Top 10 Worst Tools from Harbor Freight (Updated for 2019)
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- Опубликовано: 29 июл 2024
- Top 10 Worst Tools from Harbor Freight (Updated for 2019)
The freight has really upped their game over the past 4 years but there are some real duds over there that you will still want to avoid. So here they are, the Top 10 Worst Tools from Harbor Freight!
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Хобби
The white bear is scary af
Ya the white bears a lil creepy looking.
Polar Bear, 'Tis the season!
IKR - specially at the end where he gives you the once over like he's comparing you to walrus filet mignon.
Looks a little under the influence lol
@@pdxlockpicker7796 white bears like to do all that coke..
I have a Campbell Hausfeld 30 gallon air compressor I purchased 22 years ago in my garage. I never had to do anything to it, except the change tools. It works as good today as it did when I bought it. You get what you pay for.
the rotary tool was the first thing i ever bought from them. it still runs after 15+ yrs. no, its not powerful, but its great for light work. i use it a lot working on old video game consoles where my dremel is too bulky. i know dremel has some smaller models but not for that price. not sure if same brand they sell now though.
Eric, don't pay attention to the bear today... It seems the bear has broken into Jeffs liquor cabinet..... again.
Lmao
Bahahaha 😆😅🤣😂
Bad bear! :-/
😂😂😂
I had one of those Cen-Tech battery chargers, and it did indeed work once. Only once. The second time I used it, it sparked, smoked, and died.
l00nybin That happened with my free DVOM. I think it worked 5 or 6 times and the wire pulled out of one of the test leads!
@@RaoulThomas007
Haha that happens too, but I always get em cause free.
Leave em laying around all over so you always have one.
I think I have about 7-8 of em.
Maybe not the most accurate as I've seen em read 130 in a wall outlet(fluke said 121) but it lets you know it's live.
I think kids use em in cars for a volt gauge , and the VW TDI guys use them for keeping an eye on a resistance value they intercept going to the computer to fool it for more power.
Cheap junk, so just get alot of them.
I use a marker and write on them TURN OFF on the knob because they don't have auto-shutoff.
we get those back a lot but some people don't have problems. They're popular and often have coupons so we sell a lot of them. Makes money so why take it off the shelf?
@@katieedmonds2212 maybe because it's trash? How about making better so it's not a one-time-use item, especially when the one time it's used is usually after any warranty expires. That's why I won't buy another one. I spent the money to get a better one, and it has lasted me 5 years. Only spent $80, so... less than $20/yr, vs. one use out the HF model.
I think Da bear has had a few of da beers.
regarding the air compressor being on clearance, Man it's harbor freight, EVERYTHING IS ON CLEARANCE! ALL MUST GO! ITS A FACTORY MANDATED LIQUIDATION! THIS WEEKEND ONLY!
The Boleyns This Weekend Only! - *Until NEXT WEEKEND!*
Yeah.
@@RaoulThomas007 for real. I think they do more closeout liquidation sales than all the mattress and flooring stores combined. At least till next weekend!
I get HF fliers in the mail that read TOOL DISPOSAL. 😂
@@pdb1298
Not quite as bad as furniture stores always liquidating and renaming , but it's still pretty funny
I mostly listen to the videos because I'm on the road usually when I can listen. I thought at first there was something wrong with the sound so I took a peek at the video and was honestly a little frightened :-) good play.
What year did Harbor Freight start making the series 2 U.S. General toolbox?
I know they have the newer Icon box but will there be a series 3 U.S. General 72 inch toolbox coming out in
2021?
Thanks for any information on this
I put up the 10x12 greenhouse and with a bunch of modifications this thing is rock solid. For the price and ease of modifications well worth it.
Was prepared to add to the list, but you covered them. That Cen-Tech charger was in my possession all of four hours before I realized it didn't work and took it back to the store. The Drill Master rotary tool I still have but thankfully I don't know where it is. It was free and that's what it was worth.
