# Worst tool I have ever owned



## a1Jim

I'm a little surprised at 4 star rating for the worst tool you have every owned ? when shopping at HF you have to know two things #1 that a large percent of their tools are low quality #2 they have a great return policy.
thanks for your review.


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## Bearpie

When you buy at Harbor Fright it is* "BUYERS BEWARE"* and you have to thoroughly check the products out before purchase or you will end up here, complaining. I have always thought everyone knew the inferior quality that HF typically carried and that they should have been aware of this! I'm sorry this happened to you and hope that in the future you will be a more savvy shopper! The cheapest prices are not always a bargain and often is costlier in the long run.


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## REL

Come on now! What do you expect for the price! I own a bunch of Harbor Feight clamps. I can buy four HF clamps for the price of one "prime" clamp. They work and what I'm clamping is not smart enough to know the difference.

When I break one or a couple, I exchange them at HF for free.

I've been woodworking long enough to collect alot of clamps including a large inventory of the expnsive brand names, and sometime too heavy clamps.

Harbor Freight tools have their place.


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## 280305

It looks like you rated this as five stars. It was the best of clamps, it was the worst of clamps.


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## REK

Don't feel bad, I bought a craftsman clamp similar fo 20 bucks…and it sucks


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## Bertha

Unless they're Besseys or Jorgensen pipes, I don't expect to get much from a clamp. If I pay the premium for the Besseys, I'll damn sure make sure they perform flawlessly. I think there are one or two HF clamps with a good reputation (for the price) but I don't think these are them. Sounds like you paid a few bucks for a bad experience. Not a terribly expensive lesson, I guess.


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## JGM0658

You paid $9 for a clamp and you are surprised it didn't last?


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## rockindavan

I have a few of those clamps. One of the ends broke off and the others are clumsy to use. I understand that 1 out of 4 probably won't work well, and the others will work mostly ok. As long as you know HF will leave you somewhat unsatisfied, there are instances where they can help you get by in a big glue up. There are some HF gems, but you should know that most of the stuff is a very temporary solution.


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## longgone

A few years ago I bought 5 of the HF squeeze clamps that were on sale cheap. About 6 months later I threw them in the trash can…didn't want to give this crap to anyone else. I now only buy bessey, Jet or irwin clamps.
I bought some HF wrenches and sockets also when i bought the clamps…needless to say they strip easily with the slightest pressure.


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## MT_Stringer

Thanks for the heads up on these clamps. I had looked at them and now, I think I will pass. I have a number of items bought from HF. When the cashier asks if I want to get the extended warranty, I usually tell them no, that if it makes it through the weekend, I will be good to go.


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## Phil277

I'll chalk the $20 to tuition at the school of hard knocks. I didn't expect them to perform like an expensive tool but I also didn't expect to be a trash item with moderate use either. This is the 1st tool I ever bought at HF and definitely the last. The 4 star rating was not intentional, I didn't even notice the star thing.


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## Howie

Greg,their handtools have a lifetime warranty just like Husky,Craftsman, Kobalt and a few others.

I've got a few of these clamps I've had for 3-4 years. Never had a problem with them. I'll admit I only use them on boxes etc where light pressure is all that's required.

a1Jim hit the nail on the head along with some others. I buy some of their stuff but I'm well aware that it may not be the best of quality. If I am shopping for quality,I go somewhere else.


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## 33706

Does ANY Harbor Freight tool actually deserve a review in the first place? At the very least, I might have considered drilling a few holes across the aluminum channel, and putting a pin or bolt thru. That would have worked, until the headstock gives out


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## bandit571

There is one up there at H-F that does rate a review. In fact, it was even a "Star" on a Stumpy Nubs show awhile back…









@ $8-10 each, not a bad little plane. Better yet, it CAN be made into a very good scrub plane…









It's iron is a bit thicker than your "normal" irons, and the adjustor can angle the iron for a bevel cut, IF you don't grind it as a scrub. Seems to be on a level with a Stanley #40. The wood being scrubbed in the picture? Beech!









A 3" radius on the camber, and you have a wicked little beast of a scrub plane. @ $8-10, one can afford to have a second one set up as a "normal" #3. Buy two, that = one Stanley #40….


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## redryder

I've seen the good, the bad and the ugly at Harbor Freight. I do have to admit that every time I am in one of thier stores they have more customers per square foot than any box store I have been in….................


