[Shop-talk] Quality Ratchets

[Larry Spector]

I replaced all of my Craftsman ratchets about 10 years ago. I went
with FACOM palm-control ratchets and have been extremely pleased with
them. They are 72 tooth, so they actually work in very tight spaces.
Unfortunately, they seem to be getting harder to find- but they're out
there. Ultimate garage has them:
http://www.ultimategarage.com/Facom/facj.html

If you look for them, make sure you get the top-end palm control
version (J161, R161, S161).

-Larry

On Thu, Aug 28, 2008 at 10:53 PM, Wayne <cornerexit at gmail.com> wrote:
> For all my life I ve used low quality (craftsman) ratchets for my wrenching.
> At one time I had one high quality SK but I lost it in a move one year. The
> craftsman ratchets I have are junk. They take 600 degrees of movement to
> ratchet one click, and they are not durable at all. I m tired of having to
> take them to sears only to have sears give me another one with a  rebuild
> kit in it that is just the same junk.
>
>
>
> I am going to replace my <, 3/8, and = drive craftsman ratchets with
> something of higher quality and precision. I want a ratchet that doesn t
> require half a football field of movement just to ratchet ahead one click.
> I want to buy fixed head version and flex head versions, but I don t want
> the typical flex head design that pivots outside the perimeter of the head.
> You probably know the type, many of them end up as  floppies  which won t
> hold a position and have no means of tightening the pivot.
>
>
>
> The flex head design I m thinking of pivots about the centerline of the head
> and has a set screw that allows one to adjust the tension on the pivot as it
> wears. With the handle pivoting about the centerline of the head you can put
> the handle straight up and use the ratchet to spin the fasteners on/off
> until such time the leverage of the ratchet handle is needed.
>
>
>
> Who makes some quality ratchets I should be looking at? Anybody have a flex
> ratchet as I ve described? Who is the manufacturer?
>
>
>
> Thanks
>
> Wayne