If you’re the kind of person who loves wrenching on your own gear, Harbor Freight is probably already your happy place. It’s a treasure trove for DIY homeowners, mechanics, and yes—even us part-time gunsmiths who like to tinker on the weekends.
Let’s be honest: gunsmithing tools can get stupid expensive real quick. If you’ve ever filled a shopping cart with Wheeler tools, you know what I’m talking about. They’re solid, no doubt. But if you’re just installing a new grip, swapping a muzzle device, or poking around with Glock internals on your day off, there’s a more affordable route worth exploring.
That’s why I decided to swing by my local Harbor Freight and see what I could round up for us DIY gun guys and gals.
You can put together a surprisingly capable Harbor Freight gunsmithing tool kit for under $75.
My Harbor Freight Gunsmithing Tool Haul
If you’re just here for the tool list, here’s what made it into my kit:
- Compact Ball Peen Hammer –used in conjunction with the punch set
- 10” Adjustable Wrench – Ideal for swapping muzzle devices on your AR.
- Needle Nose Pliers – You’ll use these more than you think.
- 26-Piece Ratcheting Screwdriver Set – Everything you need, nothing you don’t.
- SAE & Metric Hex Wrench set – Because every gun and accessory maker thinks their size is the standard.
- Compact Torx Key Set – A must-have for red dot installations.
- Punch Set – at a minimum, you’ll need a 3/32” punch
- Pick Set – Useful for tiny jobs, like swapping Glock mag releases.
- Microfiber Cloths – For wiping down parts, optics, or your greasy hands.
- 3-in-1 Multipurpose Oil – Harbor Freight’s version of CLP!
- And a Tactical Ammo Box to keep it all in – They have soft sided tool bags, but for the same price, I got this, which allows me to carry some smaller proprietary tools for optics and such.
Altogether, these Harbor Freight gunsmithing tools give you everything you need to handle the most common firearm maintenance and upgrades.
The best part? It’s portable. Toss the box in your truck, and you’ll be ready when a buddy texts, “Hey, can you help me install this new trigger?”
Honorable Mentions (AKA Stuff I Already Had)
While this Harbor Freight setup covers the basics, I threw in a few extras I already had in the garage. You might want to add them down the road, too:
- Flat File – Handy for fitting new sights on pistols like Glocks.
- Small Tek Mat or Towel – Something soft to work on that keeps parts and tools from scratching your dining room table (ask me how I know).
- AR-15 Armorer’s Wrench – Not essential, but nice to have. If you don’t have one, a little creativity (and caution) with a pipe wrench, channel locks, or a punch-and-hammer combo can get the job done. Just watch those threads and buffer tubes!
Final Thoughts
If you own more than a couple of firearms, you owe it to yourself to put together a basic kit like this.
This $75 kit of Harbor Freight gunsmith tools punches way above its price point.
No, it’s not fancy. But for the weekend gunsmith, it gets the job done—and does it without draining your ammo budget.
Cheap tools beat no tools any-day. And HR tools are at least serviceable, if not the best on the market.
Ad click bait for Harbor freight. Most of their stuff is cheap made in China junk. Disposable. Soon to be expensive made in China junk after the MAGA tariffs kick in. How will all those cheap, made in China optics and stuff do after April 2? God bless president Trump, God bless America, go MAGA!
MAGA ends with the Wisconsin Supreme Court election tomorrow on April 1. Too bad, it was fun while it lasted.
Not click bait, just a for fun article on what I could find on a budget to work on some of my guns.
Some of us enjoyed and appreciated the article. 👍
Under no circumstances would I use cheap HF hand tools on a decent gun. On a screen door or doghouse, yes. A gun, no.
That’s bizarre. Are you afraid these tools will damage your guns? I understand rejecting these tools because the quality is low, and they might soon break. Nonetheless, they work. It’s ok if you don’t want low quality tools, but I don’t see why you would be afraid to use them.
