What All Homeowners Need To Know About Harbor Freight

I will run down what you need to know as a homeowner to get the most out of Harbor Freight. There are things you should and should not buy from this store to save time and money on your DIY projects

Chapters
0:00 Intro and Survey Results
0:52 Harbor Freight History
3:00 5 Things To Buy At Harbor Freight
5:58 5 Things To Not Buy At Harbor Freight
8:40 Where To Get Aditional Information

DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission.

[billybeemus]

I had to replace a section of the concrete floor in my sunroom. I called a couple of contractors to just pour the cement into the prepared forms. The estimates were more than 5 times the cost of the HF cement mixer. I bought the mixer and did the work myself. Since then I have done 3 more concrete jobs around the house, as well as loaning it to many friends for jobs around their houses. It still works perfectly after all these years.

[kennethreed]

I started a business and it grew quickly. At one time I bought all of my tools from Sears. As I put on more repair techs, some tools were starting to disappear. Then HFT came into my world. They had good quality tools at great prices. We ended up with 15 trucks on the road and all tools came from HFT. When I retired, I became a Hospice Volunteer, I saw a need for the families to have something that they could look at and remember the good times. I started woodworking again. I had sold off all my equipment, so back to HFT. Sanders, drill presses, large Vice, a welder and many other tools and equipment. That was over 20 years ago...My craftsman woodworking tools didn't last very long. My HFT tools are still working great. I still do Hospice work and the woodworking for the families gives great comfort to the families.

[jeffh]

My view on harbor freight: if I need a tool I’m not sure I’ll use a lot, I’ll go to HF. If I break or wear out the tool, I’ll upgrade. If it lasts me, great. Also, sometimes I’ll buy tools from there knowing I’m going to abuse them. When those break, it’s not the end of the world.

PLUS their Pittsburgh lifetime warranty on hand tools is amazing. No questions asked if something breaks.

[thomastrout]

Twelve years ago my partner and I bought a HF trailer and it has paid for itself 50 X over. It's been used to haul scenery for High School productions, brick & stone for several gardening projects, an upright piano curb find and most recently, 5 trips with household goods in a Re Lo of 500 miles each. The only additional cost was a spare tire.

[figsgrandpa]

About 10 years ago, I was redoing our kitchen, and I got a portable wet saw to cut the tile for the back splash. The blade was sold separately, but the total cost of the whole setup was less than $50. Because of the back splash design we had chosen, I needed to cut the corner off of about 1/3rd of the 4x4 limestone tiles, and that little saw never failed me. This was my first time attempting any tile work, and the back splash came out beautiful.

[johnwartjr]

HF’s hand tools are actually pretty amazing. Even Pittsburgh Pro ratchets and sockets are really good. They fit. They turn the fasteners. They don’t round them off, they don’t crack. I’m a shadetree mechanic who has been maintaining my own fleet for hundreds of thousands of miles. Every aspect of vehicle maintenance I have done with Pittsburgh pro ratchets, sockets and wrenches. Lifetime warranties. On the extremely rare case something breaks, they exchange it for free. Less trouble than anyone. Half the time I try to exchange something Kobalt at lowes, they ask for the receipt. Do you have the receipt handy for a breaker bar you bought 8 years ago? Doyle pliers are pretty awesome and appear to be exact copies of some Mac tools designs. Those aren’t the only stories like that.

[christopherdreisbach]

I bought a gas powered plate compactor from HF for $500 after coupon. It was for a turf and paver landscape project that I was doing over the course of two weeks at the house. It worked great and saved me a ton in rental fees (roughly $100 a day from Home Depot). Once my project was done and I loaned it out to some friends for their projects in exchange for cases of beer, I sold it a few months later for $300 to a landscaper that was starting his business. Great video and content.

[lukefitt]

I agree with most all of this! What I would say is having some of those power tools as beater type tools has worked well for me. I’ve had the $10 grinder for years and use it about every six months or so on a project and if it breaks I won’t bat an eye because it has been a huge help. Same with a couple of hand tools like a breaker bar or pry bars. As long as you inspect it at the store it just needs to be a sturdy hunk of metal

[arnecarlsson]

Harbor Freight is the day care for old men! And they take good care of me!

