I keep breaking 1/2 ratchets on my lug nuts.

[5030]

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I do, do stuff other than hobby farm hay (as you call it).... I've done very well financially with my machine and fabrication shop actually. Nice source of income plus it supports 2 full time machinists. I do all the welding myself however and operate the Shop Saber 10 foot plasma table, which has a pretty steady diet of cutting work.

Kind of concerned as to how the tariff's will impact my bottom line however. We will see I guess.

 

[WranglerX]

Like 5030 said, very few people read the instructions!! I haven't!!
I do understand the mechanics of a Torque Multiplier, and it would increase the torque going to the nut or bolt. That number can be calculated, but I wouldn't trust it.
David from jax

And what would you trust if torque value was above your present torque wrench range..... Go out and buy a $600 model that will see 99.8% of its life in a box on shelf....

 

[RayIN]

Of course.

The next question though is, has anybody calibrated their torque wrench?

I checked my Harbor Freight ½" torque wrench with my neighbors Snap-On ½" torque wrench. Both read the same, but I never checked against a calibration machine.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

I was a mechanic in another lifetime. Now, I have a bunch of Craftsman, Snap On, Matco assorted ratchets, reducers, extensions etc that are broken and no place to return. Yes, I could drive around with them in my truck and hope I see a dealer, hope he has replacements on truck. Not happening. I was talking with a Snap On dealer at a brewery, he said, just give to a Snap On dealer when you see them.
Craftsman are a lost cause, unless someone knows something I don't...

I did inherit some no name ratchets from my Pop, not chinese, and they have held up better than the Snap On etc from the 80's.

 

[scootr]

I was a mechanic in another lifetime. Now, I have a bunch of Craftsman, Snap On, Matco assorted ratchets, reducers, extensions etc that are broken and no place to return. Yes, I could drive around with them in my truck and hope I see a dealer, hope he has replacements on truck. Not happening. I was talking with a Snap On dealer at a brewery, he said, just give to a Snap On dealer when you see them.
Craftsman are a lost cause, unless someone knows something I don't...

I did inherit some no name ratchets from my Pop, not chinese, and they have held up better than the Snap On etc from the 80's.

I don't want a tool with a lifetime warranty.... I want a tool that will last a lifetime

 

[sandman2234]

I had a pair of Snap-on ball peen hammers in a toolbox that was seldom used. They literally turned to dust. I called Snap-on and they required me to send them in, and in a couple weeks, I got a new pair back. Snap-on handled all costs.
David from jax

 

[WinterDeere]

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I'm sure you have all experienced deja vous, at one time or another. But I'll swear that I or one of my friends owned that exact set of sockets, at one point. Wish I could remember when and where.

 

[Hay Dude]

I'm sure you have all experienced deja vous, at one time or another. But I'll swear that I or one of my friends owned that exact set of sockets, at one point. Wish I could remember when and where.

Those sets are mostly made in Taiwan.
I use my black 3/4” impact sockets way more.

 

[WinterDeere]

Kind of concerned as to how the tariff's will impact my bottom line however. We will see I guess.

I work in the electronics industry, where tariffs have been a "thing" for awhile now. Many distributors have taken to just adding the tariff like sales tax at checkout, which used to feel deceitful... show me one price, and then I pay another... but now I understand a lot better.

I design and build components for high power and industrial electronics, and award of contract usually happens 3 - 10 months after first quote, and project duration usually 14 - 18 weeks. With the way tariffs are hopping around, I've been thinking I need to follow the precedent already set by the distributors, and not even try to include it in the quoted price. I'm leaning toward just a statement that, "component and material tariffs to be forwarded with no more than 5% pass-thru fee", or something to that effect, such that I adjust my bill according to wherever the tariffs are on the date I buy the material.

Even that is a huge cost, trying to track the tariff portion of each component or project order cost. It's a real mess, just due to the way it can change at any time without warning.

 

[bcp]

Why is everybody recommending bigger wrenches and not the other alternative? Maybe he can keep his 1/2 inch drive and just get smaller wheel studs and nuts, like maybe 1/4 inch.



Bruce

 

[WinterDeere]

Why is everybody recommending bigger wrenches and not the other alternative? Maybe he can keep his 1/2 inch drive and just get smaller wheel studs and nuts, like maybe 1/4 inch.



Bruce

I saw a nice orange Superbird in another thread yesterday, which might take those.

 

[174thADA]

harbor freight and craftsman have broken on me getting lug nuts loose. I am rough with them using a 6 ft pipe.

I do have a impact driver maybe that will work better.

Ingersoll and AirCat make some decent half inch ratchets.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

I had a pair of Snap-on ball peen hammers in a toolbox that was seldom used. They literally turned to dust. I called Snap-on and they required me to send them in, and in a couple weeks, I got a new pair back. Snap-on handled all costs.
David from jax

Thank you so much for info on Snap On. I sent an email late last night, this morning receive an email on what to do, and it was just as you stated. I will try the same with the other manufacturers.

 

[5030]

And what would you trust if torque value was above your present torque wrench range..... Go out and buy a $600 model that will see 99.8% of its life in a box on shelf....