I had the Chicago Electric 12 volt drill. It was actually a decent little drill until the battery went bad. I bought two replacements, but they didn't last any time at all.
Great video bear and I got notified this time!
I have 3 of the central pneumatic compressors daisy chained together to run a small sandblast cabinet. I'm actually really surprised how long they've lasted considering they run constantly when sandblasting.
I bought a level in an emergency to save a trip across town for the one I forgot,, all my fence posts were crooked as hell.
A carpenter I work with was using a large HF level, he says my stabila levels aren't necessary but when I looked down the edge of the HF level... it was crooked
Manguy dude not necessary until the boss wants to know why all your door frames aren’t plumb and he’s handing you a lay-off check.
Man thanks for this video, much appreciated. A lot of these tools are tools I’m in the market for. So glad I didn’t pull the trigger yet at harbor freight.
Harbor Freight warranty is wonderful, purchased the Admiral 12 inch miter saw back in June 2019, had the extended warranty. Returned it with no problem & explained the issue with the saw.👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽
I've had the 2.5 hp 21 gal. air compressor for about 3 years now and I've had 0 problems with it, it has maybe 300 hrs run time on it now and works perfectly!
Great tip for the green house. Wife picked one up a few week ago and I was starting to build one and stopped due to knowing no way those panels were staying on with those clips, where I live. (E. Washington where the wind lives)
Gifts to buy people you don't like, but you want them to think you like them!
I like how you think......
If you sort of like them, you retain the receipt so they can return the item and get what they want!
Ohhhh my! The polar bear dissin' HF? 😮
My dad has had one of the central pneumatic compressors for about 3-4 years now and it works great for the basic like using a blow gun or chuck to blow up a tire. The only issue is that is doesn’t like to run in the extreme cold, but after a few attempts it gets warmed up and works fine.
As with rotary tools, I’d go with the Milwaukee M12 one since I’ve invested in 3 M12 tools. A job site radio, an M12 Fuel Hackzall and an oscillating multi tool. All them work fabulous for 12v tools. Also the 5 3/8” circular saw would be nice
The bear got into Jeff’s liquor cabinet...
You laughed at that emergency impact wrench but it will take the lug nuts off just fine. I've tested it on lug nuts torqued to 140 and with about 5 impacts they break loose. Beats the hell out of using a lug wrench. I have them in 2 of my cars.
If tire installers actually used the right torque when installing lug nuts those emergency impact would probably work better,most lug nuts only need 100 ft lbs of torque when most tire places use 500 ft lb guns and run maximum pressure
Rotary Tool Kit -- actually, this thing is pretty good, if you buy it with the understanding that you'll just be using it to do some VERY lightweight tasks. It's VERY inexpensive and does a fine job of little stuff that you don't want to try to do with anything that would do damage if it were any more stout. Such as -- sanding off toenails when applying anti-fungal meds (heard about it from a friend, of course!), and sanding off an overly aggressive handgun stippling job. You would NOT want to sick a Dremel on these, as it could do some hurtin' if not tremendously careful. The Drill Master, though? Really not enough torque to do much damage -- just enough to get the job done. Just my humble opinion that I thought I'd add. Hope this helps somebody.
Hey Bear! Have you noticed HF doesn't have as many "free" offerings as they used to? I don't see the batteries or multimeter very much anymore on the HFQPDB app. Seems like it's only the little light and sometimes the tarp. If they do offer the batteries, it's just for a weekend. Any thoughts on this?
Hey there polar buddy, hope to see you on the channel more often, YOU ROCK!
When I weld and need I use the big old time clamp. One thing I wish they make at harbor freight or any company . Is the old spark plug composer. That screws in to the spark plug spot and well pump up a tire. I had one that I used a few times hunting .
I have the dremel thingie...i use it to grind my doggies nails.. works great for that. Also the little cutting wheels are good for plastic. Other than that its not good for much else.
