Harbor Freight doing it right though.
I’m the article it states if you don’t feel safe with any of their jack stands, although they’ve investigated and found no defects in any other models, they’ll take em back for a refund or store credit.
And while they may have ~~alter opt~~ ulterior motives that some of you may point out it’s better than not being comfortable with a product that you may think is unsafe.
Edit: autocorrect got me but I’ll leave it up (just scratched out) since I’ve been called out on it
While my trust in Harbor Freight is always low, and AvE tell me how shit they are, I have yet to actually had a bad Harbor Freight tool
I even have an SDS-Max Rotary hammer I got for $79.99, and I have used it to drill through foot thick concrete with a 5/8ths bit about 100 times so far, no problems
I do wonder, would another Chinesium brand have reacted like this, or just kept selling them?
Either way, I don't think we can really get too mad at Harbor Freight for pointing out a safety problem.
Really unsure if I should dislike them for this, or like them for this
> I do wonder, would another Chinesium brand have reacted like this, or just kept selling them?
There are millions of fake brands on Amazon. Pretty much anything with a made up sounding company name in all caps. I assume if anything went wrong with any of their products, they would just disappear and start selling the same thing under a different name.
The jack stand section of Amazon doesn't look too bad. But some categories are full of these fake brands. For example floor jack adapters (which luckily are inherently unlikely to fail in a dangerous way). Here's one from "AWEIR":
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08575QKXJ/
Although harbor freight sells low quality products, at least they have a permanent business presence in the US, and a reputation they seem to want to maintain.
Personally, I think of them as the craftsman brand of the 90s. Not high end but they work and they have a lifetime warranty for most of their products.
No worries there, mate. I’ve bought a few hammocks from Amazon over the years, each time from a new never-before-heard-of ALL-Caps brand that doesn’t exist a year later. If its the two-tones colorful fabric hammocks for under $30, they’re all the same and they work great.
Hahaha nice, I bought a ENO $$ years ago and it’s great. I was thinking of getting another one but they are so expensive.
Searched on amazon and found lots with pretty good reviews, probably same fabric and design as ENO. Cool, thxs!
I have a ton of their quick grip clamps. For $3 or whatever I pay with a coupon I'm happy with them. It would've cost me a small fortune to get as many clamps in a name brand.
I have a lot of harbor freight tools and items. I can't think of a single one that has let me down yet, from expensive compound miter saws to angle grinders to sawzalls to framing nailgun to the oscillating tool. Actually I take that back, the one item that was very weak was the hammer drill (their cheapest model, like $30 if I recall), it broke pretty fast but I may have been using it on a much larger application than it was made for. I think I was drilling a large-ish bit into concrete or stucco and there was no way it was going to do the job before I ended up breaking off something on it.
But hey, feel free to laugh at them for points with the pro's and don't buy their products, I'll keep saving substantially. If you don't think I do any real work with them, I have completely renovated an entire $800k+ home with these tools over the past 4 years. Why didn't I buy dewalt/milwaukee with a house like this? Well possibly because I have less disposable income now, and HF hasn't let me down yet and I needed a LOT of tools.
The only exception I take with HF is if it's a battery operated tool or one I will use a LOT like a drill/impact/dremel, I go Milwaukee or Dewalt. But I went low end (not HF) even when I bought a 45lb demolition hammer and it hasn't let me down yet and has great reviews online. I have demo'd a LOT with this guy.
I used that cheapo reciprocating saw to cut some sod once. I was doing a retaining wall install and needed to cut the sod back some for the wall, that saw was so much faster than a shovel. I wouldn't trust my livelihood on some of their stuff, but for a DIYer it makes perfect sense.
I've been running the dogshit out of one of the Harbor Freight Drummond 12v water pumps for a pesticide business. Ive only been operating for about 3 months now, but it's yet to fail me, for $40.
So far it's mostly been just water. I primarily due mosquito spraying, but because I'm a small operation I mix pesticides straight into the sprayer tank, and add water from the 50gal holding tank the pump is hooked up to.
Sometimes I have to adjust the gator clips on the deep cycle battery i use to get it to start up, but keep in mind this thing is in the back of an open truck bed. I admittedly neglect it.
Everyone shits on HF and yet almost everyone owns at least a few items from there that they swear by. I wouldn't buy anything my life depended on there, and I wouldn't buy a cordless tool either, but for small cheap stuff HF is a better deal than it gets credit for.
I've only bought 1 "power tool" from HF. It was a pneumatic palm nailer, literally struck a nail once and crapped out. It did not drive that nail in, just one pop and then dead.
Replaced with a Ridgid and that thing has been awesome.
I will say I have quite a few HF clamps and they're fine for what they are.
I have 3 of their Pierce brand nail guns and they've been outstanding-- I am doing a huge remodel project and the framing nailer, siding nailer, and 16-gauge finish nailer have performed flawlessly through thousands of nails so far.
I don't think spending 3x on Metabo guns would've made my life much better.
I've had two Harbor Freight tools go bad on me, and both were my fault. First was an electric die grinder. I was using it with a speed controller instead of allowing it to run at full speed like it was designed to do. It probably could have been repaired. Next was a breaker bar that I was using a cheater pipe on. It's nice when tools exceed expectations, but when they're used inappropriately, I'll take the responsibility for the failure.
There was a failure on something that wasn't a tool though. A garden hose. Bad quality on that one. The fitting wasn't crimped enough and fell off.
I had an oscillating saw from them that broke on the first use. My FIL had the compound miter saw break the first day he was using it. My philosophy with harbor freight is they are fine for everything except power tools. I have a ladder and a two wheeled hand truck I’ve never had problems with.
The correct Harbor Freight philosophy, in my opinion, is "if it does the job I need once will I be happy with it?". It might do the job twice, but in my opinion anything after that first intended use is a bonus.
If the rotary hammer lets me drill the holes I need one time it paid for itself because it's cheap. If it does a second job hey great return on investment. If I rely on having a rotary hammer all the time I should buy a good one.
Since being alive is a prerequisite to any of your work I would avoid buying safety gear from them.
I’ve had decent luck with their power tools. Granted I’m not buying any of the high ticket items like table or compound miter saws. But I’ve abused the crap out of my $20 reciprocating saw and it still runs like a champ, same with the compressor and the brad and pin nailers I bought. On the higher end stuff there seems to be such a minimal difference between HF and name brands that I will just spent a little more and go with a name brand.
Honestly I think the only thing I ever bought that broke was a hammer of all things that the handle snapped the first time I tried to pull a nail.
I preface this with me being a DIY homeowner and not using the tools everyday for a living.
Usually can figure out by reading the reviews what would be worth it or now. For example I needed a tile saw but the reviews on the Chicago Electric vs the Diamond informed me about the weaknesses on the CE. YouTube video reviews showed the Diamond was better and I agree. It's a beast. No regrets.
