3 Harbor Freight Hercules Tools Worth Buying (And 2 To Avoid)

• Tools
• Tool Brands
• Harbor Freight

Harbor Freight owns a variety of tool brands offering budget-friendly prices at various levels of quality. Lines like Icon and Pittsburgh offer hand tools and other items for the DIY mechanic. Bauer and Hercules, meanwhile, provide a selection of cordless power tools and accessories for homeowners. While Harbor Freight's Hercules brand is considered higher quality than Bauer by users, not every Hercules tool has the best consumer ratings.

Sorting Harbor Freight's online tool offerings to show only Hercules tools returns more than 390 results, including drills, drivers, saws, sanders, and grinders. On the Hercules brand page, Harbor Freight lists items like the 20V Brushless Cordless ½-inch Drill/Driver and 20V Brushless Cordless ¼-inch Compact 3-Speed Impact Driver, in both tool-only versions and in kits with a battery and charger, as part of the Hercules lineup. 

Those Hercules tools are worthy additions to your collection, especially as they're among SlashGear's most well-reviewed Harbor Freight tool types. However, let's consider other Hercules tools worth buying, like the 12V die grinder, 20V vacuum pump, and corded compound miter saw. We'll also look at a couple of Hercules tools to avoid, like an oscillating multi-tool blade and a 20V heat gun.

Worth buying: 12V Brushless Cordless, ¼-inch Right-Angle Die Grinder

Hercules angle grinders were on the short list for this selection of Harbor Freight tools worth buying, but the $59.99 12V Brushless Cordless, ¼-inch Right-Angle Die Grinder ultimately earned the spot for a few reasons. As one of the Harbor Freight tools you can use as an alternative to an angle grinder, the die grinder is less intimidating to most users, safer to operate, and more precise.

This die grinder doesn't include a battery, but it comes with a ¼-inch collet and a brushless motor that can reach speeds up to 25,000 RPM. A four-way selector controls the tool's speed ranges, and it features a variable-speed paddle switch that includes a safety lock mechanism designed to prevent accidents.

YouTuber Tim Welds compared the Hercules die grinder to the a similar one from his "favorite red tool brand." He found the overall quality of the tool acceptable. While the Milwaukee M12 die grinder had a little more power when trying to overload the tools during testing, he welcomed the Hercules die grinder as an addition to his tool kit.

Harbor Freight customers give the Hercules die grinder a 4.9-star rating with 98% of customers recommending the tool. Buyers find the tool's price, quality, size, weight, and power among its best qualities. The only 1-star rating out of the 165 total reviews reports the tool "overheats very quickly" and has a short battery life. There are no 2-star reviews, but some 3-star ratings report some of its heat and battery capacity shortcomings. Other reviewers complain it has less power than they'd like.

Worth buying: 20V Brushless Cordless, ½-inch Ultra Torque Impact Wrench

DIY and professional mechanics agree that an impact wrench is one of the best power tools for car repairs. While pneumatic versions dominated auto repair shops for decades, cordless impact wrenches have improved in recent years and gained popularity, especially among the DIY crowd.

Harbor Freight provides two options for buying the Hercules ½-inch Ultra Torque Impact Wrench. If you already have a suitable 20V Hercules battery, you can get the impact in tool-only form for $189.99. If you're new to the Hercules 20V cordless ecosystem, or just want a new 5 amp-hour battery and charger, check out the Hercules Ultra Torque Impact Wrench Kit priced at $249.99. Either way, you'll get the Hercules HCB85B2 ½-inch drive impact wrench rated at 1,500 ft-lbs of breakaway torque and up to 1,000 ft-lbs of application torque.

Torque Test Channel tested the HCB85B2 and found it generated 94% of the advertised torque. Considering its performance, low price, and overall value, it placed fourth among its list of cordless high-torque impact wrenches. Reviewers on Harbor Freight's website give both versions a 4.9-star rating with 99% recommending the tool to others. Its power, price, quality, and value are among customers favorite attributes. Some negative reviews claim the Hercules impact wrench is underpowered compared to premium brands. Others feel the tool is too heavy and find it hard to attach and remove impact sockets on the ½-inch square drive.