There’s nothing wrong with the harbor freight basic hand tools outlined in the article. They are made in the U.S. by Pittsburgh Tools which is owned by Harbor Freight, and Pittsburgh Tools also makes the same tools re-branded (sometimes looking a little different) for many of the leading top name brands you might buy for more than what harbor freight charges.
Yes I am afraid cheap tools will damage my guns. For example, a good set of gunsmithing screwdrivers doesn’t cost that much more but will have much better finishing and tolerances so they fit screws more precisely and won’t scratch the finish. I have a set of tools I only use for guns so they don’t get married up from household work. They cost a little more up front but in the long term the price will be forgotten while the quality remains.
well, yeah, I mean other than the screwdriver. For screw drivers get a gunsmith set and the reason is because the harbor freight are not made for the screws used in guns as they need hollow ground flat-tip and the harbor freight are the general purpose types that don’t have that.
But for the below in the article:
“Compact Ball Peen Hammer –used in conjunction with the punch set
10” Adjustable Wrench – Ideal for swapping muzzle devices on your AR.
Needle Nose Pliers – You’ll use these more than you think.
SAE & Metric Hex Wrench set – Because every gun and accessory maker thinks their size is the standard.
Compact Torx Key Set – A must-have for red dot installations.
Punch Set – at a minimum, you’ll need a 3/32” punch
Pick Set – Useful for tiny jobs”
Harbor Freight is ok for that. Although, for muzzle devices i’d recommend a wrench made for AR use (i.e. armorer tool) and use that if its possible.
3n1 oil is a no-no for closely-fitted steel guns.
Tends to lacquer over time and become glue.
Since I never use it, I have no experience on loose-fitted modern guns.
May be okay for them.
Specialist38,
“3n1 oil is a no-no for closely-fitted steel guns. Tends to lacquer over time and become glue.”
Huh, I had no idea. I use 3-IN-ONE oil a lot for small items (especially for tool hinges/joints), although I have not used it yet for firearm parts. Thus far I have only used Rem Oil on my firearms.
3-in-1 is also a “no-no” for toy trains Lionel/Marx/KLine …. it gets gummy …. some say it’s got vegetable oil in it.
May work okay for something used very often.
Seen lots of older guns (mostly revolvers) that have locked actions After being stored a while. Safe queens, sock drawer guns, etc.
When you pop the side plate, (or remove the slide) it’s usually easy to see the lacquered areas and parts.
RemOil does a pretty good job or loosening it up (ballistic too), so it can be cleaned off.
I like RemOil on most of revolvers and all my autos.
Sitting in a jap restaurant
across from HF. QC has gone up but yeah not a l🙄ot
In general I don’t like to purchase inexpensive (e.g. made in China) tools. Having said that, I have purchased inexpensive wire-cutters which I expect to go dull quickly from intentionally using them in ways that the designers did not intend.
Well that’s 2 that went to the
ether. 🙄
I think this tool set is a no go for me. Buy quality tools if you want to be professional.
The article isn’t about “being a professional”. It’s about buying a few simple basic tools for doing some really basic stuff.
These cheap tools have their place, and it is ok for some people to buy them, and others to buy better stuff.
I agree. Buy once, cry once. I have pieced together a set of tools over the years that are dedicated for working on guns so they don’t get married up. I’d gladly pay more for a higher quality screwdriver with better tolerances so I don’t scratch up the gun.
3Rd comment try! I noticed better quality at HF.
An AR15 wrench for buffer tube castle nuts? Hell I use the spanner wrench for the lock ring on the bottom bracket of my now vintage 1988 Mangusta 3000 road bike, it works like a charm …. both the Mangusta and the AR15.
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We have lots of Harbor Freight and lots of high dollar stuff. Some HF like their 4″ and 6″ belt sanders get a bad rap from sensitive people who complain about the belts getting hot and bogging down the sander. The fix is to remove the belt and scrape the paint off the table surface. The paint is there to keep the rust prone table from rusting. Oil and clean periodically for years of use.