Snap-On Bent Handle Ratchet

Status
Not open for further replies.
Originally Posted By: Nyquist
If I knew what company made Snap-On tools, I would buy that exclusively. I grew up using Snap-On at my Dad's shop, and those tools could take a serious beating. I'm not saying they got abused, but they were definitely put through their paces.



uuhh, Snap-on makes Snap-on tools
 
Originally Posted By: onion
I wouldn't say that they're absolute junk, but I do strip mine out fairly regularly. I've turned wrenches all day every day for 13 years, and Craftsman ratchets work fine for me... I just have to make a trip to Sears every few months.

I do have a snap-on flex-head ratchet. I don't use it much- don't like it. Teeth are too coarse. But I got it for $1 (stripped out) at a pawn shop years ago, so I'm not complaining.

I've never understood the purpose of those bent handles, nor seen any reason for them.

A college kid buying snap-on tools? Ridiculous.

I don't like the feel of the newer Craftsman "raised panel" ratchets. In auto shop class, we had Snap-On ratchets. I loved their feel and quality. Maybe I've been spoiled having learned with nice tools.

The new Snap-On ratchets are 80 tooth, so the issue of being "too coarse" should be non-existent.

I talked with a few people, including one member of this board, and they suggested that I pass on the bent-handle ratchet. Instead, they said I'd be better off with a 3/8" flex-head, long-handled ratchet. This type of ratchet is likely to see more use than a bent-handle ratchet.

Therefore, I'm currently bidding on this ratchet on eBay:

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?item_ID=81210&group_id=21365

Retail is $117, but I think I can get one for under $100. However, should I get the 3/8, or would I be better served in the long-run by a 1/2"?

Lastly, to say that it's ridiculous for a college student to spend money on Snap-On ratchets, well, I have friends who spend their money on raves, drugs, booze, etc. So what's wrong with spending money on tools, in comparison?
 
I'd go with the 3/8."

EDIT: Probably the 1/2" makes more sense.

Adaptors take often up too much space. Buy both.
grin2.gif
 
Also, I can't decide between the standard chrome handle and the comfort grip (rubber) handle version.

The comfort grip version is about two inches longer (13 5/8 vs 11 1/2) than the standard chrome handle, but I'm not sure how well the comfort grip handle will hold up in the long-term. However, the extra two inches gives me additional leverage, but is it really necessary for a 3/8?
 
Quote:
Lastly, to say that it's ridiculous for a college student to spend money on Snap-On ratchets, well, I have friends who spend their money on raves, drugs, booze, etc. So what's wrong with spending money on tools, in comparison?


I dunno about the raves, but personally I'd go with cheaper tools so's to have some money left over for drugs & booze.

But I suppose there are worse things to spend money on. Like video games.

As for 3/8" ratchets, the two I use most are a standard craftsman 3/8" and a polished long 3/8". I only use my long flex-head snap-on maybe once a week.
 
I probably have every ratchet Snap On offers. The straight one, the bent one, long ones, short ones... I'll say this: On late model cars, they all get their chance. The one that gets used the least is the short 1/2" drive. I break stuff loose with a 24" breaker bar and then spin it off with a short swivel 3/8 with an adapter.

I like the comfort handles. I was using tools 6 days a week, 12 hours a day. They made a difference.

And about being in college and buying expensive tools... When I began buying tools, I was 16. Older guys were bustin' my balls for buying Snap on. Know what? I'm 42 and I still have lots of those original tools. Buy what makes you happy.
 
Originally Posted By: onion
I wouldn't say that they're absolute junk, but I do strip mine out fairly regularly. I've turned wrenches all day every day for 13 years, and Craftsman ratchets work fine for me... I just have to make a trip to Sears every few months.

I do have a snap-on flex-head ratchet. I don't use it much- don't like it. Teeth are too coarse. But I got it for $1 (stripped out) at a pawn shop years ago, so I'm not complaining.

I've never understood the purpose of those bent handles, nor seen any reason for them.

A college kid buying snap-on tools? Ridiculous.



Swivel bent handle ratchets do have their place. If you want to apply just torque to a fastener with no unwanted sideways forces (granted, this is very seldom in automotive applications), nothing beats a bent handle ratchet with the handle swivelled down to the level of the fastener so that the the fastener is in the plane of rotation of the handle. A flex head ratchet comes close but the end of the handle that you grip is still at an angle to the plane of rotation and it doesn't feel quite as right as the bent handle.

