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43K views 130 replies 22 participants last post by  mafiacustomz 
#1 ·
ive been looking for some time now on the net for a good tool kit that has just about everything i need right off for my garage and as of now the only thing that looks good is the harbor freight 301 Piece Mechanic's Tool Kit and it has a Lifetime Warranty a 301 kit from craftsman is 599.99 but here of late craftsman dont like to keep their word and wants to play 10,000 questions. I know alot of people dont like HF tools i went to the HF store about 146 miles away and i will say some of their stuff looks like junk but this tool kit looked good and was heavy as hail jacks look great and the tool boxs but the cordless tools are junk. I recently got a air longboard from them it works great so im planing to buy alot of stuff from them what do you think of their tools and if you have the 301 kit tell me about it post some pics.
 
#27 ·
hey its all input just wanting to see what people are saying on here on other sites they say yes no maybe most of the people that say no never used hf and realy have no right to say their junk or dont buy they as they say the best thing in life are free or have a discount
 
#28 ·
matts37chev said:
now you dont like what we are saying.
why did you bother to ask?
or did i misunderstand what this post was about? :confused:


There's a old saying.. You can lead a horse to water, But you can't make him drink !!!!! :mwink:


My Step dad would always tell me: A HARD HEAD, ALWAYS Make's a soft a** !!!!! :pain: :spank:


It's about time to bail out on this thread !!!! :drunk: :drunk: :drunk:
 
#31 ·
NEW INTERIORS said:
There's a old saying.. You can lead a horse to water, But you can't make him drink !!!!! :mwink:


My Step dad would always tell me: A HARD HEAD, ALWAYS Make's a soft a** !!!!! :pain: :spank:


It's about time to bail out on this thread !!!! :drunk: :drunk: :drunk:
i was trying to be polite and not just tell him to go ... :mwink:
 
#32 ·
mafiacustomz said:
maybe most of the people that say no never used hf and realy have no right to say their junk or dont buy they as they say the best thing in life are free or have a discount


Most of the guys here are well familiar with tools and can tell about the lack of quality by simply looking at the HF stuff or any other cheap tools, besides HF hand tools are well known for poor quality. What I am trying to say is that if you see a rotten apple you don't have to bite into it to know it's rotten. Now not all HF tools are total junk but you really have to know what works and what doesn't and be willing to accept the limitations of each tool.


Do you shop the HF here in Knoxville or the one in Lexington?
 
#34 ·
mafiacustomz said:
well i dont know about them tell how good a tool is by looking becouse they look just like performance tool, stanley, and husky ratchets same shape



When you have been doing it long enough, You do know what to look for in a tool.. Maybe you need to bust a few knuckles so ''YOU'' can learn.. :D You can't seem to take advise to well..Sad to say, But this thread has turned into a really big joke,, :nono:

Not to sure why you ask for help here, You seem to know it all already.. :drunk:
 
#35 ·
The money you want to spend on HF tools, spend on Craftsman. Just buy a basic kit, they have all sorts of combinations. Then as you can afford it buy more.

Avoid the kits that have two dozen hex wrenches in the count. You just need to buy two sets of ball head hex (allen) metric and SAE. Bondhus.

Sears always has sales on different sets from time to time. Fill in what you need first then want you want.

HF tools do have a use. For me, I use the cheap junk to cut up or modify for special needs/uses that come along one or twice in a lifetime.

Good luck, and don't forget a good tool box with roller bearing drawer guides.
 
#37 · (Edited)
As the others have said about experience may be missed a little by some guys because they too have been doing this a long time and used cheap tools without a problem. The fact is, SOME of the cheap tools you find at Harbor Freight MAY be pretty decent and last a long time. The reasons they have worked for someone may vary do to the reasons below.

1. They have never given you a problem because you don't push your tools as far as someone else.

2. You have never used a REAL quality tool so you have nothing to compare it with.

3. The particular tool you have used from there IS a decent tool, there are a FEW cheapie tools in Harbor Freight that will perform as well as a much more expensive one.

Referring to number 1, believe me if you were trying to loosen a tie rod end jam nut on a Ford F-150 that was rusted tight with a cheapie Harbor Freight wrench and it slipped off the nut busting your knuckles into the lower control arm you would not feel the same about your cheapie Harbor Freight wrenches!

But the number 2 is probably the most realistic reason someone would think Harbor Freight cheapie tools are not junk. If someone with no experience were to pick up a Harbor Freight cheapie tool and a quality tool he couldn't very well tell the difference. It is like someone with no musical experience picking up a Walmart kids guitar and an American Fender Strat wouldn't see a difference. But if that person had some years experience using that Harbor Freight tool picks up a quality one, they CAN see the difference. Like the first time I picked up an American made Fender Strat after playing cheapie guitars all my life. The damn thing felt sensual! It was like I was holding a beautiful woman, there is a BIG difference between the cheap tools and the quality tools!

Hell, there is a BIG difference between the basic quality tools and the super nice quality tools! I have done this stuff for a living for over 30 years. I have a tool box full of Snap On, MAC, and the like, quality tools. I have a beautiful little MAC angle grinder. It cost about a hundred dollars, MUCH more than the Harbor Freight ones. And I had been using it for YEARS every day at work. I had ground tens of thousands of welds with it and it worked very well. One day I was visiting one of the tool trucks and I saw a little bigger angle grinder. It was advertised as having a half a horse power or something like that and having more torque. Now I had never even thought of getting a bigger angle grinder than I had but I splurged and bought this little bigger angle grinder. OH MY GOD what a difference! This thing BLOWS AWAY my other angle grinder! It has WAY more torque and I can grind a hundred welds with the same effort as 25 with the old one.

