Bought a compact Earthquake XT. Rated at 700ft lb breakaway torque. That’s horse shit. It grunted taking off lug nuts torqued about 100 ft lbs. It would not budge the lock nuts. They didn’t seem especially tight when I removed them by hand.

Just bought it but scuffed it up pretty good today. Wonder if they will still let me exchange it.

I’m astonished.

You know it's really "China Freight", right?

Bought a DA sander there. It self-destructed in less than 15 minutes. Then I bought an Ingersoll-Rand. It has been years and it's still going strong. Their free LED flashlights have proven to be junk, too. I hate Horrible Freight.

It's a good place to buy latex gloves. Their hand tools are also surprisingly good for the price. Their new ICON torque wrench surpasses SnapOn for 1/4 the price.

Power tools, not so good.

Harbor freight is to quality tools what Bonzo the Clown is to serious academics.

Harbor freight is not in any way comparable to snap-on, and I can't imagine any world in which one would buy a harbor freight tool and expect precision.

That Icon wrench has a "limited" life warranty, but it doesn't cover calibration and if the wrench won't maintain calibration, the warranty doesn't apply.

It's a cheap taiwanese copy of a snap-on.

HF manual tools are comparable to the house brand drivel that the big chain warehouse stores carry. Often comparable to some of the cheesy schlock that low-reaching companies like Stanley and Black & Decker make offer...also too from offshore sources.

However HF power tools are another matter altogether. Excellent for wasting money and time, though.

My rule of thumb is it’s safe to buy something from HF if it only has one moving part.

quote:

Originally posted by ASKSmith:
My rule of thumb is it’s safe to buy something from HF if it only has one moving part.

good advice. once and a while a good product will get by them but that is rare!

quote:

Originally posted by ASKSmith:
My rule of thumb is it’s safe to buy something from HF if it only has one moving part.

I use them for tools I don't mind losing as in spare set for trunk or boat. I almost bought a floor jack from them until I started reading stories of them failing.

If GI want cheap tool that no workie long time...

Hazard Fraught, at least the powder coat stuff is cheap

quote:

Their new ICON torque wrench surpasses SnapOn for 1/4 the price.

Not everything from them is bad, but you need to be an informed shopper to separate the good stuff from the total crap. As for the "Earthquake" brand of impact gun (also carried by Amazon) in the OP, I've seen them used by others fail to live up to their torque expectations before.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:
Harbor freight is to quality tools what Bonzo the Clown is to serious academics.

Harbor freight is not in any way comparable to snap-on, and I can't imagine any world in which one would buy a harbor freight tool and expect precision.

That Icon wrench has a "limited" life warranty, but it doesn't cover calibration and if the wrench won't maintain calibration, the warranty doesn't apply.

It's a cheap taiwanese copy of a snap-on.

Not even close. The ICON is a single paw design, vs the dual paws of the SnapOn, so not a copy. Do you have any evidence than an ICON won't hold its calibration any better than SnapOn, or are you just assuming so since in many ways SnapOn is a Veblen good? In the following review, the ICON is superior to the SnapOn when new. Many casual users won't be using a torque wrench enough to require calibrating every six months, so paying for it infrequently makes more sense than tracking down a SnapOn truck.

I have some other tools manufactured in Taiwan, like Napa Carlyle, Gearwrench, etc. I have found the tools made in Taiwan to be very good, and prefer them to some of my domestic tools.

Here's a review of the two, if you're interested. I'd expect, like egregore, you probably are too invested in SnapOn tools to be objective.

These torque wrenches - and a lot of other HF tools - may be OK or adequate for the casual or occasional user. I use tools every day and hard, so my needs are a little more demanding. In torque wrenches, I have an additional need, that they be able to measure angular displacement. This is necessary for torque-to-yield bolts, found (in automotive) mainly on cylinder head bolts, but others as well. Trying to "guesstimate" angle by match-marking the bolt is inaccurate. An angle gauge between the wrench and socket is better, but is difficult to read - if there is even any room for it - in tight spaces. In aviation (sns3guppy's business), there is a requirement for torque wrenches to be calibrated and documentation shown. Calibration shops (or at least this one) won't work on non-US-made wrenches. So, no, these aren't "as good as Snap-on."

Having said all that, I do have quite a few Taiwan-made tools, some of them even from HF. They are a real step above the Chinese junk. But not something requiring precision like torque wrenches.

LOL I made that mistake at a box store. About 25 years ago I bought a chicago pneumatic 1/2 air impact at one of the big box stores. It would not remove the lug nuts off my car 85 at FT LBS. It was rated for 400 or 500 FT LBS. Many air tools out there are a joke. Buyer beware.

The HF torque wrenches get out of calibration fairly fast. But they say that they come fairly close when new. I generally dislike cheap Chinese crap that needs replacing in short order, but I will note that the larger HF tool boxes are a heck of a lot better than what Sears is currently offering.

As an aside, picked up a 7 drawer Kennedy machinists tool box at a garage sale in perfect condition for $50 today. Talk about overbuilt-)

I have the very first Earthquake impact wrench, rated at about 700ish foot pounds of torque. It will demolish a bolt. It will absolutely positively snap every lug stud in existence if the nut is seized. I have used it for years, to include in a mower shop, and it has not once ever failed to remove one nut/bolt ever. My truck lug nuts are torqued to 145 ft lbs and they are zapped off in less than half a second. Basically, in my experience, the Earthquake impact is perhaps the best tool I have ever bought for the money. It’s an absolute beast and I have recommended them in the highest praise possible to anyone that will listen.

They do require larger air fittings/hoses and the proper CFM to power them properly. You might need to upgrade your air tank and or lines/fittings. No 1/4 inch lines for sure. The bigger, the better. I think 1/4 inch and 5/16 fittings are pretty standard. I believe you have to upgrade to at least 3/8 size fittings to get rated torque values.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: bubbatime,

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
Do you have any evidence than an ICON won't hold its calibration any better than SnapOn, or are you just assuming so since in many ways SnapOn is a Veblen good?

Why would I offer such evidence, when I said nothing of the kind. I spoke of facts, namely the warranty. Pull it out of the box and read, if you don't believe.

I use tools professionally. If someone doesn't care and is willing to use cheap junk on something that requires calibration, fine. It's harbor freight.

I wouldn't let someone touch anything I'm working on with a harbor freight tool that requires any kind of calibration, especially a torque wrench.

Veblen good? No. Professional tool. What its resale value is, is irrelevant.

I have a full set of Craftsman tools that are the old American made stuff, but new Craftsman is no better than Harbor Freight. I buy Harbor Freight stuff occasionally, usually stuff that I'll use once or very rarely. I'm no mechanic though, just enjoy piddling around from time to time.

I've never had a problem with HF tools.

I work on everything from mowers to tractors and haven't broke one yet.

I've managed to easily break the USA made Crafstman sockets where the HF just laugh it off.