I have a 40 year old Snapon bent handle ratchet and use it only occasionally because the head is very floppy, there is absolutely no friction to the swivel. I wish it had a positive stop mechanism like a spring-loaded ball and corresponding indentations so that the head would stay at the angle I want it to.
 
I tried to edit my post but it was too late.

I would like to retract the first paragraph of my previous post because, on second thought, what I posted simply isn't true. I still like the feel of the bent handle ratchet, though.
 
Originally Posted By: George7941

I have a 40 year old Snapon bent handle ratchet and use it only occasionally because the head is very floppy, there is absolutely no friction to the swivel. I wish it had a positive stop mechanism like a spring-loaded ball and corresponding indentations so that the head would stay at the angle I want it to.


I have the same complaint about my own snap-on flex-head ratchet. I've never got around to seeing if the snap-on guy will do anything about it.

Originally Posted By: George7941
I tried to edit my post but it was too late.

I would like to retract the first paragraph of my previous post because, on second thought, what I posted simply isn't true. I still like the feel of the bent handle ratchet, though.


Yeah, I know. But I was gonna to let it go.
 
Now that I think about it... I think I'm going to just put that snap-on flex-head in a vice and break it. Then I'll git me a new one.
 
Originally Posted By: onion
Now that I think about it... I think I'm going to just put that snap-on flex-head in a vice and break it. Then I'll git me a new one.


Haha!! I was going to suggest exactly that. I've made an art form out of breaking tools without putting marks on them so I'd get replacements.

When your Snap on screwdrivers get a little rounded, just grab the tip in a vise and snap it off. Instant new screwdriver. Just don't let the Snap on guy see ya do it.
 
I finally bought my first Snap-On tool. Here's a picture of it:

so1.jpg


so2.jpg


Those were the pictures that the vendor had on the page.

I paid $96 shipped for this ratchet, retail is $117 plus tax.

I'll give you guys a full review when it arrives in the mail. I can't wait!

banana2.gif
 
Purty.

Originally Posted By: NYEngineer
Originally Posted By: onion
Now that I think about it... I think I'm going to just put that snap-on flex-head in a vice and break it. Then I'll git me a new one.


Haha!! I was going to suggest exactly that. I've made an art form out of breaking tools without putting marks on them so I'd get replacements.

When your Snap on screwdrivers get a little rounded, just grab the tip in a vise and snap it off. Instant new screwdriver. Just don't let the Snap on guy see ya do it.


One time I needed an inch & seven sixteenths angle wrench for a specific job (wasn't ABOUT to pay $200+ for one on a tool truck). So I took my big craftsman open-end wrench, heated one section of the beam cherry-red, quenched it, hit it with a hammer and broke it off... then used that end to weld up an angle wrench. I cleaned the bluing off with a wire wheel and took the 'broken' wrench back to sears. When the guy asked what I'd done to that wrench, I told him that I bit it off (As a backup plan, I was going to tell him that the other piece was in the belly-pan of a crawler). He didn't argue... just gave me a new one.
 
Originally Posted By: onion
When the guy asked what I'd done to that wrench, I told him that I bit it off (As a backup plan, I was going to tell him that the other piece was in the belly-pan of a crawler). He didn't argue... just gave me a new one.


Good job, Jaws!
grin2.gif



20qgb55.jpg
 
I picked up the flex-head craftsman recently after breaking the mechanism of a much older Champion. Hadn't needed it until last night, when it did the job just right! The longer handle and proper angles made a big difference.

I think mine was more than $25 but less than $35, but I bought it months ago.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

J
Snap On Hard Handle Conversion
Replies
8
Views
729
NYEngineer
D
VIM Tools warranty disappointment
Replies
11
Views
810
D60
P
Matco 1/2" ratchet: rubber vs metal handle
2
Replies
24
Views
2K
2strokeNorthstar
N
Overhauled Mom’s Snap On Screwdriver
Replies
9
Views
2K
JHZR2
The Critic
3/8” Drive Ratchet in a 1/4” Drive Body - Options?
Replies
12
Views
2K
The Critic
Back
Top