Does anyone else shop at Harbor Freight or have had luck with their Bauer tools? Like everyone I’m trying to save some money and thinking about buying some of their tools but for how cheap they are it has me thinking twice about it.
You usually get what you pay for in my experience. I would say if you heavily use something buy something of higher quality, but if its a casual use or infrequent then go all in on Harbor Freight.
I have bought a few things from there. One a gas can and its a total POS! When you empty it the sides cave in and there is no way to completely fill it. I lose like a gallon capacity.
Their toolbox line US General, predator generators, and other socket and hand tools ive had pretty good luck with. Cant speak on the power tools though . Their is a HF Reddit that usually has some pretty good reviews on it .
Bauer is mostly power tools? I would buy corded tools I didn’t plan on using a ton without hesitation. Cordless though you’re potentially investing a lot into batteries and the ecosystem. What if the HF one doesn’t stand up, you’re kind of stuck without also switching batteries. That’s why I just stick with Milwaukee for cordless, they have everything and have kept batteries compatible forever.
Go to google or a busy forum like GarageJournal and search for the specific tool you are looking at getting. Reviews should pop up and get you an idea of what you are looking at. Don’t go to Harbor Freights reviews, they seem to remove bad ones at times. Some are good, but some are just plain bad. And if you already have a battery platform like Milwaukee, Dewalt, Rigid, etc, you should be able to get a converter for those to the Bauer line on Amazon, and not have to buy any HF batteries. (And I’d be hesitant to buy their batteries anyway)
Some stuff its ok other stuff stay away from, have to research what’s good and what what not to use.
My favorite HF item is a big roll of double sided velcro. I use that stuff a lot.
Does anyone else shop at Harbor Freight or have had luck with their Bauer tools? Like everyone I’m trying to save some money and thinking about buying some of their tools but for how cheap they are it has me thinking twice about it.
Do it. They’re great value and for the guy who is buying tools that are not for professional daily use, Harbor Freight is fantastic.
I really don’t know what I do without a Harbor Freight now that Sears is out of business. Their tool quality has increased dramatically over the past 10 years to the point where now I think they are the only dramatically over the past 10 years to the point where now I think they are equal to anything except the super premium brands.
I was in the boat, there are a LOT of nice to have tools that really speed up jobs. While I have Milwaukee for tools that see heavy use, I can’t justify Milwaukee prices for tools that I’m only going to use occasionally like a cordless ratchet or impact wrench. Absolutely nothing wrong with Bauer for this type of need.
You also have to look at the fact that there are so many Harbor Freight stores out there and they sell so many tools that batteries are going to be available for power tools practically forever. Even if Harbor Freight would for some reason discontinue them there will be aftermarket batteries on the market.
I bought one of HF Bauer cordless vac’s, and so far can’t say anything bad about it. Plenty of power and a whole lot cheaper than buying a Milwaukee or Dewalt. I purchased an adapter off of Amazon to be able to use my Milwaukee batteries. You just have to be careful not to run them down too far. So like others have said to buy tools that you only occasionally use and use a battery adapter seems like a good way to go.
I was invested in Milwaukee before Bauer came around, but I would definitely try Bauer if I was just beginning to collect battery powered tools.
I have been very impressed with the improvement in HF product quality over the last couple years – lightyears better than what they used to offer. I recently bought one of their Fortress brand Ultra Quiet air compressors, and I have been thoroughly impressed with the compressor and how Harbor Freight can sell that level of capability for the price. I smile every time it kicks on, my old compressor used to make me cringe and walk away when it ran.
recently bought one of their Fortress brand Ultra Quiet air compressors, and I have been thoroughly impressed with the compressor and how Harbor Freight can sell that level of capability for the price. I smile every time it kicks on, my old compressor used to make me cringe and walk away when it ran.
Which one did you get? I really like that 10 gallon it’s big enough to be useful but small enough to still be portable if needed.
I’m in exactly the same boat with compressors. My old one is still good but the noise drives me crazy and deaf.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mojo wrote:</div>
recently bought one of their Fortress brand Ultra Quiet air compressors, and I have been thoroughly impressed with the compressor and how Harbor Freight can sell that level of capability for the price. I smile every time it kicks on, my old compressor used to make me cringe and walk away when it ran.Which one did you get? I really like that 10 gallon it’s big enough to be useful but small enough to still be portable if needed.
I’m in exactly the same boat with compressors. My old one is still good but the noise drives me crazy and deaf.
