Any comments on 3/8" & 1/2" ratchets to buy

[_RaT_]

Sorry, I know too many people who do exactly what you've suggested to see that you were being satirical.

Jeff, I know lots of people like that. I have been ridiculed by a guy who says for $8.95 he got a 50 piece socket set. I tell him I got mine free with an oil change . I am good friends with a guy who hires a lot of cheap labor for fruit picking etc. He says that he gave up buying decent tools because they always disappeared. He got a cheap set of sockets and he said they know the difference between value, they simply will not "borrow" those. When I find sockets on the road, I can quickly tell what is quality and what is junk. I leave the junk for someone with more appreciation then I have for such tools.

 

[cp1969]

In the sixties, I was given a 3/8" Proto ratchet and socket set (my first tools). At the time, it was a very inexpensive set of tools. I still have it; in comparison to the Craftsman ratchets of today, it is like comparing a Cadillac to a Yugo.

It seems the older the ratchet in my tool box, the better it is. The only Craftsman ratchet I will deliberately use now is the fine-tooth 3/8" flex head. It is a pretty good tool.

 

[mudcat]

Avoid Stanley, there don't make a tool worth buying anymore. Same thing with tool boxes or anything else with there name on it. Total junk.

Proto is very good, but also pricey. If I need a super strong, odd sized socket, I buy proto. Some of those sockets cost over $40 each.

I thought Stanley made Proto.
Stanley Proto Industrial Toolshttp://http://www.stanleyproto.com/default.asp?TYPE=STATIC&PAGE=HOME.HTM

 

[VA_Joe]

This FACOM is the best I have ever worked with. I don't have the linked set yet, but I will. 20 years ago a business acquaintenace from France gave me a ratchet and a couple sockets necessary for the equipment we were selling at the time. For 1/4" drive, it is the ratchet I always reach for, and 20 years later the action sounds like it did the day he handed it to me. I am embarassed at the number of times I have put a cheater bar on it, instead of getting a bigger tool. I know some SnapOn fans will disagree, but I think FACOM are the finest hand tools made in the world. But, my 30 year old Craftsman's just won't die.

Big difference between the craftsman tools my father had in the 60s/70s and the ones that I bought in the 80s/90s. The newer sockets are lighter and not nearly as strong.

Rebuilding an AL block engine a few years ago, I ended up taking a large handful of sockets back to Sears for replacement. The sears store replaced the sockets but would not replace the ratchet - gave me a rebuild kit instead (and wouldn't do anything to fix my broken knuckles). I then went out and bought a Kobalt set from Lowes. Only because they advertised the connection with Snap-On - I decided to give them a shot. Big difference - the socket walls on the Kobalt were thicker and the ratchet mechanism had a much more solid feel to it (the Kobalt's successfully worked on bolts that had previously split the Craftsman sockets). I figure these tools are about as close as one can get to "professional tools" while still paying a "consumer price". Problem is that the Kobalt tools are no longer being made by the Snap-on subsidiary (Williams). They are now being made by Daniher (in MD), the same company that Sears contracts with for the Craftsman line. Comparing the weight of the "new" Kobalt sockets with the old, the new ones seem to be more on par with the Craftsman brand than the older "Snap-On" Kobalts.

Joe

 

[_RaT_]

I then went out and bought a Kobalt set from Lowes. Only because they advertised the connection with Snap-On - I decided to give them a shot. Big difference - the socket walls on the Kobalt were thicker and the ratchet mechanism had a much more solid feel to it (the Kobalt's successfully worked on bolts that had previously split the Craftsman sockets).
Joe

I don't want thick walled sockets unless its for my impact wrench. My SnapOn sockets are very thin walled, are the only ones that will fit in some instances into tight clearances and they simply have not broken on me yet. I figure its just higher quality steel. I have found some thick walls on other cheap brands that break far to easy. I should take a picture of one of my SnapOn sockets next to the other various brands I have accumulated over the years just to show the difference. 90% of my SnapOn sockets and one breaker bar are from the 40's and 50's from my Dad. I also have some Proto and Plumb which have yet to break. I have cracked Craftsman, SK, Truecraft, Husky, and a variety of others but not in any great numbers. I have always without exception, cracked the ones made in China in the 9/16" and smaller sizes. They simply do not suit my needs.

Stanley does make Proto.

 

[cp1969]

Guarantees don't mean as much to me any more. I don't want a tool that they will replace every time it breaks.

I want a tool that doesn't break.

 

[VA_Joe]

I don't want thick walled sockets unless its for my impact wrench. My SnapOn sockets are very thin walled, are the only ones that will fit in some instances into tight clearances and they simply have not broken on me yet. I figure its just higher quality steel. I have found some thick walls on other cheap brands that break far to easy. I should take a picture of one of my SnapOn sockets next to the other various brands I have accumulated over the years just to show the difference. 90% of my SnapOn sockets and one breaker bar are from the 40's and 50's from my Dad. I also have some Proto and Plumb which have yet to break. I have cracked Craftsman, SK, Truecraft, Husky, and a variety of others but not in any great numbers. I have always without exception, cracked the ones made in China in the 9/16" and smaller sizes. They simply do not suit my needs.

Stanley does make Proto.

I agree with you on the thick vs. thin wall. The Kobalts I have are also thin wall sockets - its just that they are slightly thicker than the craftsman sockets (and much stronger). Although I use the Kobalts as my primary set - there are still times when I need the very slight, extra clearance of the craftsman. The only time I buy Husky or other off-brands is for the occasional use, low torque tool.

Joe

 

[_RaT_]

I agree with you on the thick vs. thin wall. The Kobalts I have are also thin wall sockets - its just that they are slightly thicker than the craftsman sockets (and much stronger). Although I use the Kobalts as my primary set - there are still times when I need the very slight, extra clearance of the craftsman. The only time I buy Husky or other off-brands is for the occasional use, low torque tool.

Joe

Thanks, good to know that about Lowes brand stuff. I may have to try a ratchet.

 

[Bird]

I have generally been satisfied with Craftsman tools, but I have a Craftsman long handled 3/8" swivel head ratchet that was a gift over 20 years ago and is so near worthless that it's been seldom used and every time I do use it, I'm tempted to throw it in the trash. It still looks new but you have to hold the reverse knob all the time you're using it or it doesn't work.

 

[cp1969]

Bird, is it the fine-tooth? The fine tooth ratchets don't have the little lever to reverse, it is like ring that sticks up about the centerline of the ratchet head. I hate their coarse ratchets but the fine tooth I like.

edit: I just re-read your post and it sounds like it is the fine tooth. There is something wrong with it. Take it back. I have found the lever ratchets to be much worse about having to hold them in gear.

edit again: Dont' throw it in the trash...you never know when you might need a club of some sort.