Hey I've got that drill master rotary tool and it's not half bad. I needed something in a pinch and it did the trick for me. It's definitely no dremel but for $15 it did what I needed.
DITTO! for light duty use, it has worked very well for me.... know the limits, which are an asset at times.
Agreed. I use it to polish the feed ramps for my pew pew barrels. Works great.
Well I’ll be the one with red on that one then cause the bits all are hot garbage with the stone ones shattering and breaking by the third use for me. And the tool itself.. well yea it’s just all around bad lol 😂 if you only use one twice a year then yea I guess it’s ok, but it really depends on how big your “pinch” is as to whether it’s gonna get you out of it or not. I had to buy one once for an exhaust repair on the road and it didn’t make two complete cuts of 5” pipe before dying. 😞
dude its better than a dremel. but not better than a die grinder
I have had my 149$ air compressor for 6 years, and i love it! It works great and have had no problems. Yes, I am just a rural home owner and use it only several times a week, but for me, it does a reliable job. :)
True about using HF bar clamps for welding. Do it regularly.
Sounds like we’re getting tool advice from “the dude”
I can personally vouch in regards to the air compressor. I bought the small pancake one, and it was utterly useless aside from using it to blow clean. The hose connection leaked, tried all that I could to stop but never worked. In the end, I end up giving it away.
That little rotary tool is perfect for tiny models, etc.
That's what I said 👍
3D prints, crafts & even my dogs nails
Joe Smith has a Dremel but sometimes a smaller, lighter, less powerful version would work better. Real fine detail work.
Red you are so crazy 😆! Hilarious we need more visits from Mcgraw!
I had the little bench grinder for a long time... used to sharpen bits
How did you turn around and get your voice coming through on that bear I think that's kind of cool
I love those ratcheting clamps. When they do break (because they will) I repurpose the metal bar for making brackets and such.
They supposedly have a lifetime warranty, I haven't used it though, … yet. I keep forgetting it at home
Those little grinders work good for sharpening Tig tungsten unfortunately i have to use mine alot..
love your vids man! you are a funny and cool dude and thanks for getting me into tools and harbor freight !
It sounds like the ol bear got smoked up before the filming of this video, I approve!
He kinda looks like it too!😂
It's legal in Nevada now😉
Are HF Predator 9000 Generarors any good?Can anyone that knows reply?
Ive had the mini bench grinder fir over w years now, I use it for burnishing leather edges when I make holsters,. Dies fine for that😎
I have one of the Central Pneumatic reg/filters and it has worked great for a year.
i like the 4in clamps i use them all the time with no problem they may not be the best but they have came in handy many many times.
Can't sleep, polar tool bear will eat me!
Can't sleep, polar tool bear will eat me!
Can't sleep, polar tool bear will eat me!
Well.... At least you're not sleeping in a polar bear bed Homer built ya
My grandfather always said "Good tools ain't cheap, and cheap tools ain't good".
HF Greenhouse has been going strong for 4 years. After a couple of years the panels started to look like well, the white bear, so I ordered a 12x50 cover from greenhouse megastore for around $90 to wrap over the top which is held in place on each end (top and sides) with treated 1x2. . You won't need all of the plastic and you could order a 12x25 piece if you are only doing the top and long sides, but if you start losing panels on the ends you can use the rest to seal them using the same method. The frame works fine although you may want to upgrade the door. I use it to start my plants and extend my pepper and tomato production in NC.
Funny story with the 12v heater defroster thing. I bought one for my truck as the heater wasn’t working, as you said barely even worked then after having it on maybe 4 times the unit started smoking and completely melted the plastic around the cord. Definitely was a dumb purchase😂
Brace the top corners of the greenhouse with some cheap electrical conduit at 45deg. Just squash the end of the conduit at each side flat, drill a hole and run a bolt through it.
Do you have a video where you elaborate on 12v being the future?
The clamps are wonderful. I use them for glue ups and have used them for multiple projects.