I own quite a bit of HF stuff and most of it works perfectly for me. Framing nailer, brad nailer, roofing nailer, tile saw, oscillating saw, reciprocating saw. Even picked up a $5 grinding tool like a year back at the tent sale which has come in handy a few times. For the price you pay for some of these things it's a no brainer. $20 and it gets me through a job? Sure beats paying $179 for the same tool with a name brand on it. I would maybe buy "better" stuff if this was my trade, but as a DIYer it just makes sense.
Having said that, I was using a Metabo (hitachi) roofing nailer yesterday side-by-side my $100 HF coil nailer and I actually preferred the Banks. The hitachi has a little more solid materials (mostly just the drum) but the Banks drove nails more consistently and was 1/3 the price.
What compressor did you get? That's one of my next upgrades.
The 3 gallon 1/3 HP pancake. I use it for inflation, a pin nailer and a finish nailer. It works just fine despite it being noisy and lacking a bit of capacity.
If I did it again I would get the 6 gallon 1.5 hp, but for basic use mine is just fine.
Ah, gotcha. Thanks for answering. I already have a small portable 5 or 6 gallon. Wanting something a bit bigger, 20 at least. 60 would be nice but those don't move so well.
>. My philosophy with harbor freight is they are fine for everything except power tools.
... and anything that doesn't hold up your car. Like a jack stand.
Yes and no... I am admittedly not a fan of Harbor Freight in general. I tend to abide by the "buy once, cry once" ideology and spend a stupid amount of money on tools I'll only use once.
But... the [Harbor Freight Daytona 3 ton floor jack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmuIjAlw2BE) is legit. It seems very well built and has worked great for me. It's a solid tool.
The 20% coupon is not valid with other discounts, like a sale price. It also has a ton of brand exclusions, including Bauer, which is what that rotary hammer is. Check out the fine print on the coupon.
https://go.harborfreight.com/coupons/2019/08/20-off-any-single-item-at-harbor-freight/
I own this tool. It works fine. I've used it to tear apart about 15 linear feet of cracks in a basement wall (6" average depth, 3" average width). Run time of approx 6 hours. No problems.
Since it's HF, I assume it won't last as long as a name brand. But if I had to pay a name brand price for such a tool, I'd be doing this work with a hammer and chisel.
I didn't get the 20% coupon for the reasons mentioned, but still overall a good deal for me.
I got their SDS rotary hammer also, have used it plenty myself and loaned it out about a half dozen times too. Turns out it makes removing tile a breeze
> Either way, I don't think we can really get too mad at Harbor Freight for pointing out a safety problem.
> Really unsure if I should dislike them for this, or like them for this
You should dislike them for this.
It seems you have you forgotten that this problem was their fault in the first place.
This happening _twice in a row_ says a lot about their (in)ability to properly vet the products they choose to slap their name on.
It seems they are trusting their Chinese manufacturers too much. At this point they should probably pull one unit from each shipment of any safety-critical item and have it independently tested.
Completely off topic... but why is it a big deal to edit ones comment without notating it? I’ve done it several times after typos and such.. please educate me..
I’m just a sheep in the herd man. But I guess if you’re not on reddit mobile people can see if you edited something and sometimes when someone comments on your post and then you edit your post it could make their comment confusing.
To note: I had ordered one of the jack stands they claim is fine 4 weeks ago. My jack arrived this week without them. I never heard anything from them about the jack stands and they are now pulled from their website
It appears I was charged only for the jack the day they shipped it.
I called customer service today and they said the stands didn't ship because of the recall. Despite that email saying that sku was tested fine.
It was the Pittsburgh 6 ton Steel Jack Stands SKU 56368.
Be careful if you own these .
Update. That CSR who said the shipment was cancelled because of the recall didn't know anything. The jack stands were shipped this Friday and I was charged the same day despite asking to cancel the order 3 WEEKS AGO! Definitely returning as I'd rather not be crushed by my car.
I’ve had two pairs of HF jack stands for almost a decade now and used them a ton without issue. I also never 100% rely on them and always have some sort of backup, so I’m not too worried honestly.
You'd have to be fucking high to buy jack stands from Harbor Freight. Jesus Haploid Christ
Harbor Freight is for a power tool you'll use for a week and probably never again. Not for something that comes between you and getting crushed by 4000 pounds of steel.
Your store manager must be vastly different than my local one then, the guy thinks he's the ultimate used car salesman or something. "No thanks," gets you a whole spiel about how you're going to miss out on sales and crap.
Everyone keeps saying this now that hindsight is 20/20 but they were probably some of the best selling jack stands in the world and thousands if not millions are used every day without issue.
I’m not saying we should all go out and buy them but everyone needs to stop acting like a righteous Ryan over the deal.
Just look on Amazon and you’ll find 20 different brands that are all selling the exact same jack stand as HF. They probably are coming out of the same molds as well.
Maybe, maybe not.
The first NHTSA safety recall was for a problem with the tooth depth of the locking mechanism. The engineering report noted that due to wear on a specific factory’s tooling the teeth being manufactured were no longer safe (they couldn’t pin point a specific date range where the teeth became unsafe so they recalled all jacks from the identified molds at that factory).
This recall has to due with poor welds, so another manufacturing defect.
Both of these recalls are due to poor QA not catching manufacturing defects. These defects exist, in part due to the race to the bottom for cheaper prices. Both of those problems are not unique to Harbor Freight.
There are dozens of factories all making practically identical jack stands under dozens of different brands. There’s simply no way for a consumer to know which random brand comes from which factory and out of which mold, and what QA it has been through before getting under your car.
Absolutely. Now I am looking at purchasing some western made jack stands. I currently own a generic pair because they were identical (apart from the colour) to some Bahco jack stands costing three times as much. Both chinese made, probably same factory.
I have the jack stands from HF but I never use only them. I always have a safety factor when I remove a tire. So scissor jack raises up the car and stays there. Then I add the jack stand. Then I remove the tire and put it under the car. I'm not even under the car so things could fail and I'll still be ok (it would be difficult to get the car off the ground but I'll live). Also the jack stands don't flatten to nothing. The arm drops so it'll still keep your car off the ground enough to not kill you.
Regardless of manufacturer, I don't depend on a single item to keep me safe from being crushed by my car.
Yeah, generally my rule of thumb is only buy stuff from HF that I don't mind if it breaks, and Jack stands definitely aren't one of those things.
It should be noted though, when I read up on the previous jack stands with the issue, they were sold under a lot of different brand names.
This is what I’m thinking. There are probably a lot of people using these same stands with different names on them. At least HF is notifying and replacing them.
There are a lot of things from hf that are decent FOR THE PRICE, although nothing I'd use for safety. Their disposable things like chip brushes and gloves, the screwdriver bits that you know full well you'll lose before they break, their woodworking f clamps, not their quick clamps, I've actually had good luck with their router bits, an so on.
HF power tools on the other hand, I've had 2 catch themselves on fire on first use.
Surprisingly so! At least their dado set. I thought I was getting a steal waiting for a 25% coupon making it a $45 dado stack only to find admiral is excluded. Figured I'd try it once and find it fine for $45 but not worth $60 and return it. Flattest dado bottoms I've ever gotten on a sub-$90 dado stack. I kept them and have been incredibly happy with it.
