Harbor Freight Hydraulic KO punch

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sparky76

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I know... Harbor Freight. Their Hydraulic KO set is $100 vs an $800 greenlee. Could be worth a try even at risk of failure. Has anyone tried it?
 
No matter how good the return policy is, it ain't worth diddly if you spend half a day each week running off to the store replacing a part.
 
i was looking at that too. First thing I would check out is that it actually punches correctly sized holes. I got their hydraulic crimper (for around $36 after sale and a coupon) and while the crimper frame is actually pretty good, the dies are all wacky. the 4awg die has about a 3/16 hes hole in it..

i would get the HF ko set, use a 20% off coupon, and hope it lasts long enough to make $800 with it which I would use to purchase a greenlee.

I would also obfuscate the fact its a harbor freight crimper by removing the labels, ditching the case and carrying the pieces in a tool bag, lest a customer (or worse, another trade) sees me using harborfreight tools.
 
I really couldn't care less what other people think of my tool purchases. If it's an informed decision, it's likely to be a good decision.

I personally bought their ratcheting cable cutters for $40 and for the few times a year I actually use them, they've more than paid for themselves considering the $275+ I'd need to pay for a real pair. Sure if I was using them daily or weekly I'd purchase a tool that would stand up to the abuse better.

If you only need to make a few punches here and there, I'd say try it out. You only have a $100 bucks to lose. Better than having an $800 set gathering dust at the shop.
 
fishin' electrician said:
I really couldn't care less what other people think of my tool purchases. If it's an informed decision, it's likely to be a good decision.

I personally bought their ratcheting cable cutters for $40 and for the few times a year I actually use them, they've more than paid for themselves considering the $275+ I'd need to pay for a real pair. Sure if I was using them daily or weekly I'd purchase a tool that would stand up to the abuse better.

If you only need to make a few punches here and there, I'd say try it out. You only have a $100 bucks to lose. Better than having an $800 set gathering dust at the shop.
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I agree. HF is for just that, if you only need it once in awhile, why pay the big bucks? I bought their 10" compound miter chop saw for something like $149 the DeWalt is over $600, now true if I was a finish carpenter for a living I may buy the DeWalt, but I' done all of the trim in my house including redoing all of the windows and built many a picture frame too and it works great. Now I have to check the angle from time to time with a combo square, but it works for what I need. Same with my router, though I did break both handles on that a little to easily.
 
I bought a HF hammer drill that took the sds bits for around $90.00. It did good for over a year until my wonderful son got a 3/4 bit hung in some brick. Instead of taking the drill off of the bit and chipping it out with a hammer he kept trying to let the drill turn it. He said the drill just started smoking and wouldn't run any more. Imagine that:confused:
 
Some of their tools are good and some are bad. The only thing that would keep me from using one of these is the safty factor. I have seen greenlee dies explode and its not pretty god only knows how good these are made.
 
If using the tool on a limited bases I think it will be alright I bought a hole hog from them for a 100 bucks it chewed through wood like the Milwaukee . Ive had it for 5 years no problem but its had limited use . Ide like to drill out a house to see if it would survive but not many of them going up lately.
 
I bought an electric cement mixer, a sheet metal brake, and a small right angle grinder, happy with these. Other times I've bought junk that wasn't good for even limited use. Overall I probably still came out good, and have tools that I wouldn't have bought at all otherwise.
 
I know a guy who bought one. He takes really good care of it. It seems to work fine. It may be good to buy and put on trucks. That way when someone steals it you are only out $100 instead of $800.
 
I'm not for or against HF - I have some odds and ends from them (the 8" ventilator fan is a great buy for $79) but I think for a tool that I use I'd look at other options. I ended up going with the Ideal TKO Master Electrician's carbide set which does 1/2"-2" KOs for under $250. Each bit comes with its own arbor which saves swapping time, and they're spring loaded - plus it weighs a lot less than a hydraulic KO set. It's a different kind of tool which by its nature is lighter and cheaper that produces the same result - not just a cheaper knock-off.
 
Just bought one over the weekend, made over a dozen 2" punches/cuts with it today. Sure beats the ratchet set or a cresent wrench:grin:
Also all my greenlee dies fit. There is Good and there is "Good Enough" if this was a tool I used "Daily" I would Probably buy the Greenlee:roll:
YMMV:grin:
Ben
 
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