I'm putzing around in the garage..

-

RSie

Idiot In Training
Joined
Jun 28, 2018
Messages
1,776
Reaction score
2,850
Location
Wisconsin
And my neighbor walks in.. 'Hey, I broke that Craftsman 1/4 ratchet you let me borrow the other day... sorry, and I'll buy ya a new one".
... "I have mine...used it today.." and grabbed it and spun it around with the socket.
.."huh.. musta been one I had... never mind then!"... as he's walking out the garage... "dumbass! Ya coulda got a new one!"
:)
 
Mine seems to do just fine. Been using it for 10 years or so.

I have gone through half a dozen in the past ten years. Half the time they spin without the gears engaging, drives me nuts.
 
I have the same 3/8 flex head ratchet and 1/4" flex head ratchet i bought new when i started working at a Chrysler Plymouth dealer at age 18. That was 1986. I work as an aviation mtx technician now. I still use these same two tools daily 5 days a week. They have never broken requiring any repairs in the 33 years i have had them. I periodically unscrew the cover plates, and remove the square drive parts to clean them and apply a couple drops of 30 wt motor oil. I would say i have gotten more than my moneys worth out of them in 33 years. Stick with what you think works. I know these work. I have 33 years of hard use out of them with NO issues. Plus the gear drive on them is so close you can ratchet up bolts in tighter areas with less swing than you can with other ratchets.
 
Last edited:
Contact mac tools customer service online. They can send you the parts and instruction sheet for your model number. Usually for free.
 
Ook.. I didn't mean for this post to turn into a 'my tools are better than your tools!' post.
Whatever works for you, works for you.
Was just a fun post about banter between me and a friend of mine... and, I should have told him 'that was a ratchet my dad gave to me! It's irreplaceable! ' but I didn't think that fast. :)
 
Not a pissing contest. More like fact. Yes my Snapon ratchets cost me some money even then as an 18 year old starting out, but they never failed me even once in 33 years of wrenchin. You pay for cheap, ya get cheap, you pay for good, you get a lifetime of worry free service out of it.

Irreplacable. And that is why i dont lend anybody any of my tools. People tend to abuse stuff that isnt theirs because they dont care.
 
I always seem to think of the best response afterwards as well...
 
If I was a professional mechanic, I would buy the best quality tools since I would use them many times per day. Since I am just an avid mopar nut, I try to buy tools that are a good value for their intended use. Sometimes I buy Harbor Freight stuff because the tool needs to work once or twice and I don't want to spend a ton of money. Sometimes the best tool is not the best value. Each person has to decide for themselves what works best for them. It is cool that Snap On has been great for you! I am super pleased to hear that.
 
I have china fright **** too. Usually wrenches for junkyarding or impact sockets. My work sockets consist of craftsman, stanley proto, and a mish mosh of matco and snap on. My work ratchets and home are exclusively snap on because they work every time, and are easy to take apart to clean and reoil. I dont like skinned knuckles from ratchets that break. Had a couple crapsman ratchets for home use that did that, i coulda taken em back to sears to be repaired, but then woulda still had the same engineered in problem causing them to fail, so i pitched em in the scrap metal bucket, and bought the snap on ratchets for home use as well.
 
image.jpg
 
Not a pissing contest. More like fact. Yes my Snapon ratchets cost me some money even then as an 18 year old starting out, but they never failed me even once in 33 years of wrenchin. You pay for cheap, ya get cheap, you pay for good, you get a lifetime of worry free service out of it.

Irreplacable. And that is why i dont lend anybody any of my tools. People tend to abuse stuff that isnt theirs because they dont care.
That depends on who you are willing to borrow your tools to, and that's a personal call. My neighbor came looking for me, because he thought he broke a tool I borrowed him.. offering apologizes, and ready to replace it.
I borrow stuff from him all the time(and he from me), and he(and I) knows if I break something I'll make it right.
That's what decent friends do.
I don't 'abuse' the stuff I borrow from him, because I know it's not mine... I know he does the same... but, **** happens :)
 
That is true. I however dont have friends/ neighbors like that, so i just dont lend anything.
You need to get better friends.
And I no, I just give out my tools to some guy I just met... like you, I have a rabid protection complex about my tools... that's a guy thing, and it's a good thing to have, as you have proven.
Having friends that you feel ok about borrowing tools to is a good thing... and I know not everyone has that.
 
I don’t like to abuse my tool nor do I let my friends touch it..........what’s this ratchet thing you guys are talking about?

I started skipping posts when they kinda turned to a pissing match.
I had a 1/4" craftsman fail back around 89 or 90 , out in Victorville, Ca. , got it replaced by a rebuilt one at Sears out there , been good ever since ---------
 
-
Back
Top