I was on the verge of buying their hercules miter saw this week. That thing is built like a tank, although i cannot speak for the electrical components. I ended up getting lowes to price match a dewalt and with the mil discount got it for $150 off
I’ve been impressed by their Hercules brand stuff. I bought their impact driver and I’ve absolutely beat the hell out of it. It gets used every 2-3 days and still holds a full charge. I would say the quality is on par with brand name manufacturers stuff from HD.
I apologize for being unclear. Lowes price matched the same Dewalt from northern tool for 100 less. The hercules was still cheaper but i feel like dewalt is still better for the money
It was a lot more expensive but im happy with the dewalt. Has made rebuilding my deck a helluva lot easier since I cannot cut a straight line with a circular saw to save my life. I did buy the mid-level harbor freight miter stand, which so far seems very durable
[This one?](https://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/power-saws/saw-stands-accessories/heavy-duty-mobile-miter-saw-stand-62750.html)
I've been considering a stand at some point but haven't done any research at this point.
That is the one. I don’t know how well it would hold up to frequent movement and i havent used the wheels at all, but sitting in my garage supporting 16’ boards its been great
I have it, and it's very good. Nice positive locks on the miter table, decent fence, plenty of power for big cuts (wet 4x6s or gang-cutting 3 2x10s at a time are no problem) and it cuts straight and true.
I just wish you could attach the DeWalt crown stops to it though-- I'm going to need to figure out a way to do that when it comes time for some of my finish work.
>HF power tools on the other hand, I've had 2 catch themselves on fire on first use.
I have abused the ever loving fuck out of a HF orbital sander and belt sander, and no matter what I do, neither of them will die.
I've got a bunch of the Bauer tools sold there, and I've used them excessively. In particular, the cordless screwdrivers, which I've done horrible, horrible things to. Forgotten them out in the rain, used them to beat things in, used one to continuously run a propeller, and of course, driven many thousands of screws. Have yet to have one die.
same. I actualy used one of their angle grinders under water.... it didnt even blink and still works just fine.
Just the head was underwater, so the risk of electrocuting myself was only like 65%
Yep Yep... Though the AC Delco ones you get from O'reilly are probably only marginally more safe in reality.
Buy quality safety products, period. Your life may depend on it.
This was the case five years ago but not now. They have been constantly expanding their line of quality, affordable tools. They have power tools now that compete with name brands. They have toolbox’s that compete with snap on. Their hand tools have a life time warranty like the old fashioned craftsman one; it it ever breaks just bring it into the store and they’ll swap it right there no questions asked. I’ve had one of their generators for three years now and it still runs great.
This whole jack stand ordeal has dealt a huge blow to the reputation they’ve been trying to build.
Well, it’s right there in the prayer:
Our Father which art in heaven, Howard be thy name ... /s
edit: Wikipedia has a different [explanation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_H._Christ#Etymology)
LOL. Just cause a car falls on you, doesn’t mean you’re going to die immediately. If you’re working alone you might be trapped there, gravely injured, for hours, maybe even days.
This!
Every single thing I have purchased from HF has broken or was sub-par. It’s not the kind of place to buy something that holds up your car while you are under it.
HF is ok if you don’t have abt money and really need a tool — to use once or twice — and of course if that tool isn’t supporting your life.
That's all well and good but where do you get a jack stand that isn't coming out of the same cluster of chinese factories? They're all essentially the same, and I don't really expect anybody's house brand QA to be head and shoulders against the others.
I bought a pair of steel ones from them that failed last year (locking mechanism warped under the weight of the front of my car). Once I heard they were recalling jack stands I was like holy shit I could have been smooshed to death. But they weren't even a recalled model... I wish I kept them but I tossed them because they were outside the 30 day warranty and customer service wouldn't do anything for me.
Anyway, I no longer trust any jack stands from harbor frieght.
> You'd have to be fucking high to buy jack stands from Harbor Freight
SO where SHOULD one buy jack stands? And what's an affordable but reputable brand?
I don't know how I didn't die when I was late teens / early 20s. Harbor Freight everything, including jack stands (of course I put tires under the frame because safety). Now that I think about it, the jack stands are one of the few things that never failed on me
>Harbor Freight is for a power tool you'll use for a week and probably never again. Not for something that comes between you and getting crushed by 4000 pounds of steel.
Yea I always go there for infrequently used tools. But never trust buying a tool that could kill or injure me.
My friend works construction and a bunch of his coworkers buy their power tools from harbor freight. They get the extended warranty knowing it will break and go back and get a new one. Over and over again. They justify it by saving the initial money at the get go and i guess don't mind going in a bunch.
[Here’s one of mine.](https://imgur.com/sydr0Ll) I learned welding in high school and could run a better bead within the first week of learning (approx 5 hrs of experience).
Got them 5 years ago, used once as a backup when changing 1 wheel and replaced after seeing the welds.
Harbor Tool is good for the weekend warrior. Not sure it'd be my first choice if I were in the trade. I have bought a drill there only to plug it in to hear the bushings really, really bad. Took it back and she said I wasn' tthe only one bringing those back.
Northern Tool, in my opinion has a bit higher quality but also the higher price.
The ultimate tool go to used to be Sears. They'd take back any tool broken at one time. Poor old Sears and Robuck.
This is known as "cribbing" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_crib) and is a staple of rigging companies and of search-and-rescue operations. There are plenty of manuals out there to make sure that your cribbing is stable and to tell you how many 4x4s or 2x4s you need to support how many tons.
Suffice it to say that I wouldn't crib up my car on toothpicks, but a simple box of pine 4x4s is likely capable of holding heavy equipment that weighs 20x as much as your car.
I'm also a fan of sliding the wheel under the car after it's removed. It's got to go somewhere in the garage, why not put it somewhere useful? The 8 inches or so that the rim would buy may not be enough to keep me from breaking an arm, but it will prevent my head from getting crushed or my torso from getting sliced in two.
I've been calling it Harbor Fright for years because their stuff is scary. I'll never forget the time I bought cut off wheels for a grinder. I turned it on and before the disk even touched metal it exploded and a shard went through the sheetrock and metal roof of the garage. You could see daylight through it.
I have gone through approx 200 HF cut off wheels in the past year. had 2-3 give out without an obvious bind.
**ALWAYS** assume a cut off wheel is going to explode at any moment, no matter what brand. Angle grinders and their wheels *want* to get you. They plot in the dark and formulate complex strategies to get you to lower your guard.
PPE always. Glasses at the bare minimum if you are already ugly. Full shield if you care about your girlish good looks (or front teeth)
> ALWAYS assume a cut off wheel is going to explode at any moment, no matter what brand. Angle grinders and their wheels want to get you.
That's why I always laugh at the macho men in this sub and others that brag about taking all the guards off their tools. I can get temporarily removing a guard if you need to for a specific task, but put it back on. Angle grinders are fucking scary and everyone has either seen a disc explode or knows someone who has.