Worth buying: 12-inch Dual-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw

If you're doing rough carpentry work where speed and convenience is prioritized over precision, you'll want to pick a circular saw over a miter saw as the right tool for the job. Trim work, and any cuts on lumber that'll fit on a miter saw requiring precision, are best suited to the miter saw.

The Hercules 12-inch Dual-Bevel Sliding Compound Miter Saw (model HE74) from Harbor Freight, priced at $349.99, is a budget-friendly saw with pro-level features. The Hercules miter saw is equipped with a 15-amp, 120-volt AC electric motor that spins a 12-inch diameter saw blade up to 4,100 rpm via a cogged rubber drive-belt. Harbor Freight specs list the HE74's maximum angles at 50 degrees left and 60 degrees to the right with 45-degree bevel cuts left and right.

Projects For All's unboxing and demo video of the Hercules miter saw found the saw's maximum bevel angle reached 49 degrees, with detent locks at 22.5, 33.9, and 45 degrees. Overall, the video host admired the quality of the Hercules HE74 miter saw. The fit and finish found on the front of the saw was pro-level, although the backside of the saw was less polished. The table was flat to within 0.006-inch except for a couple of spots at the sides where he found gaps of 0.008-inch. Out of the box the angle scale needed a slight adjustment, but cuts after that were square and clean, even with the provided 60 tooth carbide-tipped blade.

Harbor Freight customers give the saw a 4.9-star rating with a 99% recommendation. The 3,572 reviews represent mostly satisfied owners, although a low percentage experienced problems. Some of the most significant issues include broken drive belts and fried motors.

Avoid: Hercules 1-⅜-inch Bi-Metal Plunge/Flush Cutting Blade for Oscillating Multi-Tools

As one of the lowest-rated Hercules tools, the 1-⅜-inch Bi-Metal Plunge/Flush Cutting Blade for Oscillating Multi-Tools holds a 3.7-star rating at Harbor Freight. It's likely being discontinued as it has a clearance price of $9.97 and it's not available online. However, some Harbor Freight stores still have it available for in-store purchase at the time of this writing. Note: Harbor Freight has clearance prices on bi-metal oscillating multi-tool blades from its other brands as well.

After perusing the numerous complaints in the Hercules blade review section, the primary issue is the blade's durability, especially when cutting metal. While picking the right blade type is something beginner oscillating tool users should know, not every oscillating multi-tool blade is designed to cut metal. However, the Hercules blade's product page clearly states the "bi-metal teeth stay sharper longer," making it "ideal for cutting wood, metal, plastic, and drywall."

While it's performance cutting metal may be lackluster, the blade does receive positive reviews for cutting softer materials. Ultimately, the brand value for Harbor Freight's Hercules line lies with its quality products for low prices. With that in mind, these 1-⅜-inch Bi-Metal Plunge/Flush Cutting Blade for Oscillating Multi-Tools do not stand up to that test.

Avoid: Hercules 20V Cordless Compact Heat Gun

The Hercules 20V Cordless Compact Heat Gun, tool-only priced at $39.99, isn't the only battery-powered heat gun we'd avoid. DeWalt's heat gun isn't the best bang for your buck either, thanks to its generally underpowered and lackluster performance. As a general rule, corded heat guns are typically superior to cordless varieties, as demonstrated by a lengthy Project Farm comparison video.

Harbor Freight users give the Hercules cordless heat gun a 4.1-star rating with only 82% of customers recommending its purchase. In one recent review, one buyer compares the heat gun's output to that of a coughing mouse, while another says "it heats up great but has absolutely no power to push the hot air out." That same reviewer reports problems with corded heat guns from Hercules as well.

While we'd avoid buying this cordless heat gun if we could, it could prove handy in some situations. It's not the best option for anything that requires a lot of heat for extended periods, but it's a convenient option for applying a little heat shrink far from an electrical outlet. We would just keep our expectations low and have a corded heat gun on standby.

Methodology

With nearly 400 Hercules tools available at Harbor Freight, we began by sorting them according to customer satisfaction. With a short list of candidates at either end of the spectrum, we turned to professional reviews, when available, to get a sense of how each Hercules tool performed.

We never want to recommend tools just because they're cheaper than other brands. While an inexpensive tool might save a few bucks up front, you'll pay extra in frustration and poor results every time you use it.