Actually, I'd buy an Icon 3/4" drive clicker wrench. They are around 300 bucks every day and come with an accuracy certification I should probably buy one as I have 10 hole Bud style wheels (pilot mount) that I could use it on.

My 1/2" drive is also an Icon. Interestingly, the 1/2" drive Icon is the mirror image of a Snap-On for hundreds of bucks less and the only visible difference between the 2 is the Icon has it's name laser engraved on the bar whereas the Snap-On has it's logo on the bar.

If you want a comparison between the 2, the YT guy who test's everything has a video on them. All torque wrenches are not created equal, by a long shot.

The cheap ones only torque in the right hand rotation and I need a right as well as left hand torque. HF has come a long way in high quality tools but you can still buy the cheap stuff as well if you are so inclined.

 

[5030]

Still have and use my SK Wayne ratchets I bought decades ago but I've never put a 'Johnny bar' on them, ever. Ratchets aren't designed to use a Johnny bar on in the first place.

Lately, I've been buying the Icon ratcheting open end wrenches. One end is an open end, the other is a ratcheting box wrench and they are real handy.

 

[Mtsoxfan]

Still have and use my SK Wayne ratchets I bought decades ago but I've never put a 'Johnny bar' on them, ever. Ratchets aren't designed to use a Johnny bar on in the first place.

Lately, I've been buying the Icon ratcheting open end wrenches. One end is an open end, the other is a ratcheting box wrench and they are real handy.

Agree, if you look at the internals of and size ratchet, the gear teeth aren't that robust. They are made for a certain max torque...
Enter breaker bar etc.

 

[sd455dan]

Ingersoll and AirCat make some decent half inch ratchets.

yep

Agree, if you look at the internals of and size ratchet, the gear teeth aren't that robust. They are made for a certain max torque...
Enter breaker bar etc.

It does help when there are 3 or more Multi tooth engagement pawls against the teeth instead of just a single one, which raises the torque handling ability like the SK Pro rachets design

Picture is of the standard Non pro but it shows the multi pawl design

This generally also tends to improve the ability to minimize the degrees of rotation to get a click when there is very little room ie just plain better design.

 

[WinterDeere]

Actually, I'd buy an Icon 3/4" drive clicker wrench. They are around 300 bucks every day and come with an accuracy certification I should probably buy one as I have 10 hole Bud style wheels (pilot mount) that I could use it on.

I know nothing good or bad about HF's Icon torque wrenches. Maybe they're as good as any other of similar price, I really don't know.

But I can tell you from personal experience, that I have bought more than one torque wrench from China, pulled the thing brand-new out of the box and tested it... and they've been a mile off. So then I pull the cal cert out of the box, stamped, dated, and supposedly "confirmed" to be within xx.xxx% accuracy. But they're not.

Every certificate of conformity, cal cert, and other such document is only as good as the tools used to confirm the spec, and the training or knowledge of the person doing the confirmation. And it seems many of these Asian manufacturers do either a terrible job of maintaining their tools, or in training their people on how to properly use them. They certainly don't show their full NIST traceability on most. They may be confirming the accuracy of that tool using a gauge that's 20% off its mark, or the operator may have rigged the equipment up in a way that defeats its intended accuracy.

That said, I'm not sure how much any of that matters to a home-shop mechanic. I personally wouldn't sweat over it for lug nuts, or really anything other than engine rebuilds.

For anyone who really cares about this stuff, you can buy most torque wrenches from most reputable suppliers with a proper NIST calibration cerfication. It used to add about $100 to the price 20 years ago, so I'm guessing's it's probably $200 adder today, but not a huge deal if it's going into a critical application.

Also, most pro garages pay third-party companies to come around and re-calibrate their torque wrenches every few months. If you know a mechanic, especially a dealership mechanic or engine rebuild guy, you can probably just hand them your torque wrench the week of their next scheduled visit. My BIL's shop does this, they have a service that comes thru a few times per year and re-calibrates any equipment and wrenches that require it. I think the mechanics pay for service on their own tools but are required to show that their tools are always have updated (yearly?) cal certs.

 

[5030]

Not an issue with me because I own a torque test meter and I test my own wrenches regularly. Not gonna buy a torque wrench from Amazon anyway and most of them only torque right hand, not left hand. Like I said, go watch the YT guy's test of torque wrenches and then decide for yourself. My Icon 1/2" drive wrench tests within 5% every time I check it. I bet the Snap-On wrenches are made on the same line as the Icon's. Just a different name on the barrel.

Certainly not gonna pay some outside outfit to test and certify mine. I'm not doing aerospace stuff and 5% accuracy is plenty enough tolerance for my uses.

 

[WinterDeere]

Certainly not gonna pay some outside outfit to test and certify mine. I'm not doing aerospace stuff and 5% accuracy is plenty enough tolerance for my uses.

Yeah, I do the same, using the pull gauge method I described a few pages back. But pro shops, and my prior employers, have to pay third party in order to maintain their manufacturing or workmanship certifications. All those fancy ASE plaques hanging on the wall at your mechanic's shop come with a yearly price, just one part of which is traceable calibration certification of torque wrenches and all measurement tools.