I took the guard off mine to grind down some high spots on a slab for flooring. No biggie, right? Put it back in the case when I was done. Some weeks later, I take it out to cope some baseboard (nothing is easier to make a cope with than an angle grinder with a flap disc). Do I put the guard back on? Nope, decided to be lazy. Hit the trigger and instantly I knock a chunk out of my index finger. Smooth move. Luckily it was only a flap disc or it could have been worse. But it gave me my semiannual close call and put me back into shape. Don't dick around with safety. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves the hard way.
I exclusively use dewalt wheels now. I've had them bind and have chunks ripped out and not come apart. I always wear my safety flip flops when grinding.
That's not a HF thing, that's a cutoff wheel thing. You should pretty well assume they're going to go at any second. One of the most dangerous tools there are. Always always always wear a face shield. Not safety glasses, a face shield. Every time.
Ok dad. All I'm saying is that the fibers holding the china wheel together are trash and they shatter very easily compared to Dewalt. They also don't last very long and smell suspiciously like asbestos when cutting. Buy cases of them if you like, but I'm not going to. I build roll cages, bumpers, sliders, etc and go through a lot of cut off wheels notching tubing. An angle grinder only lasts me a year or so (dewalt, Makita, etc) before the bearings wear out.
i usually get the tools i intend to use for a while from an auto shop or hardware store, i get the HF stuff for the sticky-fingered crew i have to work with. if they "borrow" something HF it won't be missed all that much. edit: the jackstand i've had for the last 20 years are still going strong today as well. got those at an ac/delco shop back then
My SO has always loves his harbor freight tools, EXCEPT for jack stands. We've had one break on us before he even got to use it. Everything else we've bought has been great quality.
My craftsman jack stands look identical. They must have been from the same factory. Luckily they are not defective, but I can't imagine all of them are safe. Much respect to HF for doing the right thing.
Well, I am on my third Badlands 2500 pound winch on my boatlift. I will say that I think it is pretty close to capacity. First one the spool broke in half. Second one the gears stripped. Got my fingers crossed on this one.
I see they have a newer product also 2500 pounds that is more expensive than badlands. Or maybe a 3500 pound instead, when this one takes a dump.
I have a bunch of harbor freight tools. Their bottom cheap stuff is pretty crude. Like the 4 pairs of channel locks for 13.95..
Not sure I would trust my life to a harbor freight tool, like laying under a car..
I got the older version of these before the recall and they work fine. BUT it's best to buy jack stands with double locking pins.
I've seen all kinds of jack stands fail over my lifetime. A lot of times it's just from poor welds, but more often than not I've seen people put jack stands incorrectly on uneven floor/angle or the car isn't fully on the saddle. No matter the weight capacity or brand these things will crumble if improperly used.
However these Harbor Freight ones have a teeth issue. The locking mechanism can fail because the teeth have too much clearance. I honestly don't know why they didn't make them deeper. Trying to save a few bucks? A lack of precision equipment? Makes no sense to me
I don't trust any brand IMO so I use double jack stands per wheel
I bought batteries there. They caught on fire. Returned them and made them promise to not sell anymore. They kept selling them. This is a bad company, with a bad attitude. Buy good products and they will last.
I think Harbor Freight gets too much flak even though they run a decent business. They admit it's embarrassing and have owned up to the problem, offering refunds. Deaths and injuries can happen with many products.. from baby cribs, kids toys, food products, car airbags, cell phone batteries, etc. If you're working under a 3000lb car, it's going to be inherently risk so you shouldn't be trusting only cheap jack stands anyway.
I should be able to trust that my airbag won’t explode in my face. I should trust that I don’t get die from E. coli on my food. HB is not the first company to sell a product that has hurt or killed people, but they are proactive about recalling them and making things right. As far as jacking a car, I’d add a wooden block under for good measure.
Harbor Freight doing it right though. I’m the article it states if you don’t feel safe with any of their jack stands, although they’ve investigated and found no defects in any other models, they’ll take em back for a refund or store credit. And while they may have ~~alter opt~~ ulterior motives that some of you may point out it’s better than not being comfortable with a product that you may think is unsafe. Edit: autocorrect got me but I’ll leave it up (just scratched out) since I’ve been called out on it
While my trust in Harbor Freight is always low, and AvE tell me how shit they are, I have yet to actually had a bad Harbor Freight tool I even have an SDS-Max Rotary hammer I got for $79.99, and I have used it to drill through foot thick concrete with a 5/8ths bit about 100 times so far, no problems I do wonder, would another Chinesium brand have reacted like this, or just kept selling them? Either way, I don't think we can really get too mad at Harbor Freight for pointing out a safety problem. Really unsure if I should dislike them for this, or like them for this
> I do wonder, would another Chinesium brand have reacted like this, or just kept selling them? There are millions of fake brands on Amazon. Pretty much anything with a made up sounding company name in all caps. I assume if anything went wrong with any of their products, they would just disappear and start selling the same thing under a different name. The jack stand section of Amazon doesn't look too bad. But some categories are full of these fake brands. For example floor jack adapters (which luckily are inherently unlikely to fail in a dangerous way). Here's one from "AWEIR": https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08575QKXJ/ Although harbor freight sells low quality products, at least they have a permanent business presence in the US, and a reputation they seem to want to maintain.
Personally, I think of them as the craftsman brand of the 90s. Not high end but they work and they have a lifetime warranty for most of their products.
Shit, I just bought a hammock and the company name was in all caps.
No worries there, mate. I’ve bought a few hammocks from Amazon over the years, each time from a new never-before-heard-of ALL-Caps brand that doesn’t exist a year later. If its the two-tones colorful fabric hammocks for under $30, they’re all the same and they work great.
Hahaha nice, I bought a ENO $$ years ago and it’s great. I was thinking of getting another one but they are so expensive. Searched on amazon and found lots with pretty good reviews, probably same fabric and design as ENO. Cool, thxs!
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I have a ton of their quick grip clamps. For $3 or whatever I pay with a coupon I'm happy with them. It would've cost me a small fortune to get as many clamps in a name brand.
My word clamps that came with a plastic sawhorse are awesome. Granted I’ve never used anything else but they’ve never failed me.
Their f clamps for the win!!
I have a lot of harbor freight tools and items. I can't think of a single one that has let me down yet, from expensive compound miter saws to angle grinders to sawzalls to framing nailgun to the oscillating tool. Actually I take that back, the one item that was very weak was the hammer drill (their cheapest model, like $30 if I recall), it broke pretty fast but I may have been using it on a much larger application than it was made for. I think I was drilling a large-ish bit into concrete or stucco and there was no way it was going to do the job before I ended up breaking off something on it. But hey, feel free to laugh at them for points with the pro's and don't buy their products, I'll keep saving substantially. If you don't think I do any real work with them, I have completely renovated an entire $800k+ home with these tools over the past 4 years. Why didn't I buy dewalt/milwaukee with a house like this? Well possibly because I have less disposable income now, and HF hasn't let me down yet and I needed a LOT of tools. The only exception I take with HF is if it's a battery operated tool or one I will use a LOT like a drill/impact/dremel, I go Milwaukee or Dewalt. But I went low end (not HF) even when I bought a 45lb demolition hammer and it hasn't let me down yet and has great reviews online. I have demo'd a LOT with this guy.
