Hey Scotty, I am in automotive school and will start working in a dealership starting in August. My mechanic swears by snap-on but I am unable to afford these pricey tools new or used. Are tools from harbor freight a bad choice for a beginner until I can afford the tool truck or am I setting myself up for failure?
Pawn shops, garage sales and second hand stores are another option for buying hand tools. Brand name sets the price, but some bargains can be found. I got a lot of mechanics tools when my neighbor passed away who worked as GM dealer mechanic for a great deal from his daughter.
Used hand tools can be a bargain.
there's a vast spectrum of tools in between. You don't have to have the finest, or the crappiest.
Sometimes having a crappy tool is worse than nothing at all because it will just cost you time and frustration.
Harbor Freight can be OK but you need to be selective, they have some stuff that's all right and some that's outright junk.
In general their "Pittsburgh Pro" line of hand tools is good. Their regular "Pittsburgh" branded tools range from decent to crap. Usually the products made in Taiwan are of better quality than those made in China or India. They have a new line, Icon brand, that is better quality but is too expensive unless maybe you have a discount coupon.
Harbor Freight's low-end power tools (Chicago Electric) are mostly junk. Their better house names such as Bauer and Hercules are not that much less expensive than the leading brands such as Milwaukee or DeWalt and only carry a crappy 90-day warranty, with repair parts and service being unavailable. Best rule of thumb is to avoid anything from Harbor Freight that is electrical or electronic.
Harbor Freight's hydraulic jacks are surprisingly good, in fact you'll see Scotty using those in his videos. Their U.S. General tool boxes are also reported to be quite good.
Here are sources for Harbor Freight coupons that can save you some money:
I look for name brand on Amazon. It’s cheeper then in store
Thanks, Joe.
buy quality if you can, i still have some from my grandfather and father, dont have any of my brothers tools, he like to throw them haha
https://www.toolbarn.com/usa-made-tools/
I can’t speak to the quality compared to other tools of Pittsburgh pro harbor freight tools, but yesterday I purchased some small snippers, A screwdriver set to replace the ones that have walked away, and a small 1/4” drive torque wrench Rated for inch pounds. The price on all of them was what I would call cheap. The checkout clerk told me they all had a lifetime warranty and did not try to sell me a replacement plan.
I haven’t broken anything and tried to take it back, so we’ll see. But I figured for the money it was worth a try.
Before they moved production to China, Craftsman was my go-to brand for hand tools and I still have some from 40-50 years ago. These days I mostly buy hand tools from Harbor Freight since there's a store nearby but avoid stuff that's obviously junk (like their $5 ratchet set with sockets made of pot metal). They hardly ever have coupons any more and instead have more conventional sales. I have stacks of LED flashlights, cheap screwdriver sets, cheap multimeters, etc. that they used to give away as freebies with a coupon but those days are gone.
My first good socket And wrench set was Sears craftsman. I would still have the entire set if the case they came in was half as good as the tools. I still Have more than 50% of the set, though.
Three years ago, I bought a Duralast AutoZone 3/8 6pt socket set. I like how the metric and standard are color-coded. Everything seems durable. Case is pretty good. Hot glue the foam insert to the top of the case, and everything stays right in place.
Maybe both. Stuff you’ll use all the time (standard and metric sockets, torque wrench) get the quality tools. Cheaper tools for occasional use. And cheapest brand for low-tech/no-tech items (like plastic dead blows).
if in doubt, buy quality. Nobody ever regrets buying quality.
The words "cheap" and "good" don't generally go together. Keep an eye on Craigslist. Like they all say, Harbor Freight is good for some things, especially if it has no moving parts, but be careful there. Try the Habitat Re Store, Good Will, Salvation Army and similar places, pawn shops, etc.
