5 Highly-Rated Harbor Freight Finds That You Can Buy Only Online

If you’re living in the United States, chances are you’re within driving distance of a brick-and-mortar Harbor Freight. With over 1,600 locations nationwide, you may be just a few minutes from one — especially if you live in the U.S. state with the most Harbor Freight stores. That should be good news if you’re the type of person, whether working a professional trade or a DIYer, that feels like a kid in a candy store when they step into a large hardware retailer like Harbor Freight.

Even when you don’t need something in particular or when you don’t have money to spend, it can be very satisfying to walk the aisles and feel the weight of a shiny new tool or accessory in your hands, though sometimes not needing something or having the money for it won’t stop you from buying it anyway. Of course, when you do need to actually buy a piece of equipment, whether large or small, there are a lot of advantages to seeing it in person before investing in it and taking it home with you.

However, there are also upsides to shopping online, including the convenience of having a new tool dropped off at your door and saving you a trip. There are also some products that you can only buy online from Harbor Freight, so that will be your only option if you want it. The downside is that you won’t get to see or touch it for yourself, so you’ll likely need to rely on the reviews of those who have. Based on feedback from Harbor Freight customers who’ve purchased them, here are five highly-rated Harbor Freight finds that are available elusively online. You can find more information on how these products were evaluated at the end of this list.

Even if you’re not a frequent Harbor Freight shopper, you may have heard of one of its more popular private labels, Central Machinery. However, one house brand owned by Harbor Freight you may not have heard of is the similarly named Central Hydraulics. It’s more obscure than Central Machinery because it offers far fewer products and what it does offer is more niche, so you’ll really only be buying the brand if you need it.

For example, you probably won’t want to spend four figures on the Central Hydraulics 50-Ton Dual-Speed Hydraulic Shop Press unless you’re purchasing it for work or are a really, really serious DIYer;  50 tons of force is necessarily mostly for industrial applications like removing and installing heavy-duty gears, joints, bushings, and pulleys. The machine is equipped with a 2-speed pump (slow and fast) that expands its capabilities, though, so you can use the low speed on less intense tasks. It features a spring return ram for a faster workflow and a hand-operated winch for raising and lowering its bed.

Nearly 80 customers who’ve bought the press have rated it an average 4.4 out of 5, with 92% of surveyed users recommending it to others. Multiple users cite its relatively low price (for a 50-ton shop press) as a big asset, as well as its power and ease of use. One verified buyer who calls it “by far the best press for the money” says that it’s easy to adjust and, if you’re worried about buying online, that it arrived two weeks earlier than expected.

The Central Hydraulics 50-Ton Dual-Speed Hydraulic Shop Press is available online from Harbor Freight for $1,499.99.

If you’re the type of person who thinks the best kind of tool is the one you can drive right out of the store, you may be interested in Harbor Freight’s Central Machinery 8-HP Towable Backhoe. Unfortunately, though, you won’t be able to tow it out of the parking lot, because it’s an online exclusive. At 8 horsepower, it’s nearly half as strong as the 15-hp NorTrac Towable Backhoe Trencher,  but it’s a few hundred bucks cheaper and Harbor Freight isn’t afraid to invite customers to directly compare the two pieces of equipment.

The Central Machinery 8-HP Towable Backhoe is equipped with a 301-cc engine from Predator (another Harbor Freight brand) and offers a 660-pound lifting capacity. It also features up to a 6-foot digging depth, a 13-inch digging width, and up to an 8-foot reach, as well as 4-foot boom travel and a 60-degree left and right boom swing. Its large 20-inch tires should handle rougher terrain and it even includes a padded seat for comfort. Outrigger storage is also built in.

There are plenty of uses for Harbor Freight’s towable backhoe, like backfilling and trenching, and those who’ve purchased it from the retailer mostly really like it. It has an excellent 4.7 out of 5 overall customer score based on dozens of reviews, and every single buyer asked to date has recommended the product. Applications mentioned by these satisfied users include for yard maintenance, sewer replacement, running water and power, and other small projects. One 5-star review calls it a “well made, affordable option for the DIYer.”

The Central Machinery 8-HP Towable Backhoe is available online from Harbor Freight for $2,999.99.

Need to turn your home into a saw mill without getting off your couch? You can purchase the Central Machinery Saw Mill with 301-cc Gas Engine online. In fact, that’s the only way you can get the machine from Harbor Freight. Rather than wear yourself out with a chainsaw and leave uneven cuts, Central Machinery’s product allows you to slice through lumber and full-sized logs (up to 20 inches wide) with ease.

