[UKcat]

We have been to their store in Louisville, KY and received their catalogs in the mail. Their stuff seems cheap in price; is it cheap quality too??
Air tools are Central Pneumatic; metal working tools are Central Machinery; most other tools are Chicago brand.
I ordered an 8" buffer from them, but have not used it yet. The buffing pads that I got to go on it seem too thin; the end plate and nut do not snug up to the pad; don't know if it's the design of the buffer or the pad, or both.
I have considered getting some other stuff; just wondered if anybody has had any experience with them.

[red76TA]

cheap in price and cheap in quality, i have a few things from them, but only things i rarely use

[Region Warrior]

Have some tools from them. Store is 15 minutes away.
Lesser $ = lesser quality. But some stuff's ok.
Usually get what i will use occasionally.

Stuff i found lots of uses for.
90* die grinder. Works half as good as my "straight" Chicago pneumatic.
Pneumatic saz-all. Works great. My favorate tool in the box.
Sheet metal shear. Works ok. Have to take your time.
1/4 and 3/8 knuckle ratchets. Not great, but real handy.

One thing thats a steal are the pittsburg "impact" extensions.
Get 4-3/8's in various sizes for $7
4-1/2" for $10
Use them alot. Like'm better then craftsman.

[eric65]

I have a couple of their air tools die grinder etc I just make sure I keep them oiled well before each use.... They have held up for about a year now..with no complaints.. I have noticed if not oiled they seize up quick..Got one of their purple spray guns cheapie as well use it for a primer sprayer and do not really clean it but for the tip and its sprayed for my use ok
Good Luck

[george kujanski]

There's a local store here too. Most, if not all, tools, hand and power, are Chinese manufacture. Generally they are not great quality but cheap in price.

I wouldn't use them for serious work, but for intermittent use the low cost may be the way to go.

example: a few years ago I was there and bought a set of two nut spliiters. Tried one right away and the nut splitter split.

I recently needed a 1" pipe threader and my Dad's 50 year old Ridgid set only goes to 3/4". HF had a set that goes from 3/8" to 2" for $40.00. A replacement die set for the Ridgid 1/2" cost me $20 years ago.

I used the HF threader and it worked ok, but it sure looks crude.......at least it didin't break.

Humorously, I used it on some 1" Chinese pipe I bought at Home Depot.

George

[KenB]

but sometimes price does relate to quality.
I cannot comment on any of their power tools, but for hand tools:

If you need a simple non-precision tool (file, hammer, pick, etc) , or if a one-time use/limited use item that is much cheaper, buy Harbor Freight.
I bought a set of flare nut wrenches from HF cheaper than I could buy one Craftsman (sorry Snap-On is waaay out of my league). They did the job, but the overall quality (finish, accuracy) was very poor, but I could see that before I bought them. This set was made in India.

Also had a 20 (?) gal parts washer from them, no problems. Gave it to a buddy when I moved, he uses it. Pump was Chinese, probably the sheetmetal too.

There's a HF store near me, and I plan on picking up some non-precision items later this month.

My 0.02
KenB

[Ken K]

Some stuff is a great deal and some stuff is pure junk. The high speed cutters work real good, they put them on sale for less than $10.00, I used one for years and finally replaced it. The purple spray guns are on sale right now for $9.99, I have used one to paint a car, I will never buy another brand gun after I used it, I have run BC/CC through the same gun a bunch of times annd it still works good. I bought one of the buffers for $29.95 and it burned up the first time I plugged it in. They gave me my money back. I bought another one a few months later and didn't have any problems. Buy the velcro backing pad for $5.00. Most of the tools they sell now days are made in China, they just put different names on them. I buy the foam pads for the buffer at the swap meet for $8.00 each, go to a parts store and they charge $16.00, the backing pads are also $30.00 at Home Depot. I shopped around for a buffer, there are hardly any left to be found. I found a buffer but they wanted $200.00 for it.

[Colin Frolick]

they sell digital volt meters for $4... buy a spare or two!

[Ron Genovese]

Their stuff is identical to what you would find at a tool tent at your local swap meet or car show.

[carcrazy]

You generally get what you pay for! That being said, for periodic use you can find some really good deals. (the dvm's are a steal)

[jcruz]

Can't beat the overall value other their blasting cabinets -- crazy low prices and the quality is great.

[carcollector]

During the Christmas week I could not find a machine shop open to replace my leafspring bushings. I purchased the $109.99 12-ton press from HF and did it myself. It did a find job.

[SergeF]

I am thinking of buying a welding helmet from them. It's under $30. Anyone got one from HB?

[UKcat]

Anybody know what I can do about the buffing wheels; can I add washers to the shaft to make them fit snug, or just get thicker pads, or what??? I have noticed that Eastwood offers thicker buffing pads than the ones that I got at Harbor Freight; you would think that they would sell pads/wheels that would fit their buffers; the ones that I got will not work properly; they spin on the shaft when the buffer is running because they do not fit snug.

[Ken K]

HF does not have much to offer for the buffing pads. Most of the stuff they sell is junk. I have tried a few different pads from HF. The threaded pad mount on the HF is a standard size that is used by other makes also. I bought the hook and loop pad from them and it did not fit the foam pad I bought at the swap meet, they made it wrong. I bought another pad at the swap meet for $4.00, it fits the foam pads.

[UKcat]

Thanks for the info., but it's not that type of buffer. It is a bench/stand mounted buffer to polish metal, wheels, trim etc. The pads that I got are too thin for the length of the shaft and the plate and nut that are supposed to fit up against them to hold it in place. Eastwood offers buff wheels that are thicker; I guess that is what I need.

[Ken K]

You can use 2 pads side by side. I have a bench grinder that I use for buffing metal. HF has buffing pads but you can buy better ones than what they sell. I think I bought one of them from Sears and I have a bigger one that came from an auto body store. I bought the big ingets of the compound from a auto body store. One of those ingets will last a real long time.

[Ken K]

Those are called buffing wheels, not pads. Look for the ones that have the threads close together on the sides of the wheels. The good wheels last a long time, the junk ones won't last.

[UKcat]

Thanks for your help. I will try to find the better wheels this week. I am going to try to shine up the metal trim pieces on our GTO this winter; time is passing by pretty quick; I got to get to it!!!

[DScruggs]

Honestly the stuff is GENERALLY worth what you pay for it but is of lesser quality. I often buy stuff from them that you would consider "indestructable". Impact sockets, LARGE (1" and up) sockets and wrenches, big adjustables etc.