[lucasdog]

When they first started in business, back in the 70's, they were called Harbor Freight Salvage.
A salesman used to call on the phone in the evenings and go through a long list of newly acquired freight salvage, the semi that crashed, or the factory "blems" and remanufactured items.
Some of those calls could last 30 minutes or so, running down this month's specials.
I dont know how they got our number, but the salesman seemed to believe we ran some kind of commercial business.
The tools at that time were all popular name brands, not imported clones. I still use some of those that I bought to this day.

[Bobherry]

I am a HVAC pro and have several hand tools from there. Everyone at the company does. Employees even say due the to lifetime warranty to just bring it in and they will exchange it no questions asked. Best part if they break and don't have a warranty they are cheap just get a new one. (Beater tools)

[mihalycseh]

I have switched over to their hand tools exclusively, I have beat on them like more expensive brand name sockets and have had no problems, plus they offer a no questions asked return policy. My tool box now contains more tools from them then anything else! I am a retired mechanic and work on around 10 cars a week. No problems yet!

[mikecooksey]

6 years ago I bought the Earthquake 1/2 inch impact wrench. Best tool I've ever bought. At 225.00 my brother in law thought I had lost my mind since we have several air powered impacts. However, once he used it we have never used any of the air impacts again. It is way more powerful and convenient. I have since bought 2 more of them as gifts. We have yet to encounter a nut it wont quickly remove. Even large trailer hitch nuts give it up in 2 seconds.
There are a lot more good categories than the limited list here. You just need to know what you are doing when buying tools. We go there 10-15 times a year and have bought hundreds of tools. Most have been fine. If not they will take it back.

[ACherimoya]

As a new homeowner with a Harbor Freight within walking distance, they have saved my bacon more times than I can count. I can walk in and pick up literally any tool I need. They have gotten the job done every single time, and most of the tools I have used on multiple projects. I think that, in terms of price to performance, their Bauer line of tools beats Ryobi (which I would consider their nearest entry-level competitor). I have saved so much money by buying the right tool for the job at a decent price instead of paying somebody to do the work.

[VintageStuff]

I love Harbor Freight. The key to satisfaction is to acknowledge their products aren't the best quality but they are substantially less expensive. And sometimes you can find rare gems that are of exceptional quality. They carry specialty tools that nobody else has locally and usually at a fraction of the price. Yes I've used several of their $15 corded power tools to the point where I literally burned them out...on jobs where I wouldn't have wanted to use my more expensive power tools.

[gummy]

I feel like hand tools, sockets, and wrenches are the best thing to buy from harbor freight! You can go with any of their "good, better, best" qualities and know that they will last you a lifetime with their no hassle warrantee/no cost replacement. If you use a tool a lot and don't want to replace it frequently, get their "best" quality. They are generally made very well and really do live up very closely to any more expensive/professional grade version of the tool. However, if you will hardly use the tool and just need something to get the job done, go with their "good" or "better" brands... and feel confident that even if you do end up breaking it, it'll be easy and free to replace.

[kellyscottlindner]

I use the Pittsburgh brand impact sockets all the time and have never had any issues. Their 6 point sockets are much cheaper then other brands and have held up great.

[TomCee]

The loss factor is important to me. I often leave small tools like screwdrivers, tapes, or pliers at friends houses, so I tend to travel with HF or Walmart tools.

[EdTravelingEast]

I still have some of the hand tools I bought 20 years ago, the orange kind. I upgraded and now keep the HF tools in the trunk as spares. Grinders and other specialty tools are great. If anything is going to get heavy use, go with higher end stuff. Weekend warriors will be fine with HF.

[paulrozinski]

Two of the best items that I’ve purchased at HF are:
The oscillating cutting tool and the set of insulated electricians screwdrivers. For theDIYer, they’re perfect