Love this video, because I've almost purchased a few of these tools. Thanks for heads up! I Have a regulator and central pneumatic air compressor. Never again.. incredibly loud for a oil filled compressor, leaks air from non over the counter parts. Just not worth fooling around with. Might gamble with a $39 compressor from harbor freight and use the tank from my old central pneumatic as a air tank. But the Craftsman air compressor 2 gallon are $49 at Lowe's so for $10 extra I might go that route! Thanks man happy holidays, and God bless!
Thanks. This was great.
I've got the 8X10 Harbor fright green house for 5 years now out in the country in high winds and snow storms. I mounded it on a solid pallet. I bought a bunch of those clips and got some of them screwed in with those screws with a strip of plastic. I only lost 1 of the roof vents, but it has 2 so I can live with it. It my longest lasting greenhouse
I have several of those ratcheting clamps, haven't had any problems.
So do I and they work great.
Agreed so do I
I bought a number of them 'cause they are cheap. Most still have the tag on them. I just broke one last week. The handle is just cheap plastic. They are worth the price, not much more.
@@jruicker1 ditto ditto ditto ditto ditto... bad news!
I get into a lot of arguments about Harbor Freight Tools and when they hear that I have hand tools from Harbor Freight and some electrical tools from Harbor Freight that are almost 30 years old and still work perfectly they are surprised at that people need to realize that yes Harbor Freight does have some substandard tools however they have a lot of great tools as well. Another thing I hear all the time is professional mechanics don't use harbor freight and that is a bunch of crap because I know a lot of professional mechanics that have Harbor Freight Tools in their tool boxes.
Also the last few years we have been coming out with the newer higher quality brands to gear more toward professionals.
The local tire shop by me uses Pittsburgh jacks.
Harbor Freight Tools are great for hobby wood crafters who make small items that don't require a lot of power to make. Every Harbor Freight Tool I have bought, in the past five years, for my wood craft business, is still going strong. Only had one problem with any of them - the mini Chop Saw - the belt broke. Harbor Freight replaced the tool and have never had a problem with the replacement. I guess one needs to by their tools according to the intended use. For small hobby wood craft, they are great. For construction, heavy use, and professional use - you need to buy the appropriate lines from them, or go with name brands. Do not try and be cheap on tools for those uses.
I guess he is a "Bad News Bear"?
I do like the alter ego to Red concept. When the white bear shows up it ain't good.
A friend of mine likes that drillmaster rotary tool for doing light deburring. Because if it catches it will stall rather then gouge expensive parts.
You need to install a more aggressive prop on your Narwall to get a good hole shot for a stout bear such as yourself. They have a ton of horsepower, but transferring that to the water without cavitation is the tricky part.
Not getting shish kabobed is the tricky part!
I like my ratcheting bar clamps. I will admit that they're not for heavy duty projects. But for holding small projects together, I like them
I think someone else called it an HF fav. I guess the point is it's light duty only.
This video screams "Grandpa Bear Doo Doo do do doo doo"
Lol
The 12 volt rotary tool has an undersized 1 amp power supply. Larger power supplys with the same 5mm connector are easy to find.
I have paper-clips that are stronger than the plastic squeeze clamps.
Centec Charger, took 4 back before I got one that worked.
As for the plug-in rotary drill, it hums, attracted a fly, which landed on it, stopped it dead cold.
I never realized Bears were so intelligent, all varieties, the brown, the white, I bet you that a black bear would have something of value to add to the conversation.
That was great.....thank you.
I actually built + 200 lineal ft of 6ft privacy fence BY MYSELF, using this 6inch ratcheting clamps...they were A GOD SEND an held up perfectly, 100 2"x4"x8ft rails, 3 rails, perfectly with no issues. They replaced my 14 yr old son who continually protested he was too tired to hold those 2x4's while I pilot drilled ang then deck screwed them into place on the 4x4x8ft posts. Home depot and Lowe's had no ratcheting clamps whatsoever...these were worth their weight in gold over a two week period of use, and never failed once. The regular 6" clamps at the big box stores would not have enabled me to finish the job alone as I would have required 4 hands to use them AND THEY WERE 4X AS EXPENSIVE.