I went with the 26 gallon 175 psi model. I was so close to buying a California Air Tools 10 gallon from Amazon for $399, but on paper the Fortress was so much better. More pressure, way more capacity, 1dB quieter, and better price. Then when HF offered the 20% off for club members, I couldn’t resist any longer, ended up being around $314 out the door. This one has a very similar footprint to the CAT 10 gallon that everyone seems to love, but it’s taller, so I only gave up a bit of vertical space, which was painless for me since it’s parked under a shelf. Honestly, my biggest use is the air gun – blowing stuff clean/dry and I can tell you, 175 psi will dislodge some of the nastiest gunk and buildup from tools/equipment, even a chainsaw that was put away packed with oil covered dust and debris for years got 95% clean after a one second blast of the air gun trigger – be sure to wear eye protection every time. Right now today and tomorrow, HF has the 20% off one item in store for members ($30/year) PLUS and additional 10% off that! THEN ON TOP OF THAT, if you apply for their credit card (credit score above 660 almost guarantees acceptance) you get ANOTHER 10% OFF!!! Their credit card gets 10% off every purchase PLUS 5% cash back. AND they have 0% interest for 36 months on all purchases over $299. I would jump on a compressor if you can find one near you in stock. The 26 gallon Ultra Quiet would come to around $240 plus tax plus the $30 membership if you’re not already enrolled. PLUS they are giving a free Earthquake impact wrench with the purchase of the compressor. AND you would have 36 months zero interest to pay it off if you pad your purchase to over $299, and would also get 5% cash back on the card.
If I recall, you are in Oakdale area, a quick check shows it’s in stock in Maplewood 
I have to keep it smaller than 26 gallon. I need something portable so I can use it to run nailers and also do in field fixes.
I was looking at the 10 gallon horizontal units they have. The only air tools I have left that I run off the compressor in the shop is a die grinder and an air hammer. All the other tools have been replaced with electric cordless equivalents.
Good to hear they’re solid units and live up to a quiet reputation. At one time I thought oil was compressors were the way to go but the noise just kills all the other advantages.
I have invested heavily in Milwaukee power tools, I have very few air tools in use any longer, but I use the air gun almost daily, and the old noisy compressor was almost painful to be around. I used my air nailer for the first time in 10 years or so building a trailer jack block from some scrap 2×4’s the other day – the new compressor left me smiling.
Like it was said before, check reviews. Limited use you may be OK. They do have some very good deals even for professionals. Working with new mechanics I always said the only HF item i recommended was their Braun LED work lights. (may be ICON now). $20 light at the time from HF outlasted a $100+ light off the tool truck by 10 times
I was mainly looking for a new orbital sander and some other random stuff there. I ended up getting the Bauer Shop Vac, Hercules Orbital sander and the fortress air compressor. So far very impressed with the Air Compressor and shop vac. Like said above the Air Compressor is very quiet and I was surprised at how quick it would fill up.
Now for the Hercules Sander I am already going to return. Now its because I dont think it will work well its mainly for the dust collection system. I’m trying to hook it up to a dust collector and the square connector wont work at all after some more research. I read some great reviews about it but not for connecting it to a dust collection system.
You usually get what you pay for in my experience. I would say if you heavily use something buy something of higher quality, but if its a casual use or infrequent then go all in on Harbor Freight.
I have bought a few things from there. One a gas can and its a total POS! When you empty it the sides cave in and there is no way to completely fill it. I lose like a gallon capacity.
I put these on every gas (10) that I own and have a single hi-flow nozzle that I move between them. Can dump a 5 gallon tank into the mower in 20-30 seconds.
I have a pancake compressor that I use at the cabin minor construction or repair jobs and simple tire touch ups around the garage. Works fine and has for about 8 years now. I think I paid about $40.00, knowing that it most likely had a limited lifetime. At the time it fit the needs for the cabin and since has been a great unit for small projects when lugging out the 20 gallon would be a real pain. So far this pancake unit has more than exceeded my initial expectations.
Not Harbor Freight, but I’ve found great value and versatility in Ryobi’s 1+ 18V system. Home Depot is the only physical retailer that sells them, I believe. But definitely cheaper than the Milwaukees and DeWalts, etc. Also, I think the Ryobi may have one of the biggest and innovative range of tools in their 18V umbrella.
fortress air compressor, are awesome! The chucks suck (Easy to switch out) but other than that those seriosly pump out a ton of air.
Use their Bauer line all the time. Get most of my tools through Harbor Freight for home use. I’ve been pleased with just about everything I’ve gotten there.
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