Harbor Freight Reviews

Link: http://HarborFreightReviews.com

Item: 3-Piece Adjustable Wrench Set
Item number: 47099
Retail price: $8.99
Frequent sale price: $5.99
Target price: $4.99 (with coupon)
Item Link

Click here for coupon valid through 02 August 2010

This 3-piece set is another light- to medium-duty tool set from Harbor Freight™ (see text block below for an explanation of: Is it "light" or is it "medium" duty?). Backed by a "lifetime guarantee," one might expect a higher quality set of wrenches, but then take another look at the price. You'd expect to pay this much for a single "decent" quality adjustable wrench -- and decent they are, they're just not high quality.

The jaws grip firmly around a nut but don't expect them to be able to maintain this posture with 250-lb male-type torque or to do so with a lot of frequent use. The tool snobs would probably remark that this set isn't worth carrying around in your toolbox, but we disagree; it certainly does have its place. (These same tool snobs consider my Craftsman™ tools to be marginally acceptable but certainly not the high quality tools that I consider them to be.)

Time for a little Harbor Freight™ tool-buyer's philosophy:
Someone who works professionally with this type of tool would consider them light duty; most of us working around the home or small shop would probably consider them medium duty. It's all in what you expect from your tools. Myself, I have my high quality (to you, perhaps, "better" quality) tools (for me that's Craftsman™ and also includes some select Harbor Freight™ products) and then I have everything else. Harbor Freight™ allows me to purchase special-use tools that I wouldn't normally be able to 'afford' for occasional or one-time use, and they allow me to purchase duplicate sets and duplicate-purpose tools so that I always have the right tool at hand. For projects that I work on frequently and for those requiring a lot of torque, I have good-quality tools set aside. (I don't want to round a rusty nut with a cheap wrench or to strip the head of an over-tightened screw with a poor quality screwdriver.) For everything else I have everything else. Depending on how often I use the tool and how much torque or precision is required for the task, I have a lot of various quality tools, many of which were purchased from Harbor Freight™. (My duplicate Craftsman™ tools also get distributed around the home and shop, but I seldom buy duplicates of this tool line because they are relatively expensive.) And with the typically low prices on generally acceptable-quality tools at Harbor Freight™, I'm able to buy an entire set to replace a few wrenches or screwdrivers that are misplaced around the shop or that "walked off" from my toolbox. (Ever notice how often that 1/2" wrench, eh, 12mm wrench, goes missing and how often that's just the wrench you need?) So Einstein was right: it's all relative. OK, enough philosophy for today; time to finish the review.

This is a great 'extra' set spanning 6", 8", and 10" adjustable wrenches (pun intended ; I guess I think I'm on a roll) at an incredibly low price. It makes a great extra set for occasional use and should hold up well to frequent light- to medium-duty use (You need to read the text block above to understand this, if you haven't already.). They settle the issue of whether you should carry your SAE or metric tools to the project -- they're adjustable and they don't care whether they're covering SAE or metric nuts; nuts are nuts to them. And for the lady who lives alone and isn't really tool oriented yet has to hold an occasional nut (no pun intended here ), they're a perfect fit. For these reasons they make our "Hot Buys" list for those who understand where this tool set fits in the greater scheme of things to come.

Hint: I have a number of special-purpose toolboxes for working on different types of projects. Long gone are the days when I tried to impress people by loading most of my tools in a very large, extremely heavy toolbox that made a tremendous thud whenever it hit the floor. Light and portable is the strategy for us aging baby boomers. I have toolboxes for electrical work (separate ones for automotive- and home-electrical projects), typical home repairs, plumbing, automobile engine work (heavy, rolling type for this!), and even drilling and sanding toolboxes. This adjustable wrench set is a good example of the type of duplicate tools that I might add to one or more of my project-oriented toolboxes. Screwdriver and pliers sets also end up in most of my toolboxes. And not surprisingly, Harbor Freight™ sells a great set of inexpensive (light or is it medium-duty?) toolboxes perfect for this task, but that's another review.

Bottom line: Surely you could use an extra set of medium-duty wrenches somewhere. If so, this is a "hot buy" for you too when purchased at our target price.