What does /o/ think of harbor fright tools? Think most of their

Best tool rental place available.

Every time I go in there, the register has a line of people returning "lightly used" tools that they somehow have a problem with. "Wrong color, too heavy, wrong size, wife said take back...."

Their liberal return policy makes purchase optional and redundant.

Can't really speak for Harbour Freight stuff but Canadian Tire's in house brand that sells cheap chink shit works for me
And when they say life time warranty, they mean life time warranty and will replace any broken hand tool no matter how old with a new one no questions asked

>200 piece tool kit for $100
>life time warranty
I mean why not?

Man they did a good job ripping off Snap On, thought that's what they were in the thumbnail, I have the same 3 ratchets in Snap On (flex head comfort grip). Ratchets aren't something I would ever cheap out on, I have a few harbor freight tools though, socket trays, small pry bars, body hammers, for that kind of stuff Harbor Freight is good

>>14529156
Nice try shill

>>14529156
Halfway decent for seldom-used things, and there are a few nice feeling things in there like some of the ratchets.

Also good if you need a power tool you'll use like once or twice

People who try to tout them like they're the best thing ever are poorfags who don't know the taste of a decent tool.

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For what it's worth, I work with tools for a living. When I need to depend on them I use snap on. Their ratchets are so smooth and precise. Their wrenches don't wear out. But at home I have a set of Mastercraft (Canadian tire). They are good enough for the average do it yourselfer/weekend warrior.

>>14529281
this
Why drop $500+ on a set of wrenchs when i can get a set of Mastercraft Maxim for $30 on sale with the same warranty. Just doesn't make sense

Some tools i can see tho, like for people that use their tools every single day, maybe a impact gun and a few nice ratchets.

I bought a $12 ratchet set on the way to a junkyard. The basic ratchet broke within 1 hour of normal use. For any long-term use, don't bother.

You all could just go to Lowes and get Kobalt tools. Anything ever breaks you go to Lowes and get a brand new one.

Being all the budget ratchets use the same 72 tooth mechanism they are as good as any other Taiwan produce ratchet. So in the same boat as the GearWrench, new Craftsman, Kolbolt, Husky, and I think Stanly stuff. This is for the "Pro" line at Harbor Fright, the super cheep Chinese junk they sell is not worth the metal they are made off, same for any Chinese made ratchet. I'm a bit of a tool whore and have the 1/2 long flex head from Harbor Fright. With 20% off coupon it was under 20 bucks. I took it apart and it was kinda dry from the factory so I sprayed it off and put some Super Lube on it and it's about as smooth as an ratchet gets. When you compare the price of it next to the Tool Truck brands it's a no brainer for the DIYer.

If you are looking for a step up from the Harbor Freight Proline i'd look at SK and Proto tools. They are a little better made but gonna be a little harder to warranty since they don't have a store front or trucks to get stuff from. Speaking of warranty, the tool trucks have gotten away from honoring warranty for tool abuse. So if your like me and use a cheater bar on your ratchets and bust it the tool trucks are gonna give you a hard time. Had to mail my Snap On back to them when 3 of the local dealers turned me away. I had to pay shipping to send it.

>>14532494
The Pro line at HF has a life time warranty plus the HF is cheaper and they come from the same factory.

>>14529156
>harbor fright
You answered your own question. I'm not a fan of buying tools more than once, so unless it's something hard to fuck up like a hammer I'm getting Snap-On or Blue Point.

>>14532591
Not OP but Snap On is the lesser of the tool truck brands. They built their name on owner/operator tool trucks that are encouraged to let new mechanics take out huge line of credits to buy tools they don't really need. Being it's a lot of guys first "real" tools it makes a lot of fanboys out of them. Hench so much love they get on the internet. Go warranty a Snap On and see how far you get with the guy on the tool truck, they guy will drag his feet and try and sell you a rebuild kit before warrantying it.


This is for ratchets/hand tools anyways which if your a pro you are not even using a ton of ratchets. You are using air tools and my go to air tool brand is Astro. My 3/8s snapon air ratchet had died on me like 5 times. Last time I got it replaced I listed it on ebay. A fucking 300 dollar tool that lasts a year is not cool with me. Meanwhile my Astro 1128 is like 4 years old and rips everything off I use it on. 1/3 of the price of the Snap On too.

How do I fill an empty garage with -everything- I need on a single 500 buckaroo paycheck?