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## zindel

yeah i have seen these there as well and they feel cheap so i just walked on past. I do like their F clamps though they hold up quite well. But why did you give it 5 stars if its bad??? might want to change that


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## lumberjoe

The Pittsburgh F clamps are good. I have about 2 dozen of those, and will probably get 20 to 30 more. the 36" are tough to come by at my HF, so I buy all of them when they are in stock. I have one of the clamps you rated here. I like it and use it a lot. I use it to align and center glue ups as it sits flat. I wouldn't want any more of these as the clamping strength feels very weak and uneven, but it's good at holding pieces even while I attach other clamps.

Also the HF 6" jointer should be considered a HF "gem". It can be had for ~240 when you get a 20% coupon. This thing is nothing more than a massive, flat chunk of cast iron, and a belt driven plenty powerful motor. It basically a 20 year old delta design.


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## Dusty56

I don't get the 5 star rating either…the last guy only gave them 3 stars.


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## Dusty56

That just might be the case , Jonathan , and I agree about having to input before the posting goes up : )

*edit:* Just checked it out and under "Rating" , it already has 5 stars listed unless you chose something else from the drop down list. This should be changed as you stated.


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## Dal300

Since I'm not wealthy enough to buy the high dollar stuff like Poopie and others, it behooves me to get what I can where I can.

I'm not sure why our good friend PK denigrates Harbor Freight so often. Many of the HF tools are made in the same factories to the same tolerances the real favorites are, for instance, the HF 14" band saw is made at the same place and to the same tolerance that the Rikon is. Even the parts interchange.

I have a Drill Master 2 HP router that is as tough as nails. It looks a lot like the PC of the same power rating. I've lately been beating it up by making moulding with it on Osage Orange.
It doesn't have the bells and whistles of the PC, but it works nicely and I even made a raised panel door (30X20, 1/2" rise) for a neighbor.

The F-clamps marked Pittsburgh, with the rubber handles work extremely well. I have a couple of Bessy's that I bought years ago and I can make them warp just as easily as I do the HF clamps.

Yes, there is junk at HF, but isn't that true of Woodcraft, Eagle America, Rockler, Sears, Lowe's, Menards and just about every place else you can think of?

Having a preconceived notion of the value of a marketer because they are less expensive seems to me to be snobbery of the worst sort.

Don't get me wrong, I buy American when I can, if it's made here and not just 'assembled in the US', and it has a decent quality to price ratio.

I mostly buy old used tools and rehab them to work for me.

Good luck to any of you. Buy what you are happiest with and don't look back.


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## b2rtch

I have been using these very same clamps and I am quite satisfied with them.









Stay away from these clamps which are pure junk


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## willd

I have owned these clamps for over a year now and had no problem. I use them in projects that don't need a lot of clamping pressure. This frees up my good clamp for the big jobs. I believe that harbor freight tool have a place in the shop you just have to know there limits.


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## cc3d

Stumpy said it best when he said shopping at HF was like going to a casino. You may hit it big or lose big time or something like that.

Anyway, I own 8 of those same clamps and they have been great for glue-ups. HF clamps are great as supplemental clamps. Especially at 1/4 the price.


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## Greedo

These clamps are generic made in china clamps re branded by several brands, i bought 4 some time ago branded as "clarke", even though they are very flimsy and poorly made, i am still happy i got them. As some stated, they are great for those little projects where only moderate pressure is needed as they are extremely light. Don't go gluing up a table top or butcher block with this. I still have some very heavy steel beam clamps for that.


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## vegeta

i have had the ones like yours but with the blue ends for 4 years now and are still working well. i have seen the red ones and they look a lot cheeper than the blue ones. if you are looking for cheep clamps try the blue ones


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## brtech

Huh, I have the blue ones and I like them a lot. Haven't broken any yet. Have to look the next time I am at HF at see if they still have the blue ones. The HF F clamps are the real gems though.


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## cliff56

tried a few of those clamps have worked good for me as stated in other post some HF tolls are junk nut many are great buys.


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## cutworm

The best thing about our HF? The pizza place next to it. I have bought a few things from there but have slowly realized I'm not saving money but I am wasting it.


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## mantwi

I just picked up a half dozen of these bar clamps today and honestly don't see how you destroyed them with normal use. The faces are parallel, the stops lock firmly in the detents and they hold the material nice and flat when pressure is applied. That's all that's required when edge joining. I'm sure I could break one if I tried, after all they aren't cast iron pipe clamps but under normal use I can't see them failing. They aren't designed for bent lamination or forcing things into line in general but if you have well prepped surfaces to glue up they should last a long time. I love the low price and the light weight and wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anyone.


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## mantwi

On the subject of clamps I wanted to warn people about the Denali F body clamps Amazon carries. Pitiful, just plumb pitiful. The Harbor Freight clamps, any of them are far superior to these waste of cheap metal. Don't buy the Denali clamps at any price, you will be disappointed. They are really that bad.


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