I've had nothing but trouble with HF hydraulic tools. Some worked once in the store and then failed on the third attempt at using.
Was prepared to say, "Hey, Bear that [name tool hew] was pretty good!" But you nailed it! Merry Christmas. What? No Chicago electric 15 amp table saw? ; )
*i'd like to know when the 5.0 Mah Bauer batteries are coming out for sure. there's never been a more needed and anticipated release of a battery i am sure in all of history as that particular battery*
4:50 The lights on the defroster/heater are so you can find the socket to plug it in. 🤣
Wow, I've had the battery charger for years, still works today. Lucky me. The little dremel is good for small stuff. I have the cm 4.5hp 26 gal oil compressor for many years, a bolt backed out inside and locked it up, tightened it up and good as new, but not many hours on it yet. The manifold and gauges are junk though. My 3 on the list are holding up but I am just a diyer. Many items there are ok, but research them first.
Joe Smith is surprised a Russian hasn't spray painted this polar bear yet.
I have about 60 of those retching clamps, 10% don't work all others will slips when applied with force. But for $2 a pop I got some use out of them. Got the large green house on sale for $300, Costo version was $3,000 at the time! Need to modify the green house to make it functional else will fall apart. Its been 10 years, some roof panels are disintegrated from the heat, cold and wind. Didn't expected it lasted this long.
Joe Smith sees cousin blue is in town again for the holidays. You gonna keep the egg nog away from him hopefully. Don't want a repeat of last Christmas.
Hey bear, can you make a suggestion for Eric from harbor freight, at my shop almost everyone has this esencial tool it’s an extra long 1/4 flex head ratchet we’re paying well over 80$ for a 1/4 ratchet part number TLLF72 and i would rather buy 2 or 3 from harbor freight than to buy 1 snap on tool again ( I lost my first one ) it’s a great tool and I honestly believe it would be a tool that sells quick
I'd stay clear out of Chicago.
I have been using those bar clamps for years. They are light duty. Easy to use and inexpensive. Have other clamps when I need more force.
Ehh, the ratchet clamp is great for acoustic guitar repair. And I also just used an old longer one to hold the mounting tab on a Saab headlight assembly while I JB Welded it back in place. So I don’t know. It’s already paid for itself a few times over for me. But then again I only use it to hold something in place lightly. So I guess that’s why I haven’t stripped mine out. Well not yet I should say.
Would love to have a coupla beers with White Tool Bear!
Water skiing with a Narwhal, I did not see that coming LOL
Sharpen a drill bit by hand is one thing but can you sharpen a drill bit by hand and maintain a inside dia of .002 with out the drill bit belling out at the bottom of drilled hole. That’s how we did it back in the day when I was setting up and operating 6 spindle acme screw machines.
I bought the rotary tool as a pet nail grinder. It works & is cheaper than what's on Amazon. It also works well for small crafts. Definitely not the main workbench
I had tried to use the rotary tool a few times, but it had fell flat on its face every time I had attempted to use it. The rotary tool was so useless I just tossed it into the trash just about an hour before this video had came up.
I had purchased the bed jack to secure my cargo for deliveries. It had stripped out and failed on its first use.
I bought the drill master rotary tool. It's still my only one and let me just say it is horrendous. I've had to cut a few bolts/metal clips I couldn't reach otherwise and it is a slow and grueling process with that PoS.
(I see some comments talking about it's usefulness for small things and I could see it being good for that)
I bought one of those rotary tools at a yard sale to use modifying plastic models, it would bog and stall on the thin plastic of the models. I was amazed how crappy it was. Luckily I was only out $5
Thanks for the tip about the green house
The Rotary tool is good for light duty. I use it for model building. It's also good for grinding down toenails. I also bought a heavier duty Craftsman rotary tool at a garage sale.