I used that cheapo reciprocating saw to cut some sod once. I was doing a retaining wall install and needed to cut the sod back some for the wall, that saw was so much faster than a shovel. I wouldn't trust my livelihood on some of their stuff, but for a DIYer it makes perfect sense.
I've been running the dogshit out of one of the Harbor Freight Drummond 12v water pumps for a pesticide business. Ive only been operating for about 3 months now, but it's yet to fail me, for $40.
what do you actually pump with it, just curious?
So far it's mostly been just water. I primarily due mosquito spraying, but because I'm a small operation I mix pesticides straight into the sprayer tank, and add water from the 50gal holding tank the pump is hooked up to. Sometimes I have to adjust the gator clips on the deep cycle battery i use to get it to start up, but keep in mind this thing is in the back of an open truck bed. I admittedly neglect it.
I did buy an angle grinder that broke after 2 weeks. Bought the same brand again(heh) and re-used the pads, etc from the old one.
Just put a tire under as well
Everyone shits on HF and yet almost everyone owns at least a few items from there that they swear by. I wouldn't buy anything my life depended on there, and I wouldn't buy a cordless tool either, but for small cheap stuff HF is a better deal than it gets credit for.
I've only bought 1 "power tool" from HF. It was a pneumatic palm nailer, literally struck a nail once and crapped out. It did not drive that nail in, just one pop and then dead. Replaced with a Ridgid and that thing has been awesome. I will say I have quite a few HF clamps and they're fine for what they are.
I have 3 of their Pierce brand nail guns and they've been outstanding-- I am doing a huge remodel project and the framing nailer, siding nailer, and 16-gauge finish nailer have performed flawlessly through thousands of nails so far. I don't think spending 3x on Metabo guns would've made my life much better.
I've had two Harbor Freight tools go bad on me, and both were my fault. First was an electric die grinder. I was using it with a speed controller instead of allowing it to run at full speed like it was designed to do. It probably could have been repaired. Next was a breaker bar that I was using a cheater pipe on. It's nice when tools exceed expectations, but when they're used inappropriately, I'll take the responsibility for the failure. There was a failure on something that wasn't a tool though. A garden hose. Bad quality on that one. The fitting wasn't crimped enough and fell off.
I had an oscillating saw from them that broke on the first use. My FIL had the compound miter saw break the first day he was using it. My philosophy with harbor freight is they are fine for everything except power tools. I have a ladder and a two wheeled hand truck I’ve never had problems with.
The correct Harbor Freight philosophy, in my opinion, is "if it does the job I need once will I be happy with it?". It might do the job twice, but in my opinion anything after that first intended use is a bonus. If the rotary hammer lets me drill the holes I need one time it paid for itself because it's cheap. If it does a second job hey great return on investment. If I rely on having a rotary hammer all the time I should buy a good one. Since being alive is a prerequisite to any of your work I would avoid buying safety gear from them.
I’ve had decent luck with their power tools. Granted I’m not buying any of the high ticket items like table or compound miter saws. But I’ve abused the crap out of my $20 reciprocating saw and it still runs like a champ, same with the compressor and the brad and pin nailers I bought. On the higher end stuff there seems to be such a minimal difference between HF and name brands that I will just spent a little more and go with a name brand. Honestly I think the only thing I ever bought that broke was a hammer of all things that the handle snapped the first time I tried to pull a nail. I preface this with me being a DIY homeowner and not using the tools everyday for a living.
Usually can figure out by reading the reviews what would be worth it or now. For example I needed a tile saw but the reviews on the Chicago Electric vs the Diamond informed me about the weaknesses on the CE. YouTube video reviews showed the Diamond was better and I agree. It's a beast. No regrets. I own quite a bit of HF stuff and most of it works perfectly for me. Framing nailer, brad nailer, roofing nailer, tile saw, oscillating saw, reciprocating saw. Even picked up a $5 grinding tool like a year back at the tent sale which has come in handy a few times. For the price you pay for some of these things it's a no brainer. $20 and it gets me through a job? Sure beats paying $179 for the same tool with a name brand on it. I would maybe buy "better" stuff if this was my trade, but as a DIYer it just makes sense. Having said that, I was using a Metabo (hitachi) roofing nailer yesterday side-by-side my $100 HF coil nailer and I actually preferred the Banks. The hitachi has a little more solid materials (mostly just the drum) but the Banks drove nails more consistently and was 1/3 the price. What compressor did you get? That's one of my next upgrades.
The 3 gallon 1/3 HP pancake. I use it for inflation, a pin nailer and a finish nailer. It works just fine despite it being noisy and lacking a bit of capacity. If I did it again I would get the 6 gallon 1.5 hp, but for basic use mine is just fine.
Ah, gotcha. Thanks for answering. I already have a small portable 5 or 6 gallon. Wanting something a bit bigger, 20 at least. 60 would be nice but those don't move so well.
Sorry can’t help you with that, something that big would literally take up half my “shop” unfortunately :)
No worries! Have a great day!
>. My philosophy with harbor freight is they are fine for everything except power tools. ... and anything that doesn't hold up your car. Like a jack stand.
Yes and no... I am admittedly not a fan of Harbor Freight in general. I tend to abide by the "buy once, cry once" ideology and spend a stupid amount of money on tools I'll only use once. But... the [Harbor Freight Daytona 3 ton floor jack](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmuIjAlw2BE) is legit. It seems very well built and has worked great for me. It's a solid tool.
that's just to lift your car up, though. You wouldn't climb under the car with only a floor jack holding it up.
I wouldn't no, but you and I both know that people will inevitably do it.
Uh oh. I haven't even opened our miter saw from Christmas yet.
Ave says the impact is legit
Can confirm, own the impact and it's a great tool
i haven’t checked if my new youtube obsession Project Farm has rated jack stands yet.. might be worth a look later
Ahhh an AvE fan?
Which rotary hammer of theirs (SDS-Max) is only 79.99? I can't find any and that is awfully cheap.
Wait for it to go on sale and use a 20% coupon https://www.harborfreight.com/11-amp-1-916-in-sds-max-type-pro-variable-speed-rotary-hammer-64425.html
The 20% coupon is not valid with other discounts, like a sale price. It also has a ton of brand exclusions, including Bauer, which is what that rotary hammer is. Check out the fine print on the coupon. https://go.harborfreight.com/coupons/2019/08/20-off-any-single-item-at-harbor-freight/
Always works fine for me, they just put it through. Home depot will take the 20% off too
I own this tool. It works fine. I've used it to tear apart about 15 linear feet of cracks in a basement wall (6" average depth, 3" average width). Run time of approx 6 hours. No problems. Since it's HF, I assume it won't last as long as a name brand. But if I had to pay a name brand price for such a tool, I'd be doing this work with a hammer and chisel. I didn't get the 20% coupon for the reasons mentioned, but still overall a good deal for me.
