Harbor freight electric impact gun video

[H2Miami]

Originally Posted by DRTYFN

Remember - you get what you pay for.

Spend the little extra and buy a Rigid or Husky product. Lifetime warranty.

I stooped spending that little extra after most manufactures moved the factories out of the country ... Quality control is something out of our era

Wikipidia:" Husky hand tools were formerly manufactured exclusively in the United States[2] but are now largely made in China, Taiwan and USA per packaging at Home Depot retail locations "

BTW most harbor freight tools are Lifetime warranty too .

[jsbihn]

I will agree with Miami here.
Quality and pride in workmanship are all a dwindling concept when it comes to the competition of lower prices and mass marketing of the large "box" stores.

Basically stating that most things nowadays do not mean quality when you pay more. Just because it is more doesnt mean it is better, half the time you are just paying for a name. And sadly in a country that was growing, producing, and strong economically a few decades ago, if you try to find American made nowadays you in for one heck of a hunt (Thanks to Clinton and NAFTA, in case the masses forgot, which sent millions of jobs out of this country and closed down millions of middle and small businesses in the US of A). And in the wake of all that, to compensate we sold off America and the tax rights to foreign companies so we could build their products. Its comical, you want an American made car nowadays - you need to buy a Toyota, Nissan or Hyundai. '
I think we need to get back to a time where Americans produced, and Made In America stood for something (remember those pride campaigns in the 70s and early 80s?).

But People want lower cost nowadays with a hope for better made.
And if it isnt.... well they just take it back and exchange it out with the hope they will get a better one this time.

Anyways..... back to the point.....

I used to be a skeptic when it came to Harbor Freight until they opened a store near me, and starting off slowly I realized they were actually as good as or better then other brands.

[H2Miami]

@jsbihn ... Great comment ....I believe and hope this country will wake up and bring the "made in usa" back ... Seriously I will vote for you as a president

[HumminNBoatin']

I hate to rain on your parade but about 1% of Harbor Freight Tools are made in USA. Hell they have resorted to manufacturing in countries with even lower standerds of quality such as india.

There is a time and a place for Harbor Freight tools. Putting tires on any vehicle is not one of them. I can tell you from personal experience that the impact you buy from harbour freight will NOT torque those lug nuts tite enough to keep those wheels on. You need to hand torque your wheels with a torque wrench or get a real impact air/cordless that actuall has over 400 ft./lbs of WORKING torque with a torque stick to do the job right.

I can go on and on about why not to buy crap from Harbour Freight but im pretty sure everyone here knows why they should not spend there money their.

You get what you pay for in life and this could not be more true when it comes to tools.

[jsbihn]

I think the point that was being made about HF was that it was quality for the price and what he needed it for. Personally, a lifetime warranty is a plus in anything you purchase, even if it is "crap".... you can exchange it out for more crap and you dont feel like you wasted your money.

It doesnt matter if you pay more, basically quality is crap nowaday. Hence the reason for lifetime warranties...... its about the only thing that will keep people coming back.
I dont believe that a socket wrench from Lowes or Sears is any better then one from Napa or Harbor Freight.
Of course, if I decide to use that socket wrench like a hammer..... the lifetime warranty is great to have.

The point about American made stand true to any company.
Chevy builds in Canada and Mexico
Tools are made in China and Taiwan
Clothes in India or the "east"
and so on.......

Slowly America is turning into a desolated island. All we do is bring in, we dont really export. Look up what we used to be leaders of in export 60 years ago, then 40, then 20..... you will see it all go away.

Most of this happened from our government and then it was continued by businesses.
The sad thing is again basically nothing is made here and our nation wonders why we are slowly slipping from prosperity

[CUZICAN]

Originally Posted by HumminNBoatin'

There is a time and a place for Harbor Freight tools. Putting tires on any vehicle is not one of them. I can tell you from personal experience that the impact you buy from harbour freight will NOT torque those lug nuts tite enough to keep those wheels on. You need to hand torque your wheels with a torque wrench or get a real impact air/cordless that actuall has over 400 ft./lbs of WORKING torque with a torque stick to do the job right.

This is a common misconception with many people. It is not necessary to torque your lugs nuts to over 400ft/lbs. Read your manual, only 140ft/lbs is recommended. Unless you plan on bringing your air compressor and impact tools on the trail do you ever want your lug nuts tightened to over 400ft/lbs. Have fun changing a flat on the side of a trail with a 4-way when you cranked your lug nuts that tight.

[H2Miami]

Originally Posted by HumminNBoatin'

I hate to rain on your parade but about 1% of Harbor Freight Tools are made in USA. Hell they have resorted to manufacturing in countries with even lower standerds of quality such as india.

There is a time and a place for Harbor Freight tools. Putting tires on any vehicle is not one of them. I can tell you from personal experience that the impact you buy from harbour freight will NOT torque those lug nuts tite enough to keep those wheels on. You need to hand torque your wheels with a torque wrench or get a real impact air/cordless that actuall has over 400 ft./lbs of WORKING torque with a torque stick to do the job right.

