I recently purchased some electric power tools from Harbor Freight’s Hercules line, which is the firm’s high shelf electric tool line. I’ve been eyeballing a 1/2 inch electric impact wrench specifically for a while. I have a pneumatic impact gun and socket driver set that my dad gave to me, however, my air compressors are both too small for anything more than low level usage. Plus, the air hose does get in the way sometimes, and the people I live with would prefer if they did not have to be subjected to hearing the compressor motor whine for a good 2-3 minutes every 5 minutes when I’m working on a bike. Switching to an electric tool set seemed like a reasonable compromise, and electric tools have reached a level of quality that I feel purchasing a few would actually be an economic benefit, rather than a loss. Not to linger too long, but I remember using my dad’s electric drill about 10 years ago for small projects, and lamenting the fact that the batteries had to live on the charger, or else be drained in the moment you need them. Furthermore, battery run time was abysmal. As a kid, I’d click the trigger, and let the motor whirr, and my dad would yell at me to stop pulling the trigger, because I’d probably drain the battery. Nowadays with high density Li-Ion batteries, not only do they hold a charge for long periods of time, they also can charge up fairly quickly.
Originally I considered picking up a Milwaukee Fuel 1/2 inch stubby, as I originally felt that it could satisfy enough of my wrenching needs to justify an almost $300 purchase for the tool alone. However, seriously considering it, and doing some in-depth research at tool quality comparison, I elected to go with Harbor Freight’s Hercules for a few core reasons:
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Cost. The 1/2 compact electric brushless wrench was $64.99 for the tool alone. DeWalt’s Atomic 1/2 stubby brushless starts out at around $120, and the Milwaukee retails for almost $200 for a bare tool. For my entire purchase,there is the 20V impact wrench for $64.99, the 12V 1/4 inch drill for $39.99, the 5AH 20V battery for $74.99, the 4AH 12V battery for $24.99, and a 20V/12V charger for $44.99. All of that comes out to $249.95. If we include the shank-socket adapter set for $2.99, my total comes down to $252.94. When it comes down to it, I could have spent around the same amount of money for one tool and accessories, or I could have all of these tools and accessories for a little bit cheaper.
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Quality. Harbor Freight was known as the “One and Done” tool store, meaning you’d go there to purchase a tool for a one time project, and didn’t feel like shelling out a lot of money for a DeWalt, Makita, Milwaukee, etc. Their hand tools were always low to lower-mid quality tools at best, and most people stayed away from any power tools due to their perceived failure rates. Even the misuse of some jacks that lead to the deaths of some people being crushed by falling vehicles earned the firm a fairly grim reputation. I still have friends who refuse to work underneath my Harbor Freight purchased jackstands (which if used in the aforementioned deaths, those fatalities likely would not have happened). Rambling aside, Harbor Freight has turned around, and their tool quality has had a marked increase in quality, especially their electric and pneumatic power tool lines. They more or less purchase the same base components that literally everyone else uses to build their tools from factories in South East Asia, ship them the assembly plants either in the same region, or in Central/South America, then ship the final product to America. More or less, unless you’re purchasing a fully made in America tool like a DeWalt or Milwaukee, any other brand such as Husky, Black and Decker, Rigid, Craftsman, all originate from the same factories in South East Asia. Harbor Freight, because it is a privately owned business, simply makes a better deal with those factories/assemblies to purchase more goods at a lower price, maximizing their economies of scale, and selling the final product to the end consumer at a lower price. Doing my research, I found that the marginal quality that a red blooded American brand like DeWalt or Milwaukee (or Matco or Snap-On) would have was really not worth the extra cost.
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Use. I’ve been downplaying brands like DeWalt and Milwaukee quite a bit, but there is a reason they’re popular among professionals: The craftsmanship is legendary, and the support is unparalleled. Most tool companies like DeWalt and Milwaukee have excellent warranties, and even better costumer service. Frequently those companies will replace a tool that failed due to user error rather than build or materials failure, just to keep their reputation untarnished. Other tool companies such as the Snap-On and Matco will even drive a truck to your shop to service your tools. I’m not going to be using my Hercules tools 8-10 hours a day in a variety of environments and situations. They’re going to spend 99% of their time in my basement, which is nice and cool. When I do use them, I’ll use them for at most 3-4 hours, intermittently, and in relatively clean environments, compared to an auto shop which is typically fully of dust, grease, oil, water, and other chemicals or hazards to tools. Harbor Freight’s warranty is pretty low tier compared to their competitors, and the 12V driver had a purchasable warranty, which I did not purchase. I just don’t foresee needing to spend the money on a tool that I’m not going to push to its limits.
As stated in the video, I’m happy with my purchases, and my business with Harbor Freight. One of these days, I’ll do a crib-style review of my tool collection, and I have a lot of Harbor Freight tools on there. Furthermore, I have a lot of Harbor Freight tools on my wishlist. I’ve been impressed with the tools I’ve purchased there. I’ve used tools both professionally and for my hobbies, and Harbor Freight definitely offers a decent level of quality tool at an actual reasonable price. For anyone who is looking to get into wrenching, I’d honestly recommend they get some tools there first, and only turn to the higher priced tool companies if they are going to go pro.