What are your favourite ratchets

[normspanners]

There was a guy who I was an apprentice with he was a rawboned plant fitter and his hands made mine look small, his name was Joe Bates, you can guess his nickname ----YES we used to take the mick, with ---------"so thats why your hands are so big" !!

 

[Brad93]

The metal handles definitely have a better balance to them.

 

[Agrismith]

I bought a second hand 3/8 bahco socket set of ebay it had only been used once with a 13mm socket and the bloke was proper fastidious all wrapped up in kitchen paper and emaculate
Cost me 40 ish quid including postage for an extensive set including ratchet
The best part is that it came from the brief period after snapon acquired bahco and where rebranding tools so i have infact got a snapon dual 80 with orange grips and whole socket set for about. Half what some fairly mancky dual 80s go for on ebay

 

[Cobbler]

I had a flex head long Proto ratchet that I got second hand in the early 70s, lovely to use. I broke the mechanism awhile ago & am unable to get spares as the new kits don't fit it. I have just bought a replacement from Halfords, yet to test it, but first impressions are its well made but heavy, but they miss a trick, it should have a detent ball & Spring on the swivel like the Proto one had.

Bit of an update on the swivel, it now has a detent ball & Spring, I knocked the swivel pin out & drilled down the handle with a 1/4" drill to take a ball bearing & a spring, the mating part I made a detent with the tip of a drill. I have invalidated the guarantee if they notice I've altered it, but the modification isn't obvious.

 

[Kayos]

My 1/2” Halfords pro

Bought it nearly 20 years ago and for 5 years was the basis of my tool kit. It’s been used, abused and used again

I was using it yesterday, along with the 12 sided sockets I bought at the same time. Never let me down

 

[MattF]

Acesa 1/2" drive. It's nothing fancy, but that thing has served me well for knocking on thirty years, with nowt other than a regrease needed.

 

[normspanners]

the mating part I made a detent with the tip of a drill.

Could you have drilled several indents in the radius, if room, so that it retains it at 45-0-45 for instance, or better 90 - 60-30-0-30-60 possibly? the 90-60-30-0 is obviously more car engine bay friendly. I have stopped using my Halfords one as the main go to, for that very reason of a floppy head -------come to think of it that applies to other... (no I won't even go there)

so i have infact got a snapon dual 80

this post hehe made me think about watching that vid a few years ago
1min 34 it really annoys me watching that type of video that nobody from snap on has proof watched it, as SURELY they would have noticed after watching it, they wouldnt have approve a drawing with a left hand thread pin ?
I suppose it is 'artistic' license, a little like the soaps that have a window into high dependency wards right by the person who is ill and the nurses allways walk off at a critical point?? but with snapon we are talking people that know SOMETHING, about engineering are going to be watching it.


"You can slip your tool into really tight spots "

 

[Cobbler]

Norm, I'm about to go into the shed & do just that, I only did it late yesterday afternoon as I got p..sed .. I mean fed up with it on Sunday changing the diff on sons MX5 with a floppy end! Just the ball & spring firms it up a lot. How Halfords do it with just a wavy washer in the joint is poor, as soon as it gets oil on it there is virtually no resistance.

EDIT Left hand thread on pin is to stop people taking it apart, oh look the pin is broken the guarantee is invalid........me being cynical again

 

[Maker]

This is my favourite, a tiny 1/4" Snap On. My grandad found it in the boot of a written off car and kept it. No idea how old it is but it's like new, just a bit tatty.

 

[Richard.]

No idea how old it is but it's like new, just a bit tatty.

On the handle between the two rings there will be a date stamp. See here.
1st one 2010.
2nd one 2016

 

[eSCHEn]

I've got a Halfords Advanced in ¼" drive here that is almost identical to your Snap-On Maker. It has a button to release the ball bearing on the lock but otherwise identical.

Lovely smooth motion and very strong. It's done things a quarter inch drive shouldn't have and still feels brand new

 

[Richard.]

That model maker has is probably mid nineties at a guess. It was the last of the era when the guts were a course tooth gear and a 1 piece pivotal lock on a spring and ball. Very very reliable used for years
Mine are the newer 80 Tooth version with 2 separate locking grips split with a spring. Had the 2010 one since new and has been equally as reliable so far.

 

[8ob]

There is a 1938 snapon ratchet kicking about here somewhere, turned up under a bench and belonged to my mates father. Just for fun gave it to the snapon guy and to my disbelief he dated it from the squiggles , stripped. cleaned / fitted new giblets there and then Thats service for you I will dig it out and take a snap of it.

Bob

 

[Maker]

On the handle between the two rings there will be a date stamp. See here.
1st one 2010.
2nd one 2016

Nope, just says "Snap on TM830 USA". Only 30 teeth too.

 

[Richard.]

Nope, just says "Snap on TM830 USA". Only 30 teeth too.

Strange. Mine have always been dated. All my spanner’s are dated too. Some of them are 25-30 years old.

 

[Richard.]

Nope, just says "Snap on TM830 USA". Only 30 teeth too.

Dated mate. 1995

 

[Maker]

So it is. Thanks, I've often wondered.

 

[Richard.]

5 years older than its owner

 

[eSCHEn]

5 years older than its owner

When I saw the date I did wonder as well. 1995 eh? Good year, good albums and some good times as well

 

[Richard.]

Good times indeed.
Most of my snap on stuff is mid to late 90’s too. Some inherited from the 70’s before my time. Some recent stuff too. In my apprenticeship days I bought my spanner’s 1 single item at a time. It took a long while to get them built up from 4-36. Still a couple missing now like sizes I never needed. 26 and 29.
The prices of them is double what they were back then. I remember buying the 30mm as one of the first ones. It’s was around the 50 quid mark plus vat. Now it’s knocking on the door or a crazy £100.