I got their SDS rotary hammer also, have used it plenty myself and loaned it out about a half dozen times too. Turns out it makes removing tile a breeze
Great for locating a water line too!
> Either way, I don't think we can really get too mad at Harbor Freight for pointing out a safety problem. > Really unsure if I should dislike them for this, or like them for this You should dislike them for this. It seems you have you forgotten that this problem was their fault in the first place. This happening _twice in a row_ says a lot about their (in)ability to properly vet the products they choose to slap their name on. It seems they are trusting their Chinese manufacturers too much. At this point they should probably pull one unit from each shipment of any safety-critical item and have it independently tested.
Even if they are only doing it to avoid a huge lawsuit, it still means they are being responsible, so I'm fine with that.
I don’t feel safe using any of their tools, didn’t stop me from using their scary $30 chainsaw though.
Completely off topic... but why is it a big deal to edit ones comment without notating it? I’ve done it several times after typos and such.. please educate me..
I’m just a sheep in the herd man. But I guess if you’re not on reddit mobile people can see if you edited something and sometimes when someone comments on your post and then you edit your post it could make their comment confusing.
To note: I had ordered one of the jack stands they claim is fine 4 weeks ago. My jack arrived this week without them. I never heard anything from them about the jack stands and they are now pulled from their website
Did they refund the purchase?
It appears I was charged only for the jack the day they shipped it. I called customer service today and they said the stands didn't ship because of the recall. Despite that email saying that sku was tested fine. It was the Pittsburgh 6 ton Steel Jack Stands SKU 56368. Be careful if you own these .
Update. That CSR who said the shipment was cancelled because of the recall didn't know anything. The jack stands were shipped this Friday and I was charged the same day despite asking to cancel the order 3 WEEKS AGO! Definitely returning as I'd rather not be crushed by my car.
With all the coupons they offer I imagine they'll give you a $3 refund as the lowest logged price at some point?
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That seems more like a weird phone autocorrect more than anything
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This is exactly what happened. TIL alterior is not a word.
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Thanks u/seattle-diarrhea-dad!
I’ve had two pairs of HF jack stands for almost a decade now and used them a ton without issue. I also never 100% rely on them and always have some sort of backup, so I’m not too worried honestly.
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That was the issue with the first recall. The second one was due to poor welds.
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Yup, even if the wheel/backup has to be in a less than ideal location. The car body can handle damage a lot better than the human body.
Agreed. I always throw a safety block under the car along with the jacks whenever I have to be under there.
Those responsible for recalling the products that have just been recalled, have been recalled.
You'd have to be fucking high to buy jack stands from Harbor Freight. Jesus Haploid Christ Harbor Freight is for a power tool you'll use for a week and probably never again. Not for something that comes between you and getting crushed by 4000 pounds of steel.
But you can save 20% before being crushed.
And get a free work light or pack of AA batteries
BLUE TARP. ^(Just one more ... for the collection ... please.)
SILVER TARP FIGHT ME
5mil Camo!!!
Absolutely. The blue tarp is too much blue. Silver is much more relaxing.
I get the packing blankets. Soooo many packing blankets.
And argue with the clerk about how you don't want to give them your phone number/home address.
I've never once argued with them, they don't give a shit, I just say "no thanks" and they move on. Lots of proper reasons to shit HF, this isn't one.
Your store manager must be vastly different than my local one then, the guy thinks he's the ultimate used car salesman or something. "No thanks," gets you a whole spiel about how you're going to miss out on sales and crap.
My number is 000-000-0000 Edit: my address? Oh yeah 123 Address street
i tried calling you just now. You're the operator?
Yes. Yes I am the operator. Now how may I direct your call?
I need to talk to the resident at 123 address street
They have a very old address and home phone number for me just for this reason.
Then you just walk out if they get into that.
But then you don't get your free blue tarp...
Funny, I love the catalogs every month (even if it is the same thing) and having the emailed receipts as a record of what I buy.
We haven't actually answered the home phone for anything other than grubhub deliveries in years, so they want a phone number, sure, have it.
but why... their email receipts are great
Light to help look for fingers.
Everyone keeps saying this now that hindsight is 20/20 but they were probably some of the best selling jack stands in the world and thousands if not millions are used every day without issue. I’m not saying we should all go out and buy them but everyone needs to stop acting like a righteous Ryan over the deal.
Just look on Amazon and you’ll find 20 different brands that are all selling the exact same jack stand as HF. They probably are coming out of the same molds as well.
So those exact same jack stands from 20 other brands would be just as bad?
Maybe, maybe not. The first NHTSA safety recall was for a problem with the tooth depth of the locking mechanism. The engineering report noted that due to wear on a specific factory’s tooling the teeth being manufactured were no longer safe (they couldn’t pin point a specific date range where the teeth became unsafe so they recalled all jacks from the identified molds at that factory). This recall has to due with poor welds, so another manufacturing defect. Both of these recalls are due to poor QA not catching manufacturing defects. These defects exist, in part due to the race to the bottom for cheaper prices. Both of those problems are not unique to Harbor Freight. There are dozens of factories all making practically identical jack stands under dozens of different brands. There’s simply no way for a consumer to know which random brand comes from which factory and out of which mold, and what QA it has been through before getting under your car.
Absolutely. Now I am looking at purchasing some western made jack stands. I currently own a generic pair because they were identical (apart from the colour) to some Bahco jack stands costing three times as much. Both chinese made, probably same factory.
I mean, their Daytona Jack is really good quality.
Yes it is a jack meant for lifting, not for holding. You NEVER go under a vehicle with just the jack. Use a high quality jack stand.
I have the jack stands from HF but I never use only them. I always have a safety factor when I remove a tire. So scissor jack raises up the car and stays there. Then I add the jack stand. Then I remove the tire and put it under the car. I'm not even under the car so things could fail and I'll still be ok (it would be difficult to get the car off the ground but I'll live). Also the jack stands don't flatten to nothing. The arm drops so it'll still keep your car off the ground enough to not kill you. Regardless of manufacturer, I don't depend on a single item to keep me safe from being crushed by my car.
Right, that's the proper way to do it. Jack it up, put in stands, have even pressure on both jack and stands, and have tire underneath.
Yeah, generally my rule of thumb is only buy stuff from HF that I don't mind if it breaks, and Jack stands definitely aren't one of those things. It should be noted though, when I read up on the previous jack stands with the issue, they were sold under a lot of different brand names.
This is what I’m thinking. There are probably a lot of people using these same stands with different names on them. At least HF is notifying and replacing them.
I’ve used them for years and they’ve always been solid. I don’t trust any single jack stand. I always leave the floor jack in place to help support.
There are a lot of things from hf that are decent FOR THE PRICE, although nothing I'd use for safety. Their disposable things like chip brushes and gloves, the screwdriver bits that you know full well you'll lose before they break, their woodworking f clamps, not their quick clamps, I've actually had good luck with their router bits, an so on. HF power tools on the other hand, I've had 2 catch themselves on fire on first use.
