Tips/Techniques Ratchet combo wrenches

[Susquatch]

I was talking to another member about the ratchet combination wrench I use on my vises, my drawbar, and my T-slot kit.

If you have ever had to spin the box end ratchet in your fingers to know which way tightens and which way loosens, or installed it only to discover that you have it backward, here is a tip for you.

Take a look at the mouth of the open end. Notice that it leans in one direction or the other. That lean also points in the direction that the ratchet locks. One glance as you pick it up tells you which way to put it on to tighten or loosen.



I really don't know if that is a universal rule, but that's the way that all of mine work. If yours are the opposite just remember that it points in the direction that the ratchet slips instead!

Either way, it's WAAAY faster than the trial and error approach.

 

[DavidR8]

How long to recover the time lost in putting them on the wrong way?

 

[Susquatch]

How long to recover the time lost in putting them on the wrong way?

Ya, it's not really a big deal. But there is something very satisfying about doing it right every time...... I just thought I'd pass it on for the benefit of any other OCD members out there.

 

[DavidR8]

Ya, it's not really a big deal. But there is something very satisfying about doing it right every time...... I just thought I'd pass it on for the benefit of any other OCD members out there.

Invariably I put them on the wrong way every time. Appreciate the tip!

 

[Janger]

On my wrenches the side with a colour mark is the tightening side.
If you don't have a mark - mill out a slight pocket and paint pen in some colour. ??? maybe?

 

[Susquatch]

On my wrenches the side with a colour mark is the tightening side.
If you don't have a mark - mill out a slight pocket and paint pen in some colour. ??? maybe?

Ya, a few of mine have the colour mark. For me it's so simple to look at the Jaws as part and parcel of picking up the wrench. I can even feel it with my eyes closed in tight quarters. One look, even with my horrible eyesight, and I know which way it goes.

 

[Mcgyver]

I like the tip, but really, I find those wrenches a bit gimmicky in that it seems most of the time I go to use them they don't fit!

 

[Susquatch]

I like the tip, but really, I find those wrenches a bit gimmicky in that it seems most of the time I go to use them they don't fit!

Really! I've never had a problem. Are yours decent quality? My crappy tire Maximums are not the best but they are not horrible either. I don't have them in anything but the standard Imperial 3/16 to 3/4 and Metric 10-19m size sets and the odd standalone wrenches I bought and keep for special purposes - like in the tractor cab or the 3/4" on my mill tool shelf for the drawbar and my vises.

 

[DavidR8]

My Gearwrench set of metric and imperials are very nice and have saved me a lot of time (minus time spent flipping the wrench ) in places where I can't fit a ratchet.

 

[Mcgyver]

Really! I've never had a problem. Are yours decent quality? My crappy tire Maximums are not the best but they are not horrible either. I don't have them in anything but the standard Imperial 3/16 to 3/4 and Metric 10-19m size sets and the odd standalone wrenches I bought and keep for special purposes - like in the tractor cab or the 3/4" on my mill tool shelf for the drawbar and my vises.

same stuff here, just had so many instances of the extra box end size interfering, I don't reach for them anymore. There's exceptions, but they mostly just hang on the wall.

 

[Doggggboy]

I was talking to another member about the ratchet combination wrench I use on my vises, my drawbar, and my T-slot kit.

If you have ever had to spin the box end ratchet in your fingers to know which way tightens and which way loosens, or installed it only to discover that you have it backward, here is a tip for you.

Take a look at the mouth of the open end. Notice that it leans in one direction or the other. That lean also points in the direction that the ratchet locks. One glance as you pick it up tells you which way to put it on to tighten or loosen.

View attachment 40003

I really don't know if that is a universal rule, but that's the way that all of mine work. If yours are the opposite just remember that it points in the direction that the ratchet slips instead!

Either way, it's WAAAY faster than the trial and error approach.

That's great.
Now how about a tip for putting a USB A or B plug into a socket the right way on the first try? Somebody told me once the the side with the USB symbol goes up but given that there seems to be no standard on the orientation of the ports that's a bit of a nonstarter.
USB C FTW.

 

[Susquatch]

same stuff here, just had so many instances of the extra box end size interfering, I don't reach for them anymore. There's exceptions, but they mostly just hang on the wall.

I see! Ya, that ratchet mechanism does take up some space so they are not thin at the ratchet end. Nothing beats a thin wall socket on a wobble extension for getting up close and personal. But even then, sometimes a crow foot or a custom wrench is required.

Most of what I do is big huge farm equipment. Almost anything fits there. Even the small fasteners are surrounded by more empty space than between galaxies. But field repairs are still a pain and a few creature comforts go a long way. My plow has shear bolts that break whenever I hit a big rock. I grow rocks on my farm so they break a lot. I keep a box of replacement bolts, nuts, and tools in the tractor cab. Two ratchet wrenches both the same size, a small hammer, and a modified bolt to serve as a punch to drive out the broken bolt pieces make life amazingly better than using a regular socket that invariably falls off into a crevice in the dirt. Even an open end is a PIA when it keeps coming off and has to be moved every partial turn.

But ya, bolt heads on a flange that is tight to a casting prolly wouldn't work very well. So I hear you.

 

[CWret]

I was talking to another member about the ratchet combination wrench I use on my vises, my drawbar, and my T-slot kit.

So I fess up - I was the ‘another member’ that didn’t know that. I’m using that tip now. Thanks Susq

 

[StevSmar]

only to discover that you have it backward, here is a tip for you.

Wow!! Thankyou, it was frustrating to have them the wrong way 50% of the time…

I feel stupid for not reading the instructions.

(That was a joke, there were no instructions…)

 

[6.5 Fan]

I have a set of combo ratchet wrenches with a small lever to control direction, PA purchase and not very durable.