Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Don't figure anyone here would be as dumb as me to have bought cheap chinese junk jack stands from Harbor Freight but here goes anyway. They have been recalled. Any with numbers: 61196, 61197, and 56371. I have set with another number, hmm, they safe?

https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-cul...Cx7MgDn2USEgNY

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

I have a couple of the 61196. I got the email about the recall too. I used them a handful of times and never noticed anything unsteady about them. I'm going to return them anyways.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Jack stands are one thing (among many) that should never be bought "cheap". I'd never consider a set from Harbor Freight. We all (well most of us) know they sell "cheap - throw away tools".
That's okay if your life won't be jeopardized.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Don't know why they were recalled, but, those type have no support under the legs and sink into blacktop.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Anyone can have a bad item released now and then. I remember that my dad had a "Snap-On" ratchet that fell apart on him. It seems that Harbor Freight realized they had a problem and handled it responsibly. The recall notice (with emails to purchasers, no less) seems to be managed well. I wish Sears had been able to handle my problem with the Craftsman drill that died after 3 months a few years ago as well.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

this is a copy from the email from Harbor Freight
"For certain units of the Pittsburgh Automotive 3 Ton and 6 Ton Heavy Duty Steel Jack Stands there is a potential, while under load and with a shift in weight, for the pawl to disengage from the extension lifting post, allowing the stand to drop suddenly."

I have a set of the 6-ton units that I have used on a level concrete floor with no problems but will be returning them.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

If I can get half a dozen uses out of a Harbor Freight product before it fails, I consider it even.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

TonyM--If you can crawl out from under whatever they were holding up.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

I refuse to buy or use any tools made in China......pure garbage. For jack stands, I have found that old Ford V-8 transmission cases work quite well.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

You are knocking the store that sells "fine china"

Sent from my SM-T550 using Tapatalk

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Banjo axle housing. Got a bunch of them all the same height. No recall on them

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Not sticking up for Harbor Freight but y'all better check where other tools that used to be made in USA are now being manufactured. Craftsman comes to mind. :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Got $43 store credit for 2 sets of jack stands

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

As does most of SnapOn.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Skid marks, got a picture of those?
I have some I want to convert to stands. I can remember seeing some years ago and I want to duplicate them.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

I can remember when Made in Japan meant junk, too. Not true for many years now.

Why are things made in China, because they are cheap and we want cheap. It's one of the ways Walmart became so big.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Its quicker and simpler to cut the end off square and use a piece of 3" channel iron.

A word of caution....cut the register off the banjo center end so they sit flat on the full flange. I did these in a lathe only because i had a lathe big enough to swing them. You can do it the hard way with a grinder. Also the taller you make them the less stable they become

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Snap On's claim that all basic hand tools like wrenches, socket sets, screw drivers, and tool storage cabinets with that name/trademark on them are made in the USA. Their Blue Point line does not make that claim and the prices reflect that. Electrical tools like cordless drills & impact drivers with their name are not made in the USA as well as other electronic analyzers and devices. China is only one of many countries that supply the company. A lot of there stuff comes from various European countries both eastern and western and some stuff even comes from South American countries.

Since they still have a lifetime warranty on USA made products, they want to make sure they make them well but the price damn sure reflects that.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Remember though, most "fine china" was made in England.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Yep. You got that right.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Exactly, as long as Americans want cheap, China (and Walmart) will provide it.

I do have two sets of Craftsman open ends and box end that say Made in USA. One set, purchased in the early 90s, is still in its packaging.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Most Snap-On made in China? Not sure about that.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

I know others will disagree and that's fine, but if you want a US made wrench, ratchet or socket (including Allen's bits, etc), it's hard to beat Snap-On quality.

Some members have come on here are said that they've had trouble getting warranty returns from Snap-On, etc. That has not been my experience.

I am not a professional mechanic by any means, but I do enjoy the few Snap-On tools I do own. They have never let me down and continue to perform as new.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

An internet search provides some info on the ever-changing status of COO (country of origin) for various tool brands. Not the full story by any means, but some interesting info is at the following websites:
https://www.usalovelist.com/american-made-tools/
https://pressurewashr.com/tool-industry-behemoths/#faq
Apparently, SK hand tools (wrenches, ratchets, etc. are still made in the US
US-made jack stands are available from USJack but are expensive vs HF stuff.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Craftsman and Craftsman Professional are some really great tools. I own a very large amount of US made Craftsman Professional (fully polished). Excellent tools and most I bought in the 90's on sale or from the clearance racks at my local Sears.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

S-K are US made and are trying to make headway into the professional market.

