Here's a rundown on some Harbor Freight tools we have listed in the encyclopedia. To get this list, I simply searched the database for "Harbor Freight" and "HF".
Some misc Harbor Freight tips are at the bottom. Additional tools? Tips? Advice? Post in this thread.
Some keys to getting value from Harbor Freight:
-Accept that HF will never be the equivalent of a "real" tool supplier.
-Work the sales and discounts and coupons and tricks. An inexpensive tool can turn into a ridiculously inexpensive tool.
-Understand the difference between inexpensive and cheap. Sometimes the difference is important, sometimes it simply doesn't exist.
-Be cautious with consumables. Blades, bits, etc. These need an extra skeptical eye. You don't "save" anything if one breaks at a critical moment, and they will usually break when they are storing the greatest amount of energy.
-You usually get what you pay for. The upside is that this means that you don't get a 50-cent driver for $8, like is sometimes the case at big box stores. That 50-cent driver is usually priced accurately, for better or for worse.
-Get your spelling lessons elsewhere. It takes a special kind of company to stamp a misspelled version of "Pittsburgh" into a tool.
-It might be advantageous for you to buy multiple instances of a specific tool, toss them around, lose some, break some, etc. For specific tools, in specific situations, you could come ahead like this, and avoid the stress of monitoring a fancy tool in a certain environment.
-HF might be best as a tool "platform". If you can buy basic tools there, and mod them, you'll likely extract the maximum value from their offerings.
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