Calling Harbor Freight fanboys....or fanwomen.

"Grindintosecond" (Grindintosecond) 11/29/2019 at 21:47 • Filed to: None

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I would never trust a HF micrometer from China for rebuilding an engine, but I definitely will go all the way with their clamps, bungees, sanding discs and some parts storage bins and non critical spare tools. But for those of you who love HF, at what level will you cut the date short and hit up their name brand hot cousin? I’m looking at work benches, a decidedly non critical device. My cobbled together solutions aren’t really helping the space management. But for $80 above, what’s not to like? Now, checking out the really pricey stuff from Milwaukee and their ball bearing drawers and all that sexy stuff creates $$ desire. But that’s lots of money. It’s also very solid. So, Ive got room for 3 of the HF benches. (About 120") Will I regret going with the HF triplets? Do you users of them regret the buy? Is there something way way better for only $100?

benjrblant > Grindintosecond 11/29/2019 at 22:22

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IMO, I’d want a workbench to be as sturdy as possible. $80 in stamped steel and perf board seems like it will permanently be flimsy no matter how you assemble it. And $80 times 3? $240 will go a long way for 4x4 posts and 2x8 or 2x10 boards with some thru-bolts.

On the other hand, I’ve found their rolling tool chests to be surprisingly good for the name and the pricepoint.

lone_liberal > Grindintosecond 11/29/2019 at 22:23

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I don’t have any experience with it but it would probably be fine for most things. I find it hilarious that it looks exactly like the one that Sears is selling on their site for $113.

https://www.sears.com/workpro-workbench-garage-workbenches-steel-work-table-with/p-A035975168?plpSellerId=varnextrading&prdNo=4&blockNo=4&blockType=G4#Imagezoom

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Grindintosecond 11/29/2019 at 22:31

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My brother in law and I both have the US General tool cart and we like them a lot. If that bench us built to the same standard I’d say it’s good enough 

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > lone_liberal 11/29/2019 at 22:31

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Probably identical

lone_liberal > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 11/29/2019 at 22:37

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No doubt about it. That is what Sears has come to.

Grindintosecond > benjrblant 11/29/2019 at 22:39

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I just got their red rolling cart. It's quite good!

Mid Engine > Grindintosecond 11/29/2019 at 22:40

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Build one, it’s not hard. Use 4 x 4 legs, then frame it up with 2 x 6 lumber. throw some quality plywood for the top and you’re good to go

shop-teacher > Grindintosecond 11/29/2019 at 23:14

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I was just at Harbor Frei ght today, looking at that bench. The frame  seems decent, but the top is just laminated press board. Some of their stuff is really good. I have one of their tool carts, and the long reach 3-ton Daytona jack I bought of theirs, is a really nice piece. Far superior to the Craftsman jack it replaced.

Variance > Grindintosecond 11/29/2019 at 23:51

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Damn near everything at Harbor Freight worth buying has a review on youtube somewhere. I’d recommend checking if this workbench does, so that you can get somebody’s first-hand impressions of it.

I know that the US General toolboxes are generally well-reviewed, so this might be the same?

Danny Korecki > Grindintosecond 11/30/2019 at 00:31

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I made this a few months ago:

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Grindintosecond 11/30/2019 at 00:58

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I was in the same boat, I ended up building this one instead:

https://www.familyhandyman.com/workshop/workbench/how-to-build-a-workbench-super-simple-50-bench/

To get the HF fix, though , I did outfit mine with one of their 4' surge strips and 4' LED lights. I also made some slight mods to mine, like peg board all the way up the back, and used 1/2" ply for the tops and then laminated the main work surface with another 1/2" of MDF.  

nermal > Grindintosecond 11/30/2019 at 11:18

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I use them as first choice for most stuff. My theory is that it’s all the same made-in-China garbage as anywhere else, so you might as well get the cheapest version. The largest $$$ area that I skipped them for is a tire changer, spent 3x as much on a No-mar as the HF one costs. It’s definitely worth it in that area.