>>14532655
Define "everything", what type of work you going to do. A jack, stands, basic socket set, ratchet, oil catch pan and you are capable of doing 90% of what a pro shop can do. Add a blue tooth OBD2 scanner to get another 5% added.

>>14532655
Go to auctions. Especially country backwoods type shit like farmhouse estate sales. Seen a lot of shit like jacks and stands go for ridiculously cheap. Depends on the crowd mostly.

>>14532655
Look up Tekton tools on Amazon. Great quality and even better customer service should anything break.

I've used some Harbor Freight stuff, it can be kinda hit or miss. For hobby/DIYers most of it's fine, if I was wrenching for a living I'd probably buy something nicer but for most of of it the Pittsburgh pro line is enough.

Funnily, I think stuff like their drill presses are better for the money than their ratchets and screwdrivers, but I'm kinda particular about screwdrivers and I've blown up plenty of cheap ratchets across multiple brands.

>>14532581

You're not supposed to even use ratchets to break loose bolts that are stuck, so why would you ever have a cheater bar on one? Breaker bars serve a purpose in life, and so do impacts. Buy a manual impact if you're that serious about removing a stuck bolt.

>>14532641
Sounds like you have a shitty dealer. I've never had a problem getting warranty on my snapon stuff. I've even told our dealer I was using a snipe... no problem.

>>14534489
The shitty ones far out number the good ones. I tired all 3 of my local dealers and they all gave me a song and dance. Go read Garage Journal and you'll see tons of people having issues with them.

>>14532655
You acquire tools over time, always spend a little extra instead of getting the cheapest shit there is

But for non-power tools you can get away with Canadian Tire shit because they'll replace it when it breaks no questions asked

Kobalt is really good quality desu

is SK stuff comparable to snapon?

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>>14529156
Nearly all of their taiwanese made stuff is good.

And I agree that the flexy pro ratchets are nice. The best you're going to get for under $30

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>>14529156
>muh $250 ratchet

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>>14537944
Lol. It's really a great ratchet to have...

>>14537944
I have one of those. I use it as a breaker bar and make the Snapon cuck warranty my shit when it breaks.
>2012+4
>not taking advantage of your warranties

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>>14532641
Not a SnapOn shill but my 5 year old MG725 Impact out lived 2 IR, a Mac and maybe 3 craftsman/shit brand impacts.

My impact finally shit the bed but just needed the forward/reverse flow "switch?" Replaced. They sold me the 1 part for $30 plus O-rings instead of a $140 rebuild as my 2 year warranty was long over.

I use a combination of both cheapy and Brand name tools. Just dont go cheap on important shit of things that can kill you, like Jacks, jack stands, pry bars and universal sockets.

>>14529156
elton u fucking bitch

u dont need anymore tools

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>>14537944
this ratchet from snapon is single handedly the biggest piece of shit ive ever bought. The two torx 30 screws that hold the front cover on, continuously loosen up and allow the ratcheting mechanisim to fall out. When it falls out, you loose the springs and the claws meaning you have a nice polished 250$ paperweight. But if you happen to find all the pieces and put the cover back on, the handle indexing toggle breaks with fucking ease. I cant count how many times ive had to warranty that little toggle.

Its one of those looks good on paper, but blows donkey dick in real life type of situations. How about when your using the wrench alot and the head turns into a floppy dick because detents are for suckers. So, that wrench has a permanent spot in my box just so that i remember that snapon's ratchets blow hard. I bought a matco to replace it, best decision i ever made have had zero issues with it going on 3 years. And the matco is the same length, with a brilliant handle indexing design that doesnt break.

Hell i buy tons of shit from harbor freight, sockets, impacts, die grinders you name it. I swear by those rainbow colored sockets on my snapon impacts. If you think your too good for a harbor freight socket, you have your head up your ass and worry more about how you look to others than getting the job done.

If it's anything like princess autos "power fist" brand then the hand tools are great and cheap, wouldn't trust power or air tools though

Rank 'em in terms of quality: Snap-On, Mac, Matco, Cornwell

>>14531625
>>14531663
>>14529156

>>14529156
>>14531625
>>14531663
What's the quality of their jacks? My local one has a sale going on and they have a 3 ton jack for $90.

>>14539302
snap on, matco, cornwell, mac

>>14539302
china, china, china, china, mostly china.

Considering most of the tools that snapon, matco and mac have to offer are basically rebranded china tools i have little faith in any of them.