Power Wagon Registry

ever Harbor Freight tool the other day. 8mm hex socket, while trying to change the diff fluid on my daughters Subaru. Luckily, I also had a 2nd one in my 301 piece tool kit from them as well. It worked with no drama. It broke WAYYY too easily. Bad heat treat I suspect. I stopped in today & he said the same thing, bad heat treat. Told me to go get another entire set, just in case the rest were like that too. Awesome stuff. I was in & out of the store in under 60 seconds ! No stupid paperwork to fill out. Craftsman used to be like that, then you had to fill out paperwork & last time I broke a Craftsman tool, I had to fill out paperwork & then they said it would be sent to my house !!! So, I could not finish what I was working on that day ! Even though they had them on the shelf right then.

So, anyways, there have been 4 projects now where I thought I did not have the tool I needed. Then I remembered I have the 301 piece tool kit as well & BAMM, there it was. 21 & 22mm short sockets (for my Carli track bar), a T-70 torx/star socket for my daughters front diff drain, 8mm hex socket for the rear diff drain, 10mm hex socket for the rear diff fill & even tiny eye glass screw drivers to fix my glasses. Not to mention I had a 1/2", 24" breaker bar with a piece of pipe on the end for even more leverage-both feet against the tire, giving it all I had for torque & nothing broke. I am impressed. I have broken about 8 Craftsman hand tools.

really? good to hear. i haven't bought much Harbor Freight stuff.....for a reason. but tools being warrantied like that? gonna have to reconsider that kind of purchase.

thanks for the heads up.

Mike

I used to go to garage sales and flea markets looking for broken Craftsman tools because you could take them in an get new ones on the spot. Old trick my grandfather taught me. To bad those days are long gone. Sears went down the toilet years ago.

Harbor Freight has been fairly good to me as well. However, I usually limit my HF purchases to things I think I might use a few times here and there. I will say though, some of their tools, like air impact wrench at $17, who cares if it breaks a year later. I bought an Air Saw for $9 from there to do the AEV snorkel.

Don't even get me started on HF. F@@king chinese junk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have found Harbor Freight to be hit or miss with tool quality - but you just cant beat the price. Some of their Chinese socket sets that I have used have been oversize enough to make a sloppy fit making them hard to keep on the nuts and bolts!

RustyPW wrote:Don't even get me started on HF. F@@king chinese junk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Russ, they have started to include some 100% USA made products such as the never flat tires. You really have to look closely but I did notice there is more stuff American made being added to the mix. Granted, not a lot though.

Yeah, I smoked 'em, sometimes you just gotta #sendit

RustyPW wrote:Don't even get me started on HF. F@@king chinese junk!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The rule for HF is to buy things you don't care if they break, or that are 1 or 2-time use. If you want tools to last, buy quality brands like Snap-on. If you need something for the afternoon and who cares, you can't beat the prices.

Exactly. The hex sockets were bought specifically to do diff changes on my daughters Subaru. So, now I am good for another 55,000 miles. And, for $9 on sale, it is not a big deal if they break every now & then. I have broken far more Made in America Craftsman stuff than I have HF stuff. And I freaking refuse to be chasing around a G-damn truck when I need something or break something. Snap-On, Mac, Matco etc..., they should have stores. I gotta think that a driver, husband & Dad, would rather have a store than be gone before sun up & get home after sun down, every single day.

It's OK Rusty, my Uncle is a retired GM worker, 43 years. He always screamed "buy American", from the time i was 10yrs old till now. The last time he screamed at me, as an adult, I asked if I could go out into his shop. We went. I pointed out that he had HF floor jacks. He said his made in America ones had to be rebuilt every year & cost $4-500. I asked how old his HF floor jack was, he said 20 years old, & he has never had to rebuild it. Pointed out his HF 4" grinders, 7" grinders, mechanics seat on wheels, chop saw, 12" disk sanding wheel, power metal band saw, cement mixer, cut off wheels, etc... ----------all made in China. So, I told him to save that "buy American" bullshit for someone else or start practicing what you preach. Surprised you bought a PW at all, seeing as how yours was made in Saltillo Mexico. Mine was made there too.

The adage of buy American and American quality died a long time ago.I've had too many things recently that I went out of my way to buy American that was no better or worse than their overseas counterparts.

I've got tools from Snap-On, MAC, Craftmans, Ingersoll Rand, HF, Stanley, and a few others. The only good thing about the HF sockets. They're good to use as bushing/bearing race drivers. My sockets and wrenches from HF will round off a nut or bolt head in a heart beat. When I was working for Elliott TurboMachinery. I used Snap-On in the shop, and Craftman on the road. If I broke a Snap-On tool. I knew the guy would show up every Wednesday. No questions asked on how I broke it. If I broke a Craftman on a road job. I just found a Sears to replace the tool. Never had a problem getting a tool replaced from them. MAC sockets. If they're chrome. DON"T use an impact wrench on them. They will shatter. When a HF or other brands round off a bolt or nut. My Snap-On socket or wrench will 90% of time will remove the nut or bolt. At home, Snap-On tools are my go to tool 90% of the time. Unless it's a speciality tool. I've seen chinese tools fails too many times for me to trust them.

I agree. If it is something that absolutely can not be rounded off, then yeah, I use the best stuff I have. I really wish I could afford to equip my entire garage with the stuff that is made 1.5 hrs from me. https://www.matcotools.com/ I did not even know about them till a few years ago.