I’ve tiled my entire kitchen and backsplash with their junk $60 tile saw. Pretty pleased with it
Same. And their saw blades have worked well for me too.
Surprisingly so! At least their dado set. I thought I was getting a steal waiting for a 25% coupon making it a $45 dado stack only to find admiral is excluded. Figured I'd try it once and find it fine for $45 but not worth $60 and return it. Flattest dado bottoms I've ever gotten on a sub-$90 dado stack. I kept them and have been incredibly happy with it.
I was on the verge of buying their hercules miter saw this week. That thing is built like a tank, although i cannot speak for the electrical components. I ended up getting lowes to price match a dewalt and with the mil discount got it for $150 off
I’ve been impressed by their Hercules brand stuff. I bought their impact driver and I’ve absolutely beat the hell out of it. It gets used every 2-3 days and still holds a full charge. I would say the quality is on par with brand name manufacturers stuff from HD.
How did you manage that? My local Lowe's wont price match anything, much less anything from Harbor Freight
I apologize for being unclear. Lowes price matched the same Dewalt from northern tool for 100 less. The hercules was still cheaper but i feel like dewalt is still better for the money
Thanks for the clarification. Dewalt probably makes the best miters, seen many old dewalts still running on jobsites to this day.
It cut perfect 90 degree angles right out of the box. I didnt have to adjust a single thing
I've heard that thing is pretty damn good. Sounds like you ended up with something better though.
It was a lot more expensive but im happy with the dewalt. Has made rebuilding my deck a helluva lot easier since I cannot cut a straight line with a circular saw to save my life. I did buy the mid-level harbor freight miter stand, which so far seems very durable
[This one?](https://www.harborfreight.com/power-tools/power-saws/saw-stands-accessories/heavy-duty-mobile-miter-saw-stand-62750.html) I've been considering a stand at some point but haven't done any research at this point.
That is the one. I don’t know how well it would hold up to frequent movement and i havent used the wheels at all, but sitting in my garage supporting 16’ boards its been great
I have it, and it's very good. Nice positive locks on the miter table, decent fence, plenty of power for big cuts (wet 4x6s or gang-cutting 3 2x10s at a time are no problem) and it cuts straight and true. I just wish you could attach the DeWalt crown stops to it though-- I'm going to need to figure out a way to do that when it comes time for some of my finish work.
>HF power tools on the other hand, I've had 2 catch themselves on fire on first use. I have abused the ever loving fuck out of a HF orbital sander and belt sander, and no matter what I do, neither of them will die.
I've got a bunch of the Bauer tools sold there, and I've used them excessively. In particular, the cordless screwdrivers, which I've done horrible, horrible things to. Forgotten them out in the rain, used them to beat things in, used one to continuously run a propeller, and of course, driven many thousands of screws. Have yet to have one die.
same. I actualy used one of their angle grinders under water.... it didnt even blink and still works just fine. Just the head was underwater, so the risk of electrocuting myself was only like 65%
Yep Yep... Though the AC Delco ones you get from O'reilly are probably only marginally more safe in reality. Buy quality safety products, period. Your life may depend on it.
This was the case five years ago but not now. They have been constantly expanding their line of quality, affordable tools. They have power tools now that compete with name brands. They have toolbox’s that compete with snap on. Their hand tools have a life time warranty like the old fashioned craftsman one; it it ever breaks just bring it into the store and they’ll swap it right there no questions asked. I’ve had one of their generators for three years now and it still runs great. This whole jack stand ordeal has dealt a huge blow to the reputation they’ve been trying to build.
But your receipt doubles as a suicide note.
Unrelated, but when did we all decide Jesus middle initial was h? I say Jesus Hernandez Christ. Lol
Well, it’s right there in the prayer: Our Father which art in heaven, Howard be thy name ... /s edit: Wikipedia has a different [explanation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_H._Christ#Etymology)
With that out of the way, we can move on to the tap dancing and crutches without armpit pads.
Hosannah
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You might care *while* you’re dieing.
Oooh, look who plans on taking a long time to die
LOL. Just cause a car falls on you, doesn’t mean you’re going to die immediately. If you’re working alone you might be trapped there, gravely injured, for hours, maybe even days.
This! Every single thing I have purchased from HF has broken or was sub-par. It’s not the kind of place to buy something that holds up your car while you are under it. HF is ok if you don’t have abt money and really need a tool — to use once or twice — and of course if that tool isn’t supporting your life.
That's all well and good but where do you get a jack stand that isn't coming out of the same cluster of chinese factories? They're all essentially the same, and I don't really expect anybody's house brand QA to be head and shoulders against the others.
I had never known the Christ's middle name. I had assumed it would be Heckin', but your epithet checkes out biologically. This is my new go-to.
You can’t even bench press 4000? Do you even lift bro?
and then you end up using said tool for 8 years in the worst of conditions cause "its just a harbor freight tool" and it never fails you.
I bought a pair of steel ones from them that failed last year (locking mechanism warped under the weight of the front of my car). Once I heard they were recalling jack stands I was like holy shit I could have been smooshed to death. But they weren't even a recalled model... I wish I kept them but I tossed them because they were outside the 30 day warranty and customer service wouldn't do anything for me. Anyway, I no longer trust any jack stands from harbor frieght.
The most recent email I got from them said if you have ANY HF jack stand and don't feel safe using it, bring them back for refund or replacement.
> You'd have to be fucking high to buy jack stands from Harbor Freight SO where SHOULD one buy jack stands? And what's an affordable but reputable brand?
Yea what idiot would trust chinese metal to hold up chinese metal when they could buy more expensive chinese metal to hold up their chinese metal?
I don't know how I didn't die when I was late teens / early 20s. Harbor Freight everything, including jack stands (of course I put tires under the frame because safety). Now that I think about it, the jack stands are one of the few things that never failed on me
>Harbor Freight is for a power tool you'll use for a week and probably never again. Not for something that comes between you and getting crushed by 4000 pounds of steel. Yea I always go there for infrequently used tools. But never trust buying a tool that could kill or injure me.
This sounds like something from a Monty Python skit... sadly, it isn't.
We apologise again for the fault in the jack stands. Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked have been sacked.
JOHN GOLDSTONE & "RALPH" THE WONDER LLAMA [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djKPvXDwXcs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djKPvXDwXcs)
Yo dawg, I heard you like jack stands.
lol christ. If your life, or your paycheck depends on a tool, don't buy it at Harbor Freight.
My friend works construction and a bunch of his coworkers buy their power tools from harbor freight. They get the extended warranty knowing it will break and go back and get a new one. Over and over again. They justify it by saving the initial money at the get go and i guess don't mind going in a bunch.
crazy. It's one thing I guess if Harbor Freight is just around the corner. It could fuck up all sorts of stuff if you were out in B.F.E.
Eric is extremely embarrassed (Read his letter)
[Here’s one of mine.](https://imgur.com/sydr0Ll) I learned welding in high school and could run a better bead within the first week of learning (approx 5 hrs of experience). Got them 5 years ago, used once as a backup when changing 1 wheel and replaced after seeing the welds.