The photo shows my "decent" cheapie home garage one, I don't even remember where I got it and my Matco. Believe me guys, these tools are MILES apart. It is like a friggin Toyota Yaris and a Hemi Challenger!

The other photo is of a couple of my die grinders. The little blue one is from Harbor Freight, it is unadulterated JUNK comparing it with the others. The middle one is my MAC that I have used for 30 years or so. It is SO MUCH better than the Harbor Freight it isn't funny. If used side by side you would swear the Harbor Freight was hooked to a different air hose with 10 lbs PSI or something, it is JUNK. Now, I had been using that MAC for years and it did a great job, then I got the one on the right. That one on the right costs about $250! It has a pivoting head as you can see. I can pivot it back or forward or have it straight. It is so far superior to my other MAC there is no comparison.


The best part is I can sell all my quality tools for very close to even MORE than what I paid for them! I have bought very old used tools on ebay for MUCH more than they sold new! What are the used Harbor Freight tools worth, NOTHIING.

Brian
 

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#38 · (Edited)
adamsautoadvice said:
Craftsman now has a new Evolv line, which is priced reasonably. You could check out some of those tool sets.
Like I said before, sears has an overstock sale right now, 75% off. Wenches, sockets, tool boxes, drills, you name it. :D I'm done. :rolleyes: :D :thumbup:

Bob

Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; :thumbup:

Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. :nono: :spank: :thumbup:

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone, From 35terraplane AKA Bob
 
#39 ·
i push my tools just as hard as any one even harder becouse i dont use air tools (impact or ratchets) i only use hands never did like air tools only for sanding and cutting. i have a tool box full of broke craftsman my taiwan tools last longer. i was just looking for input someone has to try these tools and if i get a set and their just as good or better i will find out if they suck i will find out and i will let you know.
 
#40 ·
there is more than just the cost of the tools involved when talking about tools.
there is also the time and expense of stripped out bolts and nuts caused by poorly fitting 12 point sockets or wrenches causing you to go to the store to buy new nuts, if not causing major problems on getting parts off of your car
i have seen a 3 hour job turn into whole weekend adventures because of cheap tools.
we are just tring to help with some, been there, done that, bought the T-shirt to prove it! :thumbup:
 
#41 ·
I have some advice for you, go to HF and buy a complete set of hand tools and find out for yourself what everyone has been warning you about, apparently you never wanted advice in the first place but you wanted encouragement instead. You won't hear much good about HF hand tools here or just about any other place you go to ask, wonder why that is? Could it be there is some sort of conspiracy to hurt HF sales or could it be because the hand tools you are asking about really are junk? When your ratchets break, slip, stick or maybe the handle bends, when the sockets crack wallow out and ruin fasteners because of slipping on them, when those wrenches slip off and you bust your knuckles THEN maybe you just might see what everyone is talking about, of course you may be right and EVERYONE else may be wrong but then just maybe it might be the other way around.
 
#42 ·
i think most everyone here has something from HF, some more than others.
we all like HF, but you need to know what to get there and what not to get there.
but wrenches and 1/2" and 3/8" drive ratchets, sockets, and extensions are on the dont buy list.
however there is lots of other stuff thats on the buy list, especially if $$ is tight
 
#43 ·
mafiacustomz said:
i have a tool box full of broke craftsman my taiwan tools last longer.


Boy!!!! you show just how much you really know.. :mwink: If you had a box full of broken Craftsman.. Send them over to me.. :D I can get them replaced for free.. :mwink: And I would love to see a Taiwan tool that out last a Craftsman.. :D And as far as working them harder then anyone here.. Yea right !!!!. Sorry but you are starting to sound more and more like a kid in school... :nono: Sorry I have to say that about you, But your really stating to show your real age here.. :rolleyes: If any thread here should be picked up by The ''DUMP TRUCK'' this would now be the one... You have a ruff road a head of you.. Boy !!! Are we the stupid ones here for even wasting our time with this *******.. I'm done.. :smash:
 
#46 ·
NEW INTERIORS said:
Boy!!!! you show just how much you really know.. :mwink: If you had a box full of broken Craftsman.. Send them over to me.. :D I can get them replaced for free.. :mwink: And I would love to see a Taiwan tool that out last a Craftsman.. :D And as far as working them harder then anyone here.. Yea right !!!!. Sorry but you are starting to sound more and more like a kid in school... :nono: Sorry I have to say that about you, But your really stating to show your real age here.. :rolleyes: If any thread here should be picked up by The ''DUMP TRUCK'' this would now be the one... You have a ruff road a head of you.. Boy !!! Are we the stupid ones here for even wasting our time with this *******.. I'm done.. :smash:
Darn it Randy I was going to ask for that box full of broken craftsman.


Bob

Do not argue with an idiot. :nono: :nono:

He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience. :rolleyes: :mwink: :thumbup:
 
#51 ·
I paid 100.00 new for that exact set, and it came in a metal box, I believe the full price at that time was 150.00 or so.. Still have 90% of those today. Breaking tools just shows anyone that knows how to use tools, that you do not know what you are doing. Breaking stuff does not prove anything, and keeping broken tools. ........................... well that speaks for itself.....
 
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