lol ya, they’re just epoxied in with no wedge.
Usually when welders are using them at my work we bang the fuck out of them and the head breaks off right at the shaft.
Usually don’t last long enough for the epoxy to give.
i bought all kinds of stuff there. very few issues with their things that a little tinkering didnt solve the problem. i have the same electric impact that ive had for 8 years. i had to replace the cord cause i was carrying it by it and one gear that was 4$ shipped.
i have the 100$ compressor head and a craftsman 60 gal tank (POS oil-less head went bad). just gotta get a motor now.
my buddies HF compressor has been in service for 5+ years without a hitch. 29 gal one. works great and gets used alot.
i have a air nibbler from there that works great too… after i removed a piece of scrap metal from the inside (wasnt supposed to be there)
if you are good at fixing small issues and want to save money and arent the type of person that says “if i pay money, i want it to work right the first time” then HF tools are right for you.
there are certain things to stay away from though. 
Brian
the only thing that i have bought from harbor freight are:
Jack, jackstands, caliper set thingy and a engine hoist( it’s for little honda motors )
so far everything has worked great, i bought a 2year warranty with my jack so i dont really care, i bent a handle on the caliper set, but it came with a spare so its alright. and how often do i need to use it anyways? not often
site?
Not the biggest fans of their regular sockets and wrenches - sizing seems off sometimes. I probably wouldn’t trust their ratchets or torque wrenches, but they are good for big dumb things like jacks, cheap air tools, air hose and fittings. Impact sockets, wheels sockets, gear pullers, brake tools etc. are ok. Some of their compressors are very good and US made. Their cheap oil-less stuff seems on par with Husky/CH stuff.
So in general Im seeing that harbor freight is not the way to go. Pretty much everybody is onboard with better quality craftsman stuff then? Ill spend the extra cash for longevity. That doesnt bother me. I just wanted to see if the prices at harbor are too good to be true and it appears thats the case. Thanks guys.
Yeah.
Depends though, buy craftsman tools that you use a lot.
like wrenchs/ratchets or whatever you’re going to be doing and want to last for a long time for the future.
For me it was measurement tools, wrenches of all sorts, and uhm… i forget what else.
then for the rest of the stuff i bought cheapo HF crap.
Pry bars, air hoses, die grinder, bits, sledges, etc…
Just to clear something up here…
Craftsman is junk too. Yes it is more expensive than Chinese crap, but it is just American crap. Spend a little more and get better tools. If you don’t want better tools… buy from HF.
HF has lifetime warranty on all hand tools. Some tools, as you’ll come to learn, are not worth replacing because they have a shitty design and will never work right no matter how many times they are replaced, this is where you buy a quality tool. EVERYTHING else can be bought at HF…
As stated previously, use the right tool for the job and most of your problems will solved without breaking anything.
Anything that requires tight tolerances to work properly, like air fittings, should not be purchased from HF… but most of the other fittings your going to find anywhere else are going to leak once in a while anyway.
Always buy the warranty… totally worth it.
As lame as it may sound… you can usually haggle with the cashier and they can “adjust” some of the prices.
Always bring in a 20% coupon with you for every purchase. They can be found online, and join the newsletter list as well.
i bought horizontal band saw from there and i couldnt count how many times ive used it. My only real issue with harbor freight is that you have to assemble EVERYTHING which will take you hours, which is why its so cheap.
that and plus what jack said.
I have jacks stands, low height 2 ton jack, impact sockets, parts washer, and 20 ton press all work great. My dad has bought air impacts and hand tools which were junk so like said stay away from that stuff.
I think turbociv has some long wrenches that work very well though.
The earthquake line of impacts are decent… and with the warranty you don’t have to worry about oiling them… or even putting them away.
Like turbo said… assembly. lol. I built one of my oil pumps wrong 3 times and burned all 3 of them out. Then I realized what I was doing, got a 4th one, and I’ve been working it hard ever since.
Oh yeah, i have a welder from there. 130A mig. works great. i had to mod the spring that holds the spool cause it was catching (added a washer) and it works well.
i have alot of impacts from there and i broke one of them but i was jumping up and down on a pipe on a frozen solid lug nut on a truck. something had to give. i broke my non HF stuff on that lug too.
the Earthquake guns are nice. a little heavy but nice. powerful too.
I wouldnt say that. they do have a higher quality line of hand tools and stuff that is decent and still alot cheaper than other brands.
honestly the only things that ive had real trouble with are the female brass air fittings (cracked) and their flux core welding wire. (spatters too much and isnt as clean welding as hobart wire)
as for other brand hand tools… I really like the stanley stuff that i picked up in a pinch at walmart. decent price, holds up great to my abuse so i bought some more. and that rachet that you can twist the handle to turn the head is BRILLIANT!. Plus when you get a set, it usually has EVERY size unlike some brands which will skip the non-common stuff.
Brian
i absolutely love that ratchet, especially for doing intake manifolds and other things in tight areas
Hit up Sears during a sale, join the Craftsman club for a discount, and you can walk out of there with a nice starter set for a screamin deal. Before anyone talks any more about Craftsman being crap, I’ve done more than my fair share of builds/projects that have put these tools to the test. Sure, I’ve broke a few tools, but with a lifetime warranty who cares? I can count on one hand how many times I’ve had to do this in my 15 or so years of wrenching.
As for HF…I only go there for the knick knacks. The two electrical tools I tried out (in a pinch) both shit the bed after only a few uses.
Wrenches are one thing… HF/Craftsman sell more than ratchets and wrenches. I’ll never buy another power tool from Sears/KMart ever again. They are junk. Their hand tools are 3-4 times more expensive than HF and you get the same warranty… And their power tools have very cheap warranties with NO QUESTIONS ASKED.
I’m not arguing, just stating personal experience… it is clear we both have a lot of that and we have different experiences. I’m done paying a premium for Craftsman when I can get decent stuff at HF wayyyy cheaper and for things that have to be perfect I buy better tools.
My primary mechanic set is Husky… and I love it.
Some harbor freight isn’t bad, a lot of it is crap.
I have a framing nailer that I paid ~$70 for and I think $30 for the three year warranty. I think it paid for itself in the first job and it’s done several more since. If it dies today I got my money’s worth out of it.
I have two sets of 1/2" deep impact sockets that were $14 a set. I used them nearly everyday the year I worked as a full time mechanic. I always said when I broke one I’d replace it with one from the truck but I haven’t broke one yet.
I have two 3/4" impact sets from harbor freight as well. I haven’t used them much but again no problems.
I also have a ball joint press I’ve used a lot with no problems.
You get what you pay for. There is a lot of stuff I wouldn’t buy there. Like a ratchet. Or a screwdriver. I wouldn’t even consider an electric tool.
Some of the consumables like little wire brushes, gloves, paintbrushes, etc. are great for the price IMO. Why buy a $5 paintbrush if I’m just using it to slop solvent on some greasy car part anyway?