Tool Let's Get This Started - Tool Test Tuesday

[TorontoBuilder]

I know I know, not another not Tuesday Tool Test Tuesday...what's wrong with me? haha

Gearwrench Ratcheting Screwdriver Set...which is fine itself but what the heck is up with the case?

Thanks this reminded me of my favourite old ratcheting screw driver that had a big ball handle that was easy on my arthritis but mysteriously disappeared.

I'm still pissed.

You could be right on the insert, but more likely is everyone is getting cheap in order to compete on price alone, got to cut costs somewhere. For me I'd prefer to have no case, but a nice moulded shelf insert

not being a car person I am not familiar with pass thru sockets.... sooooo

 

[Susquatch]

Thanks this reminded me of my favourite old ratcheting screw driver that had a big ball handle that was easy on my arthritis but mysteriously disappeared.

I don't have arthritis bad yet, but it's creeping in. I had a ball handled screw driver 40 years ago that I LOVED. So strong and so comfortable. Mine disappeared too! If I ever find another I'll let you know!

 

[SomeGuy]

Thanks this reminded me of my favourite old ratcheting screw driver that had a big ball handle that was easy on my arthritis but mysteriously disappeared.

I'm still pissed.

You could be right on the insert, but more likely is everyone is getting cheap in order to compete on price alone, got to cut costs somewhere. For me I'd prefer to have no case, but a nice moulded shelf insert

not being a car person I am not familiar with pass thru sockets.... sooooo

The pass thru sockets are just a totally different drive design that lets you pass a bolt right up the middle, basically an infinitely deep socket. I use them for two main reasons though, first being if I need a SUPER shallow socket, it's a good 3/8-1/2" shallower than my next shallowest socket/ratchet...second for those pesky bolts that need to be held with an allen key in the head of the bolt (sway bar endlinks are notorious for it), this lets you pass a bit socket right through the middle. Being a longer ratcheting flex head too, it's got more leverage than a regular spanner. I have the 1/4" and 3/8" equivalent sets, but they do make a 1/2" sized set too.

 

[6.5 Fan]

I have had several ratcheting screw drivers over the years, all cheap one i got as a gift. Non lasted much over a year. I do like the idea of pass thru sockets though, only ones i have seen were cheap sets so i passed on them. Will have to look at the Gear Wrench stuff.

 

[trlvn]

+1 on the GearWrench pass-thru socket set. Works well, nice feel in the hand. I don't think they would stand up to a big cheater extension but that's not where I use them.

Craig

 

[Susquatch]

Never saw this pass-through sockets stuff before. New one on me.

I use ratcheting combination wrenches for the same purpose. Not sure why either one would be better than the other. This is just an interweb screen grab. Mine are crappy tire maximum.

 

[Chicken lights]

..second for those pesky bolts that need to be held with an allen key in the head of the bolt (sway bar endlinks are notorious for it)

Cutting torches make quick work on sway bar end links. 1/2” impact to install the new one

 

[TorontoBuilder]

Never saw this pass-through sockets stuff before. New one on me.

I use ratcheting combination wrenches for the same purpose. Not sure why either one would be better than the other. This is just an interweb screen grab. Mine are crappy tire maximum.

View attachment 28556

these I know... I used to carry one in my pocket all the time to open AC service valves

 

[PeterT]

Thanks this reminded me of my favourite old ratcheting screw driver that had a big ball handle that was easy on my arthritis but mysteriously disappeared.

My hands have started to give me grief on skinny handles & to lesser degree, badly shaped handles. I like the profile that looks like a bowling pin. Remarkably similar to a machine handles designed 200 years ago. I've become a Wera fan boy. There is something about their handles that has the right shape, volume & durometer... makes it very comfortable & controlled grip. For hex format bits, this L/lock/R hex is my daily driver. Any more torque & I break out the mini 1/4" ratchet wrench which fits in your palm. After that its 'car guy' tools.

Wera 005002901002 Kraftform Kompakt Vario RA Ratcheting Screwdriver, Head, Blade Length : Amazon.ca: Tools & Home Improvement

Wera 005002901002 Kraftform Kompakt Vario RA Ratcheting Screwdriver, Head, Blade Length : Amazon.ca: Tools & Home Improvement

www.amazon.ca

https://www.amazon.ca/Wera-5073230002-4-Inch-Square-Ratchet/dp/B004ISLNRE/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3BS5ACQDEP56N&keywords=wera+1%2F4+ratchet+wrench&qid=1670173613&s=hi&sprefix=wera+1%2F4+ratchet+wrench%2Ctools%2C131&sr=1-4

Wera has all kinds of cool tools but be forewarned they are credit card melters & the distributorship network is a kind of tight knit club. You can find the odd score here & there but if you want a specific series or something less common, you have to play the stupid middleman game AFAIK, at least in Kanuckistan.

