A harbor freight tool made it through the whole project.

[Brandon]

Car had firestone tires when we bought it. 1 blew last year and another blew this week.

So I decided since I hate paying for something I can do with some tools (an excuse to buy more!) I would buy the tire changing setup from HF for 60 bucks.

It was a pita because they didn't provide mounting hardware. So thanks to Amazon I was able to buy concrete anchors and have them next day. Today I installed them.

First tire was a learning curve and took 45 minutes or so and the second took about 15. The 3rd/final took about 25 because the tpms was broke and I had to replace the stem altogether.

So back to the topic, the tire changer setup lasted my complete project and can still be used!

Now I need to get an alignment and balance.

 

[Ingomike]

Pictures?

 

[awames76]

i have one. its a pain but it works. have saved me some money. my local tire place use to cost 25 for put a tube including the tube in the skidsteer and rural king was 25 for the tube so i let them do it. now there 65 so i may start doing them again

 

[indyblue]

That’s a pretty good record, making it through one whole project!

I bought a ball joint separator from them once and the very first whack of the hammer on the joint split the fork and cracked it. I went and bought a craftsman one for about $10 more and I have used it dozens of times and there’s not even a mark on it.

 

[littletommy]

I’ve had pretty decent luck with their ratchets and sockets, but they don’t get heavy use. I’ve also got a HF pneumatic high speed grinder that I used every day at work for 12 years, and it’s still a beast.

Most of their hand tools are garbage, though.

 

[Brandon]

 

[d.kaufman]

Picked up a Hercules 3/8 cordless impact from HF about 2 years ago. Its been phenomenal for me. It's helped tear down and reassemble at least 180 transmissions. Plus a lot of other uses. Hasn't missed a beat. Gets used every single work day. Battery lasts a good amount of time as well. Charge up roughly every 3 weeks.

It's performed way better than the Snap-On one I had prior. In 3 years it had to be rebuilt twice and I had to replace 2 batteries at triple the initial cost seeing the same usage. It just sits in the tool box now, needing another rebuild that I'm not gonna waste my money on. Only benefit of the Snap-On was it was lighter weight. I'll take the durability over the weight any day

 

[Nazgul]

Bought one of these for the Man Cave in the basement. Air is handy for cleaning guns at times. Very quiet. Doesn't bother those upstairs when I fire it up.

Don

 

[MCgrease08]

Picked up a Hercules 3/8 cordless impact from HF about 2 years ago. Its been phenomenal for me. It's helped tear down and reassemble at least 180 transmissions. Plus a lot of other uses. Hasn't missed a beat. Gets used every single work day. Battery lasts a good amount of time as well. Charge up roughly every 3 weeks.

It's performed way better than the Snap-On one I had prior. In 3 years it had to be rebuilt twice and I had to replace 2 batteries at triple the initial cost seeing the same usage. It just sits in the tool box now, needing another rebuild that I'm not gonna waste my money on. Only benefit of the Snap-On was it was lighter weight. I'll take the durability over the weight any day

I've heard nothing but good things about the Hercules line. By all accounts they are solid tools.

 

[thunderchicken]

I’ve had pretty decent luck with their ratchets and sockets, but they don’t get heavy use. I’ve also got a HF pneumatic high speed grinder that I used every day at work for 12 years, and it’s still a beast.

Most of their hand tools are garbage, though.

Just kind of depends which hand tools you get. Their Pittsburgh line doesn't seem to be so good. However their Icon line appears to hold up better and seems to be a better quality.
I don't own any, but my son in law has a large set from the Icon line and they seem to be holding up well to daily use in an automotive shop.

 

[MrSmitty]

Years ago I worked at a truck repair place, bought a 3/8 air ratchet, and an air drill, used it for months every day...hundreds of holes, and bolts...

 

[Butch627]

That tire machine was probably the worst HF thing I purchased. The bead breaker twisted up like a pretzel and when I went to weld bracing on after straightening it the coating would travel as soon as it got hot and make a mess of the weld. The tire irons they supplied were way to soft and deformed also. You can find old manual tire machines from time to time on CL or FB which are far superior.

 

[Super Bee]

I have had one of their low profile jacks for years, works great. Air ratchet sockets, buffer, grinder have all been great. Never tried their regular ratchet or socket sets. I also have one of their large blue tool boxes on wheels and love it. Somethings you can tell just suck and would not last, but overall I have had pretty good luck with them.

 

[littletommy]

My favorite thing to buy from harbor freight used to be their plastic tarps, they were the cheapest place around.

I pride myself on keeping lumber, plumbing supplies, electrical stuff, anything I need for routine or even emergency repair around the house. Plastic tarps can be real lifesavers, and I have a good supply of all sizes, and every one of them came from HF.

 

[littletommy]

I don’t know how I forgot about the $8 palm sander I bought at HF about 10-12 years ago! I have a Ryobi palm sander but had loaned it to brother, and needed one for a fairly small project. I figured if it survived most of the project, it would be worth the 8 clams, and it completed that project, and many more over the years. It’s been dropped off the top of ladders and abused in just about every other way, and it’s still in perfect working order.

 

[BJHay]

I bought a HF 1x30" belt grinder and beat the living hell out of it for a few years making knife blades. I upgraded to a better grinder but that HF grinder was ridiculously cheap and never missed a beat. I still have it.

 

[Mongo59]

From the title I was pretty sure it was a drop cloth you put under your project...

 

[Cameramonkey]

I bought a corded impact wrench to do brake jobs, assist in sharpening mower blades, and the like. Lasted 10 years. I think I got my money's worth out of it.

 

[Brandon]

Got a hammer drill about 15 years ago, burned it up in the first 15 minutes. Got the task done in that time but it was toast.

 

[xwing]

Joining the chorus here. While I've had several Harbor Freight tools that broke on first or second use, I've had more that still work to this day despite medium usage. (High-usage tools I buy elsewhere.) If it's a tool I'm not going to use frequently, Harbor Freight is the go-to.