The defroster is good for when your a plow guy and your couplings are frozen over and you also need a small work light
I laughed so hard watching this video. I like the white bear
Don't get to much from H.F., but I decided to get one of their Haul Master utility folding trailers and put it together. Pretty straight forward putting it all together, and it actually works REALLY well. Before this I owned a $1,000+ 10 foot utility trailer that was really nice with the ramp gate and all, and this $169.99 Harbor Freight trailer I swear rides smoother than that other one did. Put a 3/4 pressure treated plywood on top covered in outdoor carpet and have been very happy with it. BTW Make sure you grease pack ALL the bearings in the axle, instructions only mention the outer ones not the inner ones. Find the instructions on RUclips.
I’ve purchased the majority of the items listed in this video save the bit sharpener and impacts and have had good luck out of most of it all
Honestly most are some of my favorite buys
I've owned the Cen-Tech for around 6 years now, and I've used it maybe 30 times across 5 vehicles. It's worked every time, so eh. Maybe people are dropping them?
I can ditto that
The cheesiest HF tool I have is the digital VOM. For under $20--sometimes as low as $5 on sale--it is quite the little miracle if it even works at all!
I have 2of these little gems. Right out of the box they seem accurate, but after a year or two the resistance readings are inconsistent even between units.
At 1/5--1/10 the cost of a Fluke, they are best considered throwaways after 1 construction or repair.
Lmao!! I had an old S-10 in high school and it had no AC or heat and you bet your fuzzy rear end I had one of those defrosters! Worked for what it was....got mine from autozone I think
I was working two jobs for the holidays, 12 hr days at one job and about 30 hrs a week delivering. Right in the middle my heater core went out. Its a good 10 hr job if you do it right, gotta pull the whole dash.
I hooked up thst little heater, it worked to keep the windows clear, but not enough to keep you from freezing to death.
I like the ratcheting spreader bar / clamps. I've used them for years, and bought some more recently, and they seem fine. Yes, you can't get them as tight as a clamp that uses a screw mechanism, but I've never had one break on me in use. And the mechanism to close it is the same kind of canted metal bar with a slot through it that keeps the thing from opening, so the only part which seems likely to break is the handle (I'm sure you could break if you really bear - ha! - down on it). But I use them to hold wood steady on a table while cutting or drilling it, and to glue things together, and they've never failed me. I can think of a lot of things from HF I'd put on this list before these guys...
I use the small ones for toy making. I have about twenty of them. Al I need them to do is hold the part in place until the glue dries.I only paid 99 cents each for them.
The part that breaks is a little plastic pin. I've killed a few and had them replaced. I use them a lot for positioning and small gluing jobs. If I need to crank something down I use one of the all metal clamps.
I've had no issues with those bar clamps breaking. They can slip a bit though.
Given my luck with Harbor Freight I’ll never go back again.
Here’s some items to add. Doweling jig with centering lines out of alignment; a knife sharpener that’s so flimsy that it does more damage than good; a heat gun that blows out after the third use; a woodworking bench where I couldn’t use the drawers because the predrilled holes were out of alignment etc. My experience says that the stuff is inexpensive for a reason. QC is absolutely terrible. The only reason for my last purchase was because I had a gift card. The next gift card will be regifted.
I bought a Cen-Tech battery charger many years ago and it worked just fine for me.
In fact, some time later when I started having alternator trouble I went down to Harbor Freight to get another one because the first one worked so well. When I got home I set the box inside the garage to use later in the day, right on top of the old charger I couldn't find before I bought this one. The new one I bought more than five years ago is still in the box. I'm still using the old one.
Right now I'm using it to occasionally recharge the battery I took out of my old Civic until it warms up enough to work on it some more.
This old charger still works fine. I considered trying to sell the one that's still new-in-box but I figure I'll keep it around for IF this one should EVER fail.
If this is the worst of Harbor Freight I should be buying ALL my tools from there!!