Catalog - Wera Tools - PDF Catalogs | Technical Documentation | Brochure

pdf.directindustry.com

 

[Chicken lights]

My hands have started to give me grief on skinny handles & to lesser degree, badly shaped handles. I like the profile that looks like a bowling pin. Remarkably similar to a machine handles designed 200 years ago. I've become a Wera fan boy. There is something about their handles that has the right shape, volume & durometer... makes it very comfortable & controlled grip. For hex format bits, this L/lock/R hex is my daily driver. Any more torque & I break out the mini 1/4" ratchet wrench which fits in your palm. After that its 'car guy' tools.

Wera 005002901002 Kraftform Kompakt Vario RA Ratcheting Screwdriver, Head, Blade Length : Amazon.ca: Tools & Home Improvement

Wera 005002901002 Kraftform Kompakt Vario RA Ratcheting Screwdriver, Head, Blade Length : Amazon.ca: Tools & Home Improvement

www.amazon.ca

https://www.amazon.ca/Wera-5073230002-4-Inch-Square-Ratchet/dp/B004ISLNRE/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3BS5ACQDEP56N&keywords=wera+1%2F4+ratchet+wrench&qid=1670173613&s=hi&sprefix=wera+1%2F4+ratchet+wrench%2Ctools%2C131&sr=1-4

Wera has all kinds of cool tools but be forewarned they are credit card melters & the distributorship network is a kind of tight knit club. You can find the odd score here & there but if you want a specific series or something less common, you have to play the stupid middleman game AFAIK, at least in Kanuckistan.

Catalog - Wera Tools - PDF Catalogs | Technical Documentation | Brochure

pdf.directindustry.com

There’s oddly a Wera torque wrench at my local Canadian Tire. I want to say 20-100 NM. It’s been there for awhile too.

 

[SomeGuy]

I have had several ratcheting screw drivers over the years, all cheap one i got as a gift. Non lasted much over a year. I do like the idea of pass thru sockets though, only ones i have seen were cheap sets so i passed on them. Will have to look at the Gear Wrench stuff.

We'll see how these ones hold up...I've had good luck with Gearwrench stuff, kinda splits the difference on price between cheap and Snap-On levels. The pass-thru set has been handy.

+1 on the GearWrench pass-thru socket set. Works well, nice feel in the hand. I don't think they would stand up to a big cheater extension but that's not where I use them.

Craig

Agreed, they wouldn't, but most ratchets don't and it's not really the point anyway. They do have several inches on my long pattern wrenches though, so there's a bit more leverage in them.

Never saw this pass-through sockets stuff before. New one on me.

I use ratcheting combination wrenches for the same purpose. Not sure why either one would be better than the other. This is just an interweb screen grab. Mine are crappy tire maximum.

I have a couple full sets of ratcheting wrenches too (standard and flex heads and stubbies), the pass-thru's are longer and just work like a normal ratchet, they have extensions and normal forward/reverse (which I know some ratcheting wrenches have, just not mine), and that better stability on a bolt since they have a shoulder for the head to stop on.

My hands have started to give me grief on skinny handles & to lesser degree, badly shaped handles. I like the profile that looks like a bowling pin. Remarkably similar to a machine handles designed 200 years ago. I've become a Wera fan boy. There is something about their handles that has the right shape, volume & durometer... makes it very comfortable & controlled grip. For hex format bits, this L/lock/R hex is my daily driver. Any more torque & I break out the mini 1/4" ratchet wrench which fits in your palm. After that its 'car guy' tools.

Wera 005002901002 Kraftform Kompakt Vario RA Ratcheting Screwdriver, Head, Blade Length : Amazon.ca: Tools & Home Improvement

Wera 005002901002 Kraftform Kompakt Vario RA Ratcheting Screwdriver, Head, Blade Length : Amazon.ca: Tools & Home Improvement

www.amazon.ca

https://www.amazon.ca/Wera-5073230002-4-Inch-Square-Ratchet/dp/B004ISLNRE/ref=sr_1_4?crid=3BS5ACQDEP56N&keywords=wera+1%2F4+ratchet+wrench&qid=1670173613&s=hi&sprefix=wera+1%2F4+ratchet+wrench%2Ctools%2C131&sr=1-4

Wera has all kinds of cool tools but be forewarned they are credit card melters & the distributorship network is a kind of tight knit club. You can find the odd score here & there but if you want a specific series or something less common, you have to play the stupid middleman game AFAIK, at least in Kanuckistan.