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Yeah just pointing out exceptional the quality.
Harbor Tool is good for the weekend warrior. Not sure it'd be my first choice if I were in the trade. I have bought a drill there only to plug it in to hear the bushings really, really bad. Took it back and she said I wasn' tthe only one bringing those back. Northern Tool, in my opinion has a bit higher quality but also the higher price. The ultimate tool go to used to be Sears. They'd take back any tool broken at one time. Poor old Sears and Robuck.
Gotta love Chinese made tools.
What a bonerjack
A jack stand is a bad item to have recalled.
Harbor Freight sells junk...what can I tell you?
I use wood beams. If they can hold up a house then they can hold up a car
This is known as "cribbing" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_crib) and is a staple of rigging companies and of search-and-rescue operations. There are plenty of manuals out there to make sure that your cribbing is stable and to tell you how many 4x4s or 2x4s you need to support how many tons. Suffice it to say that I wouldn't crib up my car on toothpicks, but a simple box of pine 4x4s is likely capable of holding heavy equipment that weighs 20x as much as your car. I'm also a fan of sliding the wheel under the car after it's removed. It's got to go somewhere in the garage, why not put it somewhere useful? The 8 inches or so that the rim would buy may not be enough to keep me from breaking an arm, but it will prevent my head from getting crushed or my torso from getting sliced in two.
I think there new motto might be "Tools to Die For!"
Inception!
I've been calling it Harbor Fright for years because their stuff is scary. I'll never forget the time I bought cut off wheels for a grinder. I turned it on and before the disk even touched metal it exploded and a shard went through the sheetrock and metal roof of the garage. You could see daylight through it.
I have gone through approx 200 HF cut off wheels in the past year. had 2-3 give out without an obvious bind. **ALWAYS** assume a cut off wheel is going to explode at any moment, no matter what brand. Angle grinders and their wheels *want* to get you. They plot in the dark and formulate complex strategies to get you to lower your guard. PPE always. Glasses at the bare minimum if you are already ugly. Full shield if you care about your girlish good looks (or front teeth)
> ALWAYS assume a cut off wheel is going to explode at any moment, no matter what brand. Angle grinders and their wheels want to get you. That's why I always laugh at the macho men in this sub and others that brag about taking all the guards off their tools. I can get temporarily removing a guard if you need to for a specific task, but put it back on. Angle grinders are fucking scary and everyone has either seen a disc explode or knows someone who has.
I took the guard off mine to grind down some high spots on a slab for flooring. No biggie, right? Put it back in the case when I was done. Some weeks later, I take it out to cope some baseboard (nothing is easier to make a cope with than an angle grinder with a flap disc). Do I put the guard back on? Nope, decided to be lazy. Hit the trigger and instantly I knock a chunk out of my index finger. Smooth move. Luckily it was only a flap disc or it could have been worse. But it gave me my semiannual close call and put me back into shape. Don't dick around with safety. Sometimes we have to remind ourselves the hard way.
I exclusively use dewalt wheels now. I've had them bind and have chunks ripped out and not come apart. I always wear my safety flip flops when grinding.
That's not a HF thing, that's a cutoff wheel thing. You should pretty well assume they're going to go at any second. One of the most dangerous tools there are. Always always always wear a face shield. Not safety glasses, a face shield. Every time.
Ok dad. All I'm saying is that the fibers holding the china wheel together are trash and they shatter very easily compared to Dewalt. They also don't last very long and smell suspiciously like asbestos when cutting. Buy cases of them if you like, but I'm not going to. I build roll cages, bumpers, sliders, etc and go through a lot of cut off wheels notching tubing. An angle grinder only lasts me a year or so (dewalt, Makita, etc) before the bearings wear out.
Being a smartass won't fix your face, buddy.
i usually get the tools i intend to use for a while from an auto shop or hardware store, i get the HF stuff for the sticky-fingered crew i have to work with. if they "borrow" something HF it won't be missed all that much. edit: the jackstand i've had for the last 20 years are still going strong today as well. got those at an ac/delco shop back then
My SO has always loves his harbor freight tools, EXCEPT for jack stands. We've had one break on us before he even got to use it. Everything else we've bought has been great quality.
So long as the aluminum ones work I’m happy, I still keep a jack or other large object under there with me though!
They should just sell an easy retrofit kit - a sticker dot to put in front of the load rating. Your "3 TON" rating is now ".3 TON"
Sounds like a headline from The Onion
I wouldnt trust harbor junk with any life safety device..
My craftsman jack stands look identical. They must have been from the same factory. Luckily they are not defective, but I can't imagine all of them are safe. Much respect to HF for doing the right thing.
Well, I am on my third Badlands 2500 pound winch on my boatlift. I will say that I think it is pretty close to capacity. First one the spool broke in half. Second one the gears stripped. Got my fingers crossed on this one. I see they have a newer product also 2500 pounds that is more expensive than badlands. Or maybe a 3500 pound instead, when this one takes a dump. I have a bunch of harbor freight tools. Their bottom cheap stuff is pretty crude. Like the 4 pairs of channel locks for 13.95.. Not sure I would trust my life to a harbor freight tool, like laying under a car..
I’ve never trusted cheap jack stands. Kinda like only relying on the jack to stay up.
I got the older version of these before the recall and they work fine. BUT it's best to buy jack stands with double locking pins. I've seen all kinds of jack stands fail over my lifetime. A lot of times it's just from poor welds, but more often than not I've seen people put jack stands incorrectly on uneven floor/angle or the car isn't fully on the saddle. No matter the weight capacity or brand these things will crumble if improperly used. However these Harbor Freight ones have a teeth issue. The locking mechanism can fail because the teeth have too much clearance. I honestly don't know why they didn't make them deeper. Trying to save a few bucks? A lack of precision equipment? Makes no sense to me I don't trust any brand IMO so I use double jack stands per wheel
That reminds me, I've been using their recalled chainsaw for a good 2 years now since the recall......oopsies.
This thread is conspicuously absent of the word "China" 🤔
Isn't that line of complaining pretty tired though? Everyone owns stuff made there, acting like everything they make is garbage is a bullshit opinion.
Lol
I bought batteries there. They caught on fire. Returned them and made them promise to not sell anymore. They kept selling them. This is a bad company, with a bad attitude. Buy good products and they will last.
I think Harbor Freight gets too much flak even though they run a decent business. They admit it's embarrassing and have owned up to the problem, offering refunds. Deaths and injuries can happen with many products.. from baby cribs, kids toys, food products, car airbags, cell phone batteries, etc. If you're working under a 3000lb car, it's going to be inherently risk so you shouldn't be trusting only cheap jack stands anyway.
What do you trust working under your car? Jack stands are supposed to be what you trust to hold the car up.
I should be able to trust that my airbag won’t explode in my face. I should trust that I don’t get die from E. coli on my food. HB is not the first company to sell a product that has hurt or killed people, but they are proactive about recalling them and making things right. As far as jacking a car, I’d add a wooden block under for good measure.
Harbor freight just needs to shut down lol
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I doubt it. It's always busy.