I can go on and on about why not to buy crap from Harbour Freight but im pretty sure everyone here knows why they should not spend there money their.

You get what you pay for in life and this could not be more true when it comes to tools.

Wait my friend .. You are saying the torque for the lug nuts is over 400 Really Im in Shock ... I hope you never need to change a flat tire if going over 400lb ..

The manual spec is 140lb/ft . Plus if the tool is good enough to remove the lug nuts then it is good to installed ( removing those lug nuts takes a lot of more power than install them )

About tools quality . I agree with you all tools produced in China and other poor quality control country are not the top of the line BUT also most of the expensive tools you are paying as GQT ( great quality tools ) are manufactured under those poor quality standards ... Do not believe me . Just go any tool supply and look at the boxes . I can assure you the 90% is marked as made in china .

The fact of believe in a brand just cause the name is so wrong that it is destroying all this economy . A quick explanation .

All this well recognized brands are just playing with our minds . Before moving out the States they paid a employee around $12 x hour plus all benefits , they need to complies with the high quality standard imposed by this country .They used good raw material, etc
Now what happened , they move the factories offshore , pay 12 employees with $10 and there is absolutely no quality control to accomplish , plus cheap raw materials
However they are selling at the same price than before . So they making 15 times more money now ... Why would those company came back to this country ? No need to , while lot of people are still paying for Supposedly high quality tools with a know brand name ..

Anyway . just my 2 cents ..

[jsbihn]

Originally Posted by H2Miami

However they are selling at the same price than before . So they making 15 times more money now ... Why would those company came back to this country ? No need to , while lot of people are still paying for Supposedly high quality tools with a know brand name ..

Anyway . just my 2 cents ..

And this is also how they can afford to do lifetime warranties.
If 1 in 15 breaks, they are still making alot of money (now 14 times as much).
And the gamble is..... how many people use their tools so much or so hard that it provokes failure? Not many.

Anyways.... we have gone from a tool review, to a mocking, to a comparison, then to an product war, to a discussion based on America and its economics, and finally a profit and marketing strategy.

I would definitely we here at Elcova are well rounded in our discussions

[Easy Ed]

"Wait my friend .. You are saying the torque for the lug nuts is over 400 Really Im in Shock ... I hope you never need to change a flat tire if going over 400lb .."

No, I think he is saying to get a 400 ft lb torque impact wrench and use Torque sticks. Example http://www.harborfreight.com/10-piec...set-69870.html

Myself, I use a cheap AMPRO AR3641 made in Taiwan $70.00 air impact to loosen and remove the lug nuts, rotate tires (every oil change), run lug nuts back on at the lowest air impact setting then use a Craftsman adjustable torque wrench set at 135 ft lbs. to finish them up. Done it since day one of owning the truck, no warped rotors from improper torque, no loose lug nuts then next time I rotate the tires.

Just a side note, a little over 100,000 miles and still have same brake pads and rotors with plenty left and, I have no idea if it has anything to do with it but I am still on the OEM front wheel bearings even with running 37" tall tires)

I guess it is what ever works best for you as long as the tires don't fall off and ya don't bust a nut trying to get the lug nuts off the next time

P.S. I am a Plant Engineer at a company here in the states that is owned by a Chinese company (Yizumi) and I see their quality come and go on the same product lines at present. 80 to 3500 tonnage Die Cast and Injection molding presses. Mostly what I see is a learning curve because the quality (with our input) tends to get better as they produce more product. They will come to our plant and work with us to learn how it use to be done when the former US company was in business and made the products. They do want to take pride in making a quality product given time to do so from my point of view.

[HumminNBoatin']

Slow down there turbo...

The sentence reads in complete:
You need to hand torque your wheels with a torque wrench or get a real impact air/cordless that actuall has over 400 ft./lbs of WORKING torque with a torque stick to do the job right.

I never once stated to torque your wheels to 400ft./lbs.

Trust me on this comming from a guy who is in the Tool Business (I own a Snap-On Franchise). If you knew what to look for to tell the difference between the quality of tools you would be amazed what you get when you spend more money.

Think about it like this. These are factual stats btw.
Your average working mechanic makes $15-$20/hr.
Your average working mechanic spends $60/wk. On tools that literally cost 10x as much as HF tools.

Why does he spend so much of his paycheck on high quality tools????

Guys I have been to the Snap On Power tool factory in Murphy, NC. I have actually met the AMERICAN employees who take pride in their work. I have seen our tools in real life torture tests crushing the competition. It's real when you spend the extra $$$$ you do not just get a brand name you get what you PAY for!

I can go on and on about this. Now with that said, I'm not saying Snap On is for the average Joe. Snap On tools are for professionals who use their tools all day everyday.

Getting back to the subject..... I would not trust any torque device from a sub-par mfg. to the life of my family..