Catalog - Wera Tools - PDF Catalogs | Technical Documentation | Brochure

pdf.directindustry.com

I just picked up a couple of the Wera ratcheters this year for my portable tool bag...they are definitely nice. I'd say the build quality is on par with the Gearwrench ones in many ways. The problem with Wera is they make things a little gimmicky, like the spring open stuff is just asking for something to break.

 

[TorontoBuilder]

Thanks this reminded me of my favourite old ratcheting screw driver that had a big ball handle that was easy on my arthritis but mysteriously disappeared.

I'm still pissed.

You could be right on the insert, but more likely is everyone is getting cheap in order to compete on price alone, got to cut costs somewhere. For me I'd prefer to have no case, but a nice moulded shelf insert

not being a car person I am not familiar with pass thru sockets.... sooooo

I found the name. Easydriver... now I can stalk ebay for one. Mine was from my grandpa who was american. I liked it because you flipped the bits to the other side to reverse the ratchet so there was never a lever that could accidentally change settings.

Tool Review: The Easydriver

Admittedly, there are lots of ratcheting screwdrivers in the world. Especially nowadays. But I love the Easydriver, and I suspect I always will, and not just for the warm glow of nostalgia the one from Dad's toolbox evokes for me. The Easydriver, IMHO, is a classic of modern industrial design...

makezine.com

 

[PeterT]

Something quirky is going on with Wera & Wiha I'm convinced. Some tools look to be weekend warrior orientated & I've heard the same comments. Not horrible quality, but not premium either. I suspect there are certain levels they outsource. How they control QC might vary to another brand, who knows. Its the new supply chain global reality.

I was at KMS recently & bought a progressive seizes of Wiha Pozidrive (not to be confused with Philips). I thought the price was amazingly cheap compared to what I saw of catalog prices. I'm guessing they are what this Amazon reviewer claim, snip below. Visually they didn't look much different than my Milwaukee & about the same rice. Now in reality I will probably strip my Ikea fastener before the bit, but I'm, just saying brand name shopping is a bit dicey at best. Years ago I bought a Starrett dial bore gauge. It was medium grade Chinesium. I returned it.

 

[SomeGuy]

Another not a Tuesday, but my first cordless ratchet:

It's actually pretty much as good as my better air ratchet, just a smidge more bulky but just as many beans!

 

[SomeGuy]

Fun one for you guys today, I would wager most of you have seen all these tools before (given we're the most studious types around here):

Also, this one I did in combination with sending one of the tools to Torque Test Channel for testing, so they have a video of it giving the beans:

 

[Janger]

I have a question. Inside the impact wrench - when the hammer inside strikes the dog how or why does the hammer then move down and out of the way to rotate to the next dog? Why does it not just bounce backwards? Well watch this carefully and the video shows you - but it does not explain it super well. I believe the main reason is the hammer and dog are angled so when the hammer hits the dog it bounces both back and down. Can anybody else add insight?

 

[Susquatch]

Without watching the video and going by what I know instead (cuz I hate YouTube) my understanding goes like this:

When driving at low torque, the hammer(s) don't get used as hammers. They simply rotate the drive around and around like a dog clutch.

However, when the dog torque exceeds the drive torque, the hammers stop turning the dogs and start climbing an internal ramp against a spring instead. When the climb moves the hammers above the dogs, they are free to launch forward to the next dog. Before they get there the spring pushes them back down the ramp so they can slam into the dogs.

In summary, excess torque forces the hammers up a ramp and when they clear the dog they spin forward and hit the next dog. And then they get ramped up again, and the process repeats.

I know that's prolly not what the video shows, but I'm pretty sure that's how they work cuz they all work that way.

 

[DavidR8]

I have a question. Inside the impact wrench - when the hammer inside strikes the dog how or why does the hammer then move down and out of the way to rotate to the next dog? Why does it not just bounce backwards? Well watch this carefully and the video shows you - but it does not explain it super well. I believe the main reason is the hammer and dog are angled so when the hammer hits the dog it bounces both back and down. Can anybody else add insight?

I was wondering the same thing. Could it be simply the recoil of metal on metal similar to striking an anvil?

 

[Susquatch]

I was wondering the same thing. Could it be simply the recoil of metal on metal similar to striking an anvil?

Why do you and @Janger think the hammers are bouncing? Indeed they might bounce a bit, but it isn't necessary for the function at all. The hammers either push the dogs at light torque or the dogs push them up a ramp against a spring at heavy torque. No bouncing needed or relevant.

 

[Susquatch]

@Janger @David_R8

Ok, I gave up and watched the video. It is exactly as I described.

Edit - the sideways movement of the hammer is the result of the cam ramps not any bouncing.