any ideas on this...ratchet detent ball?

[steveo3002]

found this old u.s made ratchet for cheap

didnt notice until i got home the detent ball ( i think thats what its called) that stops the socket falling off is missing

any ideas on getting one back in there?

 

[rtbcomp]

Get a close fitting ball & spring, hold it in place, compressing the spring, and stake round the perimeter of the hole with a centre punch.

Freeze the ball and gently heat the square if there is already a lip round the hole.

 

[normspanners]

Get a cheap extension bar of the same size and cut it up to get the detent ball , spring and the retaining collar out pop in into the ratchet and centre punch round the retainer

 

[normspanners]

Freeze the ball

Brass monkeys?

 

[madkayaker]

Should just drift in I think

 

[steveo3002]

Get a cheap extension bar of the same size and cut it up to get the detent ball , spring and the retaining collar out pop in into the ratchet and centre punch round the retainer

if i can find one where the retainer is the right size that would work

i was thinking the hole would have been peened over somehow when made to keep the ball in?

 

[rtbcomp]

...
i was thinking the hole would have been peened over somehow when made to keep the ball in?

Centre punching round the hole (staking) would do the job.

 

[steveo3002]

yeah last resort ...not keen on battering

 

[ronan]

You will get a packet of balls in a cycle shop, i got some for the colchester lathe i have that was missing some.

 

[steveo3002]

http://www.thegaragegazette.com/index.php?topic=6614.0

right anyone fancy making me a punch like in that thread lol

 

[MattF]

yeah last resort ...not keen on battering

It's not battering if done carefully. You need to deform the top slightly to keep it in there. They're usually just pressed in these days, so I assume that must deform the lip slightly at the same time. One other way you could do it, similar to the centre punch, is to use a fine tip drift. Just apply that at a couple of points around the rim, to make a slight flat around the rim/lip, once the ball is in place. A pin punch might work as well, if just placed over the hole. I'd try rtbcomp's method of heat and cold first though. There's likely still a usable deformation there.

 

[steveo3002]

well i might try making a punch like in the link i posted..although im not sure if it would need hardening ?

 

[wheresmejumper]

you could get a ball that drops in,and tig weld a lip to retain it?with 312 maybe

 

[brightspark]

just use a flat punch slightly larger than the diameter of the ball. a few sharp taps will be suficient to pien it without damage

 

[steveo3002]

managed to do it ..not sure how it will last

found a flat round punch that slightly bigger than the ball and gave it a few hard belts , took a fair whack to deform the steel

cheers all

 

[julianthegypsy]

Herbrand were a well known make in the states, I'd be surprised if you couldn't get spares for it. They made good kit too.