There are also some really under the radar tools that are worth checking out. The US-made Kobalt sockets and impacts sold by Lowe's were actually made by Snap-On. I can't say if they are identical quality, but I have full SAE & metric 1/4" & 3/8" impact sockets from Kobalt. If you look at the font, it is identical to Snap-On, but instead it says Kobalt. I think when Lowe's was blowing them out, they were like $10 a set or something ridiculous.

I think I got turned on to these by posts on The Garage Journal.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

I've read that HF's supplier used worn-out tooling to produce these jackstands, result being that the engagement of the pawls is much less than it should be. That's just the kind of shortcut I'd expect from Chinese.

I am always careful setting the load on jackstands, I have seen too many pictures of the saddle on these breaking off from an off-center or suddenly-applied load.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

I have seen the saddle split too. They bought some at work, I refuse to use ones with cast saddle, too brittle, brought in old USA ones with forged parts

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

When ever possible (most all the times) when i use jack stands i leave my hydraulic jack in place just in case.:eek:


Hope

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

We have been notified by the New Zealand Hot rod Association about the faulty Chinese Jack Stands. I avoid any Chinese made Motor, and Engineering products.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

You get what you paid for. Craftsman hand tools were being made in China. Stanley Tools, of Farmington, Connecticut bought Craftsman Tools, and built a new plant in Texas to make them here in the USA.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Rest assured most is made in China. I live about six miles from their Kenosha facility where most of the tools USED to be made. Not anymore.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Don't blame the manufacturer. The blame (properly)belong cast upon the sellers that peddle this crap. It is their choice and their choice only to decide whether or not something is "good enough" to retail...

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

I'm fortunate that I don't have any of these jackstands, but many people do. I am always leery of buying from Harbor Freight, we all know the quality. But something like a jack stand seems generic enough that it would be okay. I bet you'd be hard pressed to find a new USA made jack stand if you tried. I have a harbor freight floor jack I bought last year to replace my worn out 40 year old one, that was probably made in china also.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Get what you paid for? Not necessarily. While I believe that used to be a good rule, it no longer applies.
We own a clothing store and occasionally we have clients that demand US made clothing.
The first issue is to even find that. The second issue? Cost. Typically three to four times the cost of a similar item made in Viet Nam, India, etc. The third issue? Nearly 100% of the time, the USA stuff is CRAP.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

I agree with Kube. What was a good rule is no longer true. As some of people of my age say what was wrong is now right, what was right is now wrong??. I personally fell out with Snap-on after a ordeal over a torque wrench. Good luck if t ratcheting head goes bad and they no longer supply that head its all yours no help! I've tried every Snap-on person that calls on us at work and several people have taken up the issue with different reps with no luck. They will not warranty it. I understand the torque wrench side but not the ratcheting head same as there ratchets. I will say Snap-ons screwdrivers and side cutters are the best I've ever used but who know how long that will last. Steve

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Kenosha is likely just their headquarters now days. They have manufacturing facilities in 9 other states.

Like Harley Davidson, they wanted to become an international company so they can sell their stuff. There aren't that many items that are "made in USA". that people around the world want to buy. We have to manufacture good stuff to even be competitive in the world market.

With this Corona Virus thing, it will be interesting to see what happens to Red China. How much longer can they stand with this mix of dictatorial powers and capitalist form of international trade. Folks here in the US balked at low wages and long working hours many years ago. When will the Chinese people balk and start wanting change? Better yet, what will the rest of the world do when something happens over there? Have we become too intertwined with Red China to be able to survive on our own again? The future will be interesting indeed.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

The Snap-On tools I use on a regular basis (ratchets, wrenches, sockets, screw drivers, picks, and other hand tools) are still made in USA without any question. What fraction of the other tools that defines "most" is certainly up for one's own interpretation.

How do I know the tools I use regularly are still made in the USA? My best friend is a Snap On dealer and I hop on his truck regularly to marvel at all the other tools I can't afford.

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

HF is still selling these jacks but under different numbers. These numbers on recall are older stands, like 10 years or so. I have two which are on recall and two of the newer numbers which are still carried by HF. They all look the same to me. I am going to take the older ones back and swap them for the newer numbers anyway. The suggestion to leave a jack in place for redundancy is a good one, one I will follow. Although I never had one fail after many years of use. There are many jack stands of this same style out there under many different names and capacities. I have to wonder about all of them, not just the HF ones. I have Craftsman ones that look even cheaper. Who knows?

Re: Jack recall, chinese junk from Harbor Freight
 

Those jack stands will never kill as many people as their Virus!