the manual was looked up on-line it too was to a Birmingham manual, go figure.

[JohnnyK81]

My compressor came with the HF manual.. What a useless thing that is. I mean, you don't really need a manual for an air compressor, but it amounts to

"Hook up electricity"

"Does it work? If not, make sure electricity is hooked up"

[el pollo]

Originally Posted by oldred

An Arbor press with a JACK??

It uses a hydraulic bottle-type jack. Sorry for the lack of detail!

[oldred]

Generally this is what I think of when I am thinking arbor press, a rack&pinion press, so it was a bit confusing.


http://www.google.com/search?q=arbor...w=1272&bih=571

[adamsautoadvice]

I like I started such a popular thread. However, how did this turn into "Do you like or hate HF?"

[matts37chev]

Originally Posted by adamsautoadvice

I like I started such a popular thread. However, how did this turn into "Do you like or hate HF?"

it always does, and always will

[JohnnyK81]

Originally Posted by adamsautoadvice

]"Do you like or hate HF?"[/I]

Because people will read stuff of the internet, take it to heart, and that's what we have here!