Proof that Harbor Freight tools are just as good.....

[T. Highway]

I also gave up on the Craftsman brand due to the same fact as Bill L stated.
I think Sears has gone down hill with there products, I guess they followed the footsteps of Wally World.

[Nickathome]

I don't doubt we all would prefer to "Buy American" if we had the chance, and the money. I certainly would rather buy something made in this country vs some offshore brand. The thing about it is though, to "buy American" these days means you're "Buying American" in name only, as even most American companies have most if not all their lines of products being made overseas. So, what is one to do then, when even the American name is coming from China? You either do your homework, and spend big time and big bucks looking for and purchasing truly American Made items, or, you decide to buy what you can afford and hope for the best. The latter most often being an offshore brand. And yes, alot of what HF sells even I consider junk, but there are plenty of items they sell, that are every bit as good as even their "American Made" counterpart, and for a whole lot less.

Now, just to switch gears a little bit, I will give you something to think about. Lets take our minds away from the quality of HF tools for a moment. Lets look at what can still be done even while using Cheap Tools. Here is a website; WWW.BKFliers.com. Its a website where a guy has chronicled the time and effort that it took for him to build his own aircraft(a dream I've shared since childhood). Well take a look around this guy's website. Take a close look at some of the tools this man is using. Not expensive, specialized American Made tools as one would think. To the contrary, alot of what this guy used came from you guessed it......Harbor Freight! Just goes back to what was said about it not being the tool, but the hands of experience, and what can be done with them.

[Lifer]

... Just goes back to what was said about it not being the tool, but the hands of experience, and what can be done with them.

I fully agree. Quality tools make the job easier and speeds up the process, but they aren't absolutely essential when you can "make do" for less. I once knew a master wood-carver who created a beautiful stock for a customer's shotgon using nothing but laboriously sharpened bits of stone (flint, agate, quartz, sandstone, etc.) for tools. He had quality steel tools, of course. He was a history nut, though, and wanted to see if it could actually be done. Turns out that it could, and he did. I know this has nothing to do with M37s, but it shows what a master craftsman can do without the most expensive tools in the store.
Am I a master craftsman? Nope!
Do I want the best tools I can afford? Dang betcha!
Do I have 'em? Some, but not as many as I'd like to have!

[T. Highway]

Nickathome, I agree with what your saying. Some offshore items are of good quality and I have bought them. I know that skill is a big part of being able to use just about anything to get the job done, I've been down that road many times before.
I've had buddies call and ask me how to get a rounded off nut, off a stud. They had used a Husky or Buffalo brand socket to round off the nut and I can most of the time, use a Snap-On socket to remove that nut for them. This is what I'm talking about. I don't buy tools because they are expensive, I buy the best tool for the job, period. (American Made if at all possible)
Time is money even though I'm not doing this for a living, sure I could use a hand brace to drill a hole but why should I if I can use an electric drill.
I believe in " Working smart, Not hard "

[MSeriesRebuild]

Nickathome, I agree with what your saying. Some offshore items are of good quality and I have bought them. I know that skill is a big part of being able to use just about anything to get the job done, I've been down that road many times before.
I've had buddies call and ask me how to get a rounded off nut, off a stud. They had used a Husky or Buffalo brand socket to round off the nut and I can most of the time, use a Snap-On socket to remove that nut for them. This is what I'm talking about. I don't buy tools because they are expensive, I buy the best tool for the job, period. (American Made if at all possible)
Time is money even though I'm not doing this for a living, sure I could use a hand brace to drill a hole but why should I if I can use an electric drill.
I believe in " Working smart, Not hard "

Thanks for this post, you have indeed got the broader prospective in your sights that I tried to introduce into this discussion previously.

Why spend an hour divising a way to remove a rounded fastener when a good quality tool would likely have removed it in the beginning without issue. That's money in your pocket any way you figure it.

[Chunk]

I've used some harbor freight tools and they have worked very well. I've also used harbor freight tools that suck and fall apart. You get what you pay for. If your going to use it often,get the good stuff. Many times I've modified a harbor freight to to my specifications to get a job done,and it served its purpose well,not to mention,it gave me good ideas for other tools that might make a job easier. EVERYBODY likes "snap on" tools,but I can't bring myself to pay $35 for a 9/16" wrench manufactured by them. Not going to happen. Craftsman tools have served me well over the years. Always look in the pawn shops and garage sales for the "snap on" tools. I've found some good deals.

[M-Thrax]

A snap-on tool doesn't make you a better mechanic it only makes you look like a better mechanic. I to use Craftsman hand tools,Milwakee drills,Bosch jigsaw, Hatatchi recipricating saw ( longer stroke then the sawzall) and what other brand serves me best. I still have and use a 1/2" hand impact that I bought from Harbor Freight & Salvage ( HF's old name) back in 1974 ( the 3/8" bits are getting hard to find). I heaved a cheap HF welder out the back door of my shop once but I've also heaved a "Miller" Big Blue out the same back door too (all but busted a nut on that incident) before realizing that "MAYBE" it "Might" have been me and not the machines

[greencom]

I bought a set of HF metric and standard impact sockets. I use these most of the time for my hand ratcheting chores, I figured they are made a lot tougher than the non-impact sockets and should really last when used manually. So far after about six years of wrenching on the M37 with them they show no visible signs of wear. I have also used them in my air impact wrench.
Greencom