Plus, it’s completely portable, as you can disassemble and set it up anywhere you want. As long as you have gas on hand, you can run it in the middle of nowhere if you wanted to, thanks to its 301-cc gas engine, which can run the blade at speeds of up to 3,279 feet per minute (FPM). Over 330 Harbor Freight customers have scored the machine a strong 4.6 out of 5 average user rating, with 97% of customers recommending it.

Several reviews mention the value of the mill because of its relatively low price for what it can do. If you’re wondering if Harbor Freight’s saw mill is worth it because of how difficult it may be to assemble in your backyard, the general consensus is that it’s not all that hard to set up. “Ease of use” is mentioned several times as one of the mill’s strongest points, as well. Even if you do struggle a bit, one 5-star review says that the “portable sawmill is worth the effort.” The reviewer adds that it was delivered with a manual forklift and “can be moved efficiently” once axles are added to its frame.

The Central Machinery Saw Mill with 301-cc Gas Engine is available online from Harbor Freight for $2,499.99.

Many Harbor Freight products only available online cost well over a thousand dollars, but not all. The Vulcan 180-amp MIG Gun, for instance, will run you less than $80. Don’t mistake its double-digit price for cheap quality though, as the retailer bills it as a “true industrial MIG torch, built to last.” Harbor Freight also says that, because of its heavy-duty construction, even its impact-resistant handle is strong enough for typical shop service.

Harbor Freight seems to have built the tool with the types of welders who will use it in mind, as it incorporates a lightweight, balanced, all-position design to reduce fatigue over longer welds. For convenience, welders can use its interchangeable liner with other Vulcan MIG guns as well. Other features include reinforced strain relief for its cables and hose, a plated gas nozzle to reduce spattering, and a hanger hook for easier storage.

Over two dozen welders have reviewed the Vulcan 180-amp MIG Gun and given it an average customer score of 4.7 out of 5, with 97% of customers recommending the product. Many reviews express satisfaction for the quality of the gun as well as its low price. One buyer, who says they’ve used it to build a lumber rack with ⅛-inch squared steel tubing, calls it a “welding wonder.” In addition to the tool being an online exclusive, replacement parts are also easy to come by. According to one user, “the exchange was quick and easy.”

The Vulcan 180-amp MIG Gun is available online from Harbor Freight for $79.99.

As it costs much less than $1,000, it wouldn’t be totally impractical for DIYers and those doing side hustles to buy a Central Machinery 2-Speed Benchtop Mill/Drill Machine online from Harbor Freight. Running at ⅘ horsepower, it has two different speed options — 0 to 1,100 RPM and 0 to 2,500 RPM, allowing the machine to be used with many kinds of materials and degrees of thickness. This makes it ideal for both hobby and professional-grade projects. It can be used for everything from jewelry to prototyping and toolmaking, as well as more professional endeavors like HVAC and automotive repair applications.

It’s not cheaply made, though, as it features a heavy-duty cast-iron body construction. The base is similarly made for increased stability and sports a precision-machined table, drill chuck and key, and shaft and chuck key. It works with 7/64-inch to ½-inch chucks and its micro feed will work down to .002 inches per line. Based on over 300 user reviews, the Central Machinery 2-Speed Benchtop Mill/Drill Machine sports a 4.4 out of 5 overall user rating, with nine out of 10 surveyed customers recommending it.

Adjectives used by buyers to describe the machine range the gamut of “good,” “great,” “solid,” and even “perfect.” One reviewer says that it has “exceeded expectations,” though notes that it runs pretty loud in its low-speed setting. Several users attest that it would be a great addition to smaller shops and for home use, with one 5-star review calling it “well made and precise enough to make whatever you need.”

The Central Machinery 2-Speed Benchtop Mill/Drill Machine is available online from Harbor Freight for $729.99.

Only products explicitly identified by Harbor Freight as online exclusives have been considered for this list. Because many online-only products sold by the retailer are larger, more expensive, and more niche, they don’t sell as much as, say, a torque wrench. Because of this, there are far fewer ratings and reviews to measure the quality of these products.

Many of the online exclusive Harbor Freight products for sale only have a few customer reviews, which wouldn’t be a reliable metric. That’s why we focused on only those with at least a couple dozen, if not dozens or hundreds more, of user reviews. To ensure that only highly-rated products were included, only those with a minimum 4.4 out of 5 average customer score were selected for this list. When it comes to customer satisfaction, the items we highlighted have been recommended by 90% to 100% of customers surveyed by Harbor Freight. 

Only attributes mentioned repeatedly in positive are included in the evaluation of these tools and machines. Metrics used to evaluate the equipment include build quality, functionality, pricing value, and reliability.